“Aris-chan, it’s deal time!”
“Yes…! Today, my role is to be a light attribute area dealer… I will wipe out the monsters in front!”
Facing the robotic army pouring in through the alley, a massive railgun was aimed from the tips of Aris’s fingers. A weapon with enough power to annihilate all enemies in a straight line, with a recoil of 200kg upon firing.
“Light——!!!”
At last, the girl’s melodious shout echoed through the streets.
The tremendous bullet fired from the railgun swept away a dozen incoming robots in an instant.
Thanks to that, the teacher and friends, now feeling somewhat relaxed, managed to step into their destination before more robots, drawn by the battle’s commotion, could arrive.
Pushing past a number of unidentified robotic troops, they finally entered what was presumed to be the coordinates of the G.Bible received from Veritas… A certain factory in the ruins, where the teacher felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
Considering that their supplies weren’t in great shape for any additional combat, the group remained on edge while surveying the inside of the factory.
And then, at that moment, Aris declared that this space felt strangely familiar and moved her feet towards somewhere.
Naturally, their only choice was to follow her. At the end of that path, they discovered a computer that was inexplicably powered on.
[Welcome to the Divi:Sion System. Please enter an item you need assistance with.]
The moment the teacher saw the words that appeared on the screen, he sighed quietly, as if to be heard.
Upon hearing this, Miyu, who was a bit late to grasp the situation, let out an inaudible sound.
…Though it was hardly a small sound, it seemed that no one but the teacher noticed it.
While Aris was typing G.Bible into the keyboard, the teacher retraced his memories back to the events in Abydos.
Divi:Sion, and the arms factory of the Nameless Priests.
The coincidence of randomly discovering Aris’s presence in these ruins and how she seemed to move as if remembering the internal structure of another factory located in the ruins.
It didn’t take long for the teacher to reach a conclusion.
Aris was highly likely a humanoid robot manufactured by the Nameless Priests.
No, it was more than likely… it was practically confirmed.
[Are you AL-1S?]
And the words that appeared on the computer screen hammered his assumption home. At the moment Divi:Sion’s system recognized Aris’s existence, the connections became undeniably clear.
“No, Aris is, Aris.”
As Aris tried to deny the words on the screen,
[Voice verification, credentials confirmed. AL-1S, welcome back.]
A new message appeared on the screen, immediately negating Aris’s statement.
While Aris queried the Divi:Sion system about herself, the teacher experienced inner turmoil.
The Nameless Priests were definitely a group that was scheming to witness the downfall of Kivotos.
And the arms factory under Divi:Sion would eventually serve as a production facility for the nameless guardians they had previously faced when the time came…
Then, what does it mean that Aris, associated with that, would pose a threat to Kivotos in the future?
For a while, the teacher silently gazed at Aris standing before the computer. Meanwhile, Momo was losing her temper because she messed up her game save file while trying to download the G.Bible by connecting her gamegirls advance device.
Thus, with thoughts of how Aris had shown herself alongside the Game Development Club, her feelings after playing Tales Saga Chronicle, and Yuzu’s reaction to all that, the teacher arrived at one conclusion.
Aris was a member of the Game Development Club. She was a student whom he needed to guide down the right path, and certainly not some robotic weapon entangled in the plans of the Nameless Priests.
She was a student named Aris, not merely an entity called AL-1S.
Therefore, all these worries were just a meaningless waste of time, which was the conclusion the teacher arrived at.
From then on, his stance towards Aris would lean entirely towards trusting her.
One problem remained, though: the G.Bible obtained at the cost of Momo’s game save file was password protected.
“But… if it’s a reasonable password, Veritas should be able to crack it!”
“T-Then…”
“With this, we can finally create the truly ‘fun’ Tales Saga Chronicle 2…”
“We can finish it! We did it! AHAHAHA! Wait for us, Millennium Price… No, Kivotos Game Target! Our new project will cause a seismic shift in the Kivotos gaming world!!”
Momo’s voice rang out loudly. And upon hearing him, Midori felt uneasy and hurriedly tried to stop her.
“U-Um, your voice is too loud. If you keep making such a racket…”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
“It might end up… like this…”
“Huh?”
Unfortunately, a few robots appearing from another alley proved that she was already way too late.
Thus, they once again faced a grueling battle waiting for their return to Millennium, encountering a small testing ground created by Himari and Rion from the Student Council.
*
After handling matters in Abydos and returning, the first thing I did was rush over to Nagisa and kneel down.
