Part 1
Sophia, outdoor training grounds.
Droplets ── the deafening roar of the water didn't let up for a moment and the brilliant sunlight from overhead passed through the water, creating multitudes of mini rainbows.
"......Fumu. Nobody here either."
A grand waterfall flowed from the sheer cliff.
Even within this training ground which recreated each and every environment on the floating continent, this was one of the fields favored for individual training by Cadet Guards because of the cool temperature and ease of movement.
"Especially in times like these, you should keep a level head and train............or so I'd normally tell them."
Instructor Yumelda puffed her cigarette and looked down at the waterfall devoid of people from the cliff above.
She was a tall woman wearing a navy blue suit with nary a wrinkle and a bright red necktie. A whip that ended in nine points was held in her hand.
"......Everybody's holed up their room on standby, huh."
She spent just under an hour heading around to each place in the outdoor training grounds. The hot sand environment, grasslands environment...... Not a shadow of a Cadet Guard could be seen at any of them.
She flipped through the thick register of Cadet Guard names. Her hand stopped as she found a greyed out name near the end of it.
"Sheltis Magna Yehle ── so you lost shinryoku and carry mateki as the price for returning from Eden alive. It's hard to believe so suddenly though."
When the broadcast had played, most of the Cadet Guards had been training in the outdoor training grounds.
It might have been different if it had occurred at an unpopular time of day but......the rumor that Sheltis' weapon was coated with mateki as well had spread and Cadet Guards had been packing themselves into the purification centers one after another all of last night and this morning.
It was the same right now.
There was mateki remaining in the fields he had used. That rumor had even mobilized the Guard Regulation Institute and it appeared that there were even talks of purifying the entire place with apprentice Priestesses.
"──This unrest will continue for a while longer. That's what your expression is saying."
"I wonder about that."
Instructor Yumelda muttered with a wry tone in response to the voice mixed in with the roar of the waterfall.
When she turned around, there was a Cadet Guard she knew. The man with delicate features and long black hair was a dual gunner with a gun at each of the holsters on his thighs.
"That's why I'm doing independent training. Now is a good time. Nobody will be around to see me sweating."
The Cadet Guard had a fearless look accompanying his gentle demeanor.
Nash G. Endolfin ── one of the people out of the thousand who had managed to become Cadet Guards which was viewed as a shoo-in for Regular Guard. His basic combat ability went without saying and he was overflowing with insight, consideration and an ambition to improve that was second to none.
......That's a lot of sweat.
......So he's been hiding from me and already did a fair amount of independent training.
"You alone?"
"Of course not. The captain's working hard so we can't not be here."
He was not the one who replied.
Four Cadet Guards came from the other entrance directly below the roaring waterfall ── it was one of them that spoke, a female Cadet Guard holding a harp endowed with shinryoku.
'......We won't give up here.'
He had been previously injured by Maha's attack and lost to Monica's squad in the finals to decide which squad would go to the Governmental Sector.
......This is what's good about them.
Severe training unseen by the others supported their unending ambition to rise up. They wished to go beyond anyone else and understood just how necessary base efforts were for that.
"Training at this time and with such a ruckus going?"
Yumelda held back the smile of praise that would be directed at the Cadet Guards and kept the expression of an Instructor to the end.
"Your fellow Cadet Guard ── there's no way you're ignorant of it, right? Are you sure you don't want to get purified on floor 22?"
"I wonder about that. We move on our own decisions. That is all."
"So what have you decided?"
She and Nash looked each other in the eyes. Several seconds......dozens of seconds......after, the first one to look away was Nash.
"It's probably just as you are thinking."
"Hou?"
He shrugged meaningfully. It could be called arrogant for a Cadet Guard but right now, it could even be said to feel pleasant.
"Though I am curious about how his squad is doing. The captain was a woman......Monica, I believe it was. How are they?"
"Even putting it lightly, not good. It wouldn't be strange if they self-destructed any time."
"Well, that's for sure. They really are dead center in this case. With one of their members being suspected as pretty much a Yuugenshu, there's no way they could remain calm."
"No, there's a different problem──"
"A different one?"
