The Asterisk War, Vol. 1: Encounter with a Fiery Princess Read online

  That night, when it was almost lights-out for the dormitories, Ayato finally received a call on his mobile. He didn’t want Eishirou to hear, so he put the call on hold and left the dorm. Luckily for him, there was no curfew here for high school students.

  “I apologize for calling so late. I had to attend a meeting after our earlier talk.” There were no air-windows. She had made a voice-only call.

  “It’s fine for me. But isn’t it a little late for you?” Even though there was no curfew, this was not an hour when girls walked alone outside.

  “A little bit. So I was hoping that I could ask you to come here.”

  “Where’s ‘here’?”

  “My room.”

  “Your room, as in, in the girls’ dorm?”

  “Yes. I’m on the top floor on the southeast side. I’ll leave the window open, so just come in that way,” she said as if this would be completely normal.

  “Um, I actually got into huge trouble for doing that earlier…” The last time, he hadn’t known that it was a girls-only dormitory. He wouldn’t have the excuse of ignorance now.

  “Don’t worry. Unlike Julis, I won’t challenge you to a duel.”

  “I think you might be missing the point.” The student council president breaking the rules could only set a problematic example.

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  “Hey—just a minute! Claudia!?”

  She had already hung up on him. And she didn’t pick up when he tried to call back. Ayato felt an urge to curl up with his face in his hands, but he couldn’t just pretend that he hadn’t heard her.

  Sometimes it’s hard to tell what she really wants, but Claudia is someone I can trust… I think.

  Resigned, Ayato decided to head to the girls’ dormitory. “If Julis sees me, I’m dead for sure this time…”

  At first glance, the building would seem to be light on security, but there was a reason for that. The girls’ dormitory at Seidoukan Academy placed its emphasis less on preventing intruders than on driving them away by force.

  Ordinary security measures were insufficient to ward off Genestella. On the other hand, security that was too tight would pose an inconvenience to the students who lived there. The girls’ dormitory solved this dilemma by improving the communication system for the dormitory watch.

  Students in the dormitory could raise the alarm with a single word or a push of a button. The system was highly customizable—for example, one student might set an alarm to alert the dormitory watch if the window in her room was broken, and an extremely cautious student might set the alarm to sound if anyone other than herself entered her room.

  Thus alerted, the dormitory watch took an average of two minutes to arrive on the scene and mete out swift and merciless justice on the intruder—no questions asked, no excuses heard.

  When he’d heard about this security system, Ayato couldn’t help but be thankful that the incident from the other morning had not turned out much worse. If Julis had set her alarm options differently, Ayato could have been the target of that justice. But he had also heard that Julis turned most of her alarm settings to OFF, probably due to a confidence that she could ward off intruders without any help from the dormitory watch.

  “Okay, there’s Claudia’s room,” Ayato said to himself, arriving at the dorm. “There are footholds, so it’ll be easier than before, but this really does make me look like a degenerate…”

  He moved closer, trying to keep out of sight, then made use of the scarce footholds to carefully make his way up to the top story. Flattening himself against the wall like a gecko, he edged his way to the room.

  He knocked lightly on the window and found it unlocked, just as Claudia had said.

  A possible flaw with this security setup was that students could invite in anyone if they so wished. One had to wonder what this meant with respect to appropriate conduct for students their age, but the dormitory watch was apparently not in the business of involving itself in students’ private affairs.

  “Claudia? I’m coming in,” Ayato called. There was no response.

  It wasn’t easy to keep clinging to the outside wall like that, so he timidly stepped into the room.

  The place was stylishly decorated and far larger than the room he shared with Eishirou, more like a suite in a luxury hotel than a dorm room. The furnishings were tasteful down to the tiniest accessory, reflecting the aesthetic sense of its occupant.

  That occupant, however, was nowhere to be seen. “She couldn’t possibly be out…,” he murmured.

  There was another room, probably the bedroom. Could she be in there? Just as Ayato was about to reluctantly peek in, the door at the far side of the room opened with a clack.

  “Oh, you’re already here. Forgive me—I was in the shower.”

  Ayato had no words. Claudia was cloaked in clouds of rising steam. Other than that, she was clad in no more than a single bath towel and that only loosely wrapped around her torso. Her generous breasts seemed as though they might pop out at any moment. The towel was too small for her curves, exposing her supple thighs to a brazen extent. Her flushed skin only added to her already excessive womanly charm.

  “I’ll get dressed. Please make yourself at home.” Drops of water glistening in her wet hair, Claudia calmly walked across to the bedroom, passing right in front of the petrified Ayato.

  How am I supposed to feel at home in this situation!? Ayato wanted to shout, but considering that he was the one who’d snuck in, he couldn’t say much. At that moment, it was doubtful that his voice would have worked anyway.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she called out after a bit. “Come this way, would you?”

  “……Okay.” Ayato followed her voice into the bedroom.

  Claudia sat on the bed, now draped in only a bathrobe, which Ayato might have expected.

  “You’re…maybe a little too relaxed,” he remarked.

  “I’m always like this at home.”

