“Anyway, let’s go get something to eat.”

  “Classy... Classy...”

  “Laura?”

  “Oh, nothing! Anyway, about dinner! Let’s get going!”

  She nervously started walking, swinging her right arm at the same time as her right leg and vice-versa.

  “What’s up? Is something wrong?”

  “Ugh! Quit bothering me about it!” She caught me in the ribs with a karate chop. Why? “This is all your fault!”

  “Whoa! Hey, wait, stop it! ...Ugh, I give up!” I caught the hand delivering a flurry of blows, and swept out her legs with some basic aikido.

  “......?!”

  Laura’s tiny form floated skyward. As it did, I plucked her from out of the air into my arms.

  “Wh-Wh-What?!”

  “Cool it, will ya?”

  “Mm...”

  Laura nodded meekly up at me from something almost like a princess carry. With her attacks stopped, I set off for the dining hall, still carrying her.

  “Wooooow! Why’s she getting princess carried?!”

  “Lucky Bodewig.”

  “Me too! Do me next!”

  “Grr! I can’t stand how perfect she looks like that!”

  Dammit... As soon as I walked in, the girls there noticed. Huh, I wonder why I didn’t run into anyone in the halls. Well, there was no time to think about that. I needed to do something about the girls closing in on me.

  “Hey, Laura, I’m putting you down now.”

  “Oh. Y-Yeah...”

  For some reason, she sounded a bit disappointed as I set her down. Now that I thought of it, she was light. Girls in general were pretty light.

  “Orimura!”

  “Ah, that’s not something I do on request.”

  “Why?!”

  “It’s no fair doing it just for Laura!”

  “Yeah!”

  Somehow, I managed to brush off their angry buzzing, and they went back to their seats. That alone ate up nearly five minutes of our dinner.

  “Phew, I can’t say that doesn’t happen a lot but it’s still a pain.”

  Laura quietly wrapped her arms around each other as if holding the places I’d touched her to herself, and her cheeks were a bright pink.

  “What’re you having, Laura? I was thinking of the barley-rice pilaf with jellied yam.”

  “.........”

  “Hey, Laura. Laura?”

  “W-What?!”

  “What’re you having?”

  “Oh, right! The fruit salad and a chocolate pu...”

  “Chocolate?”

  “N-No! Not that! I misspoke!”

  “Oh, the chocolate pudding? That’s some good stuff.”

  “.........”

  “But unexpected. I didn’t think you liked that kind of thing.”

  “Well, Charlotte shared some of hers with me earlier, and it was delicious, so...”

  “Oh, I see. Well, if you want it, go ahead and have it.”

  “Mm...”

  With that, we each got our meals and took our seats.

  By the way, the pilaf meal came with grilled tripe. The best part about it was the special wasabi sauce. How the tingling on my tongue was cooled by the jellied yam was one of my secret solaces.

  “Are you sure that’s enough for you, Laura?”

  “I-I’ve heard that it’s healthier to eat smaller dinners...”

  “Oh, right. I’ve heard about that. But it’s not like you’re dieting or anything, so you don’t need to worry about it, right?”After all, you’re so skinny.”

  “Sk-Skinny?!”

  “Wait! Don’t get mad! It’s good to be skinny!”

  “I... I suppose. Hmph...”

  Laura turned back to her meal, obviously not quite in agreement. Watching her eat a salad in that dress was like watching some kind of commercial or chick flick. It’s honestly a little bit entrancing...

  “Hm? Is there something on my face?”

  “Oh, nothing.”

  “I see.”

  We went back to eating. After that, neither of us really had anything to say, not that that was out of the ordinary. As we ate, a silence sat in the air. Neither of us minded eating in silence like this, though. If anything, it was a moment of respite from how busy our lives at the Academy were.

  “Ichika.”

  “Yes?”

  Laura spoke up. This was unusual for her. I stopped eating and looked up.

  “Tomorrow will be here soon.

  “Yeah, it’s Cannonball Fast time. We’ve gotta do our best.”

  “I should tell you. I won’t lose.”

  “For sure. Wouldn’t be any fun if you weren’t trying.”

