CHAPTER 5

THE WITCH OF SOLITARY VENOM

Ayato caught his breath at the sound of that name.

“Orphelia,” he whispered. “Don’t tell me—” A feeling he had never experienced before welled up in his chest—it was indescribable, something unnervingly close to being unsettled, and it took hold of him.

“…Why did you come here?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at them.

She was wearing a Le Wolfe uniform, but despite standing in the middle of the snow, the only additions to that uniform were a pair of long gloves that stretched up to her elbows and some white tights. She wasn’t even wearing a coat. Her voice was as cold as ice, dark and hollow as if echoing up from deep underground. There was no failing to take notice of the incredible amount of prana burning through every corner of her body.

But what was most striking of all was her long, white hair, seemingly melting into the snow around her, and her red, ruby-like eyes. Like her voice, there was a darkness in those eyes, similar to a pair of blood moons portending disaster. It was a look of utter desolation that could freeze a person where they stood. But in spite of that, her face was full of sadness, as if she might break out into silent tears at any moment.

“Is it really her…?”

Orphelia Landlufen—two-time champion of the Lindvolus, and the Le Wolfe Black Institute’s top-ranked student. She was said to be one of the strongest Stregas in all of Asterisk’s history, on a level comparable to even Helga Lindwall.

He recognized her from the news. There was no doubt about it. The young woman standing in from of him was Erenshkigal, the Witch of Solitary Venom.

“It’s been nearly a year, hasn’t it? I didn’t think I’d see you here.” Julis’s expression was grim, but her voice seemed to be pleading for something.

“I told you not to get involved,” Orphelia responded coldly, her mournful expression unchanging.

Julis bit her lip, a shadow of regret clouding over her for the briefest of moments, before turning her piercing gaze on the other young woman. “I wanted to tell you the same thing I said last year. Come back, Orphelia. That isn’t where you belong.”

“…Don’t, Julis. I’m just following my fate. You can’t change it.” She shook her head weakly, but there was no mistaking her resolution.

“I won’t accept it!” Julis all but shouted.

“…” Orphelia looked down in silence, raising a hand to her school crest. “My fate is here now. If you want to change that…”

“Fine, if that’s how you want it! But it won’t be like last year!” Julis declared, mana beginning to swirl around her.

“H-hold on, Julis!”

“Keep out of it, Ayato!” she yelled without even turning around. “This is between me and her!”

Ayato stopped in his tracks at the steely determination that rang through her voice.

“I’m going to smash that crest this time, Orphelia!” The air shimmered with heat as more than a dozen balls of fire erupted into existence around her, coalescing into burning disks—chakrams of pure flame.

“Burst into bloom—Livingston Daisy!” She arched her arm, and the searing chakrams sped toward Orphelia.

But just before they reached her, the disks at the head of the volley spun off course, plunging into the ground.

They instantly melted into the snow, steam and small flakes of ice rising up around them.

It might have been no more than a simple diversion, but it was enough to block Orphelia’s line of sight for a brief moment.

And at that very moment, the remaining chakrams parted to either side, catching the frigid girl in the middle of a pincer attack.

Nice move, Julis!

It was the perfect combination of timing and distance.

At the very least, it should have been enough for her to take the initiative, but…

“—!”

…just then, Ayato felt a shiver run up his spine.

Behind that screen of white mist, an unbelievable amount of prana had begun to swell.

The level was beyond what should have been possible. He was confident in the amount of prana he could control, but there was no comparison whatsoever to the young woman in front of him. It kept pouring out, with zero sign whatsoever of slowing, seeming to have no end.

He couldn’t even begin to measure that overwhelming force, that ominous surge of energy.

A wave of mana that Julis couldn’t hope to match raced forward, sweeping away the spray of snow in an instant. The air itself shook violently as a ferocious outpouring of energy was released, strong enough to crush everything around them into the ground.

And in the middle of it all stood Orphelia’s calm figure, a seemingly endless stream of corpse-like arms rising up at her feet like smoke. Those odious, blackish-brown arms writhed around her in a haze, more deadly vapor than solid form.

