Vol 2 Chapter 3 (1/2)

The End of the Forgotten Street

The sun was slowly setting below the mountains

An orange radiance covered the road As if a gentle breeze was pushi+ng it across, a s the street

Kurou and Hinako alking side by side on the sidewalk

Starting fro district, they rode the tram for approximately twenty ion towards the Outer Huion

The street that they alking on was vastly different fro plaza from before The place was devoid of people and even the occasionally appearing shops were all closed

Kurou checked his cellphone screen The bright dot that was displayed was indeed pointing towards the front of the road The flashi+ng dot was over a certain building Was there an issue with the accuracy of the GPS? It was i around

“There’s not really a place to eat”

Hinako muttered as she walked

“If it’s here, you won’t get lost as easily at least”

Kurou was at wits end

Hinako would always get lost just because there was an indistinct pleasant aroma It felt like she was enticed by the set separated from Sefi

“Getting lost in this place would be pretty boring”

“Stop looking for excite lost! That said, you didn’t have to follow me”

In truth, she really should not have followed

Kurou originally wanted Hinako and Sefi to group up However, she insisted on co out with Kurou would be

Furthermore, it was possible that Rinne’s cellphone could not be continually tracked If for some reason she turned off the power, then the Electronics Operating Division would no longer be able to capture the GPS signal It would be troublesoreat

Since there was no tiave Sefi a call to report that he had found Hinako and the two of the her that, they arrived here

“By the ho are you trying to chase?”

“So now you ask”

Should have asked froht to himself as he explained the situation

That situation consisted of hiirl and splitting up with her after the Sun Cult incident Moreover, it seemed like————

“That girl is perhaps a Blaze”

Kurou had not confirmed that, but he felt he was essentially on point with this

Her movements when she was about to be captured by the Sun Cult were…

Her hands did not even touch the opposition and when the two cultists were bloay————that was mostly likely her mystic artes

Just based on intuition it was clear that she was very strong Sizing up a person’s strength was a necessary skill for a swordshly honed this technique

Just when Kurou explained up to this point……

“How colance?”

It was a very common question

“It’s just based on your feeling of your opponent By looking at their unconscioustheir aura and such you can tell When you’ve experienced nuainst other swordsman, you’ll just be able to sense it For someone like Sefi who is just a first-year in the acade so due to her limited experience However, for e to a certain extent”

“Can you just tail her based on an intuition? It just seeirl……”

“It wouldn't be bad ifHowever……”

There was no way I could be wrong, Kurou thought to hihborhood It was not a place a girl would particularly want to go to At the very least, Rinne was not an ordinary girl, that was for certain

“Hmm? The road ends here?”

Kurou nodded to Hinako’s comment

The path Kurou and Hinako were currently walking————had a single bicycle lane along with two sidewalks In front of theate with a police checkpoint sort of station There were also railings blocking out any vehicles and people In the n placed there with the words “do not enter” written clearly in red

Kurou was going through his cellphone as he checked detailed reports for the nearby area

“I see……”

Kurou thought as such Following that, he continued forward and easily went over the railing that was at about waist level

Hinako took a quick glance at Kurou Since they had already corabbed her hand to help her over the railing

“What happened here?”

“This is————a Blaze reservation”

“Reservation……”

“Yup The surviving Blazes fro which occurred after the ere separated here The reservations, like this one here, act as a prison ground for them Actually, I should say this used to be a reservation”

There was a large neighborhood, a closed up shop, and an old tower further up the road In the distance, one could even see factory buildings of some sort

Moreover, there did not seem to be anyone here

In the neighborhoods that Swordies reside in, generally speaking there would be plenty of greenery Since Swordia was a world covered in vegetation and with their hoia, they would be restless unless the streets were covered with greenery

Although this district had plenty of lush vegetation————it was corass, all of it was groild The cars stopped on the side of the road had vines growing all over thehost town

“Hmm——“

Kurou retrieved the geographical data froram

“It appears that the place was shut off when the nu it later”

Rather, it seemed to be coion, but this ithout a doubt still within Tokyo Swordia However, for it to be only a twentydistrict to a reservation was quite unexpected for Kurou

“What to do now?”

“What to do? What do you mean?”

Towards Kurou’s state expression

“Rinne is located sohost town If she is a Blaze, perhaps it could get dangerous”

“You don’t have to worry about me”

“No way”

“I’irl I won’t ridicule you”

“That’s what you meant!?”

After snarking in response, he regained his focus Noas not the time to fool around

“I don’t think Rinne would make a surprise attack, but it can’t be said that there’d be no issues going forward Plus retreating froht be an option”

“However, does Kuro plan on going by himself?”