  With that, we continued on with our meals. Thinking of my first official battle, at high-speed no less, filled my heart with tension, but also with eagerness.

  ◆

  The day of Cannonball Fast. The stands were packed, and fireworks exploded in the sky.

  “Great weather today, huh.”

  Looking up at the clear autumn sky, I shielded my eyes from the sun. Today was kicking off with the second-years, then first years with their own IS, then a race between first years in trainers. Finally, there would be an exhibition race between the third years.

  “There you are, Ichika. Hurry up and get ready.”

  “Hey, Houki. I was just thinking about how many people are watching.”

  “Yeah, it looks like lots of industry VIPs and government officials like usual. It’d be a big crowd with just the bodyguards.”

  Even without them, the number of people watching illustrated just how much attention was being paid to IS. I wanted to make sure not to embarrass myself in front of so many people with my results.

  Hey, I wonder where Ran is? Hmm... I remembered her seat number and looked in her direction. As I used Byakushiki to zoom in, I felt a pinch on my ear.

  “Oww!”

  “Hurry it up! You’re not a little kid anymore!”

  “Then why are you treating me like one?!”

  “If you don’t show up, the teachers are going to be mad!”

  “I know! I got it! So let me go!”

  “Hmph.”

  That really hurt. I thought she was going to pull my ear off. But it wouldn’t do me any good to argue with her about it, so I headed off to the pits. I hope Ran didn’t get lost. Nah, that isn’t like her.

  ◆

  “Hmm, F-45, F-45...” Ran walked while looking down at the seating map.

  Bump.

  “Wha—”

  “Oh?”

  She must have bumped into someone while looking for her seat. Ran quickly, embarrassedly steadied herself and bowed slightly.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

  The woman was older than her, with blonde hair and overflowing with allure. Wow, she’s beautiful...

  The woman was in her late 20s. She was wearing a fabulous red suit that really showed that she was at her peak. Her fashionable sunglasses covered her eyes. Her voluptuous breasts and curvy hips, separated by a slender waist, were the type to draw the eye of men and women alike. Silently comparing herself with the woman, Ran shrank into herself as she came up short even in her own mind.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “No. Sorry again.”

  “That’s good, at least. But do try to be more careful of where you’re walking.”

  “Yes.”

  The blonde woman waved and passed by Ran. As she did, her golden earrings glimmered in the light. This is an IS event. So there must be people here from all over the world. As she thought, Ran reflexively looked down at her own chest. I’m still growing. I don’t need to worry... Yet.

  Ten minutes later, having made her way to her seat, Ran’s pulse was pounding in anticipation. I’m going to get to see Ichika in his IS! And then there was his birthday party later. Ran was normally a quiet, calm student council president, but right now she was like a little kid waiting for the circus to begin.

  ◆

  We could hear the astonishment of the crowd all the way in the pits. The second years were racing now. It seemed like a closely-fought dead heat, where the winner could be anyone.

  “Hey, this Sarah Welkin girl is a British National Cadet, right?”

  “Indeed. She hasn’t her own IS, but she is quite talented. She’s taught me a few things, in fact,” chimed in Cecilia, who had already deployed her IS Blue Tears with its Strike Gunner high-mobility package.

  She’s really getting into this. I’ve gotta take it seriously, too. I deployed Byakushiki and started getting ready. With us waiting in the pits were the other racers Houki, Rin, Laura, and Charl.

  “Wow, that thing’s really beefy, Rin.”

  “Mhm. Looks great, doesn’t it? It’s got a top speed that can keep up with even Cecilia’s.”

  The Feng high-mobility pack mounted four auxiliary thrusters, and came with added chest armor that thrust forward. I almost wondered if she was planning on checking us out of the way with it... The two impact cannon pointed out toward the side, probably less to shoot us down, and more to provide cover fire. It really is specialized for Cannonball Fast. Looking at it that way, she might have the advantage. Cecilia’s package was built more for hit-and-run operations, and the rest of us had made do with what we could. Compared to that, Rin’s purpose-built solution may put her a step ahead.

