Kikou Shoujo wa Kizutsukanai

Although he knew it was just a dream, Raishin found himself once more in that same one.

“Nadeshiko!”

The black smoke got into his eyes. His lungs felt like they were on fire. His instincts were telling him he shouldn’t be here for even a second longer. A fear deeper than anything he had ever felt a.s.sailed him, screaming at him to get out of there.

However, Raishin ran forward, bursting through the flames. He went deeper inside.

“Nadeshiko, where are you!?”

Kicking down the sliding doors, he searched for his little sister. He shouted for her, till the point his throat felt like it was going to rip itself apart.

If there ever was such a thing as a premonition of destruction, Raishin was feeling it now.

Please let me make it in time, he thought. As he ran, he kept thinking. About how he had to hurry. And also— no matter how fast he hurried, it was probably already too late.

With a loud crack like thunder, an overhead beam collapsed. At that moment,

“Brother…”

He could hear a faint voice.

“Nadeshiko! Are you here!?”

He braked abruptly. Changing direction in the middle of the hallway, he yanked open the screen leading to a large room.

What waited Raishin inside was—

“Think of magic circuits as a subst.i.tution for rituals, or as a certain kind of engine. In the same way a steam powers a cog-wheel or a gear, the flow of magic energy allows magic arts to be born. Obviously, compared to the simple turning of a wheel, magic arts allows for more complicated outputs— ”

A cruelly curt and efficient voice was accompanied by the monotonous sc.r.a.ping of chalk on a blackboard.

The lecture room was shaped like an old theatre. Students sat in seats arranged neatly, the seats getting higher as they went further back. Raishin was somewhere in the middle, and he was currently in Kimberly’s lecture.

This was the first time he was directly attending a lecture, but to tell the truth, he was feeling sleepy.

Stifling a yawn, he glanced aimlessly around the cla.s.sroom.

The students had serious expressions on their faces, and automata were mixed in with the student body. However, the only automata he could see were those that were human-like dolls or small animals. Those with large bodies had to wait outside the lecture room in a specially constructed s.p.a.ce.

Next to Raishin, Yaya was diligently copying down notes. Since Raishin could neither read nor write English, Yaya copied what was being written on the blackboard in his place.

Suddenly he was aware of a pair of blue eyes that was staring in his direction.

It was Charl. Three rows in front of him, seated to his right, she was furtively stealing a glance in his direction.

Once their eyes met, Charl hurriedly turned to face the front.

Hiding her face behind a textbook, several seconds pa.s.sed.

This time she only moved her eyes as she glanced behind. Their eyes met once again, but this time they bore killing intent, her th.o.r.n.y gaze piercing through him.

(Just what does she want now…)

While Raishin was pondering over whether to return her glare—

Something hard hit him between the eyes.

“Raishin! Are you ok, Raishin!?”

Yaya was fl.u.s.tered. Wracked with pain, Raishin rubbed his forehead.

It was a white fragment that felt powdery— Chalk dust.

Gingerly lifting up his head, he saw Kimberly staring directly at him. Behind her gla.s.ses an icy shimmer filled her eyes.

It looked like she had thrown the chalk. What scary control.

“You have some nerve ignoring my lecture, Second Last. For whose sake do you think I’ve dumbed down the lecture and have to teach in this boring way?”

“New students like me, and students who have poor results?”

“Wrong. It’s for the new student who has poor results.”

“I apologise for that, Professor Kimberly. It’s just that I haven’t gotten enough sleep.”

“I see. And I suppose you’re going to tell me you’ve been having bad dreams as well?”

“It’s like you see right through me.”

“You’ve got guts. Fine, I’ll let you off this time, but in exchange, answer this question. What is the most popularised magic circuit currently?”

“Well, that’s—“

He thought it was a simple question, but he couldn’t answer promptly. Raishin tilted his head.

“Heat… No. Kinetic… That’s not it either. Photic… generation?”

Kimberly let out a long, deep sigh, like she was challenging her own lung capacity.

“Tell him, Charlotte.”

