5
First, I decided to go to school.
Honestly speaking, it wasn’t like I was certain there was something there.
But if this island itself was made with some purpose by Eucharistia, I just thought that something must exist in the school that was built in the center of it.
And I had no clues in the first place.
For the time being I believed my intuition and started to move carefully on the usual road to school.
…however, even after three times the time it usually took, I still couldn’t see the school.
When I stopped feeling discomfort, I realized what was the reason for it.
The surroundings were too quiet.
Because of that I have become strangely nervous about erasing the sound of my footsteps and my moving speed was extremely low.
“……”
The silence pained my ears.
The wind passing through empty city felt extra cold.
Nighttime.
When I first heard of it I thought it was just simplistic naming, but experiencing it this way was very strange.
Day and night.
I wasn’t very conscious of it until now, but daytime and nighttime are two different worlds.
Living beings quieten their breathing, air cools down and sounds disappear.
The silence and stillness was enough for me to hear the sound of blood flowing by my ears.
Buzzing in my heart wasn’t fear, but dread.
In this space with all noise disappearing I realized my littleness and how broad the world is.
Facing something far greater than I am, rather than fear I felt awe.
It was the emotion that people once felt towards gods and the nature.
This city, this island reminded people of such things.
『”————ii.”』
..hmm?
Just now, there was a voice.
Hiding in the shadows I glanced at the surroundings, but there was no sign of people.
The surroundings were same as usual… completely silent.
…was it my imagination?
It seemed to sound too clear for that.
No, there’s no time to waste in a place like this.
I resumed my movement and headed to school.
After climbing the gentle slope I could finally see the school building.
Passing by the school gate while wary of the surroundings, I attempted to quietly approach the entrance.
That’s when.
“————Ah.”
Suddenly looking at the top, I saw someone on the roof of the school building.
Judging by the hair length, it was probably a girl.
The girl who seemed like she carried moonlight was wearing——a silver knightly armor.
There was a tie at her neck, the hem of her armor spreading like a skirt.
Her appearance seemed as if it was a meld of a school uniform and armor.
While it was odd-looking, strangely that appearance of hers was beautiful.
In silent nighttime, nearly overlapping with moonlight now, standing there she appeared very mystical.
“————”
The girl’s line of sight moved lower.
Our eyes met.
“Charlotte-senpai?”
It was hard to see in the shadow, but her features seemed familiar.
The second year we have passed by at the school gate today as we were leaving.
Charlotte Lovepain.
Her appearance during the day and night gave off a slightly different impression.
When I first saw her the atmosphere around her was fleeting, but now it was sharp and cold like an unsheathed blade…
As I gasped staring at her.
Suddenly, her figure leaped off the roof.
“Wha?!!”
She was about to perform suici——no.
She was clearly aiming at me as she fell, no, as she jumped.
“Come to me, Nothung!”
Charlotte-senpai yelled in mid-air.
Light converged in her hand taking form of a sword.
It wasn’t a Japanese katana. It was a slightly wider knightly sword.
Fitted on the silver decorations on the handle was a red gem.
The blade was without a single shadow.
And, the trajectory that blade was traveling aimed at me——!
“Khh!”
I threw myself forward as to evade her leaping at me.
*crshshshh*!!
I could hear the sound of concrete being gouged.
While I rolled on the ground I saw the swung down knightly sword split the pavement, producing a huge crack in the earth.
“What?!”
No matter what famous katana or sword it is, that kind of thing was impossible.
It wasn’t a hammer or an iron ball, there’s no way it could split the ground.
Even before that, it’s strange for a human to jump off a roof and land on both legs without taking the impact passively.
I stood up, and with the building behind my back I confronted the girl who couldn’t be a normal person.
Turning around, the girl stared at me with sharp gaze.
I could feel thirst for blood and strong willpower in her eyes, it was completely different from my impression of her when we spoke during daytime.
It was as if, like that one I once saw standing on top of the rubble…
——It was like a flashback of the god in shape of a girl who fell from the heavens.
“Ghh…!”
My left eye ached.
While I held down my eye with one hand, Charlotte-senpai turned around.
You, you’re Divinity-Compatible aren’t you?”
Raising the point of the sword she asked.
“Divinity-Compatible?”
Holding down my left eye, I answered while covered in cold sweat.
She herself seemed puzzled, but I couldn’t understand what she meant either.
Of course, I responded truthfully but it seemed like she thought I was playing dumb.
Senpai’s eyes were dyed with anger.
“What are you trying now, if you are walking around at nighttime then——”
Nighttime?
