CHAPTER 7

DETERMINATION AND DUEL

Kouichirou Toudou had been in a foul mood since the day began.

It was all because of the emergency report from Seidoukan Academy telling him that his niece had gone missing.

By the time he arrived at the scene in a rush, Kirin had already been found safe. Though he breathed a huge sigh of relief, he was fuming at the time he’d had to take to deal with such an incident.

The Seventh Division Educational Research Office was at the Galaxy corporate headquarters in Otsu, Japan’s present capital city. Kouichirou’s own operations, however, were based in the Asterisk branch office—an arrangement that, needless to say, made it easier to manage Kirin.

Kouichirou summoned Kirin to the back of the school building as usual and spoke to her with unconcealed disdain. “Honestly. Don’t make me worry like that.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle.” Kirin obediently bowed her head.

“Hmph. Never mind. Now, about your next duel…”

“Before we get to that, Uncle, may I ask a question?”

“What?”

“You just said you were worried about me—but was it about Kirin Toudou, your niece? Or about Kirin Toudou, the tool?”

Kouichirou was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly recovered, staring down at her with a cruel smile twisting his lips. “What a stupid question to ask this late in the game. You know perfectly well—what I need from you is your strength, nothing else.”

“I see…” Kirin looked down sadly.

Kouichirou could not bear to lose her. But that was because of Kirin’s value as a tool to advance his career, and only that. He had not a shred of affection for her; on the contrary, he even found her repulsive.

He still bore a grudge against her father, Seijirou, for succeeding to the head of the Toudou-style school instead of himself, the elder brother. His birthright was taken from him just because his brother happened to be born with special powers. He was not about to forgive Seijirou for that.

Kouichirou had devoted himself to the Toudou style from an early age. With his years of hard work and perfected skills, he should have been more than worthy of the succession. He understood, of course, that the Toudou style of today had many Genestella students and that corresponding strength was required of instructors.

But he was simply unable to accept the very existence of Genestella.

Those are not people. They’re just monsters.

Why should he lose what was rightfully his because of them?

And so Kouichirou had severed ties with his parents and taken a job affiliated with Asterisk.

He found satisfaction in being paid to make a spectacle of those monsters devouring one another. Ironically, Kouichirou had a talent for discerning the relative strengths of Genestella through various data points. And since his skills in that area were respected, his career had made steady advances.

And one day, by chance, he acquired the finest tool he might hope for—Kirin. That was the only time he had ever had cause to thank his younger brother for anything.

Among the Supreme Executive Committee of Galaxy, the Department of Integrated Entertainment Operations took the most interest. If he used Kirin effectively, Kouichirou thought, he could show off his skills to the upper echelons of the company.

He had already submitted a plan to that effect, and in fact, it was progressing smoothly. Now was the time to build a reputation, so he had her duel many well-known students. Later, however, he planned for her to duel less and less. Her rank itself had to maintain its own dignity.

His ultimate goal was the Lindvolus, coming up in two years. With her strength, Kirin would be invincible, as long as he chose her opponents wisely. If she were to win the Lindvolus undefeated, Kirin would receive the highest evaluation, alongside his own management skills.

They would need a special strategy against the Witch of Solitary Venom, but they had two years to come up with it. There was plenty of time. If need be, she could wield an Orga Lux. Of course, since he had advertised her prowess as the top-ranked student who was neither a Strega nor an Orga Lux wielder, they would have to wait some time to do so…

Kouichirou paused in his ruminations and his expression darkened.

“By the way, I hear you were with the Ser Veresta user—what was his name? Ayato Amagiri?—when you were attacked.” He clicked his tongue, remembering that annoying brat. “I caught wind of a rumor that he got into an altercation with Allekant not long ago. It stands to reason that the incident today was related to that. You stay away from him. I don’t want you getting involved in any more trouble.”

