Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 7 - Chapter 7

An Answer and a Prayer

Sunday, January 24th

A bright spotlight shone on Harumi and Koutarou. Harumi was in costume, wearing a pure white dress and a silver tiara, and her expression indicated great affection as she looked at Koutarou. With the spotlight on her and the other lights shut off, it was as if she was glowing in the dark.

“...I asked you not to come countless times.”

Harumi’s smile momentarily vanished as she criticized him.

“Pardon me, but that sounded like a cry for help to me.”

In response, Koutarou smiled in her stead. Wearing his metallic armor, he stood facing Harumi. It was the replica suit that also served as a way to control Theia’s battleship, Blue Knight. The bright blue armor was large and made Koutarou’s already massive body look even more gigantic and powerful.

“Thank you for coming, Lord Veltlion.”

Harumi smiled once more, but unlike before, this was a truly special smile—the kind you would only reveal to someone equally special.

“My life and my sword exist for you, Your Highness.”

Koutarou lightly smiled and nodded towards Harumi. He then swung his sword demonstratively before carefully returning it to its sheath. The tip of the blade traced an elegant circle in the air that looked like a silver moon to the audience.

It was now Sunday, January 24th, the day of the play.

Fortunately, the day was blessed with fine weather, and despite being the weekend, a lot of students, their families, and other locals flocked to the gym to see the production. All of the prepared seating was full, so there were even people standing in the back to watch. Because of how popular the previous play had been, the sequel was highly anticipated.

Fortunately, the performance so far was living up to the hype. The acting, impressive action scenes, and special effects were all well received. The audience had gotten fired up several times already, particularly when the Fire Dragon Emperor used wires to take flight. Yurika had enjoyed being in the spotlight and gotten a little full of herself. She started to rampage above the stage, making a few young children in the audience cry. It was a big hit.

And so, without any major trouble, the play was proceeding smoothly towards its conclusion. Only two scenes remained: the coronation scene where the Silver Princess ascended the royal throne, and the final scene where the Silver Princess and the Blue Knight said farewell.

With their current scene finished, Koutarou and Harumi returned backstage. It was like entering a warzone. The set pieces that weren’t in use took up most of the room, and there were lots of people milling about.

“Drop the curtains for now! We’re changing the set!”

“Beam A-4 is gone!”

“What do we change it with?”

“Costumes! Where is Sakuraba-san’s costume change?!”

“We’re changing it for the coronation scene! Hurry up!”

“Make up for it with B-4 next to it, but mind the difference in angle!”

“Are all the aristocrats here?!”

“They’re here!”

“I don’t know!”

“Are they, or are they not?”

“I said they’re here!”

Although there was an established procedure for how to deal with scene changes, things weren’t going as smoothly backstage as they were on the stage. According to their original schedule, they shouldn’t have had to rush this much. That said, since they were still keeping the show going without the audience realizing anything was amiss, they were doing well for amateurs.

“Saaatomi-saaan! Saaakurabaaa-senpaaai!”

While the backstage chaos was soaking in for Harumi and Koutarou, Yurika passed by strung up with wires. She was still wearing her Alunaya costume and was flailing her limbs and tail to get their attention. Her part was over, but there was practically no room for her and her bulky costume backstage. Because of that, the crew was wheeling her—flying contraption and all—out behind the gym where baggage was being stored.

“Everyone seems to be having a hard time...”

After seeing Yurika off, Harumi looked around once more and sighed. Just seeing the state of affairs things were in, anyone could tell how rough the crew had it. Harumi was truly impressed with all of their hard work.

“Now’s not the time to act like it’s not your problem.”

“Huh?”

Koutarou was smiling wryly at Harumi, but Harumi just looked surprised. Before she knew what was happening, the stage director appeared from out of nowhere and casually grabbed her arm.

“Kyah!”

“There you are, Sakuraba-san! Hurry up! We have to change your costume!”

“R-Right! I’ll see you later, Satomi-kun.”

“Save the pleasantries for later! Just hurry, Sakuraba-san!”

Harumi turned back to wave at Koutarou as she was forcibly pulled away by the stage director.

“Ahaha, you seem to be having a hard time yourself, Sakuraba-senpai...”

Watching Harumi get dragged off, Koutarou laughed. Unlike Koutarou who didn’t appear in the next scene, Harumi was the star of it. Since it was the scene where the Silver Princess was crowned empress, she had to be outfitted with a crown, robe, and scepter. And just like everyone else backstage, Harumi didn’t have much time. She wasn’t in a position to stand around and take it all in like Koutarou was.

As he looked around, he could see Theia and Ruth also standing over in the direction that Harumi had gone. Since Theia had the role of the Silver Princess’s little sister, the Golden Princess, she also had an appearance in the coronation scene. In preparation for it, she was wearing a formal dress that was different from normal.

“Move it, Satomi! Get out of the way!”

“Oops, sorry!”

The prop team came through carrying a set piece. Since Koutarou was in their way, he hurriedly moved aside.

“Move it, Satomi-kun! I’m in a hurry!”

“S-Sorry!”

However, a different crew member was trying to pass through the area he’d just moved to in order to get out of the way. Koutarou quickly moved again, but the process repeated itself several times. He just couldn’t seem to get out of the way, leaving him with no place backstage where he could safely spend his downtime.

“Jeez...”

“What are you going to do, Koutarou?”

“I guess we don’t have a choice. Let’s go behind the gym with Yurika.”

“Roger.”

Koutarou started walking, and Sanae tagged along. She’d been supporting him throughout the play, and she was willing to help even between scenes. Koutarou’s next appearance was in about ten minutes, so he was better off finding somewhere to practice his lines than standing around backstage and getting in the crew’s way.

“Oh, Satomi-kun, if you’re heading off to the baggage storage, please take Yurika with you.”

“Roar!”

“Gotcha.”

“All you need to do is pull on this.”

On his way outside, a girl on the special effects team handed Koutarou a rope. It was attached to Yurika’s costume, and when pulled, it would drag Yurika along. This was another device the prop team had painstakingly created for the production.

