Gakusen Toshi Asterisk - Volume 12 - Chapter Ep

EPILOGUE 
At long last—winter. 
“Phew… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get used to that awful little personality of yours.” Claudia, having awoken before dawn from one of her Pan-Dora-induced nightmares, went to take a shower in an attempt to wash away the lingering chill of her dreams. 
Since realizing the truth, her nightmares were becoming more intense. Or to put it more concretely, now even Ayato was among her killers. That said, the situations were so contrived as to be laughable, with the only remarkable thing about them being their sheer vulgarity. 
Even so, she wouldn’t allow her dreams to disturb her. 
As she let the water wash over her, the nightmare that had gripped her until just a moment earlier became no more than a faint noise, a dull pain fading away to nothing. 
“I still need you, so I’ll hold onto you for as long as necessary.” As she dried her hair from her seat on the side of her bed, she murmured softly to herself, as if to put her sense of resolution into words. “But…I wonder whether it isn’t already too late…” 
Outside her window, the pale light of dawn began to spill over the eastern horizon. 
When the sun reached its zenith, this season’s final Festa would be under way. 
“Good luck, everyone… Now, especially.” 
Her efforts over the past months hadn’t been in vain. 
At the very least, it was probably fair to say she had pinned down Lamina Mortis’s identity. 
She still didn’t have any proof, however. 
Besides, if she was right, if it was really him, that knowledge would only put Galaxy in an even more difficult position. After all, he was nominally one of their own executives. On top of that, given that he was the executive chairman of the Festa, Galaxy wouldn’t be able to take action against him by themselves. The situation would no doubt back her mother even further into a corner. 
Their biggest problem, however, was that they still hadn’t been able to track down the whereabouts of the Varda-Vaos. Galaxy’s highest priority was the recovery or destruction of the Orga Lux; compared with that, Lamina Mortis was little more than a distraction for the foundation. They saw no point in apprehending him if it meant that Varda were to escape. 
“At least, that’s how Galaxy sees it,” Claudia said with a bitter laugh. 
In any event, there was a high probability that he would make his move sometime over the next two weeks. Given everything that she had learned about him and his plans, that was obvious enough. The question was when, exactly, he would do it. 
He wouldn’t want to leave anything to chance. 
“…In any event, this year’s Lindvolus is going to be a handful. For the contestants and everyone else, as well.” 
That being the case, she would do what she could to manage affairs on the outside. 
As she finished doing up her hair and headed for her dressing room, she nodded to herself with renewed confidence. 
 
“Huh…? Is it morning already?” Saya wondered as she made her way through her research and development lab in Seidoukan’s harbor block, checking the time only to find that the day really had gotten under way. 
Looking toward a corner of the room, she noticed that her assistant, Nueko Kuzukura, still dressed in her white lab coat, had fallen sound asleep. Nueko had been indispensable in the development of the new Luxes. Saya wasn’t the kind of person who proactively socialized with others, but outside of the members of Team Enfield, Nueko was probably her closest friend. 
“Are you still here?” a voice called as Saya’s father, Souichi, suddenly appeared before her. 
Or rather, a hologram of him did. 
“I can’t say that pulling an all-nighter is a particularly efficient use of your resources. To begin with, today’s the first day of the Lindvolus.” 
“I was just making the final adjustments. And besides, I don’t have a match today, so it’s all right,” Saya replied, turning toward an oversized Lux holder positioned in the center of the room. Inside was one of the new Lux models that she had built with her father’s and Nueko’s help. 
“I can’t help but be impressed at this young genius I’ve brought up. I can see now that coming to Seidoukan was the right decision. You’ve grown, Saya.” 
“Mm-hmm.” Saya glowed, puffing out her chest at the compliment. 
“Now you just need to grow a little more on the outside. I’m sure Ayato would love that, too.” 
“…I’m already growing quickly enough.” 
“In what way?” 
“…My hair, for example.” 
Indeed, she had grown her hair out considerably over the past months. 
“…Ahhh.” Souichi let out an exaggerated sigh. 
At this response, Saya made to kick him in the shin—but, of course, her foot went straight through the hologram. 
As it happened, Nueko had been the one to suggest that she grow out her hair. “You’ll knock Ayato off his feet with how cute you are!” she had said. But on top of that, Saya had done it for herself, too. 
“I know it’s a bit late to ask, but what set your mind on such an exorbitant weapon? And on top of that, you decided to increase the output again, far beyond its original specifications. You shouldn’t need anything this powerful just to win the Festa.” 
“…You’re asking that, even knowing that I lost in the semifinals in the Phoenix?” 
“Ah…! N-no, I don’t mean…” 
Saya found herself breaking out into a weak smile as she watched her father fumble for words. 
Indeed, her original goal had been to exact revenge on the puppet that had defeated her last time. To that end, she needed a weapon with enough power to break through Ardy’s defensive shield with a full-frontal attack. 
But the reason she had increased its power beyond that level was to help Ayato. 
After all, he had managed to wind up in trouble yet again, this time getting caught in the crosshairs of an incredibly powerful foe. 
Ayato and Haruka couldn’t defeat this opponent alone. They needed stronger weapons—the more powerful the better. 
Ayato’s enemy was her enemy. Nor would Saya show mercy to anyone who used Haruka’s life as a bargaining chip the way they had. 
“Well, I had better go back to my dorm and get ready. I can’t go to the Festa looking like this,” she said as she fitted the gigantic Lux holder, taller even than she herself was, onto her back. 
“Take care!” Souichi said with a thumbs-up as he saw her off. 
 
