Vol 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)

“N, nnn…”

Responding to the light shi+ning through a gap between the curtains, Kisaragi Hayato awoke

…Hmm? What’s this…?

Feeling a strange warmth on his body, he sat up in surprise Emilia was fast asleep in his bed

This discovery called to re from the hospital, he’d passed out and Emilia had helped him, unconscious, to his bed

I’ she watched over me after that?

Next, he recalled the confession fro

The person before him was – per his self-introduction – his classmate, Emil Crossford

However, this person’s true identity was none other than the girl he’d seen in his dreams of his childhood – his first love, whoo – Emilia Hammett

“Emilia…”

Whispering her nao

This brought to mind joyful memories of the time he’d once spent with her

What a strange feeling…

He laughed to hide his embarrassment

Sharing the sarant, wos in him

I ret if I don’t end this situation…

Cautioning hily still sleepy eyes, Emilia raised her body before him

“Nn, … Hayato…”

“Oi, what’s with that getup—?!”

Hayato blushed a deep red

E only a thin, white shi+rt The two bulges on her chest only er that they posed Furthermore, her lower half was covered by only a pair of thin white shorts

“Well, last night, I helped Hayato to bed, nursed you, and I guess I fell asleep like that… Wait, UWAA—!”

She finally realized what she looked like Erabbed the bed covers in a fluster and covered herself

“No need to explain, just change into so fast!”

“With you here? Hayato… ecchi…”

“Then I’ll leave!”

“Wait!”

As he tried to ju warm introduced itself to his back Eripped hiht embrace

“W-What do you think you’re you doing?”

“It’s fine if you don’t leave; I can change if you’ll just turn your back…”

“No, I meant why are you suddenly…”

“Sorry But let er”

“Why would you…”

“Because, well, these peaceful ether with you…”

Two soft objects pressed up against his back This was far too sti

“Isn’t it about tio?”

“Ah, yep… sorry”

“I’ outside then”

“I already told you that that won’t be necessary Just turn around,” she called out as Hayato began to leave the room

“I can still hear you changing I can’t help it if I feel uneasy about that”

“Ahaha, Hayato, you’re so cute”

“What do you mean by that?”

E made him pout

“Anyway, hurry up and change Breakfast time’s already started”

“…I know”

The sound of rustling clothes and clothes hitting the floor caused his heart to pound in his ears

Behind hi, but his face turned feverish nonetheless

“You can turn around now”

By the ti

He turned around to find Eone and Emil Crossford in her place

Although she wore a lightweight outfit of a jersey and trousers over her shi+rt, her hair was bound together at the back in her usual ponytail style It was only natural that one wouldn’t notice the bulges on her chest

“I’o ahead and wash my face”

“You know——”

“Hmm?”

Responding to the voice calling out from behind her as she made her way to the bathroom, Emil paused and turned

“Thanks for last night I was totally out of it”

“Carrying you to your bed was no trouble at all Reh…”

“Re my— oh…”

Hayato remembered that he’d been in his unifor, he’d only had his uniform shi+rt and trousers on

“I was pretty concerned You also sweat a lot, so I wiped your body doith a towel after I bathed”

“You wiped me down… You didn’t touch me in any weird places…?”

“Like where?”

“That’s, err…”

“…?”

“If you didn’t, then it’s fine”

Hayato laughed

Chuckling, Emil entered the bathroom

Afterward, they traded places and Hayato washed his face, finalizing their preparations to leave

“So Hayato, how does your body feel now?”

“A lot better than it did yesterday; I seem to be as healthy as always”

“But your stoht?”

“Well, yeah Very much so”

“I knew it”

Erinned broadly

“When people consury”

“Is that so?”

“Yep, especially after you use the power of a Variant It tends to leave you that way, you know?”

With that, Hayato and E prepared

“Mornin’ Yesterday was pretty incredible, huh? You feelin’ better already?”

In the lobby were three fresh

His dress – a shi+rt and trousers – was very casual The other freshed in busily filling their mouths with sandwiches

“Well then, let’s eat”

On a wide table, a variety of sandwiches with egg, lettuce, and tomatoes – some with ham, some with roasted chicken – were laid out

The selection of beverages – including orange juice, vegetable juice, h to confuse

On a side note, the dorm’s food was all prepared by the school cafeteria and transported to its destination each

In this way, both the taste was guaranteed and nutrition tightly ed

All of this info had been shared with them by Fritz, at their request

Afterward, Hayato and Emil sat down for breakfast with Fritz and the others

Hayato was then infor their stay in Little Garden after all Claire had repealed the order for their expulsion

At that, Hayato heaved a sigh of relief

“So, what are you two going to do today?”

