Chapter III: Blue Days/Red Switch

“It looks like you have so much trouble against Alcott and Huang just because you don’t really understand how guns work.”

“Oh, really? I thought I had a decent grasp, but...”

It was Saturday, five days after Charles had arrived. At IS Academy, Saturday mornings were for book classes, while the afternoons were free. Meaning, the arenas were completely open, so most students went for practice. I was no different, and today, after a quick spar with Charles, I listened to him lecture on IS combat.

“Well, it seems like you have the theory down, but not the technique. You weren’t able to close in on me at all, right?”

“Ugh, yeah. You saw right through my Ignition Boost...”

“Ichika, your IS is built for melee combat only, so if you don’t get a better grasp on how ranged weapons work you’ll never be able to win. Especially your Ignition Boost. It goes in a straight line, so I don’t even need reflexes to hit you during it, I just need to lead you.”

“A straight line... Hmm...”

“It’s still better if you don’t change course quickly during it, though. The forces that drag would put on your IS might even be enough to break your bones.”

“I see...”

I paid close attention to Charles, nodding when appropriate. After all, he was a good explainer. A very good explainer.

My previous self-described coaches had been more like...

“You whoosh in like this, and then bang! Bash!”

“It’s easy, see? Just do it by feel. Huh...? Why don’t you get it, you idiot?”

“When guarding, tilt the right side of your body five degrees upward and forward. To evade, turn 20 degrees toward the rear.”

Yet when I thought I’d reached a dead—literally—end, before me appeared my savior: Charles Dunois. I’d never in a million years be able to say just how grateful I was. So it was perfect that he was a guy and I didn’t have to. IS suits always showed off too much skin. It wouldn’t matter in a real fight, but practice was practice. Honestly, I always ended up looking somewhere I shouldn’t, and it sucked.

“Hmph. It’s because you didn’t pay any attention to my advice.”

“What’s your problem? I explained it so simply!”

“Oh, and were you perhaps dissatisfied with my logical advice?”

Ah... Those three self-described coaches were grumbling behind me.

As I mentioned, the arenas were open for use on Saturday afternoons, and each, including the third arena we were in, was packed with practicing students. However, maybe because it had both of the only two male students, It was honestly pretty crowded. Other groups had been crashing into us or hitting us with stray fire all afternoon. I’d crashed into three people myself.

“Ichika, your Byakushiki can’t mount an equalizer, right?”

Ah, a lecture from Professor Charles. I’d better listen well. Perhaps because I was hearing it from another man, I was soaking up the knowledge like a sponge soaked up water.

“Yeah. I’ve looked into it, and it seems it doesn’t have any expansion slots free. So there’s no way I could install one, supposedly.”

“I’m guessing they’re all used up on a one-off ability.”

“One-off ability? What’s that?”

“Just like it says, unique special abilities. They manifest automatically when an IS is in perfect sync with its pilot.”

Charles’s ability to smoothly deliver such a complex explanation showed how brilliant he really was.

“However, normally they only activate when an IS is in Second Shift. The vast majority of IS don’t manifest them at all, so third-generation IS were developed to make special abilities available to a wider range of pilots. Think Alcott’s Blue Tears or Huang’s Impact Cannon.”

“I see. So, is Byakushiki’s one-off the Reiraku Byakuya?”

Reiraku Byakuya... Byakushiki’s strongest attack, it could pierce through any energy field. However, it was a double-edged sword—it drained my own shield energy, like a cursed weapon from a game that drained its wielder’s life gauge.

“Byakushiki’s activation of its ability in First Shift is extremely unusual. There’s nothing else like it. Or maybe one thing... Wasn’t Ms. Orimura’s IS the same, when she was the first Brynhildr?”

I was pretty sure, yeah. Chifuyu’s didn’t just have the same weapon, it was like mine in that way, too. Almost like it was destined.

“I mean, it makes sense. We are brother and sister.”

“Well, I’m sure there’s more reason for it. As I said before, because it’s so closely linked to an IS’ bond with its pilot, no amount of effort has been able to deliberately recreate an ability.”

“Oh. Anyway, it’s not like we’re gonna figure it out standing here chatting, so let’s forget about that, for now.”

“Hmm. Yeah, I guess. Anyway, let’s move on to ranged weapons practice. Here you go.”

As he spoke, Charles handed me the .55-caliber ‘Vento’ assault rifle he’d been using.

“Wait, what? Since when can you use someone else’s weapons?”

“They’re normally locked to an IS. But if the user unlocks them, they can add anyone. Here, I just set it to accept Ichika and the Byakushiki. Give it a shot.”

“Okay.”

This was the first time I had ever felt the weight of a gun. It seemed like the IS’ energy field kept it from being too heavy, but it may just have been my own psychological bias to holding a new weapon for the first time.

“Is this how you hold it?”

“Hmm... Bring your arms in. And hold your left forearm like this. Got it?”

Charles lightly moved behind me, using the IS’ ability of flight to expertly guide me even though our heights were so different.

“It uses gunpowder so it’ll have a recoil when you fire, but don’t worry too much about it, most IS automatically compensate. Have you set up your sensor link?”

“The one for shooting? I’ve been looking, but I can’t find it.”

I’d be firing in rapid mode, so linking with my hypersensor was necessary. The hypersensor needed to be linked with the weapon in order to transfer necessary data, including the targeting sight, to the IS’ pilot, but I’d been looking through Byakushiki’s menus and couldn’t find it.

“Huh, I thought even a melee IS would have it, but...”

“Well, looks like this one doesn’t.”

“It really is 100% close-combat only, huh. Looks like you’re going to have to do this by eye, then.”

What a handicap for someone who’d never even shot a gun. Ah well, I could grumble, but it wouldn’t have changed anything. Time to give it a try.

“Here I go.”

“Sure. Just taking a few shots should make a big difference.”

Charles was probably right, I’d never know how it felt without trying it. I took a deep breath, and curled my finger around the trigger.

Bang!

“Whoa!”

The sound of exploding powder shocked me. Was it this intense firing without an IS?

“How was it?”

“Well, uh. First off, it’s fast.”

I’d known that bullets traveled fast, of course, but actually shooting gave me a whole new understanding. There was also the recoil. Even though it was mostly compensated for, it was still completely different from swinging a sword, and feeling it for the first time made my heart pound.

“That’s right. It’s fast. Even if you’re moving fast, that bullet is moving a little bit faster. So as long as your opponent leads their fire, it’s easy to land a hit, or at least zone you. You may feel like you’re going all-out, but there’s always going to be that little bit of hesitation.”

“So they’re able to open up a gap, and then attack...”

“Yeah.”

Ah. So it was like that, huh? That must have been why Houki, who was also a melee specialist, sometimes ended up in such one-sided fights against Rin and Cecilia. I understood everything now.

“Why do you think I tried so many times to drill it into your head?”

“You didn’t even understand that? What an idiot!”

“I’d thought you at least understand that much before you came up with what passes as your plan of attack.”

—Oh, what’s this?

Words of shock and disgust reached my ears. Yeah. Communication was vital. We should have spoken more, in order to understand each other. With perspectives starting so far apart, scattered conversations just confused us...

“Anyway, keep going. Finish off that magazine.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Having relaxed a bit, I fired off short bursts of two or three shots. As I felt the recoil travel up my arm, I thought about how I’d avoid each one while closing in.

“Oh, by the way, Charles—your IS is a Revive, right?”

“Yeah. Ah, your arms are drifting out. Be sure to bring them back together after every burst.”

“Okay. Like this?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Oh, and you should bring the gun up so it’s pointing along your line of sight. If you have to turn your head to fire, you can’t react as quickly.”

While I listened to his explanation, I brought up a question I’d been curious about.

“By the way... Your IS is pretty different from Ms. Yamada’s. Are you sure they’re the same model?”

Ms. Yamada’s Rafale Revive, Revive for short, was navy blue and mounted four multi-thrusters, giving it a unique silhouette. Meanwhile, Charles’s was different in more than just color.

A single thruster extended from the center of its back, splitting into two wings and imparting greater acceleration and maneuverability. Its armor was also more streamlined than Ms. Yamada’s, and its multi-weapon rack formed a rear skirt. It also had smaller thrusters, presumably for attitude control. But the biggest difference was its shoulder armor, with all four shields removed. Instead, the left armguard mounted a shield directly, while the right arm had nothing but form-fitting armor in order to not interfere with firing.

“It’s a customized one for me, so they tweaked a lot. Actually, it’s officially called the ‘Rafale Revive Custom.’ It also removes a number of presets, doubling the expansion capacity.”

“Double?! Wow, that’s incredible. I wish you could share some with me.”

“Ahahah. I would if I could. But yeah, this thing is so customized that I’ve got around twenty weapons installed.”

“Wow, it’s like a walking arsenal.”

They were likely all IS weaponry, too, so it was definitely not the kind of firepower you’d want to mess with. No exaggeration, it was enough to rival dozens... No, hundreds of main battle tanks.

On the other hand, though. Cecilia and Rin had five, maybe eight at most, weapons. The reason being, they couldn’t use any more at once, and more importantly, the delay involved in calling them up made them useless, even if they were installed. Knowing that, maybe this customization implied that Charles also had some kind of special ability.

“Hey, isn’t that—”

“No way! It’s the German third-gen IS!”

“I’d heard it was still in testing in Germany.”

The arena suddenly fell silent, and I shifted my gaze to a new target as I finished off the last of the magazine’s sixteen shots.

“.........”

There stood a single transfer student: Germany’s National Cadet, Laura Bodewig.

Since the day she arrived, that lonely girl hadn’t grouped up with any of the other girls—hadn’t even made conversation. I hadn’t spoken with her, either. After all, she slapped me out of nowhere. How was I supposed to approach her?

—Hmm, maybe try to laugh it off?

“You.”

A voice came over the open channel. The same as our first meeting. One I couldn’t forget. It was Laura’s voice.

“What?”

This couldn’t be good, but I wasn’t able to ignore her. After I replied, Laura spoke while rising lightly into the air.

“So you have your own IS, too. It’s simple, then. Fight me.”

What was she going on about? Did she just love to fight?