Access to the official details was above his pay grade, but he was smart enough to know that there was something behind the technological cooperation agreement between Seidoukan and Allekant. And that boy was involved somehow.

“I’m afraid I must refuse,” Kirin said firmly.

“What was that?” Kouichirou doubted his ears.

Kirin had rebelled against him several times before. But never before had she stared him so directly in the eye while doing it.

“All right. I’ll hear you out.” Kouichirou glared at her, keeping his irritation in check.

“Ayato Amagiri has taught me something important. And I think I have many more things to learn from him.”

“Things to learn from him?” Kouichirou snickered, then let out an exasperated sigh. “Enough nonsense. All you have to do is what I tell you. You don’t need to think about anything else.”

“No, I—”

Kouichirou did not let Kirin finish, striking her cheek with the back of his hand.

He did not hold back his strength. There was no need to. But Kirin stared back at him, unflinching, standing her ground.

He raised his hand to hit her again. But instead of following through, when faced with the strength of the willpower in her eyes, Kouichirou found himself taking a step back in awe.

He immediately recovered, however, snorting in disgust to cover his display of weakness. “That’s hilarious. You want to disobey me? And what will you do then? You want to fight your way to the top without my help?”

“Yes, that’s my intention,” she replied promptly.

Kouichirou burst into laughter. “Do you have any idea how stupid you sound? You really believe you can do that? Listen to me. You only made it to the top rank with my management. Yes, you’re strong, I won’t deny that. But don’t take Asterisk so lightly. Even if you could do it alone, how many years would it be before you could make your wish come true?”

As he ranted on, Kouichirou regained his composure.

Right. This spineless, dull-witted niece of mine can’t do anything without my help. She might be acting tough now, but she’s just a child, through and through. If I threaten her a bit, she’ll snap like a twig.

“Don’t you want to save your father Seijirou as quickly as you can? Then be a good girl and obey me. I can lead you to become grand champion of the Festa in three—no, two years. Could you do that alone?”

“No, I don’t think I could,” Kirin said, dropping her head slightly.

Kouichirou nodded in satisfaction. “You see? You understand that yourself. So—”

“But I don’t think I could do it your way, either.” Kirin raised her gaze resolutely and again stared straight at Kouichirou, as if she might pierce his eyes with hers.

“What was that?”

“To use your words, I don’t think I’m the only one taking Asterisk lightly, Uncle. This is not a place where someone who can’t even move forward with his own strength can hope to find victory. I realize that now.”

“You little brat! What do you know—?!” Kouichirou’s voice shook with rage. “I’ve seen hundreds of students here, since before you were born. You think you know everything, when you’ve been here for just a few months?!”

“…There are things one can learn only by experiencing them for one’s self.”

At her reply, something snapped inside of Kouichirou.

He raised his fist and brought it down with all his strength. But this time—

“I’m sorry, Uncle.” Kirin stopped his hand before it could reach her. “I’m grateful for your help. I mean that. But I’ve decided to fight my own way. Because if I don’t…I know that someday I’ll regret it.”

With that, Kirin released Kouichirou’s hand, turned her back to him, and walked away.

Kouichirou stood in stunned silence as he watched her go, but then frantically called after her. “W-wait! What are you going to do on your own?!”

Kirin stopped and turned to face him. “Well, to start,” she said with a thin smile, “I think I’d like to have a duel.”

“A duel?”

“Yes. With an opponent of my own choosing…and by my own will.”

The next week, in Seidoukan Academy’s largest all-purpose arena, students filled every last seat.

Unlike the training room that Ayato and Julis had been using, the stage here was surrounded by a proper defensive barrier. Barriers that could withstand Lux attacks required very bulky equipment and expended enormous amounts of energy, and Seidoukan Academy had only three such facilities including this one.

It was usually reserved for official matches, but now, two people stood facing each other in the center of the stage.

“This was a rather forward request. Thank you for accepting, Mr. Amagiri.” Kirin bowed in her usual polite manner.

