Complex Days

by Shūsuke Amagi

  "What do you want?"

  Immediately spiting out her irritation, she examined the surrounding atmosphere.

  "I don't remember being tailed."

  Now if he didn't answer, before the stare was the release of external Kei. With that decision, she awaited the other party's reply.

  "Wait, wait. I'm not your enemy."

  Whether he sensed her presence or not, a reply came quickly. From the darkness the figure that appeared as if it was arising, was a student of military arts. From the colour of his sword belt he was of the highest degree, a sixth grader. Underneath the red hair which seemed to be constantly in a mess, were eyes that will never let their guard down.

  "What do you want?"

  Without letting her vigilance down, Nina asked with her Dite ready to fall out at any moment. Although he is her senior, he is the person who has been tailing her since the evening. Whatever he's thinking of, she doesn't know.

  "That's nice, that attitude."

  The red-haired youth seemed to laugh enjoyably.

  Against the provocative behaviour the man showed, Nina gripped her Dite. But, he stopped.

  (What's with this guy......)

  The youth with the aloof appearance who was pretending came closer to Nina. His hand was languidly lowered and he was walking in a shaky manner. Even though it wasn't a situation where one could let their guard down, he washed away the tense atmosphere.

  If she attacked first she would lose. That was how she felt.

  (I can do it)

  The fact that a military artist that could force Nina to become this nervous is in Zuellini..... No, the fact that she did not know a person of this caliber until now, surprised her.

  She has no recollection of the youth's face. That means he wasn't a platoon member.

  "He has discerning eyes too. Fine, bring it on."

  The youth who slowly walked until he was near, nodded to her with satisfaction.

  "My name is Dixerio Maskane. Well, you could just call me Dix. What's yours?"

  "Did you follow me without knowing it?"

  "Well circumstances are circumstances.[7] I had no choice."

  "......I'm Nina Antalk."

  His circumstances piqued her interests but, she managed to save herself from being embroiled into it.

  (Could he be masquerading as a student?)

  She is aware that these type of people exist. There seems to be people who partake in Zuellni's lessons while not paying their fees.

  However, these people make up the minority and they will also get found out quickly. The rest of the masquerading students are groups of thieves who come from other cities with the purpose of stealing research data and the likes.

  (This man, is he that sort of person?)

  Notwithstanding the existence of such a powerful person within the platoon members, to have not heard any rumors about him is strange. Nina's wariness was strengthened.

  "Oh, it seems like I'm being suspected."

  Whether he guessed it through her facial expression or not, even so, Dix connected his words with a look of enjoyment on his face.

  "Then, how about this? Why don't pose a question which asks me about a place only students in Zuelini would know?"

  "Hmmm..... Well then."

  "Aaa....... If it's possible, ask about a place that has been around since a long time ago."

  "Why?"

  "If it's new, then I may not know it. It's best if you ask one that is old and famous. As a request."

  "Something so convenient..."

  While she said that, Nina was thinking of a question as per Dix's request.

  "Concerning the statue in the inner part of the first floor of the student council office building, it's pedestal has letters carved on it as a result of someone's prank since a long time ago. What is written there?"

  "It's 'Seek it, if so then through sheer strength'."

  Dix immediately replied while laughing with a broad grin.

  "Next question. What was the original letters carved on the pedestal?"

  "Seek and it shall be given."

  Last year, those letters were still there but, this year the original words have been cleanly erased by the hands of the student council. Rather than the original words, what's left behind by the person who wrote the prank is that that person was the legendary top scorer of the martial arts department of Zuellini in the past.

  Knowing this fact means that at the very least, he's not part of the recent bunch of people who are in concealment.

  "Oh? So you're still suspicious of me."

  She didn't mean to let it show on her face but she was seen through.

  "Well, I'd never thought I could clear away your suspicions this way. Tell you what, if you'll listen to my request, I'll teach you my extraordinary technique as a prepayment."

  "Technique, you say."

  "I witnessed your practice at the military arts training hall. I liked your choice of harsh weapons like the twin iron whips. How about it?"

  "....It depends on the technique."

  "You'll definitely want it."

  Right after he talked, Dix jumped to the back to gain distance from Nina. He straightened his sword belt with his hands. Nina reflexively drew her Dites and restored them.

  Dix held iron whips in his hands. It's only one swing but it is by far bigger than Nina's. Nina observed that the metal whip is no longer within the range of a striking weapon to reach her.

  "Then, here I come."

  Nina generated her internal type Kei and the moment she looked, she saw movement from Dix's side. In that second, Dix left an afterimage and disappeared.

  "Tch-"

  (He's fast.)

  On the spur of the moment, she jumped and dodged to the side. It was surely a timely judgement, as Dix appeared from the front, swinging down the iron whip onto where Nina was originally standing. Like an electric shock, the atmosphere trembled and it struck Nina's whole body.

  "Oh, you dodged it."

  Dix swung up his iron whip that hit the ground, and looked at Nina while seemingly carrying his shoulder.

