Vol 6 Chapter 3 (1/2)
Chapter 3 - Lapis Lazuli
Unlike at AntiMagic Acadeic Academy's also had afternoon classes
Although there was no need to earn points as part of the test platoon, everyone was supposed to regularly announce the fruits of their et expelled if you don't do so, you will be held back if the results aren't acknowledged Since Takeru was a student of Magic Acade, he was asked to subic for the final exa there that long, he only had to withstand the classes somehow
Currently, it was time after school
Takeru, unfa his arms
”Taa〜keru〜”
Mari approached hiood mood Also, behind her were Inia and Ananda
”Oh, what's up you three?”
”Since there's an opportunity, we thought of guiding you around the East Side's town It's better if you know it right?”
She placed her hands on the desk and proposed
Takeru was a little unsure, but it would be difficult to extract any more information from Mother or Orochi, and it wouldn't hurt to know ic Academy
He whispered a question into Mari's ear
”Can Lapis come with us?”
While saying so, he glanced to the seat beside his Lapis faced forward and wasn't
”I don't mind really what happened, you two? Aren't you quite cold ever since co here?”
”No well”
Takeru etically
After getting Mari's consent, they have immediately headed outside, that's when,
”No you won't You absolutely can't go outside Kana won't allow it”
Kanaria folded her arlared at Takeru
She reported what happened at the roof to Mother trying to take away Takeru's freedo defiant
Mari ignored Kanaria, raised her aro!” left the classroom
”Don't ignore me! Listen to what I say!”
Kanaria grabbed Mari's shoulder with a serious expression Takeru thought that as Mother's subordinate, it was obvious for her not to allow theo outside
Annoyed by her, Mari turned around
”Ah shut up It's fine as long as you coht? Just say clearly that you don't want to be left behind”
”Unlike you, Kana is busy! It's not like I want to play around with yo——”
”Yes yes, I get it, yeah I'll treat you to a bag of your favourite candies”
”——It can't be helped if you insist that much Kana will comply and come with you”
Moo!”
So weak!
Takeru wondered if it's really fine for Kanaria to be won over so fast, and turned towards Lapis
”Lapis, let's go”
””
He reached out to her
Lapis slowly raised her face, and looked at Takeru's hand
However, she didn't take his hand and instead stood up beside the any sound
Not knohat to do, Takeru put a hand his cheek with his finger and followed her
The sun was already sinking dohen Takeru and the others looked up at the round
”awesome”
Although the buildings floating in the air looked incredibly iht their eyes was the appearance of witches flying in the sky Flying on chopstick-like things as fast as falling stars, their appearance wasthan any show
He was iainst each other
”Mari, can you fly in the sky like that too?”
”『Aurora』 is very versatile so it's easy foras they have that band-type catalyst, I think every witch should be able to do it For h”
”that's nice Really nice”
Takeru's eyes were sparkling unusually He was the type of hter or helicopter
Mari looked at excited Takeru's profile
”want to try flying together? It should be possible if you sit behind me”
”Two people can get on it?!”
”Two people getting on isn't that unusual well, h”
While scratching her cheek, Mari continued to glance at Takeru Ananda and Inia next to the
”Ananda and I will follow you froet in your way〜”
”Mh it is Wshoo wshoo it is”[1]
”I-I don't really have any intentions like that!”
Mari rushed at the two in anger The person in question, Takeru, was looking at the sky happily and ignored the talk about couples
And as everyone chatted peacefully,
”Of course you can't go You're prohibited fro”
Kanaria came up from behind and stabbed a nail in
Mari puffed up her cheeks and whispered into Kanaria's ear
”Why, cheapskate”
”Kana has no ic power Can't fly Can't monitor you So you can't”
”〜〜〜〜then why don't you just sit behind Lapis-chan”
Mari pointed at Lapis who caht distance away
”Lapis, can you fly too?”
”It is possible, but I refuse”
It was an immediate answer Lapis looked away
”I don't want to use ic power for anyone else other than my contractor”
”mm, then if I sit behind you and Kanaria sits behind Mari there should be no probleht?”
”Yes yesss! There is ! There is a problem!”
Raising her hand, Mari desperately protested
Her expression seemed to say 'I'll be the one to carry Takeru'
While Mari's gaze one-sidedly scattered sparks, Lapis moved over to stand beside Takeru
And, plop, she stuck closely to Takeru and pulled his ar him
”?! Y-you! I wasn't bothered by that earlier, but isn't that quite an attack fro at you as a enemywoman!!”
