Vol 6 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Part 1

Sunlight that ht of surounds

In a corner of the grounds which had a desert that spread as far as the horizon, rocky terrain, awaterfall──

“Ohh……ohhh! Ohhhhhhh!”

Gripping her shi+ning silver badge, Kagura held it high up

“A-A! L-look, look On the display in the corner, in the ‘merit points‘ field, there are 75 points The points from the Governmental Sector expedition have been added!”

“So noisy Everybody got the about it”

He glanced at his own badge and tucked it away at his chest with disinterest

“You brat”

“I-It’s fine, isn’t it! One should be honestly happy in times like this Come on, don’t put yours away and show it to me!”

She held out her hands

“Haa? It’s not interesting looking at other people’s badges”

“It’s fine Coher than o out on a ?”

“Like I’d do such annoying stuff”

Vaiel snatched his badge fro her head

“Ah, wait!”

“Before ent to the Governmental Sector, the the the Nature District Soreat pains, or did you forget?”

“Ah……”

The redness of Kagura’s cheeks shot up under the machine helmet

It had been Vaiel who saved her at the last enshu and he had repelled it while covered completely in wounds It was necessary to earn ‘merit points‘ to be promoted in Tenketsu Palace <sophia> and other thanYuugenshu

“Ahh, now that you enshu are also included The difference in your enshu You would’ve earned twice as er”

“Like I can fight so”

Vaiel folded his ar from machine crystal <ilis>

“……Come to think of it, how many points are necessary for the all-iular Guard?”

“Think of it as being around 300”

Monica, as cooling off in a tree’s shade, replied immediately

“You can register for the Regular Guard exam when you save up 300 points Even if you don’t pass within a year, you can continue to take on missions and you should be exempted from the written exam at 450 points”

“If you think of it like that……I have pretty much half”

Sitting on the bench in the tree’s shade, Sheltis also took out his badge

179 merit points This was the suation oon> with Leon He’d also repelled at Yuugenshu that time so that was added as well

Two enshu With that, his merit points had passed over the halfway point

“How about Monica?”

“I have 231 points……since I was part of different units to fill the nu this one I have a little from that time”

“Ohh But that’s impressive; you’ll have 300 points with just a little more like that”

“Th-that is……I’ve been a Cadet Guard for some years now It normally takes just over a year to accumulate them……I’m more of a failure of a Cadet Guard”

Monica looked doith her face a little red

“Well, that’s true, it should take around a year if you seriously gather them at a steady pace If you think of it like that, you could say the expedition to the Govern special treatment For other missions, the usual is 10 or 20 points”

It looked like it really was hot standing out in direct sunlight as Kagura took off her machine helmet and wiped the sweat from her brow

“Also, by standard, even if you complete a mission unharmed, you can’t apply consecutively You’re free to take on missions but it seems you won’t receive merit points”

“Was there such a rule?”

“It’s just that you don’t know, Vaiel This is an so from when there was no roup of absurdly strong Cadet Guards”

It looked like she was still hot because Kagura started fanning herself with her hand

“It was even said that there was no ether and they would coular Guards just like that It should have repainted the fastest recorded promotion at the time This became a problem further in the future”

“Mm, hey, wait What’s the problem with that? It’s not bad, is it?”

“There were no issues with those two themselves The problem was the flood of Cadet Guards that took their success as an example and continuously submitted applications for missions”

The girl indicated the training grounds with her eyes

A over were those repeating h the hot sand eights all over and those silently focused on

“There are many Cadet Guards with superficial experience and who are unskilled, right? Those Cadet Guards can’t succeed if they challenge athe difficulty……as a result, there were successive cases where they failed or ounded and hospitalized”

“So it’s about knowing your lie”

Vaiel returned to reclining on the bench

“Well, the roup of two shares the same fault Because of them, now it’s become a pain in the ass to take on a mission”

“……Could I say it’s the fault of youth?”

