Unlimited Fafnir Vol 14 Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 3 – The Previous Night’s Game Party

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Part 1

「Muu……even though I said everyone──」

Iris looked around at the members who gathered in my cabin and puffed up her cheeks in discontent.

Everyone had just taken shower to washed off their sweat, so nice scents of shampoo were drifting inside the room.

「No, as expected it’s impossible to get everyone here. It’s unreasonable.」

I said so without hiding my exasperation.

Naturally Major Loki wasn’t here. He declined Iris’s invitation because he had to take care the procedure with the supply ship and contact NIFL headquarters.

──Or rather, would he come here even if he had no work to do?

I pressed my head with my hands because I couldn’t picture the scene of Major Loki playing with us at all.

We created what was readily available in the cafeteria inside the ship for dinner and I also brought some of it to the bridge, but Major Loki looked busy as usual there.

「Major Loki has work to do, and Shinomiya-sensei is looking after Shion for us. The room is also full already, so I think this is enough.」

I looked over the members of Brunhilde class who gathered inside the room.

Iris, Mitsuki, Tia, Lisa, Firll, Ariella, Ren, Jeanne, and then me. The nine of us were crammed into a cabin for four people, so there was no more leeway with the space. Everyone was sitting on the lower part of the two bunk beds or on the floor.

「You’re right, but──」

However Iris was still staring inside the room with reluctance. I knew that she was thinking about the two people who weren’t here.

「It can’t be helped about Kili and Vritra. Those two didn’t look like they are in the mood for game.」

Yes, only the two of them refused Iris’s invitation with personal reason.

「……Even though I told Kili-chan that I’m fine. I wish she can reconcile and play together with Vritra-chan.」

Iris’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. It seemed that Iris had also talked with Kili.

However if she still acted like that even after that, then perhaps the problem was even more serious than I thought. Most likely the cause of the problem wasn’t solely Iris.

「It will be fine. If we have fun playing here, then they will be the one who come here on their own before long. Regardless of what those two said from their mouth, I believe that they’re actually someone who get lonely easily at heart.」

Lisa patted Iris’s shoulder and cheered her up. Firill grinned hearing that.

「Aa──I once read in a book that there is that kind of myth in Japan. If I’m not mistaken, it’s about a god who hid inside a cave and got lured out because of people having fun outside?」

Firill turned to Mitsuki for confirmation.

「Yes, that’s the story of Amaterasu’s hiding. Certainly this might be a similar circumstance.」

Mitsuki nodded with a wry smile.

「But you know──is it really okay for us to play around in this kind of sitaution? I feel like……there might be other important preparation that we should do. I can’t really calm down.」

Ariella who had Ren sitting on her lap was looking around at us restlessly.

「Nn, I also understand, Onee-chan’s feeling. But in reality──there isn’t really anything, that we can do right now. If forced to say……then something like health management?」(TN: Health in Japan is taichou, but taichou can also mean captain.)

Ren kicked her legs back and forth while tilting her small head.

Charlotte was doing the preparation for reducing Iris’s burden, while Major Loki was the one laying out the preparation so that the mission tomorrow could be carried out smoothly. It was just as Ren said──our role was to sleep soundly and maintained our condition so we could challenge Angolmois in perfect state.

However Jeanne raised a shrill voice there.

「Eeh!? M-managing the captain!? Certainly captain is the linchpin of the mission but, what kind of management we are talking about here……d-don’t tell me it’s that……」

She was abnormally panicked and her face was gradually reddening. Tia made a retort at her who was acting like that.

「She didn’t say captain just now! She mean the body’s health, not Yuu! Remember this lesson from Tia as your senpai!」

「Heh? Aa──────p-pardon me……」

Jeanne noticed her misunderstanding and she shrunk into herself with her face boiling red.

Everyone laughed at that and the atmosphere softened. There I turned my gaze at Iris and asked her about the most important thing.

「Managing our health is important, but there won’t be any problem as long as we don’t stay up late. More importantly Iris──this gathering isn’t for something like the last supper, or good memory to take to the afterlife, or to not leave behind any regret…….it’s not for that kind of heavy purpose right?」

I wouldn’t get along with it if that was what she wanted to do, but I knew that wasn’t the case as soon as I saw Iris’s face. I still asked the question even then in order to have those who felt hesitation in playing to know about Iris’s true intention.

And then just as I thought, Iris nodded without any hesitation.

「Yep, you see I──want to play with everyone and keep in mind that this kind of daily life will continue forever from here on……I want to believe in that. I also want everyone to believe in that. That’s why let’s do this like usual……um, but I haven’t think of what to play……w-what to do Firill-chan?」

Iris looked toward Firill asking for help.

She looked toward Iris with a slightly surprised look, but then she gasped and raised her index finger.

「Fu-fu-fu, I thought that’s what is going on here, so I have prepared properly.」

Firill took out the cloth bag that she placed behind her and rummaged inside it. It seemed that she came bringing multiple games with her.

Lisa made an uneasy expression seeing Firill like that.

「The games that Firill-san bring with her are always strange……to be honest it makes me worried.」

「It’s alrighttt. As expected I’m not bringing stationary retro game with me. I only have with me simple games that can be played anywhere. First is──this I guess.」

Firill said that and took out a folded sheet from her bag.

「Ah」

It was Mitsuki who reflexively raised her voice and turned red.

Even though the sheet was folded, I could see several round circles in various color printed on it.

──Don’t tell me.

I never saw the actual thing, but even I had an idea of what that thing was.

Firill looked satisfied at Mitsuki’s expression and spread the sheet.

「Tadaa. This is that famous game where you turn the roulette and place your arm or leg at the designated color……or rather an imitation of it!」

Firill vigorously spread the sheet in the cramped space between beds.

「Ah, even I know about this──but it’s not the actual thing?」

Ariella peered onto the sheet curiously. Firill nodded at her.

「Yep, the original has four colors and the circles are lined up systematically, but this one has five colors and they are positioned all over the place. It’s set so that the game is more trilling and easier for happening to occur.」

Firill said that and gave us a thumb up.

「Happening……」

Ariella seemed to imagine something and blushed.

「I-it’s indecent…..」

Lisa glanced at me for some reason before looking down.

A strange mood drifted in the air. Tia and Iris raised their voices innocently amidst that.

「Waaah, it’s pretty, there are a lot of colors! Tia want to try it first!」

「Ah, I also want to! What should you do to win?」

Firill started explaining happily.

「Stand on the sheet, then move your hand or foot to the designated color in order. Then the one who lose their balance first is the loser. But in my opinion, it will be better if Mononobe-kun also join in rather than only Tia and Iris playing with each other.」

「Tia will be happy if Yuu also play together but……why?」

Tia asked back in confusion. Firill gave her an implicating smile.

I felt a chill seeing that from the side.

「This game will be far more fun if man and woman play it together. You will get it if you try it, come on, Mononobe-kun too!」

I reluctantly stood up when Firill beckoned me.

「We are going to do it with three people? This room is cramped so we can’t spread out the mat fully, playing it with just two people will be──」

「Don’t mind the little thing, don’t mind. We have a lot of people here, so some of us won’t get a turn if we do it one by one right?」

──One by one?

I felt that statement was strange because at least two people could play this game at the same time, but Firill began the game without giving me any time to ask.

