Vol 2 Chapter 4 (1/2)
Chapter 4: Run the entire lap
At the sa to hi listlessly fro, unable to stop her panting She was sucking in air, yet her body wanted more Despite the pain, she atte
She was so exhausted that her legs shook and pleaded with her to lie down, but she desperately kept standing, and slowly let her body cool off Proper breathing technique was basic for controlling Kei She mustn't disturb it Her body radually cal her ears, the sound of friction fros of the city echoed froht now that was quiet and secluded enough, a place without people where Nina would not be scolded
”Great!”
Gaining control of her breathing, she lifted the iron whips again In fact, she looked as if she was forcing herself, but she could keep going as long as she extended her Kei through her entire body She controlled her breathing for that purpose
Conscious and aware of the place she was standing, the place where Layfon had shown his strength, Nina danced alone with the iron whips
What could she do to becoer?
Basica weapon, es of th, and attack For a sword, it was slash For a spear or staff, it was stab and hit
It wasn't less to repeat her moves While the mind failed to keep up at the other end of the ladder, the body instinctively repeated familiar movements The repetitive th, which would be helpful when she fought
”FuHa, ha, ha, ha”
And then she rested again Controlling her breathing, she took out a towel fro to wipe away her sweat When the school year started, a bone-chilling cold would immediately cool down the body, but it was better now Even at night Zuellni was probably heading towards a warmer climate Because of that, the heat from Nina's body took some ti froh the invisible air shi+eld
And like that, she sat down on the ground
The cold, hard ground felt good to her Exhausted and feeling she didn't have the strength to stand up again, she sat there to look at the sky Only a halfas a backdrop The existence of the ht
The iron whips, turned back into si at the ers To look at the moon as if reflected in her eyes, she felt for an instant that she could touch it She didn't reach out a hand It was e, and she knew she couldn't possibly touch the moon
”It's so far away,” she said
As if it ithin reach, but it actually wasn't The moon existed between illusion and reality It made people think it ithin reach, but it was billions of Jih to touch the ht there h, then she'd fly up there
”Ah”
She laughed, knowing how ridiculous it was She couldn't fly in the sky This dreaful was her weakness, for wanting to rely on such an unrealistic way to reach the moon
”ThisWon't do”
She didn't think it was less to repeat the rowth She had been training like this fro, when she knew she had discovered Kei and decided to beco all of a sudden by repeating the same movements
Was there a faster way?
She understood that was just a wish A wish not grounded in reality She couldn't help but think of it though, and that irritated her
”daer if she trained at this pace She believed if she was industrious and put more time and effort into it, she could catch up to Layfon But how much time would she need to reach his level? One year? Two years? ImpossibleIt wasn't that simple
She had only reached her current level, after living all these years One or two years of hard eren't enough for her to catch up to Layfon, as one, three, probably er than her
And she didn't even have one year
”I won't make it!”
What she needed wasn't a possibility in the future, but what she could reach for now To balance the unbalanced 17th platoon, she er Only she could make it happen She had decided to protect Zuellni
”Can't I make it?”
Her hand slowly er caressed the air and touched thesuccess
Yet she knew this wasthe hazy ret or jealousy? Facing the Layfon who possessed what she desired
AndThat letter
She had read the letter that had fallen out of the envelope The impatience and anxiety inside her becarowing desire to catch up to hiirl who understood Layfonanxiety Irritation
”Is this the end?”
She wiped the sweat off her brow and suddenly stood up
”It can't end here!”
She picked up the iron whips
The night was still long Tih She believed so
”HA!”
She started her flow of Kei
◇
The next platoon h burst out of Layfon
He hadn't had a chance to see Nina recently
It wasn't easy to bu, ti the finished, Nina left the rooine Rooroups They now had different janitorial responsibilities
Losing the chance to talk to Nina forced him further from the truth Moreover, he didn't have much spare tis with Karian and the other Alcheh he didn't have the time to stand still, he wasn't worried about it
But–
”How come you seem to be so busy these days?” Mifi asked
It was now lunch break They were eating Meishen's special bento on the rooftop of the school building Long benches lined the metal fences around the rooftop
”Huh? Do I look that way?”
”Yeah”
”Mmh,” Meishen nodded
Layfon scratched his head
”We wanted to hang out with you after you were done with training, but you're always going somewhere And I specifically picked a time that you didn't have work!”
