by Yuu Miyazaki
“Ta-daa.”
“What?! I-isn’t that…?!” Ayato’s eyes opened wide in shock.
It was a wish coupon, one of many that had exchanged hands between them after their sparring matches as kids. When one of them used one, the other had to try to fulfill their wish—that was the rule.
“You’re still holding on to it, huh?”
“This is the last one. It’s a good thing I didn’t waste it. And it doesn’t have an expiration date. Which means—”
“Got it. It’s still valid.” Ayato raised his hands as if to say he wouldn’t debate the matter.
They might have just been silly games they’d played as children, but he couldn’t deny her that.
After all, they were both where they were now because of their past.
“Okay… But I don’t feel like using it yet, so you don’t need to worry.”
“You don’t feel like using it? Why not?”
Saya flashed him a forced, somewhat forlorn smile. “…Because I’m not brave enough.”
“Huh?”
What’s that supposed to mean?
However, Saya’s expression quickly returned to normal as she picked up the wrench she’d left on the floor.
“Well then, break’s over. Back to work.”
And then, with a backward glance at Ayato, who wasn’t entirely satisfied with her explanation, she went back to customizing her Lux.
The blade dug into her chest.
There was a sharp, burning pain as the taste of blood began to well up in her throat.
The flame burning deep inside her body began to grow weak, the strength ebbing from her limbs as the cold crept up on her.
“…Sorry about this, prez,” Eishirou murmured in a low voice. He was holding a dagger. Not a Lux.
The light shone behind him. She couldn’t see his face. Was he laughing? Or was he staring at her coldly, devoid of expression? But she had changed her approach with Eishirou. This future was supposed to have been changed. The memories poured back on her… But it was no good. He was surely smiling.
Her vision grew blurry, her surroundings dark.
Her body was cold, as if it were submerged in ice.
It was painful.
It was terrifying.
She was going to die.
What if she tried to get used to it? Impossible. She could never get used to such a thing. Death was the most primal of fears—as if anyone could get used to it. Infinite pain was no more than infinite hell.
She was slipping into the darkness, falling, falling…
And then Claudia’s eyes snapped open.
“…It’s been a while since he did it,” she mumbled, holding on to the fading memory.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she sat up on the sofa.
There was an unfinished coffee on her desk, surrounded by a number of open air-windows… She must have fallen asleep while working. The clock indicated it was just past three in the morning.
Claudia glanced at her mobile. It looked like she had just missed a call.
“Oh my.”
She smiled as she read the name and then hit the redial button without any hesitation.
“Ah, sorry for calling so late,” the voice on the other side of the air-window said, before Eishirou’s carefree smile popped up.
“Not at all. What is it?”
“It’s about those newbies you mentioned. It looks like I might have found something, so I thought I’d better let you know.”
“I expected no less. You’re a fast one, aren’t you?” Claudia smiled.
Her conversation partner blushed at the praise. “Well, if it’s a request from you.”
“Oh? But you might be better off keeping your distance from me now.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
While Shadowstar, Seidoukan Academy’s special operations unit, took orders from the student council president, it was officially under Galaxy’s control. Given that she was now going up against the school’s integrated enterprise foundation, it would be difficult to keep using it as she had in the past.
Moreover, this was a personal matter. If word was to get out, she wouldn’t be the only one to suffer the consequences—Eishirou would no doubt get dragged into it as well.
“You got a warning from the higher-ups, didn’t you? I wouldn’t have minded if you had declined.”
However, Eishirou waved his hands, his smile unwavering. “Come on, prez, you know me better than that. I work in the shadows, even by Shadowstar’s standards. At this point, it won’t make much difference.”
“I see. Then let me thank you for your loyalty.” And with that, Claudia closed the air-window.
Of course, Claudia wasn’t foolish enough to take Eishirou’s words at face value. Given his position, there was little doubt that he had some kind of relationship with Galaxy’s highest management. It was even rumored that he had connections with the other schools—and with Dirk Eberwein, the Tyrant of Le Wolfe, in particular.
“…But he’s probably put his money on someone else.”
From her position, at least, it didn’t matter.
She just needed to hold out a little longer—a little longer, and she would be able to get her wish.
The preparations were complete; the pieces had begun to fall into place.
Now all that was left was for her—for Team Enfield—to seize victory.
If she could do that…
CHAPTER 2
THE GRYPS
“Wow… They’ve really changed it.”
Ayato looked down from his seat in one of the Sirius Dome’s many galleries. The stage was so changed, in fact, that it might as well have been completely new.
The most obvious difference was that it was now surrounded by a deep, moat-like ditch filled with the protective gel developed by Allekant, giving the stage the appearance of an island floating on the surface of a lake. It seemed that the gel was supposed to unfurl and surround the stage during matches.
On top of that, the existing defensive barriers were still located outside the protective gel.
“I guess they wanted to make it safer for the audience, but isn’t this overdoing it a little?” Julis, sitting beside Ayato, looked dumbfounded.
Kirin and Saya were sitting in the front row, apparently busy discussing something as well.
