“What a failure! What a disgrace!” Imperial Knight Djibril Emmuler was scolding Ichika harshly. She’d started in as soon as he got back to the dorms. “I should take you back to my country so you can be punished properly!”
Ms. Yamada couldn’t let that pass. “Come on. She’s safe. Orimura was the one to save her. Let’s leave it at that.”
“You’re too easy on him, Maya! You still haven’t learned! Why protect him from having to learn his lesson?!”
Djibril and Maya’s history as rivals only ramped up her anger further... Their rivalry, and their abandoned plans for their future.
“...It’s not too late, Maya. Don’t waste your time here as a glorified babysitter. Come with me. I can personally promise that you’ll be knighted almost immediately.”
“I’ve already told you, Djibril. I love this country. I love this school. I can’t leave.”
“You’re still trying to run away from me, aren’t you?!”
All Maya could do was laugh wryly. “No, it’s just...”
“Don’t make excuses! You know I’ll never be satisfied with that answer!”
The door to the princess’s guest room opened, interrupting them. Iris was awake now, and coming to see what all the noise was.
“Could you quiet down? ...Oh, and Ichika.” Iris was already back to being a princess, and stared at Ichika intently, as befitting her position. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”
“Wonderful. That’s what really matters.” Taking a deep breath, she spoke again. “We will invite Orimura Ichika to Luxembourg. There, he will live out his life as my manservant.”
If anything, it sounded more like a marriage proposal.
“Wha?”
“Whaa?”
“Whaaaaaa?”
More astonished than Ichika was Djibril, more astonished than Djibril were the cadets. Pointedly ignoring them, Iris continued as she puffed out her chest, “Let those who object say their piece now, or forever be silent!”
“Of course we object!” Ling said, puffing out her own chest slightly more successfully.
“Oh? You. What is your name?”
“Huang Lingyin! You’d better remember it!”
“Mhm. Then, Huang Lingyin. Shall we settle this like women?”
Ling replied, just as fired up as Iris was, “Sounds great! Let’s do it!”
Sparks flew between two decidedly low-environmental-impact chests. It was her complete opposite, Djibril, who cut in to cool them down.
“You mustn’t, Your Royal Highness! This is below you!”
“I see it as an excellent opportunity to teach these commoners their place.”
“But— At least let me fight as your champion!” Djibril pleaded.
“No! A royal’s duty is to lead from the front lines!”
Ling knew when she had someone’s attention, and milked it for all it was worth.
“How about both of you, then? I’m fine with that.” They were taking the bait. Ling knew they were exactly the type to fall for it.
“Hmph! Two-on-two it is! I suppose I’ll allow you to choose your own second.”
“Good enough, then! Sounds like fun! I choose... Houki!” Houki blinked in confusion. “C’mon, team up with me.”
“Wh-What?!”
“It’ll be fine! Team Childhood Friends! Two enemies joining forces!” Her logic was... questionable, but her passion was overwhelming.
“Err... Okay.” Houki sighed as she nodded.
The second one was accurate, at least. If I win, then Ichika might finally... Might notice her. Yes... She had to win. She needed to win.
“Looks like it’s arranged, then. We meet a week from Sunday, in the third arena!”
The gauntlet was thrown down.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hey, wait, Rin!” he called out.
“What, Ichika?”
With that settled, everyone was heading back to their rooms.
“You know what you’re up against, right? She’s a princess!”
“Hmph. I don’t care who she is! Do you think I’m gonna lose or something?”
“It’s just, her IS was made by Tabane herself. So...”
“So what? You think I’m gonna lose?”
Houki chimed in, “That’s okay. My Akatsubaki is too.”
“I guess, just...”
“Worry about yourself.”
“Ugh...”
She had a point. If Ling and Houki won, Iris was likely to take it extremely poorly. Ichika was going to need to deal with that.
As he slumped, Ling shot him a smile and said, “Don’t worry, though, we’ve got this!”
“That’s right!”
“Uhhhh...” Smiles on both Ling and Houki’s faces. Ichika was the only one with a frown.
Iris watched from a distance.
“Djibril.”
“What is it, Your Royal Highness?”
“We won’t lose... Will we?”
“Of course not.”
Both were self-assured of their victory. And thus, the week or so until their clash passed...
✦ ✦ ✦
“I wonder why Shenlong just got a heavy arms upgrade, though.”
Ling was going through the new parts of her preflight checklist. This battle wasn’t just going to be for her own honor; it was also the first combat test of the new Huniang Cannon.
“Haven’t been able to do much besides get it installed, but it should be fine.” As a melee fighter at heart, the addition of a heavy cannon slowing her down wasn’t really her style, but orders were orders. “Just gonna have to try my best.”
Really, even with her new haute couture package, Shenlong’s stats were still in line with her style. All she could do was believe that her IS wouldn’t betray her. And she’d built up that trust.
“No packages for you, Houki?”
Houki was running through her own preflight checks for Akatsubaki.
“Akatsubaki was developed for versatility. It doesn’t need packages,” she shrugged.
“Oh, right. It can evolve to fit any situation, right?”
Houki nodded. “Right. Ahh, there we go, the data on our opponents.”
As soon as she was finished with her checklist, Ling glanced through it, and her jaw dropped.
“What?! They’re both fourth gens?! C’mon, gimme a break!”
Ling’s Shenlong may have been one of the newest third-generation rollouts, but it was still going to be hard-pressed against two examples of Shinonono Tabane’s personal handiwork. But IS generations aside, she could still hope that Djibril was going to be carrying some very heavy royal baggage.
“Ah well, who cares about generations. It’s the pilot’s skill that matters!”
“That’s right!”
Kanzashi, their operator for the match, broke in over comms.
“Seventh Princess is equipped with a new fourth-generation weapon, the Graviton Cluster... And then there’s the Imperial Knight’s electrified sword and shield combo, Éclair. Don’t let your guards down.”
That was enough to dampen Ling and Houki’s moods. And then, there was another pair of eyes watching in the background...
“.........”
Liu Yueyin. Ling’s long-lost father.
“Mr. Liu, you really should have stayed in the hospital...”
“Cough, cough... No... I’m fine... This could be my last chance.”
As Ichika looked over the once-strong man’s shriveled, wilted form, he worried. Even though he was a terminal cancer patient, he had rushed to Japan to see his daughter fight one last time.
“I’m sorry to pry, but why did you leave Rin’s— Why did you leave your wife?”
“I... I don’t know how much longer I have. I wanted... I wanted to let them choose their own future.”
“But... But that’s...”
“I don’t expect you to understand. But please... At least listen...”
“.........”
“I wanted to see... I wanted to see my wonderful little girl one last time...”
They had spoken several days before. Ichika had gone into it wanting to give Yueyin a piece of his mind, but seeing how weak he’d become, he didn’t have the heart to.
He may have wanted to give them closure, but... His wife, at least, must have known. Must have gone along with it. Without either of them telling Ling what was really happening. But that’s just...
Adult selfishness. At least, that’s what Ichika had to call it. The ties binding family couldn’t be cut easily. He knew that well. Not just in spite of, but because his own closest bond was with Chifuyu rather than his parents.
“It’s starting.”
“Mm...”
Ling and Houki’s battle for Ichika had begun.