Sentimental Voice

by Shūsuke Amagi

"I'll take her back then," Layfon said.

  Naruki returned to the conversation. "Well then, we'll go back first. Layton, thanks for tomorrow."

  "Oh, yeah. Is it really alright? If you really can't, we can change the date."

  "Don't worry. I'm pretty accurate at the timing of being a light bulb."

  "Nakki!" Meishen said as she pulled the smiling Naruki out of the shop.

  "What's going on tomorrow?"

  "We're hanging out."

  "Oh."

  "Originally the four of us were going together, but Naruki and Mifi said something sudden has come up and they can't go. We wanted to change the date, but in the end, we still decided on tomorrow."

  "Is that girl beside Naruki going to go?"

  "Yes, I'm going to thank her for the bento she made."

  "......I feel that I'm wasting my precious school life because of work, but you're wasting it in another way."

  "......Ha?"

  Formed slowly shook his head and said nothing.

  She held the heavy staff Dite in a place devoid of people.

  (I still can't control it completely.)

  Not long ago......She trained here after the fight with the Phase 1 filth monster and after Nina had fainted.

  Nina hadn't wanted anyone to see her.

  It was the same with Felli. She didn't want anyone to know. Standing on the outskirts of the city, Felli gazed at the faraway command tower. There wasn't any wind today. Without wild dancing sand, the nighttime scenery around the command tower was clear and unhampered. Felli thoroughly understood the inconvenience of being unable to pierce this darkness.

  The world was clearer and more vivid.

  She knew. Countless stars dangled in the sky, in the darkness opposite the command tower. They shone and sparkled beautifully beyond the reach of the city's artificial light. The pale moonlight shined down, as if to look through the polluted earth.

  Felli knew there was another life form besides filth monsters in this world. Microscopic creatures that weren't categorized as animal or insect. She knew those sad little creatures lived in the depths of the earth, their power of life not losing out to that of the filth monsters. She knew of that point of grandness.

  Knew. Filth monsters howled under this moonlight that seemed to come from a dream or perhaps, from reality. Sad and lonely conquerors.

  Felli understood this world better than anyone else.

  "Ah......"She breathed in the silent air.

  She relaxed, and bathed in the light that ran down her long hair to illuminate her surroundings. The light emitted from her hair suppressed the darkness and enveloped her.

  Psychokinesis.

  A huge amount of psychokinesis exuded from her body, conducted through her hair. Felli was a genius in psychokinesis. Even psychokinesists born without training in the special power but born with their hair emitting light could not be like Felli. It was the same with psychokinesists schooled and familiar with their ability. The power of psychokinesis couldn't be increased through training.

  The Kei of psychokinesis flew into her Dite. Felli did not need a keyword to restore her weapon, a translucent staff made of flakes.

  The flakes scattered, leaving nothing in Felli's hand. The flakes were connected to Felli through the power of psychokinesis. They became her eyes, mouth and ears. These flakes increased the communication range of a psychokinesist. Felli sent the flakes out to feel the existence of the world. She filtered out the burns of pollution, going back to the time when humanity and earth existed in harmony. She experienced the pale world of night, imagining a picture dotted with the jewels of the stars.

  It was a psychokinesist's privilege to feel the world outside the city. Anyone else would have to wear an environmental suit to walk outside the city. If they went out naked, their lungs would rot in five minutes. Their skin would burn. They had no way of touching this world, because the world rejected them. Even so, there were people who still had to get out. Those who fought.

  "I don't understand," Felli murmured.

  Through her innate feeling and the feeling she acquired through maturity, something else felt peculiar. Perhaps.... Something wasn't right. This feeling was similar to the one she had when she met him.

  Layfon Alseif.

  A feeling of hating one's own ability, but being admired by others......His past was different from Felli's, and for that past, he planned to abandon Military Arts. Layfon's past was more strained and distressing. He had experienced more hurt and pain than Felli. He was different from her, who was born to be a psychokinesist.

