Koukaku no Regios

Whenever she came across those words, Felli would say, without any expression, "Stupid."

It was the day known as Van Allen"s Day. A tradition from a foreign city, it should have no connection to Zuellni. Last year though, every confectionery that knew of Van Allen"s Day had gone on a marketing campaign.

The result was what was happening now.

Numerous posters with "Van Allen"s Day" written in big, bold letters were posted inside every building.

Beyond that, those poster"s had

"To that person on your mind, send out those special feelings."

"This is the taste of my feelings."

"Spend some time together with a mature atmosphere about you."

written on them, and......it wasn"t only coffee shops and confectioneries; restaurants had also put out some of those posters and advertised ahead of time.

Van Allen"s Day......A special day where sweets are given to that special person of the opposite s.e.x, and by those means, one"s feelings are shared.

Of course, this custom came from conversations and gossip about another city.

Zuellni had no connection with it.

Though there was no connection, with an interest in love this season, the students had gathered information with the fervor expected of an academy city. It was a completely simple matter for such a craze to spread like wildfire.

"Stupid." Felli muttered again.

While taking her usual route home, she thought about dinner plans, and suddenly those posters were everywhere. She was fed up with it. In order to increase their revenue, the business department had come up with a list of marketing strategies and tried them out. The ones the majority of them did not like were generally dropped by the campaign committees. Coffee shops, restaurants, and most places with any relation to food and drink were generally advertised with a male audience in mind. Only confectioneries, bookstores, and grocery stores advertised with a female audience in mind.

Guys made Van Allen"s Day reservations and asked girls out. On the other hand, girls were subjected to advertising for cla.s.ses and things on how to make sweets.

Guys spend money while girls spend time, or so the saying goes.

"They"re mocking me..."

Without any words, Felli immediately threw an angry glare at the nearest grocery store. If women could spend their time and suddenly make delicious treats, there wouldn"t be any trouble. If men could spend money and still be at ease, there would also be no worries.

"Good grief......"

The posters were visible all around the city, so one would have to be an idiot to forget about it. Felli discretely let out a sigh.

And......

"Fuu, I bought a lot, didn"t I~"

The nonchalant voice, along with its owner, emerged from the store.

The girl spoke happily and had a carefree expression on her face. Contrary to what she said, she was only using one arm to carry a small bag, but was apparently left with a satisfied expression on her face. But, Felli"s eyes weaved their way to the rear of the group.

"......So, you don"t think this amount of food is too much for the dorm, do you?" Seemingly unhappy, with a bag full of cheap lettuce in each hand. It was Nina.

"But you can finally go out and try lots of different foods. You wanted to make a lot of new things, didn"t you?" The girl declared optimistically after turning her head. Nina frowned, feeling a headache forming.

"......Selina-san, isn"t there some sort of misunderstanding?"

"No~t at all~"

To the person of the opposite s.e.x you care about, a confession of love...... that intent of Van Allen"s Day was disregarded, even to Felli.

"Whatever I"ve made before, you said you"d eat everything I placed before you, so I can make a lot of things, can"t I~"

"Selina-san......"

It appears that she intends to experiment on cooking something. Her uniform was from the Alchemy Department, so there was no way she could be wrong.

"It"s too bad the Heartseer fruit hasn"t arrived, isn"t it~? The shops had been commissioned to produce something or so I hear, so I thought the market would be caught up in that......cultivation"s also failed, I wonder?"

"That"s kind of suspicious."

"It"s nothing like that. We"re talking about taste."

"It doesn"t seem suspicious for even a minute?"

"However even if it"s a small amount, when properly made, it has a positive result on proper nourishment, recovery from weariness and promotes an increase in appet.i.te amongst other things."

"Which energy drink is that......?"

"Well~, that is something we"ll have another chance to try, won"t we~? It"ll be OK~. Since I"ll properly think of something so that Nina can give a present."

"No, I wasn"t planning on that kind of thing......"

"No~ way, it would be bad if you didn"t give anything to the guy on your own platoon, wouldn"t it?"

"No, that"s because......"

From then on, whatever conversation unfolded, Felli, whose legs had stopped, became unable to hear them.

Felli stood still until she lost sight of Nina"s dismayed figure weaving in and out of the crowd. Meanwhile, she also glared at the newly discovered rival before her.

He heard a clanking sound.

"Felli, what"re you doing? This is......"

Having returned to the room just now, his nose a.s.saulted by an offensive smell, Karian entered the kitchen after blocking his nose with a handkerchief.

His younger sister was standing in the kitchen. Just because of that, there was already trouble.

Going through the handkerchief, the irritating smell that had been entering his nose once again managed to enter.

The clanking noise that was heard was from the pot. Why was it coming from the pot? Together, they were siblings who couldn"t cook. Thus as one would expect, he couldn"t believe that the sound came from cooking.

"Felli......?"

"Be quiet"

Gazing at the saucepan, Felli"s eyes were tinged with an earnest light. Karian couldn"t help but swallow his question as he held his breath.

"Just a little bit longer......"

With the clock grasped firmly in one hand, she alternated between checking it and the pot, as well as adding a few drops from a small bottle of liquid. The sound of the liquid vaporizing mingled with the other sounds, and the irritating smell had changed.

