“That’s all we have to report on Elliott-Pound for now,” Eishirou said in Seidoukan Academy’s special viewing lounge at the Sirius Dome.
His master—Claudia Enfield—smiled calmly and recrossed her long legs. “Thank you, Eishirou. That must mean Ernest and Diana’s engagement has been finalized. In that case, there’s little doubt that those favoring Genestella will gain the upper hand in the organization… It would probably be wise to liaise with Elliot as soon as possible. I’ll see what Laetitia can do…”
She paused there, resting her hand on her chin and lowering her gaze in thought.
Claudia had matured after she entered the university at Seidoukan Academy, but she’d never lost her gentle temperament. To those students who didn’t know her true nature, she must have seemed like the ideal elder sister, which explained her impressive support from men and women alike. That said, she’d also refined her sinister streak, and as far as Eishirou was concerned, she was a veritable demon.
Nonetheless, her abilities and shrewd judgment were beyond question, and she continued to serve as student council president. She was the longest-serving leader in the academy’s history, and even counting the other five schools, the only administration that had lasted longer than hers was probably that of the Ban’yuu Tenra at Jie Long.
Aside from her role as student council president, she was also a student, and secretary to her mother, Isabella. She wasn’t only wearing two hats—she was juggling three. Moreover, she wasn’t just analyzing information from within Asterisk pertaining to the city’s six schools; she was also monitoring intel on the integrated enterprise foundations that governed them. In all likelihood, she was planning for her graduation when she would move up to Galaxy.
As such, the work she entrusted to Eishirou was much more challenging than before, and to be honest, he wished that she would cut him some slack.
“Now then, for your next task…”
“Um, Prez? Isn’t it gonna be a little hard for Shadowstar without me? I heard there aren’t a whole lot of new recruits. We’re low on manpower, right?”
Strictly speaking, Eishirou was more Claudia’s personal spy than a Shadowstar agent these days.
His missions snooping around the integrated enterprise foundations were getting too hard to manage, and to be perfectly honest, he wanted to take a break and do something a little easier.
“Don’t worry about that. Silas Norman’s abilities are a good match for the current situation. He’s very excited, I believe, to be so close to paying off his debt.”
“Ngh…!”
With the transformation of the redevelopment area, Asterisk’s underworld had similarly undergone a drastic change. In short, espionage had increased, while direct confrontations between rival organizations were rarer. As a result, the power of the more militant factions, namely Grimalkin and Gaishi, had been diminished, while those more geared toward intelligence gathering, such as Sinodomius and Benetnasch, had come to dominate. Silas’s ability was puppet manipulation, but it also allowed him to obtain information from his foes, so he was highly suited to this new kind of work.
“Well, if you really don’t want to, I can take that into consideration…,” Claudia began. “But the mission I have in mind will be rewarding. Given the current offerings over at Shadowstar, I think you would get bored fairly quickly.”
“Well…” Eishirou didn’t know how to answer.
His motto was to live life lightheartedly. He didn’t want to be constrained by anything, but at the same time, he wanted to observe interesting events and people up close. He knew full well how difficult it was to balance those two desires. Claudia was well aware of his nature—probably even more than Eishirou himself—and was therefore good at handling him.
“But yes, I must give you some time off as well. You’ll want to spend some time with your girlfriend, I’m sure.”
“What?!” Eishirou froze.
“The former head of the newspaper club…,” Claudia began with a grin. “She’s now a reporter for…ABC, was it? How romantic that your relationship started with a chance reunion.”
“Hey, h-how did you…?!”
It was certainly true that Eishirou had met his former boss by chance at the scene of an incident a little while ago—their first encounter in several years. But no one else should have known about that. He had made sure not to let even his underlings at Shadowstar tail him.
“Oh-ho. You’re not my only source of information, Yabuki,” Claudia responded with a flawless smile.
There was no doubt about it—she’d soon rise to the upper echelons in Galaxy.
At that moment, an air-window snapped open between them, announcing the arrival of a new visitor.
“Oh, is it already time?” Claudia murmured as she pushed a button to open the door, revealing a girl with short green hair.