Charl was caught by surprise at the sudden change in target,

“… Eve’s Heart.”

“Correct.”

There was a buzz amongst the students.

“Demerits to those idiots who just opened their mouths.

Fresh piece of chalk in hand, Kimberly wrote down the word ‘Vital’ in large letters on the blackboard.

“Just like Charlotte said, it’s the magic circuit that gives all automata life— Eve’s Heart is embedded inside them. This circuit is the reason why automata have autonomous movement.”

She continued on in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Two different types of magic art cannot reside in the same body— this is the fundamental basis of machine physics, the Magic Activity Dissonance Theory. However, there is one exception to this theory.”

In other words, that was the Eve’s Heart circuit. Almost all automata came equipped with a different magic circuit, in addition to Eve’s Heart.

“You could say the history of Machinart only began after this circuit was discovered. Whether you want to call it the source, origin, beginning, or the starting point, till this day it’s still very much an unexplained black box. Reproducing the circuit itself is comparatively easy as opposed to developing it further. It is said to be pretty much impossible.”

Because the circuit had been popularised to such an extent, every workshop had at least one master versed in reproducing it. Because this ‘Life’ was easy to generate, automata themselves were ubiquitous as well.

“Eve’s Heart is an extremely flexible circuit. Not only can it confer intelligence to puppets, in the hands of a skilled puppeteer both breathing and perspiration functions can be reproduced, as well as digestion of food. Although how useful those functions will be in battle, I cannot say.”

Kimberly’s lips twisted into a cynical smile.

“If you wanted a reason for mimicking a human, then it would be in situations where your automaton has to mingle amongst humans— Infiltration or intelligence gathering. Having said that though, all puppeteers like to have their dolls be pseudo human, in terms of both outward appearance and inner functions. I mean, really, what a bunch of fanatics. Isn’t that right, Second Last?”

While saying that, Kimberly’s gaze was focused not on Raishin but Yaya, who was sitting next to him. Embarra.s.sed, Yaya wished there was a hole in the ground for her to hide herself in, but since there wasn’t she could only hang her head slightly.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to imply by saying that, but…”

Slamming his elbows onto the table, Raishin spoke in a threatening voice.

“This one here is the world’s greatest automaton.”

Her black eyes becoming moist, Yaya stared at Raishin, overcome with emotion.

“Raishin…!”

“Because she was created by Shouko.”

A vein popped.

“... Yaya, what’s wrong? What’s with that demonic look on your face— wa-wait a minute, calm down!”

“Again with Shouko… Always Shouko this and Shouko that…”

Yaya was sobbing while throttling Raishin, violently shaking him back and forth.

The surrounding students were unable to hold back their laughter.

“I see. So my lesson is that boring, is it?”

Kimberly had an icy expression on her face as she pointed outside the window.

“Then to stave off the boredom, go clean the great hall. — Get out now!”

The bell rang, signifying the start of lunch break.

“Dammit… Because of you we have to needlessly perform manual labour.”

Raishin was grumbling while using a mop to clean up. Although he was grumbling, he was dutifully cleaning the great hall, an action which could either be attributed to integrity or a refusal to quit once he had started something.

Yaya was still sobbing. It seemed like she was still affected by the snide remark earlier.

“That’s enough crying. Was Professor Kimberly’s sarcasm that much of a shock to you?”

“Uu… Raishin is an idiot.”

“That was unexpected. Well, it’s not like I can disagree with that statement.”

Tidying up the cleaning equipment, they left the great hall— or rather, he did so, but Yaya obstinately remained inside unmoving, continuing to sniffle instead.

Raishin was at his wits end. He sighed loudly.

Grabbing on to Yaya’s hand,

“Come on, cheer up. Let’s go grab something to eat.”

“O-ok… <>

Raishin led a now cheerful Yaya by the hand, and this time they did exit the great hall.

Outside the great hall, students were already thronging the main street.

A large volume of students spilled out from the various buildings and lecture halls.

Most of them were headed towards the centre of the main street, where the cafeteria was located. The sight of so many people heading towards a single location made Raishin think they were heading towards a demonstration or starting an insurrection.