  “Hmph. I’ll show you that the weapon doesn’t make the warrior.” Houki’s comment was appropriately badass. It seemed like she was covering for her energy issues with manual control of her variable-sweep armor.

  “There’s a flow to every battle. The one to master it will be the victor.” Laura, with three auxiliary thrusters on her back, joined the conversation. They may not have been designed specifically for her, but she seemed pretty confident that the new model of thruster was enough to carry her to victory.

  “Let’s all do our best.” Charl left it at that. Like Laura, she had three auxiliary thrusters, but hers were on each shoulder and her back. Charl’s IS had already been customized with two bespoke wing thrusters, but these would raise her peak output even more.

  “Is everyone ready? It’s time to go to the starting line!” Ms. Yamada’s voice, sounding a little bit too relaxed, rang through the pits. We each nodded and followed the navigation to our marks. Byakushiki’s in peak form today. I have to do my best too.

  “And now for the race between first-years with their own personal IS!” The announcer’s voice echoed through the stands. At our marks, we fired up our thrusters.

  Fshhirrrrr...

  Lowering my hypersensor visor, I focused. Under the eyes of the crowd, the starting signal lit.

  3... 2...... 1......... Go!

  “Mmf—” As I accelerated, the world blurred around me. The hypersensor’s vision support would kick in soon, but for a second, the speed made me lose my bearings. Cecilia’s already getting out in front! Through the first corner, Cecilia had already taken the lead.

  “Smell you later, Ichika!” Rin suddenly pulled out to pass.

  “Hey!”

  “I’ve got you now, Cecilia!” Pulling alongside Cecilia, she fired her impact cannon. Cecilia rolled to the side to dodge. Meanwhile, Rin used her explosive acceleration to pull ahead.

  “Ugh! Not bad at all!”

  “Hehehe! You’re slow!”

  “...How foolish.”

  “......?!”

  Laura had been keeping up with Rin perfectly, and slipped ahead. It seemed like her plan was to slipstream behind other IS.

  “Dammit!”

  “Too slow!”

  As Rin panicked and tried to aim her impact cannon, a tongue of flame stretched out from Laura’s revolver cannon. It wasn’t a direct hit, but the impact at speed was enough to send Rin flying off course. Meanwhile, she opened up cover fire, stretching back even to me and giving her even more of a lead.

  “Ugh! I knew Laura was going to be trouble!” I sped up trying to keep close, but she gained distance in each corner.

  “See you later, Ichika.”

  “Even you, Charl?!”

  “Timing is everything in Cannonball Fast. See you at the finish line.” Charl pushed her thrusters harder, closing in on Laura. I tried to focus on keeping up with her, but a red laser streaked past my eyes.

  “That’s... Houki!”

  “Sorry, but I’m passing you by!”

  “Easier said than done!”

  Akatsubaki’s katana, with both short and long-range attacks, shot red lasers at me. I extended Setsura’s claw and began to fire back.

  “Not bad!”

  “You’re not taking me down that easy!”

  As we drew close in combat, Cecilia and Rin added their own attacks. Blam! An impact cannon shot strayed from the course and exploded against one of the retaining walls.

  “It’s not over yet!”

  “We’re just getting started!”

  Just as we finished our first lap and the battle began to heat up, it happened.

  Suddenly, an IS swooped down from the sky, firing at Laura and Charl.

  “......?!”

  “That... That’s the Silent Zephyrus!”

  Without even watching Laura and Charl as they spun off-course, the attacker’s mouth curled into a sneer.

  Chapter IV: Heartbreaker

  “EEEK!” Someone screamed. Panic spread across the crowd before the race staff could figure out how to handle what had just happened.

  “Calm down! Please calm down and evacuate quietly!” The announcement boomed over the stands, but no one was listening.

  “Eek!” Ran was knocked off balance by someone’s arms. Just as she was about to tumble over, a gentle hand stopped her.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes...”

  The hand was Tatenashi’s. This was the second time that day that an older beauty had made Ran’s heart pound. She’s so cool...

  “What a mess. We’d better stay off the streets until things calm down. Follow me.”