"It"s ready......"

"W, what......is?" A trace of ominous, black smoke rose from the saucepan. If the ventilation fan were not ventilating, the entire kitchen would be filled with a black haze. As Felli lifted the pot cautiously, it was obvious that something had been burnt black through over heating.

"Elder brother, please sample this."

What was placed onto a plate was then cut up with a kitchen knife, and after placing some on a smaller plate, it was presented in front of Karian"s nose without hesitation.

"Unh......"

"Please sample this."

Repeatedly. He had the strength to not say any words of disinterest. Karian had, after taking several steps back, lost the ability to move his legs.

"Please wait a moment. That"s it! I remembered. I have unfinished work in the student council room, something really urgent, that is......"

With his own words, he pushed himself back and could finally move his legs. In order to run from that strange black object releasing a strangely irritating odor, Karian quickly turned around from his right.

However, his legs had stopped once more. Before he knew it, Karian"s surroundings filled with flakes.

"Sample this......"

Looking back, he could see Felli standing with her silver hair shining.

"If that talent were to fully manifest itself in another place, it would greatly please me, wouldn"t it?"

"Sample this."

As though to completely turn a deaf ear to his words, everything on the small plate was being forced to him. From that smoke emitting, strange, dark matter, Karian averted his eyes.

Van Allen"s Day.

Until recently, that name, which held no particular import, had in that mind, rose to its surface.

(F, For the love of......)

Last year had Felli coldly disregarding the Business Department"s campaigns, and yet this year doesn"t seem to be the case. The younger sister who harbored no interest in others was currently interested in the opposite s.e.x. It made him lonely, but happy at the same time. Now, if I were to eat this thing, I would draw closer to my cold demise.

(Remember this. Layfon-kun)

"Come now......Sample this."

"Urgh, erm."

Felli stabbed a piece with the fork. Some charred portions had, under that pressure, broken off. She could possibly force it into his frantically shut lips.

No escape. The surroundings continued to fill with flakes, enveloping him to the point where not even an insect had room to squeeze through. Light was let loose like lightning. A flake mine? Felli could make explosions herself, and in addition, there was only a short distance between them. Just taking into account these factors, he couldn"t come out of this unscathed. Karian"s time to sample drew near.

(I"ve resigned myself to this, haven"t I......)

That"s right. If this one bite was finished, it would be all over. The anxiety about the thought of those prepared ingredients entering a person"s mouth wouldn"t be felt much longer. In it existed the special qualifications necessary to label it as food, but to obtain those things today was impossible for his younger sister.

(How"s the taste? It seems edible!)

Upon realizing, Karian opened his mouth.

On top of his tongue, that morsel flopped down and rolled.

"Fgah-, Guo-!"

He couldn"t stop himself from letting out the words he spat out. An impact was delivered to the crown of his head. As he was losing consciousness, Karian braced his arm on the table. Still, something on the inside of his mouth continued to feel like it was splitting open. Each time he felt that small breaking feeling inside his mouth, his tongue became weak. No, wait. This......This feeling, could it be the taste buds on his tongue making up the palate breaking down one by one!?

"Ha, Ha......"

It was said that the taste buds on the tongue numbered about ten thousand......why in the world would you lose them to that extent......? After thinking about it, his body trembled in terror.

"......It appears that it"s failed, hasn"t it?"

Felli"s disinterested voice had turned toward Karian"s skull.

"Well then, next sample this"

Felli said, while bringing out the next dish.

"What......did you say?"

A cold sweat poured from his head and the small of his back.

Van Allen"s Day.

A name that he didn"t worry about had, this moment today, carved itself a memory of fear and became a cursed name.

Morning had come.

They had to call a cleaning service. The reason for this was that the kitchen had fallen into ruin. Leaving this battlefield, Felli took a shower and washed away her fatigue.

After sliding on the sleeves of her spare uniform, she undid the towel coiled around her head, used to dry her hair. It was an easy habit to get into, diligently brushing her hair to check her own appearance in a mirror.

No problem. She grabbed her bag and left the room.

On the living room table were the fruits from yesterday"s battle. Resting on the palm of her hand, a small box sat neatly wrapped and tied with a ribbon. In order for it not to become too ruined, she placed it in her bag with great care and looked at her older brother"s room.

"Well then, I"m off."

"......Try your best."

The moan-like reply came from the other side of the door. The voice sounded rough. Did he catch a cold from being up all night? Since his movements weren"t sufficient compared to normal, his body had definitely weakened.

"Slovenly."

"......Sorry, but can you convey the message that I"m resting today?"

"I understand."

"I"m counting on you."

With that, nothing more could be heard from her older brother"s room.

With nothing left to worry about, she left the mansion.

After being up all night till dawn, the sun"s rays were intense. Felli narrowed her eyes and, until they became adjusted to the light, stood stock still.

(Now, the problem is......)

While viewing the slowly dimming early morning scenery with narrow eyes, Felli began thinking.

The thing was completed. More time was spent than expected, but that was settled by reducing the duration of sleep.

How to hand it over?

That was the extent of the problem.

To begin with, Layfon"s year was different. If the year is different, facilities would also be different, and the chances of meeting a student of a different year would be small.