“Thanks, Satomi-kun. See you later.”

“You bet.”

The girl who gave Koutarou the rope went back the way they’d come. She had no time to spare. Her next job was already waiting for her.

“Everyone sure is working hard...”

“Yeah.”

“Roar, roar!”

Seeing the girl off, Koutarou realized he had to do his best too and got himself pumped up. His next appearance was the incredibly important final scene. How well it was done could make or break the entire play.

“Let’s go, Yurika.”

“Roar!”

“Still, you look pretty pathetic...”

“Roar, roar!”

Koutarou and Sanae pulled on Yurika’s rope and left the backstage area. It was an odd sight since it looked like a giant dragon was being taken for a walk.

“I’m letting you down now.”

“Aaah, wait! Please wait!”

“Here we go!”

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

Hearing Yurika scream, Koutarou looked up. When he did, he saw her and the Alunaya costume she was wearing come crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

“Owowowow...”

“S-Sorry.”

“I don’t want to hear it! You should have let me down gently!”

“I didn’t think you would fall that fast.”

Koutarou had left Yurika to Sanae so he could go over his lines for the final scene. Apparently that was a mistake. Yurika was now on the ground with her limbs spread out in all directions. It was sad.

Once they were outside behind the gym, Sanae pressed a button to release the rope holding Yurika up. But since she pressed it before lowering Yurika to the ground, she plummeted all the way down from about a meter up. It wasn’t too much of a fall, but because the costume she was wearing was quite heavy, it was painful.

“What are they doing...?”

Koutarou sighed and placed his Kabutonga bookmark into the script and closed it before hopping off the set piece he was using as a chair.

As he landed, his armor chinked loudly. Based on its bulk, the armor looked like it was quite heavy. However, Koutarou walked around in it like it weighed nothing at all. Since it was a powered suit, it didn’t inhibit or restrict his movement. Contrary to its classic look, it was an advanced piece of Forthorthian technology.

“Hey, are you okay, Yurika?”

Koutarou tucked his script inside his armor and offered his left hand to Yurika.

“I’m nooot...”

Yurika tried to reach out for it, but she was worse off than she thought. Her outstretched arm lost its strength halfway and fell to the ground. Still lying in the dirt with her limbs spread out, Yurika began crying.

“Hey now...”

Koutarou was momentarily amazed by her behavior, but considering what happened immediately after, not taking his hand was the correct choice.

“Look out, Koutarou!”

By the time Sanae tried to warn Koutarou, the heavy metal particles fired via electromagnetism were already flying towards him. The beam that had been building energy until just moments earlier grazed the hand Koutarou was holding out to Yurika.

“Uwah!”

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

Koutarou and Yurika were blinded by the sudden beam and the small explosion that followed, but the only damage appeared to be that Koutarou’s left gauntlet was destroyed. Thankfully neither Koutarou nor Yurika were hurt. If Yurika had actually taken his hand, however, it would have been blown off right along with Koutarou’s gauntlet. In other words, Yurika’s weakness actually saved her this time. The only thing Koutarou had felt was the scorching heat on his arm, which, considering what could have happened, was extremely lucky.

“Ah, hot, hot, hot!”

“Koutarou, it’s her! The girl that attacked Theia before the last play!”

“That’s right, it’s me!”

Both Sanae’s voice and the voice of the person who’d fired the beam could be heard coming from above Koutarou. When he looked up, the smoke from the explosion had cleared and he could see someone’s silhouette against the clear blue sky.

“Prepare yourself, fake Blue Knight! The Moon of the Schweiger family reflected upon the surface of the water will be taking your life!”

“She’s—?!”

Koutarou had seen her before. It was a girl in a luxurious black and white dress wearing antique-style glasses on her face. Perhaps more noticeably, however, she was holding a clunky beam rifle in her hands and flying in the air.

“My name is Clariossa! Clariossa Daora Schweiger Meltsfen Foa Forthorthe! Take that proud name with you to the grave and through the gates of hell, fake Blue Knight!”

She was Theia’s rival—Clan, the second princess of Forthorthe.

There were two reasons Clan had chosen this moment to attack.

The first was that Koutarou wasn’t with Theia or Harumi. During the coronation scene, both the Golden Princess and the Silver Princess would be on stage. However, the Blue Knight had no appearance, meaning Koutarou would be separated from them for a time. Avoiding Theia, who had overwhelming firepower, and Harumi, who had mystical powers, was an important part of her plan.

The second reason was that if she killed Koutarou now, it would grieve Theia tremendously. The following scene would be the parting scene between the Blue Knight and the Silver Princess. If she could dispose of Koutarou before then, the Blue Knight would be missing for the most important part of the play. Since Clan was keenly aware of Theia’s attachment to the Blue Knight, she timed her attack so that it would ruin the play too.

And with those two requirements satisfied, Koutarou had willingly walked out back behind the gym where there were very few other people. It was too perfect. Clan couldn’t pass up such a golden opportunity.

When Koutarou realized it was Clan, he put his hand on the sword at his waist. It was the treasured sword Saguratin that Theia had given him, and which had already protected them several times.

“You again! Are you after Theia again?!”

Koutarou drew his sword from its sheath and, following the etiquette of Forthorthe’s old school sword fighting style, traced a large circle with the tip of the blade in the air.

This feels a little weird...

As Koutarou held the sword in both hands, he readjusted the grip of his left hand. He had always trained using the sword while wearing the armor, so it felt somewhat uncomfortable to wield it with his left hand bare.

“You think I’m after Theiamillis-san now?! You’re wrong, fake Blue Knight!”

Clan grinned and clutched her beam rifle with both hands. Even though she was floating in the air, she seemed to be in a fixed position without swaying at all. From several meters up in the air, Clan took deadly aim at Koutarou’s head.

“My prey for today is you! I’m going to kill you before I take care of Theiamillis-san!”

“Me?!”

“Of course! Just you standing there is irksome to me!”

