The Asterisk War, Vol. 6: The Triumphal Homecoming Battle Read online

  “Oh, this is starting to sound interesting,” Eishirou spoke up, latching onto the conversation. “Mind giving us a little more detail?”

  As a member of the newspaper club, this was the kind of information he couldn’t afford to overlook.

  Claudia laughed softly. “By the way, Yabuki, what are you planning to do?”

  “Huh?”

  She dodged Eishirou’s question with a smile, responding with a question of her own. “Yabuki is invited, too, isn’t he, Julis?”

  “Ah, of course. Lester as well.”

  “Heh, that’s quite an honor. I didn’t do all that much, though,” Eishirou demurred innocently. But according to Saya and Kirin, if he hadn’t been there, it was doubtful they would have been able to rescue Flora safely. Which was probably enough for him to be invited, too. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline. Everything’s finally settling down, but the truth is, I’ve still got a lot of stuff to do. It might be winter vacation, but it looks like I’m not going to have much time to myself.”

  Eishirou had been entrusted with the post-Phoenix interviews as a thank-you for helping to rescue Flora. Ayato hadn’t received much coverage, but since Julis usually shut the press out completely, Eishirou’s newspaper club was taking full advantage of this opportunity to completely monopolize her. So it was fair to say that Eishirou and the newspaper club would be swamped with work for a while.

  After the Phoenix, most of the interviews with Ayato and Julis that had been published all over the world had come through Eishirou. The press clubs in Asterisk had long been performing activities that went above and beyond what would be expected of students, but even so, the newspaper club’s latest scoop was unprecedented.

  In fact, there was little doubt that Eishirou and the press enjoyed the benefits of their Phoenix victory the most.

  While Julis’s might have been, Ayato’s life hadn’t been seriously affected by it. He had heard that he had received requests from around the world to appear in television programs and advertisements, and that all kinds of mail—everything from fan letters to threatening messages—were flooding in, but he had let the Academy deal with everything, so hardly any of it reached him. It was true that he attracted attention, but he felt that people had made a bigger fuss over him back when he’d been ranked number one. After winning the Phoenix, by contrast, the amount of students who called out to him in the corridors seemed to have fallen.

  Ayato’s life hadn’t changed much at all, and he had ordered his usual five-hundred-yen lunch.

  “Ah, but you see, the club is finally building a reputation for itself, and we’ve found a new sponsor, so we won’t have to worry about funding for a while. All thanks to our great Phoenix champions.” Eishirou put his hands together toward them, as if in supplication. “But speaking as an outsider, you guys are both very adaptable, and it’s certainly true that you get along well—”

  At this, Julis’s eyes snapped wide open. “If you start asking strange questions again, I won’t do any more interviews.”

  “R-right. I understand.”

  “…Strange questions?” Saya glanced at Eishirou, who had broken out in a cold sweat.

  “Ah, well, you see, about that… I was considering looking more deeply into the princess’s relationship with Amagiri, but…” Judging by the way he was glancing around nervously, he probably wasn’t being entirely honest.

  “Oh, in that case, ask away.”

  “Huh? Oh, no, Sasamiya has already confirmed everything that needs to be said, I think. I don’t have any questions right now.”

  “…Hmm…”

  Unlike Ayato and Julis, when the press covered Saya and Kirin—and in Saya’s case, it went without saying that such coverage also served to advertise her father’s Luxes—Saya would answer honestly no matter what, so it was widely known that she and Ayato were childhood friends.

  “The thing about information is that the fewer people who know it, the more valuable it is. But if you still have some juicy material on Amagiri, well, that would be a different matter…”

  “Juicy material…? Oh, well, when we were kids, we took a bath together, and—”

  Panicked, Ayato put a hand over her mouth.

  “A bath…,” Julis murmured.

  “Bathing together…,” Kirin muttered at the same time. Her and Julis’s eyes took on a dangerous sheen.

  At that moment, a sudden commotion erupted in the cafeteria.