The opening ceremony of the Gryps was scheduled to take place later in the day, but for now, the participating teams had been invited to take a look at the upgraded venue.
As such, the galleries—normally capable of seating up to a hundred thousand spectators—looked strangely desolate.
Claudia let out a soft laugh. “It can’t be helped. Some of the top executives from the integrated enterprise foundations will be coming to watch. There would be a terrible fuss in the odd event that any of them was to get injured.”
“Top executives? Hmm… I guess it makes sense then, from their perspective.”
“The Executive Committee chairman apparently managed to convince them to hold the next Concordia here in Asterisk. It looks like they’ve decided to watch the ceremonies while they’re here—and at least some of the matches.”
It was fair to say that the top IEF executives were the highest powers in the world today. They hardly ever appeared in public, but it was said that they, or at least their representatives, attended a summit, the Concordia, every few years to coordinate their long-term interests.
“The last time they came here was just after the city’s large-scale improvement works forty years ago. Of course, the executives themselves will have changed over that time, too.”
“But even so…,” Ayato said, mulling it over, “does the Festa Executive Committee chairman really have that kind of influence?”
The Festa Executive Committee chairman—Madiath Mesa.
Based on what Ayato had heard, Mesa didn’t have a bad reputation—a sentiment that matched the impression Ayato had of him from their own brief dealings. The chairman h
ad even done what he could during Flora’s kidnapping—and in helping to find Haruka.
But there was no forgetting the advice Ayato had been given by Stjarnagarm’s Commander Lindwall.
“Don’t put too much trust in Madiath Mesa.”
The words remained engraved in his mind even now.
“Let’s see. In terms of position, Mesa is only a mid-level executive at Galaxy. Moreover, given his heritage, he shouldn’t expect to rise higher than that. Under any normal situation, it would be impossible for him to have any kind of influence in determining the venue for the Concordia…,” Claudia answered in a hushed tone. “The Festa occupies an extremely special position for the integrated enterprise foundations. It is, after all, the sole event they manage jointly and for which they share responsibility. As such, the members of the Executive Committee are appointed from each foundation, and there is always a fixed ratio of members belonging to each one. There’s no need for me to explain how advantageous it is to have the chairman working for you, is there?”
“So what you’re saying is that it puts Galaxy in a strong position?”
“On the other hand, it’s also somewhat dangerous from a personal perspective. The previous executive chairman managed to evade those threats thanks to his political maneuvering. Madiath Mesa’s leadership, however, has left nothing to be desired.”
He did indeed come across as an unusually reliable and talented individual.
Nonetheless, there was still too little information out there for anyone to truly ascertain who he was as a person.
“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt you,” a cool and familiar voice from behind them said. “I don’t suppose I could have a moment of your time, Team Enfield?”
Ayato turned around to find a number of students from Saint Gallardworth Academy standing behind them, each impeccably dressed—their school crest, shaped like a halo, displayed prominently. Julis’s eyes opened wide, and neither Kirin nor Saya could mask their surprise.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Ayato held out his hand to the handsome young man at the head of the group, Ernest Fairclough. They had last seen each other at the school fair several months earlier.
Ernest, wearing a perfect smile, gave it a firm shake. “You look well, Amagiri.”
He was standing at the forefront of nine other Gallardworth students.
Which meant—
“And how are you, Pendragon? I see that you’ve brought Team Lancelot and Team Tristan with you. How very extravagant.” Claudia seemed to reflect that too-perfect smile like a mirror as she bowed to the Gallardworth students in greeting.
Team Lancelot was composed of the top five members of Gallardworth’s Page One students. Four of its members had participated in the previous Gryps.
Team Tristan was composed of Gallardworth’s sixth- to tenth-ranked Page One students, and so it was often described as the academy’s farm team when compared to Team Lancelot. There were, of course, many other teams from Gallardworth participating in the tournament, but those were the two that stood out most in terms of raw ability.
“Well, some of us were insistent that we come to greet you all.”
But no sooner had Ernest begun speaking than a woman with gorgeous golden hair stepped forward.
“Oh my… It has been a while, Laetitia.” Claudia beamed.
“Yes, indeed. Too long! I’ve waited three years to repay you for that humiliation at the last Gryps! Mark my words, Claudia—I’ll crush you this time!”
The woman staring down in challenge was Gallardworth’s second-ranked fighter, Laetitia Blanchard, also known as the Witch of Shining Wings, Gloriara.
“Humiliation? Oh dear. Your team won.”
“Forget the team! This is about my own pride!”
Claudia merely parried the declaration with a light chuckle.
Julis watched from the side, her expression somewhere between astonishment and exasperation. “They haven’t changed at all, those two,” she scolded with her arms folded as she watched the exchange from the corner of her vision.
“Do you know her?” Ayato asked.
When it came to Gallardworth, Ernest was usually the one at the tip of everyone’s tongues, but the fact that Laetitia fought alongside him meant that she, too, wasn’t to be made light of. Judging by what Ayato had seen in recordings of her matches, she would have to be among the top five Stregas in all of Asterisk.
