Vol 2 Chapter 5 (1/2)
Chapter 5: Things in life
The tight armor-suit felt cool on his skin The suits looked like they'd be heavy and hot on the outside, but didn't feel hot after he put theood ventilation He had worn so the suit wasn't new to hiht, one could just make out the color of his skin beneath the sheer cloth used for filtering pollutants outside the city
The fitting was done at the lastthis suit
He left the fitting room
”It feels fine,” Layfon said
He was underneath the city, inside as called the waist of the city, located beneath the Engine Roos A space that was basically a gap
A lot of work, s, started and ended here
And in here right noere Layfon, Karian and a couple other students
The student leader of the technology course let out a relieved sigh On his face were traces of sleepless nights
”That's great, next is the helmet”
The helmet was made of two parts The hard component that made up the outer part of the helmet pressed down on the same material as the cloth thatto the contours of Layfon's face Once he put on the helmet, his face was sealed from the outside world Lastly, the student leader connected the piece of cloth hanging out from beneath the hel illuminated the helnal to soh his transmitter
A scene of soreeted Layfon's eyes
”Oh”
Right before him was the desolate and sterile earth, with cracks like spider webs across its surface The dry smell of the earth drifted into his nose Wind filled with a huge aainst Layfon as it blew past hih the hels with his own eyes and feeling things with his own body
”Does it work?”
Felli's voice
But she wasn't beside hiood,” came the cool reply
The helmet was connected to Felli's flakes They replaced Layfon's vision and conveyed to him all kinds of information This way, he wouldn't have to see the world with his own eyes and risk burning theh contact with the pollutants, and he would also avoid the inconvenience of the sand sticking onto the hel's prepared”
In his harness hung the Dite he got frohtly longer A small and thin slab of metal curved inward from the handle, and on it were three holes
This was the completed version of the Adamantium DiteAnd its inventor still hadn't shown up
Lastly, Layfon equipped himself with four more Dites
”Please use the bike,” Karian pointed at the thing beside hi since lost its original function Its design ide but delicate Underneath the diht, liquid silver ran across its black outer shell
The rubber wheels could not be used on the barren earth Long distances were out of the question, and there was littlethe wheels for short distances only The obvious conclusion was to adjust the design in a way that was sis moved Even so, its s Every city had a few of these bikes for e rescue had been taken off this bike
Layfon took his seat and switched on the engine A low rumble sounded out from beneath the vehicle as the bike vibrated
Karian and the others went to the control roo to the outside world opened A lift lowered Layfon to the ground
Furious wind and the city's slowly s surrounded Layfon As the lift descended, he gazed at the round far away
The filth et thereThe long and lonely journey began
◇
Time rewinds to just a short while before Layfon's departure This was the hospital room
”This is”
At the voice that sounded lost, Layfon looked away from the vase It was Nina The nurse had removed the needles from her back, turned her over and pulled a blanket over her The reht and shadow separated the room into two colors Except for the dusky red on Nina's bed, everywhere else was diht It reflected off the ashed walls and shooed away the darkness Nina squinted at the dazzling light and saw Layfon's silhouette
”This is the hospital”
”Hospital?”
”Don't you remember?”
”Uh”
She slowly shook her head as she watched the ceiling, followed by a light sigh The sound of quiet movements from nurses, patients and visitors outside the room caused small vibrations in the air
Layfon looked at the vase again In it sat Sharnid's flowers
”I see, so I fainted”
”You overused your Kei, senpai”
Layfon felt suffocated at the sparseness of the conversation Nina gradually reached the logical conclusion she didn't want to accept A pre at it
”Were you watching?” she said
Watching the vase, Layfon felt her gaze stab one side of his face, but the Nina at the edge of his vision was looking at thepainted red by the sunset
”No”
”Do you find h”
”But I want to laugh at myself”
He sensed the blanket htly”
”I don't think so”
”Why?” Irritation filled her question Mixed in it was also the sound of crying, but he didn't attempt to confir at the sunset
”This s can only be understood after a near-death experience No one can help with that”
”And this is one of the herself
Layfon nodded
”We have to give up on the next platoon match”
”I see”
She must have understood it
”Did I waste my time?”
”Waste?”
”I want to win and beco my time?”
”Have you lost just because you can't participate in the next match?”
”That's not it!” She tried to sit up, her face twisted Her entire body hurt so much that she couldn't even sit up properly She lay back down heavily, the pillow supporting the sudden weight of her head
”Even so, I still want to win and get stronger If I stop here and can't do anything in the real ”
”True”
”So haven't I been wasting my time?”