The expression on her face seemed more at ease somehow.

“Sure, it’s no problem… But why a duel? And why with me?” Ayato, in contrast, wore a strained smile.

“I thought it was absolutely necessary for me to take my first true step forward in this city.”

“Your first true step?”

“Yes.”

Ayato exhaled and shrugged his shoulders. “Okay. But as I told you before, if we’re going to do this, I won’t hold back… Well, it’s not like I did before, either.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Kirin said with a faint smile, and readied to draw the Senbakiri.

Ayato backed away a few paces and activated his Lux.

“You’re not using that Orga Lux?” Kirin said in surprise.

“I can’t keep up with your speed using the Ser Veresta.” The sword-type Lux that Ayato held was less than half the size of his Orga Lux. “I’d never hear the end of it from Julis if I lost the same way twice. I have to try something different.”

“Something different… That’s exciting.” Kirin drew the Senbakiri in one smooth motion. The blade of the katana shone under the stadium lights with a sleek gleam.

“Well, should we get started?” Ayato asked. “I don’t really care for showy stages like this, but now that all these people are here, I’d feel bad if we made them wait.”

Kirin laughed softly. “I feel the same way.”

In the arena’s VIP seats, Julis and Ayato’s friends all sat together.

“You didn’t need to set up the big stage for this…” Julis sullenly side-eyed Claudia, who was seated next to her.

“Oh, I thought it was only natural for such an anticipated match. Miss Toudou is our top-ranked fighter, after all, and Ayato gave her a good fight. Who wouldn’t want to see the rematch?”

“But still…,” Julis muttered, then looked fretfully at Ayato.

She didn’t think he would have agreed to the duel if he had no confidence in his chances of winning. Even so, she had a mountain of things to worry about—whether Ayato could keep his time limit a secret or the possibility that he might suffer a serious injury that would affect them later…

“…Don’t worry so much, Riessfeld,” Saya said from the row behind her.

“You can say that, Sasamiya, but he’s up against the school’s number one. It’s impossible not to worry.”

“He’ll be okay. No problem,” Saya declared. She apparently had a good deal of faith in Ayato.

Of course, Julis believed in Ayato as her battle partner, but she understood that Saya knew him much better from the time they had spent together. Julis found that irritating, for some reason. Her face pinched up in frustration.

“But looking back at their previous match, Kirin Toudou’s skill with the sword is substantial,” she said. “Did you watch it?”

“Mm-hmm. I watched it.”

The first duel between Ayato and Kirin had been widely viewed on the Net. There was probably not a single student interested in the rankings who had yet to watch it.

“Toudou is strong. Possibly stronger than Ayato, if we’re talking just about swordplay,” Saya went on, expressionless as usual.

“Well, then—!”

“But it’s fine. Ayato has fought a much stronger opponent many times.”

“What do you mean? Who?” Julis twisted around to face Saya.

“Haru—his big sister,” she replied tersely.

Julis made a small growl. “His sister was that strong?”

Saya nodded once.

“Well, he seems to have some plan,” Lester cut in from his seat next to Claudia. “He’s not going to lose that easily.”

“What do you mean, Lester? Do you know something that I don’t?”

“Maybe. He asked me to get him a Lux. I let him borrow one of my spares.”

“A Lux? Why didn’t he just go to the Matériel Department?”

“That would take time with adjustments and all. If you need one quick, it’s easier to just ask someone you know.”

“Huh. So he asked you, too.” The surprised voice came from the row in front of Julis. It was Eishirou, who had also been in a prime viewing spot for the first duel.

And just as before, he had set himself up in the front row, camera in hand.

“You mean he asked you, too, Yabuki?”

“Uh-huh. Ooh—it looks like they’re getting started.” As soon as Eishirou said that, everyone turned their gazes forward to the stage.

In the center of the arena, an explosion of prana burst from Ayato’s body. All at once, the crowd went wild.