“Nah. No reason to.”

“You may not have one, but I do.”

Oh, right. There was only one thing that came to mind when I thought of Germany and Chifuyu. The championship match of the second Mondo Grosso tournament. It wasn’t a memory I enjoyed recalling, but that was exactly why I would never be able to forget it. To be completely honest, the day of the championship match, I was kidnapped by a shadowy organization.

—Ugh, that sounds really lame, like something from a TV show. But they were definitely shadowy, and definitely an organization, so I’m going to have to go with it.

I still wasn’t sure what exactly they wanted, but they had me tied up in a dark room. It was dark, so I couldn’t tell exactly how long I was there, but suddenly the entire building shook. Light entered the room through a collapsing wall, forming a halo around Chifuyu in her IS. When she’d heard, she had flown directly from the tournament ring. I could never forget how she looked then. Her cool dignity... her strength... and her beauty... Of course, this meant she forfeited the championship match, and wasn’t able to grasp the laurels twice in a row. Everyone had expected Chifuyu to win, so her lack of participation caused quite a shock.

No demands were made following my kidnapping, but a person connected to the Bundeswehr had managed to put together a picture of where I was being held from their own private sources. To pay back that debt, Chifuyu spent a year there after the tournament as a military IS trainer. After this, I had lost track of her for a while as she left that position and then came to IS Academy as an instructor.

“If it wasn’t for you, she’d likely have become a two-time champion. Therefore, I can’t accept you—can’t accept your existence.”

Right, right. She wasn’t just one of Chifuyu’s students, but probably quite fascinated with her as well. So she must hate me for leaving that black mark on Chifuyu’s record. Honestly, I kind of understood it. I still couldn’t forgive myself for how powerless I was that day. But that was one thing. This was something else. I had no reason to fight Laura. No inclination to, either.

“Maybe later.”

“Hmph. If you won’t fight, I’ll have to make you fight!”

As she spoke, Laura shifted her pitch-black IS into combat mode. In an instant, the muzzle of the cannon on her left shoulder belched fire.

“......!”

Clang!

“Starting a fight in the middle of a crowd like this... You Germans sure are hot-headed. Didn’t you learn your lesson the last couple times?”

“Damn you...” bellowed Laura.

Charles had moved in from my flank, blocking the shot with his shield while he took his .61-caliber ‘Garm’ assault cannon in his right hand and trained it on Laura.

“Oh, a French antique! How quaint.”

“Still, probably more useful than another German vanity prototype.”

The two gave each other chill glares. Charles’s quick reaction had amazed me, but what was even more incredible was how quickly he readied his weapons. What normally took a second or two, he did in an instant, at the same time as he aimed.

Oh, I see. It was because he could do that that the Revive had so many expansion slots. This way, he could adjust to different combat situations without having to pre-select a loadout. He could also reload quickly. In other words, it was a significant advantage in drawn-out battles. It was also advantageous to be able to choose a weapon after you saw your enemy’s. I understood both why Charles was a National Cadet and why he used a customized mass-production IS.

“You there! What are you doing?! Give me your year, class, and seat number!”

A voice rang out over the arena PA. The teacher on duty must have noticed the commotion.

“Hmph... That’s enough for today.”

Maybe two interruptions were enough to take the wind out of Laura’s sails, as she disengaged combat mode and left toward the arena gates. The teacher was likely in a rage, but from what I could tell of Laura’s personality, she’d simply ignore her.

“Ichika, are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah. Thanks, you saved me.”

The sharp look in his eyes only a few seconds before when he was staring down Laura was gone. A Normal, kind, gentle Charles peered at my face.

“Let’s call it quits for today. It’s past four, so it’s closing time, anyway.”

“Yeah. You’re right. Thanks for the gun, by the way. It helped me figure out a lot.”

“That’s good.”

He gave another slight grin. His vulnerability always awoke something strange deep within me, but that wasn’t what I was worried about right now.

“Hmm... Anyway, why don’t you go ahead and change?”

This again. Charles never wanted to change with me after practice. Never mind not wanting to, he hadn’t actually done it even once. Even before practice, other than that first day, he’d always either already had his suit on or managed to change before me. And what I really couldn’t understand was why Charles, who was always so measured and cool-headed while giving instructions during practice, got so awkward when we went back to our room.

Now that I remembered—

“Whew, that was refreshing. Shower’s open!”

“Ichika! Why are you naked?!”

“Huh? I’ve got clothes on. Pants, at least.”

“Put a shirt on, too! And you need to do something about your hair!”

“You don’t need to tell me to do that.”

“Yes I do! You need to take better care of yourself!”

“C’mon, we’re just guys here. What’s up with you always coming out of there all dressed up? You ain’t gotta worry about it.”

“Ichika, you do need to worry about it! Ugh, I give up!”

—was not an unusual conversation.

I didn’t know why, but Charles had a lot of things to say when we were alone together. And it seemed like he wasn’t nitpicking, he actually cared. I guess he was the mothering type? I didn’t know my own parents, but from what I could imagine based on what I’d heard from the Gotandas, I guess that’s how you’d put it. Anyway, though. Finally having a roommate, especially another guy, I felt like it was important to become closer friends. Okay, time to turn on the charm.

“So, why don’t we change together sometime?”

“I don’t want to.”

“C’mon, don’t be so cold.”

“I’m not being cold, just... Why do you want to change with me?”

“Why? More like, how come you don’t want to change with me?”

Answering a question with a question was a bit rude, but I’d learned over the past few days that it was best to be a bit forceful with Charles, so it was for the best.

“Well... I’m embarrassed to...”

That’s a funny answer. Charles may have been slender, but he looked pretty toned. What was there to be embarrassed about?

“It’ll be fine once you get used to it. Let’s do it right now.”

“Wait, um, er...”

His gaze wandered toward the ceiling as he searched for a good excuse.

—All right, one more push!

“Hey, Char—”

Gulp.

“Sure, sure, whatever. Now get going. If you don’t know when to back down, no one’s going to want to be friends with you.”

I felt a pinch on the back of my neck. Ugh, that hurt. Stop it, Rin. Rin, stop it.

“Ahem! It seems like you’d very much like to change with someone. While I can’t say I’m enthusiastic about the prospect, I suppose I simply have no choice. Very well, I’ll change with—”

“We have to change, too. Hurry it up, Cecilia.”

“Houki! Stop pinching my ne— Okay! I’ll be right there! Of course! Definitely the girls’ locker room!” she cried.

Houki had applied a neck pinch, cutting off Cecilia’s protests. What? Was neck-pinching a class skill for childhood friends? And when did they end up on a first-name basis? At first they’d seemed quite antagonistic, but I guess time had changed things. Now they were close enough to call each other by name. Did they face off before the setting sun, trading blows—well, sniping, back and forth—until night? You know, that “Not bad!”, “You’re not so shabby either.” thing. Though, that probably would end up with fisticuffs either way.

—That’s no good. Violence solves nothing.

“Rin.”

“What?”

“Violence solves nothing.”

Bam!

“And that was violence.”

Ouch! She hit me on the head! And I had just told her it would solve nothing, too.

“Don’t tell me not to do something I haven’t done, idiot.”

Anyway, there was no reason to stand around getting beat on, and the arena was about to close. It was time to go change.

“Fine, I’ll go ahead.”

“Sure.”

After a quick word to Charles, I headed toward the gate. Lately, I’d gotten used to sudden acceleration and stops, so I more or less had a handle on IS control.

“This place sure is luxurious.”

The locker room stretched out before me. There were fifty or so lockers, and more than enough room for fifty people to use them. Returning Byakushiki to its gauntlet standby form, I slouched down on a bench as I pulled off my IS suit.

“Ugh, I’d kill for a bath...”

Even if the suit absorbed it, I had still sweated a lot. So I really wanted to soak both my body and my soul. Rumor was that Ms. Yamada was looking into changing the bath schedule now that there were two boys. I was grateful.

“All right, done changing.”

Men’s clothing was so convenient. I was finished before I was even done thinking.

“Orimura, Dunois, are you there?”

“Yes? It’s just me, Orimura.”

Someone was calling for me from outside the door. It seemed like it was Ms. Yamada. Speak of the devil.

“Can I come in? You’re not still changing, are you?”

For some reason, when people called out from afar their sentences were inflected. It was funny. Not that I was any different.

“Nah, I’m fine. I already changed.”

“Oh, good. Then, if you’ll pardon me...”

The door slid open, and Ms. Yamada entered. I still thought the noise of the pressure-operated mechanism sounded really cool.

“Isn’t Dunois here too? I’d heard that you were training with him earlier.”

“I think he’s still in the arena. Check the pits maybe? Anyway, what’s up? If it’s a big deal, I can track him down.”

“Oh, it’s nothing that big. You can tell him later. Um... Beginning later this month, you’ll be able to use the baths. Setting shifts seemed like it would cause a lot of problems, so instead, you boys will have them for two days a week.”

“Really?!”

This was big news. Extremely big news. I would finally be able to take a bath. I was so overcome with gratitude that I grasped Ms. Yamada’s hand as I replied.

“I’m overjoyed. That’s wonderful. Thank you so much, Ms. Yamada!”

“I-It’s, um, just my job...”

That might well be true, but I was still filled with thanks. I was overcome with the drive to thank her more enthusiastically.

“No, really, it’s all thanks to you. Thank you so much!”

“R-Really? Teehee. You’re making me blush.”

It was then that I realized. I was alone with a woman teacher in a locker room, grasping her hand passionately. This couldn’t end well. Something terrible was bound to happen.

“Ichika...? What are you doing?”

My heart pounded. No, wait. It was just Charles. Phew.

“You’re still in the locker room? What are you doing holding a teacher’s hand?”

“Oh, uh. It’s nothing.”

I released my grasp on her hand. Ms. Yamada, likewise, was embarrassed by Charles’s comment, and spun around as I let go.

“Ichika, I thought you said you’d be heading back first.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

For some reason, it seemed like there were barbs in Charles’s speech. But his expression was no different from normal. I must have been overthinking it.

“Rejoice, Charles. Beginning later this month, we’ll be able to use the baths!”

“Oh.”