“…Like Claudia, she’s a regular at the Opernball in Lieseltania. She and Claudia both seem to have known each other since before that, though. It ends up like this every time they meet. Laetitia seems to have some sort of rivalry with her.”
“Oh? That’s impressive.”
Anyone who wanted to contend with Claudia would have to have quite the fighting spirit.
“Apparently, the Blanchard family has had a deep connection to the Enfield family for several generations—”
“I can hear you, Julis,” Laetitia interrupted her with a piercing stare. “Just so you know, this has nothing to do with our families. This is between me and her!”
“Well, excuse me.” Julis looked away with a shrug.
Judging by how they addressed each other, Julis seemed to be more familiar with her than she was letting on.
“And on top of that, as a frien— Ahem! As an old acquaintance, I can’t watch on in silence as you try to realize such a foolish, stupid dream!” Laetitia declared, pointing a finger squarely at Claudia. “I’ll smash it into the ground; mark my words!”
Don’t tell me…, Ayato thought. Does she know what Claudia’s wish is?
Ayato and her other team members knew, of course, but they still had no idea what kind of motivation lay behind it.
If Laetitia knew, too, she would have to have a much deeper relationship with her than Julis had just suggested.
“In any case, if you plan to win this time, you’ll have to go through us sooner or later. That said, I wouldn’t mind watching you trip up in the preliminaries.”
The bracket for the preliminaries, up until the third round, had already been announced. Like the Phoenix, however, it was designed to prevent tournament favorites from facing off against one another too soon, so there would be no possibility of Team Enfield running up against either Team Lancelot or Team Tristan until at least the fourth round, when the next bracket would be drawn.
“Are you finished, Laetitia?” interrupted a voice that Ayato remembered well. “I’m afraid you’re not the only one looking to settle a score.”
“Elliot…,” Laetitia murmured, reluctantly stepping back.
“It’s been almost a full year, Amagiri.”
Greeting him with a light smile was Elliot Forster, alias the Shining Sword, Claíomh Solais, whom Ayato had defeated in the semifinals of the Phoenix. He excelled at countering and was a master of swordsmanship comparable even to Kirin in skill.
The last time they had fought, Ayato hadn’t been able to use the Ser Veresta, so it had been an old-fashioned duel between one swordsman and another. At that time, he had managed, somehow, to overcome him.
But that was a year ago now.
“Wow… It looks like you’ve been training. You’re ranked six now, right?” Not having seen Elliot in so long, he couldn’t hide his surprise at his obvious growth.
His fluffy blond hair was still the same, but his facial features had matured considerably, and while he was still somewhat shorter than Ayato, the muscles in his slender arms and legs were clearly more developed, even hidden by his uniform.
“No, I still have a long way to go… But I haven’t forgotten the humiliation I felt when you smashed my crest.” Elliot flashed him a fierce grin. “At the very least, I’m not going to let that happen again.” His words brimmed with confidence, as if he could only barely hold his pride as a swordsman in check.
“Ayato…,” Kirin whispered nervously.
“Yeah, I know,” he replied with a short nod.
She had no doubt sensed the strength of the
boy standing in front of them as well. As a swordswoman herself, she would have expected no less.
“You’ll be able to see how much I’ve grown for yourself when we battle. I’ll be looking forward to it.” Elliot gave them a polite bow before stepping back to rejoin his team members.
“They say defeat helps one grow… But Elliot is a completely different person now. I suppose we have you to thank for that, Amagiri.” Ernest smiled, putting a hand on Elliot’s shoulder. “And,” he added sweetly, “I’m looking forward to crossing swords with you myself.”
Ayato heard Saya mutter, “Looks like you’re popular.”
He was about to say something in response when he noticed the Ser Veresta rattling in its holder.
“Oh my…” Claudia giggled.
It seemed that the Orga Lux at Ernest’s waist—the Lei-Glems—was shaking as well.
“What’s this…?”
“Perhaps they’re saying something to each other as well? It has been more than a decade since any of the Four Colored Runeswords have faced one another like this.”
The Four Colored Runeswords—the Ser Veresta, the Blade of the Black Furnace; the Lei-Glems, the Blade of White Purification; the Raksha-Nada, the Blade of Red Mist; and the Wole-Zain, the Blade of Blue Lamentation.
Throughout the long history of the Festa, there had never been a time when all four had been used against one another.
At present, the Wole-Zain was without a compatible user, and the Raksha-Nada was said to have been sealed away.
“I’ve heard they were all built in the same laboratory. Maybe they miss each other, or else…?” Ernest left the sentence unfinished, putting his hands together with a clap to change the subject, just like Claudia. “Well then, my apologies for taking up so much of your time. Let’s do our best, all of us, fairly and cleanly. I hope to see you soon—preferably in the arena.”
Claudia let out a chuckle as they watched the Gallardworth students march away in single file. “It looks like we’ve got some mutual friends, Ayato.”
He could respond only with a forced smile.
“It goes without saying that the skills and prowess of our contestants continue to rise with each and every Festa… I say this in no way to disparage the heroes of past tournaments. No, I am speaking rather with reference to the scientific data, which provides us all with the indisputable facts.”
