Seiken Tsukai no Kinju Eishou

Haimura Moroha was dreaming.

People and people and people filled the streets of the royal capital.

All of them were dressed in heavy armor and held ma.s.sive weapons.

A battle formation and armament as if going to kill a dragon.

They let their high spirit smeared with hysteric bloodl.u.s.t come out like a cornered rat.

The Flaga in that dream was basked in that bloodl.u.s.t and high spirit.

*TN: During all this dream, Flaga is the furigana reading for Moroha.

He shouted to that bloodl.u.s.t and high spirit with an angry voice loaded with vigor several times as large as those.

– Move out of the way!

The prana that dwelled in his breath immediately led to a storm.

*TN: Prana is the furigana reading for “the power that leads to G.o.d”.

The heavy armored soldiers stood firm while trembling.

Flaga, the only horseman, and the one who broke the battle formation with just his voice, launched an attack.

His empty hands didn’t even wear a short blade.

His partner, the holy sword Saratiga, wasn’t here now.

However, Flaga’s fist wore prana that resembled a wild white flame and knocked down the soldiers with palm hits.

Exactly one hit was needed to defeat an opponent.

When he hit them very hard from top of their helmets, the men in heavy armor flew like they were nothing.

A blow, then another blow, each time there was an impact, a white light glittered brilliantly.

However, n.o.body was fascinated by its beauty.

The warriors were terrified in front of Flaga who distorted his expression like he was very angry.

– Move out of the way if you don’t want to die! Give Sarasha back!

They listened to their voice and froze.

The top soldiers of the former allied army were no different from small fries in front of Flaga, the impersonation of anger.

In the middle of that――

– Shut up! You’re the one who’ll die!

The swordsmen who had the most noticeable spirit sprung at him with a momentum that scattered their allies.

Their number was four.

These strong men were known as “mighty warriors” in each of the four kingdoms.

They emitted a dazzling prana that didn’t differ from its name, surrounded Flaga and slashed at him from all directions.

– Why!? What did I do!?

Flaga looked widely and asked in anger as he saw all the trajectory of the swords and the movements of all four of them.

But the four swords ignored him and approached, raising a buzz.

A perfect encirclement cooperation. As one would expect, the swordsmen who heard that sound. Didn’t even give him a pause to avoid them.

– You’re too strong!

– You’re way too righteous!

– n.o.body feels alive in front of you!

– Your righteousness is nothing but an enemy to the world at this point!

All the four swords that were swung downward together with a war cry were driven into Flaga’s body――

They raised a dull sound and fell silent.

Flaga’s body had not even a single cut.

The prana that Flaga was clad in, the thing itself was a st.u.r.dy and indestructible armor.

A white flame protection.

– Y-you’re a monster…

The faces of the four swordsmen were distorted in fear.

– You babble that, but what about you!?

Flaga swung his fist in anger and mowed them down.

The four heroes who were a match for thousands were blown away all at once.

The heroes in front of Flaga were powerless, just like ordinary soldiers.

– You use every little bit of what can be used from Sarasha and me and once you’re done with us, you’ll discard us――aren’t you embarra.s.sed? Your heart doesn’t hurt? And still… you’re the humans here!?

Flaga hit the ground without calming down his fury.

The ground surrounding him sunk in an instant, an earthquake was generated because of that and the soldiers fell into panic.

Flaga clenched his teeth while being in the same posture he struck the ground.

He was enduring it.

This violent emotion that felt like it burned his chest―― and the pain that tormented his whole body.

His body jarred every time he swung his fist.

The flesh, muscles and joints complained of pain.

An overused body that kept fighting practically alone for decades until it destroyed the empire.

He didn’t have physical trauma. His body preserved its youth as if he were a young man thanks to being full of prana.

But his core was riddled with wounds.

If it was true, then he forcibly moved with overflowing prana while being unable to stand on his own.

Yes, Flaga was a half-dead man who was only alive thanks to his prana.

If it wasn’t for his prana, then he wouldn’t be able to live every day, though he was forced to wear prana all the time――

As a result, he became more and more polished and endlessly stronger.

And transformed Flaga into a monster even more.

When he shouted in anger, it became a storm, and when he made his fist strike something, it became an earthquake.

Evidently, he was a natural calamity in the form of a person.