  No. If it was about ability, then his ability had forced him to choose the path of a Military Artist. Layfon used his ability as a tool for survival. People wanting Felli to become like that were all around her.

  Both Layfon and Felli attempted to head for a path other than the paths they were already treading, and both had experienced setbacks. And their experiences were different. Layfon had experienced a setback, whereas Felli chose to have a setback.

  (Could I be wrong?)

  (No.)

  Layfon came to Zuellni for a road besides Military Arts. What prevented him from chasing his dream were Zuellni's current situation and Felli's brother, who knew of Layfon's past – Karian.

  At first, Layfon hated it. He should have hated the platoon match...... But he didn't look like that now. He didn't look keen in the matches, but he didn't give up fighting.

  (He really is indecisive.)

  He hadn't given up on finding a path outside Military Arts, but he didn't ignore what he was capable of doing.

  And people thought he was zealous.

  (A helplessly good-natured person.)

  But perhaps, the road Layfon picked was right.

  (Or......)

  Or...... feeling something murky weighing on her, she shook her head and called back the flakes. She came here to clear her mind. Wasn't it meaningless to consider so much......

  "?"

  Something was out there in the darkness. She had almost missed it because of the mountains. It wasn't possible to discover it through the reflection of light. She probed with ultrasound and electromagnetic waves. The flakes approached the source of the disturbance. It wasn't far. Judging by the city's speed, that thing was two days or so from Zuellni. If she let the flakes head for that thing's location, daylight would arrive. The flakes hovered a short distance from it and began their investigation.

  Looking at the numbers surfacing in her consciousness, Felli swallowed.

  "This is......"

  Chapter 2

  After a Day of Rest

  A breeze blew in the morning. Leerin felt as if she hadn't slept the night before. This strange feeling came about because of what had happened the day before yesterday. Whatever had happened, the passing of a day had put that event in the past. Time was merciless, but it treated everyone fairly. No matter how astonished and shocked Leerin was, it wasn't possible to reverse the flow of time.

  As she neared the school, she heard other classmates greeting each other. She only joined them, as she walked on the path shaded by tree canopy that headed towards the school entrance.

  "Fu......" She had been sighing continuously since morning, and she was aware of the reason behind it.

  "......The muscles on my back are twisted."

  All of a sudden, something intruded from behind Leerin's armpits to grab hold of her breasts.

  "Ahahahahahaha!!'

  A pair of hands was caressing her front. Because it was so sudden, Leerin had dropped her schoolbag and stood spaced out for a little while.

  "Oh, Leerin's chest is the same as before. It feels good."

  "......Please stop voicing your lamentations so deeply."

  A face leaped into Leerin's line of sight.

  "Ah~ If I don't do this, I can't feel the arrival of a new day."

  "Please get rid of your habit..."

  Long black hair covered a large part of Leerin's vision. The "hehe" laughter ruined the e
legant face that the black hair revealed.

  "But Lee-chan's breasts feel too good."

  "That's not true."

  Finally escaping the evil palms, Leerin felt helpless.

  Synola Aleisla. She belonged to the research laboratory that was located in the same area of the school. Leerin felt many gazes on her side.

  A body that matched her long limbs...... The protruding parts and depressions of Synola's body were perfectly outlined. Lab personnel had no uniform. Synola's clothes seemed to emphasize her body build, so it couldn't be helped that she stood out in the crowd.

  "No, no. It's a shame really, but whether it feels good or not is meaningless to the owner of the body. It's your body after all, but it isn't necessarily the best for anyone. What's most important is that it suits my hands. That feeling of being just right, but with enough left over. That's a soft feeling that no sweets can match. Ah~~"

  Synola looked like she was reminiscing something really deep.... She started to shake her head like an old man.

  "You're the best."

  "......Please stop," Leerin said.

