Vol 4 Chapter 2 (1/2)
Three years prior—after NIFL took h his ”education”
It started e to facilitate communications with teammates on the battlefield, without actual firearm combat
But conversely, one ht
The location was so room, sometiht the whole time
My gaze was not allowed to shi+ft, siht for hours on end I had no idea what the point was, but could only obey
However, even I felt rather surprised Spending time like that did not feel like hardshi+p for me
His fighting style was very refined While I watched in mesmerization, time flew by instantly
With his entire body clad in silver ar his path
Even if surrounded by a large group, he would becounshots
Racing past hails of bullets, he vanquished enele wound
His fighting style was as though he had perfect knowledge of human movements and bullet trajectories
This kind of technique was not possible for humans ”What” on earth was he?
One day, I posed this question to Major Loki For e a myself to be punished
This was proof how fascinated I ith thatat the time
”Let's put it this way, he isto develop into the real 'Fafnir,' then he would be Hreidmar”
Without scolding y
The nay This story was so I learned about much later
Starting from that day,it was the beginning of co
I asked Major Loki for the reason and his ansas:
”—Because the seed has already taken root inside your 'gap' There is no need to watch an inferior reference anymore”
For hi style to be called an inferior reference, I found it hard to believe
But now Having becouely
He was probably the previous ”Fafnir” raised by Major Loki
Part 2
”Yuu! Ti!”
Feeling my head shaken by a shrill voice, I woke up to find Tia ju up and down on the bed
I think I was drearadually became unable to recall the contents of my dream
I looked at my portable teret up
”Good etic this early in the ”
I rubbed my eyes and sat up
”Yeah, because Tia slept for so long and is full of energy now”
Tia had fallen asleep during the plane ride and slept all the way until the nextShe had apparently overcome the time difference as a result
”I'm surprised you knew that my room was here”
”Tia tried hard to get Lisa out of bed, but Lisa told Tia the location of Yuu's room and had Tia wake Yuu first”
—That Lisa She told Tia to coer
Despitetime reduced, I could not complain since Lisa had to look after Tia every day
I gave up resisting, switched ot out of bed Beyond the balcony, I could see the fountain in the courtyard, glittering under the ht
Since the sun had set last night, I did not notice that there were many types of flowers planted in the courtyard These were probably species suited to high altitudes Petals of vivid hues decorated the courtyard in a colorful display
”By the way, Tia, have you heard about today's schedule?”
”No, not yet”
”Lettogether with Kili”
”With Kili?”
Gloom shrouded Tia's face
”You could stay here if you don't want to go, you know? Besides, NIFLtoo”
I ht of her relationshi+p with Kili Tia bowed her head and thought for a while before clenching her tiny fist and looking at me
”Yuu will protect Kili?”
”Yeah”
”If that's the case Tia will protect Yuu, so Tia will co too!”
Tia spoke with eyes of determination
”I see Thank you”
I thanked Tia and patted her head
”Ehehe!”
Tia smiled happily and leaned her head towards me
But at this moment, her stomach rumbled adorably
”So ashamed”
Tia clutched her stomach and went red with embarrassment
She ht
”You should go to the dining hall first and see if you can ask someone to prepare food for your first”
”Ah—Okay!”
Tia orously
Thus, a brand new day started
Today was the first day of King Albert's three-day funeral It was this country's custom to see the deceased off in a lively celebration, hence, this was also the beginning of a grand festival
Part 3
After breakfast, ent sightseeing as planned
Taking a stretch limo would attract too e van prepared by Helen-san instead
shi+no while Firill sat in the front passenger seat to provide directions
Including Kili, the eight of us sat face to face in the spacious back of the van Instead of the for their school uniforms with a winter jacket on top
The atmosphere in the van could not be described as harmonious, because of Kili
Everyone had a stiff expression because they had to stay on guard against attackers and Kili herself Tia was particularly nervous Sitting between Lisa and htly
”—The most popular tourist attraction in the country is Erlia Castle, but since we're going there anyway during the festival, letsomewhere else”
Froer seat, Firill looked back and told us
The van was crossing a bridge over the lake whileits way towards town
”Where are we going first?”