「The first round is Iris and Tia and Mononobe-kunnn. Those who still don’t understand the rule will get it by watching. Then I’ll turn the roulette now.」

Firill turned the cheap looking plastic roulette that was attached at the edge of the sheet.

「Mononobe-kun, put your right foot on red.」

「……Roger.」

For now I could only do it so I stepped on a red circle just as instructed.

「Iris is left hand on blue. Tia is left foot on yellow.」

Firill also instructed Iris and Tia. The two of them put their limb on the color that was instructed.

And then as expected──by the fourth command, our posture had ended up in a messed up state.

「M-Mononobe~! D-don’t moveee! Your arm is……b-between my legs……」

Iris was sandwiching my arm between her legs. In addition she was leaning on my back while raising her voice uneasily.

「Y-you too Iris, don’t put your weight on me. I won’t be able to keep my balance like this, and, your breasts are……」

I replied back at Iris while maintaining my posture of crawling on all fours. In addition Tia’s small buttocks were shaking in front of my eyes.

「Y-Yuu, c-could it be you can see Tia’s panty?」

「It’s fine, I still can’t see it. I can’t see it so change your posture quickly.」

My face would plunge into Tia’s skirt if I relaxed even just for a bit, so I supported Iris’s weight that was leaning on me while desperately hanging on.

Meanwhile everybody else was watching us with reddened cheeks.

「──See? This is what’ll happen as the game progress. Fun isn’t it?」

Firill turned the roulette while puffing out her chest proudly.

「It’s indecent as I thought……」

Lisa folded her arms and muttered sullenly.

「Eh? Then Lisa won’t play?」

However when she was asked that, she hurriedly shook her head.

「T-that’s not what I’m saying. I don’t want to run away from a match……and if it’s against Mononobe Yuu, it’s not like I hate it……」

Firill grinned at that statement and next she turned toward Mitsuki.

「What about Mitsuki? Are you unable to turn a blind eye to this illicit sexual relationship game as the student council president?」

Then Mitsuki tilted her head with a serious face.

「……Firill-san, what are you saying? Nii-san and I have a special relationship where we understand each other through our connected heart. It won’t possibly turn into an illicit act just from us having fun playing together. That’s why, I’ll play with Nii-san next.」

Firill was overwhelmed by that pressure and she nodded awkwardly with cold sweat trickling from her forehead.

「It looks like Mitsuki has gotten over it since a long time ago. And so, all of us want to play with Mononobe-kun, so Mononobe-kun will stay even after this round is over! Let’s play two people taking turn each timeee!」

Naturally I objected when I heard that. Only one person would take turn each time even though it was a game of two people──I finally understood the meaning of those words.

「Firill, what about my break time!?」

「There is none──. Mononobe-kun is a boy and my prince, so do your best! Fiiight!」

Firill cheered me on with a clenched fist, but strength suddenly left my body. Iris yelled with a shrill voice at the next moment.

「Hyauh!? M-Mononobe──d-don’t rub that plac──yah……aa──」

It seemed because my body slightly moved, a sensitive spot on Iris’s body got touched.

「S-sorry!」

However because my body reflexively moved to get away from Iris’s body as much as possible, my nose pushed into Tia’s skirt next.

「Funyah!? Y-Yuu, that’s ticklish~!」

The two of them writhed and then they lost their balance.

「Ooo, as expected from Mononobe-kun. You defeated both of them simultaneously. Your princely power is really great. Perhaps I should prepare a reward for those who can win against Mononobe-kun if it’s like this.」

Firill muttered in admiration. Ren quickly reacted at her.

「If possible──I want to sleep with Onii-chan tonight.」

The air froze instantly. However the speaker Ren only tilted her head in puzzlmeent. Seeing that, the tense atmosphere slackened.

Ariella who had Ren on her lap hurriedly gave a follow up with a red face.

「R-right, if it’s just sleeping together……that might be acceptable! No problem will occur if everyone else also sleep in this room after all──」

If one bed was crammed with two or three people, then everyone should be able to sleep in this room even if Kili and Vritra joined. However I still hadn’t accepted that condition.

「No, today it’ll be better if everyone can sleep well──」

I tried to settle the matter as amicably as possible, but Mitsuki walked to the sheet and declared.

「It’s decided then. The upper limit is two people, and in case the number is more than that we shall decide it with a play-off. Then Nii-san, let’s battle.」

「……Yes.」

It was already too late. I gave up and nodded.

「I shall also participate.」

Lisa also stood on the sheet replacing Iris and Tia.

The two’s expression was serious even though this should be a game. I unconsciously stepped back. But naturally there was no place to escape.

「Then second round, beginnn」

Like that the battle began again.

Furthermore the development this time was slightly different from before.

「……M-Mitsuki. Why are you deliberately choosing the circle beside me?」

At the third command, Mitsuki moved her left hand to the circle right beside my right hand even though it caused her posture to become slightly uncomfortable. For some reason she was gradually reducing her distance with me even though it was only giving her disadvantage.

「Why……isn’t it obvious? It’s because I want to be close to Nii-san.」

Then Mitsuki replied shyly with blushing cheeks.

I also got embarrassed from being told that. I couldn’t bear to see Mitsuki’s face that was right beside me.

But when I looked to the side, there was Lisa’s bright red face there.

「Y-you’re also close Lisa.」

「It can’t be helped. The sheet is too small. Next I have to put my right foot on yellow……it’s between your legs, so please pardon me.」

Lisa’s leg entered between my legs that were spread wide open. The right half of my body was almost glued on her body. Lisa’s softness was transmitted to me clearly.

「Aaa, you’re sly Lisa-san! Firill-san, it’s my turn next, turn the roulette quickly!」

Mitsuki hurried Firill on. Then her left hand reached to a red circle just as instructed.

However because the three of us were already at the closest distance with each other, an unexpected “gluing” occurred there.

──*Pofun*

Such sound effect echoed inside my head when I saw Lisa’s shaking breasts. Yes──Mitsuki’s face plunged between Lisa’s large breasts because she was leaning forward.

「Fuwah……L-Lisa-san, I can’t breathe~……」

Mitsuki whose faced was buried between the voluptuous twin hills wriggled in distress.

「M-Mitsuki-san, please don’t struggle! If you move like that──」

Lisa panicked, but she couldn’t tear off Mitsuki away from her because she couldn’t move her arms and legs. It seemed Mitsuki also didn’t intend to withdraw because the result of the game was hanging on this.

Lisa’s clothes got messed up as they were doing that. The ribbon on her neck was undone and several of her buttons were unbuttoned……the valley of her white breasts was──.

「Kyaaah!? Mitsuki-san, why are you burrowing into my breasts!?」

「I-it’s not intentional! But……I-I can’t breathe…………it’s warm……it feels like my mind is floating. Is this the motherhood, possessed by woman with abundant breasts……」

「That’s merely your oxygen shortage talking!」

Lisa retorted at Mitsuki whose consciousness was starting to become hazy.

Because it looked like Mitsuki would drop if we didn’t  quickly change posture, we quickly took turn and moved our limbs.

However the result faced us with even more predicament.

「Gu, gugugu……」

In front of my eyes was Lisa’s opened chest.

It felt like the white valley was going to suck me in various senses. I did everything I could to endure it in my unnatural posture.

