“Leite! Wake up, Leite!”
The two of them hurried back down to the living room, and woke up Schwertleite, who was leaning against the wall, asleep. The horns on her head flickered, and Schwertleite opened her eyes.
“Mama…?”
“Mama?” Leonis cocked an eyebrow.
Riselia leaned in front of Schwertleite and said with an earnest expression. “Leite, I need a favor.”
“…?”
“Can you connect to that facility’s control system one more time?”
Schwertleite’s horns flickered in response. “—Target facility’s system is already compromised. I am capable of seizing control of the entire facility forty-two seconds after connecting to the network,” she said expressionlessly.
“It looks like she can connect through the Astral Garden.”
“Can she connect using an Academy terminal?”
“You need authorization to use one, and there’ll be proof of us using it. I think Miss Finé had a terminal she used specifically to connect to the Astral Garden. Let’s use that.”
—Elfiné’s room was getting dusty. Ever since the massive Void tear appeared around the capital, the military’s top brass had her hard at work, and she hadn’t been in the dorm since. It’d been a long time since Leonis entered this room for the last time, too. On his first day in Excalibur Academy, he came here to have his data registered.
There was a great number of terminals there, connected by cables. It seemed Elfiné was collecting them.
“She really is obsessed with terminals.”
“I doubt she’s just collecting them for fun…”
They entered the room and approached a table with multiple monitors set on it. This was a large analysis device Elfiné customized for her purposes.
“Can you connect to this?” Riselia asked anxiously.
“Affirmative.”
Schwertleite’s azure hair glowed faintly—she likely was trying to connect with the terminal.
“Miss Selia, what I said about Cait Sith was just speculation… You shouldn’t get your hopes up based on just a possibility. It’s possible it’s already been captured, too.”
“Yes, I know. But if there’s even a slight chance…”
“—Coupling complete.” Schwertleite’s voice spoke out of the speakers.
“Wow, Schwertleite…”
“She did easily fuse with the battle vehicle.”
Self-destructing took away most of her original combat prowess, but her control over magical apparatuses still stood as testament of her position as a Dark Lord.
“Commencing takeover of target facility. Firewall system fully disabled.”
“Leite, I want you to look for a cat inside the network.” Riselia said.
“A cat?”
“Yes. A cat. Meow.”
“Meow?”
“Meow.”
“…Miss Selia, what are you doing?” Leonis glared at Riselia, who made her cutest imitation of a cat’s cry.
“…Hmm, I mean, an Artificial Elemental in the form of a cat.”
“Order acknowledged. However, there is a great number of Artificial Elementals in the network, so identifying it may be difficult.”
“Hmm. And it might be hiding so the Phillet Company’s Artificial Elementals don’t spot it, too…” Riselia paused for thought and then raised her head, making up her mind. “Leo, let’s go into the Astral Garden and look for the kitty, too.”
“Are you sure?”
“We might get spotted, but if there are any clues about Miss Finé, I don’t think Cait Sith will show itself unless we’re there.”
“Well, that might be true…,” Leonis said, agreeing with her.
They looked around Elfiné’s rooms and found headsets for connecting into the Astral Garden.
“They’re not intended for children, so they might be a bit too heavy for you…”
Leonis sat on the bed, and Riselia put the headset on him. Indeed, it did make his neck ache. Having to remain upright like this for long would be difficult.
“You can rest your head on my lap.”
Riselia grabbed Leonis’s shoulders and placed his head on her lap like a pillow.
“M-Miss Selia?!” he exclaimed in a flustered manner, but Riselia held him in that position. Through the headset, he could feel her soft thighs, and it made his heart skip a beat.
“Let’s go, Leo,” Riselia said, switching on the headset.
✦ ✦ ✦
Everything went black for a moment, and then, an endless grid manifested around him—the Astral Garden’s space.
I just can’t get used to this feeling…
Frowning, he looked down at his body, finding he was now a fluffy raccoon. This was the avatar he typically used in Excalibur Academy’s training sessions. Regina set it for him on the day of his first session, and it’s been left unchanged since.
“Leo, you’re so cute. ”
Leonis turned around upon hearing that voice and saw Riselia sitting on a floating cube around him. Her avatar was a beautiful, four-winged fairy.