To slightly ease the tense atmosphere, I asked in a cheerful voice
”The Great Waterfall of Erlia It's quite spectacular”
Firill made a thumbs-up and answered She seemed quite confident
After crossing the bridge, the van drove on a road along the lakeshore The town seemed even more lively than yesterday, with many people packed in the streets
”—How lively You guys should enjoy the festivities and stopsuch scary faces”
Looking out at the scenery the whole tiaze back into the vehicle and spoke to the others
”Now that would be a challenging deotten your past deeds?”
However, Lisa retorted sarcastically
”Speaking of which Back when I was taking Tia away, I did fight you once Although I had no intention of killing you, I apologize for injuring you”
”An injury of that sort is trivial Rather than apologize, I would rather have you swear you will never betray us Because what I fearto harm”
”Sure, I will proht now, I have no reason to harm any of you However Will you really be at ease just because I said so?”
Kili answered sarcastically
”If you responded seriously to ht now, it's impossible”
”Really? What a shaht I was very serious already Looks like my seriousness was not conveyed to you”
Kili shrugged then turned her gaze towards Tia whose entire body was stiff
”Tia, you can probably believe ht?”
”That's true But you did s to Tia's loved ones”
Tia squeezed my hand and answered
Hearing her answer, Kili swept her gaze across everyone in turn then snation
”—All of you seem to worry more about others than yourselves”
”Not merely others, but family We worry about one another precisely because we are family”
Lisa corrected Kili
”What strong camaraderie, I'm envious If I made a request, may I join your circle?”
”If that is your sincere wish, I shall consider it”
Despite glaring at Kili, Lisa gave a positive ansith a condition attached
”You are truly nice to a fault Given the rare opportunity I really would like to accept your benevolence, but I guess it's impossible for me, because I am definitely different froly raised, has forsaken me”
Kili sighed and turned her gaze to Tia again
”Frankly speaking, that was quite a blow to iance in a few short days, having believed in ”
”Ah”
Tia widened her eyes and see
”Did Tia hurt Kili's feelings?”
”Fufu—indeed, it does make ave you horns was perhaps to create an existence as close to mine as possible”
Kili shrugged and laughed in self-deprecation So from the heart just now
”U-Umm”
Silent until now, Iris immediately spoke
”I reht? What is it?”
”Based on what you just said Do you consider yourself a dragon like Tia-chan did before, Kili-chan?”
”K-Kili-chan?”
Kili was unsettled by Iris' way of addressing her, but she is and continued
”Since I aard's protection, I won't call on no matter what But it's a fact that I am different from you all As to what kind of person I am, please ask him, okay?”
Saying that, Kili pointed at me
”Ask Mononobe? Why?”
Iris widened her eyes in surprise, tilting her head in puzzlement
”Because I asked hiard I said: 'Who I am? If it's okay with you, can I ask you to decide?'”
I re like that in response to ht she was dodging the question, but her eyes gazing at me were very serious
”Kili, you”
”Judging froet the answer yet Fine, whatever—I will continue to wait”
Kili spoke with disappointed
”What do you mean?”
With a muddled look on her face, Iris looked alternately between me and Kili
”She insists on withholding the truth”
Lisa remarked in irritation
Indeed, Kili seee But I could also feel that—It was possible that she really had no idea ords to use to describe herself
RUMBLE—
We were surrounded by an astounding roaring, the sound of lake water plunging dozens of meters into a river
”So this is the Great Waterfall of Erlia”
Drowned out by the roaring sound, my mutters failed to reach anyone's ears
This was an observation deck overlooking the entire waterfall Iris and Tia were horsing around in excite the camera functions of their portable terminals to take photos as keepsakes
Having been confined in the palace for a while recently, Kili took a deep breath comfortably while Mitsuki and Lisa htly farther away, talking to someone on the phone
—I've a dam release before, but it could not compare to this
Just as I was deeply iiant waterfall, hundreds of meters wide, Firill approached me
She earing a wide hat securely with a scarf covering her mouth These efforts were probably to prevent others frouise was actually effective
”Mononobe-kun, how is the waterfall?”