She didn't turn to him Inside the blanket, her body seeht it would be enough if I used th and helped out Zuellni in the next Military Arts co to face hi I was scared when I first witnessed it I wondered whether you were even human, but when I confirmed you were, desire came toforce, the core of victory I thought the 17th platoon had becoh there was no proof of it If you want to laugh, then go ahead”
Layfon shook his head solemnly
”But I lost the match Of course And I feel it was fortunate that we lost Thatforward after thatIf that's the case, what do I have to do to win?”
As long as the teaer
The ansas simple, but Layfon didn't voice it
He understood a little of Nina's line of thinking Sharnid had a lukewarm attitude, and Felli clearly had no interest at all
Especially because Felli told hith She hated herself for being a Psychokinesist
The strength of a tealess for one person to be strong
The opposing team had demonstrated this truth in the previousEven if I can't fight alongside you, at least I can be strong enough not to become a burden, so”
So she increased the ti schedule th
”But Iquiet and heavy pushed down on the air in the rooularity in your Kei breathing?”
”Huh?”
”I mean the breath of Kei Senpai was in a lot of pain in that last moe in topic confused her
”The irregularity of your Kei breath shows you've wasted your training, to a certain point It's natural for that to happen because you lied to your body and, despite your exhaustion, you continued to use Kei This is the sa When a person first breathes with Kei, the Kei vein generates an a method for the Kei vein is different fros In the final phase of Kei training, you can live your daily life using the breath of Kei without having to use Internal- and External-type Kei”
”Layfon?”
”It's hard work toa Kei flow, but if that can be done, then it'll increase the person's sensitivity to her Kei and the amount of Kei she holds It's like the Kei beco is the foundation of using Kei”
Kei breathing is the foundation of using Kei
That was explained in the junior textbook in Military Arts
But he had said so that wasn't included in the textbook None of the textbooks
”If hu on Military Arts, then it's less to live the sas are different Please look at the flow of Kei as more important than blood Believe the information from the Kei flow more than what you feel fro that thinks, but please becohtly
Nina remained silent and inert as she listened She watched hihtly red
”If you want to live by the Military Arts, then give up trying to live as a human”
He said that to the Nina as at ease because he was a human – don't live as humans do
”That's all I can tell senpai,” he smiled It was a forced smile, so it must have looked quite stiff He could feel the hard muscles of his face
”Have you noticed? Sharnid-senpai has a new Dite”
”Huh?”
”He seems to kno to use Close Quarter Gun Combat I don't knohat level he's at You can check later Perhaps we can have ies now But all the formations we've used so far have used everyone to attack; maybe you can do it another way and stay at the back My brain's terrible with strategies, and they probably aren't right, so I have to leave it to Senpai”
”I' in a teahting alongside me Frankly, I feel that the battle arena is too sive me orders, and I'll try to act them out to the best ofon this As for Felli-senpaiWell, let's work hard together”
He stahed to cover them
”It's all up to senpai whether we can becoest platoon, so please don't abandon us”
”Abandon youHow could I”
Nina recalled her recent actions
Yes, it wasn't strange to think she had abandoned the by herself
”YeahI've nothing to say”
”I'er I'll help out the best I can if there's anything I can do Although all I can do is teach you how to train your KeiIf you can find anything more useful than this, then learn from me as much as you can”
He sht have been even stiffer Please don't abandon usThat felt just like a kid not wanting to part with someone
Had he co himself?
Or was it because ofher?
He didn't want to leave Nina Antalk?
(Which is it?)
He wasn't sure himself
”I seeSo I'”
Her soft voice stopped his train of thought
”We're coether”
He couldn't deny the other hiht in her eyes
◇
”It was like you were saying your last words”
”Huh?”
The bikeacross the deserted earth He was already driving on the sood it did He'd had training back in Grendan for driving, but he had never driven for so long a distance There was a spare tire If possible, he didn't want to encounter a situation where he had to use it
The sun had sunk down in the west The headlights cut out a circle froot the location right, he'd arrive there, so he constantly checked the compass on the bike's dashboard as he drove
And Felli was guiding hi
He still hadn't taken any action at this distance regarding the filth monster One reason was because of the limited preparation time and movement, but the main reason was his need to coordinate with Felli's inforh the flake on his helmet ”I heardWhat you said in the hospital roohed
”But it's not strange to think so in this situation, right?”
”Is that so?”
”Yes”
”But I don't plan to lose”
”You didn't say you wouldn't die”
”I don't know anything besides the fact that the filth monster is male I can't say what isn't certain”
”See?”
