kscans

Chapter 528 - Iris and Sora

"—Keep your eyes straight ahead. Look right at the target."

"S-Sorry…"

"Don't tense up. Just be a little conscious of keeping your elbow steady."

"Yes…!"

"No need to overthink it. No need to be nervous. It's just like throwing a paper airplane."

"A paper airplane…!"

"That's right, just a simple little game. So relax—and, now."

"Hh…!"

Following my instructor's gentle and thorough guidance, I swung my right arm, now properly relaxed. As I whipped my forearm forward, I focused on the 'paper airplane' analogy and let the dart fly….

"Ah… amazing."

It was a textbook case of beginner's luck. The very first throw of my life didn't have much power behind it, but it drew a perfect arc and stuck right in the center of the dartboard.

Even I was surprised. As I murmured in astonishment—

"Well done. Very good."

"Eek…!? U-Um, excuse me…!"

From an impossibly close distance, a quiet voice spoke right next to my ear, its breath tickling my hair and skin. Having finally reached my limit, I let out a yelp and couldn't help but squirm away.

"T-Too close…! You're really, really too close, please forgive me…!"

"…Sora, your face is beet red, you know?"

"That's because of you, Iris-san…!?"

It had been about ten minutes since Iris, seeing my interest in the professional-looking dart set, had offered to teach me. We were in a corner of the spacious recreation room—a space that felt nothing like a basement—far from the men who were boisterously making a ruckus.

She explained that it was a personal hobby of hers, and her coaching was knowledgeable and incredibly easy to understand. I was grateful, but… the problem was the distance.

"The first throw is the most important. If you can ingrain a successful experience with the ideal form, you can solidify your fundamentals along with your confidence—"

"I heard you, I understand…! Thank you very much…!"

She had mercilessly wrapped her arms around my body; it was practically an embrace. Her presence was close, her voice was close, and if I turned, her devastatingly beautiful face would be at point-blank range.

At this level, gender becomes a triviality. The white enchantress would drive me mad—I followed the alarm bells ringing in my confused mind and scrambled away, only to see her garnet eyes blink a few times….

"…I knew it. You two really are kindred spirits. Both of you have such cute reactions."

"Y-You're the one who's just as I expected…! You were teasing me, weren't you!?"

I protested to the white-haired princess as she let out a soft chuckle, but sadly, it had no effect. I couldn't, for the life of me, imagine a future where I could break her composure.

It was truly frustrating. The more I learned about her, the less I felt like I could ever win.

I had no intention of losing, nor would I ever admit defeat. And yet, that fighting spirit alone would never be enough to achieve victory.

To capture my partner's heart as a woman, I needed to surpass her in at least one area—I had to win against this invincible princess with my own charm.

The task was so immense it made me dizzy, but I was in no position to complain.

And that is why—

"…Hehe—care for a match? I'll give you a handicap."

"Hah! I-I'd be delighted…!"

I was being played, but there was no time to be flustered.

—Twenty minutes later.

"Uuuuugh…!!!"

"…Sora, I'm not just being polite, you put up an amazing fight. For a beginner, that's a shocking score, so you don't need to feel down."

"A loss is a loss…!"

"R-Right… well, yes…?"

Trembling with the frustration of her spectacular defeat, the loser was being awkwardly consoled by the winner, who, for an extremely rare moment, seemed somewhat flustered herself.

Though she had called them kindred spirits, the girl in front of her was now suspected of being even more competitive than her partner, a development that had the one and only Alicia White showing a hint of unease.

And then,

"Hey Sora-chan, Sora-chan, wanna play me next? We're both beginners, but I'm confident I'll get totally wrecked. I'm at the point where I'd throw away my pride and beg for a handicap."

"Just as Iris said, I was quite surprised watching you. I heard you weren't good at sports, but perhaps this is an unexpected talent?"

Having peacefully watched the intimate (?) communication between the two beautiful girls, the two older women joined in to offer support, and just like that, the 'Comfort the Youngest' committee was established.

As a result, an enormous sense of shame bloomed in the target girl's heart.

Sora was instantly mortified for sulking so childishly, and she quickly composed herself with a clear, prim expression… but that, too, appeared 'adorable' in the eyes of the older women, and the fact that the other three had to suppress their fond smiles is another story.

In any case—

"Um… it was fun, so I'll practice. Please let me have a rematch someday."

"Of course. I'll look forward to it."