“That depends on Hayato’s condition, I’d say…”

Eaze of the face assessing Hayato’s condition

“I’ve said this already, but I feel perfectly fine; I’m not hurt anywhere”

Ehtened up with enthusiasm at his reply

“If that’s the case, then there’s so I’d like to do with Hayato today”

“…Which is?”

“A date!”

“A date? With…!”

Hayato spat out his orange juice in shock

“Ahaha This warshi+p’s business district——I thought I’d like to visit Central”

Emil told the flustered Hayato with an innocent expression

Yesterday’s duel had robbed thean on the morrow There wouldn’t be another opportunity to do so until the end of the folloeek, so she wanted to visit the business district before the day was out

“So, why don’t we go together?”

If she hadn’t characterized it as a date to begin with, then he would’ve agreed fro to see Central as well, after all

“If that’s the case, then let’s do it, shall we?”

“Yay!”

Upon hearing Hayato’s reply, the delighted Eave a cheer

“In that case, I’ll head back to our room first, okay?”

After finishi+ng breakfast, Emil stood up from her seat and went to their room Subsequently, Hayato stood up fro of him as well

“You headed for the bath?”

Hayato nodded

As he didn’t get into the bath yesterday evening, he wanted to at least take a shower after this, Hayato had told Fritz and E their meal

He had sweated a lot while he was asleep and, as E, he was deeply dyed in her scent Worrying about that, he couldn’t help the racing of his heart He couldn’t keep going on without taking a bath

“Which reminds me, what are your plans for the day, Fritz? If you’d like, why not join us in Central?”

Although he had already agreed to visit Central together with E on a date with a woman that wasn’t his sister…

Even if the person froed too much; he didn’t kno he should behave

With that in ured that it’d probably be better for Fritz and Ridia to accompany them

The reply, however, dashed his hopes

“Sorry, but I already have an appointment to visit the Colosseueika will be holding a mock battle there, and she wanted to watch”

That was a very Ridia-ish excuse, he thought It would have been nice if he hadn’t had other plans, but given the circumstances, he couldn’t ask Fritz the impossible

“Co out?”

“The heck are you asking all of a sudden?”

Hayato accidentally blurted out so for some time now Fritz’s face clouded over at his question

“Don’t tell ive up on that; that girl’s just a brat – in mind, body, and experience”

“It’s nothing like that I was just curious about your relationshi+p; you’re always together, after all Why is that?”

To be honest, he was hoping for a reference for his relationshi+p with Emilia

He couldn’t say that, though, so he dodged the question Eyeing Hayato with suspicion, Fritz responded

“I already introduced her as ht? Don’t confuse us for lovers, okay? We’ve just always been together since way-back-when, so our relationshi+p just naturally became like this”

“So, even when you’re near Ridia, your heart doesn’t throb?”

“Of course not! No way do I have those kinds of feeling for Ridia… Ohh, I see now You fell for the student council president! She’s a beauty, she is, and her breasts aremassive”

“That’s not it!”

“It’s fine There’s no need to be shy”

“I said that’s not it!”

Hayato shouted again to get his point across

“What, I thought that during that fight you seeured… If you had fought with your fists, a wonderful friendshi+p would’ve probably bloomed between you two Didn’t you fall in love because of that?”

Laughing heartily, Fritz continued

“Itthe Prez’s breasts They were huge, right?”

They were huge indeed And very soft But that wasn’t what he should be thinking about right now He wasn’t in a situation to re

“Well, whoever it is, good luck, alright? They say love , after all”

Fritz rose and returned to his room

He had the feeling there’d been a grave , but thebeca

Since she was always byof it, huh——

As he soaked in the public bath, Hayato recalled the earlier exchange with Fritz

That continued even after he’d finished his bath and returned to his room

He re before

That was just a Hundred thing and not that kind of thing, I guess… he convinced himself

But if the girl as h!

He shook his head to dislodge the thoughts running through his mind If this continued on, his body would soon hit its li him at a loss for what to do

…Haa…

As I thought, there’s nothing I can do but get used to it, huh?

A short time after, Hayato and Emil left their dor district – Central

“It’s annoying that we have to wear the uniform even on holidays…”

The weather arm: sunny, without a cloud in the sky That, co-sleeved uniform, made them sweat

“It can’t be helped; on this battleshi+p, Slayers and Bugeika students are a souish them, or so Fritz said”

“If I remember correctly, soldiers in Liberia also receive special treat a shop in uniform, I hear…”

“That’s… ehh”

After leaving the dorh for their uniforainst one another

When they got too close, however, his heart would pound, and so he did his best to keep his distance

“Muu, stupid Hayato,” Eain

Even if she looked like a boy at the irl after all; it was a difficult situation

That hy he’d tried to distance himself, but Emil had noticed and thwarted his efforts

It didn’t look possible to separate anymore

Itside-by-side like this, but, as expected, it was rather sti…

He still had a ways to go to get used to this

“Now that I think of it, the business district’s probably called Central because it’s in the middle of Little Garden…”

Hayato spoke to distract himself That, and not silence, would help his nervousness

“We can probably tell if we take a look at the PDA’s map, but I don’t think it is It see the ‘heart’ of the city”

“You sure know your stuff, don’t you?”