She put the remnants of her cigarette into a portable ash tray and put a new one in her mouth. But Yumelda didn't light that cigarette and instead spent a short while listening to the waterfall.
"......It's not something a man would understand."
Part 2Sophia floor 17.
Personal rooms were lined up in a row at the end of the corridor directly outside the elevator. This was because almost every Cadet Guard resided here. The amount of people housed on this floor alone was close to a hundred.
"Sheesh, why the hell am I here."
Clack............
He was quiet even while cursing. Floor 17 was a women-only floor and any male Cadet Guards caught loitering around would have an interrogation awaiting them.
"Freakin' pain in the ass."
"If so, then why did you come?"
The intellectual voice of a girl. After turning the corner and seeing somebody he knew, Vaiel's face clearly soured.
"Good morning. You're up early even though morning practice is canceled."
"Ah, wait! Why are you trying to leave? Didn't you come because you were concerned about Monica?"
The short girl clutched onto the back of his formal vestments. She was wearing a white lab coat for researchers and had a giant mechanical helmet worn low over her eyes.
"Hell if two of us need to look after her."
He replied to Kagura in the same hushed tone. He had surmised that she would come. She and Monica were acquainted even before the formation of the squad. They'd had the same idea when their squad leader was in the dumps.
"So how's it look?"
"Frankly, there's a problem beyond her physical wellfare or mood. You could say it's like she's completely out of it. She wouldn't answer me no matter how many times I called for her outside her door......"
"Tch."
Things would be different if she would meet them face-to-face but nothing could be done if she locked her door and shut herself in her room.
'Sheltis, remember. Three years ago, you were an Elite Guard and you fell into Eden instead of Ymy when you protected her.'
"I get that it's a surprise but this is overdoing it."
"No. It's just as I told you yesterday. Monica doesn't consider Sheltis simply a squad member. The Elite Guard she admired...... She thought he was KIA three years ago by falling into Eden but he was actually alive, having lost shinryoku and gained the mateki that Yuugenshu have."
"If we're talkin' about knowing, that's the first I heard of it too."
"No. That's why I said──"
Kagura ended up biting back the words she was about to say.
'He' was probably her first love three years ago. Hearing about it from a complete stranger lent the information a completely different weight.
"And you knew."
"Yes. It's just as I said to Monica last night. When we fought Maha, I saw Sheltis use mateki to counter Maha's shinryoku. It was obvious that he was the same Elite Guard that went missing three years ago and Sheltis himself also admitted it."
"Why didn't you tell us......or so I'd like to say but the details are what they are."
Vaiel scratched at his hair with a dissatisfied expression.
"But y'know, it's major shit to not know when all the other squad members know, got it?"
"Yes. I also bear some responsibility. I was ready for my cheeks to be stretched out yesterday."
......No, it might've actually been better if she had enough will for that.
Yesterday, she looked as if everything was a dream to her and she only gave halfhearted responses regardless of what was said to her......almost like an emotionless puppet.
"Can I ask one more thing?"
"How rare of you to ask so formally. What is it?"
"What's the truth about that bastard's mateki?"
Vaiel pinched at the edge of his vestments.
"Me, you, those other Cadet Guards, we've all trained with him for months now. We should've gotten infected and been wiped out ages ago if it was the same as a Yuugenshu."
"That's up to your imagination. There is the possibility that it has a long incubation period but I believe that it is completely benign. It appears that the executives of two years ago came to the same conclusion."
No evidence of effects on humans could be observed. But if there was no guarantee, he could not be left near the Priestesses. As a result, she'd heard that he was eternally exiled to the Living Districts.
"......In the end, what is his mateki? I doubt even Sheltis himself has a clue."
"Just thinkin' about it's a pain."
Vaiel leaned against the wall with his arms folded.
"What shall we do?"
"I told ya, nothin' gets done without the boss."
"That's right, that's precisely how it is. But......"
She walked up right beside Vaiel.
Kagura looked up at his ever-present sour look.
"Would you give Monica a little more time to sort out her feelings?"
Part 3......I've been hearing Kagura's voice all this time.
......I know there's been knocking on the door and the doorbell has been ringing the whole time too.
'Monica, Monica, you're there, aren't you? Could we talk?'
