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

  “Besides, you have to be careful with promises like that. You’re a boy, so a day will come when someone really wants to hear it from you.”

  “I don’t get it.” The boy hung his head, dejected.

  She squeezed him again, much more tightly than before. “I know. That’s okay for now.”

  “…Sis?”

  “Thanks for sticking up for me, Ayato. I love you.”

  Tossing aside the light blanket, he sprang up out of bed like a jack-in-the-box.

  He glanced at the clock to see that it was a little after four in the morning. Outside the window there was nothing but predawn shadows.

  “There I go dreaming about memories again…”

  Ayato managed to turn off the alarm almost as soon as it started beeping and then began to do his stretches. Habit was a fearsome power. After that day, he had been completely exhausted, but he now found himself wide awake at his usual hour.

  “The timing saved me today, though,” he said to himself. If he’d dreamed the rest…

  Ayato shook his head forcefully and began to get dressed in his workout shirt and shorts rather than his uniform.

  He thought about how this morning regimen was another thing that his sister taught him. How many things had she given him—in the place of the mother he’d lost at such a young age, and as herself, his strict but kindhearted sister?

  “Oh, so that’s who she reminded me of…,” Ayato realized. Julis’s gaze in that video of the fight was the same as his sister’s. Her eyes when she said she would protect him. They were the eyes of someone with an unbreakable resolve—eyes that he just didn’t have yet.

  “Okay…” He took the Lux activator from where he’d left it by his pillow and put it in the holster at his hip. Now he was ready. He would have rather had the wooden practice sword he’d been using at home, but he’d decided it was too bulky to bring.

  As he tried to sneak out without waking his roommate, a cheery voice piped up from behind him. “Heading out for your morning training, Mr. Scholarship Student? What a conscientious pupil!”

  He turned to see Eishirou still lying in bed with one eye open, showing his white teeth in a grin.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m a light sleeper. Still half-asleep, actually.” Scratching his head, Eishirou swallowed a yawn. “Well, I thought I heard someone talking in his sleep, but it must’ve been a dream.”

  The color drained from Ayato’s face.

  “Uh, Yabuki? I’m sure that you dreamed it. Totally sure. But just out of curiosity—could you tell me what the person in your dream was saying in their sleep?”

  “‘I really love you, too, sis!’”

  Ayato shouted in protest and dashed over to clap his hands over his roommate’s mouth. “Yes, that was a dream! Definitely a dream!” he repeated, trying desperately to convince him.

  “Oh, well, if you say so, I guess it was,” said Eishirou. “Huh, I really can’t tell, though… By the way, Amagiri, are you going for the Japanese or the western option today?”

  Ayato slumped his shoulders. “Fine. Take whatever you want.”

  “Heh-heh. I’ll take the fish, then!”

  At this rate, I’m on track to lose a dish from every meal. The fear crossed his mind, but Ayato told himself not to argue the point this time.

  “Well, I’m going back to sleep. Good luck with your training!”

  Ayato sighed. It felt like he had been sighing a lot more since coming to this school. And he was pretty sure that wasn’t just a feeling.

  “Hoo, man, am I sleepy. Morning, guys!” Yawning hugely, Eishirou opened the door to the classroom. He must have gone back to sleep, like he’d said, but apparently that was still insufficient for him.

  Astonished, Ayato followed him in to find that most of the seats were already filled. Lively conversations bloomed here and there through the classroom like wildflowers, a scene no different from any other school. Whatever else one might say, the attendance rate looked respectable, so maybe the students here were serious about their studies after all.

  “Good morning, Julis.”

  “…Oh. Hi.”

  When Ayato offered a greeting to the seat next to his, Julis threw back that curt reply, her chin still resting in her hand.

  The din of the classroom paused all at once.

  “Hey, did—did you just hear that?”

  “Did the Princess just say hi to someone!?”

  “We’re not still dreaming, are we?”

  “What kind of spell did that guy put on her?”

  “Hold up—are we sure that’s the real Julis?”

