(It doesn't matter if we lose, right?)
This wasn't a fight to determine the fate of the city. This was just a school activity. It shouldn't matter if they lost. The Academy City wouldn't lose its Electronic Fairy because of it.
Even so, why was he letting the enemy attack him? For what purpose was he sustaining all these injuries? He couldn't comprehend what he was doing.
(It shouldn't matter if we lose?)
He confirmed once more.
(Yes. It doesn't matter.)
It was all right to throw away his sword. It was all right to stay still and not get up. It was unnecessary to make himself more tired and muddy. He had a break today, but he had to clean the Central Mechanism Chamber tomorrow. It wouldn't do to waste his strength here. He might even fall ill.
It wasn't good to damage his physical condition, otherwise he couldn't make any money. He was an orphan without anyone to rely on, so he needed money. No one would send him an allowance. He could only rely on the scholarship. Sure, his school fees were waived, but if the Student President changed his mind, all the privileges would disappear. To save up for his future, he must make money.
Money, money, money......
All of a sudden, he subconsciously looked at the sword held tightly in his hand. Light still emitted from the green Dite.
(It was always money on my lips in the past.)
He didn't hate himself. In truth, money was necessary.
(Wasn't there something else?)
Only that he was more desperate in the past. Not for himself, but for the running of the orphanage. The Head of the orphanage, his adopted father, the person who first saw the potential of katana skill in Layfon, his Master, viewed money as trash. To put it in a worse light, he had no concept of money. So they were always troubled with finances. When Layfon found out he had the talent for the katana, he had decided to use this ability to earn money. For that purpose, he was determined to obtain a Heaven's Blade and become the best fighter in Grendan. In Layfon's heart, he didn't hold any simple and innocent admiration for the strong. He was only realistically following the rules of the world and from there, chose his path.
And now, he only needed to make money for himself. Enough money to keep on living. This was in itself difficult, but he didn't have to be as desperate as before.
(Don't I have something more important?)
He contemplated while rolling on the ground, his brain almost empty from sustaining repeated hits.
For example, the opposite sex.
(How naive.)
He was disappointed that this was the first thing that came to mind. But because of this thought, the face of his childhood friend, Leerin, surfaced. And lastly was the feeling of their lips touching.
(But what can I do for Leerin?)
Nothing. He wanted her to see him finding his purpose in this city – A Layfon who had succeeded in something other than the katana. But this felt different from what he wanted to do for Leerin. A gap forever separated people in different mobile cities, then perhaps, in his heart, he failed to look at Leerin as someone other than his childhood friend.
The touch of her lips made him realize she was female, but he still failed to look at her as someone of the opposite sex.
(We're like siblings, even though we aren't related by blood.)
It was a feeling nurtured through living in the same orphanage. That couldn't be helped.
(Then......)
Then who? As he thought of that, only Nina was in his line of sight. She stood in the Military Arts world that Layfon had given up. He envied her bright and dazzling form.
And he remembered three other students. One of them was in Military Arts, but they were all striving for what they wanted to do. He was jealous of that bright form.
Felli's experience was similar to his. A girl who believed she had no other choice but to follow the footsteps of her inborn ability. Although the road she had gone through to arrive here was different from his, he could understand her feeling on Naruki and her friends. They were too dazzling.
(Ahah, what a mess.)
What could he do for them? Nothing?
He thought, rolling again on the ground. His opponent continued to prattle off his reproofs under his breath. Things like "Hurry up and fall." "This is so annoying." "I don't have time for this."
What could he do? What did he want to do?
He couldn't think up an answer.
Not even an answer as tiny as the tip of his finger nail.
How troublesome.
He finally looked around him. He hadn't been counting, so he wasn't sure how times he had been falling and climbing back to his feet. The dead end of his thoughts forced him back into the present.
"......Senpai?" he muttered, toppling onto the ground from another attack.
The sight he then saw in that one single moment was vividly carved into his mind.
She was kneeling on one knee.
No matter how good she was at defense, there had to be a limit. The accumulated injuries had taken away the strength in her legs.
She had become less responsive. The Kei receiving the high-speed attack was losing its strength. The light of her Kei flow in the iron whips had lost its vitality.
(No!)
Senpai will fall.
Senpai will fall.
The platoon will fail.
Fail.
The team will be disbanded.
Senpai will never get back her spirit.
Such naive thoughts surfaced one after another in Layfon's head.
(This won't do.)
And till now, the thought of losing had already disappeared. Layfon picked himself up.
"You're so annoying!" His opponent howled and closed in for another high-speed attack.
Layfon jumped aside. He already knew the position of his opponent. Since the movement was based on Whirl Kei, what came next was just a straight path to Layfon. Once Layfon timed the moment of his enemy's move, determining his opponent's position wouldn't be a problem at all.
The important point was how to judge the timing.
Forgetting about the man who just sped past him, Layfon raised his sword.