At any rate, Zuellni was one of those places said to be a city only for students. The number of school buildings was nothing to be trifled with.

If there was any chance to reliably meet Layfon, it would be the platoon"s training hours. If it were left until after school, it would come up at the military arts training facility.

(There is no other time to aim at but that one, is there?)

After finally being able to open her eyes, Felli set out.

However......

How should she time the handing over?

That was the next problem.

After coming to the training facility......it would probably be useless. Surely, Nina would be faster than Felli, without a doubt. Above all, Sharnid would be an eyesore. It was only a matter of time before she would be discovered, and if that were to happen she didn"t know if she could say something.

(In that case, it would be better to be seen by someone unfamiliar than someone who was.)

In the event that someone were to see, it would be better if that stranger didn"t know her name as well.

For that to happen, she would have to go to the first year facilities.

It would be good if she could go. Sometime during school, at lunch break would be when to go and hand it to him. There was no other time to spend like that.

(Fumu......Let"s go with tha......)

No, wait.

All appearance of reasonable thought had suddenly halted. Her legs wouldn"t stop. Calmly looking straight ahead while walking forward, her previously halted thoughts restarted.

Going to the first year facilities. That"s fine. Layfon would be there. If she were to hand it over at the training facility, an acquaintance, particularly Sharnid, would see her. It would be better to avoid that.

In that case, the first year facilities. That was the conclusion she reached some time ago.

There she ran into an issue.

(Wait, Felli. You are forgetting something.)

Warning herself, why did she sense danger, she thought.

Who would be at the first year facilities? Layfon would be there. However, it wouldn"t be just him.

That"s right......That girl was there.

(Meishen Trinden......!)

After remembering that person, Felli looked up towards the sky.

With that cowering camouflage, that deceiver of men was there. That girl was there with formidable weapon-like cooking skills thoroughly emphasizing her familial appearance.

(How absurd......)

In the cla.s.sroom Layfon is in, that girl was there. Those two women who protect that girl are there. If she were to hand it over, there would be no doubt that she would be stopped by the gaze of those three. She couldn"t think of Layfon flaunting the things he received from other people, but if he were to face the curiosity of those three, what would happen?

Layfon"s weakness to pressure was first-cla.s.s. They would be seen through without a doubt.

If that were the case, what would happen?

Meishen would see the sweets, or something like that. Gambling on cooking, far outstripping Felli, Meishen had......

(Ku......)

How ridiculous.

(Inside the school building, the gazes are too numerous.)

In this hopeless situations, Felli"s mood turned somber.

As it was now, if a good idea didn"t come to mind at this rate, she would struggle on to school.

The restless atmosphere that plagued the cla.s.sroom everyday had cleared up. Though the boys would always chat loudly and idly, on the contrary they seemed to prefer sitting motionlessly alone in their own seat today. Concealing their voices amongst themselves in a circle, the girls exchanged conversation and kept glancing at the boys, who a.s.serted an unconcerned air.

Unprepared for the thick atmosphere that hung over the cla.s.sroom, Felli secretly let out a sigh.

Even though up until last night Felli held something like scorn for that atmosphere, now she was joining in it. After feebly greeting her cla.s.smates while exhausted from betraying herself, Felli fell prostrated at her desk.

(However, coming this far, it would be irritating to withdraw......)

How should she go about losing the public gaze while getting the chance to hand it to him? In her mind, this continued to torment Felli.

"Errr......Loss-san"

With her name called, Felli came to her senses and she then lifted her head.

"Yes?"

An unfamiliar female student stood nearby. The uniform, like her brother"s, was from the Law and Administration Department.

Meaning she wasn"t a student from this cla.s.s, but not only that, she was also an uppercla.s.sman.

"What is it?"

"Well, Karian-kun isn"t here today and so I was wondering, what"s going on? Everyday before cla.s.s, he comes to the student council room, but it doesn"t appear that he will even come to cla.s.s......"

"Ah, if it"s about my brother......"

On that subject, Felli completely forgot about the message Karian had entrusted her with.

"His physical condition is poor, and so he said he"s taking today off."

"Eh, is that so? You say he"s taking the day off, is it that serious?"

The female student listened with an awfully fl.u.s.tered look on her face.

"Is he alright?"

She probably thought it was just a case of lack of sleep.

"Oh, well......Karian-kun has a usual habit of pushing himself on the student council work and so fatigue probably caught up with him."

It was her own thought however, the female student in front of her had arbitrarily came to her own conclusion. Without the willpower to stop her, Felli left her to her own devices.

"Hey. You and Karian-kun live together, don"t you? I want to go nurse him , would that be alright?"

Felli rolled her eyes at this girl"s proposal.

"Ah, will that be too troublesome?"

It seems she had an unusual facial expression.

"Ah, no. I have no objections. Do you know the address?"

"Yeah. That"s alright."

"Well then, do as you please."

"Thanks."

With something between smiling and laughing, the uppercla.s.sman, whose name she did not know, left the cla.s.sroom.

"I see."

Watching her from behind, Felli had come to an understanding of her own.

In other words, if there wasn"t a chance for them to be alone together, she would have to create a chance to be alone with him.