  As her classmates erupted in a different kind of chatter, Julis slammed her hands on the desk and stood up. “Y-you’re all unbelievably rude! Why can’t I answer someone when they greet me!”

  She made this statement with a look of consummate indignation, but the commotion showed no signs of quieting. Julis saying a word of greeting was beyond unexpected. That reaction revealed what kind of status she had in the class.

  She could take the opportunity to break the ice with her classmates…or maybe that’s too much to hope for. As Ayato thought that, he remembered that he had only transferred in yesterday. It was all well and good to think of Julis, but he had to manage his own situation first.

  Just then, Ayato noticed that the seat on his left, empty the day before, was occupied. A girl with beautiful bluish hair was sleeping soundly with her head flat on the desk.

  Having two transfers in as many days seemed rather unlikely, so Ayato guessed that she had simply been absent yesterday.

  He should introduce himself, he thought, but he didn’t want to wake her up for it… Just as he was fretting about what to do, the girl blearily raised her head.

  Yes! Great timing, he thought. “Hey, next-seat neighbor. Um, I just transferred here yesterday. I’m Ayato— Huh?”

  He couldn’t finish his introduction. As soon as he saw her face, he froze with a stunned look. “S-Saya?”

  The girl stared blankly back at him, then tilted her head slightly and murmured, “Ayato…?”

  “Whaaa—!? Saya, what’re you doing here!?”

  There was no mistake—it was Saya Sasamiya. As Ayato jumped out of his seat in surprise, Eishirou leaned in from behind with the gleaming eyes of a boy who has just found a new toy. “What’s up? You two know each other?”

  “Yeah, well… I guess you could say we’re old friends. We sort of grew up together, I guess.”

  “Grew up together?” Eishirou dubiously looked back and forth between the two of them. “Then why didn’t you know you’d both be students here?”

  “Well, I mean we sort of grew up together, but we haven’t seen each other since Saya moved abroad. It’s been six years, I think.”

  “Huh… She doesn’t seem to have much of a reaction, for her part,” Eishirou remarked.

  Saya was, in fact, staring at Ayato without the slightest change in expression.

  “Um, well, that’s true, but she’s been like this for as long as I’ve known her. She is surprised. I think.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh-huh,” Saya mumbled. “I’m super surprised.”

  “Okay, but you don’t really look it at all,” Eishirou insisted weakly to Saya, who hadn’t so much as moved an eyebrow.

  “But it really has been a while. You’re doing all right?” asked Ayato.

  She nodded once in reply.

  “Just like always. You never change, Saya.”

  This time, Saya shook her head. “…That’s not true. I’m taller.”

  “Oh… Are you?” Ayato looked more closely at his childhood friend, reunited with him entirely by coincidence.

  She had a childish face, with adorably big eyes and an innocent shape. She didn’t seem to have grown an inch since the day they’d last met—she could easily have passed for an elementary school student. Her expression hardly ever changed, giving her a charm best
described (for better or worse) as doll-like.

  “I don’t think you’ve changed at all…”

  “No. You just got too tall.” Saya puffed out her cheeks in a pout. “…But that’s all right. According to my estimates, by next year I should be about as tall as you are now. And you’ll grow a little more, too, so the proportions will be just right.”

  Saya nodded in agreement with herself. But it was hard to imagine that she could grow by a foot in one year.

  “But man, small world, huh?” said Eishirou. “A fateful reunion, I’d say.”

  “Fateful reunion… Yes. You put things nicely, Yabuki.” Saya gave him a thumbs-up. Her readiness to go with the flow of things seemed unchanged as well.

  “How about your dad and everyone? How are they doing?” Saya’s father was a meteoric engineering scientist who had devoted his entire career to Lux development. Ayato recalled that her father’s work was the reason for her family’s move overseas.

  “Almost too well. I wish he’d be more careful.”

  “Ha-ha. Sounds like he hasn’t changed, either.” The image of Saya’s father that Ayato had in his head was the archetype of a mad scientist. He recalled that when he went over to the Sasamiyas’ house to play as a child, he could hear Dr. Sasamiya cackling, holed up in his laboratory.