The soldiers who saw his slim figure were more and more afraid of him, then held their spears at the ready, forming a line like a hedgehog and expressed unanimously.

– What a monster…

In the past, they acclaimed and praised highly the extraordinary hero named Flaga, but now they audaciously spoke ill of him.

A shamelessness they couldn’t be saved from.

– … Alright. You win. If you’re the “human beings”, then I don’t mind being a monster.

Flaga raised up slowly as he endured the pain that felt like it jarred his body.

– I figure you can understand this monster. So, I’ll say it in an easy-to-understand way. … Return Sarasha. We just want to live peacefully!

He stared fixedly at those who obstructed his path in the street full of people.

But, no person replied.

No person yielded.

They just pointed their grasped spears to him with a face full of hostility and fear.

– …You aren’t even going to allow such a modest wish… to this monster, are you?

His shoulders became incredibly heavy with despondency and helplessness.

Flaga looked up to the heavens.

And asked to the metaphysical existence that was said to be over there.

– Wha…? The sweat I perspired and the blood I vomited were for nothing? How not being rewarded is a natural thing? The ones who wish for it are fools then? Such is the life of a person after all? If one dies, it’s the end of a worthless thing?

But there was no reply.

Since the dawn of history, G.o.d have never answered people.*

*TN: G.o.d is the furigana reading for heaven.

– … That also works for me.

The answer was decided by himself.

He didn’t need anything except his beloved younger sister.

If it was for the sake of getting his beloved younger sister back, it didn’t matter what happened to everything.

– I’ll… never forgive… those who…… steal from me!!

Flaga’s lion’s roar echoed in the world.

Together with that, prana blew violently from his whole body.

With a dazzling brightness that one wondered if there was something above a light’s majesty, a G.o.d’s majesty of that degree.

Yes. Flaga now was unmistakably an evil G.o.d.

A fierce G.o.d that made the power of Flaga sublimate to Ars Magna rampage with emotion if the holy sword Saratiga was in his hand.*

*TN: Ars Magna is the furigana reading for true mysterious power.

Several tens, hundreds of cracks ran around Flaga in an instant.

What kind of mystery was this? Cuts were made in the empty sky all of a sudden.

The world itself was chopped up.

Naturally, humans and so forth didn’t stand a chance.

They were swallowed up by the thousands to tens of thousands of scattered cuts that were born, and then torn apart, raising sprays of blood.

It wasn’t an act that people could do, and it wasn’t a deed that could be endured by people’s hearts.

But that was of no concern to Flaga.

His eyes only saw Sarasha who was captured in the royal castle on the horizon.

He walked, proudly throwing out his chest in the b.l.o.o.d.y path where the bodies of 5 people were scattered.

Since they said they wouldn’t return his beloved younger sister――then this insignificant world could just go to h.e.l.l!

The dream of Flaga was interrupted right there and Moroha awakened.

The sensation of Flaga together with the fading sleepiness rapidly became distant.

Nevertheless, his heart continued sounding like an alarm bell.

He seemed to be drenched with unwanted seat.

He opened his eyelids as if bursting them open so as to not leave room to savor the slumber’s aftertaste.

Satsuki’s face――was in front of him.

A dazzling smile like the sun. It was reflected in the retina of Moroha along with the blue sky.

Moroha extended his hand without hesitation and stroked her cheek.

It was soft, and more than anything, its warmth was pleasant.

It wasn’t an illusion. His beloved「younger sister」was certainly next to him.

Satsuki spilled an even bigger smile as he kept stroking her cheek.

– What’s wrong, Nii-sama? Did you have a scary dream?

It’s alright, she stroked his chest back.

Her palm was also soft and warm, it felt great.

The sound of his heart that sounded like it went frenzy slowly regained calmness.

Moroha was finally relieved.

– Yeah. I had a terrible dream.

He closed his eyes for a moment and put his breathing in order.

Having done that, he noticed that a soft sensation was touching the back of his head.

I’m facing up because my head is on Satsuki’s lap, huh? He could understand so now.

While he was at it, he remembered. That he took a nap after he ate a meal on the lawn of the courtyard.

– What kind of dream?

– A dream in which you… Sarasha had been kidnapped and taken prisoner in a castle.