Charles glared at me sideways as he removed his IS and began to towel his head off. He really did seem to be in a bad mood. That was too bad, you’d think the good news would have have him excited, too.

“Oh, actually, there’s something else I wanted to talk with you about, Orimura. There’s some paperwork I need you to fill out, so could you come to the faculty room? It has to do with Byakushiki’s registration, so there’s a fair amount there.”

“Got it. You should shower first today, Charles. This’ll probably take a while.”

“Sure. Okay.”

“All right. Let’s go, Ms. Yamada.”

◇

“Sigh...”

Closing the door, Charles, alone in the dorm, leaked out a sigh. Maybe holding it in for so long was what made it so surprisingly long and deep.

“What am I so mad about, anyway?”

The awkwardness in the locker room was still embarrassing. Realizing that Ichika, too, was shocked by it made things even worse.

“Maybe... I’ll take a shower and calm myself down.”

Charles pulled a change of clothes from the closet and left for the shower.

◇

“Phew, finally done.”

There had definitely been plenty of paperwork, but most of it didn’t need much more than a signature, so it went quicker than I had expected. It seemed like I was now officially the pilot of Byakushiki, though that was a paperwork distinction that probably wouldn’t change much.

“I’m back. Huh...? Charles, where are you?”

As I wondered, the sound of running water echoed from the shower.

“Ah, he must be in the shower.”

—Now that I think of it, didn’t he say we ran out of body wash yesterday?

As I remembered what Charles said, I pulled a spare bottle out of the closet. I’d thought I would take the first shower today, so I could just bring some with me when I went.

—He probably wishes he had this now. I’ll bring it to him.

The shower room was with a door between the shower and the changing area.

—I should bring it to the changing area and then yell to him.

I thought as I entered the shower room.

Click.

Click? Hmm. I’d already opened the door to enter, so why did I hear that? Oh, right, Charles must have opened the shower door. He must be looking for some body wash.

“Oh, good timing. I brought another bottle of—”

“I-I-I-Ichika?”

“Huh?”

The person who entered the shower room was a girl I’d never seen. How did I know it was a girl? Simple. She had breasts.

Her damp hair was a wavy blonde, soft and supple. Sleek and long-legged, her slender waist accentuated her breasts, making them seem even larger than they were. With blonde hair and amethyst eyes, I knew she couldn’t be Japanese. Perhaps that was why her—around C-cups?—were still exceptionally perky. The droplets of water perched on her young skin like gems, almost like she was set with precious stones.

And she was naked. Completely naked. I knew inside my head that I had to look away, but my eyes were fixated as if pinned down.

“I... Er, uh...”

Somehow, I felt like I’d seen the naked girl before me somewhere before, but I was so confused I couldn’t think.

—Hmm, blonde... Blond?

“Eek!”

Slam!

The girl had overcome her shock, and covered her breasts immediately while fleeing into the shower. The loud slam of the door brought me back to my senses, and I listened to the flowing water.

“Um...”

“.........”

There was no response from beyond the door. She was probably as speechless as I was.

“I’m leaving the body wash here.”

“O-Okay...”

With an exchange that may or may not have been a conversation, I placed the bottle by the shower door and left.

“.........”

—What’s going on here? I’d thought Charles was in the shower... Wait, was that him?!

Now that I thought about it, it didn’t seem too far-fetched. If he let his hair down, it would probably be about like that. But that wasn’t the biggest problem.

—Something’s not right here. Why does Charles have breasts? Mmm, breasts...

The sight was still burned into the inside of my eyelids.

—Those... were some beautiful breasts.

There was no way. It couldn’t be. Though, I couldn’t rule it out completely...

—It’s better to just not think about it. Clear your mind, and let troubles fade away.

Click.

“......?!”

A quiet, almost apologetic click as the door to the changing area opened. Yet to me, it was the loudest sound I’d heard in my life, and I involuntarily cowered.

“I’m coming out.”

“Okay.”

The voice I heard from behind me was definitely Charles. I tried to ignore my heart pounding in my chest as I turned around.

In front of me... Was a girl.

◇

“.........”

“.........”

We had spent an hour like this. I, and the girl in front of me—Charles’s true identity—sat on our beds, facing toward each other, but silently avoiding each others’ gazes.

“Well, um...”

I decided to break the ice. As I spoke, she—Charles, trembled.

—C’mon, it shouldn’t be that shocking...

“Would you like some tea?”

“S-Sure. If you don’t mind.”

It seemed we both agreed that a drink would make it easier to talk. At least we were finally on the same page about something. Anyway, I boiled water in the electric kettle and poured it into my teapot.

“.........”

“.........”

As we waited for the tea to steep, the silence returned. As much as I wished I could, there was no rushing the tea leaves.

“It should be good now. Here.”

“Oh, tha— Eek!”

As I passed the mug, our fingertips brushed together, and Charles, flustered, pulled back her hand. Unthinkingly, I tightened my grip on the mug to keep from dropping it, and in response tea sloshed out on my hand.

“Ow, that’s hot! Water! Water!”

I ran to the sink, and opened the tap as far as possible. The rush of water cooled my hand, and it seemed the crisis was mostly averted.

“S-Sorry! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I should be fine. As long as you cool it off quickly, you don’t really get burnt.”

“Let me see it... You’re bright red. I’m really sorry.”

Seemingly a little bit panicked, Charles had rushed to my side and pulled my hand toward her, staring at the part where tea had splashed with a pained expression.

“I’ll go get some ice!”

“Wait, wait. You can’t go out like that. I’ll get it myself in a moment.”

Charles was wearing her tailored track jacket like usual, but maybe it was because I knew her secret, that she had dispensed with the special corset she used to hold down her breasts. With how tightly her jacket fit, her breasts were obvious.

“But...”

“Actually, uhh. Your breasts... They’ve been rubbing on me.”

“......!”

As if she had only realized her own position after it had been mentioned, Charles leapt backwards, her arms crossed over her chest.

“.........”

Even if it was just a little bit, her eyes carried that accusing stare only women were capable of.

“And here I was worried about you... Ichika, you pervert...”

“What?!”

Impossible! I was being treated as a villain. How absurd! Such falsehood! Maybe I was imagining things, but for a moment I hoped that maybe it wasn’t accusatory, but a mix of embarrassment and a dash of joy. Yeah... I must have been imagining things. What girl would be happy about a guy she didn’t like touching her?

“Phew. It’s cooled down enough, I should be fine. Anyway, let’s try that again.”

“Okay.”

This time, I managed to pass the mug to Charles, and we each took a sip of our tea. After we moistened our throats, I made my way to the question I’d been turning over in my mind.

“So why have you been pretending to be a man?”

“My... my family made me do it...”

“Huh? Your family, as in the Dunoises?

“That’s right. My father is the company president. It was a direct order from him.”

What? Something didn’t seem quite right here. When the conversation turned to her family, a gloom descended over Charles’s face.

“An order? From your father? How does that...”

“I... I’m the daughter of one of his mistresses.”

“.........”

Silence, again. Being 15, I was old enough to know how the world worked. I wasn’t so innocent and sheltered enough to not know what that meant.

“I was adopted by my father two years ago. Soon after my mother’s death, his employees came for me. After rigorous testing, they determined that I was highly-suited to pilot an IS, and I was assigned as an unofficial test pilot for Dunois.”

Charles was bravely working her way through a story she probably didn’t want to recall, so I listened intently, letting her finish.

“I’ve only met my father twice. Only spoken a few sentences with him. We lived in separate houses, and just once, he called me to his. It was terrible. His wife even hit me, and she called me ‘that homewrecker’s brat.’ It really ate at me. If Mom had told me a bit more, at least I wouldn’t have been so bewildered.”

Charles let loose a forced chuckle, too dry by far to have been a true laugh. I didn’t return it. And I suppose she didn’t want me to. For some reason, anger welled up inside me, and I clenched my fists to hold it back.

“Shortly after, Dunois entered a financial crisis.”

“Wait, what? Don’t they have the third highest global share of mass produced IS?”

“Yes, but the Revive is still a second-generation IS. IS development is incredibly expensive—most companies in the industry receive direct government support. And France had withdrawn from the EU’s joint ‘Ignition Plan’ defense project. The need for a third-generation IS was urgent. Yet, no matter how necessary it was for our defense, a country with neither an expansive budget, nor first-mover’s advantage, inevitably suffered.”

Now that I thought of it, Cecilia had talked about the development of third-generation IS a few times.

“The European Union is currently conducting testing to determine the primary supplier of its third-generation Ignition Plan IS. The proposals under evaluation are our Tears, the German Regen, and the Italian Tempesta. Ours is currently the closest to production-readiness, but it’s by no means decided yet. Therefore, I was sent to IS Academy to gather data under field conditions.”

Or so I recalled. That was likely why Laura transferred here from Germany, as well.

“Back to the point. Therefore, while Dunois began development of a third-generation IS, it was in fact based off a very late second-generation project. Extremely short on both time and useful data, the project failed to take form. Then, a notice arrived from the government that the budget had been trimmed significantly. And that if it wasn’t selected at the next trial, all further funding would also cut completely, and Dunois’ IS development license would be stripped.”

“I think I get it, but why did you come posing as a man?”

“It’s simple. As a billboard for our product. And—” Charles avoided eye contact, her voice betraying a bit of frustration. “It would be easiest to get close to a similar example in Japan if I also posed as a boy. If possible, I was to get data on both his IS and him himself.”

“Meaning...”

“Yes. I was sent to steal data on Byakushiki. That’s what he told me to do.”

From what I was hearing, Charles’s father was just taking advantage of her. The sort of “She’s good with an IS, so let’s use that!” and nothing else. Surely she felt it much more intensely than I did, though. That must been why she was talking about her own father as if he was unrelated to her. In her mind, he wasn’t “Dad,” he was just some guy.

“And that’s how it is. Now that you’ve found me out, I’m sure I’ll be called home to France. As for the company... I’m sure it will either collapse or be bought out, certainly never be the same, but I don’t really care.”

“.........”

“That took a real load off me. Thanks for listening. And sorry for lying to you.”