While Koutarou was still caught off guard, Clan squeezed the trigger. When she did, a beam went flying from the muzzle of the fully charged rifle. Although the effect of beam attacks inside an atmosphere was greatly reduced, at this kind of range, it made a negligible difference. The beam approached Koutarou with most of the energy it had when it left the barrel.

It’s fast!

Koutarou’s eyes shot open wide. The beam coming straight for him was much faster than he had anticipated. It far outstripped what she’d used in the past. Clan had effectively remodeled her handheld beam cannon into a lethal rifle.

“Tch!”

Because of that, although Koutarou moved to dodge, he wasn’t going to make it in time.

“Leave it to me!”

However, that’s when something strange happened. After leaping to dodge, Koutarou’s body suddenly began accelerating. It was as if something invisible had given him a push. Thanks to that, Koutarou avoided getting hit by the beam, which instead drilled into the ground and left a charred hole.

“What was that?!”

“Koutarou!”

“Was that you, Sanae?! You saved me!”

Clan was surprised at this development, but Koutarou less so. He knew that Sanae had used her psychic powers to send him flying. Koutarou then calmly landed and began running at full speed. Although Clan had gotten the first shot off because Koutarou was so distracted by their conversation, he wasn’t planning on letting her dictate the flow of battle. He had begun running to make it harder for Clan to aim and to close the distance between them.

“Curse you! Quit running around!”

Two more flashes shot out of Clan’s rifle. Since Koutarou had anticipated these attacks, he swiftly twisted his body to dodge the incoming beams. While he was able to avoid two direct hits, one of the beams grazed his armor.

“Whoa!”

Although it had merely grazed him, he felt quite a jolt. Not only were these beams faster, they were more powerful too.

“Damn it, that gun is completely different from last time!”

Feeling the impact from a shot after seeing one completely destroy his gauntlet, he could tell the rifle form of the beam cannon had been improved in every aspect.

Looks like I’ll be in trouble if I assume this’ll go the same way it did last time...

Koutarou clicked his tongue to himself and moved in on Clan. Closing the distance was important to him, both defensively and offensively.

“I told you to leave it to me!”

Sanae laughed practically right in Koutarou’s ear. Before he had realized it, she was already hanging on to his back.

“Sanae?”

“With our friendship power, we won’t lose to the likes of her!”

When Sanae shouted that, Koutarou’s view greatly changed.

“This is...”

Overlapping with what he could normally see, there was a white light around living creatures. And by focusing on that light, he could faintly tell what a creature was doing and what they were planning on doing.

This was the power Sanae had lent Koutarou. By doing the reverse of what she did to taste the food Koutarou ate, she transmitted her spiritual senses to Koutarou. Thanks to that, Koutarou had an idea of where Clan was aiming and when she was going to fire. There wasn’t anything more convenient than that in a fight.

“Eeheehee! And that’s not all today!”

“Take this!”

Just as Sanae was cheerfully laughing, Clan repeatedly fired her beam rifle. Although her attack became harder to dodge with the increased number of shots, Koutarou was able to avoid each of the beams with quick footwork.

What is this?

Koutarou was puzzled at how easily he’d dodged them. It felt like the beams had suddenly gotten slower, and his body felt surprisingly light. It was almost like time was moving at half speed.

“Sanae, is this your doing too?”

“You got it! Remember to praise me a ton after this is over!”

Sanae responded to Koutarou’s question with a bright smile. Happy that Koutarou was surprised, she gleefully strengthened her grip around his neck.

“Our strong bond has created a miracle!”

Sanae’s psychic powers were the reason behind Koutarou’s increased speed. Normally she used this power for massages, but by tapping into his synapses and sending her energy through him, she could sharpen his senses and increase his reflexes. Clinging to his back, she was also blocking out any unnecessary mental noise, so even his concentration was improved.

And since he could tell when and where Clan would fire with her spirit sight, Koutarou had no problems dodging her beams. That was only a given considering he could start dodging before she even fired.

“You haven’t fully possessed me, right?”

“Hmm... I guess you could call it that.”

Orders from Koutarou’s brain were sent throughout his body via Sanae. It could be described as a possession since she’d taken over his body, but she was still allowing him to move as he pleased.

“I guess I have to make some concessions to survive, but that sure is scary...”

“It’s okay. I love you after all!”

With all the strength in his legs, Koutarou jumped up towards Clan overhead. He was planning on swatting her down with his sword, firmly grasped in both hands. Clan was high enough that Koutarou normally wouldn’t be able reach her, but between the powers given to him by the armor and Sanae, it wasn’t a problem.

“Well done! However...”

Attempting to distance herself from Koutarou, Clan rose up further into the sky. Thanks to that, Koutarou’s sword only caught air as he swung it.

“I missed?!”

Koutarou then fell back towards the ground and landed on both feet. However, in that moment he was focused on landing and nothing else, Clan rained down beams upon him.

“Koutarou!”

“I know!”

The mantle Koutarou was wearing over his armor for the last scene was scorched and the AI in his armor reported minor damage. Clan had strategically waited to fire so Koutarou was unable to avoid damage as he hit the ground, even with Sanae’s help.

“Koutarou, let’s fly too! This armor can fly, right?!”

“So I hear, but I don’t know how!”

“You’re kidding!”

The armor Koutarou was wearing served to control Blue Knight, Theia’s battleship. Since the ship’s pilot would normally wear it, the armor was also equipped with all the standard functions of a spacesuit. Propulsion was on that list, but since Koutarou was only using the armor for the show, he had no idea how to operate anything like that. The legendary Blue Knight could supposedly fly through the skies, but they couldn’t use that kind of power in a school play.

Because of that, Koutarou currently had no way of counterattacking. With Clan attacking from out of his reach, he was helpless. As he dodged more beams, Koutarou racked his brain, trying to come up with a solution to this problem.

“Curse you! Do you have eyes in the back of your head or something?!”

