The Asterisk War, Vol. 2: Awakening of Silver Beauty Page 8

  He did not seem to find it scary at all. Rather, the motion set her breasts bouncing, which made the question of where to look even more difficult for him.

  “M-maybe they were just freaked out and imagining things?” he said weakly.

  “Oh? You’re more of a realist than I thought.” Claudia’s shoulders shook with quiet laughter, but then she clapped her hands, remembering something. “That’s right. This is why you’re here, isn’t it, Ayato?”

  With that, she handed him his brand-new school crest.

  “Oh yeah. Thanks, Claudia. But…where did that come from?”

  He hadn’t seen it near her. Her hands had been empty just a moment ago.

  “It’s a secret,” she replied with a giggle.

  “…A secret, huh?” He got a bad feeling about that and decided not to pursue the matter.

  “I was surprised, though,” she remarked. “I never imagined you would duel Miss Toudou.”

  “There were reasons why I didn’t have a choice at the time,” he said succinctly, guessing that Claudia already had a good grasp of the circumstances.

  “You mean…Miss Toudou’s uncle?”

  Ayato looked up at her with a short intake of breath. “Claudia, you know about him?”

  “Of course. He is quite a bit of trouble.” Claudia slowly went to the pool, where she dipped her foot into the water. Ayato had no choice but to follow. “Mm, that feels very nice. Do you want to come in, Ayato?”

  “But I’m in my uniform.”

  “You could take it off.”

  “Um, I don’t have a swimsuit, though.”

  “I don’t mind. All the better, actually.”

  “Well, I mind! Anyway, Claudia, can we—”

  She covered her mouth and laughed at his impatient prodding. “Yes, I know. Miss Toudou’s uncle, right?”

  Then her usually cheerful expression soured.

  “Her uncle, Kouichirou Toudou, works for Galaxy, the integrated enterprise foundation that backs Seidoukan Academy. His position there is manager of the Seventh Division’s Educational Research Office of Integrated Entertainment Operations. He supervises scouting operations in the Far East. The Educational Research Office is effectively in charge of our school’s scouting, which has a strong influence on our performance in the Festa. He holds considerable authority.”

  “So he’s a bigwig?”

  “Hmm, not quite, I think. Better to say he’s a candidate for an executive position,” Claudia replied with her forefinger at her chin. “And Mr. Toudou does seem fully intent on gaining an executive seat. He seems to be very actively using his niece for that purpose. I hear that he’s completely in charge of choosing the opponents and schedule for her duels.”

  “Using her? I knew it. So she is being forced to fight against her will—”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Claudia flatly contradicted him. “She seems to have her own reasons. The more noteworthy thing is his tactics. It is true that if a student he favors does well, it could serve as a foothold for a promotion. But it’s rare for someone to become so invested in a single student. The risk of harm to one’s career if the student fails is too great. And because she is his family, the criticism would be far greater. Even so, that is exactly what Mr. Toudou is doing.”

  “He must be very confident in Miss Toudou’s skill,” Ayato said.

  Claudia nodded happily. “Good, Ayato. Very insightful. I’d expect nothing less.”

  “Well, she did kind of destroy me in the duel.”

  “Oh? I thought it was a quite a match,” Claudia offered, clearly fishing.

  Ayato did not answer, but only smiled uncomfortably.

  “Well, in any case,” she went on, “I doubt Mr. Toudou will have much luck achieving an executive rank—regardless of how his niece fares.”

  “Why do you say that?” he wondered. She had only just said that Kirin’s performance could become a foothold for a promotion.

  “Mr. Toudou is too focused on personal concerns.”

  “Huh?”

  “Individuals who are selfishly motivated can climb only so far in the IEFs. Not just at Galaxy—the same is also true at the others, like Jie Long and Frauenlob.” Claudia scooped up water in her hand and let it trickle down. The thin streams sparkled in the sunlight, making Ayato squint. “Only those who undergo several stages of a mental adjustment program to completely eliminate their self-interest can ever reach the rank of IEF executive. That’s why there are virtually no examples of wrongdoing involving executives. They have tremendous authority, but they exist only to serve the enormous beast that is their integrated enterprise foundation.”