“So this is the Phillet’s garden…” Leonis got up and looked around.
This virtual world was made up of a grid and occupied with thousands upon tens of thousands of floating cubes. Each cube was a block of condensed data.
“Looking for Miss Finé’s cat here will be difficult.”
The longer they took, the more likely the risk of them being discovered became.
“There are security Artificial Elementals patrolling about. Remain vigilant.” Schwertleite’s voice echoed in their heads.
“All right. Let’s go, Leo.”
Riselia pulled Leonis’s arm and flew off.
After a while…
“Kitty? Come out!” Riselia called out in a whisper, flying between the cubes. In terms of time, it felt like thirty minutes or so had passed.
“Kitty?” Riselia called out, clapping her hands.
“It’s not a real cat, Miss Selia…,” Leonis whispered, but then—
“Master, hostiles detected,” Schwertleite warned them.
A few cubes burst, turning into bird-shaped Artificial Elementals.
“Fwhaa?!”
The flock of birds attacked Riselia’s transparent wings. The torn off wings turned into particles of light and vanished.
“Miss Selia!” Leonis hopped over to a cube and extended his racoon paw. “I’ll reduce you to ash. Third-order spell, Vras Raiga!”
But the spell didn’t activate.
…Of course it doesn’t work; this is virtual space!
The screeching birds pecked at his fluffy head and tail.
C-curses…!
Leonis swung his arms about, batting away the birds.
“What are you doing, Leo?! Let’s run!” Riselia picked up Leonis’s body and flew off.
B-blast it all! A Dark Lord turning his back on an enemy…!
But he was powerless in this virtual space, and Riselia likewise couldn’t use her Holy Sword. On the other hand, even if their avatars were destroyed here, it would cause them no harm whatsoever, but their remains could be used to trace the intruders’ whereabouts back to Excalibur Academy.
“I will assist, Master,” said Schwertleite’s voice.
Orbs of light appeared in the space around them, producing a spherical flash of light that destroyed the bird Artificial Elementals.
“Wow, Leite!” Riselia said in amazement.
But then, a blaring alarm filled the garden. The cubes burst, producing more bird Artificial Elementals.
“It looks like that raised the alarm level…”
“Maybe we should retreat for now?”
“…Yes, I think so.” Leonis nodded, hopping atop the cubes.
The sound of the birds’ screeching grew louder and louder. But just then, Leonis faintly heard it.
Meow…
“…?!”
Riselia and Leonis exchanged a look.
“Leite, are there any reactions of Artificial Elementals nearby that aren’t these birds?”
“—Identified. Preparing a shortcut.”
An orb of light floating in the air fired a flash, tearing diagonally through a wall in the grid and leaving behind a red tear.
“Master, leave this to me. Jump inside.”
“All right. Leo—”
“I-is this really safe? Whoa!”
Riselia picked up Leonis and jumped into the tear. Crossing into it, they found themselves in a dark space: a silent void that didn’t exist between the grid’s walls and cubes.
“An air pocket that’s completely detached from the Phillet Company’s Garden…” Riselia flapped her fairy wings, their scales glowing.
And there, within the darkness, they spotted a black cat floating in the void.
“…That’s Miss Finé’s Cait Sith!” Riselia exclaimed.
There was no mistaking it—it was the Artificial Elemental that served as Elfiné’s partner.
“Maybe sounding the alarm was the right answer after all.”
“Yes, I guess the credit goes to Leite on this one.”
Riselia bent over in front of the black cat and stroked it under the neck.
“Does it have any clues about Miss Finé?”
“Yes, let’s see… Ah!” Riselia raised her voice, noticing something.
There was a small dial key hanging from the cat’s collar.
“Does it need a password?”
“Looks like it.”
This was likely a precaution set in place in case Cait Sith was captured by the Phillet Company.
“What could it be? Maybe her birthday… No, that would be too easy.”
But if it wasn’t her birthday, it must have been something her comrades would handily recognize.
“…1024,” Riselia whispered.
“Eh?”
“That’s the date Miss Finé joined the eighteenth platoon.”
Riselia adjusted the collar’s lock to the numbers of the password, and the next moment—Cait Sith broke into particles of light and disappeared.
“…?!”
And then, the particles of light reassembled… taking on the form of a familiar girl.
“Miss Finé?!”