Afternoon recess. Felli turned up at the school building"s rooftop. One could say the rooftop was usually left empty, and with benches left forgotten, this place wasn"t very popular. Nearby, there was a park with a better appearance. Unless a student took the time to prepare a meal beforehand, they wouldn"t come to this place.

But, of course today would be different from normal.

Each and every spot on all of the benches were completely filled. Couples. Pairs happily chatting away while eating seemingly hand made lunches that would end with the giving of sweets.

"Kuu..."

In order to not be caught in these couples" field of vision, Felli concealed herself in the shadow of the entryway.

After restoring her Dite, she released her flakes.

The place targeted was the first year facilities.

And yet, Layfon"s figure was not in the cla.s.sroom.

"Good grief, what am I doing."

Irritated, Felli broadened the scope. Within a corner of the hectically processed maelstrom of information, an image of Layfon eating Meishen"s handmade bento came to mind.

Before, there were times where she would disperse flakes as a diversion and gather those images. By no means has she thought today she would be searching for Meishen on her own prerogative.

She and those two noisy girls she called her childhood friends were having lunch alone.

Layfon wasn"t there.

In that case where is he? The thought of Layfon"s absence putting Felli at ease, she continued to broaden the scope.

(Good grief......)

After meeting Layfon for the first time, this phrase which had become her favorite had once again come out, after which Felli thought.

(I am probably throwing myself at that hopeless boy.)

Even though she thought that, she couldn"t stop her search. Felli sighed as she searched for Layfon"s figure.

(There.)

Finally found him.

With a feeling of relief, she confirmed his surroundings.

Layfon was alone. However, a slightly tense atmosphere hung in the air, as a Psychokinesis other than Felli"s was in the vicinity. The warehouse district. At this place which stored provisions and things produced in Zuellni, examining Layfon"s side of the situation, he was concealing himself.

"Fon Fon?"

[Uwah! ......Felli?]

Silencing himself in panic and checking the situation, Layfon timidly responded to her.

"What are you doing?"

[This is for my part-time job with the City Police, however......]

At the reply made with a concealed voice, for an instant Felli had furled her eyebrows, but immediately reconsidered this as a chance.

(If that"s the case, it is possible to be alone together.)

Known as the warehouse district, the place did not have a good business condition. The problem was the existence of another Psychokinesist, but if Felli proposed to collaborate on this, the probability of her taking charge of Layfon was high.

"With the city police......? What is it this time?"

[Well......this is. This incident concerns the illegal importation of goods.]

"This again?"

[This time it is something different. It"s seen as an ingredient in cooking. Being targeted, it"s being used to lure out the culprit......

In addition, there seems to be a somewhat strange group for support, or something......]

And so, is he alone at that kind of place?

If that"s the case, then proposing to collaborate would probably not be strange.

"I see, shall I lend you a helping hand?"

[Eh?]

"......What is it?"

Somehow Layfon"s voice, rather than sounding surprised, sounded more like it was as though her presence was inopportune. Differing from her expectations, Felli felt offended and asked in response.

"Would my involvement be useless?"

[Th, That isn"t what I meant exactly. Errr, what I was saying, this time there"s something of a rather special circ.u.mstance, and so nothing would come out of this if I don"t use my own discretion.........]

"Such a repet.i.tive response......what is that for? If we talked it over with that uppercla.s.sman, wouldn"t it be fine?"

[That isn"t quite the case......]

"Well then, what would you call it?"

[Ah, please wait one moment.]

The other Psychokinesist addressed Layfon, Felli became sullen and kept silent.

[I"m sorry, eh? Agh, is that true!?]

Suddenly, Layfon shouted.

[Aah, no......]

"What happened?"

[Sorry, I am in a bit of a hurry, so with this. ......Ah, it doesn"t look like I will be able to go to today"s training, so please convey the message for me!]

After saying that in a low voice, Layfon rushed from the area at high speed.

"Ah!"

Flakes had yet to be deployed in Layfon"s area. It may have still been possible to pursue him, but in the blink of an eye, she lost sight of him.

"Really........."

Allowing Psychokinesis to flow smoothly at this range, even Felli would succ.u.mb to exhaustion.

"Even though people have their own problems......"

If she were persistent, she would make an error, but today that feeling wasn"t there.

"Haa........."

Her body felt heavy even though the fatigue from the sleepless night seemed to just set in. Along with a breath, whatever was driving her till now slipped out.

When afternoon break met its end, Felli trudgingly returned to cla.s.s. It seemed in the time Felli was away, several Van Allen"s Day struggles had come to a close. Clearly, there was a divide between guys in good spirits and those who weren"t. They were in luck as almost all of the gifts guys gave to the girls were high cla.s.s reservations to shops. That approach directed the formation of a different atmosphere.

"Ur......"

From the seat positioned next to the door, a cheerfully speaking voice could be heard, at which point Felli froze in horror. Up until now, she could coldly brush it all away with the phrase, "Not interested." On the contrary, feeling the self she brushed aside, she felt miserable.

"Urk......"

Staggering forward through the stifling atmosphere where it would be good if she could walk straight, she somehow managed to struggle to her own seat.

"Haa......"