“I consulted a ”

E the three ions of Little Garden

The first of the three – the ‘Terion wherein the airport, dock, etc were located Both airplanes and sh this area

Next was the half of the Donated as the ‘Military Area’, located at the shi+p’s forward bow This area housed the acaderounds, and research lab The dorm where Hayato and the others resided was also here

The last area here they were headed now, the ‘Family Area’ This warshi+p’s business district – Central – was located there, as were many commerce and entertainested, housed the residential area that was home to Little Garden’s staff, employees of the Business district, and their families

Perhaps due to transitioning between the Military and Faan to increase

The view unveiling itself to their eyes made it harder than ever to believe that they were still on board a shi+p

“Aaah, I can’t wait; I’ forward to it so much!”

“Even if you say you’re looking forward to it, there’s no way it coht? All the rebuilding after the Second Attack should be long done”

Before leaving their dorm, the two had decided that when she was dressed like a man, they’d refer to her as E when sos easier

“U, you know? After the attack, we relocated to a more rural area…”

That re

She was alearing so dresses It’s probably because of the ‘relocation’, but she’s certainly grown up into a fine ojousama

I guess that caused her to grow up pretty ignorant as to the ways of the world That’s pretty a in its oay, really

“That’s me, so it’s your turn no is Yamato’s capital?”

“Yae attack, so it’s prospered, I guess After the attack on Gutenburg, ent home to the Yamato countryside, where we’ve lived ever since, so the only ie of the imperial capital that I have is the one from TV”

Although he’d visited the i to Little Garden, he had only had time to visit the Warslan co the transport nearly immediately after

There had been no ti Further the townscape had been just about impossible

“That ht?”

Ehtly

After a ten- from their dorm, they finally arrived at their destination: Central

It was a bit before 10 o’clock, but the toas already surprisingly crowded

“There seem to be quite a few Slayers too, huh…”

Upon entering Central there were quite a few people who passed by the the sa, there were more students, but the Slayer population was nine-tenths the size of the student population, so it was only natural

“There are ht?”

Certainly, as Eures of e attached to their collars, their bodies clad in brand-new uniforazes and nonchalant walk, it was immediately obvious – they were the same as Hayato and company

“So what do you want to do first?”

“First, let’s do a round of Central itself It’s not that big, so we can think about ant to do as alk around”

Alongside Emil, Hayato circled Central once as if it were a track, before ending up walking down Main Street

Various shops lined the street It wouldn’t be too far fetched to say that some parts of it were the sah one could say that it was perhaps so and apparel shops, taverns and bars, and even toy shops could all be seen

“We’re just looking around, but it’s fun It’s really been a while Since alked the streets of Gutenberg together, that is”

Hayato felt similarly

It really was fun

But there was just one thing on his mind

“Aren’t we drawing a lot of attention somehow?” Hayato whispered into Emil’s ear

Ever since entering Central, he had felt the weight of countless gazes upon them

“It’s only to be expected, you know?” Emil answered unconcernedly

“To be expected…? What do you mean?”

“Well, you were already an object of interest from the start, and the way you beat the president yesterday only made that more so, so of course you draw attention What you did yesterday is the talk of the town I’ shopping together here in Central”

Simply put, it wasn’t just a few eyes that were on him, but many, and it wasn’t likely to be a temporary situation, either

“There’ll be a fuss about everything you do here, whether it be shopping, eating, or anything else…”

It looked like visiting Central in the future could be quite irritating

“It’ll be okay After a while, people will get used to it, and you won’t have to worry about it anyer rumors”

“Hey, stop that! That kind of rumor is bad news!”

Emil had twined her arm around Hayato, as lovers do Even if he couldn’t feel her breasts against him, her body was still extremely soft When the distance between them shrank like this, it was sirance threw him off his stride even more

“Think about your situation and control yourself a bit…”

Flustered, Hayato pushed Emil away

“Mou, Hayato’s such a shy-guy…”

“That’s not the probleeez…”

Hayato and E side-by-side once more

Extending beyond the attention they were already receiving, he began to hear mutters of “Hayato-kun and Emil-kun… I wonder who’s the top and who’s the bottom?”

Were we seen?

I would’ve been fine if there weren’t any strange ruh…

At that thought, his shoulders slumped

“We’ve just about circled the place now, so what next? Wanna grab so?”

“There’s a place I’d like to visit first, if you wouldn’twith me? It’s somewhere close by, okay?”

“…And that place is?”