The arms flew in every direction, catching each of Julis’s burning chakrams in midair. The disks struggled to break free, spinning faster and faster, their blades of flame washing over those dead arms in waves.

And yet, those talon-like hands continued to hold firmly on to them.

“So this is Orphelia Landlufen’s ability…”

Ayato had heard of it before. Erenshkigal, said to be the strongest Strega in Asterisk, had the power to control a toxic miasma.

“…It’s no use, Julis. You can’t stop it,” Orphelia murmured, her voice filled with sorrow, as the miasma crushed the disks into oblivion.

Ayato finally understood the feeling that had consumed him just before.

It was a warning.

He had understood, on some intuitive level, that Orphelia was dangerous. Too dangerous. That had to have been it.

Only now did he remember what Helga had said: She’s fundamentally different from you or me.

He had thought the woman had been speaking metaphorically, but that was a mistake. Instead, she had been stating a simple fact.

The power of the young woman in front of him clearly went beyond that of ordinary humans—even Genestella. He understood it instinctively, just by looking at her.

However—

“It’s not over!” Julis bellowed, as if she had been expecting this turn of events, and prepared to launch another attack.

Julis…!

An overpowering wave burst forth from Orphelia, and he froze in place. That Julis was able to continue her attack in spite of it was a source of surprise and admiration for Ayato.

Judging by what Julis had said, the two seemed to have fought against each other before. Which meant she was definitely aware of Orphelia’s power. Perhaps that was why she was able to face that overwhelming display of power without faltering.

Without an incredibly strong force of will, it would be impossible not to lose heart against such an opponent.

Or maybe her reason for fighting is so important that she can’t afford to surrender…

That was probably it.

“Burst into bloom—Anemone Coronaria!”

Julis raised her hands above her head, and a huge flower of flame opened its petals.

That anemone emitted a dazzling explosion of light, like a miniature sun illuminating the snowy field. The scorching heat was so strong that it even reached where Ayato was standing, watching the battle from a distance. This was the first time he had ever seen it, but there was no mistaking that this was one of Julis’s strongest techniques.

“This is it, Orphelia!” she shouted as she swung her arms down, forcing the giant fireball to speed toward her opponent.

But Orphelia, her expression unchanging, merely raised her right arm, palm outstretched.

“Wha—?” Ayato doubted his eyes.

He’d thought she was going to use some kind of defensive ability—but somehow, she managed to stop that giant fireball barehanded.

Her white glove burst into flame, turning to ash in less than an instant, vanishing in the wind, but there was no sign of even the slightest burn to her pale skin.

“I don’t believe it… Did she stop it with only her prana…?”

It was theoretically possible to deflect an attack by focusing one’s prana on defense. But in practice, such techniques usually only reduced the amount of damage sustained. It should have been impossible to completely withstand an attack. One’s prana would be consumed in an instant. Especially considering the strength of that fireball.

Yet, Orphelia’s prana was as strong as ever.

“Impossible…” Julis stood wide-eyed in disbelief.

“…I told you… Your fate is weak…” Orphelia frowned tiredly, before clenching her fist. The huge fireball exploded, fading away like mist.

The miasma spiraling around her sped up in force, the countless roiling arms merging together into one gigantic, serpentine shape.

“Return to the dust,” Orphelia murmured, and that huge, withered arm dived toward the ground, speeding toward Julis.

“Aaaauuuugh!”

She screamed in agony. The roiling mass had caught her.

“Julis!” Ayato cried.

As he watched, it lifted her dozens of meters into the air, and then slammed her down mercilessly.

Ayato leaped forward to catch her just before she could hit the ground, but the miasma’s force was so strong that, once the two schoolmates collided, they were flung almost a dozen meters across the snow.

“Julis, are you okay?!” he pleaded, holding her in his arms.

“Ugnnh…”

She seemed to have lost consciousness. And what’s more, her clothes had started rotting where the arm had grabbed her. Her complexion had turned poor as well.

So this is Erenshkigal’s miasma…

People said that a simple touch of that poison was enough to consume its victims. It looked like that was no exaggeration.