“Mm?”

“Ahh, n-no, no, nothing at all!?”

With the quick-eared young man’s question, Sheltis frantically waved his hands

……I can’t say it

……That it was Leon and I

They would take two missions in a day, return to Tenketsu Palace <sophia> just after an all-nighter and then leave on another ht of it, even he thought it was reckless

“It’s true that there are soood”

Putting down the ura did so

“Leaving aside that I’ out on a ue would build up without your notice and it would the worst if you beca in an incident Rather than that, it’s better to properly undergo ──”

“Hohoh, that’s adura”

“Wh-wha!?”

Kagura’s pointed ears stood up at the sudden appearance of somebody behind her She turned towards the owner of the voice with trepidation and a pale expression…………

“I-Instructor Yumelda?”

“It’s truly adura; I didn’t expect you to be so admirably dedicated”

A tall wo a dark blue suit that had not a wrinkle upon it She held her preferred black ith both hands and she was s

“You’ve been skippingbusy with research as the stated reason Just when I thought your research had finally cal because of the expedition to the Governmental Sector For this lastmore than you’ve attended Now then, is my memory mistaken?”

“Ah……n-no……that’s, well……”

Her pointed ears drooped and sweat ran from her brow like a waterfall

Opposite that, the instructor looked down at her with an intrepid smile

“With all that, I didn’t think you would have such ambition to train I’m not a demon: I’ll accept absences with valid reasons and I also very rarely hold back on the training ──But if you want to train that badly, then it can’t be helped It’s also hard on ed but it’s different if they desire that themselves”

“Even though you look so ridiculously happyyyyy──────!?”

“You talk too o”

“N-Nooooooo!”

Kagura was grabbed by the nape and started to get dragged away She screaht by a carnivorous predator

“H-Help er! Sheltis and Vaiel too──”

With that scene before the members were swift and correct

“……Come to think of it, I made an appointment to check up on the wound I received from Golden <maha> at the Governmental Sector”

“Ah, I-I also feel like I did that If you’re going to the one on floor 22, let’s go together”

“……The deadline for theup soon too”

Turning their backs, Sheltis and the others all sprinted away simultaneously at full speed

It felt like Kagura shouted out so behind them but the fault lay with she who had summoned the demon instructor

“Well then, Kagura, take your time with the instructor”

“So heartless──────!?”

Part 2

Tenketsu Palace <sophia>, floor 21

“Uu……it was cruel”

Covered in sand and dust, her forura returned like that with tottering steps late in the evening

“If it’s sooing on amerit points is better Monica, please find our next mission as soon as possible”

“G-Got it”

She looked pretty tired Sluura round

“By the hat is thisroom?”

Despite being dead tired, it seeor as she looked around restlessly

It was an all-around white room

There was no table and thus nochairs for them piled up in a corner of the room

“It’s our unit’s private base I received a e that our unit has finally received official approval and the adistration is complete”

Monica pointed at the folding chairs

“This is our privatearea from today onwards The use differs fros They said that if we require a table or whiteboard, then we can apply for them and they will allocate them to us”

“So we’ve got a private space; it’s starting to get more like a unit”

“Vaiel, I’ll just put this out there, but don’t use this place for your naps It looks like if it’s used for reasons outside of our goals, it’ll get confiscated”

“……damn it”

She sees with the same sour face

“But you knoouldn’t it be hard for them to find out? If it’s our private space, doesn’t that es’ identification numbers can unlock it?”