Kirin was running alone along the footpath by the lake shore, her sportswear-garbed figure shrouded in fog. 
The eastern sky had begun to brighten, although the morning air in the winter was still bitingly cold. 
“Haaah… Haaah…” 
She moved almost without thinking, her breathing regular and undisturbed. Her silver hair, done up in a ponytail, swept left and right gracefully, fitting the meaning of her first name. 
Since meeting Ayato’s father, Masatsugu, Kirin had been focusing her efforts exclusively on the most fundamental kinds of training. 
Naturally, she had focused on coordinating with her teammates during her training last year in preparation for the Gryps, so in a way, it was good to get back to this kind of strenuous, basic training that could be carried out alone. 
Of course, she still engaged in regular practical training matches with Ayato and the others, but she was spending the majority of her days repeating and polishing by herself these most basic techniques. 
After all, she knew that the destination that she wanted to reach, the strength that she wanted to obtain, was at the end of this long road. 
But as she ran along the lake’s edge, she found herself recalling fondly those days before the Phoenix. 
I wonder how far I’ve progressed since then…? 
At such times, she always ended up questioning herself like this. 
She had gained new techniques and skills, and she had grown both physically and mentally. As a swordswoman, as a person, she had become much stronger than she had been back then. 
She understood that. 
And yet, there were still so many things in the world that were simply out of her control. She hadn’t even been able to be of any help to the person most important to her. 
And now the Lindvolus has already started…! 
She bit her lip in disappointment but quickly shook her head as she returned to her senses. 

Right. There’s still time. 
Claudia and Helga seemed to be moving forward with a new strategy timed to coincide with the opening ceremony of the tournament. 
In that case, all she could do now was polish the edge of her blade. 
The edge of the blade that was Kirin Toudou. 
But as she once again came to the same conclusion— 
“Huh-whaaa…?!” 
Trying to veer from the footpath to keep from running into a cat that had appeared in front of her, she found herself stumbling. 
She managed to stop herself from falling to her feet, but it took her a little longer than it should have to regain her balance. 
The reason for that…was that there was now a little more weight at her chest. 
“I didn’t need to grow anymore here, though…!” 
She had said something similar once and remembered Julis and Saya staring at her in a way they hadn’t before or since. And then Claudia had gotten involved, too, and when Ayato had tried to get them to calm down… 
Without realizing it, she found herself blushing. 
It wasn’t just her—they were all thinking about one another. 
That was why she knew they would be okay. 
 