Charles bowed deeply, but when I realized she was doing so I reached out to her shoulders and pulled her face back level.

“Are you okay with that, though?”

“Eh...?”

“Are you okay with that? You can’t be. It doesn’t matter what he says. Why does someone have the right to take away your freedom just because he’s your parent? That isn’t right!”

“I-Ichika?”

Charles’s face was a bit puzzled, and a bit frightened. But, I couldn’t find the right words. More than anything, I couldn’t get a hold of my feelings.

“I mean, you wouldn’t be here without him, that much is true, but it’s absurd to think that that should give him absolute authority over you. Everyone has the right to choose how they’re going to live. And your parents don’t get to say any different!”

As I spoke, I realized I wasn’t really talking about Charles here—I was talking about myself. And I couldn’t help but think about Chifuyu, who went through so much because of them.

“What’s wrong? Is something bothering you, Ichika?”

“Ah, yeah. Sorry... I got too worked up there.”

“That’s okay. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

“I was—Chifuyu and I were abandoned by our parents.”

“Oh...”

Charles looked at me for a moment, with a face that implied she had recalled something tragic, and then looked down apologetically.

“I’m... sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t worry about it. Chifuyu is enough family for me. I wouldn’t even care to meet my parents. Anyway, what do you want to do now?”

“Well... it’s just a matter of time. When the French government finds out the truth, they won’t be able to stay uninvolved. My status as National Cadet will be revoked, and if I’m lucky, I’ll only be jailed.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m okay with it or not. I don’t get to choose. It’s going to happen.”

Charles’s faint grin was filled with pain. It betrayed her despairing resignation. I couldn’t forgive anyone who made her feel like that. At the same time, I was angry at myself for not being able to do anything. Not being able to help a friend filled me with frustration.

“Then why not stay here?”

“Huh?”

“According to Article 21: While enrolled, students are not subject to the authority of any nation, organization, or group. Outside interference without their consent is not permitted.”

—That’s it. That’ll work.

As it sprang to mind, my anger receded, and I recited the text so smoothly I was almost disgusted with myself.

“Meaning... as long as you’re here, you’re safe for at least three years. That’ll give you time to figure out a solution. You don’t need to rush into one.”

“Ichika...”

“Huh? What?”

“You remembered well. There are, what, fifty-five articles?”

“I... work hard.”

“You sure do.”

Charles finally laughed. Her expression was the carefree smile of a 15-year-old girl.

My pulse is pounding again... Looking again, what I noticed most wasn’t even her beauty, but her kindness. That must be what made her look so adorable to me. Seeing her unguardedness made my heart beat even faster.

“Anyway, it’s up to you to decide, so you should think it over.”

“Sure. I will.”

It seemed like we were moving on from the more awkward topics, but maybe I should have pressed a bit harder. Thinking this made me turn my eyes to Charles again, and our gazes met.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Charles peered at my face. I was unsure whether she knew what I was thinking or not, and now it wasn’t just her vulnerability. The top of her cleavage peeking out from her neckline was enough to make my heart beat like a drum.

“Anyway, uh... Could you back up, Charles?”

“Huh?”

“Well, uh, your breasts...”

At their mention, Charles blushed a bright red.

—She was like this before, too, wasn’t she.

“Ichika, you keep talking about my breasts... Do you want to see them?”

“What?!”

“.........”

“.........”

I was nervous, unsure of what she really intended. For some reason she fell silent, her face still beet-red, and a different kind of awkwardness set in.

Knock, knock.

“......?!”

“Ichika, are you there? You haven’t eaten yet. You aren’t sick or anything, are you?”

Charles and I each froze, stock still at the sudden knock.

“Ichika? Can I come in?”

—This is bad. Really bad. Really, really bad. Even a moron would be able to tell Charles was a girl if they saw her now.

“What do we do?”

“Just hide for now.”

We whispered quietly back and forth. Our faces were quite close, but we didn’t have time to think about that.

“Okay. I’ll just sneak into here...”

“Wha— Why the closet?! Use the bed! Just cover yourself up with blankets, you’ll be fine!”

“Oh! Good idea!”

Charles and I each scrambled.

Click. The sound of the door opening echoed.

“Oh, hey, Cecilia! What’s up? What’d you need?”

“Did I interrupt something?”

What she saw was Charles, who had just dived into bed, and me, lying on top while pulling a blanket over her. It was certainly an unusual sight to open a door and find one resident lying on top of another over a blanket. Cecilia gave a doubtful expression, as if trying to make sure she was really seeing this.

“Oh, Charles thinks he has a cold, so I was tucking him in. No big deal, right?”

“And... is lying on top of a sick person a traditional Japanese cure?”

Of course not. It wasn’t a traditional anywhere cure. Who the hell would come up with something like that?

“Anyway, uh, Charles isn’t feeling well, so he’s taking a nap. He isn’t hungry, so I’m just going to have to go alone.”

“That’s right.”

Charles’s voice leaked out from under the blanket.

—C’mon, put a little more effort into sounding sick!

“Cough, cough.”

—Could you make it any more obvious that you were faking? This isn’t going to work, is it.

“Oh, is that so? I still haven’t gotten supper, as well. Shall we go together? Indeed. Such an unusual coincidence.”

We had seemingly fooled Cecilia, and she turned her attention toward dinner with me. I needed to remember to bring a meal back for Charles, though.

“Cough, cough. Enjoy.”

“Sure.”

“Take care, Dunois. Ichika, shall we be off?”

As she spoke, she took my arm. The British were naturals at gestures which Japanese shied back from. I was uncomfortable with such close contact, but endured it as to not aggravate the situation. We left my room, and walked toward the staircase. As we were about to descend, I heard a shout.

“Wh-What are you two doing?!”

Rapid footsteps sounded from the end of the hall. I didn’t even have to look to know... that it was Houki.

“Oh, Houki! We were simply on our way to dinner,” said Cecilia.

There was a bit of extra emphasis on that “we.” Maybe she placed some extra meaning on it; one of those things I didn’t get that only girls seemed to do.

“And why are you holding hands, huh?!”

“Is it not only natural for a lord to escort his lady?”

So it was like that, huh. I kept ending up as someone’s escort. And, now... Houki was glaring at me. Why was it my fault?

“And Ichika! What about you?! You knew I was going to wait for you in the cafeteria!”

“I wasn’t even...”

I mean, I had other, more important, things to take care of. Anyway, wasn’t it kind of rude to just tell people you’d be waiting and expect them to show up?

“In any case, we’re on our way to supper, so if you don’t mind...”

“W-Wait! I’ll come along, too. I was just on my way to dinner!”

Huh? Really?

“Oh my, Houki. Are you sure a fourth meal a day won’t make you put on even more weight?”

“No need to worry about that. I’ll just burn the calories off at practice.”

—You mean at the Kendo club you never show up at? The rest of the team is crying.

They got a new member who’d made nationals, and then she didn’t even show up. Houki, I appreciate that we get to practice together after school, but you should go to club from time to time, too. Wouldn’t want you to lose your edge.

“Oh, I had my parents send me this. I was going to practice with it later, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

She held up a—wow. A katana. It was sheathed, but it was still immediately obvious what it was. A famous blade passed down since the Edo era—in other words, live steel.

“Its name is Akeyoi. One of the final creations of the famous smith Akarugi You.”

Akarugi You. After marrying a swordswoman, he abandoned his previous work and they settled deep in the Hida Mountains. There, he crafted “swords for women.”

“Women beating men.”

This theme of grace over power influenced his craft until the end of his days. Of course, he’d probably never have started on it if he hadn’t met his wife. Akarugi You finally arrived at two principles of fencing:

“Let cuts flow off your blade like water, until you draw close—then strike in a flash,” and “Draw swiftly your blade, and with it strike swifter still.”

Houki’s blade hewed to the latter—a blade longer and more slender than a standard katana, with a longer sheath to match. Yet somehow, it was quicker to unsheath than a shorter blade. I’d heard the reason was the smoother sheath and the circular path of the stroke, combined with footwork. Still, though, was the government okay with this? A high school student walking around armed with a—oh, wait. This was IS Academy, proclaimed by both law and treaty as belonging to no nation.

“Then, let’s go.”

What? Huh? Why was Houki standing next to me? Wait! Why was she grabbing my arm?!

“Houki... whatever are you doing?”

“It’s only natural for a man to escort a lady, right?”

—Escort? Jeez... You two are only going to the cafeteria.

Yet now I had Cecilia hanging from my left arm, and Houki from my right.

—C’mon, if we walk like this no one’s going to be able to get by us coming up the stairs.

Everyone was staring at us, too.

“God, I wish that were me...”

“That’s double-dipping.”

“No fair getting a head start!”

“No fair having your own IS!”

Hm? Why was everyone giving Houki and Cecilia jealous looks. And why did they look so smug and self-satisfied? Was being escorted by a man that great?

“Um...”

“What?”

“What is it?”

“It’s hard to walk like this...”

My arms were wrenched in stereo. What was wrong with these two?!

“Don’t you have anything better to say right now?”

“A man who doesn’t recognize his own fortune is lower than a dog.”

Fortune? Was it considered fortunate, in Britain, to have both arms twisted at once? Sorry, but that isn’t my kind of thing at all.

“Anyway, whatever. Let’s get something to eat, okay?”

That was enough to get them moving again, but soon, another problem arose.

“Today’s fish dinner is sawara mackerel. It’s delicious.”

Smoosh.

“I’d heard today’s western meal is carbonara. Would you like some, too?”

Smoosh.

“Well, uh, they both sound good.”

I was being completely honest, they did both sound good. There was something else that I was trying to get away from right then. With us walking arm-in-arm-in-arm, it was rather difficult to pass. So they each pressed up close to me, and with each step my arm felt—something soft, girlish, swelling, something I tried not to think about but couldn’t help but realize what it was.

“What’s wrong, Ichika?”

“Is something the matter?”

Smooooosh.

Each leaned their face even closer to mine. My arms could feel their breasts squeeze through their clothes.

“Oh, it’s nothing! It was nothing at all. It won’t be a big deal.”

I worked my way through the tenses to try and keep my grip. Tense—that was an appropriate way to think of it, all things considered. What I actually ended up eating for dinner completely slipped my mind.

