by Yuu Miyazaki
“Which was precisely why I wanted to invite Xinglou Fan,” Varda sniped back.
“What, this again?” Dirk fumed. “You almost had your identity blown because of that.”
“We’re talking about the labor shortage. Xinglou Fan would be an extremely valuable asset. It’s worth the risk.”
Madiath shook his head. “There’s no mistaking that her years of experience would be of use to us, but I’m not confident about our ability to control her. As long as she says she won’t oppose us, I’ll be happy.”
“No complaints from me.” Dirk nodded. “If we brought her in the wrong way, she would only screw everything up. We’re not so stupid as to poke a thicket knowing that a snake is going to jump out, are we?”
“Two against one, is it? I guess I have no choice, then.” Varda sighed, letting the matter drop. She would abide by the majority decision, it seemed.
“As far as manpower is concerned, at worst, we should be okay so long as we have Orphelia. Or put another way, even if every other member of the Golden Bough Alliance were to disappear, she’s the only piece that we can’t afford to lose.”
“…I told you to stop using that name,” Dirk growled.
“In that case, there shouldn’t be any problem expediting the plan, should there?”
Varda’s suggestion wasn’t an unreasonable one, but Madiath shook his head.
“I’m afraid that the stage still needs to be set. It’s almost a ritual, after all. And besides, you would still want better results, wouldn’t you?”
“…I can’t disagree with the second part of that.”
Dirk was fine either way. The faster they got around to it all, the less trouble they would have, but the better prepared they were, the more fun it would be.
“Well then, about the commander of the guard—”
“Before we get to that, let me ask you something.”
“Hmm? What is it, Dirk?”
“Madiath, you haven’t said a damn thing about Haruka Amagiri. I thought you’d taken care of everything, but now I hear she’s found her way into the hospital.”
“You don’t say? I would have expected you of all people to get wind of that sooner.” Madiath gave an affected laugh. “We can’t dispose of her. You should understand that by now.”
“Having her around is convenient to you personally, you mean?”
“Exactly. It has nothing to do with you.”
Dirk clicked his tongue and furrowed his brow. “Fine. One more thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“Sorry to bring this up again, but it sounds like Ayato Amagiri had something to do with that thing with Varda.”
“…What of it?” Madiath’s eyes narrowed.
“He’s dangerous. We should crush him now, while we have the chance.”
“It was just a coincidence this time.”
“That doesn’t matter. I’m telling you, he and the Ser Veresta are going to be a problem.” Dirk knew it intuitively.
“My, my, you really do dislike him, don’t you?”
“And it looks to me like you’re going out of your way to protect him.”
Dirk’s and Madiath’s gazes collided for a long, drawn-out moment.
“…Haah.” Madiath was the first to look away. “He’s doing a great job for us, enlivening the Festa. We haven’t seen the kind of success we had with last year’s Phoenix for a long time. And it’s all thanks to him. That helps advance the plan in its own way, wouldn’t you say?”
“Tch…!” Faced with that kind of reasoning, Dirk had no response.
“Besides, he—or rather, his team—should add some spice to the upcoming Gryps.”
“Oh? Did you hear something?”
“Who knows?” Madiath smirked. “That all depends on young Enfield. I have high hopes for her.”
EPILOGUE
“Phew…”
Sylvia shut off the shower, letting out a deep sigh as she swept back her wet hair.
She had returned to her room, washed her sweat-coated body, and finally was able to relax.
Even so, she still hadn’t been able to fully process everything that had happened that day.
But at least she could be certain that Ursula was in Asterisk.
Even if she was no longer the Ursula that she’d known.
“…But it’s okay. There’s no need to be in such a hurry anymore. I’ll find out what’s happened to you,” Sylvia muttered to herself, letting out a weak laugh.
Sylvia Lyyneheym was bad at giving up.
Just when she wound the bath towel around her body and began to head back to her bedroom, her mobile began to ring.
The caller was—
“Ayato…?” Sylvia wondered, opening an air-window.
“Sylvie? Sorry to call you this late— H-hey, what are you wearing?!”
“Ah, I just got out of the shower.”
“Y-you didn’t have to answer right away! Or you could set it to voice only!” Ayato was trying to avert his eyes on the other side of the air-window, turning his face away.
“Ha-ha, it’s nothing. Look, I’m wearing a bath towel.”
“That’s not the problem!” There was something indelibly cute about Ayato’s bright-red face. Sylvia couldn’t keep herself from chuckling.
This Ayato was a completely different person than the one who had come to save her.
“What’s up?” she asked with a smile.
Ayato was obviously still embarrassed, continuing to avoid her gaze. “…Um…I mean…I was just wondering whether you were okay… You know, after what happened today?”
“You were worried about me? That means a lot.”
In the end, Ayato’s team members arrived just as Ursula had disappeared. She had parted ways with him shortly after. If she had stayed back, they would have no doubt wanted her to explain what had happened.
She didn’t want to drag them all into her fight.
