Hou justified their actions with overly dramatic language. He was a politician after all, and used to this kind of speech. “We’re not occupying this land because we want to, but well, we can’t go against the homeland’s orders. Being a soldier or functionary is not easy.” “I feel you, Chief,” Giuli said casually while sipping some coffee Iroha had brought. “Ho-ho. Thank you, Ms. Berith. Whatever the initial motive was, we were stationed here, and ended up protecting Nagoya’s railway facilities, you understand. But maintaining them is not easy for the Federation.” “So it’s only natural that you would ask for compensation from those who make use of them. We would love to pay you properly, but the circumstances just won’t allow for it.” “That’s surprising to hear. I heard you were not looking to obtain Vanagloria’s Relict Regalia when it fell into your hands. Is that wrong?” Hou gave Giuli a look of suspicion. Giuli shook her head with an awkward smile. “That is true of the Relict, but the problem is the Deserver.” “The Deserver?!” Xia roared, standing suddenly. If it weren’t for the table between them, he would have grabbed Giuli by the collar. “…You don’t seem to be lying. What a surprise. To think you would find the Relict Regalia’s Deserver in such a short time…” Hou clearly found it ironic. The value of a Relict with a Deserver jumped exponentially, as it went from simple research subject to powerful weapon. Galerie Berith, being an arms dealer, couldn’t hand it out just like that. By stating the Relict had a Deserver, Giuli was essentially saying that she would not give it to the CFA. “Yeah, so we can’t meet your request. We would really appreciate it if you could just let us through this once.” “Tsk…” Xia clicked his tongue at Giuli’s demand. The air in the car creaked at that moment. The Nagoya Station Fortress was the CFA’s base; they had the upper hand. That said, the Galerie had a dragon medium and her Lazarus. Victory wasn’t certain if things turned into an all-out war. The only certainty was that even the victor would not remain unscathed. “I see. That’s a problem.” Hou wiped away the sweat on his forehead. He put on an intrepid act, but he was more timid than he let on. It was hard to picture him stopping Jiguan Xia when he inevitably went on a rampage. Xia and Giuli glared at each other in silence from either side of the table. Apron-dressed Iroha broke the heavy mood. “Um, excuse me, may I ask a question?” “Yes, of course,” Hou replied, a little more relaxed than before. Iroha nodded in satisfaction before putting on a weirdly serious expression. “Why are the Moujuu attacking this place?” “That, we don’t know. You would have to ask the Moujuu.” “But they’ve been attacking for a long time, so long that you had to build these walls, right? There’s gotta be a reason!” Iroha placed her hands on the table as she leaned forward. Hou leaned backward, overwhelmed by her energy. “And are you going to investigate the cause, Miss Dragon Mediu—?” “Yes,” Iroha answered before Hou could even finish his question. Yahiro looked at her with surprise. Rosé furrowed her brow, too. They knew what she had in mind, but they weren’t expecting her to say that. “If we find out why they’re attacking, we can prevent it. So? How about we give you that instead of the Relict Regalia?” “…I see, that’s a very tempting proposition,” Hou said, taken aback. Surprisingly, Xia didn’t look annoyed by it. In fact, his shoulders were shaking with mirth, his face cast down. “But how exactly will you look into it?” Hou asked after clearing his throat. Iroha wore a bold smile, as though saying, Glad you asked! “That many Moujuu attacking means that there’s a colony nearby.” “Sounds logical.” “We’ll go there and take a look.” “Wha…?” Hou was paralyzed with confusion. The Moujuu were incredibly territorial creatures. Invading their colony would mean an all-out attack. Even a battalion would have trouble conquering one. There was no way just a girl could get inside and come out unharmed. “Are you insane?” Even Xia looked at her like he’d just seen a ghost. Still, Iroha puffed her chest. “I’m very sane, thank you very much. If it doesn’t look like we can make it, we’ll just run back here.” “Now that’s something… This woman is off her goddam rocker.” Xia sighed before cackling. “Chief, I’m going with them. They’ll need someone to confirm their findings.” “Mmhmm, if you say so… But Galerie Berith, are you sure about this?” Hou could not hide the bewilderment on his face. Giuli and Rosé looked at each other for a moment before nodding simultaneously. “I would’ve preferred to solve this with money…” “But we accept. We cannot hand over Vanagloria’s Relict Deserver.” “…Fine. The Chinese Federation accepts the dragon medium’s suggestion. But I have two conditions.” “Conditions? Are you