  “You know a lot about it,” Ayato remarked. The inner workings of IEFs, especially pertaining to important personages such as executives, were generally top secret.

  “Yes. My mother is one.”

  “Your mother?” Ayato said, startled. He had guessed that Claudia was from a well-to-do family, but not that she might be the daughter of an IEF executive.

  Given the world they lived in, some might say that placed her in a higher social class than Julis, an actual princess.

  “It can be very entertaining to see executives gather in one room. They all seem like the same person. Even I couldn’t tell which one was my mother.” Her voice rang with laughter.

  Is that something to laugh about? thought Ayato.

  “Oh, by the way…” Striking her palm, Claudia abruptly changed the subject. “I have heard that Miss Toudou is the daughter of the head family of the famous Toudou-style school. Did you know that, Ayato?”

  “Oh…I didn’t, but I recognized that style the second we started fighting.”

  The Toudou style was one of the most flourishing swordsmanship schools of the day. With an emphasis on spiritual strength and strict discipline, it was recommended for the mental training of young Genestella. There were many Genestella among its students, and it had several satellite dojos abroad. It operated on a vastly larger scale than Ayato’s Amagiri Shinmei style.

  And if Kirin was the daughter of the head family of the sword style, that certainly did something to explain her skill.

  Claudia breathed out and sank her body into the pool as if letting herself be washed away. Then she dove deep like a fish with hardly a sound and surfaced toward the middle of the pool.

  “So, what will you do now, Ayato?” There was something teasing in her voice.

  Knowing perfectly well that she wasn’t expecting an answer, Ayato only shrugged in reply.

  “Kirin Toudou…”

  He wasn’t sure why, but she was on his mind a lot.

  Of course, there was the issue of her uncle, but there was something else that stuck in his mind. It felt like there was something he had in common with her…but he couldn’t say exactly what that was.

  He reached the dorm in hazy contemplation and only then noticed that something was wrong. There was an odd level of commotion, a strange tension and excitement.

  “Did something happen…?”

  But as he took a step closer, the students around him began to murmur.

  “He’s here…”

  “That’s Amagiri…”

  “So he’s the one…”

  “But why…?”

  Ayato couldn’t hear everything, but he sensed in their voices a conflicted mishmash of curiosity, jealousy, and pity.

  “Huh? What?” He was looking around in utter confusion, when Eishirou popped his head out from the crowd.

  His expression was that of a boy who’d just been having the time of his life. “Oh hey, Amagiri, took you long enough. You’ve got a guest.”

  “A guest? To see me?”

  “Yup. I showed her to the visitors’ lounge. C’mon, get going.”

  “Uh, okay…”

  Rushed by Eishirou, Ayato headed to the visitors’ lounge at the end of the common floor.

  Feeling stares following him the whole way down the hall, Ayato recalled that something similar had ha
ppened to him before.

  After his duel with Julis, when he came to the boys’ dorm for the first time, he had been treated like this.

  Then he realized:

  That means…

  “Oh… Please come in,” a sweet voice called when he knocked.

  I knew it, he thought as he opened the door.

  The person perched somewhat nervously on the sofa of the visitors’ lounge was none other than the top-ranked fighter of Seidoukan Academy—Kirin Toudou herself.

  CHAPTER 5

  HER TRUE FACE

  “I—I’m so sorry about the other day!”

  As soon as Ayato entered the visitors’ lounge, Kirin hastily stood up from the sofa and bowed in apology.

  “Oh, no— You don’t have to apologize for anything…” Ayato waved his hands at her in denial.

  The visitors’ lounge of the boys’ dormitory was not hugely spacious, maybe ten by fifteen feet, and it was simply furnished with nothing of note other than the leather furniture set. There were no real windows, only an environmental simulation screen displaying scenery.