Meanwhile, Clan was getting more and more frustrated. Although Koutarou could no longer get to her because she was airborne, her beams could no longer hit Koutarou because he was so fast. Clan’s rifle was much easier to handle compared to her beam cannon from before, but Koutarou was moving much faster than her data from their previous fight indicated. So despite her marksmanship and the aiming assistance she had from her computer, she still couldn’t score an effective hit on him. Koutarou keeping a close distance and Sanae keeping a watchful eye on his blind spots were the primary reasons for miss after miss on Clan’s part.

“In that case...!”

Annoyed, Clan touched a button on the body of her rifle. When she did, the information flowing from the rifle to her bracelet was cut off for a moment before hurriedly restarting. She had changed the rifle’s attack mode and rebooted the FCS.

“Not even you can dodge this!”

Clan grinned as she pointed the muzzle of the rifle at Koutarou once more. It was an amused smile, almost like a cat cornering a mouse. If Koutarou had seen it, it definitely would have reminded him of when he had first met Theia. Clan was so confident in her next attack that she couldn’t help smiling like that.

“Koutarou, in that case, I’ll fight her my— Look out! Run, Koutarou!”

Sanae was the first one to notice it, and she did her best to warn Koutarou immediately.

Up until now, whenever Clan had attacked, Koutarou and Sanae could sense her hostility, represented by small circles a few centimeters in diameter visible with Sanae’s spirit sight. The circles corresponded to the anticipated diameter of the beam and Clan’s aim, so by moving away from those circles, they could dodge the beams.

“What?! That’s—”

“Quit talking and run! You can’t dodge this one!”

“You’re too slow, fake Blue Knight!”

Before Koutarou could take evasive maneuvers, Clan pulled the trigger.

I see! This is what she meant!

Koutarou sensed Clan’s hostility shortly after Sanae did, and he saw that the circle this time was several meters wide.

“Take thiiiiis!”

A gigantic cone-shaped beam came flying out from the barrel of the rifle. It was the result of scattering the beam. Her rifle was now effectively a beam shotgun.

Although the width of the beam got larger when scattered, the amount of energy required to fire a shot increased, reducing the actual power of the beam. It was originally intended as a method of attacking multiple targets at once, but it was also effective against a mobile opponent.

“Koutarou!”

Sanae closed her eyes and held on to Koutarou as if she was trying to shield him. As a ghost, however, it wouldn’t help him at all. The beam would pass right through her body and hit Koutarou. Knowing that, she felt just how powerless she really was in that moment.

“Damn it!”

Koutarou made a dashing leap with all of his might in an attempt to get out of the beam’s way. However, completely dodging the attack seemed hopeless. If a normal beam was like a faucet, the scattered beam was like a shower. Although the total amount of water was the same, the range was completely different. Even if it had less power, Koutarou wasn’t enough of an optimist to think he’d make it out unscathed.

It looked like the beam was about to hit Koutarou, but just before it did, the voices of two other girls could be heard nearby.

“Karama, Korama! Spiritual energy field to maximum output!”

“Blue Knight! Activate the suit’s battle mode! Override input and put the emergency boosters on the back and legs to full thrust!”

It was Ruth and Kiriha, both still wearing their play costumes. Kiriha was shouting in Koutarou and Sanae’s direction, while Ruth was giving orders to her bracelet.

“Leave it to us, ho!”

“Karama-chan, Korama-chan!”

“Ho, Sanae-chan! Everything will be all right now, ho!”

Just moments after the two girls arrived, the two haniwas appeared next to Koutarou and Sanae. Following Kiriha’s commands, they deployed a yellow spiritual energy shield to protect Koutarou, Sanae, and themselves.

“As you wish, my lady.”

But that wasn’t all. After Ruth’s bracelet confirmed her orders, the back and leg parts of Koutarou’s armor began spewing out flames. It was the afterburners of boosters kicking in. Normally the armor would manipulate gravity, just like the barrier generator, in order to fly. However, when a large amount of thrust was required in the case of an emergency, boosters using conventional propellants were used for assistance. The boosters in the back and legs spewed more and more flame as Koutarou’s body rapidly accelerated forward.

“Wh-Whoa! What?!”

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

Thanks to the overwhelming thrust of the boosters, 90 percent of Koutarou’s body managed to escape the beam’s range. Karama and Korama shielded the remaining 10 percent with their barrier. Normally their barrier was intended to defend against spiritual energy attacks, so it wasn’t well suited for blocking something like beam technology. If the attack had been the normally concentrated beam instead, the haniwas probably wouldn’t have been able to defend against it. Fortunately, however, the haniwas’ barrier was more than enough to block a scattered beam like this one.

“More of them?! Pardomshiha and... that girl!”

Clan was more irritated at Ruth and Kiriha’s appearance than her attack being blocked. Having suffered at the hands of Kiriha last time around, Clan held a grudge against her too, second only to her hatred for Koutarou and Theia.

“Koutarou!”

“Satomi-sama, are you all right?!”

Koutarou tore up the ground as he tumbled along in his armor after the sudden thrust, and Kiriha and Ruth quickly came running over to him. Cautious of their interference, Clan gave Koutarou and the others a hateful glare, but she didn’t attack right away. Meanwhile, the haniwas got in between Clan and Koutarou, intent on protecting him and the girls.

“You saved me.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay, Satomi-sama.”

“Nice timing!”

“I was so surprised when I got a warning about the armor’s left arm being damaged right after I got off the stage, Satomi-sama.”

Kiriha and Ruth had only come outside because of the alarm Ruth’s bracelet had sounded. Since the armor Koutarou was wearing was equipment from Blue Knight, any damage it suffered was naturally reported to the ship’s operator, Ruth. And after receiving such a strange alert, Ruth and Kiriha, who had finished their parts at the same time, rushed to come to find Koutarou.

“Koutarou, use this.”

Unlike Ruth, Kiriha’s stern expression remained unchanged as she glared at Clan and handed Koutarou a blue gauntlet.

“This is the thing you used...”

Koutarou remembered seeing this gauntlet before. Unlike the armor Koutarou was wearing, it had a somewhat Japanese feel to it. It was Kiriha’s personal weapon, and it was what she’d used to fight the radical faction when they’d attacked.