Honestly, I couldn’t say I had no feelings of injustice at all. I had tried to draw a line this time, after all. I mean, what could I do while the other party just stomped on the line and erased it!?
But expressing that kind of grievance in front of Nagisa was absolutely out of the question.
The only way for me to survive unscathed was to completely confess everything and take her anger with my body.
We cared for each other a lot, which meant we could never let go of one another. Therefore, we had to be careful not to leave marks on each other’s hearts.
Ironically, it was I who kept driving a metaphorical nail into her heart, so…
That’s why I had to be even more honest.
“I see.”
“…Huh, you’re not mad?”
“Me, mad? Over something like this?”
However, contrary to expectations, Nagisa had a remarkably calm expression after hearing everything. It wasn’t that she was forcing a calm face to hide her anger; she truly appeared peaceful, which made me feel even more flustered.
“Mika-san, as far as I know… there’s more than six students who currently have feelings for you. If two more were added, would I strangle you? If I tried to bring them all in as lovers… the story would change a little.”
“Eh, no way I would do that, even if it’s me… right?”
“…Why the question mark?”
“Umm… To be honest, I’m not confident in rejecting them. Just today, I tried to draw a line…”
“Haah. This is why people need to learn to be a bit ruthless sometimes. Like me.”
“…Is that so?”
“What’s with that expression? You’re looking at me like you don’t believe me at all.”
“Well, I don’t believe you.”
It would be understandable if this were the original Nagisa, the one who suspected possible betrayers among the members of Trinity while collecting them in the supplementary class group.
But the Nagisa in front of me now was more like a delicate flower kept in a greenhouse. Because I had tended to her so lovingly, she didn’t even know how to possess a ruthless heart.
“Whose fault do you think it is that you’re saying things like this…?”
Nagisa let out a laugh as if she were dumbfounded. It was so understandable that I just shut my eyes and opened my mouth.
“…What are you doing?”
“I’m begging you to be gentle today… My jaw hurts every time after we finish.”
“Sorry, but today was so sudden that I didn’t even have time to prepare a roll cake. So, please come over and sit down instead.”
“Huh? That roll cake… doesn’t it just pop out with a flick of the wrist?”
“There’s no way that can actually be…”
That’s strange. There were times when roll cakes appeared when they shouldn’t have. Why weren’t there any today?
Anyways, since Nagisa was patting her lap, I slowly approached and delicately settled down on it.
Immediately, her arms wrapped around my waist, while one hand climbed up my lower abdomen.
“Actually, while I was ready to overlook everything else, there was one part I just couldn’t get over…”
“…Which part?”
“The part where you felt desire because of that girl Shiroko. I find that to be extremely displeasing.”
“…”
Well, fundamentally, it’s probably your fault, Nagisa, for instilling weird tendencies in me.
“Did you just have an inappropriate thought about me?”
“…I did not.”
“Hmmm… Well, whatever. What should I do about that lewd nature of yours, wanting to jump at anyone and everyone…?”
As Nagisa’s thumb gently tickled my lower abdomen, she suddenly pressed down on it.
Honestly, I was perplexed over what this was all about.
“Desire… lewdness…? Isn’t that a bit too extreme in your choice of words, Nagisa-chan?”
“Yes, it is a rather gentle way to put it. I was quite surprised with myself.”
Continuing to poke at my abdomen, Nagisa slowly directed her hand further down.
“We’re already too short on time to be wasting it on such trivial topics, don’t you think?”
“Aha… Just a second…”
“You promised you wouldn’t neglect me… that I would always be your first…”
“Nagisa-chan…”
“Promise me here.”
“Uhh, I promise…”
“Mika-san, I’m your only understanding partner. The only one wishing for your happiness, a sunflower with all its weights leaning toward you.”
Suddenly, Nagisa withdrew her hand. A sound of regret escaped my lips before I knew it.
“I don’t expect you to do the same for me, but I can’t help but feel jealous… and hurt. That’s just how it is. So sometimes, I want to confirm your love for me. Like this.”
With her top loosened, Nagisa’s desire-laden gaze was directed at me. It was a sight so beautiful and captivating it sent chills down my spine.
“Today, can you love me with all your might until I’m completely shattered in your arms… to the point where I can’t utter a word properly?”
“…Nagisa-chan, if you end up absent without excuse tomorrow, it’s not my issue.”
“If you love me that much, I’ll graciously accept being absent for a day.”
The next day, Nagisa’s first and last unexcused absence became a reality.