– Ahaha, are you kidding? That’s really a teeerrible dream! In any case, it’d have been great if you have had a sweeter dream since I appeared in it.

Moroha blinked, looking at Satsuki who burst into a foolish laughter.

– Is that something to laugh about? You were caught, you know?

– Ufufu, thank you for worrying about me. But, why wouldn’t I laugh? That’s not a memory of our previous life, just a real dream.

– Is… that so?

– Because I was never kidnapped by somebody in my previous life.

– But a.s.suming you’re not biased as me, the memories of our previous life that we can recall are full of holes, aren’t they?

She thought for a moment and understood.

Satsuki had only lived for 15 years, so reliving all the memories of her previous life in which she lived for decades while sleeping at night as dreams was, time-wise speaking, impossible.

– Thaaat maaay beee.

– You said it before, right? I finally defeated the bad emperor in the end. So what came next? What happened to you and me?

– We lived happily in a peaceful world, you know? And together, of course!

– Forever?

– I-I’d love to say that…. I had a dream that felt like we lived calmly for at least two years…. I haven’t seen anything after that…

After Satsuki showed a pondering gesture,

– J-jeez! Don’t go saying strange things! It’s giving me the creeps.

She tap him over and over as if being playful with the hand that stroked his chest.

– S-sorry. I won’t do it again.

Moroha made a “time out” gesture with the hand that stroked Satsuki’s cheek.

– Okay. I forgive you. Anyway, let’s forget about that. There’s no point in worrying about it.

– …That’s what you think?

– That’s what I think. I mean, try thinking about it, okay?

Satsuki raised a finger and said proudly, looking happy.

– I’m here and Moroha’s with me now. Isn’t that the most important thing?

Moroha, who listened to her, smiled broadly.

– Certainly. It’s as Satsuki says.

All the worries in his chest cleared all of a sudden as if basking in the spring sunlight.

– Case closed, then?

– Yeah, case closed.

Moroha extended his hand again and stroked Satsuki’s well-shaped cheek.

And his other hand was――

– “Case closed?”

Suddenly and violently grabbed and pulled.

It was forced to touch a soft sensation.

Moroha became startled, looking at that person.

The one who sprawled and faced him, using Moroha’s legs as a subst.i.tute for a pillow was――Shizuno.

A small dimple appeared near her mouth as she made him stroke her cheek forcibly.

That was the true ident.i.ty of the soft sensation.

– Are you disappointed that it’s not my breast?

– No, I’m not.

While Moroha had a sour look,

– Don’t surprise us. I mean, tell us that you’re here.

He was a bit embarra.s.sed and his face was a bit red because his talk with Satsuki was seen by her.

– But I was here. We had lunch together not long ago.

– Have you been told that listening while holding your breath is mean?

– Well, I did it because I wanted to do this a bit more.

Shizuno closed her somewhat spellbound eyes and rubbed her cheek against Moroha’s leg.

– How did I get to be like this after we had lunch together?

– Moroha’s hopeless, you know? You said that you were a little sleepy and with that, you exposed your defenseless self.

– We decided to discuss who would give a lap pillow to Moroha and who would lay her head on Moroha’s lap.

– So you get on good terms only at times like these…

– Yes. If we had made a pointless fuss, you would have woken up and we would have lost our chance.

– That’s right! No quarrel came to fruition, fuo〜 fuoo fuoo fuoo.

It’d be great if it was always like this.

– Well, in any case. I had no reason to pay attention to your conversation, so worry not, you hear me?

Shizuno swiftly turned her tone of voice into an unkind one as she brought her cheek near to his leg,

– I’m not interested in the conversation of your previous life.

– Are you making fun of our epic and magnificent love poem!?

– Don’t quarrel as soon as you say so.

Moroha calmed them by stroking the stiffened-in-anger cheeks of Satsuki and the cheek of Shizuno that showed a dimple again.

– Which of our cheeks feel more comfortable, mine or Ranjou-san’s?

– Obviously mine, right!?

– I’m teellliiing youuu, don’t start a pointless competence. It’s hard to tell which of the two is better.

Moroha told them his honest impression, but that didn’t satisfy the two girls.

– Hmmm. You made it, Urushibara. This I now can recognize you as my rival!

– Ara? Shall we get ready for the next match then?

– Fine by me! What’s the next match? Hair? Nape? Collarbone? I have confidence in myself, you know?