「N-Nii-san, you must not go over there! No……but this match will be ours if Nii-san’s consciousness is robbed by Lisa-san’s chcest……w-what should I──」

Mitsuki was looking up anxiously at Lisa and me in a bridge posture.

「Mononobe Yuu……it’s alright even if you don’t force yourself. Mitsuki-san’s violation before this has made me resolved myself. I’ll end your hardship with this chest.」

Lisa got defiant and pushed out her voluptuous chest with a bright red face.

「Lisa, calm down! You’ll get absurdly embarrassed later if you do something like that!」

「I’m already embarrassed enough! Now that it has come to this, things won’t be balanced unless I obtain some kind of result from this!」

Lisa intentionally shook her body to appeal with her chest at me.

*Boing boing* The movement of her shaking twin hills was dulling my mind like hypnotist. My face naturally went forward──.

「A-as I thought it’s no good!!」

However Mitsuki reflexively reached out with her hand just before my face plunged into Lisa’s chest.

She tightly grabbed Lisa’s chest with that hand. Lisa who was focused on me reacted over sensitively to that.

「Kyaah!? Wait Mitsuki-san──that’s foul play……hyah!?」

Right after that both Lisa and Mitsuki lost their balance and fell.

Cheers rose from everyone who was entranced by the match. Firill let out a sigh of admiration.

「Mononobe-kun is the sole survivor again……he is really a tough opponent. But I have ascertained Mononobe-kun’s weakness from the battle just now. Jeanne──let’s defeat Mononobe-kun together with me.」

「Eeh!? I’m next!?」

Jeanne asked back in panic when her name was called.

「Yep, there is only Jeanne and I who has big breasts among the remaining members. Ah, someone please take my place to turn the roulette.」

Firill walked to stand on the sheet after saying that.

「I-is captain weak against big breasts……?」

Jeanne hid her breasts in bewilderment while sending glances at me.

I didn’t know how I should react here. I looked up to the ceiling while doing my best to fill my heart with emptiness.

Ariella and Ren who automatically became the last pair stared at their own breasts and made a conflicted expression.

「As I thought, Mononobe-kun like big breasts.」

「Nnu……it’s still, not definite. I, believe on Onii-chan.」

I listened to those mutterings while entering the third battle.

──Well, Jeanne was wearing male uniform, so there wouldn’t be many places on her body that would trouble me to look at.

In all the battles until now, it was the skirt rather than chest that made me the wariest.

Because their underwear could come into view just from a bit of movement, I had to be careful with my positioning and angle.

It was an advantage for me because in this round my burden in that regard was halved.

But──.

「Wait, why are you opening up your chest right from the start!」

Right after the game started, I yelled when seeing the two’s clothes.

Firill unbutonned the buttons on her chest, while Jeanne took off her necktie──and also unbuttoned three of her buttons.

Because of that the moment the two of them placed their hands on the sheet and leaned forward, white valleys flew into my sight.

「Sorry, Mononobe-kun. It’s a bit hot here……」

「I-it’s thermoregulation, captain.」

Firill made some barefaced excuse, but their objective was clearly to agitate me.

「Mononobee, put your left hand on bluee」

Iris who took on the role of turning the roulette gave me instruction. I changed my posture so that I wouldn’t look straight at them.

It wasn’t like they were telling me to not look, so there was no need to go this far but──when I thought that Mitsuki and others were watching, it made me unconsciously put on airs. I wasn’t doing this because I feared getting scolded later……not at all.

「It’s left foot on red for me huh……captain, excuse me.」

However Jeanne circled to right in front of me and put her foot on a position that made it hard for me to move.

That posture also put a large burden on Jeanne, but her expression didn’t look particularly distressed.

──Dammit.

I noticed there. Not wearing skirt was also advantageous for Jeanne.

Everyone else was wearing skirt, so their movement was restricted. However Jeanne had no need to be concerned with her posture.

「Fufu, Mononobe-kun……it looks like you finally understand the situation that you are placed in. But, we won’t go easy on you.」

Firill grinned and supported Jeanne by cutting off my path of escape.

No matter which direction I turned to, there would be a large white valley waiting to lead me astry. Our body would touch each other if I carelessly moved my limbs. It made my thought circuit to start running in circles.

「Ah……」

My heated up brain finally made a mistake.

I put my hand on a circle far away, because of that my posture became strained and my knees were starting to tremble.

──This is, would I hold until my next turn came?

I resolved myself like that, but Firill’s voice reverberated at that timing.

「Wai-……M-Mononobe-kun……yah……t-that’s, sneaky……y-your knee, my side──fuh……fufufu……ahahahahahahah!」

Firill suddenly started laughing.

It seemed my knee was touching Firill’s side. Firill twisted her body and tried to endure her laughter, but this time it made Jeanne’s body shook.

「Wha──m-my neck is weak──hyah……sto──」

The two writhed. Naturally their body was also touching me, so soft sensation was transmitted to me from various places.

I became unable to put strength into my whole body. The moment I felt that I was at my limit──Firill and Jeanne fell on the sheet first.

「Mononobe-kun, that’s unfairrrr」

Firill threw a tantrum while lying face up, but Jeanne tidied up her clothes while shaking her head.

「We were the one who schemed first. Let’s accept our defeat graciously. Captain……as expected from you.」

Jeanne left while dragging the sulking Firill.

And then Ariella and Ren who still hadn’t joined the game walked forward to take their place.

「Now, we are your opponent this time. Mononobe-kun, I praise you for not losing against big breasts.」

Ren nodded deeply at Ariella’s words.

「Nn, Firill and Jeanne picked the wrong strategy. Rather than robbing the opponent’s presence of mind with breast’s appeal, they should attack more directly. Onii-chan managed to survive until this far by doing that.」

I got a bad premonition seeing them so confident for some reason.

But──after the game began for some time, it was continuing to progress peacefully so far unlike all the rounds before this.

「Yup, next is yellow.」

Ariella who had lithe body and also excellent sense of balance was moving her arms and legs easily. She showed no sign of falling even when taking a pose like in yoga exercise.

「Nn……next is here.」

The petite Ren crawled to my bosom and continued the game in narrow range.

I ended up looming over Ren, but thanks to Ren’s small body, our bodies didn’t touch each other.

However Ren’s eyes twinkled when Ariella circled to right behind me.

「Onee-chan, Cat Cat Operation start.」

「R-roger. It’s embarrassing but……I’ll do my best for Ren’s sake!」

──Operation?

I raised my guard wondering what they were planning to do.

Ren looked up at me and smiled adorably.

「I’ll give my all to fawn on Onii-chan……nyaa」

「N-nyaa?」

I was bewildered by her smile and words. Then Ren bent her body to rub her soft red hair on my chest.

She was like a fawning cat──.

「I’ll also do it okay, Mononobe-kun. Prepare yourself……nya」

Ariella added “nya” at the end of her sentence shyly. She pushed her hand on my side from behind me.

「Tsu……wha-……sto──it’s tickli──」

Not only it was embarrassing, it was also ticklish. I couldn’t defend because I couldn’t use my limbs. I could only twist my body to escape but……when I did that my body lost balance.

「Kuh……so this is Cat Cat Operation……」

I let my guard down due to the fancy name, but in this game this was the optimum way to disturb the opponent.

