kscans

Chapter 779 - And Apart, Two Pictures

"Well then, I'm off────"

His takeoff was silent.

All my ears caught was the rustle of his clothes and the faint scream of torn air. In stark contrast to the visual absurdity of the moment, he quietly vanished into the night sky in the blink of an eye. I watched him go.

"…………"

"…………"

I was left with only one other person—a girl I hardly knew.

To think he could entrust his partner, who I'd heard he 'cherished so much it was sickening to watch,' to someone whose gender he didn't even know, and leave without a single look back.

"…Let's go."

"Ah, yes!"

Half impressed—no, I take that back.

Ten percent impressed, ninety percent exasperated. With that assessment made, I started walking again.

"Um, where to…"

I had expected the possibility of us being completely silent the whole time, but it seemed that while she gave off an air of shyness, she wasn't necessarily timid. Forming her words more firmly than I'd anticipated, the girl fell into step beside Yurayura… half a step behind. I glanced at her.

Even when our eyes met, her amber gaze didn't flee.

"I heard the bare minimum about you from the old man. Anyway, training or whatever, we can't do much in the middle of the city like this."

I see. There was no need to be overly considerate, thinking of her as just a fragile little girl. Having confirmed this rather welcome fact, I relaxed and strung together some suitable words.

Her nod, which I saw just before I turned my gaze away to look forward again, was more than enough of an answer.

After that, there was only one thing to do in this time—the travel time I had specifically secured by turning down that Acrobat's offer to 'see me off'.

"────I like spicy food."

"Huh…?"

It's a pain, but I do it because I think it's necessary. Just a single, playful act like this.

"It's just right when my tongue hurts so much I can't stand it. I'm not good with spice, I'm actually pretty weak to it. But I like it, so I eat it often, and sometimes it messes up my stomach."

"Ah, eh? Um, well… ?"

"What about you?"

"Yes?"

"You must have something you like."

"……………………S-Strawberries. I like them."

"Just as they are. Jam. Ice cream, shortcake, things like that."

"…Shortcake."

"Skimping on the strawberries is out of the question. It's best when there are at least two layers of cream in between."

"…………"

I'm sure she's wondering what I'm doing. Even I'm currently mocking myself for being so clumsy—but this is fine for now.

Yurayura doesn't like socializing, but that doesn't mean they can't do it.

There was that recent incident where I spectacularly misjudged some idiot's strange nature, but that doesn't mean I'm a bad judge of character either. That's why, if I put my mind to it, I can do it.

"────…………, heheh…"

I can at least dispel a single girl's tension and draw out a laugh.

"It's difficult and a lot of work to cut the sponge cake thinly and neatly, you know?"

"That's the perspective of someone who makes it. Do you?"

"Sometimes."

"That's impressive. A very ladylike and noble hobby."

And then, after another moment of silence, we walked side by side—

"I like black."

"I… suppose I like white."

"What? Not gold?"

"And you, Yura-san. Your favorite isn't silver?"

And so, the exchange between the blunt and dishonest he-or-she and the young girl continued.

◇◆◇◆◇

A few minutes after I had left Sora in the care of [Screen] Yurayura-shi—or rather, Yura.

"Hey. I told you, didn't I? Warn me before you stomp on the accelerator. I told you to give me a heads-up, a single word of warning. Didn't I? Hmm???"

"Yes, I did. That's why I said, 'let's go'…"

"Let me teach you something. What you did wasn't a warning, it was a 'declaration'. I told you to 'warn' me so I could mentally prepare myself."

"…………"

"In what world does an idiot press the detonation switch at the same time as they give the warning?"

And so, just like that.

As soon as we'd regrouped and resumed our training, I was receiving a lecture from Nacchan-senpai.

"Um, well, you see…"

"Hmm???"

"It's nothing, I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

I did have an excuse, or rather, my side of the story, but the pressure and glare coming from her absolute authority as my senior made raising the white flag in an instant unavoidable.

What the heck… I mean, during our second run, she was all cocky, saying things like, 'I'm used to it now, this is easy.' So of course I thought, 'Oh, really? Then she can handle it,' right?

