“Tell Lilith that I’m willing to overlook the detente violation, but she will not get away with making a mockery of my Ange.”
Then the holy fire surrounding Enju died out.
Miss C was also getting up after having been hit by a surprise attack earlier. They must have realized they were outmatched because the two attackers obediently kept their distance.
Black Cat threatened them, but she could not just leave Micha here when the angel was also an enemy. She could only watch as Riselle and then Enju turned around.
It came down to a draw.
“…”
Lavriel was the only one without any physical damage, but she looked paler than any of them.
What had happened? Mutsuki left Ange to sleep and exited the infirmary.
It was already dark out and the hallway was also quite dim. He relied on the green emergency exit lights to reach the entrance and then he went to check on the athletic ground.
The empty school was a little frightening, but his mind never turned to anything like ghosts due to the heavy machinery sounds that were presumably from Machina’s Springloaded fixing the school building.
“…”
“Senpai.”
Although he was shocked to find a girl standing stock still with a face as pale as a
ghost’s.
Ren was in the school building’s entrance. No, he should probably call her Miss
Lavriel at the moment. She was still wearing her knight outfit and her optical illusion device was off, allowing the skin and hair color of a white person to the surface.
She looked like FeTUS’s knight, but her expression contained even more openings than during her private moments as the Student Council President.
“Senpai…what’s the matter?”
“…Nn?”
She did not notice him until he was quite close.
Who was that figure she had pursued with Schwarze? Had they caught them? He had a number of thoughts, but he was not sure what to ask since she was clearly acting oddly.
He opened his mouth and tried to decide what to say, but…
“…How is Jiyuuni?”
She spoke first.
“Oh, yes. She’s asleep. She was, um…tired.”
“I see. Tell me when she wakes up. I must apologize. It seems I was mistaken
about the reason for the duel.”
Her detached manner of speech was not like her normal self. She simply spoke softly. He sensed none of the ambition and charisma that allowed her to control the academy’s middle school.
What had happened? As he prepared to ask her, he peered at her face…
“————”
But her forehead bumped into his shoulder.
“Ah…S-Senpai?”
At first, he did not know what had happened.
Eventually, he realized she had wrapped her arms around his back and embraced him.
She hung her head and leaned up against him so he could not see her face. He was confused, but he naturally let her do it.
He had gone much, much further with Ange just a bit before, but he could not muster a manly response when his first love did this. He simply tensed up and stood there like he was made of wood.
“…Sorry.”
He did finally manage to move his hands.
“Sorry. Please let me do this for just a bit.”
“…Of course.”
That was because he noticed the tremor in her voice.
He rubbed her chilled back to at least make sure she did not shed any tears. She must have been clenching her teeth because her shoulders were tensed and shaking.
Machina’s construction noises grew more distant and silence fell over the school building.
Mutsuki gulped, worried she could hear his pounding heart.
How long did that moment last?
“You too…”
She suddenly opened her mouth.
“You too have a younger sister, don’t you? Fujita…Chiaki. In the elementary school.”
“Yes. Um, she’s thankful for the help you’ve given her on the lacrosse team.”
Fortunately, she seemed to have calmed down and her voice was no longer shaking.
She raised her head as well. The corners of her eyes were somewhat damp, but true to her reliable image, she seemed to have overcome it on her own. She still lacked the ambition, but the color had returned to her face.
“She is a hardworking and cute girl who clearly cares for her big brother. Take good care of her.”
“Y-yes.”
Now Mutsuki felt bashful. She was still leaning on him, so they were facing each other with less than twenty centimeters between their faces.
He tried to look away, but she would not let him.
“I…should have taken better care of mine. I shouldn’t have let go of her hand.”
“Wah…”
The hands on his back moved to his neck and she held him tight.
They were about the same height, so their cheeks touched. That was enough for Mutsuki to tense up, but Ren rubbed her cheek against his as if it were not enough.
“I won’t let go again.” Her voice was so low that even Mutsuki could barely hear it.
“I will never let go of you. No matter what happens, I will protect you.”
“Um, Senpai?”
“…I swear it.”
He managed to move back, but she did not remove her arms from around his neck and they were still directly facing each other.
Ren said nothing and stared at him as if trying to memorize the shape of his peach fuzz. Embarrassment and fear mixed together and he found himself unable to look away either.
His heartbeat sounded even louder than before as silence closed in on the two of them…
“What the hell are you doing!?”
That silence was broken by an angry voice and the roar of flames burning brightly in the dark hallway.
Ange had apparently woken up and changed into her gym clothes because she stood there with flame wings raging from her back as a threat.
Machina stood behind her, so she had likely brought Ange the clothes.
“A-Ange, this is…um.”
Machina also gave him a cold look, but Mutsuki was more concerned with Ange’s raised eyebrows and he shook his head to tell her it was a misunderstanding.
They had been making love just a few minutes before, so the easily-angered angel’s expression tensed when she saw the boy and another girl enjoying skin contact that seemed closer than any kind of sex.
And that other girl was one of the FeTUS witches she so disliked.
“Hm.” Ren had actually returned to her usual calm demeanor. “Jiyuuni Ange, perfect timing. About what happened earlier…”
“Shut up! Let’s get back to that duel!”
“Wah!?”
But before she could say anything, Ange pulled out Prominence and rushed at her.
Ren shoved Mutsuki aside and dodged, but the angel pursued her.
“Stop, Jiyuuni Ange! Listen to me! I no longer wish to-”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up! You might not want to, but I do!”
Ren could not fight back when the original misunderstanding had been her fault and Ange swung her sword all over the place as she pressed in toward her. Ren somehow managed to dodge, but the angel’s personality made her a powerful attacker, her slashes were sharp, and she would not listen.
“I-Ibekusa-san. Please stop Ange. It doesn’t seem like Senpai wants to fight any more.”
Everything had settled down, but now two people he cared for were going to hurt each other. Mutsuki asked the third girl to help.
But while she was usually cooperative…
“If Miss B does not intend to fight, then I have no reason to stop them. This will be over before long.”
For some reason, Machina gave a very Ange-like lopsided frown and looked the other way.
‘‘Is she angry to…?’’ wondered Mutsuki in confusion.
And then…
“Argh! Give it a rest, Jiyuuni Ange!”
Realizing this was not going to end otherwise, Ren reached for her beloved sword.
She drew it and only tried to knock Prominence from the attacking enemy’s grasp, but…
“Loop!”
“Mh…wah!”
Her restrained block worked against her. The divine sword split in two and one of the halves swept right toward her torso.
The direct hit sent Ren flying. She crashed through the nearby shoe lockers.