“Thanks for inviting me, Ms. President!” she said energetically.
The girl was the image of naïveté and cheer, without the faintest hint of negativity.
“Welcome, Flora.”
“Hiya!”
Flora Klemm. Formerly a maid at the royal palace in Lieseltania, dispatched to Asterisk by Julis’s brother—and once kidnapped by Grimalkin. She had still been a child back then, but she had since grown considerably taller, her supple and toned physique the proof of her training.
She had entered Seidoukan Academy just this spring.
“You invited her, Prez? Why?”
“Why? So she can watch the match from the best seat in the house, of course,” Claudia answered, motioning to a nearby chair.
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✦ ✦ ✦
Flora offered her a polite bow as she sat down.
“Flora—Thaleia, I should say—is one of our most promising rookies. She carries Seidoukan’s future on her shoulders. We need to make sure she sees every moment of this match.”
“I—I’ll do my best!” Flora answered, staring down at the empty stage as she squeezed her hands together in her lap.
There was still a little time left before the match got underway, and she was waiting in eager anticipation.
“Heh. Sounds like the prez thinks pretty highly of you,” Eishirou remarked.
“Of course,” Claudia answered. “She’s the first new user of the Ser Veresta since Ayato.”
Flora had entered the Named Cult shortly after starting at Seidoukan, and had attracted considerable attention with her flamboyant style of swordsmanship, reminiscent in some ways of several of Gallardworth’s fighters. But most noteworthy of all was that she had been chosen to wield the Ser Veresta.
Since Ayato graduated, many students had tried to wield the Orga Lux, but none had been able to earn a decent compatibility rating. Until Flora got her hands on it, that is.
“B-but…I still haven’t quite mastered it…,” she said, her shoulders drooping.
That was no surprise. It had taken Ayato Amagiri himself close to three years to master the weapon. And of course, its use required immense quantities of prana. Without Ayato’s considerable reserves, you wouldn’t be able to use it for long.
Flora seemed to be above average when it came to prana, but she couldn’t compare to Ayato. For that reason, she activated the Ser Veresta only when she absolutely needed to use it.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yep, I remember him well, even after all this time…,” Flora murmured. “Mr. Amagiri really was amazing.”
Eishirou couldn’t fail to notice a look of pride briefly pass over Claudia’s features.
It’s a good thing she’s still as cute as always…
“What’s that, Yabuki?” Claudia asked, as though she’d read his mind.
“No, no, it’s nothing.” Eishirou looked away to escape her intimidating smile.
“Oh, right…,” Flora began, putting her hands together as though she’d just remembered something. She glanced between the two of them. “You two both received an invitation from Her Highness, didn’t you? Will you be attending?”
“Yes, of course. It’s been a long time since I last saw Julis in person.”
“So long as I’m not on a mission, I’d be happy to go. Right, Prez?” Eishirou said with a sideways glance.
Claudia let out a deliberate sigh. “Understood. I won’t assign you any work during that period, Yabuki.”
“All right!”
He had finally secured himself a real vacation. In his line of work, you never knew when missions would come flooding in, so a guaranteed day off was something to treasure.
“I wish I could get a response from Mr. Amagiri…but I don’t even know how to get the invitation to him.”
“Indeed… But he does know about it, yes?”
“Oh, of course. Her Highness told me she mentioned it to him the last time he called.”
“Then there shouldn’t be any problems. Ayato isn’t the kind to betray a friend’s trust. I’ll be sure to bring it up next time I hear from him as well,” Claudia reassured her.
“Thank you!” Flora exclaimed, her face lighting up as she dipped her head.
“Well, it looks like it’s about to start down there.”
Fueled by the live commentary, the audience around the stage was positively electric, their excitement palpable.
Flora leaned forward in concentration, while Claudia’s eyes narrowed in anticipation.
The next moment, Mico Yanase’s clear voice rang out:
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“Now then, it’s finally time for the deciding match of this year’s Lindvolus! Which one of our contestants will carve themselves a place in the annals of history?!”