  “Huh…? What’s going on?”

  When this many people gathered in one place, some were always bound to be looking around, but an unexpected arrival drew the students’ gazes toward the entrance en masse.

  “Wha—?!” Eishirou, who had reacted the fastest, stood up, his eyes wide in surprise.

  Ayato looked around to see what was happening, when he noticed two young women heading straight for them.

  “Ah, I completely forgot. Ayato, I meant to tell you that you have a visitor.” Claudia laughed.

  Ayato knew one of the two women well.

  It was Kyouko Yatsuzaki, their homeroom teacher. She normally came across as somewhat bloodthirsty, but for some reason, she looked a little nervous now. The nail bat that she normally carried was nowhere to be seen.

  The woman standing next to her looked about the same age, or maybe a little younger. She had a beautiful, dignified countenance, her tight, well-toned body clothed in a city guard uniform.

  Ayato thought he recognized her from somewhere, but he couldn’t put a name to her face.

  When he heard it uttered amid the clamor of the hall, he too found himself rising from his chair.

  “It’s Helga Lindwall, commander of the city guard!”

  It was little wonder he couldn’t remember her right away.

  There wasn’t a person in Asterisk who didn’t know about Helga Lindwall, but only a few would be able to recognize her, as she rarely appeared in public. In the pictures that Ayato had seen, she was a bewitching young woman with a teenager’s figure, presumably no older than the students themselves—but at times, she also seemed to have the tender figure of a young girl.

  Her nickname during her school years was the Witch of Time Manipulation, Chronotemis.

  She had the ability to control time around her, and was renowned as the most powerful Strega in the history of Asterisk.

  She was said to often change her own age depending on the task at hand, but it had also been more than half a century since she had won the Lindvolus, so she could easily have been three times Kyouko’s age.

  “…Ah, Amagiri. The commander of the city guard wants to see you. Can we borrow you for a little while?” Kyouko’s voice betrayed a hint of discomfort.

  Helga raised her right hand a little. “Nice to meet you, Amagiri. I’m Helga Lindwall.”

  “N-nice to meet you.” Ayato, flustered, took her hand, and was at once overwhelmed by her prana, honed to a level he had never seen before.

  “There’s something I want to talk about with you. Yatsuzaki, is there somewhere we can speak in private?”

  “Ah, of course. Enfield, lend them a guidance room.”

  “Very well. Let’s see…” No sooner had Claudia picked up her mobile to check availability than she continued, “Rooms seven and eight are in use right now, but you can take any of the others.”

  “Thanks for your help, Yatsuzaki. I can handle it from here. I have to admit, I was surprised to hear you had become a teacher, but it’s good to see you doing so well.” Helga smiled faintly as she spoke, plunking a hand down on Kyouko’s head.

  “Ha-ha, thank you…”

  “Shall we go, Amagiri?”

  “Huh? Uh, w-wait…!”

  Helga was already walking briskly away.

  Ayato glanced toward Kyouko balefully, but her eyes only told him to get going.

  “Phew…”

  As she watched Ayato rush out of the cafeteria after Helga, Kyouko let out a labored sigh and sat down on a nearby chair.

  “It
looks like the Witch of Nails is no match for the commander of the city guard,” Claudia laughed.

  “…Shut up.” Kyouko glared back at her.

  “But what kind of business could Helga Lindwall have with Ayato…?” Claudia continued.

  “No idea. I just had the bad luck to get caught by her. Go and ask Enfield.”

  Julis turned toward Claudia, but she only shook her head.

  “She seemed to want to report something to Ayato in person, but I’m afraid I don’t know the specifics.”

  “Report…?”

  If the commander of the city guard was working on something related to Ayato, the first thing that came to mind was Flora’s kidnapping. They had heard from Madiath Mesa, the chairman of the Festa Executive Committee, that Helga had a strong interest in the incident.

  But in that case, she should have wanted to speak to Julis, too.

  So if she wasn’t…

  “…Ms. Yatsuzaki, how do you know the commander?” Saya asked Kyouko.