“Here I come!”

Kirin made the first move. She closed the distance between them in a single leap and in a flash brought her katana down diagonally.

Ayato, who had been holding his sword low, swung high to deflect. It was a sharp strike coming at him, but he had more raw strength. He was confident that he would have the advantage if they were to lock swords.

Knocked upward, Kirin’s katana immediately drew an arc in midair to strike down with a backhand. Her speed was nothing short of extraordinary. Ayato blocked by holding his sword sideways, but in the next moment the point of the Senbakiri was lunging at his right forearm. He pulled back his arm to dodge, and Kirin took the opening to step forward with her right leg and slice in a rising arc.

It was a relentless serial attack—and Ayato was forced to fight completely on the defensive.

He was not at such a great disadvantage in speed. In terms of how fast they could strike, the two fighters were almost equal. But Kirin’s attacks connected from one blow to the next with a terrifying fluidity. She allowed no space for a counterattack.

She could never fight this way if she waited to see how her opponent responded to each attack. The opponent’s line of sight, distance, breathing—she instantaneously used every factor to direct the fight her way. She eliminated every option the opponent might have except for the one that was most favorable for her…

“Ngh!” He groaned. Ayato knew all that, and he still could not escape it.

To leap outside her engineering would be to leap into certain death.

Even so…the only thing to do is try!

As Kirin rushed at him with superhuman speed, Ayato left himself open to the blow.

The pain was searing, like a red-hot poker held against his side, but he ignored it and slashed at her chest. But she twisted, easily dodging the attack.

Marveling anew at her reflexes, Ayato took a large leap back to reestablish the distance between them, and let out a deep breath.

The wound to his side was relatively shallow, since he had concentrated his prana there. If he’d failed to do so, it would have resulted in an injury serious enough to decide the match.

Kirin, for her part, regarded Ayato with genuine admiration. “You’re amazing, Mr. Amagiri. It was like cutting at a thick sheet of steel.”

“If nothing else, I’ve got a lot of prana to use,” he quipped.

But that was not a defense he could use indefinitely. However much prana he had at his disposal, it would have little effect unless he concentrated it with the exact same timing as the attack. That would become more and more difficult as the opponent became more accustomed to the maneuver. And besides, he would run out of prana in short order if he applied it to defense constantly.

“And that was the first time someone escaped my Linked Cranes,” she said.

“Oh, so that’s the famous Linked Cranes. I’m honored to experience it firsthand.”

The Toudou style was said to be “like folding a paper crane,” in particular because of the precision of the combination attacks used to corner one’s opponent. The esoteric master technique, the Linked Cranes, was the embodiment of this style.

Both the Amagiri Shinmei style and the Toudou style allowed for matches with other schools, so Ayato had been able to watch several up close. The Toudou style had students all over the world, and here in Asterisk there had to be at least a few who were confident in their swordplay.

But he had never seen a Toudou fighter who had reached the level of wielding that master technique—except for the girl in front of him now.

“Nesting, Flowering Tachibana, Wings in Flight, Waves on the Blue Sea—there are forty-nine combination techniques in the Toudou style. Linked Cranes is the technique that achieves the perfect attack combination by incorporating all of them.” Kirin lowered her stance slightly and held her sword by her side, ready to strike. “The Linked Cranes have no end—I will finish you with the next one!”

A wave of force swirled out from her like a maelstrom and slammed into Ayato.

She knew of his time limit. If she moved to prolong the fight, she would have far greater odds of winning.

She knew that—but she showed no signs of doing so.

She really is a good, honest girl…

She was younger than Ayato, but her skill with a sword was as good—or better. He wondered how hard she had trained to reach this level and how fierce was the resolve behind each swing of her sword.

Even as he was deeply moved by her character, Ayato held his sword vertically in front of him and focused his will.