“…Are you Ayato Amagiri?” Orphelia asked, as if only just noticing him. Her gaze was cool, considering him without so much as a shred of interest.

“It’s over! Julis might have been the one to issue the challenge, but any more would be—”

Before he could finish speaking, a cloud of miasma began to rise up around her—or rather, from her—building up around her exposed, white skin where her glove had been burned away.

“It’s a pity, but even I can’t stop someone’s fate once it’s been set in motion… You should leave now, if you don’t want to get caught up in it.”

“I can’t do that,” Ayato said, holding Julis firmly in his arms, as he activated the Ser Veresta.

“That’s a shame…,” Orphelia replied, and all at once countless arms sprung forth from the miasma to strike at the pair.

“Amagiri Shinmei Style, Middle Technique—Yatagarasu!”

He swung around, slicing cleanly through those arms before they could reach him.

Orphelia’s eyebrow twitched. “Ah, so that’s the Ser Veresta…”

Her miasma seemed to be impervious to normal weapons, but the Orga Lux, capable of burning through anything, seemed to be a different matter.

It would be best if she decided to withdraw now, Ayato thought—but if she didn’t, he might be forced to fight her.

I don’t think I can win, though…

Holding Julis in his left arm, and the Ser Veresta in his right, he began to carefully back away.

Fortunately, Orphelia neither moved nor seemed to be readying for an attack.

I might be able to get out of this after all, he thought, when his feet suddenly grew weak.

“Wha—?” he gasped, suddenly choking, as if something had gotten caught in his throat. His hand holding the Ser Veresta began to tremble uncontrollably. “Don’t tell me…”

“…”

He entered the state of shiki, probing at his surroundings. There was clearly something strange about the airflow around him.

Orphelia must have already set up a barrier of miasma around him.

“Ha… Odorless, invisible gas…? I should have seen that one coming…,” he rasped.

“…I’m sorry. You’ll soon be at peace.”

The arms of miasma reached high into the air, preparing to slam down on them.

He could still move, if barely, but it was only a matter of time until they were caught.

But he couldn’t give up. He tightened his grip on the Ser Veresta, searching desperately for an opening, when—

“Could I ask you to hold on for a moment, young lady?” came a clear, out-of-place voice, echoing across the snow.

The man from the previous night stood at the edge of the field with a smile.

“You see, I’ve been requested to take care of these two myself. In fact, my fee is contingent upon it. So if you wouldn’t mind handing them over…”

Orphelia merely glanced at him with disinterest. “Who are you?”

“My name is Gustave Malraux.”

“Never heard of you,” she replied curtly, when all of a sudden, an air-window opened up in front of her.

“Hey, Orphelia! Where the hell are you? How many times have I told you not to leave the lab?”

There was no picture, but the voice was unmistakable. It was the Le Wolfe Black Institute’s student council president, Dirk Eberwein.

“…I won’t be long,” Orphelia answered, and the ominous feeling that surrounded them abated.

She turned to Gustave. “Suit yourself,” she said with a sigh.

“I appreciate it,” he said, tipping his hat with a graceful bow.

Orphelia remained silent, turning her back to Ayato as if nothing at all had happened. Just like that, she returned to the car, without looking back even once.

“Well, that was a close one… I’ve heard all about her, but it seems like she really is a monster. Thank heavens she’s gone,” Gustave murmured with a shrug, as if warding off a cloud of misfortune. He turned to Ayato. “Now then, back to business.” He smiled, summoning a pair of magic squares at his sides. Just like the previous night, the magic squares filled with mana, a huge double-headed dog creeping out the one to his right, and a similarly-sized three-headed dog appearing out of the one to his left.

They were both smaller than the chimera he had summoned before, but the mana that comprised their bodies was considerably stronger.

“Allow me to introduce you to my little masterpieces, Orthrus and Cerberus. What do you think? Quite a spectacle, wouldn’t you say? They’re exactly as described in Greek myth. My dear guard dogs. They once made a real bloodbath of those valiant fools in Stjarnagarm… Well, they were no match for the commander, I’ll give you that,” Gustave added disappointedly, even as his smile didn’t waver. “But I’ve improved upon them a lot since then. They should be more than enough to deal with wounded prey.”