Since it was hard for our voices to reach one another if speaking norhtly and spoke in my ear This sort of distance, within a breath's reach,eht my lips next to Firill's ear
”It's spectacular Seeing soup”
”It won't dry up because the meltwater froe nearby I like to read there a lot”
We were carrying our conversation by speaking alternately in each other's ear Every time we spoke, our distance would shrink and Firill's voluptuous bust would touch , it made my heartbeat accelerate
”You can read in such a noisy place?”
”I stop hearing unnecessary noise after I grow accusto is kind of like a rainy day's”
”I-I suppose With so et drowned out”
Although I nodded to concur hat she said, I was finding it harder and harder to feign composure
”What's the matter? Your face is very red, you know?”
”No, umm”
Hearing ht I failed to catch what she said She leaned in even closer
”Mononobe-kun, are you okay?”
She had her breasts pressed tightly againstmy heart pound even faster To tell her that she was too close, I brought my face next to Firill's ear
”—”
However, I seeaze towards the waterfall
Iris, as next to the railing with Tia to view the waterfall, was pointing her finger at h I could not hear what she was saying due to the water being too loud, her face was bright red
Seeing her like that, I finally noticed that my current posture made me look like I was just about to kiss Firill's cheek
Iris ran over with her face red and kept haainst my chest
”N-No doing that in this kind of place!”
”No, you got the wrong idea!”
I shook my head and yelled
”Mononobe, you're such a jerk! What if Mitsuki-chan sees?”
”!”
After finding out why Iris was angry, I could not help but gasp
”?”
Unable to understand the situation, Firill looked incredulously at Iris' interactions with me
”Iris, cal to Firill like that only because the waterfall is too loud—”
To explain the situation in detail, I brought my face next to Iris' ear
”Eh? Y-You can't kiss me now either! Do you really want to kiss that much?”
But she seeain Iris blushed all the way to her ears
”No, like I said, that's not what's going on!”
”No? Mononobe, you want to kiss Firill-chan But not me?”
Iris looked at me, almost about to burst into tears
”O-Of course not!”
Seeing ly reassured
”Then save it for later—You have to be patient for now, okay? So, if possible If you don't do that to Firill-chan I will be very happy”
After saying that in my ear, Iris shyly covered her face in her hands and fled
S-Save it for later?
After hearing her say that, I could not help but wonder whether I should clear up the
”Mononobe-kun, as that about?”
Firill asked with her head cocked
”Don'tidea”
I sighed and answered Whatever, although it was a sha, so I decided to explain properly to her later
Just as I made the decision mentally, my neck suddenly trembled but not from cold
It was a gaze, sharp and murderous in intent
”!”
I looked back but could not see anyone
—That's pretty quick
I expected this long ago, but the enemy looked like they still intended to attack If Sleipnir had already entered the Principality of Erlia, just as Kili said, then they must be the enemy
I did not think that they would leak murderous intent so overtly as acco to
No e
Then I could rule out the possibility that the inco enemy was the tall man who had almost killed Kili Because if he really was the one I predicted, he would not do anything this naive
Looking around, I saw Kili with a tense expression, glaring in the same direction as I did
In fact, Kili and I were probably the only ones capable of fighting Sleipnir It seemed like the others had virtually no experience in huh coether with the town, but of course, such tactics were not allowed
—Why don't Kili and I get this settled quickly, just the two of us?
Although I felt bad for the others, unless they possessed co them to sense the murderous intent just now, I could not count them as potential combatants
Even alone, Kili was capable of fighting Sleipnir, so with the addition of h
Thinking that, I walked over to Kili But along the way, I found one ofintent
”Ariella?”