  "Watched you when you were training and, it seems that defense is your strong point. But you know, there are times when always being defensive amounts to nothing. Offense is the best defense. To dash in swiftly like an idiot, unexpectedly feels like it fits your nature well."

  Right after speaking, he lowered his back while the metal whip was placed on his shoulder.

  Now, just as it seems, it is getting worked up.

  (I can see it)

  Just as how Layfon taught her, she poured Kei into her eyes which enabled her to see Dix's flow of Kei.

  There were strong pulses of Kei and then, from the core of the metal whip were ripples forming which spread out towards the atmosphere. But, it was not caused by the diffusion of Kei, rather it would spread away until it reached a fixed distance and then a new flow, so to speak, will be made from the Kei pulses to the metal whip which will then flow from the metal whip to the Kei pulses, ultimately constructing an infinite loop.

  The Kei circuit that has been build inside and outside of the body is, strengthening the fast flow of internal Kei, while simultaneously the external Kei around the whip was being condensed.

  "If you were to believe me, you just need to hesitantly move a step forward, and inflict a blow." Abruptly, Dix murmured.

  "Those were the words of the old man who taught me martial arts."

  At the same time he said those words, Dix's figure vanished.

  This time, she sharpened her senses until the last second, to see what's occurring.

  The infinite circulatory loop of Kei as if being dragged and torn to pieces changed its form, vanished as if sucked up by the leg and metal whip. The Kei sucked up by the leg seems to be for movement. Probably something close to whirl Kei. Then what about the metal whip?

  But, she could not completely confirm it. She was already doing her best looking at the leg's movement. She could no longer esca
pe as well. Both of Nina's metal whips were flung upwards by the trajectory of Dix's attack.

  The three strikes from the metal whips dispersed fireworks from the collisions.

  The equilibrium of the collisions, were immediately destroyed.[8]

  The impact and vibration ran through both her arms, her back and her whole body, Nina couldn't bear it all and she struck the ground.

  "Ha!?"

  Realizing she lost her consciousness, Nina jumped up.

  "Oh, you sure are sturdy"

  The voice came from a close source.

  "And you realized it quite fast. As expected from Mrs platoon captain."

  Her whole body still felt somewhat numb. It meant that Nina's was still swinging.

  "What was that technique just now?"

  "My attempt at making the root of the old man's teaching. Not bad eh?"

  "That's far from not bad...."

  In that moment, the impact ran through her from her head to the tips of her toes and at the same time, her nerves were in a disorder, causing her whole body to feel so horrible that she shivered. That was, even if she was able to stop the blow, she couldn't have withstood it.

  "I named it Raijin. It depends on the Kei density but, whether you're human or filth monster you can use it."

  "Is it possible, for me to use it?"

  The doubts Nina had not long ago, were now cleared from her mind. There was the fact he showed her such an amazing technique but, that of which gained her admiration was Dix's attitude of being so easily willing to teach her such a technique.[9]

  "As long as you know how to control your Kei pulses, then doesn't the rest depends on your mental attitude? For any technique" [10]

  "Thank you."

  At hearing Dix's reply, Nina lowered her head.

  Sweet Day

  Sweet Midnight

  To Conquer a Line of Spears Held at the Ready

  Translator's Notes and References

  ↑ Japanese for "Good grief", "For goodness sakes" or "Sheesh", etc. Basically it's a term to express exasperation.

  ↑ stance here refers to 型 which is a martial arts term for posture or form.

  ↑虚し was used here. It means in vain, to no purpose or fruitless. The sentence implies the table was useless for anything or at least that's what I think

  ↑ it is uncertain who she said it to

  ↑ in case you didn't know, commonly used Japanese word for expressing displeasure but usually in a non-angry manner. An example of this is if your friend was being extra talkative that one moment and you just say: もう～、しゃべらないで。---->Mou~, please stop talking.

  ↑ in here it actually says モルモット which is marmot in English. Marmots are famous for being used as experiments in Japan so their given kanji is 実験体.実験体 is pronounced Mormot but alternatively, it can be pronounced jikken-tai and this means experimental body.

  ↑ In here he says 事情が事情なんでね.事情が事情 is a japanese way of saying 'due to matters relating to these circumstances, I won't say a thing about it.'

  ↑ Meaning to say that Nina and Dix's attack resisted each other but that resistance was easily overwhelmed.

  ↑ If it sounds confusing, what the author is trying to convey is that Nina admired his easygoing attitude when it came to teaching her the amazing technique. The sentence implies that military artists rarely do this but Dix was different. The original text is: 凄《すさ》まじい技を見せられたということもあるが、それ以前にこんな技を簡単《かんたん》に教えようというディックの態度《たいど》に感服《かんぷく》してしまった。

  ↑ In here the author uses 心がけ[mental attitude] which is something like your take at things. An example of it is: 私はいつでも真実を言うように心がけている。which is literally --->I always 'make it my motto'[心がけ] to tell the truth or I always try[心がけ] to tell the truth

  ↑ she's answering yes. "umu" is the english equivalent of mmm, a sound you make to suggest you agree. "Y...eah...," would be a good equivalent/replacement.