“I don’t know”

“I’ll be fine bywith that Rinne person”

“What do you plan on doing if you meet her?”

“If she’s cute, I’ll go report this to Sefi”

“W-Wait! Hold on a sec! Please keep this a secret from Sefi!”

“If you're requesting me to do so in such a manner, I suppose I’ll back off……”

Hinako revealed a very so quite pathetic

“Well, right now it isn’t ti off”

“Do you really want to retreat? If you do an investigation, perhaps youabout the Blazes”

“It’d probably be best not to knohat they're planning Nothing good co your enemy”

“True, it’s because Kuro is very gentle”

“Yeah…huh?”

Kurou unwittingly nodded and then looked towards Hinako again Did Ijust now?

“If you know too much about your enemy, it may be hard to take action”

“Even so…that doesn’t entle”

Although Kurou did not believe that he was heartless, he was not going to obliviously brush it off as being gentle It was not just Kurou, but all swordsh Lars said that Manaka was not emotionless at that tiainst an opponent

Furthermore, Hinako did not understand hoordsmen think

“I’ an end to this topic Since we're already here we o further on a bit”

Kurou glanced at the map to confiret closer to the targeted building, he would have to go across the park

The two of them entered the park

The park had swings, slides, a cli wall, and a sandbox It was a very complete park However, each facility was quite corroded

“I had heard the Blazes were segregated, but to think they had a park like this”

“They were probably only provided with the bare necessities I feel that this park was just shoved into this narrow space as some sort of entertainment facility for thehly probable that the children were denied usage of the park anyways”

“Kuro sure is pessimistic”

“I’ my speculations is all”

“Really? Well, I suppose I don’t really have any interest towards this Blaze matter”

“That’s really unfortunate”

“Right now there is so I wish to say to Kuro”

“Huh? What is it?”

Right as Kurou questioned her, Hinako headed towards the swing set After lifting herself up over the wooden swings, she took a seat

“This is ”

“You’re a tragic story yourself aren’t you……”

While being locked up within the Sun Cult facility for so long, she most likely never had the chance to experience these recreational facilities

“However, I knoork these things since I’ve read about the around like this————and then kick forward”

“Although you’re on the right track, there’s so with that”

Before her legs flew up, Hinako did not properly swing herself up Basically, when it cath she was still very inadequate

“Is there so you wanted to say?”

“There’s nothing I can do for you in this case”

“Huh?”

Hinako looked towards the distance while swinging

“I’ht now that holds true However, I haven’t been able to repay you in any way”

“There’s no need to repay et paid by the Sabers”

“Was using that hard earned reward onoutside due to your job as well?”

“……We live in the same house If you aren’t happy, I won’t be either”

“I’o out or stay indoors”

“To have soh I suppose……”

To be precise, it was i been i that place she was still confined within the acadeirl like that, there was no way he could consider hi

“To Kuro I’uard Is that why you won’t tease my body like you do with Sefi?”

“Don’t h level of skinshi+p with Sefi……”

“I see”

“Don’t you think your character has deteriorated more and more?”

“That’s why I want to take advantage of this ti Kuro, I won’t say anything Regardless if it’s Sefi or Lars, I won’t speak a word So now there won’t be any issues right?”

“No issues……what are you referring to?”

Hinako got off the swing set and casually approached Kurou After getting to the point where their bodies alazed at Kurou

“Sefi selected this foris decorated in lovely laces”

As she was saying this, Hinako began unbuckling the buttons to her jacket Following that she pulled down the front of her shi+rt collar and her pure white skin slowly caht

“Hold on! There’s no need for you to do this!”

“It’s best to not do anything huh Those are such cruel words Kuro”

“……”

Perhaps so, Kurou could understand her point of view

“I’m not as cute as Sefi Therefore, this is the most I can do for you”

“You’re also very cute————hold on, actually I have no interest in this stuff”

“It’s ok Kuro……I’ve already made up my mind”

“Whatever it is, you don’t have to————“

“It’s fine I……already knohat it’s like having my breasts felt”

“Huh?”

Kurou was du co her cute laced bra Even her overly a into full view

“That’s what you were getting at?”

“Eh? Doesn’t Kuro jump at the opportunity to stare at Sefi’s breasts? Don’t you love breastselse?”

“It’s not like that……”

There was the fear that she was going to let hio much further beyond that However, Hinako misunderstood and that was partly because of Kurou’s frequent obsession with Sefi’s breasts

“What I meant to say was————”

At that point, Kurou leaped a couple of times

As if he ooping in on Hinako’s body, he pushed her down on the ground

At thatsound could be heard followed by an explosion

“Tch……!”

Kurou clicked his tongue While protecting Hinako, he noticed that there was a red object that flew across him

A flame snake————!