coming with us too, Chief?” Iroha asked with a grin. Hou grimaced in disgust. “No way in hell! My first condition is that we take no responsibility if you incur damages during this mission. Do not blame us, no matter which of you dies!” “Oh…that’s it?” Iroha’s shoulders slumped; she was sincerely disappointed. Xia laughed out loud at her reaction. Hou sighed before continuing. “The second is, if you find another Relict Regalia during this investigation, you must immediately hand it over to the Chinese Federation.” “Quite the convenient deal for you,” Giuli softly opposed. Hou did not let up. “We’re letting you do this in exchange for not giving us Vanagloria’s, to begin with. Wouldn’t you say it’s only fair that you hand over any new Relict you may find?” “Uh… I don’t know…” Giuli insisted. Either way, she didn’t seem seriously intent on fighting him over it. If anything, she was only provoking him to see how he reacted. “Understood. I will draft a contract with the terms.” Rosé closed the deal before Giuli’s leg-pulling went too far. Iroha nodded in satisfaction. She looked even more boastful than usual for having her plan accepted. Felt like she had fulfilled her promise to protect Ayaho. “Are we heading out tomorrow, Dragon Medium?” Xia asked. Iroha nodded fearlessly. Galerie Berith was the one being made to wait. They had to get this over with as soon as possible to continue to their real objective. No reason to stay around for long. “Yes. Will you show us the way to the colony, Mr. Xia?” “All right. I can help you with that,” he said generously. Then he glared at Yahiro with a mix of disappointment and pity. “Let’s hope you get a decent look on your face by tomorrow, Lazarus. Don’t want you shaking in your boots at the sight of the beasts again.” “Ugh…” Yahiro gritted his teeth; it felt as though the man could read his mind. Iroha stared at them with a pensive look on her face. 4 “…Blaze!” Yahiro engulfed the uchigatana’s blade in flames before swinging it down at the metallic crystal blades. The purifying flames destroyed the metallic crystals in a flash, making them crumble into a million pieces like sand. Yahiro breathed a sigh of relief. It was hard activating the Regalia without the heat of battle or even any opponent to fight, but after a few tries, he’d done it. “Thanks, Yahiro, Iroha. Now we can do some emergency repairs,” Giuli said and slapped Yahiro’s back as he sheathed his sword. “Thank goodness! We couldn’t have those hazards around.” Iroha smiled weakly. The Yáo Guāng Xīng’s fourth car was badly damaged by Vanagloria’s Regalia, Saber Hills and Blade Groves; they would have to fix it before thinking about running the train. The twins gently pressured Yahiro and Iroha to get rid of the metallic crystal blades so repairs could begin. The two of them, feeling responsible for Ayaho becoming a Relict Deserver, couldn’t say no, and doing it took some weight off their shoulders. “Iroha!” Ayaho called out as Iroha headed to the lounge for a break. “Huh, Ayaho? You’re fine walking around now?” she asked her sailor-uniform-clad little sister. She was already in poor health and now she had the psychological shock of being a Relict Deserver. Rosé, too, said she should rest for a while. “Is it true you’re going to the Moujuu’s nest?” Ayaho did not answer Iroha’s question; instead, she asked another one with a serious expression on her face. Iroha and Yahiro looked at each other. They hadn’t yet announced the deal with Xia—not even the Galerie’s operators should have known yet. “Um, yes, it’s true. Who told you?” “Well, the kids…” Ayaho turned around. Her gaze was directed at her younger siblings. Kyouta, in particular, looked away guiltily. “Kyoutaaa! You were eavesdropping?!” “No, I was just following orders! Honoka said a detective should always be on the lookout for intel!” “You little rat! Don’t tell her that!” “A traitor. The worst of the worst.” “It was you who told Aya to begin with, Kiri!” The trio of nine-year-olds began arguing with each other. Iroha placed a hand on her hip and watched for a while, before giving up with a sigh. “Haaah… Okay, it’s fine. You would’ve found out tomorrow, either way.” “But Iroha… Why do something that dangerous? Is it my fault? Because I was compatible with that stone?” Ayaho looked up at her anxiously. Just as they felt bad about dragging Ayaho into this mess, she also felt guilty about getting the Relict for herself. “No, it’s not,” Iroha plainly refuted it. “I won’t say you’re entirely unrelated, but that’s not it. I just can’t leave the Moujuu be.” “…The Moujuu?” “You know that they’re the Japanese people we thought were extinct, right?” “Ah…” Ayaho’s eyes grew wide. Iroha nodded. “If they attack this place again, more people will die, on both sides. We have to find out why they’re attacking