It's not like I was trying to pull a prank or anything. Definitely not.

"…Good grief. I can only imagine what Sora has to put up with."

"Hey, stop that. Stop using my weaknesses against me the moment you get to know me."

"From now on, every time you do something stupid, I'm reporting it to her."

"Could you please, seriously, not do that…!!!"

Her counterattacks are devastating. What a merciless cat.

"Honestly, I don't know what Sora or the Princess see in this guy… well, whatever."

And with that, she tossed aside a whole series of exchanges that I definitely didn't want to be dismissed with a 'well, whatever,' and the merciless senpai instantly retracted her anger and teasing.

She was a person who got angry easily, but she also switched gears just as quickly.

────And so, after finishing our 'one full-out dash,' we were now on Sapphire's back. During Nacchan-senpai's break, her avatar, which had been using me as a backrest, rose again.

"Alright, my turn. It's frustrating, but it's a waste of time to just use this for a cooldown."

She stood up… on top of a dragon, in the middle of the sky, albeit during a stable flight.

My dragon, capable of flying without flapping its wings, has a back that is generally free from shaking. However, even the most skilled player cannot ignore the effects of the unavoidable wind and other factors.

Using her 'threads' to weave reins, which Sapphire obediently accepted, the [Thread-Weaver] skillfully and brilliantly controlled her balance, turning her yellow eyes to me.

"I'll watch you. Be grateful."

"I'm supposed to be teaching you things too, you know…"

"Be grateful?"

"It would be my utmost pleasure, Nacchan-senpai."

Having finally given up on a fight I knew I couldn't win, I surrendered my useless resistance. The white cat, her robes fluttering in the high-altitude wind, sniffed and said, "As long as you understand" before—

"Wait a minute???"

Taking advantage of the low weight of my transformed avatar, which was facing forward, she sent her 'threads' at me without a word, giving me no time to resist as she deftly spun me around.

And then, without a shred of hesitation, the cat settled into the space between my defenselessly outstretched legs.

What are you doing???

"Hey, what the— You idiot, this is the kind of outrageous act I should be reporting!"

"Oh, shut up! Don't scream in my ear!"

And the absurdity continued. To create such a crazy situation and then tell me to 'shut up'—just as I was about to retort further and quickly break contact,

I was pierced by eyes that held not a trace of playfulness or joking, and I fell silent.

"I know you're acting like an idiot, trying to be sincere and wearing yourself thin for the Princess, Sora, and one other person. All ten of the Southern Faction's top rankers know."

"What? What has Ashe been doing…!"

There was no need to verify the source of the information. The cause of this public knowledge—or rather, public shame—was undoubtedly singular.

"You're not going to get any ideas about other women at this point, are you? And knowing that, I'm not going to get any ideas about you either. Not even a little bit."

"Well, that's a relief, but that was some harsh emphasis…"

"So, you don't need to think about unnecessary things. Just show me your 'threads' already."

"Yeah, um… but we don't need to be this close—"

"We do, that's why we're like this. You know that, right?"

"………………"

Ah, unfortunately, I did know.

And because I did, I understood that she was, true to her words and her demeanor, seriously, earnestly, and honestly trying to be my 'instructor'.

…Damn it. Rejecting this sincerity felt terribly uncouth.

"Haaaah… You just want me to bring out the threads?"

"Yes. 'Weiß Schwarz,' was it? Those five cheeky ones will do."

"Yes, yes… ────Well then, I'm in your hands. Nacchan-sensei."

"Don't call me sensei."

In that case, it was best to stop dawdling and comply quickly to get out of this situation.

[Ninefold Shadow-Woven Gauntlet] activated. I twisted the threads, taming the power that would rampage if left to its own devices, and at the end of it—from my outstretched right arm, I extended the 'shadow threads' spun from my five fingers.

And so, on the back of a dragon soaring through the sky, lines of black stain, blending into the night, trailed behind us…

"Very good. Well then, let's begin the lesson."

"See, you are a sensei…"

"Be quiet."

After a declaration that was more of a warning, just like someone else's, shining threads of snow danced across the starry sky.

---

For the record, both of their heart rates were perfectly normal.