  “Huh?” Kyouko exclaimed in a grouchy voice. She scratched her head for a moment before answering brusquely, “We go back a while. I owe her for some stuff.”

  “Ah, I’ve heard all kinds of stories about little Kyouko’s school days. You were really the wild one, huh? I’d guess some stuff happened between you and the city guard?”

  “Who are you calling ‘little Kyouko’? I’ll kill you, Yabuki.”

  Kyouko’s dark gaze turned darker still, and breaking out into a sweat, Eishirou waved his hands. “I-it was a joke. I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

  “…Ms. Yatsuzaki, even you can’t hold your own against Helga Lindwall, can you?”

  Back when Kyouko was a student of Le Wolfe, she had led the team that had won the Gryps. Le Wolfe was the weakest school when it came to the team competition, and Kyouko’s remained the school’s only victory.

  “Are you crazy? She’d kill me on the spot,” Kyouko answered without hesitation, waving her hand as if to say there would be no contest.

  “But, little Kyou—Ms. Yatsuzaki, don’t you specialize in countering? Surely, you could…”

  “Ha, you all don’t understand, do you?” Kyouko rested her chin in her hands, looking at Eishirou in wonderment. “Well, she hasn’t really stood out lately, so I guess you wouldn’t. That woman’s strength lies in her overwhelming close-combat ability, honed through years of training. I’m no match for that.”

  “…Commander Lindwall is certainly strong, but Ms. Yatsuzaki, there’s a lot we could learn from such a great teacher as yourself,” Claudia said. “And besides, you’re only talking from your own experience, aren’t you?”

  Kyouko’s face twisted into a grin. “What, so you want me to train you again?”

  “By all means.” Claudia, by contrast, wore a gentle smile.

  “Ah-ha, right, there was a rumor that the president’s team had been getting some secret training from you.”

  “It’s no secret. I am a teacher, you know, here at Asterisk, so if you want me to give you a good lesson, just let me know. If you think you’re up for it.” Kyouko fixed Eishirou with a menacing grin.

  Broadly speaking, there were two types of teachers at Asterisk: those who, like Kyouko, could provide guidance in combat skills in addition to their academic classes, and those who were purely responsible for classes.

  Of course, there was no doubt that the former was more valuable, but the fact remained that there weren’t enough in any of the schools.

  “Well, I’m afraid that in the last Gryps, my team was defeated right away.”

  “Th-that wasn’t your fault! You were up against the Silverwinged Knights, after all!”

  As Kirin had said, in the last Gryps, Claudia’s team had been set against Gallardworth’s, and promptly defeated. Julis had watched that game, and to be perfectly honest, there had been a considerable difference in ability. Claudia was the only one who was really able to put up a fight, but the opposing team wasn’t so weak that she could defeat them alone. Even if they had a hundred rematches, Gallardworth would probably win every time.

  In fact, Claudia’s team members had all already graduated.

  “Well, whatever. Come find me when you’ve got your team ready. I’ll take care of you.” Kyouko cracked her neck and left.

  “—By the way, Julis,” Claudia said after watching Kyouko go.

  “Wh-what?”

  “I heard that your Aspera Spina wasn’t able to be repaired.”

  “Oh, well, I guess there was no way around it.”

  Julis’s Lux had been severely damaged during the ferocious championship match at the Phoenix. She had asked the Matériel Department to repair it but had received a message the other day saying nothing could be done. While she had already half given up on its restoration, it was, after all, painful to let go of one’s longtime partner.

  It took time to calibrate a Lux—especially the type used by Stregas and Dantes—so you had to apply for a new one as soon as possible. Julis was currently in the middle of that process.

  “In that case, maybe it would help if you served as monitor for the new Lux models? What do you think?”

  “New Lux models?”

  “You mean the ones developed with Allekant?” Saya blurted out.

