Vol 1 Chapter 2 (2/2)

At the end of the footage, the homeroom teacher said.

[Only heroes have the ability to stand against the Vertex. Your power is needed.]

Wakaba and the others had seen the recordings and listened to those words numerous times before.

What exactly are Vertex?

Why is mankind being attacked?

The details were still unclear.

One thing was for certain, the fact that the Vertex were the enemy of mankind, and that the local G.o.ds were lending their powers in order to protect the people.

[In that case...Why don't those G.o.ds go fight them...]

Chikage mumbled while watching.

Tamako was the one to answer her.

[Maybe they did fight them. Remember, before the attack an earthquake or natural disaster would occur. I think that was the result of the G.o.ds going at it]

Chikage looked unsatisfied as she went silent.

Next up was combat training. Hinata alone was taken to a different place for her Miko training.

[Aah~; The sight of Wakaba-chan engrossed in her training...her sparkling sweat and fl.u.s.tered skin...I want to add it all to my Wakaba-chan collection...]

Hinata always says while looking disappointed, but she of course wouldn't disobey orders for such a selfish reason.

The training menu was varied, from exercises to build up stamina to basic teachings of martial arts and even zen meditation to strengthen the mind.

Ever since that day 3 years ago, Wakaba and the others haven't fought any Vertex, but eventually, in order to take the world back from them the battle can not be avoided. There was also a high possibility s.h.i.+koku would be attacked soon. Preparations for a fight were of the utmost necessity.

Morning period has ended, and it was time for lunch break. The 6 always headed to the cafeteria together.

Wakaba was the one who suggested they always ate lunch together this way; It could be a great help in improving their teamwork.

Chikage and Tamako slightly objected at first. Chikage preferred eating alone, while Tamako didn't want rules applied to her mealtime as well. But when Yuuna said ”Meals always taste better when eaten together!”, Tamako let out a better smile while Chikage said ”If Takas.h.i.+ma-san says so...” and both ended up agreeing.

There were adults as well in the cafeteria. The teachers in charge of the girls' education, and members of the organisation given full authority by the government to deal with the Vertex, ”Taisha”. ”Taisha” was written with the characters for ”Great Shrine”[1], and has been publicly active ever since the start of the invasion.

Each of the girls served herself and they all gathered at a single table. They were not charged for their food.

Although it was a self-serve format, they all ended up with Udon on their plates; the toppings differed however.

[The meal after training tastes the best!]

Yuuna said with a carefree smile, as she slurped her Udon.

Chikage looked at her pleasantly.

[Hey, Anzu. Watch your manners]

Anzu was reading a book while eating, Tamako then s.n.a.t.c.hed it away from her.

[Aah! But I was just getting to the good part...]

Anzu let out a sad voice. The book she was reading was a Shoujo novel aimed at mid-high schoolers. She loved reading and always had a book stuffed in her pocket.

[No buts. Finish your meal, then you can have it back]

[Fi~ne...]

Anzu gave up and went back to her Udon.

[...Still, why do we have to go through training every single say]

Tamako said grumbling.

[It's because only heroes have a chance against the Vertex...]

[I know that, Hinata. But normal middle school girls usually hang out with their friends...Or fall in love or something. That's the kind of life they should be leading, no?]

Tamako sighed to herself.

[This is an extreme emergency situation. Having our freedom slightly limitted can't be helped.]

Tamako crossed her arms, not convinced by Wakaba's answer.

[Hmmm....]

[If we refuse to cooperate, mankind will meet its doom. We have to become the spears that prot-]

[I know! I am fully aware, but still]

Tamako raise her voice, then immediately looked down and mumbled.

[...I'm sorry...]

[Tamacchi-senpai...]

Anzu grabbed the edge of Tamako's uniform and looked up to her. Her eyes, filled with anxiety.

The scene went completely silent.

Wakaba understood what Tamako was going through. She wasn't speaking out of selfishness nor discontent. She was feeling anxious. The battle against Vertex was full of danger. If it came down to it, it was uncertain if they could even survive...Rather, the probability of them losing their lives in the process was higher. Three years ago, if Hinata weren't present during the time of the battle, Wakaba might have died then and there.

(Doi probably fears for Iyojima's safety more than her own's...)

Wakaba thought as she looked at Tamako.

Iyojima Anzu wasn't particularly good at sports, and had the worst results when it came to martial arts training. In battle, she would be the highest candidate to lose her life.

The one who broke the heavy silence was Yuuna.

[Thanks for the food! It was great as always!]

She put the bowl, completely empty on the table; Yuuna then joined her hands and looked around at everyone at the table.

[What's with the long faces, everyone?]

[...Takas.h.i.+ma...Haven't you been listening?]

[Eh, ahh...Sorry Wakaba-chan! the Udon was so good that I completely lost track of my surroundings...]

Everyone then let out a sigh.

[Eeeh?! what was that for?!]

Yuuna looked around at everyone.

[Everything is gonna be fine. We're all strong to begin with, if we all do our best we'll definitely succeed!]

She said with a smile.

After lunch, walking alone in the corridor, Wakaba whispered to Hinata.

[Perhaps...I'm not fit to be the leader]

[What makes you say that?]

[I tend to force my thoughts on everyone else, which usually causes opposition to arise disrupting the balance of the group. Someone like Takas.h.i.+ma is much more suited for the role than I...]

[EI!]

Hinata held Wakaba in her arms, interrupting her words.

