Cklares froze, her smile stiffening. But she quickly regained her composure and turned to Shizuku.
“Wait… seriously? Did you kill her?”
“No. I just hit her chin to induce a concussion and knock her out.”
Shizuku sighed.
“If we let her keep talking, who knows what might set her off again. Knocking her out was the quickest solution.”
“Well… I guess you’re right. But the way you say that makes it sound like you don’t actually want Natalia-sensei to die.”
“Hah.”
At Cklares’s words, Shizuku gently lifted the unconscious Natalia, propping her against the edge of a nearby fountain before draping her own coat over her.
“I said awful things to Sisel. And you… well, you had your own reasons. Not to mention, Rebecca bullied her relentlessly.”
But then, Shizuku smiled faintly.
“Yet this woman… she was the only one who tried to protect Sisel.”
●
Cklares listened to Shizuku’s words.
“I know she’s done bad things, but I don’t think she’s a bad person. Rebecca’s friends are pitiful, but at least they’re still alive. If their abilities are like mine, they’ll probably awaken someday.”
“So you won’t kill her?”
“Yeah. I’m not exactly eager to murder people. Are you different?”
“…Well, no. I don’t want to kill her either.”
“Then we don’t have to. More importantly…”
Shizuku hesitated slightly, choosing her words carefully.
“…………Can’t we let her escape somehow?”
“…………Are you serious?”
“Because even if we don’t kill her, handing her over to [Cartesius] won’t end well.”
Neither Cklares nor Shizuku knew what would happen to a rogue Unlaw processed by their organization.
The fact that Norman never spoke of it suggested the treatment wasn’t kind.
“This woman spent a year and a half watching you, Cklares-san, without acting. She never tried to kill you. Meanwhile, we’re practically walking provocations—so we don’t count.”
“You sure about this? It’s betrayal against [Cartesius].”
“I know it’s not right. But even so… I can’t accept her being disposed of like some monster. I know it’s wrong. But…”
Even so—Shizuku couldn’t overlook it.
After all the harm she had caused Sisel without lifting a finger, she couldn’t just abandon Natalia, who had fought to protect her all this time.
For a while, Cklares said nothing.
She watched Shizuku, her eyes slightly narrowed, a faint smile on her lips.
“…Ah, I see.”
And then she realized:
“You’re just… kind, aren’t you?”
●
At last, Cklares felt like she understood the girl named Shizuku.
A flower of tears that couldn’t bloom among others—because its petals would only hurt those around her. So she rejected the outside world.
Her sarcasm, her refusal to let others close—all of it was just another form of kindness.
Even if that kindness denied her any forgiveness or excuses for herself.
“…Well, part of it’s probably just your nature. you got a punk streak at the core.”
“Excuse me? How is that relevant right now?”
“Of course… heh. No wonder Norman-sensei likes that about you.”
“Hah? Norman-kun is charmed by every part of me, thank you very much…?”
“Eh, whatever. I agree Natalia-sensei isn’t a bad person. So what’s the plan?”
“We should consult Norman-kun. We’ll need to hide her somewhere.”
“Hmm. I guess that’s our only option.”
Nodding, Cklares decided it was better than wasting time overthinking. But then—
“——Ugh, this makes me sick.”
A voice cut through the air.
●
A woman stood silently by the fountain’s edge, unnoticed until now.
Black hair. A long black coat with an unsettling sheen. The moment Cklares saw her, her spine turned to ice.
“Iris Norton…!?”
A member of [Cartesius]. They’d only met a handful of times, but their personalities clashed fatally. And now, of all times—
“Why are you—”
“Stupid question. We were aware of the Unlaw in the academy, but other matters took priority. Before we could act, Hamish sent Tear Drop in. So we observed. If you handled it, fine.”
But then—Iris’s cold gaze locked onto Cklares and Shizuku.
“This is the result. What you’ve planned is treason against [Cartesius]. Unlike Hamish’s false accusations last month, I’ve witnessed this myself. Do you know what happens to traitorous Unlaws?”
She answered her own question.
“Disposal.”
That single, razor-sharp word sent a wave of terror through Cklares.
Iris was just a human. She had appeared suddenly, pressed them with questions, and now radiated hostility.
But—
“『Fairy Hand: Spriggan』!”
“『Lingering Echoes – Tears of the Flowers』!”