Once she put on a brave face, her feelings followed suit. The truth was, she'd only been flustered because there was something that had been bothering her, and that undeniable anxiety had sent her mental state into a spiral.

And all of this was because, ever since the 'study session' after lunch, her partner (Haru) had been acting incredibly, unnaturally cheerful, as if to hide something.

In other words, it was all his fault. She would concoct some excuse and use it as a reason to be spoiled by him later—

"Nia-san, if you're interested, shall I teach you as well?"

"Oh, should I? Maybe I'll take you up on that?"

"Leave it to me. I was the one who originally taught Iris darts, after all—though it was exasperating when it became a full-blown 'hobby' for her and she surpassed my skill in less than a year."

"Wowza."

While Sora was composing herself, Nia and Helena paired up as if taking her place and started to play darts. At that moment, Iris once again leaned in close….

"She's a former professional darts player, you know."

"Huh…!?"

Her quiet murmur made me let out an involuntary, dumbfounded yelp.

"She was active for a few years, then quit for various reasons. Despite what she says, if she wasn't just playing around, I wouldn't stand a chance against her."

At this revelation, I did a clean double-take. I turned my stunned gaze back to the woman who had started coaching Nia, clinging to her just as she had to me moments before.

Now that she mentioned it—or rather, now that I imagined it—if she herself were to hold a dart with a sharp expression, it would undoubtedly suit her perfectly.

As a girl who tended to admire 'cool women,' Sora's favorability towards Helena skyrocketed in that instant. And as Sora began to stare at her with suddenly sparkling eyes, Iris watched her for a moment with a fond smile before—

"Sora. I'd like to talk with you for a bit. Is that alright?"

"Haeh…? Y-Yes, ah, of course! What is it?"

Iris gestured to a nearby bench, her tone suddenly serious.

When I pulled my gaze back to her, her earlier, pleasantly relaxed mood had vanished… replaced by a somewhat earnest atmosphere.

A jolt of caution.

Because, after all, we were de facto rivals in love. No matter how much fun we had together, our delicate relationship remained unchanged.

Furthermore, I still hadn't performed the 'absolution' for her as I had for Nia. I had intended to get it over with last night, but my plans were thrown off when I was forced into an unscheduled act of penance in the form of being a body pillow.

Therefore, Sora had a reason to tremble when told 'we need to talk' with a serious face.

Therefore, no matter how much she trembled or how cautious she was, Sora had no choice but to refuse.

Therefore, the girl was led by her love rival and obediently sat down on the chair—

"So, um… what did you want to talk about?"

"Mm. About you, as a magic knight."

"Yes—… I'm sorry?"

"To put it simply, I want to know what you're doing and how you're controlling that absurdly unconventional Anima of yours. I've wanted to ask you about it in detail for a long time."

"Um… right?"

"To be honest, I have a really hard time with external control via mental commands. I can do it, but my control is very rough. And… Sora, out of all the players I've met, you have exceptionally precise external control skills, so I was hoping you could teach me if you have any personal tricks."

"…"

No matter what Iris said, it was all about the game. I never knew what she was going to bring up, but this was…

"Frankly, I've rewatched the subjugation battle footage many times just for you. It's frustrating to admit it, but—that magic knight of yours is incredibly cool."

"……………………Huh…?"

Why was I suddenly being asked for lessons from the one and only [Sword Queen]?

"To tell the truth, I wanted to do something like that, too."

"Huh… um, huh…"

Why was I suddenly the object of admiration from the one and only Iris?

"If I could, I'd want to trade my 'sword' for your 'sword.'"

"I think that would be a terrible idea for a whole lot of reasons, actually."

Alicia White was known for her glass-like, expressionless face… and yet, right now.

Behind her garnet eyes, which seemed to sparkle just a little, I saw a vision of a completely innocent expression, one that made me think she was the one who was a kindred spirit to him—

"…You two are both so unfair."

"…?"

The older woman, sighed at by her junior, simply tilted her head like a child.

---

At her core, she's an Arcadia fantasy otaku without peer in this story.

—Bonus: 'Iris and Helena, Three Years Ago'—

"…Helena, you're too close."

"The first throw is the most important. If you can ingrain an ideal successful experience with an ideal form, it will lead to 'later' as you solidify the correct fundamentals along with your confidence."

"I understand, but…"

"Alright, one more time. It wouldn't be strange if you became able to hit a White Horse while humming. I look forward to your future."

"White Horse…?"

"Iris, eyes straight ahead."

"…Mm."