◇

“I’m back.”

“Hey, Ichika. Hm? What’s wrong? You seem worked up over something.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I’m fine. You must be famished, though. I got you a fish dinner, think you’re up to it?”

“Sure, thanks.”

Charles grinned as she took the tray from me, but her expression hardened as she placed it on the table.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uhhh...”

“Hurry up, or it’ll get cold. Someone worked hard to make that, you should eat it while it’s still warm.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks.”

Charles seemed to be holding an awkward smile, and I quickly understood why.

“Ah...”

Plop.

“Ah, uh...”

Plop, plop.

Charles let out a sigh as her food fell back to the plate again. She picked up the fish. Or at least tried to, but it wasn’t going so well. Now that I thought of it, this was the first time I’d seen Charles use chopsticks.

“Are you having trouble with the chopsticks?”

“Yeah. I’ve practiced, but it’s still not— Ah...”

Once again, the fish fell. It was landing on the plate, so it was still edible, but at this rate she’d never finish her meal.

“Sorry. I’ll go get you a spoon.”

“Eh? N-No, I don’t need one. I’ll finish eventually.”

“Are you sure? It looks like you’re having a lot of trouble, I don’t mind.”

“But...”

“C’mon, Charles. You need to learn to let other people do you favors. If you keep turning them down, it just hurts you,” I said to her as she let out a sigh. “I know it’s tough to just ask for things out of the blue, but why not get into practice starting with me? This may be going back a bit, but remember, I’m just like you, especially in family-type things. So feel free.”

“Ichika...”

She seemed to toss the idea over in her mind for a while, before accepting that she couldn’t eat otherwise and opening her mouth.

“Then, um...”

“Okay. Shall I get you that spoon?”

“Well, uh... Can... Can you feed me?”

She fidgeted hesitantly as she asked—but the unexpected request just melted me. Charles smiled up at me, her jaw open, and asked again.

“You said it was okay to ask for favors...”

“You’re right. A man doesn’t go back on his word. Okay, let’s do that.”

It wasn’t quite what I’d meant, but at least Charles was asking for something rather than first trying to do it all herself and then giving up. What kind of man would I be if I refused? That smile was kinda unfair, though... Her expression was like an abandoned puppy on a rainy day, begging to be lifted out of its box. Only a hero—or a villain—would be able to refuse, and I didn’t want to be either. I took the chopsticks from Charles, and picked up a piece of fish like the ones she’d dropped.

“Okay, say ahh.”

“Ahh.”

I’d never even dreamed that I’d be hand-feeding Charles, too. As Charles chewed, her cheeks seemed to glow a faint red.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah. It tastes great.”

“That’s good.”

“How about some rice next?”

“Okay.”

I picked up a clump of rice, about bite-sized for a girl, and lifted it to her mouth with the saucer under it.

“Ahh.”

“Hm...”

Watching Charles eat was sending my heart racing again. Was this what a bird felt while feeding its hatchlings? Somehow, I couldn’t calm down.

“How about some salad next?”

“Okay.”

I fed her the rest of the meal as our conversation slowed, and after a few words we then each went to bed. Too much had happened today. Exhausted mentally and physically, I fell asleep the moment I hit the sheets.

◇

Darkness. In pitch darkness, a single point.

“.........”

She no longer remembered how long it had been this way, only that her life had been darkness since birth. Humans saw light for the first time when they were born, but she was different. She was raised in darkness, and born in the shadows. And nothing had changed. In an unlit room, embraced by shadows and bathed in gloom, the only light the dim gleam of a ruby-red eye. Laura Bodewig.

She knew it was her name, yet she understood it held no meaning. But there was one exception. When her Lehrerin—when Orimura Chifuyu—called her name, it echoed in her ears. Her heart fluttered.

“Her existence... Her power... It is my goal, my Daseinsberechtigung...”

The single ray of light in her life. The first time they met, she was nearly brought to her knees. With terror. With emotion. With... Joy.

Her heart wavered. Her body burned. And she prayed. Ah, that someday she could be like that. That someday, that could be her. It filled her emptiness. Made her whole. Master of herself. An absolute force. Living perfection. The only one she could ever identify with. No grime could ever be allowed to besmirch her perfect form.

“Orimura Ichika... You have besmirched mein Lehrerin...” She could not accept his existence. “I will eliminate him... No matter what it takes.”

Laura closed her eyes, a dark flame growing in her chest. The girl, who was one with the darkness, fell into a dreamless sleep.

◇

“For real?!”

“You’re not lying, are you?”

I was on my way to class Monday morning, and I blinked in surprise at being able to hear the shouts all the way from the bottom of the stairs.

“What?”

“Well?”

Next to me was my roommate, Charles (Male Version).

“It’s true! Like, everyone’s talking about it! The winner of the tournament at the end of the month gets to go on a date with Orimu—”

“A what with me?”

“KYAAA!”

What was up with them? I’d waited until I made it to the classroom and asked in a normal voice, yet all I got back were shrieks of sorrow. How vulgar.

“So, what were you all talking about? I thought I heard my name somewhere in there.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Whatever gave you that idea?”

Rin and Cecilia were trying to laugh it off and change the subject. Was it something I shouldn’t have heard?

“Anyway, I’m heading back to my class.”

“Ah, of course! I should take my own seat as well.”

Each made a swift, if somewhat suspicious, departure. The rest of the girls gathered seemed to follow suit.

“What was up with that...” I asked Charles.

“Beats me.”

◇

—Why does it have to be like this?

I sat at my desk near the window as my head swirled with thoughts.

—The winner of the class tournament gets to go on a date with Orimura Ichika...

That was for me and him to know! He wouldn’t go around telling people that, would he? It must have slipped out some other way.

“.........”

Still, now all the other girls knew, and even the upperclasswomen had questions like “But what if the winner’s in a different grade?” and “Will they announce it at the ceremony?” This was really, really bad. There was no way I’d approve it if Ichika ended up going out with another girl! But at the same time, trying to keep him all to myself would basically proclaim that we were dating. If only one could live in peace without rumours flying around like wasps...

—Ah, it’d be nice to have a secret relationship, free of all these problems, and we could—

“J-Just what am I thinking?!”

It wouldn’t hurt to dream a little... But things were complicated now that there were many others in the fray.

Anyway, I just had to win. Winning would solve this entire problem. There was no way I would repeat the same mistake as last time. I couldn’t repeat the same mistake... It would all work out in the end. Probably...

—I can’t let it happen again. Not like before, when I made a similar promise...

Back in fourth grade, I’d participated in the Kendo Nationals. Even though elementary school entries had been lumped together and I was to compete with fifth and sixth-graders, I was pinned as the favorite due to my upbringing. No else in the competition could match me. Victory was all but ensured, or so I thought... Yet on the day of the competition, I was forced to forfeit because my family had to move—and it was all Tanabe’s fault. The IS that Tabane had developed were, even at first announcement, recognized as so overwhelmingly powerful that they would be misused as weapons. To prevent this, our entire family was put into a government protection program. And ever since then, I couldn’t stand my sister. I hated her, in fact.

It was all because of her that my life was in utter chaos. We had to move multiple times, and before we could settle down again, we would move again. Despite all that, I’d gotten a letter from Ichika back then, somehow. But because of who I was, I couldn’t reply because it was a “threat to our location” if I did.

Eventually I managed to carve out my own existence, after separating myself from my parents, and after my sister had mysteriously vanished. But even then, I was still watched. I never could truly escape the fate forced upon me. The only thing I had to myself was kendo, and I trained long and hard in hopes that one day maybe it would connect Ichika and I again, like before. Yet, even after winning a national title, I felt empty.

I wasn’t doing kendo purely because I enjoyed it. It was all I had, and all I could do to fight against my inner demons. Every opponent was a chance to potentially relieve my stress, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t shake the feelings that I harbored within me. Seeing the tears of my opponents only made it worse. I slowly came to realize the monster I was becoming. When I was being presented my award, I just wanted to run away. I didn’t deserve it. Not in the way I had gotten to that point...

—What have I been doing with my life...

That was only violence. That wasn’t true strength. True strength is something different. I knew the answer, but I still didn’t understand it.

—Ngh! There I go again, thinking about the past.

“.........”

I wished it would all just go away. If I won this time, surely things would be different. All the pieces were actually here. I just needed to win.

“I can do this. I will do this... There’s no one here that can stop me.”

◇

“Phew. This thing is way too far away.”

There were only three toilets the boys of the school, i.e. me, could use, so the bell that sounded the end of a period was also the starting pistol for a track event. And of course, I had to sprint back to make it in time. Yet lately, I’d received a cruel scolding for running in the halls. What was I supposed to do?

Though really, if I thought about it, it was worse of all for Charles. After all, Charles was really a girl, but she still had to run all the way to the boys’ room. Meaning... Actually, I’d rather not. Probably better not to think about that at all. If nothing else, I didn’t have the time to waste. My next class was the basics of close-quarters IS combat. Obviously a life-and-death matter for myself.

“And why are you even teaching here?!”

“Sigh...”

Hm? Voices from around the corner caught my attention—naturally, as they were familiar. One was Laura, and one had to be Chifuyu.

“I’ve told you repeatedly. I have my own duties. That’s all I have to say.”

“What duty could possibly bring you to the furthest of the Far East?”

I supposed nothing else could cause the Ice Queen, Laura Bodewig’s, voice to rise like that. It seemed like Laura was pouring out her frustrations with Chifuyu’s current job, and her admiration for her.

“Please. Please, return to Germany. Your talents are wasted here.”

“Oh?”

“Not one of the students here are worthy of an instructor such as you.”

“Why?”

“Their wits are slow, their senses dull. They mistake IS for evening gowns. To burden yourself with such trifling nobodies is—”

“That’s quite enough, young miss.”

Laura let out a grunt, as if punched in the gut. Chifuyu’s voice rang as if from above. Even Laura was set aback by her force of will. She stayed silent, unable to continue.

“You’ve gotten quite full of yourself since we parted. Decided you’ve already got your position stitched up at age fifteen?”

“I-I...”

