Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Mh, mmhh…

Bathed in sunlight, Kisaragi Hayato opened his eyes

The sounds of a reciprocating engine and rotating propellers reached his ears

“We’ll be arriving shortly,” reported the pilot

The transport had already begun landing preparations

I dreaain, huh…

It was a dreae attack while in the Gutenburg Kingdom of the Britannia Commonwealth He’d often seen this dream since he had been a child

I wonder if that really happened… Hayato thought

He had, after all, indeed been the victidos, he had lost his parents, injured his head, and fallen into a coma

In his weakened state, he had lost h he wasn’t sure if the attack was the direct cause Had the full events of the dream been revealed, or was there more to see? Was the incident even real? Even now, he had no way of knowing

Either way, that sure looked like a close call…

Originally, he’d planned to arrive at the , but weather proble the country had thus taken longer than expected, and his arrival had now been delayed to the very day of the school entrance ceremony

Given his lateness, he wondered whether he would have the time to visit his little sister, Karen, as hospitalized, upon his arrival

He glanced outside the , seeing only ocean

Nonetheless, the aforementioned destination, Little Garden, was out there somewhere

Its training facility housed a crystal which would alter its form when touched by a human This so-called ‘Variable Stone’ would then reveal the creation of a weapon worn on the arms―― Hyaku Busou[1], also colloquially referred to as a ‘Hundred’ There, Hayato would be ar to becoe

He would fight for his sister, whose body had been weakened by illness fro, to receive better medical treatment

At the facility, now his new hoht to protect his fellow co parents to the Savage and a life of poverty

At that moment――

He looked through thea second tilimpse of the elusive Little Garden

If we can arrive without further trouble, there’ll be still some time left until the school entrance ceremony I’ll be able to visit my sister, even if just for a bit!

So this is it, huh? Little Garden…

With the exception of the harbor section[2] which held its runway, Little Garden was encased in airtight, , narrow trapezoid The design made it impossible to peer inside Despite how it looked, however, an ordinary town could be found within with residence openings so scarce, they had to be assigned

I wonder if I’ll find it here…

The answer to his question――

The true identity of the girl in his dream

Now that I think about it, ever since my sister and I caradually returning, so I guess it’s just a matter of time

If he touched a Hundred again, those ht be restored This hope he secretly held in his heart

The transport began to lower its altitude, and started to circle the skies above Little Garden

Only ten i Hayato set foot upon Little Garden

“Nii-san, you haven’t tied your necktie properly, you know…”

The girl, whose raven black hair stood in stark contrast to the hospital’s white walls, pointed this out as she raised her upper body from the bed

Her nai Karen

Though she had a good complexion and otherwise seeiven her skinit snohite and clear

“It can’t be helped, right? I’ve never had to tie one of these before,” Hayato sulked as his sister reached out her arms

“Please, come a bit closer I’ll fix the knot for you”

“It’s fine; it’s good enough already”

“That’s no good Knowing that Nii-san is a slob is already unpleasant enough, but you must at least do it properly for the school entrance ceremony So, please come a bit closer”

Her tone was gentle, but her eyebroere raised Hayato knew that when Karen was like this, she could be quite stubborn

“…Yeah, got it”

Deciding it couldn’t be helped, Hayato brought hian to retie it

“There, proble in satisfaction

He checked in the mirror and it had been tied exceptionally well It hadn’t even taken a minute, yet the knot had taken its proper shape

“You’re quite good at this I’m a bit surprised, you know?”

“It’s because I researched how to tie a knot before Nii-san cauess it won’t be tied neatly, anyway,’ so…”

“‘Anyway’, huh? You…”

“I was right, wasn’t I? When it co I don’t know”

Karen bared her feelings with a smile and presented her forehead

Whenever Karen wanted praise, des of that nature, she would demand a kiss in thishe wanted Though, she would eventually cheer up, that’d take tiht now In other words, refusal wasn’t an option

“Seriously, this girl’s a hopeless case…”

Even while sighing in exaggerated astonish, black hair, held in place by a white hairband, and lightly touched her forehead for a brief moment with his lips

“…Will that do?”

“Ehehe This was the first kiss in a ht?”