The rationale behind Kirin’s technique—the Toudou-style technique—was excellent. A style specializing in one-on-one combat matched up favorably against the Amagiri Shinmei style, which was designed for survival on the battlefield.

And yet…

“Then I’ll meet you with all the might of the Amagiri Shinmei style.” Ayato heightened his prana.

From her sideways stance, Kirin leaped into Ayato’s range in a single breath and slashed straight across with the Senbakiri. He held up his sword to defend, but she turned her wrists and swung down from above.

Kirin had already resumed the Linked Cranes. All she had to do now was to keep slicing away until her opponent’s defense wore down.

Because it required the user to go on an incessant offensive, the Linked Cranes drained stamina rapidly. But with the intensity of her training, Kirin was able to continue executing the technique for nearly an hour. And until Ayato had done it moments ago, no one had been able to escape her Linked Cranes.

I’m going to end it this time—!

Before, she had been able to strike only at his side, but this time she meant to go for the school crest. Even Ayato would not be able to protect that with his prana.

Of course, it was significantly harder to aim for the tiny target that the school crest made, but as time went on, the Linked Cranes also wore down the opponent’s mental stamina. Sooner or later Ayato would leave an opening in his guard.

And when he does…

Kirin brought her katana down to clash fiercely with Ayato’s sword Lux—and with a flash of light the sword exploded into pieces.

“What—?!” Startled, Kirin shielded her face from the blast and repositioned herself with a backstep. The explosion was small and lacked force.

Just before it, Kirin had noticed that Ayato’s prana was concentrated in his sword, but…

Did he try to execute a Meteor Arts move and fail…?

Meteor Arts required thorough calibration of the Lux and the ability to delicately manipulate one’s prana. If a substantial amount of prana was poured into the manadite core all at once and the weapon could not withstand the concentration, it would explode.

But it was hard to believe that Ayato would make such a mistake at that moment.

Then was it on purpose to escape the Linked Cranes…?

That may have been an effective option, but to Kirin it seemed like an act of desperation. Without a weapon, he had no way to defend against her strikes.

All this went through her mind in the blink of an eye. She repositioned the Senbakiri.

But then—

“Amagiri Shinmei Style Spear Technique: Ninth-Cloud Hornet!”

Three sharp spear strikes emerged from the smoke of the explosion to rush almost simultaneously at Kirin.

“A triple strike…! But—a spear technique?!”

Caught off guard, Kirin deflected the attacks to the side and righted herself to look ahead. Ayato stood there enshrouded in smoke, holding a spear-type Lux in both hands.

“Did that surprise you? Well, it’s a loan from a friend, so it is a little big for me,” Ayato said with a faint smile, then immediately thrust out with the spear again.

Kirin recovered quickly, ordered her breathing, and stepped forward to meet the strike with her sword.

As Ayato had said, the spear was quite large for his stature. The shaft was well over six feet long, and the gleaming spearhead was big enough to cover his face. But he wielded the spear with a practiced, natural hand and used its length effectively to keep her at a distance.

“Yes, that was a surprise,” Kirin said. “But—a trick is just a trick!”

She calmly gauged its striking distance; then just when he had extended his reach to its fullest, she deflected the shaft upward.

He may have had considerable skill with the spear, but it was undeniably a step below his swordplay.

Kirin slid closer in front of him, depriving him of the advantage of a long weapon. But just as she was about to slice upward at his school crest, she was met with another shock.

Ayato abruptly let go of the spear and drew a third Lux from a holster inside his jacket. He activated the new weapon—this time a short-sword Lux.

“You can’t possibly—!” she exclaimed.

“Two tricks work better than one!” Holding it backhand, he parried Kirin’s attack and used the momentum to spin his body one full revolution. “Amagiri Shinmei Style Kodachi Technique: Warrior’s Reaping!”

“Ngh!” Acting mainly on reflex, she turned her katana and blocked the attack head-on. Ayato’s dagger sent sparks flying and she felt the heavy impact in her arms.