He felt the loling of the wind through his arainst him
On the other side of the skin-thin suit lay a dead world
Nothing lived except the filth monsters On the barren earth, shards of soil jutted froround Pollution poisoned the air Contact with pollutants would cause burns, the skin peeling off in flakes If one breathed in the air, one's lungs would rot
One person was in this dead world
The uneasy feeling of being in a place he shouldn't be invaded Layfon
He had fought in this dead world nu continuously in an arena that was far wider and vaster than any city, but filled with a sense of suffocation Was he truly alive right now? Even that feeling of ”Of course I'
Hisin this place, so when he faced battle, he always felt his life was somewhere far, far away from him
”I don't plan to say my last words here,” he repeated
”Really?”
”Really”
”Fon Fon”
He almost crashed
”Have you really decided on that name?” Embarrassed at the nickname that didn't suit the current atmosphere, he steadied the vehicle
”I've decided”
There was stubbornness in her icy voice
”Can you not use that na on so on your nickname?”
”Don't ask et a say in the naet it, becauseI do My emotionless and tearless brother is the cause of my misfortune I pray daily that he'll be forced to withdraw because he's been exposed using public funds for private purposes and other cri”
Her solemn expression surfaced in his mind
”Then you decide”
”Now?”
”I'm bored, so you can either talk to me, or you can make some funny jokes?”
Yes, there was still some time before he reached his destination
”Um, I can't, but”
”Please don't et a headache if you turn into Sharnid-senpai”
”Then what do I do?”
”Just think of what to call me”
”Um”
”Hurry”
He was troubled Anyway, all he needed was to say what he thought
”Felli-chan?”
”I'm already used to that I've been called that since I was very little Use more creativity This name's denied”
”Felli-chi?”
”I feel like a moron Rejected”
Then what about when Meishen was called Mei-chi? But he didn't say that to Felli Recently, he had been calling her Mei Speaking of which, that was how he called Naruki too, but that seemed different
”Felli-chon”
”Is that even ful? Rejected”
”Felli-yan”
”My name is not a joke Rejected”
”Felli-lin”
”Are you laughing?”
”Felli Felli”
”I hate rehash Rejected”
”Feffen”
”Sounds like a strange laugh Rejected”
”Fernandez”
”Who's that? Rejected”
”Felli-tan”
”Do you want to die~? Rejected”
”Sorry, I give up”
”You're not perive up”
What should he doHe wanted to hold his head Besides, the naed to add variations to its tone Or he could use soy
”What?”
”Nothing”
He decided not to say she was a cold, bloodless doll That would definitely hurt
”Please hurry,” she urged His head felt like stone He couldn't think of anything else
(Fe?What is that?)
If he shortened her nae sound What if like Naruki becae
”Hurry up What's with you?”
”Felli,” he said in resignation There were no variations and no coinal nah Even so, he couldn't help it He had no other ideas
(How about that?)
”Say it again”
”Ue wasn't displayed in the helht hand caressed her chin, left hand supporting her right elbow, her head slightly cocked, her gaze lightly stroking the sky above herThis ie of her surfaced in his mind
”It's not creative at all, and you didn't put any effort into it No respect for your senpai at all, and there's no affection for me It's so bad that you can't call it a name”
So that didn't workWell
Layfon tried to think of another name, but instead was surprised by what Felli said next
”Never mind, we'll just use that”
”Heh?” He was rather shocked, then glad of her letting hio
”But you have to say it with h Call me that from now on, okay?”
”UhUain”
”Ah, yesFelli”
”Good”
Layfon relaxed
”Promise me”
”What?”
”Call me that from now on, ok?”
”Uh, in front of others too?”
”Of course”
”And Fon Fon too?”
”Sure”
”Sorry, please forgiveand after school
(NoNo No NO!)
That would be so e
”Fine, then I'll call you Fon Fon e're alone”
He could truly relax now
”In exchange for that, I'll add one more condition”
”Yes, leave it toheard what Felli had just said He'd agree to any request as long as she didn't call him Fon Fon in front of everyone
”Please remember to call me by that name when you return”
”It's a promise”
Those were the last words; Felli stopped talking after that
He took a quick nap before dawn The swaying of his body stuck to him like echoes And like that, he lay on the vehicle and closed his eyes
The wind had died down and everywhere looked dead He didn't knohat Felli was doing on the other end of the flakes She hadn't spoken to him for a while now
It was really quiet, as if even his own voice had died off When he ainst the bike shook his eardru alive was more intense than ever
He knew there was no such thing, but that feeling came unbidden to him He had no one beside hi in Zuellni were far behind him, and he had no idea where the other cities were
What was Leerin doing?