Pointing her finger at Lapis, Mari
Takeru looked down at Lapis who clung to his arer on his cheek he smiled
”Wai Takeru?! Why do you look a little happy?!”
”No because she kinda avoided me ever since we came here, it's true that I'm a little happy to interact with her as usual”
”You're happy?! Y-y-you lolicon!”
”Don'tlike my partner If I'm hated by her there will be a lot of problems”
”P-partner? Life partner? I can't win if it's like that!”
”Don't add 'life' in there on your own what kind ofhere? Why do you have tears in your eyes?”
”UuuuUUuuuUu! I don't know you any more!”
Mari turned around with a twirl
Although he ether as partners like those in a three-legged race, that see anything, Takeru had a blank look on his face
Ananda and Inia had already entered the box with catalysts, and brought out the brooms
”Mari〜, you are at an disadvantage against a Magical Heritage After all, Magical Heritage and the contractor are connected at all times”
'Mhe and the contractor are two different beings They can't get nant, you can still aim for the wife's position”
Inia and Ananda comforted Mari
”Co-connected Takeru, that's lewd!”
”Wait wait, why are you blas that lead to s! Lapis and I aren't like that!”
”No, isn't worth teasing Mari? That frustrated expression on her face is so thrilling”
”Mhrades, she's so cute when teased I love it”
As the two keenly displayed their sadistic affection, twitch blood vessels appeared on Mari's cheek Her fist let out a sound as she approached them
”Who the hell's a teasable character!”
”Oh, look Ananda, Mari's angry How about we play so then”
”Ohh, a race huh Let's go at it But there's no way Mari will ever catch up to ”
”Kufufu”, Ananda laughed, and at the sahtning has been ejected She rose up to the sky at great speed, and fleay like a meteor
”Wait up! damn, I'll use theet on!”
Mari pulled out the catalyst from the box, and sat astride it
”Wait! Kana didn't allow it! Don't just go flying on your own!”
”It's fine, get on!”
”I'ett waa uwah, don't touch me don't pull me I'll fly at this raaaaa〜〜〜〜!”
Mari grabbed Kanaria's collar and fleay like that
Takeru looked worriedly at the tho fleay, but then he dropped his line of sight at Lapis as clinging to his aric to hiht sound strange, he felt at ease like this
”Why are you laughing?”
”what I told Mari earlier was true Being avoided by you was very painful to me”
”Please do not misunderstand”
Lapis moved away from his arm
”My action froer”
”My life is in danger there was no situation like that right?”
”You will understand soon”
While saying so, Lapis too,took out a catalyst from the box
And bothered by her skirt, she sat astride it
”Are you not going to get on?”
”ah, yeah Sure”
Following Lapis, he straddled the rear seat The belt expanded auto itself around his waist
It was a strangely surreal sight like that of a s over a bike, and in addition to that, a large htly pathetic
”I shall start Please hold on”
As he was told to, he aardly held Lapis' waist
”Flying by using the catalyst lacks stability Since it's dangerous, please holdme”
”y-yes”
Then once again as he was told to, Takeru threw his arms around Lapis' back
This is really inviting a
Noa sht she's just a norirl Her body temperature wasn't human, he felt softness as he wound his arms around her stomach
And he felt a soft scent similar to lavender
”We're going”
”——DowAah!!”
Immediately after the declaration, the catalyst suddenly accelerated
Takeru's consciousness was taken in by the sweet scent, resulting with hi his neck at the sudden acceleration
The feeling of tearing through the wind can be enjoyed even on a bicycle
However, the feeling of beco wind itself can't be tasted that easily
Takeru enjoyed the sight of scenery rapidly flowing and the act of flying itself
They had considerable speed He is accustoh speed combat, so he didn't think this kind of speed was that incredible, but since usage of Magic-Sweeping SwordSou hiht
Lapis slipped between the buildings as if it was a roller-coaster, rose up and dived repeatedly However, it wasn't as if she was trying to entertain Takeru, instead she was chasing after Mari and the others who used such a random route
Both people who used catalysts like theround weren't surprised by Takeru and the others flying It was a part of everyday life for them
They flew grazing the ground, and soared up on the verge of collision with a building
And then they steadily cli for the sky
After they alht speed
As they looked below, the world of ic has spread beneath them
It was different spectacle fros too, were all below them
”A!”