There was no way for other people to suspect hi in this room Only the four here could unlock the room

“That’s right, or so I’d like to say”

“Ah, I can open this room Rather, the only ones who can’t open this rooular Guards; Elite Guards that hold the rank of Captain or higher can unlock it just like that”

Machine crystal <ilis> smoothly continued Monica’s words

But upon hearing that, Vaiel’s smile became even more relaxed

“Then there’s no probleonna even come to this lower floor? If there’s any chance, it’ll be the instructor but the instructor usually instructs Cadet Guards at the training grounds”

“……That’s true”

“Now that you ht be the case”

Machine crystal <ilis> blinked and Sheltis ended up agreeing without thinking

“But you know, Vaiel If by chance a superior──”

“Ahh? Just where would you find great and hty people with such idle curiosity──”

It ca

──’Unlocked‘──

With an electronic sound, the electronic doors slid to the sides slowly

“Hah?”

Vaiel fell silent with his mouth half-open

There was no way someone above Elite Guard level would come to this low a floor and there was no way they would visit the room’s door shouldn’t open?

“Ah, umm……I heard that you’d be here when I asked Instructor Yumelda”

In front of the fully opened doors, a girl in pure white vestments bowed her head

“Ymy…………?”

“……Why is a Priestess here?”

Monica and Kagura’s eyes were spinning

“Ohchairs but will you take a seat?”

“No, I just caize”

Reain bowed her head deeply

“Well, I’ today and caused you problems……I heard the major points from Ishtar-san!”

……Mm?

Looking closely at the expression of his childhood friend whose off-gold hair was fluttering ── Sheltis raised his brows at sohts that didn’t appear on his face

……Ymy’s eyes are swollen

The area around her eyelids was slightly red and looked like she’d cried her eyes out It was pretty s so it was almost a coincidence that Sheltis had noticed The other three hadn’t noticed

“Y until just prior”

“Y-yes That’s right, and a little…………well……I was a little willful”

“Willful? With training?”

Monica’s gaze narrowed For she who had been Ymy’s senpai when she was an apprentice Priestess, she was still concerned with her kouhai’s condition even now

“N-No, it’s just a ”

Averting her eyes fro away

“Well then, I’ now!”

“Ah, wait a second! Ymy!”

Monica’s outstretched hand stopped just before touching the Priestess’ vestment

“……It can’t be helped; itto talk about it”

Monica shook her head weakly

“So what do we do, unit leader? I’d really like to head back and sleep right now”

“I know We’ll disperse for today and take a day off for to the day after ……Since we haven’t had sufficient rest since returning from the Governmental Sector”

She took a deep breath while rubbing her eyes that were heavy with fatigue

“Waa, it’s an entire day off, Sheltis! I want to go on a picnic in the Nature District toood and it’s the best time to see the mountain cherries” [T/N: You can think of these as mountainous versions of sakura trees I didn’t wanna es for it and call it enus and species]

“That’s a pity since I was gonna to leisurely relax tomorrow too”

“Ehhhhh!? No, no, no, let’s go somewheeere?”

Putting asidein protest

……I’m also interested in Ymy

……It would be nice if I could secretly check on how she is tomorrow

“Then we’ll separate here Don’t forget that we’re ate at four in thethe day after tomorrow!”

Monica clapped her hands

“Fi─nally over I’o back and sleep; see ya”

“Then so will I……”

Vaiel left theroom quickly Just before Sheltis followed after hi

“Co”

“Mm?”

“Come on, didn’t you make a promise with Eyriey? Eyriey said she wanted to come play and you said you’d be able toended, didn’t you?”

“Ah, ahhhhh! crap!”

The otten about it until now

“Shein your room”

“Uu……for the tioing now!”

Spinning around in a big rush, he left theroom and flew out into the floor’s corridor

Beyond the s on one side of the corridor was a surface of black The setting sun was already hidden behind the horizon and it was too late a time to play

“……I wonder if I’ve been keeping Eyriey waiting”

He jogged down the hallway straight towards the elevator He pushed the panel for “Floor 11” which contained the Cadet Guard residences and sighed a little

Part 3

Tenketsu Palace <sophia>, floor 11

Just as he took one step into his rooht at the back of the Cadet Guard residences,

“So slo─w! Where were you loitering around, Sheltis!”