"That's a bit far."
Because he'd been rolling on the ground, he now stood a fair bit of a distance from Nina. Even if he ran over now, he wouldn't make it in time.
"In that case......"
He slashed out with his sword. He wasn't even thinking of the Kei flowing through his blade. This was a natural movement for him. Changing the quality of the Kei on his Dite, the Kei shot out of his blade on the momentum of its slashing movement.
It wasn't the same as shooting out Kei. He focused his Kei on one point only.
This was one of the moves of the External-type Burst Kei – Needle Kei (Shin Kei).
Kei sharp as needles struck one of the members of the 16th platoon and sent him sailing through the air.
While the other attacker was spacing out at his suddenly flying comrade, Layfon extended his Kei to his feet.
An Internal-type Kei -- Whirl Kei.
As he headed for Nina, he used his sword to send another attacker flying.
He stopped behind Nina and searched around for more enemies. The two people he had sent flying through the air had not returned to the field. He couldn't feel any hostile Kei. Those two must have fainted.
"You......"
Layfon didn't understand Nina's surprise. What was so surprising about that?
Just when he was confused over this, the siren rang.
"The flag's been destroyed! The 17th platoon wins!"
The commentator shouted excitedly. The audience roared in commotion.
"Hahaha! Did you see? I destroyed the flag with two shots, as promised," Sharnid's excited voice came through the transmitter.
But it sounded far away to Layfon.
He toppled.
Chapter 5
Point of Difference
This is my fourth letter but I still haven
't received yours. I'm beginning to worry that you haven't been getting mine.
Honestly, I'm feeling a bit down.
What is it like to have a dream?
I'm beginning to understand that feeling.
I feel that......It's innocent and dazzling, like something at the bottom of a cave. No matter how much you stretch out your hand, you can't reach it. A place of deep despair.
The good friends I've made here shine from a place that I can never reach.
You also shine with light.
Back then, I didn't understand how you could be so diligent and hardworking for such a boring thing. I was too desperate to live, and because of that, I missed the point.
What forced me to become like that? I was running away. It's unsightly of me to place the blame elsewhere.
Now, I don't find your goal boring. It's the opposite: I'm envious of you.
Can I still grasp hold of it? Grasp hold of the thing on the very bottom, the unreachable......The thing that might not even be there.
I'm struggling with whether I should send this letter or not. Useless content.
But I still think I should send this. I want to hear your opinion. Don't complicate it. I just want to hear what you think.
I want to read your reply to this letter.
Your dream is and has always been dazzling. Please don't lose it.
To my dear Leerin Marfes,
Layfon Alseif.
Nina walked in a brusque manner along the corridor, stomping the floor with force. A girl passing by, holding a pile of documents and who seemed to be a member of the Student Council quickly moved aside for her.
It was natural for the girl to be startled. Dust and soil particles were stuck to Nina's forehead and cheeks. Her golden hair was dirty and messy, and even her Military Arts uniform was in tatters. There weren't many students who would walk around with that appearance full of anger.
Nina was outraged. She wasn't quite sure why she was incensed, but she was currently throwing a tantrum.
Unquestioning of the anger inside her, she had stomped over here after the match, propelled by her emotion. Layfon had fainted when the siren rang out and was carried away on a stretcher. There wasn't anything unusual with the flow of his Kei, so he must have just lost consciousness.
"Just what was that about?" Nina let out her words in resentment and pounded heavily on the door of the Student President's room.
"Come in."
Before the reply came through, she had already pushed open the door on her own.
Besides the bitterly smiling Karian, Vance was also in the room. Vance's presence calmed her down. She halted her steps.
"Third year, Military Arts, Nina Antalk is coming in."
"Please."
Karian said that and then praised her.
"Congratulations on your first win."
Nina's brow furrowed. "......Just what was that?"
"Uh......What do you mean?"
"Layfon Alseif. You know he's not a normal person, don't you?"
"Why do you think so?"
"This is all too strange. He really did well in the opening ceremony, but before his ability was confirmed, you transferred him into Military Arts and nominated him to join my platoon. During that time, there must have been lots of people thinking you were just blinded by his brilliant performance. But you didn't take any action afterwards...... Your personality would've made that impossible."
"But you accepted Layfon. Don't you admire his performance today?"
"I tested him."
She'd had Felli bring him to the training room and had measured his strength. At that time, she didn't feel Layfon was hiding his true strength. She'd felt that if he had more training, his strength could exceed that of the existing members.
But that judgment was completely in error.
The issue wasn't that Layfon could become stronger after more training. He didn't need training at all.
She saw Layfon's true strength in the platoon match just then. Needle Kei (Shin Kei) and Whirl Kei (Senkei) ......He couldn't have mastered that power in a short period of time.
Vance nodded in agreement. He glanced at the screen that was about to broadcast the fourth match, and turned his gaze back to Karian.