“Argh…!”

Taking a defensive posture, Ayato scanned his surroundings, looking for a way out of the situation. Even though Orphelia’s miasma had abated, the injuries caused by its poison remained. He wouldn’t be able to fight at his full strength—and moreover, he would stand no chance at all if he had to protect Julis, too.

The two creatures were circling around him, baring their razor-sharp teeth as they waited for an opening.

This is bad…

It looked like this was going to be more difficult than he had thought.

If there were only one, he might have been willing to risk it, but fighting both at once was beyond his current strength.

He, at least, had the Ser Veresta to help him, unlike the previous day, but he doubted that he would be able to wield it for long. He was already at his limit just maintaining the Orga Lux.

“Grrraaaaaar!”

The three-headed beast—Cerberus—gave out a long, low growl, arching its back. In that position, it was ready to attack at any moment, when seemingly out of nowhere, the other creature leaped toward his back.

It was a simple feint—but even though he could see that well enough, his body wouldn’t respond in time.

“Gah…!”

The creature’s foreleg swept down on him, sending him and Julis—still held tightly in his arms—slicing through the air.

The blow was so strong it almost knocked him unconscious, already weakened as he was by the effects of the poison.

The double-headed creature—Orthrus—leaped after him, running across the snow-covered field as if chasing a ball. As its huge jaws, easily large enough to swallow a person whole, drew closer, Ayato, timing his movements carefully, braced himself in a defensive position. Rather than trying to dodge its razor-sharp fangs, he stepped toward its gaping mouth.

“Amagiri Shinmei Style, First Technique—Goring Tusk!”

He hunched his back, swinging the Ser Veresta downward with all his weight.

The two-headed creature let out a harrowing scream as the blade sliced it clean in half.

“Well now. I should have expected no less from the champion of the Phoenix. But I’m afraid you’ve just made a terrible mistake…”

Ayato turned to face the clapping, nodding Gustave, when he came face-to-face with the rapidly approaching Cerberus.

I can’t dodge it!

He was about to thrust Julis away to protect her.

“—”

Then a blinding blade flashed in front of him, sending each of the creature’s three fang-bared heads flying through the air.

Its huge body fell to the ground with a loud thud, sending a plume of snow dancing into the air.

In the middle of that cloud shone a figure with brilliant, golden hair.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Ayato. Looks like I made it just in time.”

“Claudia…!” Ayato gasped, relieved, before falling to the ground, his strength finally retreating.

She was holding a pair of swords, one in either hand—the Pan-Dora. Ayato felt as if the eye design on their hilts was staring right through him.

“Oh my, this is unexpected. What a nuisance.” Gustave, who until now hadn’t broken his smile, took on a look of mild impatience.

“What do you want to do, Gustave Malraux? I don’t mind fighting you…but you’d rather not, wouldn’t you?”

“…You’re a shrewd young lady, aren’t you? Disagreeably so.” He stood off against Claudia in silence for a long moment, before finally letting out a deep sigh, shaking his head. “Ha… You’re right. I was ordered not to lay a hand on you. I hate having to let this opportunity slip by, but it looks like I’ll have to withdraw for now.”

“That’s a wise decision.” Claudia smiled, watching as Gustave, his expression dark, disappeared into the forest.

“Ah… Thank you, Claudia,” Ayato murmured.

“I’m just glad I made it in time. I’ve already contacted the Royal Palace, so someone should be here soon to pick us up.”

“I see…,” he mumbled, his vision going dim. Everything seemed to fade into the distance.

“Ayato? Are you okay? Ayato…!”

Claudia’s voice accompanied him as he slipped into the darkness.

The greenhouse had long since ceased to be operational. The glass walls and roof were cracked and broken in places, and yet, there were signs of repairs as well, so it didn’t look as if it had been totally abandoned.

In this country, with its cold, severe winters, it was no doubt easy to find some use for a garden cut off from the outside elements. The plants that filled the building all glowed different shades of vibrant green, with pretty little flowers poking their heads out here and there.