The two unleashed their abilities simultaneously, attacking Iris.
It was an instinctive alarm—a premonition that if they didn’t strike now, they would die.
“…Tch.”
Iris swayed slightly.
Shizuku’s Lingering Echoes – Tears of the Flowers had run wild this time, but its trauma-refrain effect was brutal. Against a Category II or lower—or a normal human—it was an instant incapacitation.
Meanwhile, Cklares fired a compressed air projectile from Fairy Hand: Spriggan at Iris. Unrefined, but enough to knock a person out.
Yet—
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
“Hah. Pathetic.”
As she staggered, Iris stomped the ground—DAN!—and stepped forward, steadying herself.
Then, the two saw it.
Iris’s coat sleeve unraveled and vanished. And on her arms—Strange something was fitted.
Gauntlets.
Thin metal sheaths, almost like thick gloves, covered her forearms. Intricate floral patterns were engraved into them.
“Spin forth────『wörgl』.”
Whoosh. Something tore through the air—
“—————!?”
Cklares’s Fairy Hand attack was sliced to dust.
“……!?”
Her face twisted in shock.
Iris had completely ignored Echoing Tears and countered Fairy Hand.
This wasn’t normal. But Iris was supposed to be human. If she could do this, there was only one explanation—something Cklares had heard from Norman.
“『Nine Herbs』…!?”
“So you’ve heard of them. But knowing changes nothing.”
Iris flicked her wrist lightly. Again, something cut through the air.
“Tch—!”
Instinctively, Cklares erected an air barrier between herself and Shizuku. But it was shredded instantly.
“This is…!”
From the airflow, Cklares realized what Iris was wielding.
“Threads…!?”
Invisible, ultra-fine steel wires extended from Iris’s gauntlets, moving at her will.
This is bad.
Iris wasn’t wrong to condemn their betrayal. She would kill them without hesitation. Fleeing crossed Cklares’s mind, but turning her back on Iris would be suicide.
Only one option remained.
“Threads!? What are you talking about? That’s definitely an Unlaw! No human can do that! Plus, she looks like a total bitch! And what’s 『Nine Herbs』!?”
Ignoring Shizuku, Cklares stepped forward.
●
“Haaah…!”
Cklares pushed herself to her absolute limit.
Boosting her speed with air propulsion, she lunged, driving a piercing strike while shielding herself with a dome of hardened air against the threads.
“———”
Iris merely twitched her fingers—
“Tch…!”
The air shield was diced apart.
“Not yet…!”
She unleashed a windslash, aiming true—
“If you think close combat favors you, you disgust me, fairy.”
“Seriously…!?”
Iris caught Cklares’s blade between her palms.
“I hate games. But crushing you might be fun.”
Her fingers moved—and the sword vanished into darkness. Cklares didn’t resist; she even let go willingly. Because—
Iris’s high kick was already arcing toward her face.
“Tch…!”
She blocked with her forearm, but the impact sent her reeling. As she steadied herself, Iris thrust a spearhand at her throat.
Cklares barely deflected it with a palm strike, then countered with a hammerfist—only for Iris to block with her forearm and retaliate with a knifehand strike.
“Tch…!”
She leaned back just enough, but a sharp pain flared at her throat. A hair’s breadth from being slit.
“Is this all?”
“Too much talk…!”
Iris’s piercing strikes and Cklares’s fists clashed in rapid succession.
The emotionless woman aimed with lethal precision—every motion meant to kill. It reminded Cklares of something.
A spearhand grazed her cheek, drawing blood as she barely dodged—
“[Koudoufu]’s same movements…!?”
“Ah… [Cartesius] was originally a military medical institution. If you trained there, you’d naturally learn military combat techniques.”
“First I’ve heard of it…!”
Cklares retorted while lowering her stance, attempting to slip into Iris’s guard and land an elbow strike—
“Lukewarm.”
But Iris trapped Cklares’ elbow between her own elbow and knee, freezing her movement.
“Did you have a bad teacher?”
That single remark pissed Cklares off immensely, but she had no time to argue.
The moment Iris touched the arm she had blocked—
“───!?”
The world flipped upside down.
By the time Cklares realized she had been grappled and thrown, she was already slamming into the ground.
“You’re one nasty woman…!”
Behind Iris, Shizuku swung down a sniper rifle.
●
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