before that happens again.” “But…you’ll be in danger…,” Ayaho muttered weakly, eyes downcast; Iroha could barely hear her. “We’ll be fine. We’ve got Nuemaru on our side. Ah, and Yahiro, too.” She hugged Ayaho and gently caressed her head. Ayaho did not resist. “Leave this in your sister’s hands, okay?” Iroha whispered into her ear. “Okay.” Ayaho nodded. Yahiro tried to leave out of consideration, but after just a few steps, he stopped as he felt eyes on him. He looked up to find a tall Black man watching. Nathan had been standing by the lounge car’s entrance, waiting for a chance to speak. “Are you fine with this? We’ll be making the Heavenly Imperial princess wait,” Yahiro spoke before Nathan could open his mouth. Considering how he showed up everywhere, Yahiro figured he already knew about the deal with the CFA. “We cannot reach Kyoto without going through the Nagoya Station Fortress. Now that we couldn’t hand over Vanagloria’s Relict, Iroha Mamana’s plan is the second-best choice,” Nathan said calmly. Not only did he know about the deal, he even knew it was Iroha who suggested going to the colony. “Of course, Lady Karura will be impatient waiting for you, but she’s already waited for four years. Another three or four days are nothing.” “I guess.” Yahiro chuckled. The man’s response was drier than expected. Yahiro thought he was infatuated with Karura, considering he’d betray Ganzheit for her sake, but perhaps that wasn’t the case. “Do you know why the Moujuu are attacking the city?” “Unfortunately, I lack the knowledge. Ganzheit does not monitor the international armies’ movements. Ganzheit’s policy with them is giving them the Relicts in exchange for keeping their hands away from the dragon mediums.” Nathan shook his head curtly. The dragons had tremendous influence upon the Relicts’ emergence, but they were full of mysteries. Meanwhile, the Relict Regalia and their Deservers were easy to understand and control. Ganzheit obsessed over the former, while the armies of the world prioritized the latter. That way, they were able to collaborate instead of fight. In other words, Ganzheit was uninterested in the Relict Regalia. “But if I may offer speculation, I have an idea of what might be a cause,” Nathan said just as disappointment was showing on Yahiro’s face. “What is it?” “The Moujuu are coming from south of the fortress.” “Yeah.” “South of Nagoya Station…there is an old shrine.” “A shrine?” “Hikami-jingu. It enshrines the divine instrument the hero Susanoo obtained after slaying the dragon Yamata no Orochi—the Divine Sword Kusanagi, a Regalia handed down the generations of the Heavenly Imperial House.” “A Regalia of the Heavenly Imperial House? Is it also a Relict Regalia?” Yahiro’s eyes widened. He knew about the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. It was a divine sword collected from the remains of a dragon—the most famous regalia in Japan. “I can’t say for sure, since I have never seen it. But it would not be unthinkable to say that there is a Relict in the Moujuu’s colony that is exerting influence on the surroundings, would it?” “I guess… So that’s why the CFA chief gave us that condition.” Chief Executive Hou must have known about the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi from the very beginning, but was unable to send someone to the colony. That’s why he immediately set the condition that they’d hand over any Relict Regalia when Iroha suggested going there. “Will taking that divine sword away from the Moujuu nest stop them from attacking the city?” Yahiro asked Nathan with hope. If the Moujuu were attacking the Nagoya Station Fortress because of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi’s influence, then solving the issue was easy: just take the divine sword away from them. Even if it meant handing the Relict over to the Chinese Federation, the quick solution was welcome for Yahiro’s side. Nathan shook his head. “I wonder. I don’t think it would be that easy to take the divine sword out of the Moujuu colony.” “Because Iroha’s power doesn’t work on the Moujuu here?” “That too, but what I’m uncertain of is you, Yahiro Narusawa. Will you be able to fight the Moujuu when they refuse your intrusion?” “What do you mean?” “I am asking whether you can kill the Moujuu now that you know they’re Japanese people.” Yahiro reeled under Nathan’s glare. Kill the Moujuu. Physically achieving it was not difficult for him, not with his Lazarus condition, let alone the use of the Regalia. But it meant killing a Japanese person. Nathan questioned whether the young man was ready for what that entailed. “How about waiting for Sui Narusawa to wake up? She could drive the Moujuu away with her Regalia without having to kill them.” “You want me to ask for Sui’s help? The very same person who turned all those people into Moujuu?” Yahiro glared daggers at him. Nathan kept his face blank as he ignored the hostility. “I won’t force you. I’d also rather we finish this quickly before Sui Narusawa wakes up. Who knows when that’ll be?” “I’ve already killed countless Moujuu. Adding another hundred or two to that pile changes nothing,” Yahiro muttered, his voice hollow as he tried to convince himself. “I see. Let’s hope that statement is not just a bluff,” Nathan said before turning his back on the young man. Yahiro punched the wall of the car, his shoulders shaking as he was left alone. 