Karen sood spirits for some time to come

“Oh, that’s right; how is everyone at the institution doing?”

“I think you know the answer to that already, right?”

Hayato turned his gaze toward the computer tablet that was placed near Karen’s bedside She accessed the cybernet with it and used it to communicate with everyone at the institution Of course, Hayato was also aware of the fact that she played games on it as well

“Looks like Nii-san found out…”

“Everyone happily reported how they’re playing games with Karen”

“Uuh… Even though I told them not to tell Nii-san…”

“I know you feel isolated and lonely, but it’s no good if you don’t study, you know? If you keep this up, and the time comes when you can attend school, you’ll be in quite a bit of trouble”

“I know that, but…”

“Your reply?”

“Yeees…” Karen answered energetically

At the sahout the roo from the other side of the door

“Karen-chan, is it okay if I come in?”

“Yes, it’s fine,” was Karen’s friendly reply

The door groaned and opened

“Ara, could you perhaps be Karen’s Onii-san?”

A woown and nurse’s cap with a s a medical cart before her

She had long, black hair and, unlike Karen, a curvaceous figure Her appearance resembled Hayato and his sister, as if she, too, was from Yamato

“This is the nurse I’reet her properly and introduce yourself”

“I’ for my sister”

Hayato bowed his head, greeting her in accordance with Karen’s urging The nurse smiled in response

“Karen-chan speaks about you quite often Always saying about what a cool Onii-san you are”

“Ah, not at all…”

His mind went blank What should he say to such a beautiful and voluptuous woman…

“Nii-san, looking at Miharu’s breasts and turning all ‘deredere’… Ecchi…”

“I didn’t!”

He instantly objected, but the breasts of the nurse in front of his eyes were in fact considerably large As a ly captivated by such a sight On that point, when it came to Karen, however… ‘too bad’ was all that came to mind

“Ufufu, just as Karen-chan said, I’i Miharu I was also born in Yamato, the same empire Hayato-kun and Karen-chan come from, and so I was asked to watch over Karen-chan”

“…How’s she doing?”

Her being in charge of Karenfrom Yamato He’d often heard about his little sister’s condition fro how much of it was true

“Well, she’s here now, so she’ll definitely get better It ht seeress keeps up during rehab, before you know it, she’ll be attending school”

Her words filled him with a sense of relief

“I see That’s great…”

Karen’s illness caused abnormalities in her muscle function

The Savage had appeared alongside a huge meteorite which had struck the South Pole The spread of this illness began shortly after this incident, which later came to be known as the ‘First Attack’ The current methods of treatment hadn’t yet been created at that time, and stricken by illness, Karen had thus never before attended school It was only recently that she’d escaped the confines of her wheelchair

If she were able to walk again—soer seemed all that far off—she could finally attend school One could say that this was all thanks to having come to Little Garden

“…Interrupting siblings that surely want to be alone after they haven’t seen each other for so long isn’t preferable, but we haven’t had a ht? We just need to do a few, small examinations”

“Actually, I have to get going anyway The school entrance cere soon”

“That would ht?”

“Yet, I can barely get there in time…”

With a wry s from the bed Suddenly, Karen’s mood turned serious

“Nii-san, I’”

“What’s this all of a sudden…”

“But― You see, because of me, Nii-san had to colares because of it…”

“You’re worrying about those kinds of things? Just focus on getting better Also, that’s nothere, okay? It’s also because of the facility”

Chuckling, Hayato petted Karen’s head

“Nii-san will stay safe, nofor you every day”

“‘Praying’, is it? Could you please stop with strange stuff like black-ic?”