  “Indeed. We’ve finally completed the prototype, so it’s undergoing final examinations, but…well, it’s somewhat difficult to handle, so we’ve been having a little trouble finding a suitable monitor.”

  “I don’t mind. But why me?”

  “The user needs to be able to process spatial information without any delay, and as far as I know, you excel the most at that, here at Seidoukan.”

  “Hmm…” Since Julis herself also took pride in that fact, all she could do was nod.

  “You won’t be the only monitor, though, so don’t let it get to your head. What do you think?”

  Essentially, the most important thing was to become familiar with using the weapon. If it were a slender-pointed sword, she might be able to handle it like the Aspera Spina, even if it took some time to calibrate it.

  But then, would that mean I wouldn’t get any stronger…?

  It was thanks to Ayato’s strength that they had won the Phoenix. Of course, there were matches they would have surely lost if not for her, but the difference between the two of them was unmistakable.

  Julis pondered it for a moment before giving her answer:

  “Okay. I’ll do it.”

  While Ayato had gotten used to being in the limelight since he’d won the Phoenix, he had never before been the subject of so much curiosity at school.

  Helga, however, paid no heed to the buzzing mass of students who stood watching them from a distance as she spoke.

  “—I saw you during the Phoenix. Very promising. The final match in particular was really something. If you learn to master your prana, you’ll grow even further.”

  “Huh? Th-thank you.” Surprised at suddenly being addressed, Ayato was at a loss for a response.

  “Things have been relatively peaceful in Asterisk over the past few years, but Stjarnagarm is always looking to recruit new members. It would be a great help if a young man with your level of strength were to join us.”

  “Um, well, that’s…”

  While he considered how to respond, Helga raised an eyebrow a little. “…Ah, forgive me. I’m not much of a conversationalist. You looked nervous, so I was trying to get you to relax…”

  “Oh.”

  That wouldn’t be easy, what with the way she was talking. However, it seemed her own confidence was unassailable.

  “…Well, here we are.”

  They had reached the high school guidance rooms. Helga released the lock with a practiced hand.

  The guidance rooms were minimalistic, fitted only with a desk and some chairs. When Ayato, at Helga’s urging, took the seat across from her, she got straight to business.

  “I suspect you’ve already guessed this, but I’m here to talk about your sister—H
aruka Amagiri.”

  “…Yes.” He had expected as much, so he calmly nodded.

  “To start with, let me explain why Seidoukan Academy is assisting Stjarnagarm in the search for your sister. We’ve received testimony that Haruka Amagiri once participated in an illegal event, the Eclipse—and of course, we’re the ones who are involved in investigating that. Have you ever heard of it?”

  “Only a little. Just that it’s a dangerous tournament, and that participants can lose their lives.”

  “That’s right. And to participate in the Eclipse, you have to be a student at Asterisk, just like in the regular Festa.”

  “A student…?” When he pondered just what that meant, he instantly remembered something Claudia had said not long ago.

  —His sister’s data had been erased, and not a single person could remember her.

  “So what you’re saying is that even though my sister was on the books, she didn’t actually attend the school…?”

  “We’re considering that possibility. But it would be quite unusual, even for someone taking part in the Eclipse. The vast majority of its participants are regular students.”

  Did that mean his sister was an exception?

  “Um… Claudia asked this as well, but is it even possible for such a student to get their hands on an Orga Lux, or to have their data erased?”

  Helga’s eyebrow twitched. “We still don’t know who’s behind the Eclipse, but we have an idea what their goal might be.”

  “Their goal…?”

  “Just so you know, this is classified information, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t disclose it to anyone. But I guess it doesn’t matter; it already seems to be common knowledge in some circles. Still…have you ever heard the name Danilo Bertoni?”

  “Danilo…? No.” Ayato shook his head.

  “He was the previous chairman of the Festa Executive Committee.”

  “—!”

  “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that you haven’t heard of him. Unlike the current chairman, Madiath Mesa, he hardly ever appeared in public. But even if you don’t recognize the name, you’ve at least heard how he died, I take it?”