Really now......with that overlapping a sigh, Felli lifted her head. Come to think of it, this environment wasn"t uncomfortable.

Upon lifting her head, she met the eyes of the female student sitting in the seat next to her.

"Ah, good after......noon..............." ` After finishing her greeting, that female student had once again started looking at the desk with vacant, drooping eyes.

Feeling an overwhelming sense of failure, Felli unintentionally overlooked the situation and inquired further.

"What is it?"

The girl"s name was Eri. With beautiful, long black hair, she didn"t think her image was bad, however usually she cut herself off from the rest of the cla.s.s and stayed in darker corners of the room. In a similar situation, Felli, who didn"t usually a.s.sociate with other cla.s.smates, was treated as equally eccentric.

"Fu, fu, fufu......" While looking at the desk, Eri leaked a voice with laughter. "Sweets, huh? I lost them somewhere."

"Eh?"

"Fufufu......So many times remaking them, and working late into the night, the sweets, huh? Fufu, fufufufufu......"

"That is, how should I make this clear......"

"Fufufu, that is alright. It was clumsy of me. Fufufu............At least today that"s what I thought."

At long last, that dry laugh subsided.

"Ah......"

"Fufufu......Such a miserable conversation topic."

Eri also had someone she wanted to hand sweets to.

"Please don"t be discouraged. Besides, if not today, there will be another chance."

"No." At Felli"s consolation, Eri shook her head. "The times you see me summon up my courage, doesn"t amount to just today."

"That is......"

"This personality of mine, I well understand that that gentlemen does not have a preference for it. I would also like to fix it, but by no means............ Nevertheless, I thought it would be today, but......"

After sighing, Eri sank into silence.

After the uppercla.s.sman turned up, cla.s.s began. Felli silenced herself to allow cla.s.s to proceed normally. While doing as such, she observed Eri"s situation. Seeing her letting out sighs and girls making hollow glances, Felli felt she would be infected by that feeling.

(At this rate, things will be bad.)

After blowing away the contagious feeling of losing, Felli said, "All right!" and nodded.

"Eri-san"

At the end of cla.s.s, Felli hurriedly cleaned up and spoke out to her.

"......Yes?"

In a depressed state, Eri had a slow reaction.

"We"re going."

Eri slowly tilted her head. Felli seized her hand, forcibly pulling her outside the cla.s.sroom.

"Eh? Eh? Eh?"

Being a full head taller than Felli, Eri seemed to be stumbling as they departed from the school building.

"Say, what are......?"

"We"re going to go look for the thing you lost."

"Eh? But cla.s.s has......"

"There is no meaning in a cla.s.s you aren"t listening to. s.p.a.cing out there is a pointless waste of time."

"But......"

"......Eri-san."

As the time till the start of the next cla.s.s approached, there was no sign of life. When Felli stopped pulling on her, she turned to face Eri.

"I am reluctant."

"Eh?"

"I am reluctant to help. However after watching you, because I will stop giving up, you should not want to give up either."

"......I, am being unreasonable?"

"In any case, in that state, you were giving up. If that"s the case, in order for me not to fail, cooperate with me. Come, for the time being, let"s repeat today"s actions from the beginning. Where is your room?"

"Fufu, as I thought I am being unreasonable."

With a dark smile, Eri followed after Felli.

Eri"s place of living was an average one-room.

Even without saying it was average, practically before even walking in, she knew it was the case. Beyond the corridor, found soon after opening the door, there was a small kitchen and the interior contained the living quarters.

After looking around the room which was left with a seemingly dark impression, she turned to face Eri, having satisfied her curiosity.

"......Well then, let"s try searching by reviewing today"s actions."

"That would be good......, but I was thinking."

"What is it?"

"Felli-san is a Psychokinesist, so would it not be faster if I had you search for the sweets I dropped using Psychokinesis?"

"Talk of Psychokinesists searching for lost articles, have you ever heard of that?" Felli muttered while letting out a sigh.

"That talk of pride, could you leave it behind for now?"

"That was not what I was saying." To Eri who thought the problem was the pride of a military artist, she explained.

"Regarding Psychokinesis and the Psychokinesists that use it, there are the five senses, but on top of that, there is electromagnetic perception, infrared perception, provisions people do not have. After checking those things, that diverse information can be gathered up."

"Y-Yeah." Whether or not she understood, with a puzzled look on her face, Eri nodded.

"Psychokinesists use flakes as an intermediary and extend Psychokinesis over a large range. Whatever information is there is perceived. However, that huge quant.i.ty is beyond the scope of normal human throughout. The braincells of a Psychokinesist are enhanced beyond a normal human. However as I was saying that large quant.i.ty of information, furthermore dealing with the whereabouts of an object created by people as a standard, it wouldn"t be strange for people to say it"s not possible. For this particular objective, electromagnetic waves and infra-red rays are completely useless and meet their limit for these reasons."

"We......ll, in short?"

Of course, it appears she didn"t understand.

"Therefore, if you have the exact material coating the sweets you prepared, moreover the raw materials encasing it could be useful, a sample of the exact wrapping paper you used, the arrangement, how you folded the paper, furthermore the ribbon you used, the things you used...... with that, by memorizing these things, searching to an extent should not be difficult...... Right?"