“It’s white-ic, so it’s fine”

“That’s close enough, isn’t it? That kind of thing…”

Karen had gone through a phase where she’d obsessed over the occult while searching for a cure for her illness She had acquired considerable knowledge of black s of that nature

…When it came to results, however, that was a different , there hadn’t been any success stories No, when it caic and other such experiments, they were an annoyance better left alone

“Ehehe, I’ else”

“Alright then, I better go”

“…Nii-san, if nothing gets in the way after my tests are over and the school entrance ceremony finishes, please cos I want to tell you…”

“Gotcha, I’ll do just that”

Saying that, Hayato put his hand on the door Once more, Karen’s voice could be heard from behind

“Nii-san, have a safe trip”

“All this atop an aircraft carrier; it’s pretty hard to believe…” Hayato murmured as he left the hospital

Looking up toward the sky, he sawhe hadn’t even known existed

In fact, were it not for the strong, salty sotten he was now at sea

The university battleshi+p, Little Garden――

Boasting a surface area of more than four square kilometers, a town atop an aircraft carrier

Simply by scale alone, one could scour the entire world and not find its equal

In order to preserve its freedo of this scale, this was undoubtedly a world’s first

This shi+p wasn’t attached to any nation

Little Garden had its headquarters in the federal state of Liberia, where the production cohters, h the Warslan company was a PMC[4], they had built Little Garden thee and for the research and develop Slayers—those ielded the Hundred—no expense was spared when it cae aircraft carrier That rationale had n

“So that’s the dorm, huh…?”

The scene reflected in his eyes was of a refined, white, two-storied Western building There were no other structures in the vicinity, so its appearance was somewhat rerounds

All became clear at the entrance to the dorm

A decorated plate, proudly eeika, was displayed on the wall in front of his eyes

There was noit

“Excuse my intrusion…” he called out as he opened the door, a spacious foyer entered his vision

He saw a spacious lobby with a sofa, a large table, and other such things within The students could well socialize here It also seeood place to eat

It was, however, currently empty

“…Errr, is anyone here?” Hayato asked, when suddenly―

“HAYATO―!”

“…Eh?”

A loud voice resounded through the lobby as the sounds of footsteps drew near

“I’ve wanted to meet you, Hayato―!”

“Uwaaa?!”

Someone from inside the corridor suddenly leapt at him

Hayato atte in his hands, he couldn’t make it in time…

CRAsh!+

Hit with great force, he fell onto the carpet

“Ouch! What’s wrong with you?! That hurts…!”

Co on top of him

Crystal-clear, white skin and blue eyes

Well-groo, silver hair beautifully tied with a ribbon A surprisingly slender and soft physique

…Is this person a girl?

Countering his impression, the uniforht This person appeared to belong to the saeika as Hayato

It’s a guy after all, isn’t it? Hayato corrected hie one to boot That hurt; just as he thinking?!

Just as he was about to comment, “You, that really――”

“I’dom of the Britannia Coeika It’s nice to meet you, okay?”

The newcomer leaned in and introduced himself with a smile, and caused Hayato’s heart rate to shoot up

That guy’s smile; he remembered it from somewhere

“…”

Motionless, Hayato continued to stare

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no, it’s nothing” Because you were so forceful, I… he silently thought to himself “Errr, I――”

Still stunned, he tried to gather his thoughts and offer his own greeting in turn when he was struck by a sudden realization

“Now that I think about it, you, how do you know my name?”

“’bout that, Kisaragi Hayato’s a fauy”

“Famous, you say…?”

“Ermm, that is, you see――”

“Before we get to that,off of me first?”

Hayato, who’d cut in, still had E on top of hi likea posture like this for that reason was pretty bad itself It invited needless s

“Aah, sorry!”

Flustered, Emil attempted to rise

Suddenly, a cheerful voice hter interrupted them

“Hey, you guys Flirting and getting all intimate here, are we?”

Turning his gaze to the owner of the voice, he saw a tall, youngthere with a scandalized smile on his face

“No, this so called flirting… It’s nothing like that, alright? This guy suddenly ca onto me!”

“Yeah, that’s because this person ‘really, really’ wanted to meet you, you see”

The young eika uniform like Emil

“Are you a freshman too?” Hayato asked

The blonde youth answered with a nod

“That’s right, I’m Fritz Glanz I was the first to arrive at this men’s dormitory, so, even if just temporarily, I am the leader of the freshmen With that said, I’ll be in your care from now on, rumored freshman”

“R-Right… Same here…”

Taking Fritz’s outstretched hand, Hayato rose with his help

“That’s nice, isn’t it? The two of you, shaking hands like that I want to shake Hayato’s hand too!”