  Ayato didn’t know where to look. But anything he said about it would fall on deaf ears.

  As he sat down on the sofa with a sigh, Claudia poured a ruby-colored liquid into a glass she had ready. “There’s plenty for you, too. Would you like some?”

  “I’m better off not asking what that is, right?”

  “That’s very wise of you,” she said with a giggle.

  Ayato politely declined. “Your room is pretty huge. Is this one of the perks of being student council president?” he asked, looking around the room—and doing his best not to look at her.

  “No, this has more to do with being a highly ranked fighter than my position as president. Page One students are given rooms like this one, as well as special treatment in financial matters.”

  “Oh, you’re a Page One, too, Claudia?”

  Claudia gave him a forlorn smile. “Why, Ayato, you’re so cruel. You might show a little more interest in me.”

  “S-sorry.”

  “Well, never mind that. At any rate, being student council president is a lot of trouble without much in return.”

  “Then why did you agree to be president?”

  “Because I like trouble.” She laughed enigmatically and gracefully recrossed her legs. Even as her enthralling thighs beckoned to his glance, Ayato made an effort to look away and get to the point.

  “So…does the favor you wanted to ask me have to do with that sort of trouble?”

  “I’m glad you’re so astute. Take a look at this, please.” Claudia touched her mobile device and several air-windows popped open. Each one showed a different student, with little apparently in common.

  “All of these students were registered for the upcoming Phoenix Festa. There are no Page Ones among them, but they’re all ranked fairly high in the Named Chart. And they were all expected to do well.”

  “You’re speaking in the past tense.”

  “Exactly. Every one of these students had to withdraw recently due to injury,” Claudia said with a sigh and closed the windows.
/>   “All for different reasons. An accident here, a dueling wound there… Injuries are fairly commonplace in this city, to some degree. That’s one reason why it took us so long to notice. But upon further inspection, we found something suspicious about the circumstances in each case.”

  “You think a third party was involved? Like with Julis?”

  “Yes. There are no reports that they were targets of direct attacks. But when you were dueling Julis, they used a sniper, keeping themselves hidden. It’s very likely that in these other cases, too, the attackers never showed themselves.”

  Ayato sat for a moment in thought. “Do you have any evidence?”

  “No, none. And the students who were attacked wouldn’t cooperate with the investigation.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well…it’s a problem unique to this school, or rather, to Genestella. Students who have some confidence in their abilities have a tendency to reject the help of others. There was even one who wanted to go after the culprits alone as soon as their injuries healed.”

  “I see. That is a problem…”

  “They might respond differently if we could explain everything—but we can’t exactly do that, either.”

  They wanted to handle things themselves exactly because they could handle themselves in a fight, Ayato thought. Of course, there were some students who would have let the disciplinary committee help. But if the attackers had targeted students with a certain type of personality, they had planned things carefully.

  “This is just between us, but the disciplinary committee is looking into Lester MacPhail as a probable suspect,” said Claudia. “He and Randy Hooke have no alibi for the time of the attack on Julis yesterday.”

  “But you think that’s right, do you?”

  “No. The same as you.” Claudia smiled brightly.

  “So Silas isn’t a suspect? I got the impression that the three of them were always together.”

  “Silas Norman has a flawless alibi. His roommate and his friends all say that he was in his room studying at the time of the attack.”

  “Oh… Well, anyway, with so few clues to go on, we can’t be very proactive.”

  “You’re right. But we do have one thing in our favor,” Claudia said, raising her index finger. “We know who their next target is.”

  “…Julis.”

  “Yes. If they were willing to attack just anyone, they wouldn’t risk being seen. And they wouldn’t go so far as to target a Page One. This means that whoever is responsible is going after powerful students, fully aware of how difficult their task is. From this, we can speculate…” Ayato leaned in to listen. “…That they’re working for one of the other schools.”

  “Another school is involved?”

  “Yes, and the culprit is one of our own students. Most of the attacks took place on our campus, and it would be too risky for students of another school to infiltrate.”

  “But that would be…”

  The six schools that vied for supremacy in Asterisk—Seidoukan Academy, Saint Gallardworth Academy, Le Wolfe Black Institute, Jie Long Seventh Institute, Allekant Académie, and Queenvale Academy for Young Ladies—were not exactly on friendly terms with each other.

  It’s only natural given that they’re all in competition, Ayato thought. But isn’t this going outside the law?

  “Of course, such conduct cannot be permitted,” said Claudia. “Needless to say, it’s also forbidden by the Stella Carta. But there are plenty of past examples, and the truth is that every school is willing to resort to such measures if it’s deemed necessary.”

  A faint frown came over Ayato’s face. The student council president had just told him that Seidoukan Academy might take similar measures, as well.

  “As for the present case, we can probably rule out Gallardworth and Queenvale. They have certain reputations to maintain, and if they were to be exposed doing this, the damage they’d incur is too great. They don’t stand to gain enough that way. Now, Le Wolfe excels at this sort of subterfuge, but they’re probably concentrating on the Lindvolus. I don’t think they would make a move so soon. That leaves us with Jie Long or Allekant… But actually—to be blunt, it doesn’t matter.”

