EpilogueIn that room, in which the light of the day brightly shone, refined furnis.h.i.+ngs were arranged with the perfect order. Everything, which existed there, from the curtains of cla.s.sic design rustling in the wind, a carpet of a calm tint based on indigo and beige, an office desk of ebony in which fine decorative carvings were applied, up to the penholder decorated with gold, which was placed in the corner, built up one s.p.a.ce, which harmonized without compromise.
A small world by no means just gorgeous, yet graceful and refined.
In the center of that world, one young man was smiling very happily.
His surprisingly refined features and uncurled pale blond hair were to the extent that, at first glance, one might seem to be confused on whether the young man was not also one of the furnis.h.i.+ngs.
That frank temperament, the brilliant and strong presence –– and above all else, if it was a person with even a bit of a discerning eye, then they should notice that a sharp blade was hidden behind his soft smile.
Otherwise, of course, he could never be fit to be the student council president of St. Garrardsworth Academy, and should not have been chosen by that , either.…Much less, maintaining the rank #1 as such.
“It looks like you are really enjoying yourself, Ernest.”
The vice-president of St. Garrardsworth Academy, Laet.i.tia Blanchard knocked at the door, very poorly if saying so, left open earlier.
“Oh, Laet.i.tia. So you came.”
The young man –– St. Garrardsworth Academy student council president, Ernest Fairclough raised his face and turned a refres.h.i.+ng smile toward Laet.i.tia.
He was apparently watching the opened s.p.a.ce window at hand.
“Oh my, are you perhaps watching the semifinal?”
“No, what I was watching was yesterday’s quarterfinal.”
“The quarterfinal…?”
At his answer, Laet.i.tia tightly furrowed her eyebrows.
Roughly scratching her blond hair, that was a shade darker than Ernest"s, Laet.i.tia peered in the s.p.a.ce window.
The Phoenix quarterfinal match, which took place yesterday, was certainly projected there. Due to the fierce battle between the players of Seidoukan and World Dragon, they became quite the talk in Asterisk; also their next opponents were her companions from the same Life RhodesSilver Wings Knights Squadron. It was no wonder that she was also interested.
It was no wonder, but Laet.i.tia was slightly displeased with it.
“…Are you that much interested in that boy?”
“Fufufu. You can say that.”
At Laet.i.tia’s indication Ernest frankly nodded.
“Geez… Be it her or you, why are you so much concerned with that child? I cannot understand.”
“Oh dear! The great you, who bears the nickname of the , shouldn"t make such a face.”Ernest laughed as he admonished Laet.i.tia, who pouted.
“You become really childish when it comes to Miss Enfield.”
“Wha…!? T-That’s not true! That’s not true at all!”
Taking in sidelong glance at Laet.i.tia, who denied his accusations with a bright red face, Ernest once again dropped his eyes down to his hand.
“Still, as expected, he is wonderful. If there is a foundational principle in swordsmans.h.i.+p it’s that it’s purely dignified. As a swordsman… I would by all means like to cross blades with him.”
“Ernest. I hope you will not be that reckless again…”
“I know. But, there"s no problem if it’s just talking, right?”
Ernest shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile.
Laet.i.tia denied his accusations with a bright red face.
That was what it meant to be chosen by the .Be always virtuous, cast aside selfishness and act as the proxy of order and justice in all actions.
––That was the price requested by the Lei-GlemsDemon Sword of the White Filter.
If a shadow was to lurk over this even a little, the Ogre Lux, with the nickname of , would mercilessly forsake its user. And he would also lose the nickname and qualifications of .Such a thing could not possibly be allowed. It was probably the same not only for Laet.i.tia, but also the other True Knights.
That power was necessary for the present Garrardsworth.
“Well, please rest a.s.sured. Though a one-on-one is impossible, if it’s just crossing swords, then it should come true in the near future. ––In the next year’s Gryps.”
Laet.i.tia said with a fearless smile.
“That boy should definitely partic.i.p.ate in her team. That way, our teams will probably confront at some point. You would be able to fight to your heart’s content. And –– of course, it would be us, who would emerge victorious!”
Laet.i.tia tightly clenched her fist.
“*sigh*… It looks like you want to win against Miss Enfield no matter what.”
“…I admit that. Whatever happens… She"s the only one I can"t afford to lose to.”
That’s right. She –– Claudia Enfield –– is the only person against whom I cannot lose. I will win this time.
I swear on my pride of , rank #2 of St. Garrardsworth Academy. Laet.i.tia demanded of herself.“Were you not satisfied with the last year Gryps? You had surely won there, haven’t you?”
“We certainly won as a team… But, but!”
Laet.i.tia remembered that scene of two years ago and thoroughly chewed her molars.
Although she achieved victory, as a team in that match, Laet.i.tia’s school badge was cut by Claudia’s sword –– that annoying Pan-Dora.
“That humiliation, I will never forget it…!”
Of course the reason, of not wanting to lose to Claudia, was not only that.
However, Laet.i.tia’s pride could forgive her to leave it like that.
“Hmm…”
As Ernest closed the s.p.a.ce window, he erased his smile and pondered.
“But you know, I’m not interested in him just for that.”
“…Is there anything else?”
“It seems that Dirk Eberwein came in contact with him.”
“The ?”Laet.i.tia openly frowned.
Garrardsworth did not just have bad relations with Le Wolfe… It is also the case that Le Wolfe’s infamous student council president was, an opponent who could be said to be, the sworn enemy of Laet.i.tia and company.
“I don’t know if he is a.s.sociated with him, but there is also a report that he has moved the “cats”.”
“That… is not amicable.”
If the Intelligence operatives of Le Wolfe were moving, then it must be something that he could not ignore.
Except that it would not be made public, though, that is.
“It will be good if things go smoothly…” Said Ernest.
Ernest, his eyes tinged with anxiety, turned his gaze outside the window.
『"––T-This is also amazing! Player Sasamiya’s blow is a splendid clean hit to player Rimsi! Of course, it was also the first time in this tournament that player Rimsi received an attack! Will the impregnable pair of Allekant finally collapse after coming so far?"』
The voice of the live reporter rose in excitement to become exalted while the great cheers of the audience, who were even further excited, engulfed the stage.
In a corner of the stands, as usual Flora was cheering on the edge of her seat with an excited look.
“Both Sasamiya-sama and Toudou-sama are amazing!”
As the pure respect, admiration, and the thought of whether she could also one day become like them, were mixed in Flora’s chest, she buzzingly waved her hands.
However, the highly strung spectators stood up one after another, and before one knew, the audience was currently all standing in unison.
Though Flora, who was of short stature, was buried (covered), she stood on the chair and was hopping up and down as she somehow managed to secure her field of vision, however––.
“…Hey”
A deep dark voice suddenly resounded directly behind Flora.
“Eh…?”
When Flora was about to turn around, a sharp shock ran through the back of her neck.
Not a single person among the surrounding spectators, who were entirely distracted by the excitement, noticed the sudden disappearance of the young girl’s figure.