“I’ like that…”

This was neither the time nor the place for such trivialities Rather than that, there was so else he should worry about

“Mouy mentioned this as well; what’s this ru his head to indicate to Emil

Fritz nodded with an audible “Ah”

“I got here the day before yesterday, so I heard the whole thing The expectations for the new student shot through the roof the eneration’s reaction reading during the Hundred aptitude test”

“So, the rumors are about that…”

With that, Hayato understood

So had been measured at the time Hayato had taken the aptitude test which Fritz had just h; a fact Hayato was more aware of than anyone else

It had been thanks to that reading that Hayato had received such a elcoeika

And a elcome it was, for not only was his tuition waived, but he’d even been provided additional scholarshi+p support His sister, as frequently hospitalized as a result of her weakened condition, was now being treated by the world’s foreroup; this benefit, was sie

Even if I haven’t the slightest idea why they would be so generous…

Throughout the world, those who had the ai a Slayer would study the Hundred and other related e on these topics, a training school had been created

However, unlike so school, Hayato had touched the Hundred during the school enroll about the Savage on his own long before arriving at Little Garden, when co school, he was severely lacking when it cae

This alonesuch a degree of expectation placed upon his shoulders worried him

“…Well, that’s how it is Now I’ll lead you guys to your assigned room! That’s the duty of the freshmen leader! You two are the only ones left who haven’t been shown to their rooms yet!”

Saying that, Fritz walked off

“Hayato, let’s go”

“R-Right”

Hayato took the travel bag that was lying on the floor, and trailing Emil and Fritz, started up the stairs

Only the eika lived in this dorm and so it wasn’t all that spacious

To begin with, only one third of the students were eika, and even the male and female counts combined did not amount to more than 30 freshmen

As Hayato had coeika was technically part of the Little Garden High School, they were heavily influenced by public authorities It was a fact that Slayers belonged to the Warslan Co their service as preparatory-departraduation froh the school curriculum was special, it used the same three year systeraduated then belonged to a private ed by the Warslan Co VIP personnel and facilities, disaster relief, and other such things; those were the kinds of duties expected of them

Of all of those, their e’

It’s said that the Savage first cae meteorite

At that time, people had incorrectly assumed it would simply burn up in the atmosphere Contrary to expectations, however, it had, instead, splintered into tinyThese had subsequently then showered the surface The Savage carried by the their survival After incubating for several years, they ee

It’s further been said that they had reached their considerable nu, and moreover, it appeared that a new batch of the toward the Earth via ain

In the beginning, there hadn’t been any atte the first attack when they first dropped onto the Earth aboard their fragments of the once enore theh to be truthful, they were rather large and somewhat dissimilar in appearance Their skin was as hard as steel, to the extent of being iunfire

Accordingly, early resistance efforts had resorted to the use of gigantic landh huain, they had never onceblow

It was then that the ‘Hyaku Busou’, or ‘Hundred’, had been developed

These were anti-Savage weapons

While the first attack was ongoing, that is to say, when the splinters of the meteorite had first hit the Earth, scientists had beco into contact with huredient in its development was a red crystal harvested from those selfsame meteorites This, they called ‘Variable Stone’

The Hundred, the fruits of those labors, were then utilized to fight the Savage The children enrolled in this school were devoted to this endeavor

The school was currently limited to those who had not yet reached puberty at the time the meteorite had fallen; the Hundred would respond for no other

“And that’s your room”

Fritz had pulled to a stop in front of the first corner room on the second floor

“It’s surprisingly spacious…” Hayato h the door Fritz had just opened

It was bigger than any room Hayato had lived in since he had left his homeland, Yamato The facility room he had shared with his sister had only been a scant, six tatami[6] in size; in other words, not even half the size of this room

“…Wait Wait a sec, you said our room――”

Eaze pointed toward the two installations in the rooap between them

“As you can see, this is a double room”

“Which means that Hayato and I are in the same room?!”

“Bugeika’s students are e in the near future; you know that anized into teathen coht that by the Senpai who led me to my room”

Fritz cheerfully patted Hayato’s shoulder

“Well, be good friends fro, co”

“It can’t be… Could Char have done so unnecessary and put us in the sa on the wall, muttered after Fritz had left them alone