Going along with the flow, Raishin and Yaya moved with the crowd. Receiving gazes from the surrounding people, after a walking a while they saw a modern looking building, one side of which was completely made up of gla.s.s.

“So that’s the rumoured steel reinforced concrete, huh? It looks very different from the dining hall in the dormitory.”

Entering, the difference became even more distinct.

Firstly, the ceiling was high up. White tables with modern designs were lined up in rows inside a bright and s.p.a.cious environment, making it look very hygienic and clean.

As Raishin had exited a lecture for the first time today, it went without saying that this was his first time at the cafeteria as well.

While standing there like an idiot, a delicious smell wafted over and he turned towards its direction.

Jutting out from the wall, directly outside the kitchen, huge quant.i.ties of food were lined up in a row. Large plates and metal cutlery were stacked up next to an a.s.sortment of meat dishes, fish dishes, salads and a selection of breads.

The students had queued up in a line, loading their ma.s.sive plates with the food.

This was a different system than the dormitory. In the dining hall of the dormitory, you’d select an item from the menu, and then eat whatever you got.

“Look, Yaya. Everyone’s just helping themselves to the food.”

“Can we just take what we want, then?”

“Looks like it. I don’t really get how this works, but when in Rome…”

Hunger and a lack of sleep were clouding his judgment. Not thinking any deeper about the situation, Raishin joined the tail of the line. Even here he was the centre of attention, but it was a regular occurrence by now and so he ignored it. Grabbing a tray, he placed a plate atop it and started helping himself to the food.

As he advanced, the head of the queue came into sight, and Raishin finally realised his mistake.

There was a cash register at the end of the queue!

Nimbly operating the register, a lady was receiving bits of paper from the students.

“I have to pay!?”

Raishin was mortified. He wasn’t expecting money to change hands. Then again, it should have been obvious. Even the food expenses in the dormitory were under a separate account from the basic lodging fee.

Getting a bad feeling in his gut, Raishin turned around and stretched out his hand.

“Yaya, hand me my wallet.”

“It’s in the dormitory locker.”

“… So you have nothing?”

“Nope.”

“… What are we going to do now?”

While the exchange occurred, the line advanced steadily onward. To go against the flow of traffic now would be weird, not to mention returning the food back to where it came from. To do so would violate common etiquette, something even a foreigner like Raishin knew.

“… Do you think they’d let me put it on my tab?”

“There’s no such thing as a tab here. You really, reaaaalllly are the biggest blockhead ever.”

An extremely th.o.r.n.y voice flew over from behind him.

Turning around, he saw the familiar face of a girl standing two students behind him.

Gorgeous golden hair, blue eyes, and her trademark dragon companion.

“Charl—“

“Don’t address me with such familiarity. You should address me as Miss Belew.”

Had she always been this close? Raishin wondered. Today it seemed her gaze was fiercer than usual, however it looked like she wasn’t glaring daggers at Raishin, but rather, the girl standing behind him.

The two boys sandwiched between them turned pale, and offered to let Charlotte move ahead in the line. Charl gave a curt “Thank you.”, and walked over towards Raishin.

Rummaging through her pocket, she took out three one pound notes—

And handed them to Raishin.

This was an unexpected action. Raishin was taken aback, but to turn down the offer would be cra.s.s of him. Politely lowering his lead, he gratefully accepted the money.

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“Say ‘thank you very much’ properly.”

After paying for both his and Yaya’s portions, he exited the queue. Waiting after he had paid at the register, Charl followed after and wordlessly thrust a notebook in his face.

It was an excessively elegant notebook, and there was something written in it.

Because it had been scribbled quickly, he couldn’t read it. Raishin turned to Yaya for help, and she read it aloud in a small voice,

“I will pay Charlotte Belew four pounds.”

“It’s an IOU. If you value your life, you’ll sign it.”

“Are you trying to rob me? And why is there interest?”

“Of course there’s interest. There’s no need for me to feed a pervert like you for free after all.”