Ren and Ariella had firm footing, so there wasn’t any chance of them self-destructing from attacking too much.

「Onii-chan……you have a different scent from everyone……nyaa」

「What’s this, it’s like I’m marking Mononobe-kun……my heart is pounding……nya」

The two completely became cats as though they were delirious with fever and toyed with me.

──I can’t, keep going.

If it was like this then my only option was to fall while dragging everyone with me so that it ended with a draw.

I resolved myself to get unbalanced. I held Ariella who was rubbing her head on my side with my arm. And then I immediately tried to fall on top of Ren.

「That’s naïve Mononobe-kun──I’ll at least protect Ren even if I fall down……nyah」

Ariella put her weight to behind and forcefully changed my falling direction. Because of that I fell on the sheet without hitting Ren.

Ren was the only one remaining.

「Waaah!! It’s Ren-chan’s victoryyy!」

Iris lifted up Ren’s arm and declared her victory.

「Nn……so happy. But, actually I want to win together with Onee-chan.」

Ren muttered in disappointment, but Ariella stood up and gently patted her red hair.

「I told you it’s fine, after all I only wanted to grant Ren’s wish. You can get Mononobe-kun to spoil you as much as you want today.」

「Nn────I’ll do that.」

Ren nodded.

They were deciding things as they pleased, but I accepted the result without saying anything.

I too wanted to grant Ren’s wish.

「Well, this is what Ren-san wanted……and if they’re just going to sleep normally, I don’t think it will cause any difficulty for the decisive battle tomorrow.」

Lisa smiled wryly in acceptance.

「Yes. If it’s Kili-san then Nii-san might be in danger but, I can trust Ren-san to not do anything strange. Though I’m feeling a different kind of threat as a little sister……」

After Mitsuki said that, Firill looked around.

「Come to think of it, in the end both Kili and Vritra doesn’t come.」

Hearing that, Iris stood up vigorously.

「──As I thoguht, I’ll go look for Kili-chan and Vritra-chan! If we’re playing, doing it together with everyone is will be better!」

At that time, it suddenly became bright just for an instant outside the window.

.

*DOOOOOOOONN──!!*

.

Next there was thunderous sound that shook the quietness of the night.

「I-is it thunder!?」

Tia raised her voice in surprise, but perhaps it wasn’t thunder just now.

When I turned my gaze toward the cabin’s window, the outline of the island that was interrupting the night sky was dyed red.

And then there were two small fire balls flying around at the sky──.

「Fire……?」

Iris muttered in a daze, but Jeanne spoke with a bitter voice.

「No, that’s not it. I──can see everything that is going on.」

Jeanne who possessed a sight that surpassed ordinary person let out a heavy sigh while pressing her hand on her forehead.

「Y-you can see what happen!? D-don’t tell me that Angolmois is attacking……」

Lisa demanded for an explanation in panic.

「What’s going on, Jeanne.」

I also questioned her. In respond Jeanne shook her head and told us the identity of the fire balls.

「What’s flying around at the sky is Kili and Vritra. In other words this might be…..just a mother-daughter quarrel.」

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Part 2

「Everyone, tell the situation to Shinomiya-sensei and Major Loki. The start of the operation tomorrow might get delayed if they halt the resupplying because of this. I’m──going to stop their quarrel.」

I gave instructions quickly before running out of the room immediately.

The supply ship had already arrived and the maintenance on Naglfar was being carried out. The crews who didn’t know anything must be surprised by the explosion just now.

「Mononobe! I’m going too! Because surely I……I’m the cause of this!」

A voice came from behind me. When I turned around, Iris was there chasing after me. There was also Ren behind her.

「……Let’s end the quarrel quickly, so I can sleep together with Onii-chan.」

Ren muttered with a serious expression even while rubbing her eyes.

「Got it. Ren──it’ll be faster to fly, so lend me your help.」

「Nn.」

Ren nodded. Her red hair shook behind her.

Iris and I couldn’t fly using material conversion. Now I could do floating with an application of Anti-Gravity, but the usage of the authority would induce dragonification in me.

And then in case I turned into dragon, I would have to use Neun’s authority to return to normal, so there was a risk it would put a burden on Iris. That was why I couldn’t use Anti-Gravity lightly.

When we got out to the deck, we saw the supply ship anchored alongside Naglfar.

As expected it seemed the crews were in panic, but I left it to Mitsuki and others to deal with that while I turned my gaze toward the island.

「Kili and Vritra……it looks like they are still going at it flashily. Ren, I’m counting on you.」

Flame blasts burst on the pitch black island. I watched that while holding out my hand toward Ren.

「Nn──Mjolnir(Pulverizing Miracle Hammer).」

Ren formed a fictitious armament on her right hand and grabbed my hand with her empty left hand.

「Come on, Iris too.」

Ren had her hands full with this, so I urged Iris to grab my hand.

「Ah, yeah. Take care of me, Ren-chan.」

Iris strongly grasped my hand and smiled at Ren.

「Nn, leave it to me.」

Ren replied shortly and lifted her fictitious armament to the sky. Then a gentle wind blew and our body floated up.

I felt a large wind barrier enveloping our surrounding.

The figure of battlefield Naglfar was getting further and here I could take an unbroken view of the simple harbor where the ship was currently anchored.

The port was bright due to the lightning that was set up there, but the island was pitch black. However thanks to that the explosions that were caused by the mother-daughter quarrel looked extremely eye-catching.

「Ah, there is a boom there!」

Iris pointed to the west of the island. Ren immediately changed direction to there.

It seemed that their air battle had ended. The explosion and flame were spreading on the ground.

There were few trees on this island. The majority was a wasteland with rocks and stones lying around. Because of that the visibility wasn’t bad.

「──Nn. There.」

Ren muttered that and began to dive down.

I endured a feeling of weightlessness like when riding an amusement park attraction while looking down.

There was a circle of flame with a diameter of dozens of meter spreading over there. A small silhouette was standing at the center of it.

──That’s Vritra. Then Kili is…….

I moved my gaze and immediately found her figure too.

Kili and holding up both her hands toward the circle while staring straight at Vritra.

It seemed that Kili was trying to lock Vritra in flame but──to me it looked like Kili was the one getting cornered.

Her expression had no composure. Large beads of sweats were trickling from her forehead. On the other hand, Vritra who was standing within a prison of flame was staring at Kili with a calm gaze──without a single drop of sweat on her body.

「Nn, landing.」

Ren gave that signal and landed down with us a slight distance away from the flame circle.

「Kili-chan, Vritra-chan! Stop!」

Iris started running the moment her feet touched the ground. She yelled loudly.

「──Don’t come!!」

However Kili sharply yelled at her to stop. Iris stopped running.

「This is my……my personal battle. Okaa-sama is my prey. If anyone get in my way……I’ll burn them to death no matter who they are.」

Kili glared at Iris with a gaze that was filled with killing intent. It seemed that she also noticed Ren and I behind Iris, but her gaze still didn’t loosen down.

「Vritra-chan is your prey? ……Why?」

「…………」

Iris asked in confusion, but Kili didn’t seem like she would answer any further.

However a voice came from the middle of the flame in exchange.

「My daughter is recklessly trying to kill me. In order to become the next Vritra.」

A cold wind was blowing violently with Vritra at the center. The flame was put down.