But she couldn't.
Her body...... No, her heart just wouldn't react. Unable to stand up, she balled up and hugged her knees on her bed.
............What.
"......am I......even doing."
'There was a Guard boy I admired during my days as an apprentice Priestess. That's all.'
The Elite Guard she looked up to was still alive and, of all things, in the same squad as her. She had revealed her feelings to the person himself.
......No, that doesn't really matter.
......He's alive. That is something more than anything else to be happy about.
He had lost his shinryoku as the price for returning alive from Eden. And he carried the same mateki as Yuugenshu. What about it? If he was saved with just that, wasn't that a cheap price to pay? They were fellow squad members and all they had to do was search for a way to reverse it.
......Right. It would be fine if that was all.
Of course she was surprised but she wasn't scared of mateki like the other Cadet Guards and would definitely not remove him from the squad.
But──
In the next moment, I heard something I shouldn't have.
'Ymy would become a Priestess protecting Orbie Clar and you would protect her from Yuugenshu. You would go on to become a Sennenshi and protect her. That was the promise.'
There had been no room for her. Her legs had collapsed under her and she was sitting on the ground before she knew it.
"......Ymy?"
That girl? Of all people, it's my kouhai?
She had......that promise with him.
'If you're acquainted with Captain Leon, I guess you're also aiming to become a Sennenshi?'
'......That's right.'
'Do you have a specific reason for that?'
'I promised a Priestess that I would protect her.'
That was back when she'd first teamed up with him and went to Lagoon. They'd been separated from Captain Leon and the others during the crash landing and that conversation had taken place during the night.
I had no doubts that he had said that as a way to motivate himself.
But I was wrong.
Sheltis was serious back then.
"............Why......is it always like this?"
The person she liked who should have died three years ago was still alive. But he was already close to a girl from way before that. And that girl......was the kouhai she was close to.
Her relationship with Sheltis is much longer and deeper than somebody like me.
Even in methodology to purify mateki, rather than somebody who was fully taxed just being an apprentice Priestess, Ymy would be more knowledgeable as a Priestess.
'I just thought you really do treasure her. I'm sure you treasure others as well but she alone is special.'
She had no clue who the speaker was but they appeared to be privy to everything.
Even Kagura knew that Sheltis had fallen into Eden.
......Maybe if Ymy had.
I doubt I'd have been shocked this badly if she had told me about her relationship with Sheltis when I told her about my feelings.
......Or Sheltis could have.
When I revealed her admiration for an Elite Guard three years ago, I would not have learned the truth this way if he had told me that was him.
"............The worst."
Neither Ymy nor Sheltis were at fault. I'm the one who fell in love with him all on my own. And yet I'm trying to pin the blame for these feelings coming to naught on somebody.
"It's wrong...... Even though it's wrong............ I...... I......!"
Her view was colored with tears and her voice was cramped so no words would come out.
I.....just......didn't want to learn the truth like this.
Sheltis, Ymy or Kagura would have been fine.
I wanted them to tell me face-to-face. I...... Even if I was told Sheltis had fallen into Eden, I wouldn't have told anyone else. I would even work with him to try to come up with a way to restore his lost shinryoku.
As long ss they told her truthfully......no matter how......she would've been able to laugh it off.
"............I......really am despicable."
At the heart of things, I'm just jealous of Ymy.
Comparing Ymy who is one of only five Priestesses in the world with a regular Cadet Guard like herself, she had not a single thing she could win at.
"............Please, leave me alone. Just let me be by myself."
I don't want to think of anything. I want to forget everything I heard yesterday.
She whispered as if dying and collapsed onto her bed. Then she closed her eyes──
'Umm...... Monicsenpai......could we talk for a bit right now?'
It was then that a voice she knew came through telepathy.
Part 4Clack, clack──
The footsteps echoed cold and hard in the corridor. It was said Yuugenshu would take slight damage just passing through this floor whose floor and walls were completely covered with shinryoku carved seals.
Sophia floor 199. Other than the Priestesses' floors and the purification room, this floor was one of the rare instances where the entire floor was full of Yuugenshu countermeasures.
'Sheltis, are you okay?'