She was at a disadvantage in sheer strength. Knowing that, Kirin decided on an all-or-nothing gambit.

She relaxed her arms just for an instant, letting Ayato’s kodachi press closer. The blade of light came slicing at her school crest, but there was too much blunt force behind his attack. Twisting herself, she barely evaded the strike, then swept down on the blade from above.

The short-sword fell from Ayato’s hand. He did not have time to draw another weapon.

Just as Kirin became certain of victory, Ayato extended his arms to grab her by the collar.

“Amagiri Shinmei Style Grappling Technique—”

“What—?”

Kirin felt herself being lifted into the air. Up and down changed places.

“Graven Ring of Purification!”

In the next instant, a shock ran through her back and chest, knocking the wind out of her. Unable to get air into her lungs, she winced and finally realized that she had been thrown to the ground.

Through the tears blurring her vision, she could see that Ayato’s elbow was pinning her chest—bearing down on her school crest. So there was the shock she’d felt to her chest.

He brought his elbow down at the same time he slammed me into the ground…

It was a vicious move, but then, many ancient techniques were.

“Are you okay, Kirin?” Ayato peered anxiously into her face, and she responded with a weak smile.

For a reason she could not name, she felt clean, free.

“You got me. The spear and the knife were just decoys, weren’t they?”

The grappling technique had been his strategy all along. He had let Kirin get near him on purpose.

All this time, I was the one being directed…

Kirin softly closed her eyes. She heard a crack from the school crest on her chest.

“I concede. You’ve beaten me.”

As she spoke, the crest rang out with a mechanical alarm.

“End of duel! Winner: Ayato Amagiri!”

The crowd was silent for a moment—until it erupted into a cheer so loud that it seemed the arena might shatter.

“I can’t believe you really beat her. I’m shocked, to be honest.”

They were in the waiting room of the arena. Julis offered a drink to Ayato, who was sitting limply on a chair.

“I surprised myself, too,” he said with a weak laugh, then received the beverage to drink it a little at a time.

He ached all over from breaking the seal, but this time it was not so bad as to prevent him from moving. The battle had gone for less than five minutes, even though it had felt like much longer.

After the conclusion of the duel, they’d fought off the swarm of students from various journalism clubs to escape into this waiting room and now had a chance to catch their breath. The journalists were still milling outside the door, but they did not witness Ayato closing the seal again.

Still, he had broken the seal in plain sight a few times now, and there had to be students who were beginning to suspect something. The secret wouldn’t remain a secret for much longer.

“Well, now you’re the new number one,” Julis said. “You really are something.” She looked confounded and impressed and somewhat proud all at the same time.

“Thanks. Maybe I was able to redeem myself a little?”

“Redeem? What are you talking about?”

“Remember? I messed up the last time, when I dueled without talking to you first,” Ayato said. “And then you told me that if I made it to Page One, we’d have an advantage in the tournament bracket for the Phoenix.”

Julis’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me that’s the reason you agreed to this duel?”

“Um, well, not the only reason…”

She smiled tenderly at him and ruffled his hair. “What am I going to do with you…?”

Ayato’s heart skipped a beat. Once in a while—like now—Julis showed a great deal of sweetness in her face.

“Ahem.” That was Saya, interrupting with a theatrical cough. “Congrats. You looked really good out there. That’s my Ayato.” She hugged his arm.

“Thanks, Saya.”

There were just the three of them in the room. Claudia had received a message on her mobile and left her seat, and did not return for the rest of the match.

“I’m not getting any cozier with you than I have to,” Lester had said, quickly vacating the premises.

Eishirou had also hurried out as soon as the match was decided, mentioning that he had to prepare an extra edition of his publication. (Though he made sure to get Ayato to promise him an exclusive interview before leaving.)