Vritra who was standing on a scorched land turned a gaze that was filled with exasperation at Kili.

「The next……Vritra?」

I looked at Kili with question of what did that mean. She only shrugged slightly.

「If I kill Okaa-sama, I’ll be able to get my hand on the full power to create Dark Matter──the seventh authority of Vritra. With that, it will be possible to stop Angolmois, construct Marduk, or even helping Iris-chan──to do all that by myself.」

Iris’s face went pale when she heard Kili’s words. She took a step forward.

「You mustn’t Kili-chan! If it’s for my sake then──」

However *Bam* a small explosion suddenly went off in front of her. Iris was surprised and fell on her butt.

Most likely that was Kili’s specialty, Muspelheim(Calamity Flame World). It converted a very minute amount of Dark Matter that couldn’t be seen by eyes into heat.

「Are you alright?」

I helped Iris to stand up. Ren was peering from behind me in worry.

「Nnu……Iris, you alright?」

「Y-yeah, I’m just a bit surprised.」

Iris nodded and stood up. Kili told her with a cold voice.

「I told you to not come right? I’m telling you, this isn’t for Iris-chan’s sake. Helping you is just secondary. In the end this is for my own sake──I’m acting for my own reason.」

Kili stressed her words at Iris with a strong tone. Then she moved her gaze to Vritra.

「I can’t tolerate Okaa-sama anymore. She is only looking at far ahead while she won’t look at what is right before her! She won’t consider of what is right beside her at the present! That’s no different at all with not being here at all. That’s why──I’ll erase here from “the present(here)”!」

Kili spoke her words with a fierce anger in them, even so Vritra’s expression didn’t change.

「……Do you seriously think that you can kill me?」

Kili’s lips twisted at that question.

「The way you speak sounds like you think that’s impossible. Certainly I can’t even match a single pinky of Okaa-sama when it come to controlling Dark Matter. But, the me right now has ability that Okaa-sama doesn’t have!」

Kili yelled that before golden particle flowed out from her body.

「Hraesvelgr’s power is it……」

Vritra narrowed her eyes. Kili responded with a fearless smile.

「That’s not all. Yuu also shared Code Lost with everyone who became his mate. I wasn’t at that place but……Fafnir’s power should also reside inside me.」

Just as Kili said, I also thought of Kili when I transferred the authorities. The percentage was small but, it was true that Kili also had Code Lost.

Most likely, that would be effective against Vritra who was doing her activity in human form.

However Vritra didn’t show any panic.

「Even so, thou must only have a small portion of that power. I don’t feel any danger from thou like when I confronted Neun previously. In the first place……can thou seriously hold a killing intent toward thy mother?」

Kili gritted her teeth audibly when she was told that.

「Who are you……calling mother.」

The wind that was filled with golden particles caressed my cheek. Ether Wind was overflowing in respond to the movement of Kili’s heart.

「Nn, sparkly……pretty」

Ren looked up to the scattering particles and narrowed her eyes.

But Kili wasn’t entranced by such sight. Her emotion was stirred even stronger.

「The current Okaa-sama don’t have the power to create life from zero right? If you can do that then you should be able to mass produce even Counter Dragon as many as you want. What you can do is only adding a bit on something that has existed from the start at best. Just like how you scattered your factor to create “D”.」

「…………」

Vritra held her tongue and silently listened to Kili’s words.

The question that Kili spoke out was also something that had been on my mind. But before, when I touched this topic. Vritra didn’t give me any answer.

However Kili followed her momentum and stepped forward.

「Then, surely even this “me” is the same. Okaa-sama didn’t create me from zero. Surely there was something that served as my base. Even with that as the case, can you still proclaim yourself as my mother!?」

She put her hand on her chest and piled up questions as though to cut at Vritra.

「Kili……」

However to me it looked like Kili was the one who got hurt by that. I moved forward thinking that this couldn’t go on.

It was then, Ether Wind got blown by strong wind toward us.

.

『──Why. Why is Okaa-sama──』

.

I heard a faint voice inside the golden wind.

──This is Kili’s…….

The moment my mind was turned toward that voice, an unfamiliar scene spread inside my mind.

.

Part 3

When I gained awareness, I was already travelling together with a blue giant.

I guessed I was around five years old at that time. Before then there was no boundary of ego in me.

I shared my consciousness with “Black” Vritra and took the necessary action──I was simply a terminal.

Vritra created an “extension” of herself in order to act outside of Yggdrasil’s watch.

The blue giant was Vritra’s fictitious armament. A device to scatter “D” factor all over the world.

Humans called it the Blue Dragon──”Blue” Hecatoncheires and feared it.

That was why humans would immediately disappear from the cities that I visited together with the giant.

I became aware that I was “I” when I was left alone in an empty city.

The impetus was very trivial.

Until then the only thing that I ate was what Vritra commanded me to eat.

That day was also no different.

Vritra detected that I got hungry and urged me to eat the sandwich that was left behind at an empty café terrace.

But──I got curious with the cup that was placed beside the plate.

I was instructed that there was no need to drink the light brown liquid remaining inside the cup, but for some reason, I felt puzzled.

Perhaps that was a curiosity that any young kid would have.

The liquid was entered inside the cup, so it should be something that human drank. And yet why was it unnecessary for me to drink? It made me wanted to ascertain it.

I couldn’t suppress that impulse and hesitantly brought the light brown liquid toward my mouth……it was too bitter that I spat it out.

「Gehoh, gehoh……」

.

──I told thee that thou doesn’t need that thing. Why didn’t thou obey my instruction?

.

There for the first time I heard Vritra’s voice as something “external”.

「Because, I was curious……」

That was also my first time talking.

I became aware that Vritra was a different existence from me since that moment.

Vritra could share her knowledge with me to some degree, and I also didn’t have any feeling of going against her command but, I couldn’t go back to be mere terminal anymore.

That was why I fumbled to ascertain a new nature of relationship with Vritra.

「Are you, my ”mother”?」

The childish me asked the blue giant.

──My existence to thee is close to that concept. However my being can also be said as even greater than that.

The voice that I heard from the “connection” through the dragon crest was a haughty voice that was mixed with some bewilderment.

「I don’t really get it but……can I call you, Okaa-sama?」

──Do as thee like……my daughter.

Like that we became something like mother and daughter.

Since then, it felt like I would talk to Okaa-sama every time I got nothing to do.

Part of it was because I simply had no one else to talk to, but a big part of it was because there was no other existence as grand, mystical, and hard to understand like Okaa-sama.

Humans who ran away simply because Okaa-sama was approaching were just too frail and pathetic──bluntly speaking they were uncool. Although we had similar form, I considered them as a different life form than me.

Young kid was a mass of curiosity. They would also held yearning toward a strong existence rather than toward weak being.

In other words I was full of curiosity toward Okaa-sama.

「Hey, Okaa-sama. Is it fun trampling on city like that?」

──No, not really. It’s simply bothersome with how hard it is to walk through place with buildings sticking close to each other.

「From Okaa-sama’s perspective, humans are just like ants aren’t they?」

──Ant is ant, human is human. I won’t do something like confusing two different creatures.

「What is Okaa-sama doing when you are free?」

──I’m continuously taking action all the time for the sake of Gaia’s survival. The condition of free time is something that I never experience.