“Neena!”

“Asince I know about your strength”

A girl catails and earing a tightly fitted black suit Further Swordies Behind those lenses were eyes gloith a red hue

The light blade grasped in her hand had a faint light enshrouding the thin blade

“Long ti you so full of life is all I could ask for”

Kurou stood up and then grabbed the hilt of his sword

“You haven’t changed a bit You’re clearly still teasing Sefi Even now you were about to act atrociously to this girl”

“Just as he was about to act, you stopped him”

“How impolite of me”

Neena gracefully bowed She appeared to be quite serious, yet unexpectedly enjoyed joking around

“However, it’s perfect that you’re here I’ve alanted to burn down this park”

“You should take advantage of this kids park”

Kurou was justat where the flame snake————Neena’swas already roasted without a trace except the two dangling chains The area beloas also burned It was quite a tragic sight

Kurou had already seen Neena’s mystic artes numerous times in the past Since he was already used to the sound of the snake flying by, he was able to sense it co

“Hinako, are you hurt?”

“Since Kurou pushed me down in time, I’m fine”

Hinako denied the notion She was just dirtied up a little bit, but there was not even a scratch on her it seemed

“That’s good Well then…why is Neena here?”

“That should be inally planning to just overlook this and head back”

“……Hmm”

Based on Neena’s words he realized sohost town

Although he was thinking that could not be all there was to it, if Neena was here then that meant————

“Hey, Neena, don’t be acting so conspicuous since we are prisoners after all”

“……”

Sure enough, Kurou’s ominous premonition came true

Another girl appeared from the entrance of the park just like Neena

She earing the Sabers uniforht red jacket even though it was clearly summer

“Ah, it’s Kurou-kun and Sakurai Hinako To think we’d meet up here”

She was the former Sword General and director of the Sabers She was also the sister of Kurou’s overnment

“Manaka, seems like your wounds have completely healed already”

Kurou felt cold sweat running down his back, but he was already used to that Those who cliht power Her light was not to the point where he would shake uncontrollably, but just seeing her made him nearly faint

“That was all thanks to you, but I’inally supposed to have slain you but you seem to have healed quite nicely”

Was this soical effect? It felt like Manaka was very excited Was she delighted fro her sister’s enemy?

“I never would have thought I’d see you here What are you doing here Manaka?”

“Even if you ask, isn’t it just Kurou showing up to where we are currently living”

“This isn’t normal Your hideout is within the Blaze reservation?”

Although the hideout seemed to be pretty successful, to choose a location that had so

“Lifelines still run through here actually I can watch TV and drink ice cold beer after bathing”

“How perfect”

Having electricity in an abandoned neighborhood see set aside for now

“Speaking of which Kurou-kun, since I answered a question of yours, can you answer one of mine? Why are you even here? Did the Sabers already discover this place?”

“The Sabers is a highly touted organization I know you are clearly aware of this”

“Yeah, it wouldn’t be surprising if they actually did find out However, it’s quite peculiar that you would be here by yourself Further Sakurai Hinako with you”

Her words did not seem to be lies Perhaps it would be best for Manaka to think that the Sabers had already found their location

“I was hoodwinked by soet away I went in pursuit since I was reluctant to part from her and so I ended up here

“Ah, so that’s it”

Manaka indicated as if she had figured out everything

“I ondering where that kid went In that case she brought soe back with her”

“I’ about……is that Rinne? Is she here?”

“Is she? I’uardian so I wouldn’t know”

In the end, he only arrived here due to the GPS signal Although he was not totally sure, it seemed that this was Rinne’s residence

In that case, his guess that she was Blaze was correct

Manaka, Neena, and now Rinne, these three Blazes being here was not particularly interesting

It appeared that this was not an idle location either Before the situation continued to worsen, he had to consider so tactics

“Oh oh Kurou-kun, I have soood news for you”

“I’m quite interested”

“There’s no point in thinking about escape”

“If one always avoids the irow”

“However————trying to do the impossible is also pointless”

Just as Manaka displayed a frightening smile, the sound of footsteps could be heard It was not just one or two people The sound of those footsteps soon closed in on the park

“……Heh heh”

Kurou felt anxious but he was still s on the surface In fact, perhaps a smile was the appropriate response

There were thirty or so fe the same black suit as Neena, plus they each had their own personalized swords

Furtherht That sort of red gloas the confirmation of a Blaze

“……Kurou, you mentioned before that you can understand the difference in power froht?”

