“Hey there, Red Avenger!”
“Will you stop that?”
“Hey, hey, Red Avenger! ♪”
“I said, stop it!”
“Yo, Red Avenger!”
“I’m gonna cut you!”
Students were arriving in class and greeting the Empress as usual, and Earnest was frowning at them, as usual.
Blade, catching sight of her, raised his hand. “Hey, Earnest, good mor—”
Zwip!
“Ahh! Why are you slashing at me?!”
“Shut up! I said I’d cut you! I warned you!”
“I didn’t do it! I didn’t do it! I didn’t, at least!”
“Shut up, super-being! I can’t cut you down anyway! Why do you care? Can’t you let me slice you just a little bit?!”
“You’re losing your grip on reality!”
“Shut up! You’re such an idiot! Go ahead, everyone! Make fun of me behind my back! You’re right, I’m the Red Avenger!”
Earnest chased after Blade, swinging her sword the whole way. She’d made great strides recently, and her blade skills were so sharp that only an ex-Hero could have survived her attacks. The whole school was now in lethal danger.
Blade and Lunaria exchanged glances. They knew what to do here, and at just the right moment, they tripped Earnest up, making her fall flat on her face. She stayed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Ngh…hic…ennhh… Weeeh…!”
“What is she crying for?” asked Blade.
“I don’t know,” said Lunaria. “She was carrying on about the ‘Red Avenger’ or something.”
“Does anyone know who that is?” Blade asked the class.
The other students greeted the question with uncomfortable expressions.
“Okay. Yessica?” Blade saw Yessica raise her finger slightly and pointed at her.
“Um, I think…she was probably embarrassed.”
“Embarrassed? About what?”
“About being called the Red Avenger, I mean. During training yesterday, Anna went into Scion of Flame mode again, right?”
“Yeah. She was sparring with Lunaria, and then she got really angry and caught on fire. Literally.”
“Right, and after she goes into Scion mode, she winds up naked, yeah?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And all she’s got on is that red cloak, right?”
“Come to think of it, who keeps giving her that thing just in the nick of time?”
“Red suits milady.”
“Oh, it was you, Leonard?” asked Blade. He’d had no idea.
Whenever Earnest transformed into the Scion of Flame, she burned everything up, including her physical body. The only thing that remained was Asmodeus, her sword. That meant someone had to keep giving her that red cloak. Apparently, it’d been Leonard the whole time.
“Right, so that’s why she’s called the Red Avenger,” Yessica concluded.
Come to think of it, Earnest used to be called the Nude Avenger. Somewhere along the line, that had become the Red Avenger.
“But they only call you the Red Avenger as a term of endearment, you know?”
“No! I don’t want that! I hate it! Don’t you get it?!” Earnest banged her fists on the floor. Cracks began to form.
She’s gonna destroy the building…
“But you are the Red Avenger, aren’t you?” insisted Yessica.
“No, I’m not!”
“But you are, right?”
“Yes, but…!”
“See? You are.”
“…I know!”
“Do you wanna go back to being the Nude Avenger instead?”
“Of course not! Red Avenger’s a lot better than that!”
“Then, what’s the problem?”
This was a little beyond Blade. What could Earnest possibly be so angry about? Of course, she was always angry about something—that was just part of her character. Still…
“I don’t get it… Do you guys understand?” Blade asked, turning to the other students. But just as he was about to say “see, Earnest, they don’t know, either,” he saw everyone turn away, clearly uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry, Anna… I thought you liked it.”
This apology from her best friend, Yessica, seemed to trigger something in Earnest.
“That’s it! Enough! I’ll figure this out by myself! And I’ll make sure nobody calls me that incredibly dishonorable nickname again! The Red Avenger will never be heard from again!”
She stood up and indignantly stomped away, her footsteps heavy enough to leave clear marks on the concrete floor. Blade folded his arms behind his head as he watched her go.
Earnest is weird. So weird. So, so, so weird.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I absolutely, positively, never wanted to do this, Lunaria… But I just don’t see any other way, so I’m turning to you.”
Lunaria was having afternoon tea up on the terrace when Earnest came stomping over to her.
“Ah, Earnest, good afternoon. How can I help you?”
“How can you help me…? I came to be your pupil. You should be honored.”
“What are you hoping to learn?”
“I swear, why are you constantly so mean to me?! I came all the way over here to ask for your help! Even though I really, really didn’t want to! But here I am, bowing my head to you anyway!”
“You’re not,” Lunaria said.
“What?”
“You’re not bowing, are you?”
“Ugh…”
Earnest, now at a total loss for words, reluctantly bowed ever so slightly forward.
“Well, that’s not nearly enough, is it? If you kept going until your forehead was touching the ground, perhaps I would consider your request.”
“Ugh…” Unsure what to say, Earnest began to tear up. “Why are you like this to me? You’ve always been this way!”
“And why have you always been so arrogant? Really, is that how you ask someone for a favor? …Ah, but now I see. You’ve never been taught anything by anyone before, have you? No, you’ve been all high-and-mighty, ruling over everyone as the Empress and so on.”
“You’re the Empress of the northern academy, aren’t you?!”
“Hmm. Well, yes. I suppose I am. But I’m certainly not the kind of second-rate Empress they have around here.”
“That’s why I’m asking you to teach me! I’m bowing now, aren’t I?! Why don’t you just do it?!”
Lunaria pushed her tea aside. “Again, what exactly do you want me to teach you?”
“You’re so mean! Mean, mean, mean!”
“Earnest, you must understand that you haven’t specified what you want to learn from me yet.”
“…Huh?” Earnest blinked. “What? I told you.”
“You did not.”
“Huh? Huh? Huh?”
“I heard you say that you wanted to learn from me…but what exactly is the subject you wish to learn about?”
“What? Oh. Um. Well…”
“You don’t have to be afraid. I’m not some kind of monster, you know.”
“Well, um… It… It’s about transformation.”
“Transformation? Well, you do that all the time already, don’t you? Your grand transformation into the Red Avenger—”
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Don’t say it! I’m done with that! I’m leaving that name behind forever!”
“…I do hope you will get to the point soon. My tea is getting cold.”
“They don’t call you the Blue Avenger, do they?”
“Not at all. I would never be called such a dishonorable nickname. If anyone dared try, I think they would cease to exist immediately.”
“Right, because when you come out of Scion mode, you’re already wearing that blue outfit, aren’t you? That’s not fair! So teach me!”
“Oh, you mean that?”
“Yes! That! Where do you get that outfit from? You big cheat! Tell me!”
“My, my. A ‘cheat,’ you say? Hmm. I am nothing if not a cunning young lady, true. But goodness, such horrid accusations…”
“I’m sorry! Allow me to correct myself. You are a kind, beautiful girl who is both my dear friend and worthy rival. So…will you teach me?”
“Oh my… Flattery won’t get you anywhere with me, you know.”
“Yes it will! It’ll get me the secret behind that blue outfit of yours!”
“Well… All right. I could tell you… Perhaps during afternoon training, then?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes, yes! …Ahh, there really is nothing better than having a good friend! I love you, Lunaria! I love you so much!”
“A-again, all this talk…!” Lunaria blushed. “Sh-shut up already! Ugh! What are you on about?! I… I mean, I suppose that I, too…might feel just a tiny bit s-s-similarly about—”
✦ ✦ ✦
“See? So c’mon, Luna! Let’s go! I’ll be waiting for you!”
Earnest was already gone.
…How cruel, thought Lunaria, as she lifted her head and strode off after Earnest.