“Shel-nii, you’re late”

Eyriey glared at hi properly on the bed

…………

…………Well, that’s what I expected

“Oh, this is unexpected: nobody’s here”

“……It looks like they aiting here before though”

The bed was ruffled and there were candy wrappers in the garbage can

Eyriey had eaten the candy she brought along and Yuto had played around on the bed He could easily iine those two

“It looks like they got tired of waiting and went home”

“But it looks like they left a e”

Whatabout was an audio recording device left casually atop the desk The small pencil-shaped device had a sound collection apparatus attached to the end He hadn’t seen a device like it anywhere else in the tower so it was mostly likely an invention of Eyriey’s

“That flashi+ng part is probably the replay button”

“This?”

There was a replay button on one end of the pencil-shaped device He timidly pushed it,

“Eyri-nee, this button?”

“Yup, yup It’ll record if you talk while pressing that Yuto, try saying so”

It was those two’s voices as expected

“Mm……What should Yuto say?”

“Sheltis, you’re so slo─w We’ll come back tomorrow so make sure to keep some time open! ──I said it So, Yuto, just say what you want to”

“O─kay! Uain tomorrow─”

“──So they say”

“Isn’t that fine since you’re already on break tomorroay? Rather than that……”

Machine crystal <ilis>’ voice that had a suppressed laugh mixed into it quieted down a notch

“It looks like there’s one other e from someone”

Occupying about half of the work desk was a giant monitor and computer

The terthat a e had arrived

“……So this tih I haven’t really used this terminal at all”

“They don’t really come to this terminal; that’s rare”

If it was for sending and receiving sies had that function It was the nore to contact him

“I wonder who it is”

“I think it should be an administrative officer since they mailed you on this tere to mail you”

“Well, yeah”

Starting up the e inbox was shown

“……Huh? The sender’s infor up It can’t be viewed”

“It’s not that it’s not being shown; it has an upper authority’s secret encryption applied If it was a regular e of co at the General Affairs Bureau but this can’t be viewed by anybody except the recipient”

It used an unco aside administrative staff and Elite Guard-level Guards, it was so that a Cadet Guard would rarely ever have the chance to use

“Ohh, that’s interesting Come on, open it quickly─”

“I got it, okay, so wait a second”

Cal him on, he inserted his ID into the encrypted document

“To Sheltis,

Good work today Sorry I couldn’t attend theI also said a little about it when I interrupted your ”

“……Ymy?”

“She’s forgotten to put her name at either end of the mail but that’s who it would appear to be from the contents”

“O-On top of that!

It’s about that which is residing in your body but……since then, I wonder if I’ve doneIf you have time tomorrow, could you come to floor 276 past noon?

Sorry for being so sudden

I wanted to tell you in person but it looks like you were together with Monica-senpai for the entire day today

……I want to try purifying that

U-Um, just so you know It’s okay if you can’t come!

It’s not like it absolutely has to be toreat confidence It’s fine if you have so else to do and prioritize that

But

If you don’t have anything tomorrow………… ”

The mail ended there

There was no name for the sender……but there was no need to think about who it was now

“She said floor 276”

“It’s Y floor There are almost ten rooms matched to Ymy’s spells and a number of those can be used to purify mateki”

“……I see”

Theto mateki as ‘that‘ may have been for the one in ten thousand chance that somebody saw the contents

……The mateki that came to reside inden>

……If this mateki is purified, I wonder if my shi+nryoku will return

“Aren’t youquite the co your mateki purified?”

“I shouldn’t be unhappy”

Whispering that as if talking to himself, Sheltis sat down on a corner of the bed He laid down, stared up at the illu and took a deep breath

“But if my mateki is if purified and my shi+nryoku returns just like that, it feels like it’ll end with a ‘That’s great, that’s great‘”

It was miraculous that he had returned fro den> alive and even had mateki reside within him

He had a feeling the passion for investigating the cause for that had finally died down and changed into “Well, you ood”

……But was that really okay?