  Synola really didn't look normal to say something like this early in the morning. Besides, she was gesturing before Leerin's breast as she said.

  "......Well, did something happen to Leerin-chan?"

  "Huh?"

  Synola's hands returned to her pant pockets. Her expression turned back to normal. She was already beautiful, and that pose made people's hearts jump.

  "You've been sighing while fidgeting. This says that something's happened."

  "Ah......" Leerin thought she had done enough to cover her worries, but it seemed she had failed.

  "Sorry."

  "Hmm~, Isn't it meaningless to apologize to me?"

  "Yeah......"

  "Never mind. It's ok if you don't want to explain."

  Sometimes Leerin wanted to pull in that distance, but their relationship was far apart. She was thankful for Synola's sensitivity, her ability to see through what should be and should not be touched, but she also felt her own inadequacy in this area.

  (Maybe I can try telling her?)

  She looked at Synola. Either way, as a beautiful woman, she was somewhat strange in wanting to touch other girls' breasts. And for some reason, Synola started laughing in that 'hehe' way.

  (Um......)

  "Ah, cookies are nice, but it's not bad to try fruits sometimes."

  "Ha?"

  "I'm saying Lee-chan's breasts are very soft, and they're also bouncy. This is great! To put it the other way......they feel like cookies."

  "......Thanks."

  "So I say cookies are always the best, but I can better experience that feeling by not eating cookies all the time. So it's good to change taste sometime and try the hard nut."

  Her hands moved.

  "Like this. I can feel their weight by holding their bottoms, and caress them with that resistant feeling of hardness. I guess they don't lose their shape in sleep......I can feel them by searching and touching like this."

  "Just what are you saying?"

  "Ah, it's not bad to touch Lee-chan's breasts like this sometimes, but wouldn't that hurt? I can't do something that makes you hate me."

  "Just what are you saying!?" Leerin shouted angrily with her face all red. Synola showed no intention of answering.

  "I was just talking to myself ambitiously."

  Looking at Synola's breasts, Leerin burst out. "Isn't your ambition over there......?"

  (Ah......Grendan is so peaceful.)

  This was the Lance Shelled City, Grendan, a city that had more fights with filth monsters than any other city in the world. Every year there were five to six emergencies. As the emergency siren sounded, Grendan's residents would move towards the shelters as if they were out on a road trip. They followed the procedures without pushing and fighting for a place in the shelter.

  Yes, that wasn't necessary at all, because their Queen was leading them. A Queen who also was a Heaven's Blade successor.

  Alsheyra Almonise.

  Grendan was probably the only city that had experienced this much danger, but Grendan's residents believed it was the safest city on earth. Under the protection of the Queen and the Heaven's Blade successors, the threat of filth monsters was nothing. Grendan had also fought many times against filth monsters in their mature phases, and that wasn't recorded in Grendan's history books. In the fifteen years of Leerin's life, Grendan had fought those mature forms many times.

  The number of fights the city encountered was unusual for a mobile city that aimed to evade as many filth monsters as possible. Even if a large number of filth monsters stood in Grendan's path, Grendan did nothing to change its path and avoid them. Some people from other cities even called Grendan "A city that has gone mad".

  Leerin thought that that might be true. Her conviction received support when she read from Layfon's letters that Zuellni had not encountered any filth monsters for a long while. Even so, there were also the Heaven's Blade successors in Grendan. The people relied on their skills to protect them.

  After parting with Synola, Leerin headed for her classroom. She greeted her classmates, went to her seat, and once again fell into her own thoughts. She was thinking of what had happened to her.

  "Sorry, please let me protect you for now," Savaris said on the rooftop.

  "Uh......"

  "Your question is rejected," Lintence said.

  "Sorry about this, but that's the way it is," Savaris apologized.

  "But, Layfon......" Leerin wanted to say more, but fell silent when she glanced at Lintence.