“Don’t call me a pervert. And fine, I’ll pay you back four pounds.”

While Raishin struggled to sign his name with alphabets he wasn’t used to,

‘How’re you feeling, Sigmund?”

A little surprised, the small dragon resting on top of Charlotte’s cap raised his head.

“I’m fine. It was just a light scratch.”

“That’s good to hear. There you go, Charl.”

He returned the notebook. “What’s this horrible scrawl?” went Charl, but she seemed satisfied enough that Raishin had signed it, and moved to walk away from them.

“Wait. Since you’re already here, let’s eat together.”

“Wha—“

Both Yaya and Charl exclaimed. It must have been a great shock, for the plate on Yaya’s tray started to rattle, and Charl almost dropped her pasta and chicken.

Charl’s mouth wordlessly opened and closed, like a goldfish.

Then the slits of her eyes were raised in indignation.

“I refuse. Why would I want to dine with a pervert like you?”

“Don’t be like that. Aren’t we comrade in arms who’ve fought beside each other?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That was because you selfishly— speaking of which, in the first place you were the insolent pervert that challenged me to battle. Why would I ever dine with a man like that… Ah I get it. Putting it simply, you must be an idiot. An idiot with a death wish. A sorry, pitiful excuse of a man.”

She was being very blunt. Charl continued her verbal a.s.sault with Raishin unable to get a word in edgewise.

However, he didn’t give up. He followed after Charl with a nonchalant look on his face, taking the fact that she didn’t try to escape as a good sign, and sat down on a seat opposite her.

Charl stared at him dumbfounded, but she didn’t say a thing, relapsing into a silent frown. Grabbing her fork, she stabbed viciously at her tomato pasta.

It was obviously she had been thrown off her rhythm. Raishin was left wondering how to deal with this awkward situation.

Sigmund saw none of this as his concern, and started to chomp away at his chicken with gusto.

Yaya had gone into a dark silence. She hadn’t even touched her sandwich, radiating an unsettling presence instead. However Raishin just ignored her and started talking to Charl.

“Why have you gone silent? Does your stomach hurt or something?”

“… I’m really astounded. Does your impudence know no bounds? Even your nerves are as idiotic as you. Besides, I’m keeping quiet because I’m bored. As a man, shouldn’t you be the one creating conversations that arouse my interest?”

“Oh? So you’re saying you want to be turned on?”

“What… Grr…. Sigmund! Destroy this idiot this instant!”

“Calm down Charl. Let me finish my chicken first.”

“Be quiet, or starting tomorrow I’ll feed you nothing but dog food. Now hurry up and—“

Mid-sentence, she noticed a change in Raishin.

His eyes were fixed on something on the opposite side of the gla.s.s wall, like he was trying to devour it with his eyes.

“… Hey. Did something just happen?”

However, Raishin didn’t reply.—He didn’t have the composure to reply.

Charl pouted in a huff,

“Ignore me? You’re just going to ignore me? Just who do you think you are, you rude fellow!”

“That’s…!”

He couldn’t tear his eyes away. Raishin’s eyeb.a.l.l.s followed after that figure.

He had a silver mask, and was draped in a black cloak. He struck a gallant figure, but at the same time, had an air of composure around him as he walked.

For a brief moment, a horrifying sight flashed before his eyes.

Raishin ripped the door open with enough force to tear it.

Entering the reception hall of the estate, that’s when he saw it. If he had to put it into words, then it would have been best described as h.e.l.l.

Even amidst the sea of fire, it was obvious. The choking stench of blood.

The fearsome amount of blood everywhere.

Piled up in heaps, the countless number of corpses.

A larger number of those were the remnants of automata. Crushed, broken, and scattered everywhere, their frameworks had been twisted and their broken gears were strewn about. Coupled with the large holes in the wall and the torn tatami flooring, they told the story of the fierce battle that had occurred here.

And finally, there was a shadow standing in the middle of the corpses.

It was as though it was a ghost, or a demon.

It kicked away a body that was at its feet.

“Old man…!”