However, she soon shi+fted her gaze and went back to taking photos for Ren
Perhaps she had sensed soerous
Then sure enough, I could not get her involved
Deciding that, I told only Kili hts
Part 4
After touring the waterfall, we headed back to town, bustling as a result of the festival
Narrower streets were turned into pedestrian areas while vendor stalls were packed along entire streets Sounds of firecrackers or fireworks could be heard from somewhere
shi+nomiya-sensei had handed out banknotes issued by the Principality of Erlia to everyone, saying ”this is part of thisto use thehappily
”Nii-san, this dagger looks cool, right?”
Mitsuki showed h price from a shady vendor It felt kind of like those wooden swords you'd buy during a school trip
”What's the use of buying so like that?”
”Not to be used, I will simply admire and view it Do you not sense any dreams or adventures from the past, Nii-san?”
”Dreams or adventures from the past?”
The way I saw it, the dagger did not seem very old, but I'd better not spoil Mitsuki's lovely dream
”Nii-san, it looks like you have nodreams and adventures”
Perhaps getting no reaction froer
The others see all kinds of souvenirs but I only planned on buying food Since there was no telling e e
Kili alking in the roup while shi+nomiya-sensei followed next to her
There were currently no suspicioussuspiciously
Iris was hanging out with Lisa and the others but kept glancing at me from time to time Whenever I tried to approach her, she blushed and hid behind Lisa and the others This kept repeating
”Iris, about just now—”
”Oh, n-not now, Mononobe! You need to be patient longer!”
I wanted to clear up thethat and avoiding me all over the place There was no end to it
”Yuu, are you playing tag with Iris?”
Seeing our situation, Tia asked incredulously”
”No, it's not like that”
I sighed and shook my head
”Since you're not playing with Iris, then Tia wants you to help pick souvenirs”
Saying that, Tia pulledaccessories Fine—It looked like I'll just have to come back to Iris' matter later, so I'll accompany Tia to pick out souvenirs for now
”Which is better, Yuu?”
Tia pointed at exquisitely crafted hairpins and brooches, asking for my opinion
”Let's see This one suits you, right?”
After a quick look at the accessories laid out on sale, I pointed at a pink brooch in the shape of a flower
”Ah, so cute! Tia wants to buy this one! Uh, how much—?”
”Oh, hold on, let me buy it”
”Ehhh!? Yuu wants to buy this?”
Tia asked me in shock I replied with a wry smile
”I' to buy this as a gift to you, Tia”
Since I had no plans to buy souvenirs iven to ood idea
”Eh?”
Just as Tia was staring speechlessly, I had already paid the vendor and received the flower brooch
”Don't ”
I bent down in front of Tia and pinned the brooch in front of her chest
”Yeah, this really suits you Tia, it's very cute on you”
Saying that, I rubbed Tia's head She immediately went red in the face and looked down
”T-Thank you A gift from Yuu Tia will cherish it forever and ever”
Cradling the brooch in her hands, Tia thankeda bit strange, I peered at her face
”What's wrong?”
”Tia dosn't know Tia's chest hurts despite feeling very happy Oh Tia will return to Lisa!”
I saw Tia leavetowards Lisa and the others ere in front of a vendor opposite to us
”Yuu, thank you so much!”
Tia looked back along the way and thanked ain
Although I felt that her reaction was soht there was probably no problem
—My reet another one
Although brooches turned out to be h to buy another accessory
—That one seems to suit Iris
”Please give me that one”
I bought a butterfly-shaped hairpin and placed it in my pocket A small accessory of this sort would be easy to carry around
The spare change re food at the stalls
Hence, I bought a skewer of deep-fried fish without thinking
”Wow, this tastes good”
While sweet and delicious juices were spreading in my mouth, I could not help but exclaim in praise
I had not expectedI picked randomly, but it turned out to be quite tasty
Then I saw Firill approach, having bought the same food as me
”That's probably fish that was caught in the river downstream of the waterfall we visited earlier Since it happens to be the time of the year when fish swim upstream, the flesh is very rich and tasty”
Firill enjoyed her fish with an expression of joy
”Wow, Firill, you even have chances to buy this kind of street food?”