"Mm......yeah."
Sheltis nodded absentmindedly while sitting on the hard bed.
──This floor is under the jurisdiction of the Shinryoku Theory Bureau.
While the Guards were under the command of the Guard Regulation Institute, the Shinryoku Theory Bureau managed the development of the apprentice Priestesses and research of shinryoku. The carved seals throughout this floor were not Yuugenshu countermeasures but rather the product of apprentice Priestesses training.
......The sweat and tears of hundreds, thousands of apprentice Priestesses are soaked into this floor.
......Ymy and Monica too trained here when they were apprentice Priestesses together with everyone else.
"It's unexpected."
'What is?'
"To be honest, I expected more inhumane treatment."
Only embedded lighting could be found on the ceiling and there was not a hint of a window or curtains along the walls. The only thing that could be called a fixture would be the folding bed he was sitting on right now.
"......Even this much is on the better side."
It wouldn't have been strange for him to be detained in some underground room away from the public.
'I wonder. See, the reason there's no furniture should be that. They probably think there's a risk the furniture would be contaminated by your mateki.'
"I got used to that two years ago."
'What a terrible thing to get used to. Rather than that, how's your leg?'
"......Same as ever."
His left thigh was swelled up purple. Doctors feared it might be due to mateki contamination and wouldn't approach him so it had been left alone but he couldn't feel the pain thanks to painkillers. In return, torturous pain awaited him once the painkillers wore off.
'If you move around, the poison will spread through your body. I think it's for the best if you don't move until the lump subsides. Looking at it that way, this house arrest came at a good time.'
That's right, now was also a chance to recover from his fatigue. On the other hand, not a single thing about the Lord of Unusual Books' threat had been abated. There was no telling when Igun-I would appear before Ymy and Syun-rei.
"Do you think we can trust that person?"
'That Elite Guard, Nescalsia, you mean? She won't relay your message to Ymy. You should consider it as if not a single thing about Igun-I has been communicated.'
Ilis denied his question easily.
Even in this situation where they had no clue whether their conversation was being monitored.
'That squad that detained us moved with the conclusion already in mind. With a person carrying mateki in Sophia, it's a given that they'd consider whether there could be any effects on the Priestesses or Hyouketsu Kyoukai. Then they need to expel you for sure this time............ This arrest should be considered the first step to achieving that. Of course, this is only a prediction of the worst-case scenario.'
"......No, I think you're right."
He touched the pouch at his waist and sighed.
The hilts of his twin swords and his badge had been confiscated as evidence. His weapons had been taken along with his means of communication in Sophia. In this situation where he was basically stark naked, his sole hope was──
"It's really surprising that you're still here, Ilis."
In the off-chance that somebody was listening, he spoke in a hushed tone.
'......No, it's just as that important-looking person from before said. Gather all items that might be contaminated into a single area. It would be a hassle to purify if everything was separated. The reason your swords were taken was because it would be bad if you went wild and had them.'
"A single area meaning on me?"
'That's right. ............Ahh, they're treating this sixteen year-old maiden like contaminated goods. This treatment is so terrible, I want to cry.'
"Glad to see you're doing well."
Ilis had enough leeway to joke around so that means she believes there's a good chance things will take a turn for the better. Just knowing that alone is heartening.
'Ah─, I wonder if a Priestess or somebody will come help us by mistake.'
Ilis probably didn't mention Ymy's name just now out of consideration for possible monitoring.
......Even if somebody comes to help, it will take time.
......Just having them come is enough right now.
He hoped it would be Ymy, Syun-rei or Meimel. If any of the Priestesses that knew of the threat the Lords of Unusual Books posed, he would be able to warn them beforehand of Igun-I's attack.
"No, that's unlikely."
I don't know how Syun-rei's faring after Leon's disappearance. Meimel's probably got her hands full just keep the chaos in the tower down. The only one who could come here would be Ymy but that would just draw unnecessary attention to their relationship.
"......Eyriey and Yuto should be released quickly but I'm concerned about Leon."
'There's a lot to think about. Let's leave Leon up to the rescue squads...... I have something else that's bothering me.'
Ilis' speech was not as clear as before as she continued.
