Ten minutes prior to her mock battle, Suzuka Hanabi had been in an entirely different training ground from the one the new students were using.
A beautiful girl—or woman—she was built like a model: tall and slim, narrow waist, an athletic build but rather large bust, long black hair tied in a ponytail in the back…
Her looks were perhaps almost too impeccable for her actual age. You could say she was the sort of beauty who looked out of place in a school uniform. If she put on a suit, she’d look more like a teacher than the actual headmaster ever would.
Hanabi was eighteen, famed for being the best Cavalleria in the school’s history. Thanks to her good looks and straightforward personality, she was quite popular. People called her the Bushi Hime—the Warrior Princess.
“Hmm…”
Hanabi was watching the first-year high school students’ mock battles, scouting them. All of them had survived this school for three years now and had clearly acquired skills beyond simply using their magic to overpower opponents.
None of them are bad, she thought. But neither were they what she was looking for. She’d just watched a Division 3 girl run circles around a Division 4 boy, and in the next block over was a boy whose aerial posture and shot accuracy were quite impressive.
But that wasn’t enough. None of them were so good she could invite them to join the Lunatic Order Fuji Squad without reservations.
Suzuka Hanabi was part of the Air Force, officially titled the Imperial Air Force, Lunar Defense Force, First Mobile Unit, Student Echelon, Fuji Squad.
They were called the Lunar Defense Force because they were in charge of defending the Jogen Islands (Jogen meaning “crescent moon”), and “Mobile Unit” was a term for any unit composed of Division Maneuver fighters. On top of that, Cavalleria Cadets, students given odd jobs for the experience and sense of accomplishment, were labeled the Student Echelon, which itself was composed of several teams. Hanabi’s team was run by a third-year student named Fuji Jindo, and the Fuji Squad was named after him.
That was an extremely long title, so the student squads were usually called Lunatic Order ___ Squad for short.
Not just anyone could join the Lunatic Order. Only a select few students were allowed in. The Fuji Squad currently had three members, including Hanabi. One member had already graduated the previous year. Most squads had four members, so they were looking for another. She was scouting candidates for that position, but not finding any.
The student who’d graduated had been a front-line attacker like Hanabi. He’d graduated at the top of his class and right into the main forces, so it was pointless comparing them to him. Even so…they were still lacking.
She was looking for a partner. Someone who could fight by her side. Student Echelons may be given mostly odd jobs, but there were times when they went on patrol with groups from the main army. Most of the time, they provided rear support and never even saw an enemy, but it was still real combat. Thanks to the DM, there were rarely any disasters, but you could never be sure what would happen.
A student she could trust to guard her back and her life… She was never trying to find someone that good. What she wanted was someone who could at least be counted on to save their own lives. A Cavalleria who could protect themselves. Suzuka Hanabi believed that was what the Lunatic Order needed.
Maybe that girl from earlier…no, it’s rude to pick someone if you aren’t sure. But…
As she thought in circles, she received a call on her Device. The sender’s name displayed on the edge of her magic-linked vision: Motegi Rin, a childhood friend, classmate, and fellow Fuji Squad member. Hanabi looked momentarily relieved, then swiped to accept the call.
“This is—” she began, but was cut off.
“Yo, Hanabi! Not finding anyone good?”
Rin’s joyful face filled the window. She wore glasses and looked rather meek, but Hanabi knew better. Rin was much stronger than she looked.
Hanabi glanced around quickly and said, “Why do you think that?”
“Decisive is your middle name! No way you’d take this long otherwise.”
“I dunno about that.”
“Well, why not go take a look at the new students? Word is one of them’s something else.”
“The new… You mean the junior high kid? Don’t be absurd. We can’t recruit a child.”
“I took a look at him, and…I think he might actually be better than you.”
Hanabi felt the hair on her neck rising.
“Kid gives a new definition to the word genius,” Rin added.
“You mean that?”
Hanabi trusted Rin’s eye for talent. She may spend most of her time goofing off, but she could tell someone’s weaknesses at a glance, and almost never offered up praise for anyone. But now she was. And she was saying he was at Hanabi’s level?
“Whoa, whoa, don’t you start getting heated on me. Keep it cool, okay?”
“I’ll try.”
But when she waved her hand to end the call, it was a wild swing. She was sure Rin had winced at her for it.
“Right.”
Keep it cool. Stay frosty. Just take a look. Just a look.
She turned and headed to see the school’s strongest junior high student, walking very quickly. She found it hard to believe. Even with Rin’s word, he was a brand-new junior high school student, just a thirteen-year-old child.
When Hanabi reached the third training ground, she realized her error. She had forgotten to ask his name or even get any sort of description. Even if there was buzz about him, it would be hard locating him among a hundred-odd other students.
She was about to call Rin back when she saw him.
She’d just happened to look right at him. He was dodging a hail of bullets he should have never been able to avoid. Not a single movement was wasted. He then threw a Blade to take out his opponent. He’d taken two shots as well; a feint? The eyes below his short, scruffy hair were beautiful, as sweet as they were gallant. She didn’t know this boy, but she felt absolutely certain.
This was him.
That was the moment Hanabi would think back on again and again.
The moment she saw him, her heart leapt. It was like an upward wave rushing through her so fast it made her mind go blank, as if another version of herself was whispering, “At last we meet.” For a moment, she felt certain she was born to meet this boy, a sensation so sweet it was almost numbing. She wanted to stand and watch forever, but she also wanted to get closer, to talk to him.
I must face him.
Yes. Closer. Touch him. Blades clashing, bullets firing…
She wanted to fight him with all her power, no holding back, a full-on battle. If she did that, maybe she’d understand something about him.
Like a fever taking hold, her body moved on its own. Before she knew it, she’d opened a direct line to the headmaster, asking her to let her be that boy’s final opponent. Never before had she been so joyed over the perks that came with membership in the Lunatic Order. She went straight to the girls’ changing room, stripped off her uniform, and changed into the tight-fitting DM plugsuit, her heart racing the whole time. She needed to face him. She needed to talk to him. She needed to fight him.
Now, he stood across the match block from her. She pored over the limited information displayed about him over and over, like it was a love letter. Her heartbeat refused to slow down. It was all she could do to keep her excitement from showing on her face. She wanted to begin right away, but… Wait, wait just a moment, I have to read this again.
His name was Okegawa Kuon.
A Division 1 Cavalleria Cadet.