5 After dinner and a strategy meeting for the investigation that would occur the next day, Yahiro did his daily practice of swinging his sword for one hour. Then he had showered and was now heading back to his room. Because he was a Lazarus, he had been given the privilege of having a private, if small, room inside the armored train. It was also a security measure so no operators would be harmed if his Regalia rampaged while he was asleep. It was kind of like quarantine, but he found it comfortable, especially on nights like this when he would rather be left alone with his thoughts. And yet, the moment he opened the door, he froze. Iroha was sitting on his tiny bed, wearing her streaming outfit. “Hey, Yahiro. I was just wrapping up preparations,” she said, as if her presence there was normal. Yahiro put his hand to his forehead. He had no idea what was going on. “Why are you dressed like that? Waon’s account was deleted, right?” “Don’t remind me… Aw, my archive…” She winced. So she hasn’t gotten her account back. Which means she isn’t wearing that to stream? “I made a new account, but you need permissions to stream. I gotta upload regular videos first and get some subscribers.” “You’re still gonna keep it up?” “Of course! There might be other Japanese survivors out there waiting for my streams, like you.” “Yeah.” He gave her an awkward smile. Iroha’s supposition wasn’t entirely unfounded, but she sure was a positive person. It was one of her greatest strengths. Indeed, it was her streams that had saved Yahiro once. “Okay, so I got that, but why are you in my room?” “I told you, preparing to get back to streaming.” “…Preparing how?” “I can’t just repeat the same things I’ve been doing now that I’ve made a new account. There’s new stuff I wanna try, and I was hoping you’d help me practice,” she said, weirdly serious. “Practice what?” He stared back at her cautiously; it was obvious she was plotting something, but he couldn’t imagine what. “Please, sit down first,” she replied while slapping the spot next to her on the bed. The current situation—being all alone with a girl in skimpy cosplay in such a tiny room—had Yahiro conflicted. However, she would only annoy him if he let her know he was overly conscious of her, particularly when she didn’t seem to mind at all. “First of all, that’s my bed.” “Yeah, yeah. Now then, lie down.” “Huh? Wait…!” Iroha pulled him closer as soon as he sat down. Taken by surprise, he couldn’t resist. He was now lying sideways with his head cushioned on her thighs. Not only did Iroha not mind, she held him down with both hands to keep him there. Yahiro’s confusion only grew. “…What’re we practicing?” “Ta-dah! This is ASMR.” With dramatic motion, she produced a thin strip of bamboo with a white cotton ball on one end. Yahiro grimaced. He had a bad feeling about this. “ASMR? This just looks like you’ll be cleaning my ear…” “I’ll be recording my stimulating voice while replicating ear-cleaning noises, using a mic that recreates what it sounds like to the human ear. I’ve always wanted to do this.” “Then shouldn’t you be practicing with the actual mic?” “Binaural mics are expensive and fragile, and it was difficult to find one in the ruins of the 23 Wards. But you…you can get hurt a little, no problem.” “Are you kidding me?!” He couldn’t stand being used for her silly projects. Yahiro pushed himself up and away from her lap to run, but… “Bad boy.” “Whoa…!” She blew air into his ear, making him shudder. He got goose bumps all over and his body went limp. Iroha did not waste the chance and began fondling his earlobe. “How’s it feel, Yahiro? Nice?” “No, it’s just ticklish. Why’re you even touching me there?” “Okay, then how about here…?” “Weren’t you going to clean my ear?” “I will. So, feeling ticklish?” “I don’t think this is cleaning my ear.” “It’s not?” Iroha giggled, but then actually began the ear cleaning. Yahiro gave up and left himself in Iroha’s clumsy hands. Although she didn’t seem to mind, Yahiro couldn’t help but feel conscious of her bare thighs against his cheek. Not to mention her chest would sometimes brush the back of his head. It only paralyzed him further. “Hey, Yahiro,” she whispered into his ear. “What?” “How did it feel when Sui almost turned you