Sometime Ayato would have to thank those two for letting him borrow their Luxes…

“But I never knew you had so much skill with weapons other than a sword. Why didn’t you say anything?” Julis asked, leaning in and forcefully peeling Saya from his arm.

“Well, I didn’t really mean to keep anything from you. It’s just that I can only sort of use those weapons. I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”

This time, Saya shoved Julis away. “In the Amagiri Shinmei style, students move on to other weapons after mastering the sword. Ayato learned from watching.”

“That’s right. When we were kids, Saya and I would sneak around to watch my sister train—hey, what are you two doing, anyway?” Ayato stared in confusion as Julis and Saya went on shoving each other. Then he noticed a bit of commotion from outside.

“Ayato? May I come in?” a familiar voice said, followed by a knock on the door.

“Is that you, Claudia? Come on in.”

“Sorry to bother you.” Just as he’d thought, it was Claudia who opened the door with a soft laugh.

And she had someone with her.

“Oh, Miss Toudou, too?”

“Um, excuse me…” Kirin was standing demurely next to Claudia, looking uncertain.

“I was on my way here and I saw her surrounded by the press,” Claudia explained. “She seemed to be having a hard time, so I invited her to come with me.”

“Th-thank you, Miss President!” Kirin bowed politely to her.

“No, not at all. You have some business with him, don’t you?”

“Oh—yes.” Prodded by Claudia, Kirin faced Ayato.

“Business? What is it, Miss Toudou?” he said.

Julis and Saya also looked expectantly at her.

Kirin flinched for a moment as everyone’s gazes focused upon her, but she took a breath and spoke in what was for her a loud voice: “Um… C-could I please join your training sessions?”

“Huh?” The assembled faces went blank at the unexpected request.

“Um, well, Amagiri invited me earlier… And I had to decline because of my circumstances. But now…” Kirin floundered, her face going bright red.

“Ayato, what is this? You never said anything to me.” Julis glared at him sharply.

He rushed to explain, “Well, I mean, wouldn’t we have a lot more options if someone with her skills joined us?”

“I suppose so, but—”

“Not a problem. Bring it on.” Saya beckoned with both hands.

“Why do you get to answer?!” Julis shouted. “As a matter of fact, you keep showing up every day, and I don’t remember giving you permission!”

“You worry about the little things too much, Riessfeld. Go with the flow. That’s how the world works. Just deal with it.”

“Go with your flow, you mean, you dim-witted little tyrant!”

Ayato glanced sidelong at the two girls restarting their fight, then shrugged. “Are you really okay training with them?” he asked Kirin.

“Y-yes! Of course I am!” The girl nodded several times in determination.

“All right, then.” Just as he began to hold out his hand for her to shake, there was another commotion outside the door.

“Kirin! I know you’re in here! You come out right this second, Kirin! Damn it, open this door!”

Along with the terrific bellowing, they heard a racket against the door that seemed closer to punching than knocking.

“Oh, dear. That sounds like Mr. Toudou.” Claudia, who had been standing by the door, lowered her eyebrows and touched her cheek in consternation. Then she turned to Ayato with a look that said “What shall we do about this?”

But this was not for Ayato to decide alone. He looked questioningly at Kirin, who nodded bravely even as she bit down on her lip.

“Okay, then. Claudia?”

“Understood.”

As soon as Claudia unlocked the door, Kouichirou stormed into the room like a bull seeing red.

“Kirin, I can’t believe what a fool you are! You had the nerve to duel without my permission, and then you were clumsy enough to lose?! My plan is ruined because of you!” He roared so loudly that the room seemed to vibrate. “Now do you see?! You need my help! Now come with me! Damn it all to hell! We have to start all over!”

He reached to grab Kirin’s arm, but she easily brushed away his hand.

“I’m sorry, Uncle.” Those were her only words as she stared back at him.

There was a tangle of emotions in her eyes, but Kouichirou in his rage could not sense any of them. “Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! You just do as I tell you!”

Purple with fury, he raised his hand.