“…Ah, it got here in one piece.” 
“Thank goodness! I was worried it wouldn’t make it in time!” Flora, on the other side of the air-window, had bloomed into a sweet young lady—but as she clapped her hands together, smiling joyfully, it was clear that she still possessed a childlike innocence. 
The parcel that had arrived the previous night rested open atop Julis’s lap. 
Inside lay a beautiful barrette, shaped like a pair of elegant wings. 
“It’s a present from everyone at the orphanage! We’re all praying that you win! All of the kids and the sisters, His Majesty, too, everyone here in Lieseltania is supporting you! So do your best!” 
“…Ah, thanks,” Julis replied, averting her gaze as she tried to stop the tears from welling in her eyes. 
“Princess…?” 
“I’m fine, really. Don’t worry about me.” Having composed herself, Julis turned back to Flora in the air-window. “I’m grateful for everyone’s support. I’ll take the crown, I promise you. Just you wait and see.” 
Julis wondered whether her confident laugh sounded authentic. She wondered, too, just how well she was managing to look like the Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld that everyone thought they knew. 
“Of course! I believe in you!” Flora shone her a dazzling, radiant smile. 
Julis narrowed her eyes in an attempt to smile back. “Well then,” she said, cutting the transmission, and let out a deep sigh. 
She slapped herself on the cheeks with both hands as if to wake herself up, before standing in front of the mirror and trying out the hair ornament that Flora and the others had sent her. 
What was she supposed to do? 
She still hadn’t been able to sort things out. Not with Orphelia, not with Ayato, not with Haruka. 
With everything still unresolved, a sense of fear never failed to well up inside her at the mere thought of coming to a decision. 
But no matter how much she tortured herself, the reality of the situation wouldn’t change. 
As painful as it was, her deadline for making a decision was fast approaching. 
“But until then… I’m going to pull through this. I’m not going to let anything as stupid as fate get in my way…” 
No, she wasn’t about to give up that easily. 
That was what she swore to herself. She finished tying up her hair and reached into the dresser drawer—from which she brought out a handkerchief that she pulled close to her chest. 
 
Ayato was waiting outside the main gate leading into Seidoukan Academy as the light of dawn began to break through the morning mist. 
“Good morning, Ayato,” Haruka called out to him warmly, her faint figure emerging from the fog. 
“Morning, Haru.” 
“Sorry for calling you out here so early. I’m not allowed to enter the school grounds, and I won’t be able to go cheer you on today, so I thought…well, I wanted to let you know I’ll be with you all the way.” 
Haruka, now an officer of Stjarnagarm, couldn’t have looked more natural in her uniform. 
With this year’s Lindvolus being the most anticipated in history, the rush of tourists to Asterisk had left every hotel and lodging house completely booked out, and while the tournament had yet to properly get under way, there had already been more trouble throughout the city than at the last Festa. The city guard, already perennially understaffed, had its hands full. 
On top of all that, Haruka and Helga were continuing their investigation into Lamina Mortis and his associates. 
“Don’t worry about it. I’d just finished my morning training anyway.” 
“Ah… Wait, hold on a second.” Haruka suddenly leaned forward, staring intently at his face. 
“Huh? Wh-what is it…?” 
“Hmm, you should take a bit more care with your appearance. I thought the same thing when I watched the recordings of the Phoenix and the Gryps, actually…” 
“R-really…?” 
He had to admit he hadn’t really put a lot of thought into it. 
“At the very least, you can do something with your hair… Come here,” she said, before beginning to straighten it up for him. 
Ayato found himself suddenly remembering the time when Julis had done something very similar at this very place. It felt like such a long time ago now, but at the same time, it was so close to his heart. 
Julis… 
Since telling her that he would be entering the tournament, Julis seemed to have distanced herself from him—and from Claudia, Saya, and Kirin, too. Of course, they still said hello whenever they saw each other, but they had hardly ever had lunch or trained together over the past few months. 
She had her reasons for doing so—she couldn’t give up on winning the tournament. 
Just like he couldn’t give up on doing everything within his power to keep Haruka safe. 
And the fact that she hadn’t spoken about it with him no doubt meant it was something that she couldn’t discuss. 
In that case, he— 
“Hey. Don’t make such a face,” Haruka said, pressing both of her hands against his cheeks as if he were a baby. “That’s no way for someone hoping to win a grand slam to look.” 
“Haruka…” As she patted his cheek warmly, that was all he could bring himself to say. 
“It’ll be fine.” 
Ayato looked up. Somehow, those words were enough to lighten his shoulders. 
“It’ll work out. For you, for me…and for Julis, too.” 
“…Right. Thank you.” 
Haruka didn’t cast blame for their current situation—not on him, not on herself. She knew just how much it would pain him if she did. 
Which was why she kept her parting words simple: “Well, then… You can do it, Ayato.” 
“I’ll do my best.” That equally muted response was all he could bring himself to say. 
For now, at least.