'I'm talking about Monica and the others. And on the whole, all of the Guards.'
"──"
'Worrying about specific people like Ymy and Leon is also necessary but we should also consider those who know about your mateki. At any rate, the number is immense. I wonder just how they view you now.'
"I wonder...... I don't have any good images coming to mind."
He stared absently at the completely unblemished wall.
"......I wonder if Kagura was right."
'We can't let Monica know about your mateki.'
'However, I feel like she will learn about it one day. At that time, you should resolve yourself to tell her the truth yourself.'
......At the very least, I should have told Monica and Vaiel myself.
......No matter what they would have said, it would have been better to come clean.
"I wonder if Monica's angry."
'I think she's angry and confused. Half of it is as the squad captain and half of it is as the apprentice Priestess that admired you three years ago. Although this can't be helped.'
"I see......"
Now that things had become this bad, the disbanding of his current squad was a very real possibility. He might never be able to team up with Monica and the others as a squad ever again.
"I have to apologize to Monica."
'They're all hindrances, every single last one of those people hanging around you. I'd like to cleanly cut them all away.'
Up to now, everything was proceeding as Igun-I had planned. He, Sophia and even Orbie Clar itself were caught up in the Lord of Unusual Books' tricks.
"──"
He slammed his fist against the floor and barely managed to suppress his boiling emotions.
......There will definitely be a chance to turn things around.
It would be pointless if he was not in prime condition for that time.
"I'm going to close my eyes and rest a bit. Wake me up in an hour."
'Yes. I believe that is the best course of action right now.'
Sheltis took care not to place any weight on his dragging left leg as he sat down on the bed and closed his eyes.
Part 5
'Umm...... Monicsenpai......could we talk for a bit right now?'
──No words came out.
Her throat was cramped and her voice shrill but, more than that, she had no idea how to respond and couldn't say anything.
......I could pretend I'm asleep.
......Even if it's just for tonight, that would make me so much more at ease.
She couldn't afford to look out for Ymy right now. She might end up saying hurtful words to her. Some part of her was telling her so.
However──
"Oh, good. I also had something to talk to you about."
Before she knew it, her lips had moved on their own as if not part of her.
Neither of them could get out the first words. Monica felt like she was going to lose consciousness with so much tension and gripped both of her arms tightly through her clothes.
'......Today......I thought I had to apologize to you............'
Her kouhai's voice which was being transmitted via telepathy was full of an unusual tension and was trembling.
Even though her position was far above Monica's. That was how she always was. Outside of times she was acting as a Priestess, she would revert to her true self.
......This must be it.
......For better or worse, this is the part that's 'most like her'.
'I actually thought I should head over to your place but......I have somebody monitoring me at all times......so I can't leave my room.'
She ignored that and──
"Were you planning to talk about the conversation that was broadcasted throughout Sophia?"
'......Y-yes.'
Monica sat up in her and breathed deeply in the dimly lit room.
"Did you know about it?"
'Eh?'
"I'm talking about Sheltis from my unit having fallen into Eden. Did you as a Priestess know about this?"
'............I did.'
"......I didn't."
Her fingertips were trembling slightly. She tried to grip the edges of her bedsheets but she couldn't put in any strength.
"I'd like to ask one thing first, for Vaiel and Kagura's sakes as well. His mateki...... Well......is it okay to consider it safe for the tower? Is it harmful?"
'I......don't think it is. There was also an in-depth study conducted two years ago but there was no evidence of any harm being done. I don't know what to say but Sheltis' mateki is mateki yet not mateki. It reacts to shinryoku but it seems to be different from a Yuugenshu's.'
"──I see."
Thank goodness. For this alone, I can think that from the bottom of my heart.
For those that know the threat of mateki, it's difficult to believe in a mateki that is harmless but there have been no effects on my body yet.
As the squad captain, I couldn't turn a blind eye if his mateki affected people and I'd have to get Vaiel and Kagura in for medical check-ups.
But on the other hand──
"I......I also know how things are in Sophia. I'm not telling you to publicize things about Sheltis' mateki. It's just......if his mateki was found to be harmless, I would have liked you to say something about it to me as somebody in the same squad as him."