"You seem to know who Layfon Alseif is. Did you know of his identity before this match?"
Karian shook his head.
"It's not that easy to obtain intelligence on other cities."
The other two people in the room weren't convinced.
"I only found out about him by chance." He raised his hands in surrender.
"How did you two come to this academy?" Karian asked.
"On a roaming bus of course."
"Obviously by riding the roaming buses. Normally, we can only travel between cities by riding the roaming buses, but what I mean is the route."
"Route?"
"Yes. All the roaming buses eventually return back to the Traffic City Joeldem and then depart from there. Only the consciousness of Joeldem knows the current positions of all the mobile cities. But sometimes a roaming bus might not come directly from Joeldem. It might go around to other cities before arriving here."
Nina nodded. She had passed three cities before arriving at Zuellni.
"Did you pass through Grendan?" Nina asked.
Karian nodded. "It took me three months to arrive at Zuellni. During my travels, I had a two week layover in Grendan. It wasn't boring over there at all because of the numerous Military Arts matches being held. Fortunately, I saw a Heaven's Blade successor match."
"Heaven's Blade?"
Nina glanced at Vance. Vance didn't seem to know of it, so she waited for Karian to explain.
"That isn't just a title for the twelve best Military Artists in the Lance Shelled City, Grendan......A certain special item also comes with that title, but as an outsider, I have no idea what it is."
While listening to Karian, Nina thought of what might have happened.
Layfon was from Grendan. That was true. Since Karian rode the roaming bus to Zuellni for first year study, this meant he must have stayed at Grendan five years ago.
Five years ago? ......Layfon wasn't even ten years old!
"How is that possible......"
"I know there are geniuses in this world. But even I was greatly moved by his performance. I was so surprised I was speechless. I don't have the talent for Military Arts, but everyone watching that match was all shocked by the scene."
A kid, who might not even be ten years old yet, easily wielded the long sword and defeated an adult.
"It wasn't just men, everyone was overwhelmed and shocked. It was a rare and extraordinary scene. A kid could actually reach the summit of the Military Arts world! I couldn't forget that name. When I saw his name on the scholarship application, it was impossible for me to miss it. For him to settle in Zuellni, at this time, is like the birth of a savior. At the same time, I didn't understand why he left Grendan and wanted to specialize in General Studies. No, actually, I wasn't surprised at him entering General Studies. He doesn't need anyone to teach him Military Arts. Even so, I was still curious about the real reason behind his decision, so I did some investigating, and the results arrived at my desk the day before the opening ceremony."
"So......"
Nina swallowed, trying to remove the feeling of something sticking to her throat.
Right.
She suddenly realized why she was so angry.
She got it now. Layfon hadn't used his true strength during training. Never mind that. What was unforgivable was the fact that he deliberately lost to her when they first fought. He could have defeated her easily, but he chose to lose to her.
It felt like an insult to Nina.
Even so, the truth might not be what it appeared to be on the surface.
She suppressed her anger and thought more calmly. Perhaps the excited Karian could calm her down further.
What was Military Arts to Layfon? Perhaps he didn't like it. If he
liked it, even though he didn't need any training, he would have entered Military Arts.
(Speaking of which......)
She remembered. Didn't he say that when they were eating supper at the Mechanical Department?
"Not Military Arts. I've already failed it."
She had forgotten that soon afterward, distracted by the Electronic Fairy. But thinking of it now, his words seemed to hide some deeper meaning.
Failed? Just what was that about?
The Layfon who was a top Military Artist in Grendan. Just what mistake did he make?
"He......"
Nina almost perked up her ears by reflex.
She wanted to know.
But then, perhaps she shouldn't be listening to this. If she knew, she might not let Layfon stay in the platoon. Perhaps she wouldn't be able to forgive him.
Just when her heart was swaying in two directions, Karian continued.
"He had tainted the reputation of a Heaven's Blade Receiver."
It seemed that something bad had happened if he woke up in the hospital.
"I'm here again......"
Layfon awoke and realized what he had done. He held his head, hating himself.
He felt it and found many lumps on it. No wonder it felt as if his head was cramping.
"Aah......"
As he moaned, trying to escape the pain, his eyes wandered around the surrounding room and saw something placed on the bench. Something that looked like a big basket and three female schoolbags. Then, rowdy noises drifted in from the corridor, and the door was pushed open.
"Ah, Layton's up!" Mifi said loudly with a paper cup in hand. Meishen and Naruki were standing behind her.
"How do you feel? Are you all right? Speaking of which, you were incredible. You gave me such a scare."
Layfon smiled sourly and sat up on the bed.
"I didn't know you were that strong. The last two moves were amazing," Naruki said.
Naruki said that because she was also in Military Arts. The bitterness on Layfon's face deepened.
Noticing Layfon's look, she changed her expression.
"......So are you alright?"
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