  “I’m the one who should apologize,” Ayato said. “It looked like I complicated things.”

  “N-no, not at all—!” Kirin, her head still bowed, looked up just enough to read Ayato’s expression. “Um… You’re not angry with me?”

  “Why would I be?”

  Seeing his flustered smile, she finally relaxed a bit.

  “Well, maybe with your uncle, there might be a thing or two for me to be angry about.”

  “Oh, I— I’m truly sorry for—”

  “No, like I said, you don’t have anything to apologize for.”

  Kirin bowed again, and Ayato scratched his head uncertainly. She was a good-natured girl, he could see that, but so incredibly timid. And she’s that strong in a fight… What a contradiction.

  Her eyes were full of tears, as if she’d start crying any second. Ayato placed his hand on her head and gently petted her. She made a tiny sound.

  It happened mostly without thinking on his part, but as her face went pink, he hastily pulled back his hand.

  “Uh, so… You wanted to see me about something?”

  “Huh?”

  “You didn’t come all the way here just to apologize, did you?”

  Now it was Kirin who looked blankly at him in confusion. “But I did.”

  “Oh. Okay…”

  Very timid and very conscientious, it would seem. Ayato thought he was beginning to understand her personality.

  “But, er, not only that…” Suddenly she faced him straight on and bowed again deeply. “Um—thank you very much!”

  “…Wha—?” Ayato blurted, entirely clueless. He had no more idea why he should be thanked than he had regarding her apology. “What are you thanking me for…?”

  “Y-you barely know me, but you stood up to my uncle for me…! Even though things turned out how they did—I’m really grateful!” Her voice was high with effort, her face crimson.

  Ayato weakly shook his head. “Don’t. I couldn’t even help you in the end.”

  “But that’s—”

  As Kirin began to protest, Ayato suddenly went serious and raised his forefinger in front of his lips. His glance fell on the door of the lounge.

  Immediately catching on, Kirin quieted her breathing and signaled with her eyes that she understood.

  Ayato made himself silent and crept to the door, then, with careful timing, pulled it open.

  “Aaugh!”

  The cluster of boys who had been leaning up against the door to eavesdrop all fell into the room in an avalanche.

  Exasperated, Ayato addressed the boy at the very front of the pile—a person he knew. “Hard at work, huh, Yabuki?”

  “Y-you know me,” Eishirou said with a nervous laugh. A slight twitch in his face hinted that he knew he was caught doing something wrong.

  Ayato had expected something like this, but Kirin clearly had not. She was utterly astonished.

  “Let’s keep talking outside, Miss Toudou,” he offered. “I’ll walk you back to your dorm.”

  “Oh… All right!” Kirin nodded anxiously.

  “Sheesh, it’s still hot outside.”

  The summer sky was vivid red in the twilight. The streetlights that had just turned on were scarcely functioning as intended, as if they, too, were painted over with that red.

  Ayato and Kirin walked side by side along the promenade under the fiery glow and the falling dusk.

  Kirin’s face was also tinged red, but that was not entirely due to the light.

  “Toudou, are you okay?” he asked.

  “Huh? Oh, um, yes!”

  “Are you…nervous?”

  “I—I’m sorry,” she replied with a bashful smile. “This is the first time I’ve ever walked like this with a man who isn’t a family member.”

  “Wow.”

  “My da— My father is quite strict.”

  “I see…” It stood to reason that the head of the family of the Toudou style would be austere, he thought. “I’ve heard that the Toudou style is all about strict training, but that goes for your personal life, too, huh?”

  “You know about our style?”

  “Well, I do a bit of swordplay myself. There’s no way I wouldn’t know about the Toudou style. ‘Like folding a paper crane,’ they say, it’s so precise.”

  Kirin’s face brightened at hearing the words Ayato had repeated so casually. “Speaking of styles, yours is an older one, isn’t it?”