  No one would disobey a Heaven's Blade successor in Grendan. That wasn't a law, it was just a mutual habit of everyone living in this city.

  "I won't interfere with your daily life......until something happens. Meaning what concerns me is the time when you're alone. If possible, I hope you can refuse even your friends' invitations. Find some reasonable excuse."

  "Um......Am I being targeted?"

  "I said your question is rejected......never mind."

  Savaris nodded with a sour smile. "Yes, you're being targeted. I know you want to know why, and what people have targeted you, but please don't ask."

  "......And this is related to Layfon?"

  That was what Savaris said in the Resting Room.

  Lintence said any questions were rejected. Any resident of Grendan would listen to him. Any of them would think nothing bad would come out of listening to a Heaven's Blade successor.

  Leerin felt the same. But if this had to do with Layfon... And that was the only thing she couldn't keep silent about.

  Lintence's gaze turned intense. Leerin failed to move under that pressure.

  "Ah......I told her that," Savaris sighed.

  In that split second, Leerin was released. Her body trembled as if her bones were broken. Her legs had lost their strength, and she sat down on the rooftop. Savaris, who received Lintence's gaze in her place, didn't look pressured at all. He shook his head.

  "Then I'll just tell you this. This is related to Layfon. You're involved in something that's got nothing to do with you. That's all I can say."

  (......Meaning, this is Layfon's world.)

  Meaning.

  This was the other world of Grendan.

  Within the cheering in the shop, a waitress placed a bowl in front of Layfon.

  "Please enjoy," she smiled and walked to the screen. The screen was showing a platoon match in the war field.

  "......Is this ok?"

  "Huh?" Layfon looked back at Meishen, who was peeking at him.

  A bowl of noodles also sat in front of her. The smell of food tickled her nose.

  "Is it ok not to watch the platoon match?"

  "Ah, yeah, the captain's watching it."

  Nina had gone to the match with a camera, wearing a serious expression. They would probably watch this video when they next had training.

  "So it's ok. Don't worry about it."

  "I see."
/>
  Meishen looked to be finally at ease.

  This shop was always full because of their delicious noodles, but today, the shop was surprisingly empty. The few customers sitting in the shop were watching the screen, so no one sat around Layfon's table. Everyone must have gone to watch the platoon match.

  Because the audience seats were booked out, lots of people would have gathered outside to watch the match on the giant screen. For this shop that only had a small screen to offer, of course the number of customers was small.

  "Thanks to that, we don't have to wait long for the food. We're lucky," Layfon concluded, picked up his fork and attacked the noodles.

  "Ah, yes......" Even so, Meishen still nodded awkwardly and picked up her fork in haste.

  (Well, this can't be helped.)

  Because Naruki and Mifi weren't here.

  Originally, Layfon planned to invite all three as thanks for Meishen's bento.

  "We can't go," Mifi had said.

  The shop was nearly empty, but Meishen still failed to calm down. It would have been better if the other two girls were here.

  (Why didn't they come?)

  Naruki said she had something on, but Mifi's sly smile seemed to suggest she was hiding something.

  Because Layfon had received his pay for cleaning at the Mechanical Department, he had wanted to treat the three of them.

  Originally he planned to work at the Mechanical Department for his school fees, but Karian had transferred him to Military Arts and waived all his fees, so now he had spare money.

  "Ha...... Wu......" Meishen moaned at her failure at coiling the noodles around her fork.

  Looking at Meishen, Layfon wondered whether he should have delayed the date and waited till all three girls could come.

  "Sorry......"

  "Huh, Huh?" Meishen lifted her head to look at him fearfully. The noodles that she finally managed to roll up fell back into the bowl.

  "I'm thinking whether it might have been better if I had waited till the three of you could come together......"

  "Noooottttt. Not at all."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah, yeah. Yes," Face reddening, Meishen continued to work on the noodles.

  Layfon pushed down the impulse to repeat himself, and continued to eat.