Inside, a rose-haired girl sat motionless, watching as a chestnut-haired girl moved to and fro, absorbed in her gardening. “I don’t get it. What’s so fun about it?” the former asked.

The latter girl shook her shoulders, chuckling. “It’s the feeling, I suppose.”

“The feeling?”

“Right. The feeling of touching life.”

“If that’s all, dealing with those kids should be enough.”

They were both young themselves, but there were many children in the orphanage younger still.

“It isn’t the same,” the chestnut-haired girl insisted. “These little ones can’t speak, but they’re incredibly honest. If you show them some love, they’ll love you right back. But if you ignore them, they’ll turn their backs on you.”

“Turn their backs? On people?” The girl with the reddish-pink hair made a face as if to say she didn’t understand.

“Oh, didn’t you know? When healthy plants die, it’s because no one has loved them.”

“…I didn’t know that.” Her tone indicated she was unconvinced, though she showed no sign of wanting to leave.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, but being inside the greenhouse was strangely comforting. It might have been old, cramped, and run-down, but she found herself able to relax there.

And after a while, she suddenly realized it was thanks to the presence of the kind girl working in front of her.

“Doesn’t it get boring, just watching all the time? Why don’t you try helping out?”

“…Me?”

“There no one else here. Here, take this.”

The rose-haired girl turned embarrassed. “I-I’ve never taken care of plants before…”

“Oh my… You really don’t know. Okay, I’ll teach you.” The other girl laughed.

It was a truly delighted smile: gentle, happy—and warm.

His body was awfully heavy.

An unbearable feeling of pressure, as if something unseen were crushing him.

Ayato opened his eyes, unable to endure it any longer, and the ceiling of a dim room appeared before him.

He lay bewildered for a short moment, before it all came rushing back.

He was in the room that had been assigned to him in the detached villa on the grounds of the Lieseltanian Royal Palace.

“…So I lost consciousness…”

Which meant that the weight pressing down on him was probably due to the effects of Orphelia’s poison.

When he tried to raise his body, the weight abruptly revealed its true form:

“Ngh…”

“Zzz…”

Saya and Kirin lay asleep, sprawled on top of him like a blanket.

As one would expect for a room designated for royal guests, the bed should have been more than large enough for three people to sleep in comfortably. But the two were holding on to him tightly, Saya’s face against his arm, and Kirin’s by his feet. Both were sound asleep, their breathing soft and relaxed.

“Um…”

Unable to fully grasp the situation, he lay wondering what he should do, when the door quietly swung open, and a lone figure stepped in.

“So you’re awake. Honestly, Ayato, don’t scare us all like that.” Her face was silhouetted by the light from the corridor, but he could tell from the voice that it was Julis.

“Ha… This is embarrassing… But are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I woke up a long time ago,” she replied, sitting down on a chair by the bed. “How long do you think you’ve been asleep?”

“Huh? I don’t know…” He had been in no state to keep count, after all.

Julis flashed a mischievous smile. “Three days.”

“Three days?!” he exclaimed.

“Orphelia uses all different types of poisons. The one that she used on you puts its victims into the same state as when they use up all their prana. It isn’t life-threatening, but the stronger your prana to begin with, the stronger its effect. So it looks like it took quite a toll on you.”

“Oh…”

“These two were so worried, they’ve been watching over you every day. You should thank them when they wake up,” Julis said, her gentle eyes looking over Saya and Kirin. “And I still have to thank you, too.”

“Me?”

“Claudia told me what happened. How you held Orphelia off, and then when Gustave showed up… Thank you.”

“Oh, that.” What she said was true, but he hadn’t thought much of it. If their positions had been reversed, she would have clearly done the same thing. They had already developed that level of trust.

“Don’t mention it. Just as long as you don’t start talking about debts and all that again.”

Julis gave him a mild smile, shaking her head. “No… I just wanted to say it properly.”

Ayato smiled back before taking a serious expression. “So do you think you can tell me now? About you and her—Orphelia Landlufen.”