With a very boyish smile, Takeru watched the world below
For Takeru who didn't have any hobbies and devoted his life to swordsmanshi+p, part time jobs and platoon activities, it was the first ti time
It ht be cliché, but he felt that was truly what it meant to become a bird
”Even though it's called a shelter, it's really broad”
Looking from one end to the other, Takeru raised a voice of admiration
However, outside of the barrier spread a decaying world A dead desert called Sanctuary Although it was invisible, that place was full of 『Void』 ic that killed people in an instant
The scar on the world created by the Witch Hunt War
””
If war starts, will this beautiful world and my oorld turn out just like the outside of the barrier Takeru as immersed in the fantastic scenery has been pulled back to reality
Now that he thought about it, he ca way At first he was just a student, he only aiic Academy to become an Inquisitor He involved himself with the platoon members, and after oing to do our best together and becoht
Everything has changed
Takeru held Lapis' body a bit ly
”Hey, you what do you think of this world?”
”What do you mean?”
”Magic Academy The outside and inner world, do they look different to you?”
”Magic-based Fantasy CultValhalla, and Inquisition that bases on science and guns Although the organization and elements it bases on are different, I think they are notoutside, and inside that's better at security The difference in strength is unknown Although Inquisition probably has an advantage when it coer individually If war happens, it will definitely come to a stalemate”
Noticing Takeru's amazed expression, Lapis looked away to the side
”What is it”
”That's not what I meant about people who live here, and how different are they fro”
”If it's the difference betitches and normal humans, then explanation is simple”
”never mind it”
Takeru sighed and looked at the streets below again
”Both us and witches are living norht so back then about Mari, but with Ananda and Inia I was reminded that they are no different from the bunch outside”
””
”if it was this place, even if I brought our co inconvenienced”
He recalled Orochi's and Mother's solicitation and squinted
Takeru never thought of what to do to save the entirety of hu himself with the difficult topics
From the bottos If they ar then they can just do it on their own, he was fine with just leaving those people he didn't understand to their own devices
All he wanted, was to protect people around him
It didn'tas there's peace in there, Takeru didn't mind it
Were I bring ether wouldn't be that bad, Takeru thought
”You too Lapis, would be able to live here nores, it wouldn't be uncoht?”
”Whether it's Inquisition or Fantasy CultValhalla it does not matter Inquisition was a well-equipped te as it's beside the contractor who can use me”
”so it's like that”
”That's how it is I'reatest huer of any use to our contractors”
so she's still angry after all
While the Magical Heritage's aht have been just as Lapis told said they are, but he still felt it was a little lonely Whether she has a human form or not, it would be aard to use her like a simple object
Even if they are a sword and its user, Takeru wanted it to be partners that trust each other
”Like I said on the roof already, I have no intention to discard you”
”Then why, have you let go of me in that place?”
”That's because I didn't want to kill Kiseki I decided not to kill, but to protect everything”
”Is it fine then for rant you that wish now?”
”no, don't go and fulfil it on your own, I want us to fight together and fulfil it we're partners right?”
”My apologies, but I have no intention of being atwishes I'll pass on being discarded again”
Unexpectedly, the scar was real deep
He knew for a while that she had strange reactions like being jealous of bashful, but he also realized that Magical Heritages valued different things from humans
And Lapis ithout a doubt the type to hold a grudge Somehow, it felt like a couple's quarrel to him
”I said I'e of heart, but there's also a ”
”Even if that was just a change of heart for you, for me it was the rejection of fusion between h for me to lose trust in you”
”that God Hunter, is it fusion? Not only erosion?”
”Yes It's a fusion with the contractor's soul You will quit being hu with me you will transition into an existence from another dihter Gods”
”I don't really get it, but what does that mean to you?”
Lapis went silent for aabout it, and answered indifferently
”Hmm If I were to represent it in a way easy for humans to understand——it would be synonymous with sex”
”Nn? What?”
”sex A sexual activity Expressing it fro mood, took off our clothes and at the moment 'come on, let's start' should coet erect, goodbye——”
”Wait aittt! Is that so akin to what lovers do?!”