  By reputation, he was an excellent scientist, but one with a difficult personality—owing to which he had changed employers several times.

  “I’m here because my father told me to come.”

  “He did?”

  Saya drew a Lux activator from the holster on her uniform. The grip-shaped activator turned on and a large automatic pistol materialized in an instant. The smooth flow of her movements hinted at her practiced hand. “He told me to advertise the gun he made.”

  “Advertising? That’s why you’re here?”

  Even if the students weren’t fighting to kill, Asterisk was not a safe place by any stretch of the imagination. Ayato could not have much esteem for the scientist’s decision to send his own daughter here just to use her as publicity for a weapon.

  “Eh, I don’t think it’s that crazy,” Eishirou interjected. “If you make it to the big time here, that’d be better advertising than money could buy. I mean, that’s half the reason the IEFs run this place, anyway.”

  “But are you okay with that, Saya?” Ayato fretted.

  “I have my own reasons,” she replied nonchalantly. “So I’m fine.”

  “Ah. Could you tell us more about those reasons?” Having shifted entirely into journalism mode, Eishirou had a serious look and a notepad in one hand.

  “They’re secret.” Even as she said that, Saya glanced at Ayato. “But just now, one half of my reasons for coming here…”

  “Ah-ha.” That was all Eishirou needed, apparently, to understand the situation. “That reminds me, Sasamiya—you applied for an excursion permit as soon as you came here. Whatever happened with that?”

  Asterisk was located within the country of Japan but had complete extraterritoriality. To leave Asterisk, one needed a legitimate purpose and the permission of one’s school.

  “…I haven’t gotten it yet. What about it?”

  “Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if maybe you didn’t need it anym—” Grinning, Eishirou nearly finished the sentence before suddenly snapping his mouth shut. The muzzle of Saya’s gun was pressing into his throat.

  “…That’s enough of your tactless conjectures.”

  “All right. Understood. Sorry. My bad.” Eishirou held up both hands in surrender as Saya forced his chin upward, grinding it with the muzzle.

  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” said Ayato, “but Saya’s more violent than she looks, so be careful.”

  “You could’ve told me sooner…”

  “Yo, sit your butts down. Time for homeroom.” With that, Kyouko entered the class, looking lethargic. She didn’t even hold up her nail bat, just dragged it across the floor, but the grating sound it made was sufficiently intimidating. “Hey, you, don’t be swinging your piece around in my class… Oh, it’s you, Sasamiya.”

  “Good morning, ma’am.”

  “Where the hell were you yesterday? Go on, I’m all ears.” Kyouko stomped her way over to Saya, then crossed her arms and stared her down.

  “…I just overslept.”

  “Ha-ha. I gotcha. You overslept.” Clonk.

  “…Ouch.”

  “You dumbass! How many times does that make!? The next day you miss’ll land your little butt in make-up classes!”

  Even after taking a fist to the head, Saya’s face remained expressionless—except for the tiny hint of tears welling up in her eyes.

  “Still not a morning person, huh?” said Ayato, laughing.

  “…My bed always wins.”

  From her seat on the other side of Ayato, Julis watched the two of them, plainly unamused.

  That same day, after school, Julis stood in front of the bathroom mirror.

  “Well… Hmm. That should do it,” she murmured to her reflection.

  There was not a flaw to be seen in either her hair (which she honestly didn’t care for herself, thinking it too showy) or her perfectly straightened uniform.

  It’s not as if I worry too much about how I look. It’s a matter of etiquette, nothing more. Being less than circumspect with one’s clothing leads to carelessness in other matters. I just told him something like that yesterday, after all, so I can’t very well be negligent myself. Yes, that’s it, Julis told herself, then headed back to the classroom.

  There weren’t many students left, but Ayato was in his seat, chatting happily with Saya.

