“Why, if it isn’t the perfected Lorelei. I am you. Another Laura who couldn’t become you.” Her words flowed like a song, echoing uncannily in Laura’s ears.
“Lorelei?! What are you talking about?!”
“It’s better for you not to know. And you, the man beside her. Orimura Ichika.”
“Me? What about me?!” Ichika gasped, unable to contain his surprise at being singled out by name.
Again, words sprung liltingly from her lips “A complete maverick. Someone who must be... Removed... For my mistress’s sake.”
“What?!”
An incoming transmission snapped Laura and Ichika out of their confusion. “What are you two doing?! You’re looking at a projection!”
“......?!” Chloe disappeared, and darkness fell over the sky. A sea of inky blackness replaced the blue yonder, the pale moon rose in place of the yellow sun. The whirl of clouds around them transformed into a maelstrom.
“This... This is a World Purge!” Laura cowered as the world faded around her, but Ichika was there to drag her back to reality.
“Let’s get out of here, Laura!”
“Have you gone crazy?!”
“Get a hold of yourself! If we stay up here, you’ll be sucked in again!”
“...Understood.” Calmed by Ichika, Laura followed him back down to the arena. Lorelei? What was that supposed to mean? Just who am I? Still shaken by the World Purge, her heart sank as fast as her altitude while she thought quietly. Of her birth. Of her past. Her heart ached as she looked back.
Chloe Chronicle... What are you... She hadn’t understood. Not a single thing. But now, everything was falling into place. That’s right. I’m—
One of the ‘Boosted.’ An enhanced humanoid. Engineered for strength. A marionette made for battle.
“—Ra! Hey! Laura!”
“Wh-What?!”
“Good, you’re awake. Are you okay? You’re pale as a sheet.” Ichika looked at her concernedly, and her knees turned weak.
That’s right. I’m... It didn’t matter who she was. What mattered was who she is now. Now that she had something to fight for.
“Oh, nothing. And anyway! You’re too close! Back off!”
“You don’t have to hit me! I’ll move! I’ll move!” If nothing else, she’d livened up a bit by the time they’d touched down.
There, the battle was over. Charlotte had her rifle leveled at Autumn’s forehead. “You’re not getting away this time.”
“This shit again... Son of a bitch.”
And thus, the action at the arena drew to a close.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Oww... I can’t believe that brat actually punched me.” In the medical office at the arena, Charlotte’s father Albert was being patched up after his fistfight with Ichika.
“It’s your punishment. For being a man who dared to love two women.” The nurse applying ointment to his face was his wife, Rosenda Dunois. Rosenda, a woman who looked every inch the wife of a baron of industry, smiled teasingly.
“Hmph...”
Ichika was receiving treatment in another room. And Chifuyu was interrogating Autumn.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen you this worked up,” said Rosenda, peering into his eyes.
“It’s all because that brat doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut!”
“Of course.” Albert fell silent, his rage politely ignored. “...You must have known, then. That I could never have a child.”
“.........”
“That’s why you took another woman. Because there was no other way you could still love me.”
“Perhaps.” Rosenda cut through the tense mood with a chuckle. “You should be more honest with me.”
She playfully dug a finger into his scrape.
“Oww! Don’t!”
“The girl needs to be loved. I’m sure I’ll come around to her, too.”
“Yeah...” Albert fell silent, at a loss for words.
“More importantly, what about the IS? I believe we’ve lost one?”
“How will I be able to explain it... There’s no knowing what the government will have to say. I’m sure they’ll want someone to blame.”
“Oh my.”
“But it’s a father’s duty to take responsibility.” Albert puffed out his chest pugnaciously.
“Indeed it is.” Rosenda smiled, showing a woman’s forbearance.
“But telling them we’ve developed the world’s first dual-core IS will keep them at bay,” Albert continued, as if already rehearsing his excuse. “That will likely keep them quiet.”
“Well, then, the company’s problems are solved. But how shall we handle the girl?”
“...Hmm.” Albert fell silent, which was as good as an answer. “...I still don’t approve of her taste in men.”
Rosenda chuckled. “Ahh, young love.”
“Hmph!”
The only witness to their conversation was the setting sun outside the window.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Oww... I can’t believe that old bastard actually punched me.” In another room, Charlotte was caring for Ichika.
“Well, you punched him first, right?” Charlotte stifled a giggle as she wrapped gauze around his face.
“What kind of grownup acts like that?!”
“It’s because you pushed him so far. Now hold still... There we go.” As Charlotte repacked the first aid kit, she gazed at Ichika.
Noticing, he tilted his head quizzically. “Is something wrong?”
“Mmm... I just wanted to thank you.” A blush began to rise to Charlotte’s cheeks.
“I don’t think there’s anything to thank me for...”
“Yes there is!” Ichika was surprised by her sudden shout. Charlotte, for her part, gasped before looking down at the floor awkwardly. “I think there is. You’ve always been there for me.”
“Really?”
The two fell silent, but not awkwardly. Instead, they let the sudden feeling of peace walk over them.
“Staaaaaaare.”
They could feel stares drilling into them from the cracked door.
“Staaaaaaare.”
Stares belonging to Laura and Kanzashi.
“You two can come in, you know.” As Charlotte spoke, their expressions immediately brightened.
“Very well, then.”
“Pardon us...”
The two stared intently at Ichika as they walked in.
“Wh-What?” he asked.
“I was just thinking, picking a fight with a grownup twice your size is probably the stupidest thing I’ve seen you do. And that’s saying a lot.”
“Ichika... You really need to learn some self-control.”
“Ugh.” There was no way to argue with that. “But! But, I—”
Ichika leaned forward, unable to just sit and take their criticism. Charlotte laid a finger across his lips to stop him from continuing on, then said, “I know, I know. We’ll call it a draw, okay?”
“Ugh...”
The three girls laughed at his sputtering consternation. The only witness to their conversation was the setting sun outside the window.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Err, thank you for your hospitality.” The butler had escorted Ichika and the others to the airport in Paris.
“Take care, ma Dame.”
“Jeez. I’m not a princess or anything. You can just call me by my name,” protested Charlotte.
“Impossible! It would be a betrayal of my master, and unspeakable rudeness to the heir to the Dunois fortune. I simply can’t bring myself to do so.”
“Ahaha...”
As Charlotte laughed wanly, Ichika whispered in her ear, “This must be a lot of weight on your shoulders, Charl.”
“Yeah.” Charlotte blushed at his sudden closeness. As she did, the butler James picked up on the subtle cue.
“And you, Monsieur Orimura. She may be your friend, but you’re close for friends. Rather too close. I must ask you to step back.” With a surprising strength for his age, the butler pushed them apart. A withering glare and a stomp to the foot completed this picture of French propriety.
Putting some distance between himself and the butler, Ichika whispered in Laura’s ear this time, “I, uh. I don’t think he likes me very much.”
“I guess.” Just as Charlotte’s had, Laura’s cheeks reddened as he leaned close.
“Sacré bleu! This simply will not do! This, this... This unbecoming behavior! If you have chosen ma Dame, you must stand by your decision! If you have not, I simply cannot allow you to accompany her any further!”
“Come on! It’s not that big of a deal! We’re going to miss our flight!” Pressing by the enraged butler, Charlotte rushed to the boarding gate.
“We’ve gotta get going. See you.” As Ichika tried to duck by the butler, he was caught by the collar.
“I hope you understand. If you make her cry, I may forgive you someday, but Monsieur...”
At the realization that it was all just a father’s concern for his daughter, Ichika burst out laughing without realizing it.
“I’ll make sure I don’t! Goodbye!”
Au revoir, France! Next stop, England!