  Appendix

  This section may contain spoilers! Proceed at your own risk.

  Regios

  Large Mobile cities created by humans to live after Earth atmosphere became too polluted to live. Each city is named after the Electronic Fairy that controls the Regios. Most Regios avoid Filth Monster as much as possible but with the exception of Glendan, which does the opposite as it constantly finds monsters. There are two different kinds of city's ; Academy Cities & General Cities. Academy cities like Myath, Zuellni, and the former Gandoweria are places where students from different areas come to learn & study. General cities are the main cities where most of the population lives. Different types of cities are under the title of general city. These include Trade cities, transport cities and the Proto-City Glendan. Due to a treaty, only Regios of the same type are allowed to have a match with each other.

  Proto-City Lance Shelled Glendan: The most powerful city in the world due to its regular encounters with Filth Monsters of all levels and was the birthplace of the Military Arts, which most other cities practice today. The Twelve Heaven's Blades are found here under the command of the Glendan Royal Family.

  Academy City Zuellni: A University City governed by its students. This is where the manga/light novel/anime takes place. Its Electronic Fairy takes the shape of a pale blue, young girl.

  Academy City Gandoweria: A former city that was overrun by Pollutant Beasts not long after their victory over Zuellni two years ago. Its Electronic Fairy takes the form of an goat-like creature and is currently running amok as a Haikizoku.

  Sheniebel: The city Nina Antalk grew up in, currently the only city with the Fairy Copy System which is capable of making new Electronic Fairies. Like Glendan, Sheniebel also has a royal family, which Nina is the heiress of, as seen in the manga of Chrome Shelled Regios.

  Academy City Myath: An academy city like Zuellni, its electronic fairy takes the form of a red bird. In the anime, the military capabilities of this city are shown to be poor, perhaps even worse than that of Zuellni, as when attacked by a mature filth monster no resistance from the residents of the city is put up.

  Transport City Yoltem: The original home city of Mayshen Torinden, Mifi Rotten and Gerlni Naruki, according to the manga. All roaming buses eventually return to Yoltem and most travelers will encounter it during their travels. Only its Electronic Fairy knows the current location of every Regios.

  Trade City Santoburug: The city Kalian Loss and his sister Felli grew up in. Their family holds significant positions and weight in the city, and is the Regios.

  Electronic Fairy

  Special Artificial creatures that control the Regios. Created by scientists as a two-way solution of having an AI performing the many functions of a Regios while having a mind of a human for maintaining and controlling the Regios, they are the most important asset of every city. Without them, the city would die. On the other hand, the Electronic Fairy will also die if it does not have Selenium, a special ore that has many Regios fight each other for their city's survivability. An electronic fairy whose city has been ruined turns into a Haikizoku, a being which is capable of greatly enhancing a Kei users power, but the user will be filled with endless hatred towards pollutant beasts.

  Filth Monsters/Pollutant Beasts/Contaminiods

  Monsters roaming the polluted earth outside the Regios. In the novels, Layfon and Kalian encountered an enormous and extremely powerful one that speaks the human language, according to it, pollutant beasts are also a creation of human. Their main food sources are the pollutants they breath into the atmosphere, humans and themselves if the former cannot be obtained. They have many forms and sizes:

  Larva: The first state of the Filth Monsters. Ravenous feeders, they will eat any living thing they find. They are overwhelming in number, although easily dispatched by skilled Ki users and expert Military Artists. They prove to be difficult for the student
s of Zullini when they first encountered in the novel. It would appear that there are two different types of Larva stage Pollutant Beasts. Some of the Larva stage forms are able to fly, while others seem to only be able to move along the ground. In the anime, it appears as if the larva can shift between the two when Zuellni is attacked from below by Larva stage Pollutant beasts. Some sprout wings and attack the Academy City from the air. It is unconfirmed whether or not these mature into different types of queen stage Pollutant Beasts.

  Queen: A Filth monster that lays eggs that hatch into Larva. This is the second form of Filth monsters. Based upon the anime, (With the exception of Limbeekun) these Pollutant Beasts live, and lay their eggs underground. It would also appear that when they mature enough, they travel above ground and latch themselves onto a nearby rock or pillar. They then molt inside of their current skin into a mature form, and may wait until a meal passes by.

  Mature: A Filth Monster who has, generally, moved past its ability to procreate (although the transformation types seem to be the exception to this rule since they seem to have found an abnormal way to reproduce), the longer they live the more powerful they become. In their Mature state, Filth Monsters are able to fly. This is the third form of filth monsters. In Glendan there exists a tradition that if a Mature Level Filth Monster is engaged by the Heaven's Blade Receivers and manages to escape alive, then it is given a name. In the anime, one such example is Limbeekun, though it was defeated by Lintence, Savaris and Layfon when it attacked Santoburug at the beginning of the first episode, it has a counterpart in the Light Novel called Behemoth.

  In the anime, Dainsleif is a powerful Pollutant beast that is from the Zero realm. It does not appear to be similar to the Pollutant Beasts in the world of Regios because its body is much different. This may be due to an extreme maturity phase or because of Ignacius' design.