“That’s right. When facing someone like this, you need a ranged weapon, don’t you?”

Looking at Clan flying overhead, Kiriha realized that Koutarou would be at a disadvantage with only his sword. She was giving him her gauntlet to compensate for that. Since Koutarou’s left gauntlet had already been destroyed, it would give him a little bit more protection too. Moreover, Koutarou felt uncomfortable holding the sword with one bare hand, so it was useful in that sense as well.

Kiriha could have just used it to cover Koutarou from the ground, but aiming for a target directly overhead was tricky. In the end, Kiriha felt it was best for Koutarou to take it instead.

“Thanks, but how do I work this?”

“Don’t worry. Sanae knows how.”

“No, I don’t. I’ve never even touched— Actually, yeah, I think I can do it, Koutarou!”

Sanae smiled broadly as Koutarou fitted the gauntlet onto his left hand. She was like a child that had just found a new toy. The moment Koutarou touched the gauntlet, Sanae had intuited its design and automatically knew how to use it. The weapon was easy to understand for someone like her who used spiritual energy.

“All right! Then let’s fight back!”

While getting a feel for the new piece of equipment on his left hand, Koutarou readied his sword with his right.

“Like this!”

A glowing red fireball appeared in Koutarou’s left hand with a powerful electromagnetic field around it. The field would unleash small arcs of electricity from time to time, making the red fireball glow even brighter.

It was an incredible sight, and Sanae was the one responsible for it. The gauntlet converted spiritual energy into fire and electricity, so Sanae’s immense spiritual power created an almost inexhaustible supply of the elements. The fireball was hot enough to scorch even Koutarou’s space-age armor, and the electricity created enough electromagnetism to overpower the armor’s built-in protection against it and cause errors in its main system.

“Sanae-sama, please make the fire and electricity a little weaker. At this rate, Satomi-sama will get burned first!”

“Ah, sorry!”

“Satomi-sama, I will remain here and provide support.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Karama, Korama, stick with Koutarou. I’ll give you further instructions as needed.”

“Understood, ho!”

“Got it, Nee-san!

The two girls stood on the sidelines to back up Koutarou and Sanae, while Karama and Korama moved out with them. Koutarou and Sanae took the front line, Kiriha assisted them with her haniwas, and Ruth supported Koutarou with the technology she had access to.

“Ah, looks like they’re getting serious...”

There was also someone supporting Koutarou from the shadows. It was Yurika, who still lay collapsed inside the Alunaya costume. Fortunately, however, the costume was so large that there was plenty of room inside of it for Yurika to call forth her magical staff and help out in secret. For example, she had already cast a ward to keep people away, increased the armor’s defensive powers, and increased the density of the air between Koutarou and Clan to help stop the beams from her rifle. No one suspected her because she was contributing in ways that couldn’t be seen.

“Now then, the last scene is coming up, so let’s hurry up and beat this villain so we can have our happy ending!” Koutarou roared.

Koutarou glared at Clan up above. There was no way he would lose. He was certain of it now that he’d gained several powers from his friends supporting him. Close quarters and long range combat, information and magic. Although it was a hastily constructed team, they had a splendid balance between offense and defense.

Nine months had passed since the invaders first appeared in Corona House room 106. The same powers that had scared Koutarou so badly back then were now being used to protect him.

Although Ruth didn’t really stand out in direct combat, her true value was revealed when she began supporting Koutarou from the rear.

“Kiriha-sama, I have finished analyzing the electromagnetic pattern emitted before Clan-sama fires!”

“Can you let Karama and Korama know when she’s about to shoot?”

Using sensors dispatched from Blue Knight, Ruth gathered all kinds of data on the battlefield and analyzed it. She then filtered for the information that would be useful for Koutarou. The information she had ranged from weapon and barrier performance reports to geographical details on the surrounding terrain. She even had data on Koutarou and Clan’s various habits in battle.

“I can use the laser communicator positioned in the shoulder area of Satomi-sama’s armor!”

“Great, then we don’t need to worry about jamming! Do it right away, Ruth! You heard us, right, Karama, Korama?!”

“Got it! Setting incoming laser transmissions as one of the triggers for deploying the spiritual energy field, ho!”

“Ruth-chan, you’re a big help, ho!”

Ruth picked out what was important from all the data she had and passed it along to Kiriha, who made strategic decisions off of it. Their supportive teamwork had a significant effect for the others who were actually doing the fighting. The armor’s settings were changed to adapt to Koutarou’s fighting style, the adverse effects of the electricity emitted from the gauntlet that Sanae was using were reduced, and Karama and Korama’s barrier was synchronized to react to Clan’s shooting. Kiriha’s quick thinking and instructions quickly turned the tides of battle in their favor.

As expected of Kiriha-sama... Nobody can keep up with her sharp mind.

Still processing vast amounts of information, Ruth was secretly relieved. She was glad to have Kiriha and her intelligence on their side. Thinking about it, it was strange that she hadn’t already seized control of room 106 with her brilliance.

As Ruth and Kiriha watched the battle intently from the sidelines, Karama and Korama repelled another one of Clan’s scattered beams with an overhead barrier. Thanks to that, Koutarou was completely unscathed.

“These things again?! They just keep moving around!”

Irritated, Clan changed the setting of the rifle back so the beam would regain its focus, then repeatedly fired down on Koutarou and the others.

“Koutarou, she’s firing lots!”

“It’s okay! I can see them all!”

“Ho! Ho, ho!”

“Too slow, ho!”

However, even her desperate spray and pray attack couldn’t harm Koutarou, who was protected by both Sanae and the haniwas’ abilities.

Ruth’s information certainly is accurate... Is this just how meticulous she is?

Kiriha smiled as she looked at the haniwas. It was a mix of joy and admiration. The haniwas had been able to dodge the beams too thanks to Ruth’s accurate data analysis. Without it, the haniwas would probably either have been destroyed or wasted a great deal of energy blocking the attacks. So while she was thankful for the accuracy of Ruth’s data, she was also pleased at catching a glimpse of what Ruth was really capable of.