into a dragon?” “…In one word, awful. I don’t even want to think about it.” He frowned and sighed. Sui’s objective in collaborating with Douji Yamase to trap Yahiro was repeating the J-nocide. She used his body to try and summon Superbia. Yahiro turned into the dragon’s vessel, nearly lost his consciousness, and became a rampaging monster. It was only thanks to fortunate timing that he avoided completely transforming into a dragon. In the past, Yahiro had met Iroha just before bathing in Sui’s blood and becoming a Lazarus. Iroha’s blood saved him from near death. It happened four years ago, and Iroha probably did not remember, but without that, he would be a complete dragon by now, bringing disaster on a worldwide scale. “Did you think you would rather die?” “Yeah,” Yahiro replied frankly to Iroha’s gentle question. Yahiro was immortal, so being turned into a dragon seemed like suffering beyond imagination. More than anything, he dreaded having his mind contaminated by rage and hatred as it turned into something unbearable. He had never cursed his immortality more than in that moment. “Would you have resented me if I had killed you then?” she asked softly. Yahiro denied it without hesitation, “If anything, I would’ve thanked you for freeing me.” “I see,” she whispered sadly. “You see, they’re the same, too.” “…You mean the Moujuu?” “Yeah.” Iroha nodded before caressing his hair. “They’re in a sea of anger, hatred, suffering, and confusion… Negative emotions only. Nuemaru’s different, though. The guys who lived with us in the 23 Wards, too…I hope.” “I see.” Yahiro closed his eyes and smiled. Iroha did not discriminate between Moujuu and humans. She loved and cared for them just like family, which was why they did as she said—because she saved their morphed souls. Yahiro understood how the Moujuu felt. “I’m sure they don’t want to harm anybody. They would rather die than kill, but they can’t stop themselves.” “…Iroha?” He called her name as he noticed her voice trembling. Iroha hugged him, then. “So you don’t have to carry all the pain by yourself. Not to say that everyone will feel the same, but I’m sure at least some of them were grateful to you.” “But I—” Yahiro gulped down the words just before they could come out: I didn’t want to kill anyone. “First of all, that power is something I gave you. If you have any sin to bear, then I deserve to carry half of it.” She raised her head and smiled gently. She was charming enough as is, but that expression captured his gaze. It was the face of that streamer who kept him from despair for four lonely years from beyond the screen. “Iroha.” “Yes?” “Do you remember where you were just before the J-nocide?” he asked, a serious look on his face all of a sudden. Iroha blinked in surprise. “Why do you ask?” “Because maybe…we’ve met before,” he quietly replied. Yahiro remembered when he was draconized, and then when he was about to die after Sui stabbed him, it was Iroha who saved him. His use of Avaritia’s Regalia was proof of that. But the girl he’d met back then was like an entirely different person. He wanted to confirm whether she remembered that. Opposite to Yahiro’s expectations, Iroha blushed for some reason. “Um, is that…your way of confessing your love to me?” “No.” “That was quick!” “It’s okay if you don’t remember. Forget I mentioned it.” “How am I supposed to take that?!” She pouted, feeling like someone was playing a prank on her. She continued quietly cleaning his ear. He only heard her sigh and the soft sound of scraping. They said ASMR had a sleep-inducing effect, and sure enough, he was getting weirdly sleepy. “Hey, Yahiro,” she whispered into his ear again. “What now?” “Hee-hee. Nothing. Good night.” She said nothing more after that. Soon, she stopped moving altogether, and Yahiro began hearing her gentle snoring. “You’re the one who fell asleep?” Yahiro stood up with a sigh while Iroha slumped over on the bed. He stared at her sleeping like a log—on his bed. 6 The next morning, Yahiro woke up in the lounge car. Since Iroha took over his bed, he had to sleep on the lounge’s hard bench. Even a Lazarus got a stiff back, tight shoulders, and a crick in the neck if they slept in an uncomfortable position. But despite his discomfort, he woke up in a good mood. For the first time in a while, he’d slept without nightmares. “Morning, Yahiro. You look refreshed.” Giuli grinned when he arrived at the briefing room. “I hear you had fun last night,” Rosé said flatly, her face even more inexpressive than usual. “I was just getting dragged into Iroha’s silly projects. No fun was had,” he scowled. The elder twin smirked and the younger one smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Not even five minutes passed before the room got crowded. Main operators Josh, Wei, Paola Resente, and others