  “Huh? Yeah, it is, but…how could you tell?”

  The Amagiri Shinmei style was hardly noteworthy, nothing that merited comparison to the Toudou style. Ayato didn’t think Kirin would have known of it.

  “It was just a guess. When we dueled the other day, I noticed stances where you dropped your hips low.”

  This surprised him.

  It was true that the Amagiri Shinmei style had a long history—five hundred years since its founding. The sword-fighting styles from that time were developed with the weight of armor in mind, and as a rule, they incorporated fighting stances with the body carried low.

  In contrast, the Toudou style was newer, founded at the end of the Edo period. It was designed for combat without armor and relied primarily on upright fighting stances. One was not necessarily superior to the other; in one-on-one unarmored contests like the duels in Asterisk, however, later styles had a slight but undeniable advantage in speed.

  The Amagiri Shinmei style had incorporated aspects of unarmored styles through its long history. But trying to use the older techniques from its early days would naturally put one in an unfavorable position.

  Kirin had seen right through that.

  “You dragged your feet when moving from a defensive position, and the point of your blade was held quite high when you were in a low stance. These are both typical of older styles. I would have been able to learn more if our blades crossed, but that wasn’t really an option with your Ser Veresta… Oh, but that Orga Lux is amazing! Just by facing you, I could feel the flow of your prana. Being able to maintain that amount of—”

  She had been speaking so excitedly that she was leaning in, her eyes sparkling. But then she cut herself off and pursed her lips, her face going bright red, and backed away in tiny steps.

  “I…I…I’m so sorry. I just…got carried away…”

  Seeing her so pitifully abashed, Ayato almost burst out laughing. She really did look like a small animal. So much so that it made him want to pet her head again. “You really love swordplay, don’t you, Toudou?”

  To that question, she had a decisive reply. “Y-yes, I do!” But she stared straight ahead and continued a little sadly, “Because swordplay is the only thing I’m good at.”

  “You shouldn’t—”

  She stopped him mid-sentence, shaking her head. “No, it’s true. I’m not smart. I’m clumsy, I’m a coward, I’m not even good at cooking or anything. But when I pick up a sword, I can be useful to somebody
. That’s what makes it fun and why I love it.”

  “Oh…”

  Her answer was clear and honest. There was nothing Ayato could say to that.

  Still, he felt like there was a slight dissonance between what she wanted and what she did. It bothered him.

  “And besides,” she said, “I have a wish that I want— No, I have to make it come true.”

  “What’s that?”

  “To help my father.” Her voice was quiet and forceful, as if she had to tell herself.

  “That’s why you do everything your uncle says?”

  Ayato wondered if he might be prying too deeply, but he cut to the heart of the matter because he simply had to know.

  As he feared, the question seemed to take Kirin off guard—but then she nodded. “Unlike me…my uncle is very clever. He’s been kind enough to show me the best and shortest path to making my wish come true. I hardly deserve to be in the first rank. That would have been impossible if not for his help. And…I appreciate what he’s doing for me very much.”

  “Even if he’s only using you to advance his career?”

  Naturally, Kirin already knew that. She smiled fleetingly, unsurprised. “My uncle shows me the path to achieving my wish, and in the process, he reaps a corresponding reward—so you see, this is an equal exchange.”

  “It didn’t look that way to me.” Ayato frowned, remembering the scene from the other day.

  A relationship in which she was the target of senseless violence, with no way to resist, could not possibly be described as equal.

  “My uncle hates Genestella,” she said simply.

  “So there’s nothing for it. I just have to bear it, and it’s fine.” That was what the look in her eyes and her strained smile told him.

  Ayato tried to say something and stopped himself. He had lost the duel. It wasn’t his place to get involved any further.

  So he had to leave off here. At least for now.

  “Oh, by the way… May I ask you something?” Kirin leaned in timidly to look at his face.

  “Sure, what is it?” It was a blatant ploy to change the subject, he thought, but he might as well go along with it.