– Let’s go for a blunter match instead of these mild body parts, shall we?

– I was hoping for that! Let’s have a fair and square match!

– Then, which of our b.o.o.bs feel better?

– You’re so dirty, Urushibaraaaaaa!

– Ara, why am I dirty? Can you explain it to us?

– Gnuuu…

– So, Moroha? Can I ask for your decision?

– I won’t go along with this nonsensical match.

– Whaaaaaaaaaat do you mean with nonsensical!? Even Moroha thinks that this is a match I stand no chance!?

– What’s with that misinterpretation…?

– I’ve heard that Moroha is a “jiggle lover”. I misunderstood you. If you like b.o.o.bs so much, then you should marry the one who has bigger b.o.o.bs *cries*.

– Come on, don’t cry and listen to me properly…

– I haven’t said anything until now, but the truth is that I’m the one with the bigger b.o.o.bs. So, shall we get married?

– Uwaaaaaaaa.

– Don’t add fuel to the fire, Shizuno. Stop playing with her.

– But there’s no man who doesn’t like b.o.o.bs, am I right?

– ……………… Who knows?

– Moroha, you bakaaaaaa!

– I-it can’t be helped, you know? It’s our instinct.

– Then I’ll reward Moroha for his honesty.

– I humbly decline.

Shizuno tried to pull the hand that she grabbed to her rich reward, but Moroha resisted.

*TN: Reward is the furigana reading for b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Satsuki wriggled, and moved violently while crying aloud, this uncomfortable sleeping sensation was the worse of them all.*

*TN: Satsuki is the furigana reading for pillow.

He had a headache when he tried to think about how to dodge Shizuno’s mischief and how to calm Satsuki.

– I woke up from a dream into a nightmare…?

He became dejected and grumbled.

A blueness that felt like it pierced highly and highly through the somewhat transparent clear autumn sky as his eyes looked up at it.

The slightly chilly wind, the sunlight that rained incessantly and the lawn that embraced the weather were very pleasant.

If he strained his ears, he could hear the lively voices of the students. The school festival was almost here, the school grounds became particularly lively recently.

Satsuki and Shizuno, who leisurely stared at the sky, noticed Moroha’s gaze.

He became submissive and began to bask in the sun with them.

The words suddenly died, but they had the feeling he was very happy.

The calendar was early October.

More than 10 days have pa.s.sed since Moroha made his triumphal return from Russian lands.

And yet, he could fully enjoy harmony as if those painful days of war were a lie.

Certainly, j.a.pan was nice. Akane Academy was nice.

He could feel that this place where Satsuki and Shizuno were was the place where he belonged to.

There was a man who looked down at Moroha and the others who basked in the sun in the courtyard.

He was in his mid-twenties.

He stood on the off-limits school roof, his appearance clad in a sword-like atmosphere was like a black stain that fell into the peaceful academy.

Black hair. Black suit. Black necktie. And on top of that, he wore black leather gloves.

Only the color of his eyes that glared at Moroha was blue.

Two large and small sabers were put on his waist.

『I don’t get this guy. Women serves him from sunrise until sunset and exposes a stupid face. While one believes so, he rages, invades Russia and destroys the Empire. Which one is your real nature, you seventh person?』

The man who tapped his foot in irritation and clicked his tongue many times.

His name was Charles Saint-Germain.

The French Division Head of the White Knight Organization.

“Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)”. “The legitimate heretic magician”. “The magician of the Eiffel Tower”. “Les rouge et le blue”.

*TN: The last one is the furigana reading for “Red and blue magician”.

A remarkable Dark Savior with a lot of battle experience and who had numerous aliases.

Why was such a man in j.a.pan? If someone who knew his face were to see him, they probably would be unable to stand up due to fear.

Charles quietly kept glaring at Moroha with eyes of a scholar who was driven by the spirit of enquiry or with eyes of an investigator who tormented himself in solitude.

『The key of the prophecy. The guidance that shows me the way to where Flavie is ――』

He had something to pursue.

He vowed to recover the happiness of the old days and his beloved one. That was why he came to this country.

『――so please, don’t disappoint me, alright, seventh person?』

The restless Charles, who just confirmed his target for a brief s.p.a.ce of time, flew away from that place.