“Let’s go, Sanae!”

“Yeah!”

After dodging the hail of beams, Koutarou closed in on Clan. The armor’s flight capabilities made it nimble in spite of how heavy it looked. While manipulating gravity, he could fly around as freely as Sanae did. Clan flew by manipulating gravity as well, but Koutarou had extra propulsion devices in the emergency boosters and the thrusters used for posture control, meaning he could move faster.

“Koutarou!”

“I’m counting on you!”

Koutarou swung the sword in his right hand as Sanae manipulated his left to shoot out a fireball and a lightning bolt simultaneously.

“That left gauntlet is annoying! If I think of it as just a toy replica of the Blue Knight’s gauntlet, I’m in for a world of hurt!”

Clan shifted all of the energy she was using to fly into her barrier. When she was airborne, the barrier was weaker and wouldn’t be strong enough to block Sanae’s fireball and lightning bolt. On top of that, they were chasing after her like homing missiles because Sanae was using her spiritual powers to manipulate their trajectories. Clan might have been able to dodge them with her mobility, but it wasn’t a safe bet.

So instead, Clan cut her flight power momentarily, and while free falling, she poured all of the freed up energy into her barrier. She knew she had to block the fireball and lightning bolt before she could do anything else.

Countless translucent white hexagonal tiles appeared around Clan. It was the barrier created by the device attached to the back of her waist. As the fireball and lightning bolt crashed into it, the barrier dispersed them while making a grinding noise.

“Next up...”

But Clan had no time to waste. She pointed her beam rifle straight ahead of her just as Koutarou was approaching. He’d closed in as she was falling through the air and messing with her barrier.

“Take thiiiiis!”

“As if I’d be taken down that easily!”

Koutarou swung his sword at full force, aiming to break through her barrier. In order to prevent him, Clan pulled the trigger on her rifle.

“It won’t work, Koutarou!”

“No, it’ll be fine!”

Sanae warned Koutarou of the danger, but he swung his sword without hesitation.

I can do this! I can win! As if I’d let someone like this ruin our play!

Koutarou was really angry at Clan. She had gotten in the way of their plays twice now for her own selfish reasons, but worst of all, she was trying to kill Theia. A blinding rage at the thought drove Koutarou forward. And as if in response to his powerful will, the blade of the treasured sword Saguratin began shining with a pure white light.

What happened next left Clan at a loss for words.

“Hyaaaaaaaah!”

When the beam fired from Clan’s rifle came into contact with Koutarou’s sword, the sword continued to swing forward and cut the beam in half. The split beam wavered and flew off to either side.

“What?! How?!”

Clan couldn’t believe what she had just seen.

That’s impossible! How could he possibly do something like that?!

Like Theia’s Saguratin, a treasured sword had been forged for Clan when she was born. But that sword had no special powers. It was just a commemorative gift to celebrate her birth, no different from Theia’s. Both Clan and Theia’s swords were just supposed to be ceremonial tools.

Even if the armor was supplying the sword with power, she couldn’t imagine that it was capable of cutting a beam in half. It just wasn’t something a personal combat suit’s generator had enough output to do. Really, it was only because Clan was so well versed in science that she understood how abnormal Koutarou’s power really was. And realizing that, she was both shocked and afraid.

“Oh no!”

The glowing white sword’s blade closed in on Clan. The barrier had used up a lot of energy blocking the fireball and lightning bolt, so when Koutarou’s sword reached it, it cut through the barrier like it was paper.

“It’s over, Clan!”

Koutarou then aimed for Clan with his follow-up swing. With her barrier down from the previous attack, Clan was completely defenseless.

I’ve lost?!

Seeing the writing on the wall, Clan tossed her gun aside without hesitation. She couldn’t possibly dodge Koutarou’s attack while holding the bulky, heavy rifle. She kicked off of it as it fell to further distance herself from Koutarou.

The very next moment, Koutarou’s sword cut the rifle in half. There was a small explosion and it fell down towards the back of the gym in pieces. And while Koutarou’s vision was obscured by the explosion, Clan did her best to get as far as she could from him.

“So close!”

“But now she’s unarmed!”

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, Koutarou readied his sword in both hands and pointed the tip of it towards Clan.

“If you’re going to give up, now would be the time.”

“You want me to surrender to some Neanderthal from a backwater planet like this?! Don’t kid yourself!”

Despite being disarmed, Clan bravely refused to surrender. Being at least as prideful as Theia was, Clan simply couldn’t accept having to surrender.

I guess that attitude is to be expected from a princess... But what would Theia do if she was in this situation?

While staring at Clan, Koutarou thought of Theia. In the past, Theia probably wouldn’t have surrendered either. But Koutarou was sure that if the current Theia were to lose despite her best efforts, she would accept her defeat and acknowledge her opponent.

I guess you could call it a princess’s, no... a ruler’s dignity.

That was the fundamental difference between Theia and Clan, and being able to sense that was proof of Koutarou’s friendship with Theia.

That said, when she’s playing games with me, she will probably never accept defeat...

As things were, Koutarou was learning to accept both sides to Theia—Theia as a princess, and Theia as a normal, albeit childish, teenage girl.

“I wouldn’t even surrender as a joke, but...”

While Koutarou was thinking of Theia, Clan was racking her brain trying to come up with way to get out of her current predicament.

To think the fake Blue Knight had this much power...

Clan hadn’t just attacked randomly. She had sent her personal battleship, the Hazy Moon, home to Forthorthe using autopilot to get Theia and the others to lower their guard. Then she’d waited until Koutarou was separated from Harumi and Theia to strike. It was a well planned endeavor.

Clan hadn’t underestimated Koutarou either. She had analyzed the data from their previous encounter and prepared her gear specifically to defeat him. The beam rifle and modified barrier that allowed her to fly would have been more than enough to win against Koutarou two months ago.

However, once put into practice, the results spoke for themselves. Clan’s attacks were completely ineffective, and she couldn’t defend herself against Koutarou. Everything had gone completely counter to her expectations.