This flashed through his mind
After the attack on Zuellni, he had only written one letter to Leerin He felt that he aiting for a return letter froe that he still hadn't received a letter The roa buses hadn't delivered any letters, so the mail would probably come soon
He candidly told her about the current Layfon in that letter Hoas forced to transfer into the Military Arts, enter a platoon and fight the larvaeAnd his inability to give up on the Military Arts What would Leerin think? Would she smile bitterly and say ”Can't be helped since it's you,” or would she lecture him with a pink face
The harness swayed and the Dites jostled against each other
(Iaht that He used to write to Leerin every week, but he hadn't been doing that now One reason was his losing the fresh and curious feeling he had when he first started school The second reason was that Leerin didn't write as much in her letters to him He felt a distance between them
He hadn't received a letter from Leerin since her last letter
(It must be the distance between cities)
In the time when cities couldn't contact each other, Layfon was doubtful as to whether his letter had arrived safely at Grendan He didn't think Leerin would not want to write to him The unreliable connection between cities, the Layfon involved in this situation, the Layfon who thought of Leerin in this time He arrived at this conclusion from all these factors combined
Had the people hewith Leerin?
No
It didn't fill his loneliness It replaced it The truth of leaving Leerin re that he hadn't the time to feel lonely
This was the Layfon in Zuellni Perhaps it was a good thing that he wasn't as tense as he was in Grendan
(Although there's a lot of troubleso what I did before)
And as part of his life in Zuellni, he was out here in the open, in a desolate environment, totally isolated froainst the vehicle and his Dites
The as rising again Listening to the sound of the wind, Layfon's consciousness sank into shallow darkness
◇
Time rewinds back to just after Layfon's departure
The door was pushed open
”Yo, Nina! Are you alright?”
”I don't think that's a question you ask a patient”
”Yep Just like this!” Sharnid walked into the roo past in the corridor Harley was right behind hi of a weekend Nina put aside the book she was reading
”What're you reading? Ugh, a textbook! And it's 'Military Arts Principles I' Why're you reading this now?”
Nina nodded as she confir around Sharnid's waist
”Because I have soh you fainted all of a sudden, you're still so serious,” Sharnid shrugged
”Forget it What about today's match? Is it okay not to watch it?”
”If you want to know, I can bring you the disc later Because of the sudden holiday, it was too abrupt to arrange a date, so I've got tio and watch the match But Nina didn't say that Harley's smile lacked his usual cheerfulness, and that bothered her
”But it's tragic to faint due to over-exhaustion And you're still so serious about it after fainting; I greatly adized, lowering her head
”No, no” Sharnid said ”I don't want you to reflect on this I've done that sort of thingelse to talk about today Sorry I have to push back visiting the patient”
”So else?”
Sharnid snatched up his Dite ”For someone who's not in a team, my words probably don't er-than-palm-sized Dite
”Everyone has secrets, but there are two types: ones that don't matter, and ones that people take notice of I don't care if it's the former type, but the latter”
A rapid movement from him
The Dite restored in his hand in the blink of an eye and it was pointed right at Harley
”Sharnid!” Nina said loudly A s on Sharnid's face As for Harley, he was frozen stiff at the sudden Dite's appearance
”Ifsecrets, then I can't move freely, cause I'll worry that he'll stab uy would shoot the wrong targetSo like that,” Sharnid stared closely at his Dite pressing down on Harley's forehead
Meaning he was suspecting Harley?
”How could that be?” Nina said
”Harley is my childhood friend He'll never betray uy's skill, and I don't think he'll betray the team, but it seems ere the only two left out”
”What?” Nina looked at Harley Resignation filled his stiff expression
”Harley?”
”Sorry”
”The weapon you ht? That ridiculously huge sword, just as it for?”
Nina remembered, but she had never suspected Harley Recently, she was only thinking about herself
”What do you guys plan for the ridiculously strong Layfon with that type of a weapon? I think I can guess Felli's with you guys and that's enough confirmation But if it's possible, I want to hear it from you”
Nina kept silent
”Sorry,” Harley's lips were clahtly shaky lips opened again
Nina had forgotten her own breathing, and the sa remained with her as she listened
After that
The nurse went in to deliver lunch, and seeing the bed empty, she ran out into the corridor
◇
Layfon arrived at his destination shortly after noon
He drank down protein paste with a straw, and confirh Felli's flake
The high and jutting