The crown of his head had been split and his countenance had changed, but there was no mistaking it, it was the head of the Akabane clan.

Surrounding his father were the bodies of his other relatives. His uncles, aunts and his cousins. All bearing the name of Akabane, and all master puppeteers in their own right.

His head felt like it was burning up as he thought. What was this? Am I having a nightmare?

It didn’t feel real.

However, the heat and the smell a.s.saulted him, telling him to face reality.

Slowly, he turned to face the thing in front of him he had been intentionally keeping out of his sight.

He wanted to believe that it was something he had mistakenly saw, or a fear induced hallucination.

But that thing was still there.

On the opposite side of the shadow, something that could be called an altar had been erected, and something had been put to rest there, and there it lay silently.

The first thought that came to mind was molting.

If you cut open a body vertically and emptied the insides, then this should be what it would look like, right?

What was on the altar was a body that had its insides removed.

You couldn’t call it just skin because it still had plenty of flesh attached—

And tt was too empty to be called a corpse, making it a decidedly warped existence.

From the clothes and the body size, as well as the skin and limbs, he knew all too well whose corpse this was.

This was.

“Nadeshiko…!”

What was in front of him was something that was once his sister.

Unable to bear it, a cry of anguish and despair burst forth from Raishin’s throat.

In response, the older brother silently looked down upon the younger with nothing but an icy gaze of steel.

Raishin wondered if he had been noticed or not.

The male student with the silver mask crossed the street without even so much as a glance in his direction.

There were two people— or rather, two bodies following him.

Adorned with frills and lace, they were clad in beautiful dresses. The dresses had a kinky aesthetic to them. In vogue with the late nineteenth century trends, their scent was that of death and decadence. Both girls were breathtakingly beautiful, but also clearly unworldly.

Glancing between the outside scenery and Raishin’s hard gaze, Charl spoke in a surprised voice.

“That’s the Magnus, isn’t it? What, are you going to target him this time?”

“Yaya.”

“Yes.”

Raishin and Yaya stood up. Charl also rose to her feet with a start.

“Wait… Are you serious!? Hold on a second!”

She grabbed on to Raishin’s arm— and flinched.

Raishin’s eyes had a brutal glint in them. Charl quickly withdrew her hand, but summoned up enough courage to issue him a warning.

“I won’t say anything bad. Just give up on him now. He’s someone you definitely cannot win against.”

“Definitely?”

“Yes. He’s head and shoulders above everyone in terms of techniques and magical energy. His combined scores are the highest of any generation, and since he’s started at this academy he’s been hailed as a genius. A one-man force who uses six automata simultaneously. At this point in time, he’s considered the closest person to the Wiseman— hey, Raishin!”

He didn’t stay to hear the end. Raishin was already starting to walk off.

“Unfortunately, I’m a hard-headed idiot. I need to try for myself before I understand.”

With quick feet, he left the table.

Bursting out of the cafeteria, he called out to the back of the black coat.

“Wait up, you masked freak. Or should I call you Magnus?”

The male student— Magnus stopped.

The two female automata stepped in front of him as a protective measure.

Upon seeing one of them, a maiden with pink hair, Raishin’s face involuntarily twisted into a grimace. A searing pain hit his chest so intense he thought smoke was going to come out, and he couldn’t keep his calm composure anymore.

That doll’s resemblance was excessively so.

“Yo. Having your dolls wait upon you as you take a walk? As always, you have the worst hobbies ever.”

“… Who are you?”

“Don’t break my heart now. I flew all this way from the other side of the world just to meet you.”

Although his tone of voice was light, Raishin was acutely aware that his core was burning up.

If you hated someone you’d generate wrath at them. However, even though Raishin was keeping his anger under control, wrath was pouring out from him calmly and quietly.

Even if he kept his voice low and killed off his emotions, wrath continued to spill out from his body. Students walking on the streets came to a halt and students eating in the cafeteria stopped to stare in their direction, where it looked like a ma.s.sacre was about to take place.

Magnus stared at Raishin intently, before finally speaking in a calm voice.

“It seems like you have mistaken me for someone else.”