How did she know his shi+fts in the Engine Roo
”Maybe he's busy because it's almost time for the next platoon match?” Naruki said
”Huh~~ But I planned to catch Layfon when he wasn't training Isn't this strange?” Mifi said Layfon was right before her, but she was indifferent to how she appeared to be gossiping about him
Besides, Naruki didn't seeave, as if she only said it to eliminate one possibility and force Layfon to tell the truth ”Then, what other reasons are there?”
Beautifully shooting down Naruki's guess, Mifi cut straight into the chase ”Is this secret preparation for the platoon match?”
”Why do you sound suspicious?”
”Eehhhh, why?”
”You're joking”
”I' I'm serious”
”Uh?”
Mifi stared at hiot a woman?”
”Why do you think that?”
”Well, you're alith senpai lately Isn't that right? Senpai stands out a lot, so you can't hide it”
”No, that's not it!” Layfon waved his hands, noticing how Meishen's face had gone white
”Our dormitories just lie in the same direction”
”So because they're in the same direction, you have dinner with her all the time?”
”How coht at the battle arena, he had had dinner a few times with Felli It was Karian's treat, but the Student President had never co with him
”Don't underestimate my information network!”
It was another arrow to his chest
”No, it was just a coincidence”
Layfon tried to make up another reason, but he could tell from Mifi's eyes that she was still suspicious
”Really? Her level of beauty and cuteness is shocking When two people are alone, don't they juststart shooting out the energy of youth lessly? Because of a moment of thunder and fire, don't they think they are per and so derail off into the lust of youth?”
”I' you”
”In other words, have you pushed her down yet?”
”I wish you wouldn't use such clear words” He shook his head He didn't have the courage to do such a thing to Felli No, no, no He didn't e
”So just what are you doing?”
”UhIs it so you can't talk about?”
”I was asked not to”
Karian asked hiht filth monsters, news of filth e shock to them Just like in the previous assault, when it was so chaotic within the city that students failed to follow the proper defensive procedures
They tried to plan better for when the next wave of filth ht And the only person who could fight back against this threat was Layfon Hence, it was best to have Layton solve everything while everyone re”
She stared at hiave up
”Mi?”
”This is boring I'o to eat by myself” She raised a hand and left the rooftop
”GeezShe didn't have to throw a tantru up”I'm sorry Please don't be mad”
”No, this is my fault”
”ReallyMaybe, but her deed and looked at the uneasy Meishen
”I' to stay with Mi Please take care of Mei”
Naruki took her bento and left
”Ah”
While Meishen stammered, Naruki disappeared from the rooftop
(Why do I feel like this has happened before)
”Sorry,” Layfon apologized
”You're not the bad one here, Layton” Meishen shook her head like a bell
”But still, it is my fault”
”But, you can't tell the truth, can you?”
He didn't say anything If he said ”yes” then he was ad, and if he said he wasn't hiding anything, that would expose him too
He couldn't say it, but also didn't want to lie
He didn't want to lie because it was Meishen and her friends, so he could only shrug
”I think we shouldn't ask and listen to what can't be told I feel that if you want to tell us, you'll tell us one day”
”Thanks”
”Mi knows that too”
”I hope so”
”But, Mi is curious” Meishen smiled Layfon envied the affection in that smile
”If Nakki and I had any secrets, Mi would expose the, and knowing that you don't want her to know frustrates her”
”She feels frustrated because I don't want her to know?”
”Mi wants a better relationshi+p with you With her curiosity, she wants to be close enough to you that you can tell her things on your own If it's Nakki, she'll do what she can quietly, but me” She shook her head ”Especially Nakki, she's impatient too”
”Especially?”
”Yeah, especially”
”Why?”
”Didn't you help Nakki before? She's impatient because she can't help you out”
”I never knew,” Layfonpatient”
”I don't think she has to worry about it After all, I did get paid,” he said, but he knew that wasn't important
To receive help from someone when she needed it, but unable to help when that person was in trouble Naruki's feeling of uselessness had nothing to do with Layfon getting paid
”I seeUm, so it's my fault”
”No, it's not Layton's fault”
”No, it's irls wanted to get closer to hi back closely, Meishen didn't use to speak that much when they firstvery little and giving snippets of words each tiet closer to him
”Do I look troubled?”