”I bought it secretly I re Grandmother's funeral”
Firill stared in the distance nostalgically
”Was it this lively back then too? It totally doesn't feel like a funeral”
Staring out at the city filled with s, I told her that
”Even so, this is still a ritual for seeing off the deceased Putting it in japanese ter off souls—a konsousai, so to speak”
”Konsousai huh Now that you ”
My country also had a custo souls off in a festival If I think of it as holding the festival starting at the funeral stage, then there was nothing out of place
Perhaps overhearing our conversation, Ariella, as nearby, also joined in
”—What a great custoet their sorrow”
I could feel from Ariella's tone of voice what seelanced at her expression
Co off for the Principality of Erlia, Ariella hadsouls in the past Firill also seehtly hesitantly, she inquired:
”Ariella Do you really believe in souls?”
”Yes, I do”
Ariella asserted clearly
”Could it be that Ariella, you can see souls?”
Firill could not help but inquire whether she had spiritual powers Ariella's sense of conviction was strong enough to raise this kind of question
However, Ariella smiled wryly and shook her head
”No, I'm not that kind of person I just happened to be at a place where souls could be seen”
”What happened there?”
Hearing such a strange way of putting things, Firill frowned
Soaze wandered for a while before she asked me and Firill:
”Do you knohat power the yellow dragon—'Yellow' Hraesvelgr—uses?”
”Huh?”
Firill did not seeht up She sounded puzzled
Although I could not figure out what Ariella was getting at, I asked on behalf of the baffled Firill
”Isn't Hraesvelgr's power still unknown? I've only heard that it's the hardest to fight, a dragon which all attacks are ineffective against”
”—Yeah Current science cannot explain the phenor, but anyone should be able to understand if they witnessed in person Even if it's impossible to analyze with science, you can understand it through feeling”
”Ariella Have you seen Hraesvelgr before?”
Hearing my question, Ariella nodded
”Yes, according to ical bird that ss souls—And it's just as the legends describe Before coard, I lived in an unstable country Onthe souls of those who had died in war then devouring them”
”Materializing souls?”
I don't know if this description is correct But that's what it looked like to me, at least So to that person, Hraesvelgr's ability uses ether, a medium of unconfirmed particles, to materialize souls”
Ariella stopped at this point and looked away froether with Iris and the others
Was the subject related to Ren soh I was curious, Ariella continued before I could ask
”—But because current science does not recognize the existence of souls, that person's hypothesis was ridiculed People called hiiven up on scientific scrutiny to escape into the realm of the occult”
In other words, because souls could possibly exist, what appeared to be phenoht to have other explanations that could be established—That was probably what the people laughing at hiht
There was nothing intrinsically wrong with that kind of attitude Basilisk's ti ability also could not be explained fully with science Even so, that ability interfered with the actual existing concept of time Precisely because of that, ere able to take counter Basilisk
However, souls were soible, whose existence was not even clear Even if sor's ability, we could not formulate countermeasures based on that
”Ariella—”
”No, I understand even if you don't say it Even if it's a correct idea, a hypothesis that cannot be applied has no value However—I believe what I saere souls”
While saying this, Ariella had an unnatural s pain and sorrow
”Really? In that case, I choose to believe too”
”Huh?”
”Ariella, you're always calment Compared to as said by some scholar whom I've never met, I believe in your instincts more”
I shrugged and voiced a matter-of-fact conclusion
”Me too Since it's co from you, Ariella, I believe too I'd be skeptical if it were someone else, but you never lie, Ariella”
Firill also nodded in agreement and held Ariella's hands
”If souls exist, I think what I said will reach Grandfather Thank you, Ariella”
”Ooh”
Ariella went bright red, looking very aard I guess she was still the sa praise or thanks from others
”I-I didn't speak to be thanked! N-No need to thank me, I-I'll be on my way!”
Ariella walked towards Ren as though she could not bear the embarrassment
Left behind, Firill and I looked at each other with a smile
However, I noticed at this ti see The tide of people had halted
I stood on tiptoe to check out the situation, only to see a costuh the crossroads ahead
Pop!