  “It doesn’t matter?”

  “That’s right. The issue at hand is this—if another school is involved, we have to tread carefully, too.” Claudia paused and then fixed her gaze on Ayato. “Seidoukan Academy, in fact, has a special military unit under the direct control of the IEF. Even I can’t mobilize them without permission from above, but they have far more authority than the disciplinary committee. If I do set them in motion, it won’t be long before our enemy finds out. The IEFs monitor each other with the utmost vigilance.”

  She shrugged in exasperation.

  “And when they find out, whichever school is behind these attacks will withdraw. That won’t help. We have to obtain proof that another school was involved. Any other outcome is a defeat for us. And our IEF isn’t so charitable as to overlook an empty defeat.”

  “So you can’t use this agency unless you have definite proof or a guarantee that you can catch the culprit…”

  “Which unfortunately means that they’re likely to continue their attacks in the meantime. That’s why I wanted to ask a favor of you… Can you be with Julis as much as possible while this is going on?”

  “Huh?” At this unexpected request, Ayato stared back at Claudia.

  “They will attack her again before long. And I’m afraid that the next time, she may not be able to fend them off alone. I hope you can be there for her when that happens and do what you can. I know this isn’t something I should be asking of another student, but…”

  “Is there a reason it has to be me?” he asked.

  “As you know, she has a tendency to keep others at a distance. But luckily for us, she lets her defenses down with you.”

  “You think so…? I guess she did show me around campus, but…” It seemed to Ayato that Julis was always angry at him for something.

  “You really are slow on the uptake.” Claudia giggled.

  But Ayato answered seriously. “I understand the situation, but I don’t think I can help.”

  “Oh, why is that?”

  “I don’t know if a self-assessment has much weight here, but I’m just not that reliable.”

  “You’re too modest.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  Yes, that’s the truth, he thought. I can’t be of much help to Julis just by following her around.

  Claudia gazed questioningly at Ayato for a few moments, then let out a soft sigh. “Well, as I said, just do what you can. Even if that means running away if you feel that you’re in danger yourself.”

  Ayato didn’t know what to say.

  “Simply having someone nearby could serve as a deterrent, don’t you think?”

  He sighed. “All right, fine. I’ll do it if you insist, but don’t expect too much. And this whole thing will be over as soon as you find the one responsible.”

  “Absolutely,” she said with a relieved smile.

  “While we’re on the subject, can I ask why you’re worrying so much about Julis?”

  “Oh? Isn’t it natural for a student council president to want to protect her fellow students?”

  “Is that really all it is?”

  Claudia was silent for a bit, averting her gaze, and then she replied quietly, “I came to this school to make my wish come true, just as the other students did. I’m only doing what I must toward that end.”

  “Your…wish…?” That word stirred a faint twinge of pain for Ayato.

  Claudia and Julis—they were both fighting for something. For a wish.

  “Oh, I should repay you for agreeing to my favor, shouldn’t I?”

  “Huh? No, it’s fine. You don’t have to do anything.” Ayato waved in refusal, but she stood up from the bed and slowly drew toward him. “C-Claudia…?”

  In response, she only laughed softly, then circled him with her
bewitching smile.

  Ayato tried to get up, but Claudia snuggled up against to him to restrain him. “Gah!”

  “Since we’re here, just you and me…,” she whispered sweetly at his ear. “You might make a wish that I can grant.”

  “Wha—!?”

  Her hot breath gently caressed his neck, and slowly, she pushed him down against the sofa, until she had half mounted him. The bathrobe had begun to slip from her shoulders, revealing a good portion of her cleavage. In the dimly lit room, her glistening eyes gazed straight into him.

  This really can’t go any further, Ayato thought, but she was a step beyond scantily clad. He wanted to push her off and had no idea where to put his hands.

  “No reason to hold back now…”

  “Huh?”

  Claudia took Ayato’s hand and deliberately placed it against her own chest. “Mm…”

  It seemed too soft to be of this world. Her smooth skin seemed to mold to his hand, and that texture was so luscious he thought he would melt simply by touching it. He wanted to be carried away in desire—

  “Wait! Stop!” Snapping back to reality in the nick of time, he deftly slid out from under Claudia and in a single motion escaped to the bedroom door. “S-sorry! Well, that’s that, I guess! See you!”

  He didn’t know what was what, but he knew it was too dangerous to stay. Definitely too dangerous.

  Claudia was too hard to read, for one thing. He couldn’t tell how much of what she did was genuine and how much was just a joke.

  If you don’t know, then wait until you know. That was what his big sister had told him.

  “Oh, what a shame. I did have a feeling that it wouldn’t be so easy,” he heard Claudia say as he fled the scene.

  And he really couldn’t be sure what she meant.

  “That was close…” Having made his escape from the girls’ dormitory, Ayato leaned against the metal fence and let out a breath of relief.

  The incredible sensation against his hand from such a short while ago flashed through his mind again and he shook his head vigorously.

  “Uh—anyway!” he said to no one in particular and slapped his cheeks.

  He didn’t have anything against Claudia’s request. He cared about Julis, too.