Vol 25 Chapter 4 (1/2)
Wear My Rose?
There was a troubledto do”
He looked up as he spoke
Those words sparkled as they traveled through the air But sorrowtheir brilliance seem a bit faded
”What should I do?”
It was a question spoken to none other than himself But the man couldn't find an ansithin his own heart, so all he could do was slowly sink into his oorld
He wrapped his ar his body in dejection
The source of the dejection was his own heart, and the source of the problem was the same
”Ahh”
But he didn't have to show these feelings He tightly squeezed his arms, twisted his body, and put a sad expression on his face, turning his constantly-repeated and piled-up questions into words
”Ahh, where should I direct my love!?”
He expressed that sentence with his whole body
Specifically, he spread his arms, looked up at the sky, and spun on one foot
”Don't dance!”
”Ahh, how merciless!”
Vance's curt remark made the man contort his body as he danced innews!”
Mifi charged into the classrooh the whole classroo”
Classes had ended and it was ti the classrooht to be cleaning the area in front of the school
It hadn't been too long since he started cleaning the classroo the area in front of the school right now
”Right, the cleaning--”
”Right now isn't the tiht in her eyes was a bit different froree of curiosity was the highest
But actually, that curiosity didn't give any credibility to whatever topic she was bringing
Naruki and Meishen weren't here The two of the somewhere else
In other words, there was no one here to control and admonish Mifi
”So, what is it?”
Layfon asked with a sigh
”What kind of attitude is that? Are you not interested? I ca news You should be thankful to me, super thankful! That'll definitely happen, so please pay first”
”No, I'”
”Hmph, you're so reliable in that kind of area That sucks”
”Uh, what exactly is the azes nearby focused on theirl as their class representative was also staring at theood at dealing with her, so he wanted to finish this topic and start cleaning again as soon as possible
”Hey, Mifi-san”
The class representative strode over
”Uwah, this is bad”
Mifi also noticed that she was in the classrooers
”Well”
She told Layfon
”Well, I'll tell you the rest later!”
Mifi quickly left Layfon's side, running out of the classroo to the class representative's calls to stop
”Don't run in the hallways!”
”Sorry~!”
Mifi didn't stop even after being scolded The class representative shrugged her shoulders huffily and went back to the classroom
Layfon rubbed the ear that had been pulled as he mulled over Mifi's muttered words
That was because he wouldn't be able to believe it if he didn't do so
”Huh?”
Nina had a lover?
Afterwards, the cleaning was finished
Layfon and Mifi were in the stairwell on the highest floor No one was on the roof due to the heat If no one had business with the roof, no one would coh it was very cool in this place where the sunlight didn't reach, no one would gather here after school
”So, what's going on?”
Layfon and Mifi both held juice bought fro, and they were so close that their foreheads were al
Naruki and Meishen had to work, so they weren't here Layfon also had to go to the training facility, but if he didn't properly listen to this matter, he wouldn't knohat to say when he saw Nina
”Could it be a rureat Mi-chan witnessed it clearly”
Mifi dexterously stuck out her chest as she whispered, but Layfon still looked at her with dubious eyes, so she took out the evidence
A photograph
”This is what I took ere cleaning just now”
In other words, she had i the classroo to ignore that fact for now, Layfon looked at the photograph
In the photograph was a guy and a girl walking on the tree-lined road in front of the school
It was Nina and a man he seeuy Right?”
Layfon asked without any confidence
The person standing next to Nina was a ant waves Did he have ure was very slender, with the shi+rt of his uniforulation It was made hat looked like a very soft fabric, and ruffled things were sewn into the sleeves The chest was open wide and red flowers adorned it
Judging by the open chest, he could be identified as a raph he realized that this , isn't that Rafaela Serfa-senpai from the first platoon?”
Mifi said his na the top three of the Military Artist Beauty Rankings He was an overwhel number one this year Ah, by the way, Sharnid-senpai was fifth this year, and Layfon was fourth”
”Uh, that doesn't matter at all”
The question of why his naht now
”So, what's he doing?”
”As for that, I have to start investigating right now”
”So they ether by coincidence?”
If they alking in front of the first-year school building at this ti facility If the man Rafaela was a platoon member, then there was undoubtedly the possibility that they ran into each other on the way
”Naive! Layton, your thinking is too naive!”
But Mifi thoroughly struck down Layfon's thinking
”Layton, you don't realize after seeing this photograph?”
Mifi pushed the photograph over But Layfon really didn't know the answer It was Layfon's first ti at Rafaela's face, so he didn't knoas different about his expression That said, all he could realize fro at Nina was that her sood at dealing with this person, right?”
”Wronggg!”
Mifi retorted with a secretive tone
”That's not where you should be looking It's here! Here!”