“If that’s what you think, so be it. However, I just have something I want to give you—“

While talking, Raishin lifted his arm, and in that split second,

Something happened, but Raishin couldn’t comprehend what went on.

Like a bouquet of flowers had been thrust towards him, his lungs were filled with a sweet floral fragrance.

The fluffy feel of frill tickled his nose, and his vision was blocked off. His hands and feet were in contact with the soft skin of a girl. Finally, numerous blades were held at his throat.

Exactly like a flower bouquet, Raishin was enveloped in a sea of colour that was hair, eyes and dresses.

There was someone standing behind him, and someone in front of him. There was also someone on his shoulders. He didn’t know where they had appeared from, but now various swords, spears, and daggers were pressed against his skin.

A total of six automata had pounced on Raishin at the same time.

Where had they appeared from? And when did they appear?

Up till this moment, he hadn’t sensed the presence of the other four units.

“Raishin!”

Yaya moved to help him, but the blade against his throat dug deeper in response. With that, Yaya couldn’t do anything, or Raishin’s head would roll before she could even act.

“… You ladies are so hasty.”

With a wry smile, Raishin slowly reached for the harness around his waist.

“Don’t be so rash. Since we have just made each other’s acquaintance, I just wanted to present this token to you as a gift.”

Opening a pouch, he removed a small bottle from within.

There was some sort of black powder inside. Considering the situation he was in, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine it was some sort of explosive.

“… Stand down.”

At Magnus’s command, the dolls withdrew their weapons.

The pink haired maiden retrieved the bottle from Raishin’s hand and deposited it into Magnus’s.

“I thank you for this gift.”

With only those words, Magnus and his Squadron departed from the scene.

“Raishin…! Are you hurt anywhere, Raishin….!?”

Crying while running over, Yaya clung on to him.

“I’m sorry, so sorry….! You brought Yaya along, and yet…!”

“… I finally get it, Yaya.”

“Eh…?”

“The only way I can get close to him is in a fair fight…”

He was covered in cold sweat. Now that it over, his knees were trembling.

His instincts and his very spirit itself were frightened.

Charl wasn’t lying earlier. The way he was at the moment—

He definitely wouldn’t be able to win.

Any surprise attack would be useless. Personal attacks would only shorten his lifespan. If he wanted to defeat Magnus, doing so under the limits set in place by the rules of the Night Party would be the most sensible.

Nevertheless, he still couldn’t see any way of victory even down that route. The reality was if they did engage in battle, it would only last a second.

Raishin had been training himself so that he would be fight at his maximum during battle.

He was utilising Yaya’s potential at 120%.

He had compiled countless cunning battle techniques, all designed to outwit the enemy.

With all these, was there even a ten percent chance that he could reach his goal?

(Will I ever reach his level…!?)

The difference in their strength was overwhelming. The gap was as great as diving off a cliff.

He felt the ground beneath his feet turn to mush, and his body felt like it was sinking down into the earth.

Having been forced to realise the difference in power, he felt his willpower draining away. But at that moment—

Clap, clap, clap. Someone was openly applauding him.

“The rumours are true about you. Barely four days into your enrolment, and you’re already baring your teeth at the Marshal.”

Turning around, he saw a solitary male student who had a friendly smile on his face.

With smooth, beautiful hair, he was a very handsome lad. If you squinted, he almost looked like a beautiful girl. His voice had a distinct and clear quality to it, sounding like a an exceptional stringed instrument.

Greeting Raishin with a captivating smile,

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mister Akabane. If it’s alright with you, won’t you give me a moment of your time?”

Among the puppeteers, there were those who aimed to become puppet craftsmen.

Using and creating were not the same thing. Originally it was considered two completely separate skillsets, and the training structures were completely separate… however, it went without saying that there were a considerable number of aspects that overlapped with each other.

With that in mind, the academy introduced the Machine Technical Vocations course, as well as prepared dedicated facilities for those who wanted to become puppet craftsmen.

The place Magnus was heading to now was the Machine Technical Vocations building.