So now, she changed the subject with a chipper tone: “Right, I only just saw it in the news. You defeated one of those guardians after I retired, right? You looked amazing!”
“Ah yeah. But it wasn’t such a big deal. Looking at the video, it looks like Fairclough was much more impressive…”
“He sure was, wasn’t he? I was a bit surprised.”
Ernest had dealt with the remaining Heihu single-handedly, his swordsmanship at a level that Sylvia had never before seen.
“Ah, the event was something, but I really had a good time on our date. It was fun. Thank you.”
“That’s good to hear, but—”
“Right! Next time I can take a break, we’ll have to—”
“Sylvie,” Ayato cut her off, turning to face her directly, his tone of voice serious. “That person was the teacher you were looking for, wasn’t she?”
He had cut straight to the heart of the topic that she had been trying to avoid.
I guess I should have expected as much from him…, Sylvia thought, resigning herself.
“…Yes. Her name was Ursula Svend. She’s the one who taught me how to sing.”
“Then why was she…?” Ayato tried to avoid asking the question, but it was clear what he meant.
“I don’t know, but she seemed like a completely different person. She didn’t even remember who I was…”
“She didn’t remember you?”
“No. And she never had that kind of strange power… At least I don’t think she did… Or maybe I just didn’t know…?”
What had Sylvie the most worried was the fact that she’d been asked whether or not she knew this body.
If she took that literally, it meant that the body was Ursula’s, but there was someone else inside. That was clearly beyond the abilities of Stregas and Dantes.
If there was anything out there with that kind of power—
“Sylvie?” Ayato called out to her, his voiced filled with worry.
“Sorry. Anyway, I’m going to look into it,” she finished.
“…”
>
This time, it was Ayato who fell silent, his expression filled with sympathy.
“…I don’t know what happened to your teacher,” he began in a measured tone, “but at the very least, she’s dangerous. I’m not just talking about that strange power, either… I don’t know how to explain it, but it goes deeper than that.”
“Yes, I know,” Sylvia answered immediately.
“Haah… Right.” Ayato let out a heavy sigh, as if he had been expecting that. “In that case, at least let me help you. Just let me know when you need me, and I’ll come—”
“I’m grateful to you, but I can’t,” Sylvia said without letting him finish.
“…Why not?”
“You’re participating in the Gryps, right? You need to concentrate on that.”
After all, Ayato had his own things that he needed to do, too.
Sylvia couldn’t let him squander his time for her sake.
Ayato, however, broke into an amused smile. “You said so yourself, right? That it’s only natural to help someone in need.”
Those were indeed the words that she had used.
“B-but… I also said as much as one can.”
“Don’t worry. If it’s for you, I can.”
“—!” At that moment, Sylvia found herself swallowing her words. “Haah… That’s not the kind of thing to say lightly…”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing,” She shook her head, before taking a deep breath and turning to meet his gaze. “All right. If I need you, and you’re not busy, will you help me?”
“Of course.”
“…Thank you.”
They chatted a while longer about a bunch of trivial matters, until it came time for Sylvia to close the air-window.
“Argh, what am I supposed to do now…?!” she cried out loud into her empty room, pushing her forehead against the wall.
“Now I’ve really fallen for you…,” she muttered, in a voice so soft that she herself had trouble making it out.
AFTERWORD
Hi there, Yuu Miyazaki here.
Volume 7 of The Asterisk War is the start of the second arc of the story, dealing with the Gryps.
…Or at least, it was supposed to be, but as I’m sure you all noticed, the Gryps hasn’t started yet. I had meant for it to start at the end of this volume, but there were so many things to write… Please pardon the delay.
Anyway, this volume was mainly about introducing some of the teams from the other schools that will be competing against Ayato and company during the Gryps and was structured around our new heroine, Sylvia, who made her appearance in Volume 5. It’s a great relief to finally be able to give her the attention that she deserves.
I was also finally able to shine a spotlight on Claudia and the Pan-Dora. Claudia will be the main heroine during the Gryps arc, so I hope that you’re all looking forward to hearing more about her.
Okiura has provided us with another wonderful cover. Julis and Sylvia look so wonderful on it! The composition, the colors—I’m completely taken by everything about it! And the frontispiece of Rusalka is also fantastic!
The second volume of Ningen’s manga adaptation of The Asterisk War has also been released in paperback. It has an incredibly cute cover illustration of Saya, so please take a look at it! And of course don’t forget that it’s still being serialized in Comic Alive!
Also, let’s all show our support for the manga adaptation of The Asterisk War: The Wings of Queenvale serialized by Akane Shou in Bessatsu Shōnen magazine! Some of the characters who appeared in this volume made their debut in this side story, so please look out for them!
Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who helped me out this time around.
To my editor, Mr. Ikemoto, thank you again for all your help. I know it hasn’t been easy. I’d also like to express my deepest gratitude to Ohrui and everyone else in the editorial department, and most of all to my readers for their continued support.
I’m looking forward to seeing you again in the next volume.
Yuu Miyazaki
October 2014
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