Mifi pointed to the center of the photograph
The shoulders of the two of them were close
Layfon tilted his head and put on a confused expression, which et it Is it because you're Layton? Or is it because you're a guy? If it's because you're a guy, it'll be hard to fix That's why everyone forgets there's such a cute girl here[1]!”
Mifi uttered a complaint that Layfon couldn't really understand as she pointed to the same spot
”It's this, this sense of closeness! Don't you understand? A guy and a girl who just happened to run into each other couldn't possibly walk this close together, right?”
Even if Mifi said this, Layfon still didn't understand Maybe it was just as Mifi said, since after all Layfon nors
But now that she mentioned it, it seemed like the class representative had pulled aw y a bit fros But irl who preferred that kind of distance, so Layfon still didn't feel like he could conclude anything
”Anyways, these two are very suspicious! So Layton, what you have to do next is get more definitive evidence Got it?”
Layfon still felt confused Mifi shouted this, perhaps feeling impatient about that reaction
Layfon could only keep nodding his head
◇
When he arrived at the training facility, Nina was already there
”You're late!”
The scolded Layfon apologized as he readied his things Putting aside Naruki for now, Sharnid and Felli were already here Naruki was at the city police, so of course she wasn't here Everyone had already arrived other than her
Hard balls were scattered on the floor Ever since Layfon had explained the Psyharden training style to Nina, it had been woven into the platoon's basic training regimen
Layfon restored his Adamantium Dite, then stood on a hard ball Maybe because everyone was already used to it, their balanced stances on the balls looked quite stable
”Felli”
After finishi+ng their basic training, Nina spoke to Felli as she was reading a rabbed the restored Dite fro roolows, then surrounded Layfon and the others in faint light
Felli had put up one of a Psychokinesist's defenses - a netic barrier
This was an advanced way to train with the hard balls
Nina, Sharnid, Dalshena, and Layfon released Kei froh the poas extremely weak, the balls scattered on the floor bounced away fro to fly aere bounced back by the netic barrier
On the other side of the barrier, Felli returned her gaze back to thetime
The hard balls hurtled around chaotically Layfon and the others dodged them or hit them back It was a foul to use external Kei over the entire body like before Even if they were to use it, they had to bounce a ball back towards a certain direction
”Ouch!'
”Tch!”
”Ugh!”
Three of them were unable to avoid or hit back the hard balls At the same time as everyone was struck by the balls and cried out, Layfon dodged or struck back the approaching hard balls with the sht not even have needed to use his lih the movements of his muscles to bounce them back
He watched at Nina as he did this
She looked no different from usual
She didn't cower even when the hard balls struck her back fro her iron whips to sharpen her nerves Layfon felt like she could relax her shoulders a bitwas to hone the reflexes and at the sa would i else happened, you would be unable to respond to it so easily and your stance would cruainst that, it was necessary to unconsciously see the entire situation around you and i
As expected, Nina's figure as she focused on this was the normal Nina
(Lover?)
She really didn't look like she had a lover
No, Layfon wasn't sure how soined a blushi+ng, shyly-s flowers It was too unlike her Layfon shook his head and rejected that ie
The tinated time had passed Layfon and the others put away their weapons This ti hard balls
When all the hard balls bouncing around had vanished, the h”
Sharnid wiped off the sweat dripping to his chin and then drank a sports drink Dalshena wiped her sith a towel as well
After using a towel as well, Nina hung it on her neck and then took up a stance with her iron whips Maybe she was thinking of their training fro
Layfon was the only one asn't sweating He picked up the hard ball by his feet and put it on the tip of his blade as he looked at Nina
After they finished three rounds of the sa, it was time to finish up
As the others sloarmed down, Layfon was the only one who circulated internal Kei as he walked and reached out a hand to the sports drink placed on the bench
”What's up with you?”
Felli looked up from her book and asked She had already stored her crystalline Dite in her weapon belt and looked ready to go ho”
”Ah, no, it's nothing”
”Don't lie”
As Layfon was thinking of an excuse, Sharnid grabbed his shoulder fro at Nina the whole tirinned
”Right, Felli-chan?”
”You smell like sweat”
Felli responded to Sharnid, who had naturally leaned over to her as he spoke
”Hirls like that, you know”
”Please exclude roup of people”
Sharnid, as unable to learn his lesson from that cold attitude, obviously didn't move away from her
”So, what's up? You see happen?”
”Didn't I say it was nothing?”
”Could it be that you've only now realized your secret, tangled feelings for Nina?”
”What kind of feelings are that? Huh? By 'only now', you ely unnatural to Layfon
Why had he said 'only now'?
But before Layfon had an answer to his question, the door was knocked and opened
”Hi, is training already over?”
The person Layfon sahen he turned around was that man Rafaela Serfa
Rafaela was dressed like he had been in the photograph, but had a big box in his left hand
”Rafaela-senpai, why are you here?”