I could hear the tremble in her voice even from a distance. Fear, it must have been. The fear of standing before absolute power. And the fear of alienating someone dear.

“Class is about to begin. Get back to your seat.”

“.........”

Chifuyu’s voice returned to normal, and Laura made a swift retreat.

—Aw, crap...

“And you, boy. Are you eavesdropping? Being a creep won’t earn you any friends.”

“Why’d’you have to assume the worst, Chifu—”

Bam!

“At school, I’m to be called Ms. Orimura.”

“Understood...”

That was the thing. I couldn’t poke my head up around Chifuyu, otherwise it would just get smacked right back down. What was this, whack-a-mole?

“Run along now, underachiever. If you don’t shape up, you’ll be out of the tournament in the first round. No slacking off.”

“I know, I know.”

“That’s good, then.” Chifuyu grinned, and it seemed like, just in that moment, she was my sister.

“Anyway, I’ll go back to class now.”

“Okay. Hurry it up— Oh, and, Orimura.”

“Yes?”

“I won’t tell you not to run in the halls. But don’t get caught doing it.”

“Understood.”

Chifuyu spun around. It seemed like she was letting me go. I ran back to class, being careful not to get caught.

◇

“Ah—”

Two voices let out a gasp. When: After school. Where: The third arena. Who: Rin and Cecilia.

“What a coincidence. I was just about to practice for the tournament.”

“Oh my, what a coincidence. I had the same idea.”

Invisible sparks flew between them. It seemed like each was gunning for the championship.

“It seems like a wonderful opportunity to show which of us is the superior—and the most practiced.”

“Looks like we agree, for once. One of us must be stronger and more elegant, and now we can find out who.”

Each called forth their main weapon, and they stood, staring each other down.

“Then—”

Their voices were drowned out by the crack of supersonic fire.

“......?!”

After evasive maneuvers, Rin and Cecilia turned toward the source of the fire. There stood a jet-black IS. Its name, Schwarzer Regen. Its pilot...

“Laura Bodewig...”

Cecilia’s expression hardened into a sneer. Her disgust was more than just that of an EU trial competitor.

“Whatever are you doing? It takes some nerve to simply open fire unannounced.”

With a clang, Rin combined her Souten Gagetsu and raised it to her shoulders, preparing to fire in impact cannon mode.

“China’s Shenlong and Britain’s Blue Tears? Hmph, you seemed stronger from the spec sheets.”

Rin and Cecilia both grimaced at the sudden provocation.

“Oh? You’d like to fight? What kind of creep comes all the way from Germany just to get whipped? Or is that what they do for fun down in the potato patches?” Rin jeered.

“Why, Rin! It’s mean to bully someone who’s so uneloquent. Let the bitch whimper.”

Laura’s glare of disdain seemed to have annoyed them quite a bit, and they vented their anger through words. It was probably just wasted effort, though.

“Oh? Are they giving personal assignments to pilots who can’t even take down a mass-produced IS now? You must both be so hard-up for talent. Natural for an empire of swarming ants, and an empire on which the sun has set.”

Snap!

I could hear something crack as both Rin and Cecilia unslung their most powerful weapons.

“Oh, I see. I get it. You wanna scrap, huh. Cecilia! Let’s play rock-paper-scissors to decide who goes first.”

“I suppose. Personally, I’ve no preference.”

“Then why not both of you at once? One-plus-one only equals two. And two mares fighting over the last stud left are certainly no match for me.”

It was an obvious provocation, but Rin and Cecilia were both well past the limits of their patience.

“What did you just say? Was it ‘come over here and beat my ass’?”

“I’m ashamed as a European Cadet that one of my peers would insult those not even here to defend themselves. I’ll have to teach you a lesson about minding your manners that you won’t forget.”

Each clutched their weapon. Laura stared down coldly at them, spreading her arms slightly, and beckoning with a wave.

“Show me what you’ve got, then.”

“You got it!”

◇

“Are you practicing after school again today, Ichika?” Charles asked.

“Of course. Hm, which one is open today?” I replied.

“The third arena,” came a third voice.

“WHA—”

As Charles and I walked down the hall, an unexpected voice caused us both to yelp in shock. Houki, who had joined us without our noticing, furrowed her brow, perhaps perturbed at our simultaneous response.

“You don’t need to be shocked like that... it’s rude.” said Houki.

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

“I’m sorry. You just surprised me.”

“I... I wasn’t accusing you of anything, just...”

Charles’s proper bow was enough to defuse even Houki’s irritation. As if embarrassed by the apology, Houki cleared her throat and changed the topic.

“Anyway, though. Let’s head to the third arena. I’d heard not many people are using it today. If the airspace is open, we should be able to get in a mock battle.”

That would be really helpful. An IS’ capabilities were pretty much linked to how long it has been in full operation, so even a little bit of something approximating real combat was something to be grateful for.

We headed toward the arenas, but as we drew closer we became aware of the chaos unfolding inside. There were a lot of students running in the halls, and it seemed like the third arena was at the center of it.

“Huh?”

“Did something happen? Let’s go see what’s going on.”

Charles pointed toward the bleacher gates. I nodded in agreement. We usually entered through the pits, but that was the fastest way to see what was up.

“Someone’s fighting a mock battle. Though it seems more like a real—”

Boom!

“......?!”

The sudden explosion drew our attention, and we saw shadows flitting through a wall of smoke.

“Rin! Cecilia!”

A special energy field protected the bleachers from the explosion in the ring, but at the same time it meant they couldn’t hear voices from outside. Each was grimacing, staring into the center of the explosion. Within it, we could see the jet-black IS Schwarzer Regen, and its pilot, Laura.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that Rin and Cecilia’s IS were heavily damaged. Never mind just battle damage, pieces of armor had been blown completely off. Laura, likewise, wasn’t untouched, but she seemed to have taken only light damage compared to the other two.

“What are you doing?! Hey!”

Our voices couldn’t be heard, and Rin and Cecilia, after making quick eye contact, turned again toward Laura. Even though it was a two-on-one fight and they should have had the advantage, they were on the back foot.

The impact cannon’s invisible bullets shrieked on a path toward Laura—yet, they never arrived.

“Ugh! I can’t believe we’re this mismatched!”

She must have deployed some sort of barrier. After completely neutralizing the impact cannon with a thrust of her right hand, Laura turned to the attack. Blades mounted on each of her shoulders launched, shooting toward Rin. Connected by wire, they traced a complex arc, weaving around point-defense fire before wrapping around Rin’s right leg. It was a weapon combining the capabilities of a dagger and a whip.

“Do you think I’ll just let you keep doing as you please?”

Cecilia provided cover fire for Rin. At the same time, her bits deployed, flying toward Laura.

“Hmph. I can’t speak for a Blue Tears operated to its potential, but to call this third-generation is laughable.”

Cecilia’s precise fire was combined with a bit attack from outside Laura’s vision. Still, Laura effortlessly dodged it all while extending her arms again. This time, it was left and right at once, crossed over and grasping at something unseen—and as her grip closed, the bits stopped dead.

“You’ve stopped!” cried Cecilia.

“You, too.” said Laura.

Cecilia’s aimed shot struck and was canceled out by Laura’s cannon fire. As Cecilia prepared to fire another burst, Laura swung Rin, whom she had previously caught, trying to smash Cecilia out of the air. Rin swung like a pendulum in a blunt but effective attack.

“AH!”

As they crashed together and attempted to regain control, Laura charged in. Her speed was like that of a bullet, chewing up the distance between them in barely a second.

“Ignition Boost!”

It was unmistakable. My own special trick, a melee technique. But Rin knew her way around close combat, too. I’d expected her to spin her Souten Gagetsu around for a quick counter, and was shocked when she instead split it. But soon, I realized why. High-temperature plasma blades extended from sleeve-like shrouds on each of Laura’s arms, slicing toward Rin from both sides.

“Damn you!”

As Laura pressed forward, Rin attempted to open space, dodging blow after blow. Using the terrain of the arena in her favor, Rin avoided being caught, only to face Laura’s wire blades again. Yet this time, she used not only her shoulder blades but pairs attached to either side of her waist, harrying Rin with a three-dimensional attack at the same time as she thrust forth with her plasma blades. Even if Rin was used to close combat, it was too much for her to dodge.

“Ugh!”

Energy again focused as the impact cannons extended.

“How foolish, using a slow area-denial weapon in this situation.”

As if to prove herself right, Laura shot at the impact cannons just before they fired, and they exploded in a shower of shrapnel.

“Got you!”

“......!”

With Rin’s shoulder armor blown away and her IS falling apart, Laura closed in for a finishing thrust of her plasma blades.

“I won’t let that happen!”

With Laura only a hair’s breadth away from Rin, she used her own Starlight Mk.III as a shield to deflect the blow. At the same time, Rin fired her own waist-mounted missile bits at Laura.

KA-BOOM!

The missiles launched in a close-ranged attack, which she surely knew would engulf them both. The explosion caught Rin and Cecilia, throwing them to the ground.

“What was that supposed to be?”

“Save the complaints for later. Anyway, that should have been enough to—”

Cecilia cut off partway through her sentence.

“.........”

The smoke cleared, revealing Laura. She floated unperturbedly, as if even the brunt of the explosion had left her unscathed.

“Is that all? Then, it’s my turn.”

As she spoke, she swooped downward toward the pair, kicking Rin out of the way as she opened fire on Cecilia from close range. Her wire blades caught each of them in midair, dragging them each toward her. From there, the brutalization began.

“AHHHH!”

Laura’s punches rained down upon their arms, their legs, their bodies. Their shield energy drained swiftly, through the red zone of an IS’ limits, and into the dead zone of risk to the pilot themselves. Eventually their IS would automatically retract, leaving their very lives in danger.

Still, Laura’s assault continued. She continued to punch, to kick, to tear Rin and Cecilia’s IS armor apart. As I watched her normally expressionless face twist into vicious glee, something inside me burst past its limit.

“ARGH!”