Hearing that, he understood that what Ananda and Inia said was entirely correct, and he received quite the shock
”For us Magical Heritages, that's what it oal is to produce offspring, Magical Heritage's final goal is to fuse with their contractor”
”you serious”
After being told that, hispathetic as a man
”Please don't mind it In human terms, 『It's h It's not your fault』 is what I should say”
”please, could you stop putting it in hu you”
It hurt hi akin to 'impotent' Takeru covered his face with both hands
”But well I think it's a bit different fro to fulfil my wish, butether with you”
”The result of wish co true is the same I don't understand what is different in there If you just leave your wishes toor wishes are unnecessary in there”
””
”I should have already said that I'm a weapon that fulfils contractor's wishes”
Lapis flatly declared Takeru thought that it ay too one-sided The huainst their as so very painful
Just like Kiseki's body has done it
Having your wish one-sidedly fulfilled wasn't a fusion, but erosion
Takeru hugged Lapis, and put his chin on top of her head
”Somehow, you seem similar to me after all”
”Haa?”
”'ha?'hey, why do you look a bit displeased That hurts”
”Since you said words far beyond ies, but I'm not as indecisive as you are”
”I hear no respect in there whatsoever That's not what I ht of other people and was someone who just pushed forward like a suicide bomber When I look at you now, it doesn't feel like somebody else's problem Humans are not so simple you know?”
”I have no intention of understanding hu you”
”don't say so that lonesome〜”
Takeru ground his jaw into Lapis' head
”Please cease grinding your chin into my head immediately It's unpleasant”
”Think of it as of communication Uri uri I'm happy to know a little s like you don't want me to knoow, uri uri uri”
Despite knowing Lapis rejected it, he continued to grind on her head further
Lapis reested she was in sullen ht about his interaction with Lapis up until now
Surely, he loved this little girl For some reason he didn't want to leave her alone, or be hated by her no e, he loved her as another 『Human』
Although Lapis said she considers herself as just a Magical Heritage, but Takeru thought it wasn't so He thought so for a while already, but Lapis gave off a feel of a human
With a wry smile, he placed a hand on top of her head
”You see, to me, whether you are a Sacred Treasure or led this world to ruin, it doesn'tso about Rather than that, you should tell me more about yourself”
””
”I've asked on the roof already, but what kind of person was Kusanagi Mikoto? You've been together for a long tier mean it for Kiseki's sake, I want to know about it for myself I want to use et along with you well”
Lapis fell silent
Even though she was always ready to give an immediate answer, she seemed to be lost
Takeru continued to wait endlessly I don't knohat happened in the past, but surely, that huiven by that person called Mikoto, he thought vaguely
After a while, Lapis shook her hair lightly
”I apologize for stopping in ency from earlier has occurred”
”Hm?”
”Nikaido Mari-sama has caused an accident”
Although she spoke indifferently, for just an instant she seeasp in surprise
”Accident?! An accident in the sky you mean?!”
”Yes Since that person's flying is quite messy, she seemed to have caused an accident”
Lapis said while staring in the distance
So that was the reason Lapis stopped hi the reason for that now, Takeru tapped Lapis' shoulder
”Is she all right? I ht?”
”No need to worry The flight catalysts are guaranteed 99 safety Since shock absorbing instant charered at the moment of crash, they were unscathed”
Relieved, Takeru took a deep breath
But, Lapis continued
”However, the other party they have collided with seem to be a problem I was able to identify thee of developing into a conflict”
”not good hurry!”
A bit later, Takeru had to change his perception and thinking that living in the inner world would be good
East Side and West Side
Takeru still didn't knoas the difference between their forces
They dived down fros they have prepared for landing
Even fro distance, they could see the coathered hearing the commotion, they couldn't find a place to land that easily
In the empty space in the centre of it stood Mari who folded her arms in front of her chest Behind her they could see Ananda and Inia acting timid Kanaria looked at it from a distance as if it didn't concern her at all
Standing in front of Mari were four students wearing military uniforms different fro red uniforms
When Lapis landed on the edge of the road, Takeru waded through the crowd heading to where Mari was When they came to his view, he saw that the situation was explosive
”Why are you East Side bastards here? This is West Side, it's our area Moreover, you got in the way of our training you ht?”
”That's why I apologized haven't I? Neither of us was hurt, so let irls have nothing to do with it!”
On the scene that has turned into a quarrel, West Side's students held the staff and wand-type catalysts
”No, whatever the form, I'll have you take responsibility”
”Of course We'll report you to higher-ups and forgive you So shut up and listen”
The student who see them up