[Hi-Hinata?!]

[What are you whining about, that's so unlike you Wakaba-chan. You're doing a perfectly fine job being leader]

Hinata's words echoed through her heart. She didn't know if that were really the case.

After school, Wakaba headed to the broadcasting room. She was waiting for s.h.i.+ratori to pick up, but there was no answer no matter how much she called Nagano.

As the sun went down, the call finally went through.

[Sorry....bzzzt...-san. I had som....bzzt....ake care of]

There was a lot of static. The line was unstable.

[Don't sweat it, did something happen over there?]

[This afternoon, there was a battle against the Vertex]

[...How's the damage?]

[There were no problems...bzzzt...The enemy was driven back. there were no casualities]

[I see...]

Wakaba let out a sigh of relief after hearing the noise-filled report. She only spoke to s.h.i.+ratori through this radio, but she was a dear and irreplaceable friend to her. She truly was thankful that both she and Nagano were safe.

[How's the situation at s.h.i.+koku?]

[Same as always, so far no attacks. We spent the day training and attending cla.s.ses]

[I s....bzzzt.....I'm relieved]

Wakaba told s.h.i.+ratori about what happened during lunch today. The uneasiness everyone's feeling and the nature of her relations.h.i.+p with the others...She thought s.h.i.+ratori might provide her with some useful advice.

[I see...I also used to have the same worries at first, but you eventually stop thinking about such things.....bzzzt.....Reality is much more heavy than thoughts, and forces us to make certain decisions]

s.h.i.+ratori sounded as if those words were meant for her as well.

The days pa.s.sed by without any major changes.

Wakaba and the others went to cla.s.ses and received their Hero and Miko training as usual.

Once in a while, someone would display a hint of discomfort or uneasiness, but it had no impact on their daily lives.

The noise-filled calls to Nagano also continued.

[We're getting nowhere constantly arguing about Udon and Soba...bzzzt...Let's talk about a different specialty today]

[very well, we here at Marugame in Kagawa, have Honetsukitori, a dish that'll have anyone who tasted it once get addicted to it.]

[Fufufu, Nagano has s.h.i.+nshuumiso whose name resounds throughout all of j.a.pan...!]

Training at school is the same as always.

Contact with Nagano was also kept regularly.

However, there were days where the line would be so unstable, or completely unusable. The amount of static also increased which made the interchange harder and harder.

A few weeks later, the situation at Nagano became decisive.

[I'm sorry, The line....bzzzt....bad......bzzzt....]

The noise was rather high that day; from the way she spoke, a slight hint of exhaustion could be felt from s.h.i.+ratori's voice.

[What's wrong? Did something happen?]

[...No, I just had to fight a rather persistent Vertex...bzzzt....ack seems to have damaged the radio...bzzzt.....might not be able to talk for a while.....bzzzzt....I'm sure you also have your fair share of worries, but do your best....bzzzt.....everything will be okay. I also thought it was an impossible task at first.....bzzzt....was able to keep on going for two more years....bzzzzt..........]

[s.h.i.+ratori-san?! Can you hear me?!!]

After a long wave of noise

[...Nogi-san, the rest is in your hands]

Those were the final words before the line completely shut.

Wakaba gazed at the sea from the inner keep of the Marugame castle.

The sun was setting at the edge of the horizon. Its color changed from a crimson red to a dark purple.

[Wakaba-chan, this is where you've been]

Hinata hurried to her side.

[I've been looking for you. They said you haven't gone home yet even though it's this late...Have you been talking to s.h.i.+ratori-san?]

[...The call was interrupted. I tried calling back many times, but it seems the line itself became unusable...]

Hinata was at a loss for words.

She could easily imagine what Wakaba meant by that.

[It's over...for Nagano]

Wakaba said nothing, she silently gave a nod.

She held her sword so strongly that her hand hurt.

The Vertex took yet another precious thing from Wakaba.

Suddenly, Wakaba's phone made a ringing noise, like an alarm.

The distant waves in the sea, the boats crossing the water, the cicadas' cries, the leaves swaying in the wind...All came to a stop.

Standing next to Wakaba, Hinata also seemed to be frozen in place.

Wakaba immediately looked at her phone. Displayed on the screen were the words ”Forestization warning”.

Forestization...A phenomenon that occurred the moment a Vertex stepped inside the barrier.

Wakaba learned about it in cla.s.s.

Ever since s.h.i.+nju put up the wall around s.h.i.+koku, it would occur in order to protect the people inside.

[They finally came...The Vertex...]

After destroying Nagano, it was now s.h.i.+koku's turn as the final shelter of mankind.

The sight in front of Wakaba's eyes was rapidly changing. The land, buildings, cars and people were covered by gigantic tree roots and ivies extending all the way to edge of the sea.

(s.h.i.+ratori-san, people from Nagano...Your pain, sorrow, anger...I'll definitely make the Vertex pay the price for them. Everything is worthy of reward, that is the way of life of the Nogi.)

Wakaba drew her sword, and pointed it beyond the sea.

[I have taken over the duty of protecting mankind from Nagano. We, heroes of s.h.i.+koku will intercept the enemy atop this Marugame castle!!]

Chapter 2 - end.

TL Note

Jump up↑ different from the yuyuyu/wasuyu taisha that's written as amnesty but their p.r.o.nunication are same.

The character for Koori (郡), Chikage's last name can also be p.r.o.nounced Gun.

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