Epilogue
Back on Earth, medals were given to a Cavalleria squad.
Student Echelon Supporting Retreat Destroys Gate, screamed the newspapers. The accompanying photo showed a serious, handsome boy, and a warm-hearted girl with glasses.
Just those two.
The Gate over the capital had vanished. There were still several Gates scattered around the Empire, but recovering the capital, the heart of the Empire, was huge—even if the furious battle had turned it into scorched earth. Not only the Empire, but every world government was working together, trying to close all Gates on Earth.
The second semester had begun at Jogen Maneuver Academy. The freshly decorated Lunatic Order received even more attention than before, becoming a model for the entire student body. The always serious squad leader merely said, “We’ll have to work even harder than before.”
The quirky subleader refused to say anything but, “What a pain, what a pain, what a pain.” The squad leader and his fiancée were doing very well, and the subleader had gotten a haircut and new glasses. The squad leader asked (unnecessarily) why she didn’t try wearing contacts. She gave an exasperated sigh and said it would lose her the few fans she had.
It was just the two of them. With her new haircut fluttering in the breeze, the subleader looked up at the skies over Jogen. “We can’t even do a mock battle, Hanabi.”
The Maneuver Cavalleria were out hunting Jave again. The school hadn’t lost a single student since the previous operation ended. Mankind had entered a time of comparative peace.
There was no longer just one lone Hero.
✦ ✦ ✦
Watching the news, a certain high-end AI Device Guide reported to her new master. “Hey! This one, too! They aren’t showing our two Heroes!”
“No, that’s good. I mean, senpai and I were both so out of magic we’ve been stuck in bed until just recently.”
“And just whose bed were you in?” En asked.
“What are you implying?! Hospital beds! Separate ones!”
“Oh? You think I don’t know about all your nightly trysts?”
“We didn’t have any! Look, you’re tied to my magic now, so I will put you in Sleep Mode.”
“Ohhh, sowwwy, Masterrr.” The fairy Guide rubbed up against her master. She wore a uniform that looked like a modified silk kimono. It sort of reminded him of the female conductors on local train lines.
The one she called “Master” was enjoying his first walk to school in several days. He was deliberately very early, both to avoid the extra attention the medals had brought them, and also so he could meet his girlfriend.
Jogen Academy had a large dorm. A beautiful girl with a long black ponytail and a far curvier figure than most schoolgirls commanded was waiting at the entrance, radiating nobility. The Warrior Princess, he thought, smiling. He called out to her. She smiled back happily, and he’d never seen anything lovelier. “Good morning, Hanabi-senpai,” he greeted her.
“Mm, morning, Kuon-kun.”
Okegawa Kuon and Suzuka Hanabi, the two Heroes who’d destroyed the Gate, were about to begin their first day back at school.
Watching them chatting happily as they walked, En said, “By the way, Master, Hanabi-sama.”
“What?”
“Yes?”
“When’s the wedding?”
Both hung their heads. They have a long road ahead of them, En thought. She sighed, staring up at the sky.
It was as blue as her master’s frame.