“…Right. I guess you have a right to know, since it’s come to this.” The princess fell silent for a moment, her expression heavy with emotion. Eventually, Julis took out a handkerchief from her breast pocket. “Do you remember this?”

“Of course. We first met thanks to that handkerchief.”

It had been carried away by the wind, dancing in the air right in front of him that day when he had first arrived at Seidoukan Academy. He had gone to return it to its owner—that had been their first meeting.

It felt like an eternity had passed since then, but it had only been half a year.

“Right. I think I mentioned it once before, but it was a present to me from everyone at the orphanage.”

“Yeah, everyone embroidered it for you. And your best friend sewed something in the middle of it…” He stopped there, suddenly realizing who it was. “Don’t tell me…!”

“Yes. My best friend was Orphelia,” Julis admitted wistfully, tracing the embroidery with her finger.

“So she used to be at that orphanage?”

Julis nodded slightly, standing up. She approached the window and pulled open the luxurious curtains.

He didn’t know what time it was, but soft moonlight shone in through the cloudy sky.

“But if she’s your best friend, why did she…?” Recalling the battle between the two, he averted his gaze.

Friends anywhere quarreled every now and then, but that battle was something else.

“When I first started coming to the orphanage, Orphelia and I soon became good friends. We were around the same age, and even though our personalities were completely different, we got along with each other. She was so kind, she couldn’t even hurt an insect, and she loved to take care of plants… She would be so happy when one of those small flowers started to bloom…”

The Orphelia who Julis described sounded like a completely different person than the one Ayato had seen.

“But then, one day, she just disappeared. When I asked the sisters where she had gone, they wouldn’t tell me anything. So I begged my brother to investigate, and he finally looked into it for me. It turned out that the orphanage’s management had racked up a huge debt, and…well, they’d given Orphelia to a research institution as collateral… The stupidest part of it all was that I didn’t know anything up till then. About the way this county is run, this system, or even my own position within it all.”

“…”

“Of course, I did everything in my power to try to get her back. But all it did was show me just how powerless I was. Ultimately, no one in this country is allowed to have an opinion on the integrated enterprise foundations’ research facilities,” Julis finished.

The room fell into silence.

Ayato too kept silent, enduring that heavy stillness.

“The research institute that she was sent to was operated by Frauenlob. It was that abandoned building in the middle of the snowfield.”

“That was it…?”

“They were trying to research…how to create a Genestella.”

“Wha—?!” Ayato exclaimed in surprise. He had never heard of such an insane idea.

“The person in charge of it all was a someone called the Great Scholar, Magnum Opus. She was a student from Allekant.”

“So that’s why you hate Allekant…”

“You might call it a personal grudge,” she muttered, slowly taking out her mobile and opening an air-window.

It was a photo of two young, innocent girls. One was a spirited-looking child with brilliantly rose-colored hair, the other chestnut-haired with a gentle demeanor.

“This is me and Orphelia.”

He recognized Julis straightaway. But with the color of her hair and eyes, and the aura around her, Orphelia looked like a completely different person.

“Orphelia wasn’t a Genestella back then, let alone a Strega. To think that they’ve turned her into the strongest in the world…”

In other words, she was an artificially created Strega.

“So you’re saying the research was a success?”

“Well… If it was, it would have been the discovery of the century. They would have made a huge deal of it. That they didn’t means there must have been a problem. Like Orphelia.”

“A problem?”

She gave him a dark smile, her shoulders trembling slightly. “You saw what was left of that building. That’s what happened when her powers got out of control. The whole place fell into ruin. The ground itself rotted. Not even grass will grow there anymore.”

“Got out of control…? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know the details. All I know is that when the research institute was destroyed, Solnage’s special operations unit rescued her. After that, she was transferred from Frauenlob to Solnage, but I don’t know what kind of deal they made.”

“So that’s why she’s at Le Wolfe…”

Solnage was the integrated enterprise foundation backing the Le Wolfe Black Institute.

“I only found out about all this much later, of course. At the time, what happened to that research facility was kept secret, and I couldn’t find any clue as to where she was or how she was doing… Until I watched the Lindvolus…”

“The one before last?” Ayato asked.