「Okaa-sama, you don’t feel hungry? This snack is delicious you know?」

──Lower level material with limited possibility cannot become my sustenance. I’m a higher life form that is created from Dark Matter itself.

「Recently there are a lot of missiles attacking. Okaa-sama doesn’t feel pained from them?」

──Hecatoncheires is my shadow that appear through thee. No matter how much they attempt to hurt the shadow, it won’t affect the real body at all. But……it will be troubling if thee get dragged into the attack and receive lethal wound. Take as much distance as possible from me from here on.

「I get it Okaa-sama.」

When human’s attack toward Hecatoncheires increased in intensity, I was told to take as much distance as possible from Hecatoncheires.

The blue giant was like a shadow that was stretching from under my foot for very, very long──it followed the path that I walked on.

Because of that, my life changed a little.

Because I walked ahead of Hecatoncheires, I was able to look around at cities before the citizens evacuated.

Hot country, cold country, humid country, dry country, abundant country, poor country──I visited various places.

However my days of getting involved with humans were simply troublesome.

「Okaa-sama, today there was another foolish humans who tried to lay their hand on me.」

──Are thou injured?

「No, of course not. I turned the table on them.」

The “broken remains” of the men who tried to kidnap me were lying around my feet. I stared at them in annoyance.

It seemed that a little girl who walked around by herself was seen as “high quality prey” by a lot of humans.

I naturally learned how to fight through repelling that kind of people. My scorn toward human also deepened through that.

Sometimes I would also walk behind Hecatoncheires, but the public order of the cities I visited in that way was bad and the number of trashes approaching me also increased.

「Okaa-sama should just trample the likes of humans until none of them remain.」

Those words came from my heart. It was also a prayer to draw a line between me and other humans, that I was a different life form from human.

However when I was conscious of such thing, I also began to realize something else.

It was none other than Okaa-sama and me who were completely different creature with each other. That I was exactly the same like human no matter what I did.

It was because of that hatred to the same kind that I became merciless toward “human who I couldn’t bear to see”.

I turned those who tried to hunt me into ash. I also disposed ugly human who caught my sight.

Sometimes doing that resulted in me helping other people. Before I realized it humans who worshipped me began to gather around me.

They said this. I was an incarnation of dragon, an existence that was equal to god.

Those words felt very, very pleasant. It was the ideal that I imagined──.

It felt like I could forget reality when I was inside that environment……also they were simply convenient, so I ordered them around as I pleased.

I got the name of Kili Surt Muspelheim around that time.

Being worshipped as dragon made me able to think of myself as a special existence, but for some reason I felt stifled──I crossed the sea as though to run away and came to the farthest east.

That country was peaceful. There was also no adult that attacked me just because I walked alone. It felt like I could relax there just for a bit.

Hecatoncheires that was following me mercilessly trampled on that peace, but even after that no insurrection really occurred and the people silently endeavored to rebuild.

It gave me a feeling like I was being ignored.

It seemed that for the people of that country, dragon was simply a calamity, not a target for them to directly vent their emotion at.

It was a world that was far away from hatred and worship.

It was there I obtained a leeway to turn my focus to something else than myself for the first time.

Nyaa.

「──What? Are you feeling hungry?」

That must be why I did something so unfamiliar like feeding a stray cat. It got attached to me, which bewildered me──I tried to run away from it.

「I’m begging you, don’t follow me around.」

Even though I pushed it away, the kitten made a fawning voice and followed me briskly with small steps.

「I gave you food just now only because of a whim. I won’t give you any again even if you come with me, and I also can’t keep you.」

I didn’t know what to do and lectured it with all seriousness, but the kitten only stared at me with large round eyes.

「If you want to live, it’ll be better if you leave this city quickly rather than begging me for food. If you don’t──」

I continued lecturing it while walking at the riverside area. However I suddenly felt a gaze there. When I turned around, I saw a boy sitting at the dry riverbed was staring at me with a puzzled look.

I realized that I was doing something really idiotic. Blood rose to my face.

「Tsu……anyway, don’t follow me anymore.」

I didn’t want to expose my unsightly side any further than this and left the kitten with a quick pace.

However when I turned around while crossing the bridge, the kitten was still following me.

A large dump car came at that timing. The kitten was surprised and leaped over the bridge’s railing.

But the wind was stirred when the dump car passed. It blew the kitten to the river──.

「────」

I didn’t know why I made such choice at that time.

But, my body was already midair when I realized.

I jumped almost reflexively after the kitten that was falling to the river below.

「Aah geez, just what are you doing!」

I muttered words that I myself didn’t know whether I was directing them to the kitten or to myself. I fell into the cold river.

Fortunately, I immediately found the kitten.

.

「Oi, are you alright!?」

.

There an anxious voice and the sound of something pushing through the water reached my ear.

I stood up with the wet and curling kitten in my arms. I looked toward the human who entered the river and wetted his clothes.

It was the boy who was staring at me from the riverbed before this.

「……You, what is it?」

I tilted my head in puzzlement of his reason to approach this way.

「You ask what……no, you fell to the river, so I came to help.」

Why are you doing something so stupid──I thought.

But, I realized that right now I too……was doing that kind of stupid act.

「I see──that’s kind of you.」

I felt really amused. It was refreshing that there was a human who tried to help me.

The same like how I saved the cat.

Yes, a human “who was the same” like me also existed in this world.

That fact made me happy more than I thought possible──that was why I pushed the cat I saved on the boy and warned him like this.

「Take this cat away from this city. Hecatoncheires is going to come here tomorrow.」

The boy was naturally confused.

He asked me how did I know that.

I wanted to engrave my existence into him, I wanted to show him that we were the same though I was “special”, so I told him this.

.

「Because I’m also──a dragon.」

.

He was paralyzed from surprise. I was satisfied by his reaction and left.

But, I stayed in that city for a bit after that.

I wanted to ascertain that he had evacuated together with the kitten, so I waited until Hecatoncheires caught up with me.

And then I saw it. That shocking scene.

.

「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!」

.

The boy roared.

Hecatoncheires vanished inside the azure flame.

Okaa-sama’s scream reverberated inside my head.

Impossible. Unbelievable.

Because I thought that the likes of human couldn’t even hold a candle to my Okaa-sama, that she was a higher existence.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed.

But, at the same time I also felt happiness.

The existence that I thought as absolutely unreachable, that I thought as impossible to stand shoulder to shoulder with. The possibility to reach it was right over there.

.

I──might be able to become a true dragon.

.

Since then, the target of my curiosity toward “the strong” moved from Okaa-sama to that boy──Mononobe Yuu.

I thought that he was the one, the key for me to become a worthy existence as Vritra’s daughter.

Thinking back, I was fixated with relationship of mother and daughter.

I also stupidly didn’t hold any doubt that Okaa-sama was treating me as her “daughter”.

She was worried for my wellbeing because she would be troubled if the terminal to move Hecatoncheires was gone.

She called me daughter just for convenience.

I mustn’t expect human emotion from something that wasn’t human.

It was something that could be understood just by thinking a little about it.

But I was a child who didn’t even understand that.

I was hopelessly “human”.

There were signs of it I guess.

At the very least I could only be called idiot for not noticing it with Tia’s case.