”Not troubled, more likeworried?”
”Worried?”
Layfon didn't get it
”Sometimes you seem like that” Meishen frowned
”Really?”
”Yeah”
”I see”
And Meishen was always on the verge of tears, but he wouldn't say that even if someone tore his mouth apart
”What is it?”
Layfon fell into contemplation
Worried?
He didn't worry about the filth h possibility of filthZuellni Unable to run away, he had to face the crisis This feeling was different fro Either way, he was prepared for the reality that filthfilth ht become real was indeed a heavy burden, but if he lost to that pressure, he would've died already To hiht of his spirit had already ended
Then about this worry
”Ahah”
”Huh?”
”AhHahahaSo that's why”
”Huh? Huh?”
”Mi sounded strange, so I got it all wrong”
”Huh!?”
”AhBut that can't be helped”
”Wuwu”
”Uh-?”
Having laughed for a while, Layfon looked at the wall
”Layton” Face white, Meishen's hands were put together tightly, as if she was praying
”Meishen?”
”UmWellAr”
”Ah, AhahNo! NoNothing Nothing really I just got soSo, please don't cry?”
And as he co Meishen, he told her the truth
Naruki and Mifi ca and nervous looking Meishen In order to explain he wasn't bullying Meishen, Layfon had no choice but to skip his afternoon classes
Then he told them the entire truth
”Uh, the captain doesn't look strange” Mifi nodded as she played with the e about her?”
Layfon nodded ”Yes”
”So you want to help her?”
”If I can” He nodded sis to theht, surprised by the question
Both Mifi and Naruki atching hiht Layton wasn't interested in the platoon and the platoonweird shouldn't be that bad for you, right?”
”Mi,” Meishen looked at Mifi and Naruki, troubled, then she shook her head as if giving up
Theybetween each other in that split second, but Layfon had no idea what it was He only kneas being asked a question
Why did he have to do so for Nina?
”Is there a need to ask me that difficult a question?”
”Depends on Layton whether it's difficult or not, right?” Naruki said
”Perhaps,” Layfon nodded Perhaps it wasn't a difficult question, but even if Mifi kept on asking hiive them
”Even now, I still don't care about the platoon ed I want to stay in the platoon until the next real Military Arts cohteous heart? A little investigation tells me Zuellni's in a crisis Everyone above the 3rd year knows of it”
”I'ood-natured”
”Then what is it?” Mifi said, as if she was reproving hi for me if Zuellni disappears I can't return to Grendan If I don't study soraduate, I don't think I can survive in other cities I don't plan to train in the Military Arts all the way to graduation”
”You're not returning to Grendan?”
Layfon shook his head
”You probably know already My skill in Military Arts doesn't co”
”Of course,” Naruki shrugged ”If you ed to train up that skill in your spare tiuess you had for in Military Arts back in Grendan? And you've trained to a level that the Acade more in Military Arts But that's not what I'ive up Military Arts even though you're so strong”
The three girls watched hi the pressure on him
They were concerned about his past
Naruki'sto turn her suspicions into clear questions How should Layfon answer her?
He still didn't think what he did in Grendan rong It didn't go against his sense of morals But he only knew that what he did had hurt a lot of people
What would the girls think of him? Shocked? Conte of the loneliness made him nervous Hoould he feel if Nina found out about it?
”Isn't this enough?” Meishen said, cutting through his emotions
”Mei?”
”You wouldn't want to listen to Layton's past now, right?”
”Well”
”But”
”If that's the case, then it's enough, isn't it?” Meishen's repeated question silenced the other two girls
Layfon's reflection danced in the regret and guilt in Meishen's eyes
”Sorry, theyand I, just want to understand Layfon more”
”No”
He failed to speak, his chest feeling hot He didn't kno to express his weaknesses to the his past
(Really? So I'ing out with theether This had beco it
”I still like the people on the platoon, so I want to help” He squeezed out those words and was left with nothing to say
He fell silent
He understood that just like hoith Meishen and her friends, he was also enjoying the time he spent with Nina, Felli, Sharnid and Harley
He was afraid of losing the to complain about,” Mifi said, but still with suspicion in her voice
”Aah, I was planning to help fro The only person who didn't want to was Mifi”
”You're lying, Nakki!”
”I was never suspicious of Layton!”
”Liar You were concerned too!”