With the maidens following after him in succession, he branched off the main street onto a smaller road. As he neared the school building, just in front of a grove of trees, he stopped unexpectedly.

It was the young professor of the Machine Physics department, Kimberly. Although good looking, it was her roughness that stood out rather than her beauty. She wasn’t wearing her gla.s.ses, which she normally would have if she was giving a lecture.

Reacting to her presence, Magnus’s puppets alter their stances subtly.

However, Kimberly didn’t pay them the slightest bit of attention, and began to casually chat with him in a light manner.

“How did you find Second Last?”

“… What do you mean by that?”

“Isn’t he an interesting fellow? What do you think were his first words when he received his test results? I believe they were ‘what should I do to get into the Night Party?’, if you can believe that. “

“The Night Party—“

“Isn’t it laughable?”

“… No. If there were to be any upsets, then it will be by his hand.”

“Oh? Someone of your standard has that high an opinion of that guy?”

Magnus didn’t reply. He could guess Kimberly’s intentions, and it discomforted him.

“Well let’s leave it at that. — What’s that?”

Unfolding her crossed arms, she pointed at Magnus’s hand.

It was the small bottle filled with powder that he had received from Raishin just earlier.

“Without proper a.n.a.lysis of its composition I cannot say. However if I were to venture a guess, I’d say it’s probably ash.”

“Ash?”

She had a surprised look on her face. After a moment, she realised where she was standing—near the Machine Technical Vocations Building— and grinned.

“I see. While you are an excellent puppeteer, you are also a puppet craftsman. And a very skilled one at that too. For a craftsman of your level, it shouldn’t be a problem to take the ash—which is such high quality material for magic arts— and use it to create a puppet.”

Magnus didn’t answer. However, Kimberly took his silence as a sign of affirmation.

“Although, it’s really strange. Why would Second Last pa.s.s something like that to you of all people?”

“… He was throwing down the gauntlet. A symbol to mark a showdown.”

He suddenly muttered. Kimberly raised her eyebrows in puzzlement.

“In a certain Oriental clan, throwing the ash of a dead person signifies vengeance for the deceased.”

“… Does he have some sort of grude against you?”

As expected, Magnus didn’t answer.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll excuse myself now.”

“By the way, Magnus.”

Magnus pa.s.sed by her, but Kimberly cut him off with her interjection.

“Have you heard about this rumour? I’m not sure who started it, but rumour has it that each and every one of your puppets is a Bandoll.”

Once again, Magnus stopped in his tracks. Kimberly continued,

“I’m talking about living machines. Using a human’s flesh and blood as parts. Not ash or remains, but turning parts of a living human into material. Such parts would have vastly superior affinity with magic energy as compared to remains or a memento… But, obviously, this is a violation of the code of ethics all mages must follow.”

Her words were disguised as casual gossip, but her whole body was radiating a sort of tension akin to killing intent.

Magnus’s dolls had picked up on it, and faced Kimberly with hostility.

Kimberly had a cruel smile on her face, like it had been carved with a knife.

“Can I ask you to clarify that for me?”

“… Is this an interrogation?”

“Chalk it up to personal curiosity.”

Magnus appeared to think for a moment—

“In accordance with the guidelines for the Night Party, there is no rule that states you cannot use a Bandoll.”

Was all he said.

Kimberly’s eyes sharpened, like a sword that had been honed with a grindstone.

“… Can I take that as your answer?”

“If you want to, Professor Kimberly.”

Without a proper goodbye, he left. His footsteps were those of a person br.i.m.m.i.n.g with self-confidence, steady and a.s.sured.

Compared to him, even his dolls were more humanlike. As if they were warning Kimberly, they repeatedly looked over their shoulders as the followed behind after Magnus.

As they walked away in a line, Kimberly let out a huge sigh, followed by a wry smile.

“Really, what a fearsome guy you are. To be able to create Bandolls at such a young age… If the Maestros at the workshops caught word of this, they would definitely become depressed.”

Gazing at the back of the boy disappearing into the Machine Technical Vocations building, Kimberly muttered.