“I believe right now it’d be best if I didn’t understand”

Kurou responded with a s

The swords the park were all on par with Neena or perhaps even above her Excluding a monster like Manaka, there still would not be anyone who he could handily win against

“We are also considered as a race of Swordies so there is no e’d s you escape either”

Manaka drew her personalized sword————the Dancer

“Before ere just concealing ourselves I was told to be careful and to cease any unnecessary ainst that just a bit but there are worse things that can happen you know Although I can’t guarantee to what extent, but if you don’t resist on’t take your life”

“O-Onee-sae of this opportunity to cut him down————“

“Neena, even I will comply with the matter that someone reminded me”

Despite Manaka speaking very cal

Back when he confronted Manaka, he felt as if there was someone even above Manaka in all this That person ht Right now he had other things to contemplate over

No, there was nothing to think about actually

After taking a quick glance at Hinako as right next to him————

Kurou placed the sword by his waist onto the ground and raised both hands

“Understood, I surrender”

After the sun had already set, a calht descended

It was currently night time in the former Blaze reservation and there was basically no activity outside

Manaka returned to her own room within the abandoned tower————well, the roo on her favorite sofa

Manaka really enjoyed the tranquility of this neighborhood’s evenings

“Onee-sa this!?”

However, that cal voice

“What are you yelling about Neena? Nights are supposed to be peaceful”

“Even if it’s froh we can just extradite that Sun Cult girl, Kurou should be killed as quickly as possible!”

“I have no intention of being kind to that kid I already explained this before didn’t I? It isn’t wise to kill Kurou-kun right now”

“Wouldn’t it be great if we caused a disturbance with this? It would certainly be !”

“You totally sound like a Blaze”

She was very energetic The only incurable drawback to that was she alanted to cause unrest Since Neena lost to Kurou twice, there was some spite mixed in Overall it did not amount to roup just due to their pursuit of revenge

“Just ih to dispose of him”

“That’s probably not how they are thinking”

Kurou and Hinako were locked away in the base the it was a very forgiving disposition, that was rather unlikely

“Speaking of which, how is that kid who brought Kurou-kun along doing?”

Manaka purposefully changed the topic That was because even Manaka could not explain why she did not immediately just kill off Kurou She also did not want to lie to this sister-like figure

“Rinne is already asleep”

“She’s sleeping?”

“She seems to have returned to her room and immediately went to bed”

Rinne’s room was in a residence located near the abandoned tower What was she doing here then? Manaka did not inquire about that

“Playing outside without per away after she had her fill What in the world is she thinking?”

“That’s unexpected”

“Ha?”

“Neena, are you thinking about what’s running through that girl’s head? There isn’t really a need for that Rinne is a Blaze who ranks above you Just rely on your own abilities to survive It has nothing to do with common sense anyways since for all we know that kid doesn’t even act rationally Well, don’t worry about it too much She’s a Blaze and she isn’t one at the same time, so just think of it like that”

Manaka was not really well acquainted with Rinne Although upper ement had sent her for Manaka to look over, she did not plan on interfering with her

“Are you saying to implement our approach from before?”

“Exactly You still carry so battle at the acade as well”

“……Alright”

Although Neena did not see of this, she still nodded

Manaka, as not her master, was seen by Neena as an older sister that she looked up to She was a very cute girl

In fact, she had never really thought about it before but perhaps taking on a disciple would have been beneficial During her time as the Sword General, Manaka did not accept any disciples The reason was siovernic if her disciple were to be dragged into the conflict

However, accepting a Blaze like Neena as a disciple should be alright It was a fine proposition, but it was still open to discussion for her

“Umm, Onee-sama?”

Neena voiced her doubts towards Manaka as lost in deep thought

“Oh, sorry It’s best if we consider ill happen froht be best”

“Our plans over there are nearing completion too”

“Helping out like that is quite like you You helped prepare their dinner too after finishi+ng the preparations right? Although, it’s just fast food as usual————“

Just now, the cellphone that had been lying on the couch the whole time sounded It was a different cellphone compared to before The cellphone she had when she was the director was already destroyed

“Yes it is hello”

The person calling Manaka seemed to be someone she ell acquainted with She stayed silent while nodding along

After speaking on the phone for a couple minutes————

“Well then”

Manaka closed her phone and turned towards Neena She then revealed a slightly troubled expression

“Onee-sama?”

“Neena, there’s so unfortunate that I have to tell you”

“What is it?”

“Looks like our break is over Jeez, if I kneas going to end this early I would’ve went to the southern islands to rest on the beaches and drink ice cold beer”

Manaka gently used her index fingers to tap against her cellphone

“Since I have been sus around here”

“Yes Onee-sama”

“Neena”

“Yes?”

Manaka sed Neena

“Now that the park is already burned down, you have broken free from your shackles Now you should be able to have some more freedom”

“Nothing else side Onee-sama”