Without a weapon, I’m definitely going to lose. Since they’re faster, I’m going to have a hard time escaping too. But I still have that!

Clan grinned despite her hopelessly desperate situation.

What’s up with Clan...?

Just as Koutarou started to get a bad feeling about the face Clan was making, she started shouting.

“Come, Cradle! Prepare to fire a Super Space-time Repulsion Shell!”

This was her last resort.

What Clan called “the Cradle” was the small spaceship she was using to hide out on Earth. In order to trick Theia and Koutarou into letting their guard down, Clan had sent her personal battleship, the Hazy Moon, back to Forthorthe. The Cradle was one of the smaller ships kept aboard the Hazy Moon, so Clan had taken it and used it as her base of operations while on Earth.

The Cradle served as an escape ship, but it was also outfitted to double as a mobile base in an emergency. She had hidden it away in the nearby mountain range and used as it her base while creating new weapons and spying on Theia and Koutarou. The beam rifle and her flying device were among the things she’d made with her own hands there, but the list also included the Super Space-time Repulsion Shells she just mentioned.

“Fake Blue Knight, it doesn’t matter how strong you are when faced with the Cradle’s Super Space-time Repulsion Shells!”

Clan put her hands on her waist and was boasting triumphantly. A strong will could be seen in her eyes behind her glasses and her demeanor was radiating confidence.

Behind Clan was her spaceship, the Cradle. The egg-shaped spaceship had appeared the same way Clan and Theia would summon their weapons. Although it was small for a spaceship, the Cradle was still several dozen meters long. It had a dignified appearance very similar to Clan’s, but the sheer size and scale of the ship made quite a statement. If it weren’t for the ship’s impressive stealth capabilities and Yurika’s magic, the entire surrounding area would have erupted into a panic.

“Super Space-time Repulsion Shells...?”

Koutarou blankly stared at the Cradle in all its glory and mumbled to himself. Ignorant when it came to science, he had a hard time grasping what the weapon did from just its name.

“Heh heh heh, you don’t have to understand!” Clan laughed as Koutarou tilted his head in confusion.

At the same time, the Cradle’s body opened and revealed two missiles, each about as large as Clan. The Cradle itself was shaped something like an egg lying on its side, with the thicker end of the egg being the bow and the thinner being the stern. The missiles had appeared from the lower half of the Cradle, but compared to the size of the massive ship, the small missiles didn’t look like much of a threat to Koutarou.

“You’ll soon experience what they can do firsthand!”

However, Clan had absolute confidence in her newly created bomb that these missiles were carrying. In theory there was nothing they couldn’t beat. That’s how powerful they were.

The Super Space-time Repulsion Shell was actually a weapon that Clan had been developing for a long time. Its chief characteristic was that, as the name suggested, it manipulated space-time. When the warhead was activated, it deployed a gigantic energy field and forcibly removed everything within it from the universe. Regardless of how fast the enemy was or how powerful their barrier was, they couldn’t escape or block an attack that shunted them out of the universe.

The attack was similar to a warp, except that a warp destination was still on the same plane of existence, so it was possible to return. There would also be a limit to how far a forced warp from a missile of this size could send its target, but there was no coming back from being thrown out of the very universe. The target would need to develop the same technology on their own to reverse it, which was nearly unthinkable when stranded in an unknown universe.

The attack itself was practically impossible to evade. And when it hit, there was no return. Those two facts were what made Clan so confident now.

Her Super Space-time Repulsion Shells had been completed just the other day. Clan had a prototype ready two months ago when she first attacked Theia, but Yurika had knocked her out before she had the chance to use it. Now wanting revenge and absolute victory, Clan had waited for the weapon to be completed before attacking Koutarou. She wanted to defeat Koutarou no matter the cost, and the Super Space-time Repulsion Shells were the proof of just how far she’d go to do it.

Of course, Koutarou was unaware of that. At this rate, he was going to be hit by one without ever knowing better. At least, he would have been if not for a strange voice that informed him of the danger.

“Koutarou-sama, you can’t let Clan-sama use that weapon...”

The voice didn’t seem to be coming from anywhere nearby. Instead, it seemed to be coming from inside his head. It was something he never would have been able to hear if Sanae hadn’t strengthened his senses.

“Who’s there?! What are you saying?!”

“What’s wrong, Koutarou?!”

“That weapon will bring extraordinary destruction...”

Though Koutarou was puzzled by the sudden voice, he started seeing flashes of images. He could see a Super Space-time Repulsion Shell being fired somewhere. He saw people dressed like the nobles in their play, and people holding staffs and wearing long robes. Around them were various weird looking monsters. The monsters were holding a bottle filled with something black, and were trying to take to the skies on spread wings.

The Super Space-time Repulsion Shell headed straight towards them. A terrific flash of light and a giant glowing cube could be seen on impact, and everything within the cube was erased, including the ground. The only thing left was a giant hole, followed by a massive earthquake and shockwave.

After seeing such a terrifying image, Koutarou instinctively looked down below his feet. He saw the Kisshouharukaze High School and the gym. The cube created by the Super Space-time Repulsion Shell could have easily fit both inside of it.

“I won’t let you do that!”

“Koutarou?!”

Immediately after that, Koutarou rushed forward. Sanae desperately struggled to hold on to Koutarou as he suddenly sprung into action.

If the Super Space-time Repulsion Shell was fired, there would be catastrophic destruction. That had to be avoided at all costs. That was the only thing on Koutarou’s mind.

All Koutarou had to go on was the voice he’d heard and the images he’d seen, but they were compelling enough. The images were realistic, and he felt a straightforward honesty and kindness in the voice. He couldn’t imagine this was some kind of joke.

“What’s the matter all of a sudden, Koutarou?!”

“I need to destroy those missiles! I can’t let her use them!”

Koutarou answered Sanae’s question while setting the boosters on his armor to full power. As he did, he shot through the sky like a meteor. Intense winds swirled around him and roared loudly, so Sanae now had to scream for Koutarou to hear her.

“What? Do you mean they’re mushroom bombs?!”