arrived, as did Auguste Nathan, Captain Aldiss, Iroha, and Ayaho. “Well then, let’s begin our meeting. Everyone’s heard the situation. We’ve taken an investigation request in place of the toll. We’re gonna infiltrate the Moujuu colony south of the Nagoya Station Fortress and look into why they’ve been acting strangely. Nothing out of the ordinary for a PMC.” Giuli explained while munching on a sandwich. She spoke casually like always, but the matter at hand was serious. “Problem is…Iroha’s powers don’t seem to work on the Moujuu around here. So, we’ll send as few people as possible and just run the moment things get hairy. It’s gonna be Yahiro and Iroha, of course, as well as me and Paola’s unit.” “You’re coming with us?” Yahiro raised his head in confusion. Despite her looks, Giuli was the leader of Galerie Berith’s Far East branch. He saw no reason why she would have to risk herself by going into a Moujuu colony. Yet Giuli puffed out her chest as if the reason was obvious. “We’ll need someone to make decisions on the fly there. We talked about whether it should be me or Rosy, but in the end, we decided it should be me since we’re fighting Moujuu. Or did you want Rosy to go instead?” “I must stay behind since the people left here need a commander to deal with the Chinese Federation. Yahiro, listen well… You mustn’t let Giuli get into any danger!” Rosé glared daggers at him. Yahiro nodded shakily. The twins were very close, but Rosé’s fixation on Giuli went beyond sane levels. Who knew how she would get revenge on him if he let Giuli get hurt. “I’ll be fine! You’re such a worrywart.” Giuli laughed and shrugged. For whatever reason, Iroha nodded confidently. “Don’t worry, we have Nuemaru with us. So you can rest easy, too, Yahiro.” “Yeah… You may not be of much help, but that furball sure is reliable.” “Wha?! Why?! You wouldn’t have Nuemaru without me, for starters!” Iroha raised her eyebrows indignantly. She was as mysteriously self-assured as always. Even the white Moujuu in her arms seemed baffled. “The Princess and Iroha aside, I would worry about Ayaho instead,” Josh said seriously after finishing off the milk he’d been drinking. “Me…?” Ayaho’s back straightened when she heard her name. Josh nodded brusquely. “Wei and I are staying in the Yáo Guāng Xīng, and that’s usually more than enough, but the CFA’s got that Relict squad.” “You mean they might go after Ayaho?” Wei asked calmly. “Whaaa?” Iroha’s eyes grew wide. The rest of the operators also frowned. The one with the biggest grimace was Captain Aldiss, who worried that the Yáo Guāng Xīng would become a battlefield. “We can’t dismiss the possibility.” Giuli agreed with Josh. “We do have Ganzheit backing us up, but who knows how useful they’ll be as deterrence when it comes to Relicts. So, here.” She took something out of her hoodie’s pocket and handed it to Ayaho. It was wrapped in a cloth bag, long and thin, about the size of a military flashlight. Ayaho received it and widened her eyes at the weight of it. She opened it to find a sheath painted black. “Is this…a short sword?” “A kaiken, rather than a tanto. Its name is Shinshukaku. Just consider it a sort of protective charm. It is a national treasure, though, so don’t lose it.” “A-a national treasure?!” Ayaho nearly dropped the kaiken before frantically hugging it to her chest. “You do not need any special tool to activate the Regalia, but holding a weapon or charm in your hand makes it somewhat easier. I believe it has something to do with psychology,” Rosé explained. “You shouldn’t rely entirely on it, but hey, use it until you get used to it,” Giuli added. Iroha had been listening in astonishment, but now she stood up, fuming. “Wait a second! You wanna make her fight?!” “No, we do not consider her part of our forces. However, if she gets attacked by soldiers with Relicts, we won’t be enough to protect her.” “Indeed. Better she has a way to fend for herself just in case, don’t you think?” Wei muttered, eyes closed. His failure to protect Ayaho from the Fafnir soldier in Yokohama came to mind. His expression had a tinge of regret. “You know Vanagloria’s power, don’t you, Iroha?” Rosé asked. “Well, yeah… I do…” Iroha mumbled. Still, she didn’t feel good about dragging Ayaho into the fight. Ayaho stared at Iroha’s glum expression before glancing over at Yahiro. Then, with a resolute look on her face, she gripped the short sword tightly. “I’ll be fine, Iroha.” “Huh?” Iroha turned around. Ayaho looked her in the eye and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” Iroha blinked in confusion at how assertive her usually timid little sister was being. Then she smiled softly. “All right, Ayaho. Take care of Rinka and the rest.” Ayaho nodded in response. Nathan watched the sisters’ exchange with a look of interest.
Chapter 53
26 min read