If thethe secret of the Garden of Corrupted Song den>, wouldn’t the chance to co with the disappearance of his mateki?

“……When ent to the Govern I had”

The Yuugenshu being bred within a water tank They had thought it was the work of the Governmental Sector, but it was then deteranization that Golden d to

……Moreover, there’s the Forbidden Crystal

……The Governmental Sector’s treasure, Mikuva’s Crimson Eye, was also like that

The Yuugenshu, the third organization and the Forbidden Crystal as well ……Andshould have the ‘Garden of Corrupted Song den>‘ as a common point

“I feel like I’ve caught onto so What is it……I can’t say it well but it feels like I’ve touched soards to the Garden of Corrupted Song den>’s secret”

More than any Guard and more than any Priestess

He was closing in on the Garden of Corrupted Song den>’s secret: that’s what he felt

“If I can investigate the Garden of Corrupted Song den>’s secret like this, we enshu and mateki”

It ht be able to becoth for her in other areas as he aiuard

“…………”

“Is it strange?”

“……I just thought about how you can think like that”

There was a ten minute pause between her words ──with a tone like she was gazing into the distance

“Ai you have a prooal between you and other Guards in the end……but what you just saidthat only you can achieve”

Being her guard was a given, but he’d found another way to beco within him If that was purified, he’d likely lose the opportunity to near the secret of the Garden of Corrupted Song den>

“It’s a new complication But you’ll accept Yht?”

“Yeah……I want to hear Ymy’s opinion as well”

He couldn’t beco within his body That was also part of the reason Ymy was so concerned about him

……But she’s gonna attempt to purify it so suddenly tomorrow

He was also thankful that it was early However, he felt that the su it tomorroas also out of the blue

“I wonder if so happened with Ymy”

The hope that the mateki within his body could be purified had faded and become a form of worry for Ymy at some point

Part 4

Floors 276 to 280 were the five Priestesses’ respective personal training floors and floors 271 to 275 beneath that were the Sennenshi+s’ respective training floors [T/N: I guess this has to be clarified now 修道 is used for the Priestesses and it’s the religious type of practice (or for arts) and the Sennenshi+ have 訓練 which is the ]

And floor 273

One step off the elevator and there was a dense forest which faithfully modeled the Biotope

Underfoot were very moist mud and puddles as well as fallen leaves Overhead, countless vines hanging from the trees crisscrossed like a spiderweb

In this forest where a real bird was flying around chirping──

A gunshot

The repeated ear-splitting gunfire noise shook the large trees

“──Rejected Next?”

“Y-Yes From the shi+nryoku Theory Bureau Chief, this is about the deployment of apprentice Priestesses There are fifty apprentice Priestesses this year that passed the first training period How many people would the third unit like……”

The s a report read it aloud

“That’s based on skill; apprentice Priestesses that can’t be used are unnecessary”

The woman with a pitch black blinder spat out her answer

Her body which was as tall as an adult coat that reached to below her knees

She had a machine pistol in each hand

It was a gun that had its firepower and consecutive firing speed raised to the limits to compensate for its low accuracy She held those casually in both hands and casually pulled the triggers

“Only choose the outstanding apprentice Priestesses”

“B-But the struggle with other units is harsh”

“It’s your job to deal with that”

With the resounding of gunfire, set machines fell down one after another

She was shooting down the sh speeds in the gaps between the trees whose leaves crowded those spaces, and she was doing it without a single miss

“…………”

“Is that all?”

“……Ah, n-no! S-Sorry!”

With the woman’s disinterested question, the boy frantically shook his head

“Err……u Captain Horn is”

“How so?”

She asked again in a tone that had not a shred of sociability

Horn Nova ── the younger sister of the third Priestess, Viola Nova; she was also the third Sennenshi+ as tasked with guarding her

“Eh?”

“I was asking what you thought was a”

“E-Everything……is what……”