"Y, Yes......"

"If I had those things stored in my memory, this topic would be simple, but that isn"t the case. ......Your explanation being easy to understand, if you made that the basis of your search, usually the probability you would find it wouldn"t be zero."

"Wouldn"t be?"

Eri"s eyes filled with hopeful luminance. Felli shut her eyes in response.

"Today of all days has been a disaster, hasn"t it? There are a lot of things out there like it."

"Ah......"

It seems Eri had also come to an understanding.

The boxes and wrapping sets from gift shops aimed at Van Allen"s Day had large quant.i.ties as a selling point. Eri seemed like that type to buy things like that. Felli also did that so she understood well.

"Therefore, by whatever means necessary, you must search using your own power. Do you understand?"

"Fufufu......It feels hopeless."

"Look at me! well then let us begin. First, when you woke up......"

To Eri who burst out in hollow laughter, Felli began her inquiry in what seemed to be forceful interrogation.

The lost item disappeared between the time she left the room to when she entered the cla.s.sroom......That was certain.

The sweets stored in her bag couldn"t have gone anywhere by themselves. Still, if Eri had simply taken care to not fall, it would still be in her bag, or so they say.

If so, didn"t some sort of strange event happen to that bag?

"So, this is the place, isn"t it?"

"Yes."

Eri nodded.

After the two had left the room, they headed in the direction of the nearest tram stop, their legs stopping only when they cleared the straight path through the forest of Yuusuiju [Spring-water tree] which was enveloped in a white haze.

This place was the only city water purification plant in the area. The sewage from the drainage system flowed into the underground reservoir beneath the forest, where suction from the roots hanging down from the Yuusuiju was applied. The roots of the Yuusuiju housed a filtration process, furthermore the remaining waste in the roots would be broken down and converted into nutrients which periodically would be replaced with soil from the manufacturing district.

Yuusuiju had, like the name, a hole in the trunk from which excess water would flow out. That water would flow into irrigation ca.n.a.ls above ground and collect, and from there go to the mechanical department for further filtration. The clean water would leave to become public water.

"This place, you parted with your bag here, did you not?"

"Yes, something completely took me by surprise and......"

According to Eri"s information, early morning at this place, along with the sound of water, she heard the roar of of what sounded like a dangerous beast. At the violent sound of water, Eri was taken by surprise and ran until she reached the police station nearby.

At that time, at the sound of water, she was taken by surprise and dropped her bag, it seemed.

"Really, I had no idea what was happening, so I became scared and soon after left from here."

After returning with officers from the city police, they scattered throughout the interior. While searching for the bag, the source of the roar was nowhere to be found.

While listening to Eri"s explanation, Felli surveyed the forest.

"......if you lost it at an irrigation ca.n.a.l, it would be over, wouldn"t it?" While gazing intently at the Yuusuiju forest, Felli muttered.

"Please don"t say such unpleasant things."

"For the time being, we will search for the bag in the vicinity of the location you dropped it."

Leaving the grimacing Eri, Felli entered the Yuusuiju forest.

"Felli-san?"

"If there is a way, we will know soon. The lost item has yet to be reported to the police station. After reporting, into the forest."

The Yuusuiju forest had high humidity, probably also from the decomposition functions of the bacteria, and the hot water gushing out from the holes. Consequently, at that place, a public bath house and a warm-water pool had been built. The white haze enveloping the Yuusuiju was from the resulting steam.

While steam rose from the irrigation ca.n.a.ls, Felli"s group continued to search once more.

"I can"t endure this any longer."

Brushing aside the withered gra.s.s of the earth"s surface and forcing her way through the weeds for a short while, Eri lifted her head and wiped away her sweat.

As a consequence of moving around in high humidity, her breathing grew harsh. Their long hair clung to their cheeks and necks with a sticky feeling.

"The condition of the clothes we"re wearing makes it look like we just came out of a sauna."

Brushing away the hair sticking to her forehead, Felli was also breathing hard.

"Moreover, we"ve searched this much and still haven"t......"

"The only thing we can do here is search."

She tried to encourage Eri who looked to be in a state of fatigue, but she quietly hung her head.

"Well...... once again, it truly looks like it won"t work out."

"Eri-san......"

Eri showed the same dispirited smile, but that was probably her distinctive characteristic. The moisture on their faces somehow felt refreshing.

"For the one box of sweets I was going to give, the me that worked so hard to come this far, had made such an absurd memory."

That was something Felli too identified with.

Having just realized, Eri became fl.u.s.tered and shook her head for Felli whose expression became sullen.

"Ah, you"re mistaken. That wasn"t what I meant......"

It was at that time.

Zaa......

"Eh?"

"Wha-"

Suddenly, water poured down on them from above. High above, the Yuusuiju leaves were covered in moisture to the point where they could barely stand the weight. Then like a chain reaction, it all came down at once.

That instance of a downpour had swallowed up their shrieks and abruptly ended.

The aftermath left the girls dripping wet.

"What in the......":

Dripping wet, her condition hit her all at once.

"Ah, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

There, suddenly in a large voice, laughter had overcome her, to which Felli, who wore a startled expression, lifted her head.