“In Westside – opposite the Terminal District, at the westernmost end of Central – is a park It’s Little Garden’sspot You can see the ocean fro into the horizon’s supposedly very pretty It’s totally worth a visit from what I’ve heard”

“Isn’t it still too early for that?”

The sun was still high in the sky

“That’s true, but even at o!”

“If that’s the case, then maybe we should”

She’d kept hione so far as to nurse him back to health yesterday So today, he intended to return the favor and keep Emil company

When they had gone West long enough, the trees in their surroundings increased

“We’ll soon be there; this greenery’s part of Westside and beyond this plaza should be a viewing platform”

As described, once they’d left the red-brick plaza behind, the ocean filled their vision for as far as the eye could see

Seagulls swah it

woosh woosh, the sound of waves and the scent of salt water grew ever stronger

The ocean’s really beautiful…

Walking along the railing which had been installed on the edge of the battleshi+p, Hayato looked at the ocean

Brilliant rays of sunlight glistened as they were reflected off a pure emerald sea without a hint of murkiness

A scene not to be found in all of Yamato – it left him speechless

It …

Just as he’d been told, it was a popular dating spot flooded with couples Pairs of people passed ti sun

Eventually, their hands finding one another——

Just kidding, hebut there was no way that he could do that with E the ocean with him

She wasn’t Eht now, after all, but Emil Crossford—— Someone who, no matter how you looked at him, was a boy

But, just a bit, I wonder how it’d feel…

There wasn’t anyone near theht now, so it’d be fine if just for a rasp Emil’s

But he just couldn’t do it…

With just a hair’s breadth between theap

And, just as he had finally steeled his resolve and was about to reach out…

Unexpectedly, their hands touched

Erip on his hand

“Hey, you…”

“There’s no one around right now, so just thisto do the sa just now…”

“That’s… true…”

“So just for a bit”

“Y-Yeah…”

For a while, they held hands

“Hey, Emil…”

“Wouldn’t Emilia be okay for now?”

“Eeehm, then, Emilia…”

“What is it?”

“There’s so to ask once ere alone…”

He spoke aloud what had been on his

There was no one around and so he didn’t have to worry about others listening in

It was the perfect opportunity

“Eh, that’s, what …”

“Um, well, didn’t you say yesterday that you came to Little Garden towhat your plans were”

“Aaah, so it’s that That’s the kind of talk you wanted to have, huh…”

Losing her strength, Emilia’s head drooped

“’That kind of talk?’ What kind of talk did you think it was?”

“J-Just forget it As for what I plan to do, well, you’re going to be here froht? In that case, so will I That’s all there is to it”

Emil continued with a smile

“I ran away, after all I can’t go back yet; first, I’ve got to repay the favor to Charl, as forced into enrolling me here”

“So you’ll becoe, huh?”

She noticed that Hayato’s expression had darkened

“Do you have so a Slayer?” she asked with a meek expression

“No, it just feels wrong to ask you to put yourself in danger for h”

“That’s not true Plus, we’re in the same boat here – because of me, Hayato’s come to Little Garden to become a Slayer”

“That ht be true, but…”

“I get the feeling that you want to take revenge on the Savage for tearing us apart ten years ago Hayato, if you becoe forto supportabout retiring”

“The heck is that…”

“Ah, well… what I said just now, just forget it, haha…”

A deceptive laugh

“In any event, we’ve only just arrived here We can think about what to do froht?”

“Though I’ve unexpectedly had to duel the Pres right off the bat, huh…”

“Sorry about that But you rown used to our current situation, right?”

Suddenly, the PDA’s default ringtone interrupted the two

“…Is that yours?”

“Looks like it”

Hayato pulled his hand away fro it in his pocket, retrieved his PDA

He checked the display

“It’s from Karen…”

“Your sister? You should answer it”

“R-Right…”

He had a very oed by Emilia, Hayato timidly pressed the call button

[Nii-san, why haven’t you told me about yesterday’s duel?]

“Uh…”

It was a preemptive attack

“That, well, it was decided on out of the blue and I thought it’d be bad if I worried you…” Hayato answered in a fluster

[Although it was soo, I heard from Miharu about yesterday’s duel and the fact that Nii-san was brought into the hospital; it really shocked h I wanted to see your injuries, is your body okay?]

“It’s nothing to worry about I feel just fine So everything’s fine, don’t worry”

[If I worry, it’s because Nii-san does nothing but unreasonable things…”

“If you put it like that, I can’t really argue…”

[But what you did is just so like you, I think Duelling for someone’s sake——]

“Is that so?”

[That’s the kind of person Nii-san is But before you do anything dangerous again, make sure you let Karen know properly Promise me If you don’t, I’ll curse you for real]

“Right, got it”

[So, Nii-san, what are you doing right now? I think I can hear birds chirping for some reason…]

“I’ht now”

[Westside…? You’re not with a girl right now, are you?]