“Also, Magnus. Who exactly did you turn into material?”

Obviously, there was no one around to answer that question.

Give a moment of your time, or so the handsome lad said.

At first glance, Raishin didn’t feel any ill intentions coming from him. He was smiling, and the figure of his automata was nowhere to be found.

Raishin glanced at his left arm. There was an arm band laced with gold that was sparkling, which had caught his eye.

The letters ‘Censor’ had been embroidered on with a refined calligraphic script. In other words, he was part of the discipline committee.

Also, he was wearing a white glove with gold thread embroidery.

In short, this person was also someone who was qualified to partic.i.p.ate in the upcoming Night Party.

A discipline committee member with excellent grades. Raishin couldn’t think of a reason to doubt him.

“Rather than stand here and talk, why don’t we head inside? Unless I’m mistaken, you were in the middle of lunch, correct?”

The handsome lad pointed to the cafeteria with a smile on his face. He was trying to get Raishin to relax— or to put it in another way, his smiling was tempting him to let his guard down. His malice free manner could prove to be poison in the form of gentleness. Raishin remained cautious, but since he didn’t have a reason to turn him down, he followed him back into the cafeteria. Yaya followed quickly after him.

Entering into the cafeteria, the students started to buzz. In particular, the number of female gazes directed at him were exceptionally large. He was used to being stared at, but this was his first time being stared at positively.

“Felix!”

Back at his table, Charl’s head bounced up. Although her face wasn’t particularly dirty, she hurriedly dabbed a paper napkin to her mouth.

The handsome lad cheerily grinned at her,

“Hey there, Charl. May I join you?”

“N-n-no, obviously you c-can’t!”

“That’s so cold. And how cruel of you. All this while I’ve been asking and you haven’t given me so much as a ‘yes’, but here I find you sitting with him so readily.”

“T-this is because he just did as he pleased— do you have any business with me?”

“I would like for you to go out on a date with me.”

“I r-r-refuse. I s-s-strongly decline. W-w-why me anyway?”

“Just kidding, of course—not really, but today I’m here because of a different reason.”

His smooth golden hair fluttered as he turned to face Raishin.

“I have something to discuss with you, Raishin Akabane.”

Charl and Yaya stiffened in shock. Then they slowly glanced over at Raishin timidly. From the expression on their faces it was clear they had jumped to some weird conclusion.

Raishin remained silently in his seat, putting some cold pork into his mouth.

It had gone cold, but it hadn’t turned hard yet. Enjoying the flavour of the meat juices mixed with the sauce, he chewed and swallowed. After taking his time to do so,

“If you’re asking me for a date, are you sure you’re good enough?”

“Come now, don’t say that. I a.s.sure you I’m the sort who won’t bore you.”

“I’m surprised. What could a member of the Rounds, as well as a vital cornerstone of the academy’s autonomy— Head of the disciplinary committee Felix Kingsfort possibly want from me, someone who’s Second Last?”

“I’m the one who should be surprised, since you know so much about my existence. Were you planning to target me after Charl?”

The atmosphere became strained.

Felix was smiling as usual, and his voice had no trace of hostility, but the tension was broadcasted throughout the cafeteria, causing the commotion caused by the students to stop in an instant.

After a while the first to break the tension was Felix.

“Won’t you work with me?”

With a carefree expression, he abruptly posed the question to Raishin.

“Hm, rather than saying work with me, consider it a request. Not as an individual, but as the head of the disciplinary committee.”

“I refuse.”

Felix chuckled.

“I see. So you’re the type that makes swift decisions, Raishin. However, won’t you at least take some time to think this over? At least let me explain the situation.”

“That won’t be necessary. I don’t wish to gain any more partners than I already have.”

“Not even if we were to offer you—“

Irritatingly, he deliberately took his time to finish his sentence.

“—an entry qualification to the Night Party?”

Raishin’s fork stopped moving.

An entry qualification to the Night Party. Something Raishin had to obtain at all cost.

As their gazes met, a stifling silence descended.

Was this a devil’s invitation, or perhaps something else…?