But before he could bring it down, his body froze.

Ayato was standing between Kouichirou and his niece, glaring up at him. “You’re only embarrassing yourself,” he said coolly. “Please leave.”

“Wh-what did you say to me? You brat…,” Kouichirou tried to shout, but his voice shriveled away mid-sentence.

Ayato’s gaze was like a bared sword, and in it lurked a primeval ferocity that sent a chill down Kouichirou’s spine. The man shuddered with instinctive fear and gingerly took a step back, going pale.

“Your niece took a step forward with her own power. You have no right to interfere.”

“Mr. Amagiri…” His name spilled quietly from Kirin’s lips.

“I see. He’s even more despicable than the rumors,” Julis said from behind Ayato, her arms crossed, glaring at Kouichirou with contempt.

“…Disgusting,” Saya said, activating her Lux.

“Wh-what are you doing? You realize that I’m not a Genestella? If you do anything to me…,” Kouichirou pleaded in a trembling voice, no longer trying to hide his fear. Then, suddenly seizing on something, he looked at Kirin. “Is this really what you want, Kirin?! I’m the one who covered up your father’s crime! If you won’t do as I say, I’ll reveal everything! Do you know what would happen to you and the Toudou style if—”

“My, you have such interesting things to say,” interrupted Claudia, who had been quietly observing the scene unfold.

“Y-you! You’re Enfield’s—” Kouichirou seemed to notice her presence for the first time, and his eyes went wide.

“I have no comment about your relationship with your niece. However, the Kirin Toudou brand you seem to believe you created—that does not belong to you alone.” Claudia appeared to be smiling gracefully, but not a hint of it reached her eyes. “That is the property of Seidoukan Academy and, by association, our integrated enterprise foundation. If you mean to besmirch it for personal reasons—I’m afraid I can’t allow that.”

Kouichirou grunted and groaned without forming words, his mouth moving like a fish out of water.

“I suspect that my mother would come to the same conclusion. What do you think?”

“I—I—”

“From the very start, your plan was predicated on leading Miss Toudou to become the Festa champion, undefeated. There’s no escaping the fact that it’s now fallen through. I suggest you leave your niece be and worry about yourself instead.”

That was the finishing blow. Kouichirou’s shoulders slumped. He unsteadily turned around and plodded toward the door.

“U-uncle!” Kirin called out from behind him.

Kouichirou paused, but did not turn around.

“I’m grateful to you. I mean that. Thank you for everything you did for me!” Kirin—as she always did, to everyone, with true courtesy and sincerity—bowed to him.

He made no reply. Nor did he look back at her before he quietly left the room.

“Uncle…” Kirin stared disconsolately at the floor. Ayato gently placed his hand on her head.

A soft sound left her. As he petted her hair, she looked up at him with a tearful smile.

“I’m looking forward to training with you, Miss Toudou.”

“Me, too. Thank you again.” She nodded, scrubbing the tears from her eyes.

“Ugh… I guess there’s nothing for it,” Julis mumbled.

“Everything works out for the best,” Saya declared.

“That is good to see.” Claudia laughed softly.

An air of refreshed relief filled the room.

But Kirin looked anxiously side to side, then called to Ayato, barely above a whisper, “Um, Mr. Amagiri?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Well, I…I have one—no, two favors to ask you. May I?” Her voice was tiny, and she turned crimson to the tips of her ears.

“Favors…?”

“Y-yes. I’d really like to, um, to call you by your first name…” She was scarcely audible now.

“What, that’s all? Of course, I don’t mind. And? What’s the second one?”

“Okay, um, then…Mr. A-Ayato?”

“Uh-huh?”

She faced downward but cast her eyes up at him, terribly shy and yet determined. “Could you also…call me by my first name?”

That surprised him a little. Still, he had no reason to refuse.

Ayato nodded at her with a smile.

“Sure, I will…Kirin.”