I should have lent my help.
She would help purify his mateki with the extent of her knowledge and personal connections and......she would have also been able to take measures to protect him in unforeseen situations like this one.
"Am I......so untrustworthy?"
'! That's not it!'
Ymy's reply was like a scream.
'It's just......I believe that there would be no stopping it if even a single person came to know. If it came to that, the tower's executives wouldn't stay silent. I was scared of that...... I'm truly sorry to you but I couldn't tell anybody.'
"And isn't the current situation the result of continuing to hide it?"
Other than a portion, nobody was informed about Sheltis' past and mateki.
Not informing anybody had brought a temporary peace to Sophia but it had also brought about this situation where no one person could handle it.
'That's......'
"You can just consider this as my frustration."
............It's frustrating.
I'm not angry. I'm not sad either. I'm just hopelessly frustrated.
"Wh...... Wh-wh........................ Wh, y............"
Her throat was cramped and strained her voice.
At some point in time, the inside of her mouth had filled with the bitter taste of tears.
'Senpai──'
"Why! Why did you and Sheltis not tell me! It's obvious such a major secret would eventually leak to somebody!"
I didn't want to find out like this.
I wanted to know before it was too late.
"Like this...... If it wasn't like this, I......I could have protected him! I might have been able to......work together with you."
'But senpai, I also──'
"Why didn't you tell me! When I told you I fell in love with Sheltis............if you had told me you shared a deeper connection from way before that────!"
Her voice had surpassed a cry and become a scream.
"I wouldn't have............felt this pain............"
My head hurts. Constantly talking had deprived Monica of oxygen and she couldn't think of anything so she collapsed back onto her bed.
......Why......did things turn out like this?
......Before I could stop myself......I've shoved all my unfiltered complaints at her............
"......Leave."
Monica buried her face into her pillow and whispered in a fading voice to her speechless kouhai.
"I'd like to......be by myself."
'──Right. Sorry for bothering you so late at night.'
The telepathy ceased and her room once again returned to silence.
"......Ah......h...... Haa, ah............ahh............"
It hurts. She bent her body like the character く and repeatedly took deep breaths but didn't feel like her breathing was returning to normal.
"............Ha............"
She pushed her chest against her pillow and hugged it. Within the room devoid of any noise, the only thing she could hear was her heartbeat.
What am I doing? I didn't intend to pick a fight. She even talked to me because she knew things couldn't go on like this.
"......I'm......an idiot."
She bit her lower lip until blood oozed out. She closed her swollen red eyes──
......Please let me wake up to find this was all a dream.
......Please return to the days when I got along with Ymy and Sheltis was in my squad.
With those transient wishes at the end, Monica's consciousness drifted into a deep, deep dream.
Part 6
The sleeping world.
The world that could be seen across the pressure-resistant glass was completely black. Even the stars which would normally hurriedly twinkle in the night sky were hidden within the night's darkness.
......Such a strange night.
......It's as if the entire sky is asleep.
"Even though the night is so peaceful......"
Ymy placed a hand at the windowsill frozen by the night's cold and looked absently at the world outside.
──Even under such a peaceful sky, we are wrapped up in an unprecedented chaos and conflict.
'Why! Why did you and Sheltis not tell me!'
"......Of course senpai would be angry."
She for sure had not kept it secret out of spite.
Sheltis' mateki might have been discovered by those around him at any time just like she said. That's precisely why those who would be informed about it had to be strictly chosen and the timing for it had to be carefully measured.
............No.
......That's not it. His mateki was nothing but an excuse.
'You should have told me from the start that Sheltis was your childhood friend and you had a relationship beyond his and mine from long before────!' [T/N: This is actually worded differently from what she said. The original doesn't mention being childhood friends.]
This part is definitely the true reason for the rift between us.
"......I guess it's a given that she would hate me."
I didn't know. I really didn't know.
I didn't think Monicsenpai would have such feelings for Sheltis and I never even thought about it until she told me.
......I was scared. Especially so because I really treasure her.
......I couldn't bring forth the courage to expose everything then with the resolve of separating after a fight.
Even now that she'd made up her mind that things couldn't go on like this and contacted her through telepathy, things ended with her having poured oil on the fire.