"Really, we look like idiots. One box of sweets, in order to give it out, something like this, really........."

For sometime she stood there, dumbfounded, watching Eri doubled over laughing, but before long Eri was able to stand.

"Felli-san."

Silently being glared at, Eri stopped laughing.

"I became defiant."

"What do you mean?"

"Because I somehow became fixated on the hand made sweets, I couldn"t move on. If I select good-looking sweets from a shop somewhere, it"ll be fine. Better than searching desperately for a lost box of sweets in this kind of place, by far it would comfort me more to show myself in front of that person and hand him a different box of sweets."

"Y, yes......"

"Felli-san, I"ve decided. I will confess to that person. Yes, I don"t have time to waste for that kind of thing. If I want to meet him today, I must immediately buy another box of sweets. Felli-san, if you have someone you want to give something to, you don"t have time to spare at a place like this, you know. If we don"t take action,"

"......someone?"

Grabbing her hand, Eri, who had previously expressed a dispirited smile, changed. Had Eri"s melancholy been thoroughly washed away by the water from the Yuusuiju? Nevertheless, with her sudden change, Felli couldn"t follow her.

"Come, let"s hurry. For now, let"s do something about these soaking wet clothes."

That is to say, this time Eri grabbed Felli"s hand and dragged her in the direction of the forest"s edge.

"Eh? Say......"

"Come, let"s hurry. There"s not much time left, you know."

At the sudden reversal of position, for meddling, Felli was at her mercy.

They returned to Eri"s room and showered. For the time being Felli changed, afterward they left as if being driven out of the room and arrived at the mansion.

After entering her room, Felli once again put on her uniform. Given that the one she was wearing today was a spare, she had to overlook the shoulder of her usual uniform. It wasn"t that the uniform was conspicuously soiled anywhere, but this morning, the enthusiasm she had during the time she was wearing it gave it the feeling that it had been magnificently trampled.

The wet, crumpled uniform was currently in a paper bag. The clothes she borrowed were placed together with her uniform to be taken for cleaning.

(Eri-san, will everything turn out well for her?)

She had no idea who the other person would be, but with the vigor Eri displayed previously, she felt Eri would successfully give it to him.

(I will......)

Upon thinking of it, she began making preparations. Changed into her uniform, Felli brushed her hair once more, prepared another paper bag, and put the clothes she borrowed inside.

(At any rate, I have no choice but to search for Fon Fon.)

Before that, she would need to return to school. Felli"s bag was left at school, and inside were the sweets.

(First of all, I must return to the cla.s.sroom.)

After leaving the cla.s.sroom, she dropped the clothes at a nearby dry cleaners and headed for the school building. Eri said she had run out of time so she returned to school with a tremendous amount of vigor, but Felli felt no such pressure.

She walked, tottering.

She always walked at her own pace, but today she walked with the timing she had become accustomed to.

She finally arrived at the school building. With cla.s.s having long since ended, the cla.s.sroom was bathed in crimson light.

"I have to search for him now, don"t I?"

Her mood was not lifting, so the increasing futility of the sweets was mortifying. Felli pulled out her Dite.

First, she needed to find him. Alone in the cla.s.sroom, Felli released her flakes.

"Senpai......Felli?"

After opening the window to allow her flakes to escape, a voice came from behind.

"Fon Fon? Do you need something?"

Pinning down the impulse to turn her head, she turned to face him and inquired. The flakes circled behind her. Somehow, she felt exhausted.

"Err......Well, I have a request."

With just that, she understood what Layfon wanted to say. Of course, Layfon looked troubled.

"Why does it seem like...... you always rely on people?"

"You understand?"

Still troubled, Layfon smiled. She was probably already aware of this.

It probably had to do with his part-time work with the city police. Just looking at Layfon"s appearance, it was probably over.

The request he was talking about probably had something to do with Felli"s Psychokinesis.

"Rather than relying on people, it"s wrong to use them, however, either way taking advantage of that amiable quality is the real problem, don"t you think?"

"That is possibly true, however......"

Gazing at Layfon overwhelmed by the criticism, Felli dispelled all of the resentment that had built up over the day.

"Well then, what do you need me to do?"

With a relieved expression, Layfon briefed her on the situation.

"......Okay, no problem."

The target of the request was to find Gorneo who was captured somewhere. After raising an eyebrow at that detail, Felli nodded.

"That"s good."

"However......"

"Eh?"

"Th-......"

With her head turned, Felli reached into her bag with her hand, and stopped.

"Th- ?"

Puzzled, Layfon tilted his head.

(Realize it you idiot!)

Holding her outbursts inside, Felli took a deep breath. In that instant, she put a bewildering thought to work.

"This is......"

Layfon"s eyes widened at the thing she took out of the bag.

"Something I made, and so sample this please."

"Ah, sweets......? ........................Felli did?"

"What is that response?"

"Ah, no no no, it"s nothing. Yes"

"Uu......yes."

Opening the sweets handed to him with caution, Layfon"s face became stiff.

"Ah, the appearance, it looks splendid."

"Is that so?"

"It would be rude, so I thought it would be better to eat this as soon as I get home......"

"That is not good. Please eat it now."

"Uu......"