“Something like that!”

By mushroom bombs, Sanae meant nuclear weapons. Koutarou nodded in response and sped up even more.

“That’s why I need to destroy them before she can fire!”

The armor’s AI screamed out as Koutarou blazed forward at speeds faster than what the armor had been designed for. But Koutarou didn’t have the time to worry about that.

“Will you be okay doing that, Koutarou?!”

“...That’s why this is goodbye, Sanae.”

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

All of a sudden, Sanae was blown right off of Koutarou’s back. Koutarou hadn’t pushed her off, however. Rather, she was simply unable to hold on to him any longer as she felt something like electricity coursing through her.

“W-Wait, Koutarou!”

Sanae quickly tried to chase after Koutarou, but something like an invisible wall stopped her and she couldn’t follow him.

“Why?!”

That was the first time she had ever felt Koutarou clearly push her away since she’d begun clinging to his back on a daily basis.

After finishing up her part in the coronation scene, Theia made her way behind the gym too. She arrived around the same time that Sanae was blown away from Koutarou. The only ones on the stage now were Harumi and some extras. The Silver Princess was giving a speech after becoming the new empress.

“Your Highness!”

“Ruth, what’s the situation?!”

Though detailed information was steadily being sent to Theia’s bracelet, there was still a certain delay. To get the most important information immediately, she asked Ruth.

“Just a moment ago, Satomi-sama was pushing back Clan-sama, but she has summoned her spaceship and is seemingly trying for a large-scale attack.”

“Have Blue Knight bombard her!”

“It’s impossible! There’s a heavy amount of disturbance blocking both radio and hyperspace communications, and I can’t contact Blue Knight!”

“What?!”

The reason for the disturbance was the Super Space-time Repulsion Shell preparing to launch. In order for it to shunt its target out of the universe, it had to store up a large amount of energy. As it did, it created considerable distortion around it which functionally jammed communications.

“It’s mortifying, but there’s nothing we can do right now other than leaving this to Koutarou.”

“Koutarou!”

While grinding her teeth, Theia stepped forward next to Kiriha and looked up at the sky where she saw a flying knight in blue armor heading towards a large spaceship.

Koutarou...

Seeing Koutarou so far out of her reach, Theia grew anxious and impatient. She had a feeling that something bad was about to happen. What Sanae said next justified that feeling.

“Everyone, do something! Stop Koutarou!”

“What’s going on?!”

“Koutarou is on a suicide mission!”

When Theia heard those words, she felt her world grind to a screeching halt.

Aware Koutarou was approaching, Clan ordered the Cradle to counterattack. In order to fire a Super Space-time Repulsion Shell, the warhead needed more time to charge. In the meantime, she couldn’t let Koutarou get close.

“So you’ve finally arrived, Theiamillis-san! But it’s already too late! There will be no happy ending for your silly little play!”

“Clan, I won’t let you get in the way of our play!”

While dodging the barrage of fire from the Cradle, Koutarou closed in on the Super Space-time Repulsion Shells loaded in the bottom of the hull. As he was pressed for time, he had to focus on gaining ground and not on evading. He didn’t make it through the volley unscathed. The beams and lasers repeatedly grazed him, leaving his armor, face, and body covered in wounds.

However, Koutarou didn’t even flinch. What fueled his courage was the promise he’d made at Christmas. That day, Koutarou had sworn to make the play a success. He couldn’t let Clan ruin that for her own selfish reasons.

“This play is the humble dream of a little caged bird!”

Koutarou knew how Theia felt about the play. She admired the Blue Knight and wanted to protect her mother. The play embodied those emotions. It was a humble dream. The dream of a girl who was unable to live the way she wanted. Koutarou couldn’t allow Clan to take that away from her.

“Ha! You think you can protect everything?! You can’t even protect your friends with just that sword!”

“I’ll protect them all! I have to make sure that they all succeed with their invasions!”

In the midst of this fierce fight, that was the answer Koutarou had finally arrived at.

He wanted all of the girls’ invasions to succeed. He wanted to let Sanae wait in his apartment for her parents. He wanted Theia to complete her trial, earn the right to become empress, and protect her mother. He wanted Kiriha’s people, the People of the Earth, to safely migrate to the surface. He wanted Yurika to live as a normal high school girl.

He wanted all of them to win. He wanted all of them to have the futures they hoped for. Fulfilling all of their wishes at the same time might be hard, but he certainly couldn’t let it all come to an end now.

“Hyaaaaaaaah!”

So Koutarou wasn’t going to stop. Not even if he was scorched by beams or shot through by lasers.

“Stop it, Koutarou! Obey my orders!”

Not even if he made his radiant golden princess cry.

“You’re my knight, aren’t you?!”

“...Sorry, Theia.”

Koutarou simply held his sword tightly and let it shine bright white. He didn’t care where that white light came from or why it was there right now. As long as that light shone for him, he could protect everyone.

That was enough for Koutarou.

“I hope... you can find a replacement knight right away.”

“Wait, Koutarou! Wait!”

In that moment, Theia finally realized her own feelings.

“Even if I find a replacement knight, there’s no replacement for you!”

That was Theia’s answer. Theia truly desired Koutarou.

However, by the time she reached her answer, Koutarou’s sword had already cut the Super Space-time Repulsion Shell in half. A giant glowing cube then appeared above Kisshouharukaze High School.

From the top of the stage, Harumi knew what had happened. The sword-shaped crest on her forehead indicated to her that Koutarou’s presence had vanished.

Koutarou-sama...

While thinking about Koutarou, Harumi ran across the stage just as her stage directions indicated. Realizing that the Blue Knight was nowhere to be seen at the coronation ceremony, the Silver Princess went running to look for him.

Farewell, Koutarou-sama...

Up until now, everything had gone as she had been informed, but she didn’t know what would happen from here. Although she had a lot of powers, she was not omniscient.

And please, stay safe...

And so Harumi, just like the Silver Princess she was portraying, said a prayer.

She prayed that she would be able to meet her precious someone that had vanished once again.