"──No, this really can't go on! I have no time to be depressed."
She slapped both of her cheeks.
"Right now, I have to help Meimel and cheer up Syun-rei! Nothing will happen if a Priestess is depressed while everybody's having a hard time. Even Sheltis, right now──"
"You don't have to worry about him."
......This voice.
She was seated at the window side and it came from directly behind her.
"Who is it!"
A jet black human shadow stood in the center of the dim living room which had no lights on.
"Oya, did I surprise you? Come to think of it, I may have forgotten to knock before entering."
A man of delicate features with a black hat worn low over his eyes.
He wore a jet black suit decorated with golden buttons and jet black leather shoes. In contrast with his appearance which seemed to meld into the night's darkness, his tenor voice carried beautifully.
'Sheltis, remember. Three years ago, you were an Elite Guard and you fell into Eden instead of Ymy when you protected her.'
......It's the voice from back then.
Shiver. Her back froze over with chills like it was the middle of winter. There was no way she could forget. This was the voice of the person responsible for broadcasting the conversation with Sheltis to Sophia.
"......You are Igun-I?"
"Yes. Long time no see."
Beneath the shadow of his black hat, his red lips pulled up to form a small smile.
"To be honest, I didn't plan to come here I felt like seeing your face."
With the Lord of Unusual Books unmoving in front of her, Ymy wordlessly moved backwards.
──Just who is he?
He knew the truth of three years ago that neither herself nor Leon did, could freely activate Mikuca's Crimson Eye and even come here...... He broke through Sophia's security?
It had surpassed being ominous and was like she was seeing a nightmare.
"I didn't do anything particularly special."
"It's written all over your face. You're wondering who I am."
Tap, tap tap...... The Lord of Unusual Books tapped out a rhythm on the edge of the table. Even though she knew that action had no meaning, she couldn't help staring at the movement.
"Breaking through the tower's security is like having tea time after a meal. It's 'a given' for me. Don't you think so?"
"......Why are you seeking my agreement?"
"Say, Ymy."
The unmoving shadow took one step towards her.
"You still don't know who I am? Really? You really don't know who I am?"
"──Don't come over here!"
Opposite Igun-I who was taking his second step, Ymy reflexively raised her voice.
......If he gets any closer than this, I won't be able to react to anything he does.
......I have to protect myself.
"This is a warning. If you get any closer......"
"If I do?"
"I will attack you with shinryoku arts. Don't think just because I'm a Priestess that I can only make barriers!"
There were countless bare minimum self-defense measures she had learned during her time as an apprentice Priestess. Of course, she didn't think they would work. In the end, this was just a bluff to drive him away.
"You don't have to be so afraid."
A sneering sigh leaked out from the Lord of Unusual Books' mouth and disappeared.
"I only came to see your face today. You are the one I love most after Sheltis and also the one I despise. I've already decided to torment and torment and torment you at the end."
"......What?"
"You don't know why? Your body doesn't remember anything? Don't worry, I'll tell you about that at the end too. I'll have you remember our destiny whether you want to or not."
He bowed very deeply and intimately.
For an instant, the pale blond hair beneath his hat moved ── just when Ymy felt that, Igun-I had disappeared from the room.
"........................Haa............ahh!"
As soon as she confirmed the presence was gone, strength left her whole body and she fell to her knees.
"......Really......who is that?"
I should have no memory of his voice. I shouldn't remember seeing him before.
That voice, that figure, that manner of carrying himself. Just by having him before me......I couldn't put off this strange feeling of something being out of place. What is it? Something about that Lord of Unusual Books is different. Not fear or eeriness, I felt like something foreign was running directly contrary to me.
──And why was he here in the tower at this time?
──I don't know why he infiltrated.
"............Sheltis."
I'm scared. I'm scared and I can't help it.
It was the first time she felt this scared without a Sennenshi.
"......Please, hurry............and come."
Ymy whispered in a fading voice and collapsed on her bed.
The next day.
Priestess Syun-rei was determined to be missing and Sophia was plunged into even greater chaos.
A missing Priestess. In her empty room was just one thing──
Only her memo with some location scribbled on it was left.