  “O-Okay.” Automatically taking Tatenashi’s hand, Ran followed. Opening a door marked ‘Staff Only,’ Tatenashi pulled Ran into the room beyond.

  “I’ve got a little something to take care of, so why don’t you wait here for now?”

  “Um...”

  “If anyone comes, tell them the student council president said it was okay to be here.”

  “Student council president...”

  They were both student council presidents, but the difference between them was like day and night, and it ate at Ran inside.

  “Anyway—”

  Even the pose she struck while pointing was cool. Ran was left stunned for a few moments after Tatenashi left.

  Wait, Ichika! Ran thought back to when the attacker had fired on Ichika. I hope he’s okay... Clutching her hands, she hoped—almost prayed—that Ichika was safe.

  ◆

  “Are you okay? Laura! Charl!” I rushed to where they had crashed into a wall and deployed Setsura’s energy shield. A moment later, a hail of BT rifle fire crashed into it.

  “Ugh...”

  “Ichika! That IS... I...!”

  “Cecilia?! Hey, wait!”

  “That’s the second BT IS, Silent Zephyrus! This time! This time, I...!”

  Even though I tried to stop her, Cecilia set off alone after the attacker—the Silent Zephyrus. But with her high-mobility package installed, her bits couldn’t fire at all. She still had her BT rifle, but it was tuned down. That wouldn’t do her much good.

  “Ichika! You’ve got the backline!”

  As Cecilia made a B-line for the Silent Zephyrus, Rin rushed to provide backup. Cecilia’s beam shots, and Rin’s impact cannon fire, streaked toward the target.

  “You’re not getting away!”

  “Go!”

  The Silent Zephyrus, rather than trying to evade, simply grinned cheekily. A moment before the attack hit, it opened a beam parasol.

  “Wha—”

  “Ugh! I knew it, its shield bits... Rin! We’ll go for a pincer attack!”

  “Don’t tell me what to do! I’ll try it, just...”

  Cecilia and Rin fired from different sides. As if choreographed, the Silent Zephyrus suddenly soared into the sky.

  “That’s the IS which was captured from England...”

  “Laura! Can you move?”

  “Not enough to be useful in combat. I can barely manage fire support.” As Laura spoke, she pushed herself up and began to fire at the Silent Zephyrus. However, it dodged nimbly, almost as if to show off its absolute superiority by the numbers.

  “Ugh!”

  Even as it fought off Cecilia and Rin, the Silent Zephyrus danced through the air.

  “Ichika! Leave her to me! Join up with Houki and help Cecilia!”

  “Charl! Damage report!”

  “My thrusters are dead. I can get up in the air with PIC, but there’s no way I can take that thing on.” As she spoke, Charl purged her auxiliary thrusters. Wreckage like that would probably never see the open sky again. “I’ll cover Laura while she fires. Get out there, Ichika!”

  “Got it!”

  Leaving it to Charl to keep Laura safe, I flew off after the Silent Zephyrus. Partway, I met up with Houki, and we looked for an opportunity to close into melee range with a coordinated attack.

  “Take... THIS!”

  The Silent Zephyrus responded with quick slashes from the bayonet on its rifle. As I attacked with Yukihira Nigata in my right hand and Setsura, its claw in blade mode, in my left, the Zephyrus’s shield bits swooped in with perfect timing, and I was unable to land a blow.

  “What are you even after, Phantom Task?!”

  “...This is a farce.”

  “What?!”

  As it parried Yukihira Nigata, it swung a fierce kick at me.

  “Ugh!”

  “Ichika!” Houki barely shoved me out of the way of a close-range shot. But then the Silent Zephyrus made use of its BT Flexible Fire. The beam twisted toward me, following me.

  “Aaaargh!” I barely managed to block it with Setsura in shield mode, but my back crashed into the wall. “Ugh!”

  I’d made a fatal mistake, and the Silent Zephyrus leapt at its opportunity.

  “Die...”

  Its rifle split in two at the center and aimed a fully-charged shot. As its energy crackled in the air, it let loose—

  ◆

 

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