Having lost to Felli"s glare, Layfon put one of the sweets into his mouth.

It made the sound of a crunch, to put it simply.

"Ah, delicious......isn"t it?"

Somehow feeling relieved, that expression didn"t last long.

He suddenly started convulsing.

"Guu......"

"What"s......"

As she said that, before her eyes, Layfon"s face looked as though it was dyed violet, and he began heaving.

"Guu......ge, *cough*, gufu......n, ngh................................................gokun"

After doubling over and making a large gulping sound, Layfon took a deep breath and lifted his head.

"Th, that was delicious."

"Please don"t tell lies."

With a bad complexion and his face trembling bit by bit, his smile told her everything.

"......Being unskilled, I know that at least."

"Uu......"

"I brought you trouble, haven"t I? Well then, shall we begin searching?"

Upon turning her back to Layfon, Felli sent off the flakes she had released flying in every direction.

(Well, this was probably decided from the outset.)

A lonely feeling pa.s.sed by her chest.

She soon found the target. Somehow, she felt she didn"t fully understand the situation, but with her feelings in front of her, it didn"t really matter.

"I will lead the way. Please follow me."

"Okay, thanks."

Layfon lifted his head, and soon took to the air, leaving the cla.s.sroom behind.

Felli sighed.

"......Ah, that"s right."

Though she thought that he had left, Layfon had stopped.

"If it"s something simple, I can make it so next time we should make the sweets together."

"......You don"t have to do anything unnecessary, so hurry up and go."

"Yes."

This time for sure, Layfon had dashed off.

"......Good grief."

To learn how to make sweets from the person she wanted to give them to......

Appearing both pleased and mortified...... With a complicated disposition, Felli muttered.

By the time Layfon arrived, Shante"s group still continued observing, however by no means did they expect to see Eri"s conclusion.

"What is she, that woman...... Mukiiiii!"

"Wh, what are you......"

The one confused was Gorneo. The person on Eri"s mind was him...... that sort of surprise lasted long.

Above all else, that situation was brought on by Felli alone. With the exception of that surprise, it was nothing.

Gorneo was half naked. His set of clothes weren"t incomplete, but he was half naked. The Military Arts uniform he was wearing had been shredded nearby, and had gotten scattered. His belt had also been shredded down the middle so his pants were on the verge of slipping and falling off. One shoe had fallen of somewhere. Approximately half of his fastener had fallen off, so part of his underwear they didn"t want to see showed through.

If you think about the fact that this was the 5th platoon"s captain, it would be pitiable.

That Gorneo was down below. Although on that thick, tightened chest, were red scratches finely cut into him. The girl who instigated this was standing right there.

In that setting, Eri was present. By what kind of chance did she manage to arrive at this place, they didn"t understand, but she was here.

Really, what in the world just......?

Just a short while ago, Felli"s group was just at that place, the Yuusuiju forest. Before, they didn"t go very deep, however near the heart of the forest was an open field. If someone thought about the benefits of the warm earth, this would be great for one"s health to have an afternoon nap here. ......If it weren"t for the zone of high humidity in the surrounding area.

However, an area where people normally keep away from would probably be most suitable.

"Shaaaa!"

"Kiiiiiii!"

What kind of fight......

Eri could be called nothing but a normal person. Clad from her head to her torso in Karen Kei, the stark naked body of the beautiful woman flickering like fire, she and Eri began a shouting contest in strange voices. Meanwhile, they continued to glare at each other.

With the strained atmosphere amongst other things, even though that unknown naked beauty would crush her if she were able to move for even an instant, that thought didn"t seem to exist even in a corner of Eri"s mind.

"Shaa! Shaa Aaaaaah!"

If she had a mane, it would probably be standing on end. For this reason, this beauty looked like a beast. Perhaps, Eri had heard this so called beast"s voice that morning and thought it was probably part of her personality.

However, then, who is this?

"I can"t excuse this!!"

Eri was attacked by the beauty standing before her.

What level of courage.

What level of recklessness.

Even though the origin may have been jealousy, for an ordinary person to stand and face a military artist......

Felli was secretly, deeply moved.

She came to the conclusion that she probably had to be this reckless. If that wasn"t the case, she probably wouldn"t have run to that helpless, stolid, insensitive, thickheaded man.

Even if it was a craze, it was no good.

Even if it was misrepresented in a different form, it was no good.

Breaking through the wall consisting of that man"s unmistakable thickheadedness would be like fighting filth monsters barehanded. Wouldn"t that recklessness and for sure that foolhardiness be necessary?

Slap.

"Hafun."

After receiving the strange beauty"s strike, Eri fell to the ground.

"......Well, that"s why, didn"t I say a miracle might not happen?"

That was, however, in a corner of that man"s heart, a fragment of the feelings Felli wished for which probably wouldn"t have appeared if she didn"t say anything.

Flushing it out was the biggest problem. Still, after figuring that out, all that was left was probably to have courage, while not being reckless or foolhardy.

What kind of inconsistency was that?

Layfon appeared in that place, capturing the strange beauty with a net, and soon after rescued Gorneo.

After mentioning it, Felli had grasped an important lesson,

"Really, I will not try a second time."

It was that kind of place, wouldn"t you agree?