Certainly, it was dorm rule violation but what about it?
But before I could ask.
“This is the third war of mine. Becoming the first to adorn my sword is something to be joyful about… but if the opponent is an escaping weakling, it is only half the honor.”
The third… war?
Ever since the previous Myth War, there was not even one large-scale conflict which could be called a “war”.
*shiver*
A mysterious chill ran down my spine.
“At least fight as not to embarrass yourself.”
“Wait! What are you talking abou…”
“Tch.”
Charlotte-senpai clicked her tongue in anger.
“If you don’t wish to fight——get lost from the surface right now.”
She raised her knight sword soundly.
Without a doubt, the killing intent coming from the point of her sword was real.
Her movements from earlier and those during the day were completely different.
I don’t know why was I assaulted by a student when I came to investigate the Eucharistia but…
It wasn’t the time to think about that now.
…I guess frontal suppression is impossible.
Charlotte-senpai’s movements were better than mine.
Confronting her, who held a sword, with bare hands was reckless.
Withdrawing from this place was the top priority.
While I pondered on the escape route, a small light suddenly appeared on Charlotte-senpai’s armor by her neck.
It came from the gap between her tie and her collar.
A tattoo… no. It was a pattern drawn with simple lines which for some reason was giving off faint, phosphorescent light.
Moreover that pattern, no, those characters…
『”——r me?”』
…that voice again?
Just earlier I thought it had to be Charlotte-senpai’s voice, but her mouth didn’t move. Also, hearing it again I noticed the tone of voice is completely different.
Then whose voice is this?
It was hard to hear it, but from what I could tell it was a man’s voice.
Is there someone else here——when I looked at the surroundings for a moment.
The girl started running.
“?!!”
Leaving my self to my reflexes I threw my body to the side.
The sword passed above my inclined head.
*grashhh*!!
The school’s wall was cut apart——!
Moreover, in a straight line.
The thick glass on the doors shattered on impact, the flying gravel struck my entire body.
“Ghh!”
I clenched my teeth in pain and entered the building through broken doors.
While running in the hallway I shed cold sweat.
What’s with that abnormal destructive power?!
Also, the chill whenever I confronted that sword.
That thing is no good.
It’s something out of this world.
My human instinct warned me of that threat.
Then how do I survive in this situation?
I climbed the stairs while thinking.
Escaping when there’s no way to escape was a foolish plan, there were no obstacles in the straight corridor. The risk of her catching up to me with her tremendous physical abilities was too high.
For now let’s hide for some time before escaping to the outside again.
It were completely passive measures, but that was all I could do.
No matter how I looked at it, it was a hopeless situation.
Not knowing anything about what’s happening was real bad in the first place.
If I at least knew the identity of that sword.
If I’m not wrong… she called it Nothung… right.
“?!”
Once I climbed up to the third floor I stopped moving.
It was because I noticed.
No, because I recalled, would be correct.
I knew that sword.
That’s when a shadow appeared outside the window.
What appeared from there was a gray, heroic flying horse
From the sky?!
The flying horse kicked off the air and started running in the middle of it.
On its back, there was Charlotte-senpai holding the knightly sword.
“Go, Grani!”
The girl’s striking voice resounded through the windows.
Grani.
Nothung.
That armor and those characters.
As I thought?!
I gained confidence as to her identity.
At the same time, the flying horse struck the walls of the school building.
*brshhnggg*!!
“Khh!!”
Avoiding the rubble I rolled down to the corridor.
The horse flew through the sky and destroyed the building by tackling it.
Witnessing this irrational spectacle many people would turn dumbfounded in amazement.
But I was far from entering that state.
*thump*
Anger.
*thump* *thump* *thump*
Because it felt like feelings would burst out of my heart, all I could do was to keep my sanity.
“Don’t run, you coward!”
Charlotte-senpai was saying something.
But, I couldn’t care less.
Since I was facing downwards, I raised my face,
“I finally found you.“
I said that, squeezing the voice from the bottom of my heart.
“————!”
Surprised by my abnormal state, Charlotte-senpai faltered on the horseback.
I didn’t let that chance escape.
I grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall.
“Mmgh?!”
Charlotte-senpai thought I’m going to throw that heavy fire extinguisher and raised the sword to cut it apart in mid-air.
Meanwhile I disconnected the pin on the fire extinguisher and pressing on the lever I ejected it into her face.
“Wahphh!!”
Bathed in the fire extinguishing agent, the knight let out a quiet scream.
Succeeding in blinding her I slipped by the flying horse’s side and withdrew from the location.
Eternal Kifune's Translations 