  Having overheard their conversation from this morning, Julis knew they had grown up together. And now, they’re seeing each other for the first time in years, so it’s only natural that they have a lot to talk about, she thought. But it still made her nervous for some reason.

  “Um—ahem. Are you ready to go?”

  “Oh. Hey, Julis. I appreciate this.”

  “W-well, I have to, don’t I. A promise is a promise.” Even as she curtly turned away from him, Julis was watching Ayato from the corner of her eye.

  That easygoing, lackadaisical face of his. Suddenly she recalled that earnest look in his eyes when he’d saved her, and her heart beat faster. An emotion she didn’t understand whirled in her chest, and she shook her head as if she could literally shake it off.

  “…A promise?” asked Saya, mystified by their conversation.

  “Julis is going to show me around campus today,” Ayato explained.

  “Riessfeld is? Why?”

  “That’s, um… Well, it’s a long story,” Julis replied. “Nothing to do with you, Sasamiya.”

  At that, Saya made a sulky noise, frowning faintly.

  “Let’s go,” said Julis.

  “Right. Okay, Saya, see you tom—”

  “Wait. If that’s all, Ayato, I’ll show you around.”

  “Wh—!?”

  “Huh?”

  Julis and Ayato turned in surprise at this sudden declaration.

  “I can give him a tour as well as anyone else,” Saya went on. “You were saying you have to, Riessfeld. Like you don’t want to. So, I can save you the trouble.”

  Now it was Julis who scowled. “The offer’s appreciated. But I made a promise, and I don’t break my promises.”

  “…But it would be better for Ayato, too, if the person showing him around actually wanted to.”

  “It—it’s not that I don’t want to! Anyway, you just started here yourself, Sasamiya! And I’ve been here since middle school. I think it’s quite clear which one of us is more qualified.”

  Terrific sparks flew between them.

  “Um, ladies…?” Ayato tried to intervene, but they didn’t seem to hear him.

  “Oh, if that’s the issue at hand, I believe I would be most suited to the task.”

  Ayato let out a startled shout as Claudia poked her head in from behind him. She al
so had her arms around him, very deliberately pressing her ample bosom against his back.

  As they took in the scene, Saya’s and Julis’s expressions respectively became even more intense.

  “Julis came here for her third year of middle school,” said Claudia, “while I matriculated properly back in year one.”

  “…Who are you?”

  “Why are you here?”

  “First of all, could you maybe give me a little space, Claudia!”

  “Why, you’re all so unfriendly. Since I’m here, I thought I might join in the fun…”

  “…No.”

  “Request denied.”

  “Please, they’re t-touching me!”

  “Mm, how unfortunate. Well, then, I’ll just finish my business here and be on my way.” Claudia reluctantly let go of Ayato and held out a sheaf of papers for him. “Tomorrow, we’ll select an Orga Lux for you and conduct a compatibility test, as we discussed earlier. Please look through these documents and make sure you have no objections to anything there before you sign.”

  “Oh—that.” Tomorrow was sooner than Ayato would have liked, but this was his chance to see the Orga Lux that his sister might have wielded. He could not afford to miss it. “Okay… .Wow, this is a ton of paperwork, though.” There were at least ten different documents, all crammed with fine print.

  “It’s on loan to us, but it does belong to the IEF,” said Claudia. “But that’s all a formality, so please don’t worry about it too much. Just skim right through it.”

  “If the president delivers paperwork like this herself, the student council must not have much to do,” Julis remarked acidly.

  Claudia brushed aside the insult. “Indeed, we don’t—thanks to our students being so well-behaved.”

  “I was wondering this before,” said Ayato, “but are you two friends?”

  “Why, yes, we are.”

  “We certainly are not!”

  Ayato tilted his head in confusion at the two polar opposite answers.

  “Oh, how cold of you, Julis,” Claudia mourned.

  “We saw each other a few times at the Opernball in Vienna,” Julis said flatly. “We’re acquainted, no more and no less.”

  The Opernball was the largest society event in Europe, well known as the affair where young men and women of the upper classes made their debuts in high society.