I deployed my Byakushiki, taking the Yukihira Nigata in my hand and focused all my energy into it as I activated Reiraku Byakuya. Energy flared far beyond the length of its physical blade as I bashed it against the arena’s barrier. Reiraku Byakuya pierced it, as it negated almost any kind energy, and I slipped through the hole it left. At the same time as I entered firing range, I activated Ignition Boost. Using it at the same time as Reiraku Byakuya was at full power may as well have been a banzai charge. Byakushiki was energy-thirsty at the best of times, and with the added consumption, its shields quickly drained. But I had no time to think about that.

“Let go of them!”

I brought my blade down toward Laura, who was still holding Rin and Cecilia.

“Hmph. As emotional as you are simple. The very picture of a fool.”

A moment before Reiraku Byakuya’s energy struck, my body froze solid. Laura’s uncovered eye suddenly turned upward and fixated on me.

“What the— Ugh, my body...”

My body refused to cooperate, as if unseen hands were grasping it. My arms remained raised, and soon, Reiraku Byakuya’s energy blade began to fade.

“You’re no match for me. Compared to the Schwarzer Regen, you’re nothing more than cannon fodder. Now, disappear.”

Her shoulder cannon swiveled, and I stared down its barrel.

—Dammit!

“Ichika! Get back!”

Charles shouted over a private channel as she unleashed a rain of bullets from akimbo assault rifles.

“Tch. Another nobody.”

The unseen force holding me back disappeared, and I regained control of my body. I quickly picked Rin and Cecilia up to carry them away from Laura.

—Come on, Byakushiki! Just one more Ignition Boost!

I was almost out of energy, having set everything to full power already. But somehow my prayers were answered, and the thruster on my back roared to life.

—All right!

The world slowed to a crawl in front of me, before immediately speeding up. With Ignition Boost’s singular stomach twist, we were away from Laura in a moment.

“Are they okay, Ichika?!”

Charles asked as she continued to provide cover fire.

With the assault rifles’ fast rate of fire and Charles’ own ability to quickly swap them out as they ran short of ammunition, Laura was unable to slip in a counterattack.

“Ugh... Ichika...”

“I’m so humiliated... That you saw me like that...” Cecilia whimpered.

“Don’t talk... They’re fine, Charles. They’re both conscious.”

“That’s good.”

Charles’s relief was palpable even as she continued firing. A third change of rifles continues to pelt Laura with bullets.

“Interesting. But now I’ll show you the generation gap.”

Sometimes dodging, sometimes deflecting, sometimes using her unseen power to stop bullets, Laura crouched, preparing a counterattack. She must have been about to use Ignition Boost, but I was carrying Rin and Cecilia, and couldn’t fight. Still, I knew it was too dangerous to leave Charles to her alone.

“Here I go!”

“Ugh!”

In the moment before Laura leapt, a shadow flitted between us.

Clang!

The ringing clash of metal on metal sounded as Laura was stopped by the shadow.

“And this is why I was tired of dealing with kids.”

“Chifuyu?!”

The shadow was someone I would never have expected. She was even in her everyday suit, without an IS or even an IS suit. Yet in her hands was an IS close-combat blade, a full 170 centimeters long—nearly my own height—yet being nimbly wielded barehandedly. Casually getting between two IS just made it more obvious that she was no ordinary human.

“I don’t mind mock battles. But as a teacher, I certainly can’t stand by while you even shatter the arena’s barrier. I’m going to have to ask you to finish this at the tournament.”

“As you wish, ma’am.”

Laura nodded as she removes her IS, which evaporated into particles of light.

“Orimura. Dunois. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-Yeah.”

I was too stunned by everything that had happened to pay attention to my manners.

“Answer your teachers with ‘yes,’ you idiot,” demanded Chifuyu.

“Yes!” I cried.

“I’m fine with that.”

Charles agreed with my corrected answer. Hearing us, Chifuyu turned and announced to everyone in the arena.

“Very well, then. Fighting outside of school hours is absolutely forbidden until the tournament. Dismissed!”

She clapped her hands forcefully. It echoed like a gunshot.

◇

“.........”

“.........”

The nurse’s office. An hour had passed since the incident at the third arena. Rin and Cecilia, wrapped in bandages, were staring off into space glumly as they rested on beds, nursing their bruises.

“You shouldn’t have helped us, you know.”

“We surely would’ve won in the end.”

And here I was expecting some thanks. Oh well, it wasn’t like I helped just for the gratitude. I just couldn’t stand to watch something like that unfold.

“Really, you two... Well, I guess it’s good that you weren’t injured too badly.”

“As if this even rises to the level of— Owww!”

“I don’t understand why they’re making us lie dow— Nngh...”

—Idiots...

“Who are you calling an idiot, idiot?”

“You’re the biggest idiot here, Ichika!”

Such cruel counterattacks. I didn’t even say it. How did they know? How was one supposed to even deal with two invalids in a temper?

“You two must be embarrassed to lose like that in front of your crush.”

“Hm?”

Charles had returned with drinks. She said something while entering the room, but I didn’t quite hear. It seemed like Rin and Cecilia definitely had though, as their faces flushed with anger.

“W-W-W-W-What are you even talking about? Ugh, this is why I can’t deal with Europeans!”

“N-Not at all! The mere suggestion makes me sick to my stomach!”

The two continue to blush as they scrambled for words. What was that all about? What did Charles say to them?

“Here, one Oolong and one black. Have a drink, it’ll calm you down.”

“Hmph!”

“If I must.”

Rin and Cecilia snatched up the proffered plastic bottles, tore the caps off, and immediately chugged the tea inside. Come on, you shouldn’t be drinking cold things so quickly.

“The teacher said you could leave once you calmed down a bit, so why don’t you take a rest and—”

Rumble.

“What was that noise?”

A sound like an earthquake echoed from the hallway. It sounded like it was drawing closer, but that must have just been my imagina—

Boom! The door to the nurse’s office blew open.

It really did. Seriously. That was the first time I’d ever seen a door blow off its hinges. I was amazed it could happen in real life.

“Orimura!”

“Dunois!”

And what entered through it was anything but easy to deal with. A veritable avalanche of dozens of schoolgirls. Even though there was room in the office for five beds, it was packed with people in an instant. Spotting Charles and I, they encircled us, poking their hands out like they were picking through a bargain bin. It was the kind of thing you’d see in a horror movie. An endless sea of hands, hands, hands protruding from a faceless crowd. It was honestly downright terrifying.

“Wh-What’s going on?!”

“What’s wrong? Calm down!”

“THIS!”

The girls slammed down an emergency notice from the school, with an application form attached, before us.

“What’s this?”

“It says that in order to provide a more accurate simulation in next month’s tournament, participants will be organized into teams of two, and that those without a partner will have one randomly assigned. The deadline for submitting your team is—’”

“All right, all right! I get it!”

Another blizzard of hands. Oh, man.

“Orimura! Team up with me!”

“Dunois! Let’s team up!”

I didn’t know why they’d suddenly changed the rules of the tournament, but from the looks of things, and their ribbon colors, these girls were all from our year. Apparently they’d worked up the courage to try and snap up one of the only two boys in the school before anyone else did. But...

“Umm...”

Indeed. Charles was really a girl, so it’d be really bad if she was teamed up with any of them. There’d be a lot of duo training, and a lot of opportunities to get caught.

I looked over at Charles, and saw a harried expression flit over her face for a few seconds before she noticed I was looking at her. Our eyes met for a moment, and it seemed like she realized I understood her silent cry for help before averting her eyes. I gave my best self-effacing grimace, before turning to the excited crowd and making an announcement loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Sorry, girls. You may as well give up now, because Charles and I are a team.”

Silence. The sudden stillness gave me a few moments to squirm. This probably wasn’t a good idea, was it?

“Well, that makes sense.”

“It’s better than you going with another girl.”

“Bromance is a thing.”

Looks like they were able to deal with it after all. The girls each mumbled their own acceptance as they filed from the nurse’s office. A lively bustle sounded from the hall as they moved immediately toward setting up Plan B.

“Phew.”

“Uh, Ichika...”

“ICHIKA,” yelled Rin.

“ICHIKA!” shouted Cecilia.

Charles began to speak as I let out a sigh of relief, only to immediately be shouted over as Rin and Cecilia leapt to their feet.

“You should partner with me! We’ve known each other forever!”

“It’s only natural for two classmates to team up, though.”

Both of them seemed about ready to latch on so hard that they’d strangle me. When you’re hurt, you needed to rest quietly. You’d make your injuries worse if you got worked up. Anyway, though, I wasn’t sure what to do. Unlike the girls from before, these two were obviously in no mood for arguments. All I could do was let out a sigh.

“I’m afraid that won’t be happening.”

Oh?! It seemed like I wasn’t the only one shocked by the sound of another voice. Both Rin and Cecilia blinked in surprise as the new arrival, Ms. Yamada, spoke.

“I’ve checked out your IS, and they’re both damaged beyond Level C. If you don’t focus on their repair, it will cause major problems in the future. Your IS need a rest. You won’t be allowed to participate in the tournament.”

Would these two passionate National Cadets go along with it? I had my doubts, but...

“Ugh... Understood...”

“Under protest! Under the firmest, firmest protest! I withdraw under protest!”

Huh? That was a lot less fuss that I expected. How come?

“I’m glad that you understand, then. Remember, the debts you rack up pushing your IS’ limits will come back to haunt you. The worst thing in the world is when you see a chance and can’t take it. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

“Yes, ma’am...”

“Understood...”

Ms. Yamada’s clear, sober lecture may not have explained everything she hoped it would, but at least it made the duo accept that they wouldn’t be participating in the tournament.

“Ichika, what’s the third basic rule of IS experience?”

It was, uh...

“An IS will independently develop based on experience accumulated, including through combat. This process continues even if the IS is operated while damaged, and if operated while damaged beyond Level C, will include the function of energy bypasses which will have a negative effect on normal operations,” Charles cut in.

“That’s exactly it! Good work as always, Charles!”

Charles offered up the explanation that failed to spring to mind for me. Essentially, it was like “overexerting yourself with broken bones will, in turn, hurt your muscles.” That pretty much nailed it. Anyway, with that nailed down, I asked Rin and Cecilia the question I’d been wondering for a while.

“Just why were you battling Laura, anyway?”