Nina, iping her sweat, approached him with a flustered look
”Hehehe, isn't it natural for me to want to see the face of my sweetheart as much as possible?”
”Sweetheart”
Sharnid, whose are expression as if he had eaten so by the way her eyes widened, she was definitely feeling the sa me as your sweetheart”
Nina showed a confused expression, not knowing how to accept being called that
”Well, we'll talk about that later I caave Nina the box in his hands
”This is?'
”It's soht it would really suit you Please take it”
Nina still showed a so the box
”I'd be really happy if you wore that forthose words, Rafaela turned and left
All that was left was an atmosphere in which it was hard to speak up
To put this atiant '?'
After all of the training was over, Layfon and the others went towards the nearest restaurant
”So what's going on?”
Dalshena was the first to open the topic
”Why Rafaela?”
Dalshena was less questioning about the fact that Nina had a lover and more confused about why that person was Rafaela
”Why that disgusting guy”
”No, aren't you and Rafaela the same type?”
Sharnida fist
”Oh? So you uy?”
”No Well, neversimilar”
”That doesn't uy said to me in a match before? He said 'Hahaha, Dalshena-san A beautiful rose doesn't rush to bloo a final match of a tournaive Dalshena the final blohen she had fallen into a trap
”Thatis to make otten incredibly angry after theto Rafaela than losing the match
”So what exactly is the current situation?”
Dalshena asked this of Harley, as the farthest froh Harley hadn't been present at the tiht hi facility afterwards
”Well, at a time like this you should ask for Nina's expert opinion”
”Why expert”
Ignoring Harley's confusion, Sharnid explained what had happened in the training facility just now
Harley's face became paler and paler as he heard the explanation
”So? Do you think Nina and Rafaela ht be lovers?”
”Uh Huh? Rafaela-senpai? Why?”
After lad I didn't see that No, h~ Spare me”
”I heard that the Captain's family in her hometoas quite a famous clan”
Felli, who had been silent up till now, interjected
”Ah, yeah The Antalk family is famous in Schneibel”
”Then I think she'd be familiar with those upper-class customs”
”What does that mean?”
”This box is Binira Barmela”
Those words elicited an 'ah' from Dalshena Layfon didn't understand what they meant, but Sharnid explained:
”Binira Barned mainly for the upper-class Ahh, co stores that carry their designs”
Perhaps thinking of so
”It's a bespoke tailoring[2] store, so it's no wonder you didn't know”
”That's since you can't show their design taste with inferior materials, so that way is natural But even if you have the materials, the technique is still only on the level of students I wouldn't expect h-class brands in this kind of place”
After Felli and Dalshena explained this, Layfon shook his head in denial
”Even if I knew the brand, I definitely would be too scared to buy it”
Layfon only bought clothes at cheap stores, so he would never even think of buy that kind of brand-na Binira Bar' Hey hey, is Rafa-san really going for Nina?”
”'Night Meeting'?”
Another phrase that Layfon didn't know
”It's a gathering place for rich kids”
”Famous families or successful business faroup that those people for to Zuellni But since it's an Acade thrown out, so there are a lot of misbehavers”
Dalshena explained
”Nina would be qualified to join Speaking of which, our Felli-chan and Shena could join too, right?'
”I'you joined?”
”Into even recall it
”Well, since you say that, is Rafaela like that too?”
As expected, Layfon didn't have any interest in high-society things like Binira Barood i tricked - that hat Layfon worried about
”No, Rafaela-san isn't that kind of person”
Sharnid was the first to straightforwardly deny this
”He's generally a good person Although he's a strange person”
Dalshena also added that, wearing a bitter expression
”You could even say he's the conscious of Night Meeting He chases people who act too badly out of Night Meeting If the other party of such a situation is a Military Artist, they h she didn't even want to mention his name, Dalshena didn't deny Rafaela's personality
In that case, he was a good person Though the phrase 'strange person' h I thought it was strange that Rafa-san didn't have a lover, I never would have iined someone like Nina would be his type”
Sharnid's words ended the topic
◇
Class was ending The two of the a secret discussion so close that their knees were touching
”A date at Night Meeting? Huhuhu--”
Mifi o there You can't enter if you're not a member, and it seems like their dress requireh for a commoner”
”I see”
After Mifi said this, Layfon let out a relieved breath for so”
Break ti class, Layfon tried thinking about the reason he had felt relieved
He didn't really understand it hiood? She would definitely have a love suitable for her age Even if the other party was thatand sparkled and who Layfon wasn't used to at all, there shouldn't be any proble as Nina like him
No problem
There shouldn't be any problem, so why couldn't he accept it?
”Why was that? Why was he in such a troubled mood?”