Julis nodded. “I couldn’t believe my eyes. Her appearance had changed, but I knew it was her. So I tried to contact her…” Her voice trailed off.

Ayato could guess what the result had been.

“She’d changed. Maybe it was unavoidable, given the circumstances, but she seemed to have given up on everything, to have thrown everything away. But…I still want the old Orphelia back. At this rate, she won’t last.” She clenched her teeth.

“What do you mean, she won’t last?”

“I’m a Strega, too, so I know. It isn’t possible to fully control that much power. That miasma is a double-edged sword. The more she uses it, the more it eats away at her own life…”

Ayato himself had found it hard to believe that someone could wield that much power without suffering any consequences.

“Which is why, around a year ago, when I was admitted to Asterisk, I went looking for her. I thought I’d be able to persuade her. Or at least be able to stop her from getting into any more useless battles. But she wouldn’t listen to me. She told me I’d have to win against her… But you can probably guess how that worked out.”

So that was what happened.

“Sorry it took so long, but that’s it.” Julis let out a sigh, wearing a relieved expression. She rested a hand on her hip. “So, Ayato, this is between me and Orphelia. I’m sorry you got caught up in it, but I need to settle this myself. Otherwise, Orphelia will never accept the outcome. Okay?”

“…I understand.” He wanted to offer his help, but there were some things that had to be seen to alone.

“So that’s that. You two can stop pretending to be asleep now,” she added teasingly. “And the same thing goes for you—don’t get involved.”

“…So you noticed us?”

“A-ah… Sorry.”

Saya and Kirin looked up apologetically.

“Oh, so you were awake,” Ayato asked, though he immediately realized how obvious that was.

“Um, we didn’t mean to eavesdrop… We just kind of ended up overhearing, I guess…”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s more important right now for us to focus on what to do about Gustave Malraux,” Julis said.

“Don’t tell me, has anyone else been attacked while I was asleep?” This was no time to be taking it easy, after all.

“No, everything’s fine on that point, at least. Both the Royal Palace and the villa are on heightened security, and the whole city is on alert. Even he won’t be able try anything here without considerable planning. And I had some security posted at the orphanage, too, just in case.”

She was evidently worried, given what had happened to Flora.

“Even the integrated enterprise foundations won’t just sit back if he tries anything too stupid. My brother should have already contacted them, but there’s always a fixed number of soldiers stationed at their research facilities near the capital. So long as we don’t get caught up in a full-scale war, they should be more than enough to deal with one criminal.”

“It would be better if he would behave himself and leave us alone though…,” Kirin murmured, her fingers grazing her Senbakiri.

“…That’s probably hoping for too much.”

“Right. It will be too hard for him to carry out his mission—attacking us—once we go back to Asterisk. Not only will he have a hard time getting into the city in the first place, it will be all but impossible for him to get out, even if he does beat us. So he’s sure to try something before then.”

“In that case, he’s most likely going to try again on the road back to the airport…”

An attack on that mountain road could turn into a real problem.

Ayato startled. “Where’s Claudia?” he asked, suddenly remembering something he had to ask her.

His memories were hazy, but he remembered what she had said to Gustave. It seemed likely that she knew more about what was going on than she had told them.

“Oh, she went home.”

“Wha—?”

“She said something came up, and she had to drop by somewhere. She seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, though.”

“Is that so…?” It looked like she hadn’t mentioned her conversation with Gustave to the others.

I’ll try to call her later…

It was Claudia, after all, so she must have had some sort of plan, but he wanted to hear what it was first.

But it was then that, all of a sudden, his stomach let out a loud growl.

“Ah…”

It was understandable that he would be hungry, given how long he had been asleep, but it still left him slightly embarrassed.

Saya, Kirin, and Julis all glanced at one another, bursting into laughter.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’ve still got your appetite. I’ll ask the kitchen to prepare something for you. Just hold on a moment, okay?” Julis chuckled, wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes. She stood up to leave, when—

“P-p-p-princess! Terrible news!”

—Flora burst into the room in a panic.