Tia was raised to be trump card against Yggdrasil, but when she was imprinted by Basilisk, Okaa-sama easily changed her intended usage.

Even though I was reluctant to give Tia to Basilisk because I had worked hard to be able to become Tia’s “mother”……Okaa-sama didn’t have any feeling toward Tia who could be considered as her “grandchild” in a sense.

Okaa-sama said──that this way would be more beneficial for Gaia’s future.

I felt an indescribable feeling of opposition, but I obediently obeyed her that time. I accepted that way would be happiness for Tia too.

But I should understand it if only I imagined it a little. That I was also the same like Tia.

But I believed that I was special without any basis for it──I told myself that I was Vritra’s daughter.

And then reality was thrust before me.

Okaa-sama forcefully rewrote my dragon crest and offered me to Hraesvelgr. My connection with Okaa-sama was also severed.

I finally realized there.

That I wasn’t Vritra’s daughter or anything.

That I was nothing but a tool to be used up for the sake of future that Okaa-sama pictured.

──It wasn’t like I was resenting her for that.

I was simply an idiot.

I simply felt pity, sadness, and great loneliness to myself who was clinging on something that didn’t exist.

Of course I was irritated, but there wasn’t any way to take revenge or anything to Okaa-sama, so I switched my thinking.

But after that──Okaa-sama who created a human vessel for herself got her power sealed and fell until my level.

I miraculously could became the same like Okaa-sama.

My wish to stand side by side with “Black” Vritra could be said as fulfilled at that time.

But, even though I could just feel satisfied with that……I expected something more.

Okaa-sama was starting to change by getting used to her position as a member of Brunhilde class and spending time as powerless human. At this rate surely our relationship as mother and daughter could continue in the future, Okaa-sama would pay attention at what was right before her eyes──I thought.

It was just a one-sided assumption from me.

I understood. I understood but──.

.

『──there won’t be the second time. I won’t save thee even if thou fall into the same state once more.』

.

Okaa-sama discarded the present for the future once more.

I couldn’t forgive those words. I thought that I couldn’t accept it.

I couldn’t stop myself from feeling betrayed.

I took care of Okaa-sama when she was sealed. We spent every day together, played, and also had stupid fights with each other since she came to Midgard.

It felt like she was declaring that those days were pointless and worthless to me. I couldn’t endure it.

In the end Okaa-sama wouldn’t look at the present──it deeply, deeply disappointed me.

And then, I couldn’t do something like harboring this kind of feeling forever.

And so my choice was only one.

That was, to follow the impulse that was stirring me up──to challenge the existence that I couldn’t tolerate into battle.

.

「──Why. Why won’t Okaa-sama──try to stay at “the present(here)”!!」

.

I launched my flame with that scream.

.

Part 4

It was like an instantaneous daydream.

The images and feelings that flowed into me passed through in the blink of eye. After that almost nothing remained behind.

But, I understood what I just saw.

Just now was Kili’s memory and feeling.

It filled Ether Wind and reached our heart.

Perhaps Iris and Ren had also seen the same thing. They were in a daze with a surprised lool.

But it seemed that Kili wasn’t aware of what just transpired. She was simply glaring straight at Vritra.

There was no change in Vritra’s expression. I didn’t know whether she had also seen the scenes just now.

And then the battle resumed before I could ask her.

「Laevateinn-!!」

Kili rushed forward with a flame sword in hand.

「How pointless.」

Vritra narrowed her eyes seeing that. Then countless Dark Matters formed around her. They were converted into thick metal wall.

「Something like this-!!」

Kili swung her flame sword at the wall that was on her way.

The flame that formed the sword swelled up largely and unleashed a dazzling crimson light.

「Kuh……」

I covered my face from the heat wave that blew this way.

The flame sword’s slash melted apart the wall──the wave of flame rushed to swallow Vritra who standing ahead of it.

However Dark Matter burst around Vritra. They generated powerful gust of wind that pushed back Kili’s flame.

「Kili-chan!」

Iris screamed, but Kili paid her no mind and charged into the flame.

Human would burn to ash in an instant if they were exposed to sweltering heat that could melt even metal.

However Kili broke through the flame wall without slowing down at all.

The right hand that she lifted had a golden shield──.

She must have materialized a part of her mind using Ether Wind.

Then that shield wouldn’t be affected by physical interference.

Major Loki dealt with that using Noa’s replica weapon, but Vritra shouldn’t have any countermeasure against Ether Wind.

「YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!」

Kili transformed the golden shield into the shape of sword and took a large step──she swung down the shining blade with a piercing cry.

「……Hmph」

Vritra scoffed slightly. She received the attack without doing anything.

The golden blade cut apart Vritra’s small body diagonally.

It was clearly a lethal wound. Using Code Lost, that attack was sufficient to draw in the causality of death.

However Dark Matter welled up as though to trace the blade’s trajectory. It restored Vritra’s wound along with her clothes.

「How, can……」

Kili froze in her swinging posture.

She looked like she couldn’t understand why Vritra didn’t die.

Kili manifested a part of her mind using Ether Wind, but she wasn’t fully transformed into Hraesvelgr like me when I fought Major Loki.

Then Code Lost should work but──.

「Are thou satisfied now, my daughter?」

Vritra sighed. She put her hand on Kili’s arm and pushed it down.

And then she talked to Kili who still looked unsatisfied.

「I should have told thee before. That I don’t feel any danger from thee. Looking from how Code Lost didn’t work like this, the reason for that is clear. Thou are directing fierce anger and hatred toward me but──even then there is no genuine killing intent in it.」

「That’s……no, that’s impossible──I’m seriously──」

Kili’s expression stiffened and she shook her head.

Vritra stared fixedly at Kili who still hadn’t managed to sort out her emotions. Then she looked like she was resolved for something and opened her mouth slowly.

「──It’s just as thou pointed out just now. I certainly didn’t create thee from nothing.」

Kili raised her face in shock. Vritra met her gaze and continued her words.

「It seems that the sea of trees where I was hiding myself is a place that draw death to it. Many people came there to throw away their own life. Among those expiring humans, there was a pregnant woman. I made use of her fetus as thy base.」

Vritra dispassionately spoke of the secret of Kili’s origin.

There wasn’t any dramatic truth or the like in there. There was only a dry truth.

「It’s that woman that thou should call as thy true mother. In the end, I am nothing more than thy “master”. I went along with thy mother-daughter make-believe because I decided that doing that would make it easier to control thee.」

「…………That’s what I thought.」

Kili spat out those words bitterly. Vritra’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

「This is surprising──I thought that thou will feel genuine killing intent after hearing this but……I still don’t feel anything scary from thee.」

Kili frowned dubiously hearing that.

「There is no way I’ll feel anything even if Okaa-sama tell me what I already suspected. But……just what are you planning? Is Okaa-sama trying to make me fly into a rage?」

「Yeah, I thought that it would be too pitiful for thee to have zero chance of being able to kill me.」

Vritra nodded. Kili gritted her teeth seeing that.

「Tsu……I don’t, understand your motive. Pity? That kind of emotion……there is no way Okaa-sama has it! Don’t pretend to be human after this late!」

The enraged Kili lifted up her Ether Wind sword above her head.