“Well, um...”

“How shall I put it... It was a question of feminine pride.”

“Huh?”

Why were they so reluctant to answer? Ah well, it was obvious that Laura provoked them, somehow. Still, being National Cadets, they shouldn’t be so eager to take the bait. Yep.

“Oh. Were you fighting over Ichi—”

“Agh! Dunois, you talk too much!”

“Indeed! Far too much! Ohohoho.”

Whatever idea had sprung up in Charles’ mind, they were extremely quick to shut it down. Charles gave a grimace as she was talked over.

“C’mon, knock it off. Look at what you’re doing to Charles. Besides, you two’ve been way too active for how hurt you are.”

In an attempt to slow them down, I poked each of their shoulders.

“BWAH!”

Just like I thought, it must have stung. Each let out a strange scream before falling silent.

“.........”

“.........”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize it would hurt so much.”

Their silent stares of reproach made it obvious just how much it hurt. Realizing I’d gone too far, I apologized immediately.

“Ichika, you...”

“You’ll pay for this later...”

Oops... When they were feeling better, surely some fists of fury would fly my way. Probably a full-cour... a full-course meal. Yeah. And probably dessert would be included, as well. Drinks? Definitely free refills, too.

◇

“Hey, Ichika...”

“Yeah?”

As we arrived back at our room after dinner, Charles opened her mouth. It was a casual phrase, but I could tell there was something behind it. What was up?

“Sorry for not saying this before, but... Thanks for covering for me.”

“Huh? What did I do? If anything, you’re the one who had my back in the arena.”

“Not that. In the nurse’s office. I was really happy that you said you were teaming up with me for the tournament.”

“Oh, that? Don’t even worry about it. I’m the only one who knows about your situation right now, so of course I’d do what I could.”

To me it was nothing special, but for Charles it seemed to be different. She was positively glowing with gratitude.

“It’s more than that. If you weren’t so kind, you’d never have come up with it yourself. I really like people who are willing to speak up to help someone else. It made me very happy.”

Well... That was spoken like a true “blond gentleman.” Each and every classy choice of words embarrassed me a little bit more. I fanned my cheeks to take away the warmth.

“Anyway... About that. You don’t have to force yourself to talk like a guy when I’m the only one around, right?”

“True— you’re right. They put me through intensive training before I came here on how to act and speak like a boy so I wouldn’t be caught. So it’ll probably take a while to adjust back to normal.”

Even though I’d never met Charles’ father, the part about “putting her through” something made me angry at him, but she treated it like no big deal, so I held myself back. It was important not to mistake anger for someone else’s sake for your own anger.

“I mean, I’m not really that girlish, right?” Charles asked timidly, her eyes flitted away from contact.

“Huh? You mean, like how you talk?”

“Yes. I’m not really that girlish, so I’d like to be able to just be myself with you...”

“You just don’t need to push yourself, okay? Plus, I don’t think that you’re not girlish. In fact, I think you’re cute.”

“C-Cute? Me? Really? Are you sure?”

For some reason, Charles seemed a bit panicked, and she quizzed me intently.

“Of course. Trust me.”

“I... I guess. Okay... Fine, then.”

I wasn’t really sure what was going through her head, but I guess it didn’t matter. She nodded again in acceptance.

“Anyway, so much has been going on that we’re still in our uniforms. Shall we change?”

That was when it really struck me. Charles was a girl. We didn’t really have any choice while putting on our IS suits in the locker room, but at home we had more time and freedom to wander around, so it was probably better if I made myself scarce until she finished. Yeah, definitely a good idea.

“Okay, I’ll head out then.”

“Eh? Why?”

“I mean, you can’t change with me in here, right? Especially with the IS suit involved. I’ll just go somewhere for a while.”

Now that I thought of it, I had the same conversation with Houki. It was kind of awkward living with girls. And Charles presenting herself as a boy made it even worse.

“Oh, no, it’s fine. I don’t want to impose on you like that, and besides... I don’t really mind...”

“You might not, but I kinda do.”

“And... And! It’d be weird if one guy had to leave the room while the other changed, right?”

“Well, you’re right about that. All right... I’ll be in the bathroom. Just tell me when you’re done.”

“I told you, you don’t have to worry about it! Just act normal. And you have to change too, right?”

Well, I guess I didn’t have to leave. I wasn’t really sure why Charles was so insistent, but because of it I couldn’t exactly refuse her.

“All right, I’ll change too, then.”

“Of course.”

A grin rose to Charles’ face. Perhaps because of how passionately she’d been speaking, her cheeks shone a faint crimson.

“All right, guess I should just pull out a t-shirt. Where’d I put those... Oh, there they are.”

“.........”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

Charles had said it was okay to stay in the room, but for some reason, she wasn’t changing. I watched her, bemused by the contradiction.

“Ichika, I can’t change while you’re staring at me...”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

I spun around. It’s like déjà vu. I could swear I had the same conversation with Hou—

“Okay, I’ll start changing now,” said Charles.

“R-Right.”

I froze up as the sudden announcement interrupted my train of thought. A few moments of silence later, I heard the sound of her pants sliding down.

—Oh no... There’s that sweet smell again...

I’d never noticed it when I thought she was a boy, but now that I knew she was a girl, it was like the room was filled with a mild yet bewitching scent whenever we were together. The sweet smell only girls had. What even was that? I’d never noticed a boy smell like that. Was it those pheromones I’d heard of?

“Ichika? Aren’t you going to change?”

“Oh, right. Guess I will.”

The reminder snapped me out of my haze. I stood up from my bed, and began removing my clothes from the top down.

“.........”

Stare.

I could feel eyes burning into my back.

“Charles?”

“Wha— Y-Yes?”

The shock in her voice was enough to surprise even me. And the tremble in her words was enough to make me ask a bit reluctantly.

“Sorry if I’m wrong, but you weren’t looking at me, were you?”

“O-Of course not!”

“Oh, good.”

A full-throated denial. I guess I was just imagining things. A guy, feeling a stare? That was girlish, even for me.

—Oh well, let’s just finish up.

“.........”

Stare.

Er, Charles? Hello?

“No peeking.”

“What?! No, I wasn’t, I would nev— Eek!”

Charles’ flustered voice changed to a shriek. At the same time, I heard a loud thump, and reflexively turned to see what happened.

“Oww... I got caught on my leg... Eh?”

“Eh?”

“EHHH?”

What met my gaze was Charles, who had tumbled to the floor with her pants around her legs. The problem was how she looked. Her only top was her corset, and below, apart from the pants which had caught on her knee, she was wearing nothing but underwear—not just underwear, but... panties. And when she collapsed, she’d come down on all fours, with her butt sticking out. The light pink panties, bunched up between those firm cheeks, were, how shall I put it, extremely sexy... And that was no good. That was really bad. Especially for me.

“N-No—”

—Oh no! We’d both be in a lot of trouble if someone heard a girl shrieking in here.

Was all I could think about as I bunched up the pants I’d just pulled off and leapt to cover Charles’ mouth with them. This was really enough to make Charles reflexively stop her scream, but by this point I was already diving. There was a brief moment of quiet after she stopped but before inertia carried me on top of her.

There’s a saying: “Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” It made sense, making something else go wrong was part of going wrong. As I dove, my pants tangled on a bedpost and got caught. My momentum sapped, I fell straight to the floor.

This all happened in the space of a second. Reflexively, I grabbed something with my outstretched hands—something I really shouldn’t have.

“Mmph!”

My hands felt something supple and springy, yet meaty. Smooth skin below silky fabric. Meaning... I was clutching hold of Charles’ butt. It was soft and warm. At that moment, I understood the calmness of those resigned to death. That sense of universal yearning.

But gravity’s, famously, a harsh mistress. My body continued fall. Meaning, the panties in my grasp joined me in my continued descent.

“WHAAAA—”

Bam!

Charles had flipped up from all fours, and delivered an instinctive counter. As it hit, my jaw and my head snapped back, and the world faded to black.

◇

“.........”

Charles, after lifting the unconscious Ichika into his bed, changed into her pajamas, her face still red. Her expression was a strange one, mixing anger and embarrassment, and a bit of joy.

“Jeez, Ichika, I never thought you’d be so handsy...”

Understanding that he hadn’t done it intentionally, Charles was still conflicted. If it hadn’t been by accident, it would have been unforgivable, so it still angered her a bit to brush it under the rug.

“If you’d just asked, I would have...”

She began to speak before snapping back to herself. Realizing what she was saying, her face flushed a bright red, and she shook her head.

—Ugh, I should just go to bed. Yeah! That’s it!

Turning away from Ichika, Charles put out the lights. It took some time for her vision to adjust to the darkness. She couldn’t quite make out Ichika’s face, yet strangely, it gave her courage.

—What am I doing...

Charles thought to herself as she thrust her own face toward Ichika’s. She stared from a distance of not even five centimeters. At this range, she could feel not only his breath, but even his warmth—and she could feel her own pulse quicken.

“.........”

As she gazed at Ichika, her expression turned serious.

“Why not... stay here?”

It was the first time she’d ever heard those words. Since her mother died she had had no place in the world. Her father was kin by blood alone, and she felt as if walled away with ice, suffocating in the meaninglessness of her days. She grew accustomed to an ashen-dull repetition of days, not even daring to dream of a time when she’d be called for. And thus, when her father decreed that she be sent to Japan, she felt nothing.

Yet...

—Why does Ichika make my heart pound like this?

Without that, she wouldn’t have met him. The boy in front of her. Sometimes he arrived with what seemed like all the howling of a storm, only to bloom like a spring clover by her side. Yet sometimes, as soon as she stretched out her hand, he fled, darting from tree to tree like a squirrel.

“You’re no fair, Ichika.”

Even as she drew so close, he slept undisturbed. It was just like in Sleeping Beauty—and thinking this, Charles began to lose herself.

—Hehe. We’ve got the roles backwards.

After gazing at Ichika for a while longer, a look of otherworldly kindness settled over Charles’ face. Like a mother to her child, she bent forward, and lightly kissed his forehead.

“Good night, Ichika...”

With a warmth flowing through her body, Charles settled in for a long, long night.