「I swear I’ll kill Okaa-sama with my own strength. That feeling and resolve are firmly here inside my heart! If just once can’t do it then I’ll do it as many times as required……with this sword-──!!」

Kili said that and swung down her sword once more.

However a loud voice that pierced through the night air reverberated at that time.

.

「Quit it-!!」

.

Everyone stopped moving by that angry scolding and looked toward the source of the voice.

There we saw Ren with a bright red face.

Ren took a deep breath before she walked toward Kili and Vritra.

「Nnu……even if you do that, it’s pointless. Meaningless. Kili should understand that the best.」

「Wait──I told you to not get on my way!」

*Boom* A small explosion blew up right beside Ren, but she kept walking forward without flinching.

「I too……have a father……who greatly irritate me, who I can’t forgive no matter what. I hate……that Otou-san.」

Ren wrung out her voice to mutter that.

I recalled about Ren’s father from those words.

Miyazawa Kenya──he was a dragon researcher who worked as a chief in Asgard’s facility. He was a man who abandoned everything except his research.

Even so somewhere in her heart Ren was seeking for parental love from him but……when we visited Japan not long ago, Ren said that she hated him and she didn’t need a father anymore before cutting off her lingering attachment to him.

「But……although I hate him──if possible, I want to punch him, on the stomach……but, I don’t want him to die or anything.」

Ren stopped walking when she was at Kili’s side and she clenched her small fist.

「I don’t want to meet him anymore……that will make me happier……and yet, if he die──part of me don’t want that. Perhaps, I’ll feel sad. Kili too……is like that isn’t it?」

Ren stared at Kili wordlessly. Kili averted her gaze from that.

「Don’t, group me with you.」

「Nn……certainly, Kili and me are different. Otou-san and Vritra are also different. But……they look the same.」

Ren reached out and grabbed Kili’s arm.

「I, know that Kili is really angry. But, I also know well, that you don’t want to kill Vritra.」

「────」

Kili couldn’t say anything back when Ren asserted that.

And then Ren also grabbed Vritra’s arm tightly next.

「W-what?」

Vritra asked in confusion. Ren spoke to her with a serious tone.

「Vritra is, as clumsy as my Otou-san but……I think, you are kinder than Otou-san. To me, you look like you’re properly thinking about Kili. That’s why, talk properly with her before getting into fight.」

I couldn’t see Ren’s expression from here, but Vritra was bending backward from the pressure.

「There is no reason for me to abide thy──」

「Talk.」

Vritra talked back, but she shut her mouth when Ren pressed her.

And then she glanced at Kili before nodding in resignation.

「If my daughter, has no intention to continue fighting anymore……then I too has to respond to her with words.」

Vritra met Kili’s gaze instead of Ren and began talking.

「Just now, through Ether Wind……I got a glimpse of thy feeling and memory. I believe these people also experienced the same.」

「Heh? W-what’s the deal with that?」

Kili made a dumbfounded expression before looking around at us in panic.

I responded to her with a vague smile. Ren nodded shortly at her.

Iris waved her hands in panic.

「U-umm, we saw but only a little! Kili-chan, you really loved Vritra-chan aren’t you!」

「Wha──」

Kili turned speechless. Her face was quickly turning red. Kili’s purely embarrassed face was refreshing to look.

Vritra continued talking to that Kili.

「I learned of thy perception from that, which I wish to correct.」

「M-my perception?」

Kili who was still unable to compose herself asked back with a shrill voice.

「That’s right. Thou are thinking──that I’m prioritizing Gaia’s future and judge that the “present” is worthless right?」

「……Yes, exactly. I’m correct am I?」

Kili glared. Vritra shook her head at her in respond.

「These short days where I lived with this human vessel brought me a lot of surprise and experience. There is no way those things are worthless. I now understand things that I was unable to comprehend when I didn’t have flesh body. I’m also aware now how there is no “substitute” for that noisy girl over there.」

Vritra glanced at Iris before meeting my gaze for just an instant.

It seemed that even our conversation on the deck also became something meaningful for Vritra.

「Then……」

Kili opened her mouth with an anguished expression, but Vritra fixed her gaze on her and said this.

「Even so, I decided to prioritize the planet’s future. That is the pride of the previous me who risked her whole existence to protect Gaia──it’s not something that I can’t surrender.」

Vritra openly declared so with her head held high. Kili’s eyes widened at that.

「I will lend my assistance until Angolmois is defeated but……even if Iris Freya expire after everything is over, I won’t sacrifice the future and hand her Dark Matter. I wish to leave as much future as possible for this Gaia no matter what I have to do for that.」

Kili got absentminded after Vritra expressed her feeling toward her head-on, but after a while her shoulders shook and she squeezed out some words from her mouth.

「If you have that kind of resolve……then why, did you “pity” me just now? That doesn’t make sense.」

Vritra’s expression slackened hearing that. She smiled wryly.

「Just for an instant──I thought, that if it’s thee……then perhaps it’s fine to entrust everything to thee.」

「Eh……?」

It was an unexpected answer for Kili. She stared at Vritra’s face open mouthed.

「I live with fixation toward the future. By no means I’m thinking that this way of living is absolute justice. Far from that……I have apprehensions about it. That perhaps, this way of living might turn me into something like Angolmois one day.」

Vritra talked with a faraway look.

「One day Gaia’s lifespan will run out……at that time, I won’t give up protecting this world, unable to accept the end, struggle──and be reduced into a monster who is unable to accept its demise……I have such premonition. Perhaps Angolmois at the day of yore was very similar with me.」

「Okaa-sama……」

Vritra smiled at the bewildered Kili. She urged Ren to let go of her hand.

「Therefore, it might also not be a mistake to entrust the rest to thee. However I have no intention to entrust it to thee if thou are unable to kill me. I shall persist with my determination. That’s──everything I have to say.」

After saying that, Vritra shook off Ren’s hand and turned her back on us.

Ren also didn’t try to hold back Vritra any further.

「That’s unfair……Okaa-sama.」

Kili clenched both her hands and muttered in frustration. Vritra was about to keep walking away without looking back, but Iris gasped and came to her senses before she raised her voice.

「Wait, Vritra-chan!」

Iris hurriedly ran toward Vritra and hugged her.

「O-oi, what are thou doing!」

「You see, today everyone is gathering to sleep in Mononobe’s room! Vritra-chan is going to sleep in my bed!」

Iris lifted up the bewildered Vritra and returned back to Naglfar.

「Oi! I’m not agreeing to that request! Don’t decide my sleeping place as thou please!」

「It’s fine, it’s finee. Ah, but Vritra-chan might be able to sleep together with Mononobe if you win the game you know? I’m jealous……」

Vritra protested, but Iris responded to her with her own pace.

She must be thinking that Vritra would spend tonight alone if we left her as it was.

Then Ren pulled Kili’s hand while returning to me.

「Onii-chan, with me. Let’s return quickly.」

「O-ou.」

I nodded, but Kili couldn’t keep up with the talk.

「H-hey, just what are you all talking about!?」

Kili asked while being pulled by Ren.

「Even if you ask me that──it’s a game talk I guess.」

I answered like that after pondering for a bit. Kili frowned.

「I don’t get it at all.」

「Well……you will get it when we return.」

We dragged the bewildered Kili and walked under the night that would continue to tomorrow.

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