Endless Silver Machine

During lunch time, Aika made an appointment with Leilu via text message, and the meeting place was set in the courtyard that had not been "occupied" by other small groups.

Leilu needed to go to the student conference room after class to finish the work she had accumulated due to laziness, so the first person to arrive at the appointed place was Aika.

But he didn't wait for a long time when he saw Relu's petite figure running over with a bento in her hand.

"I'm sorry..." Leilu panted and apologized to Aika as soon as she stepped into the courtyard. "In order to get rid of that man... I took a lot of detours..."

"Which man?"

"Don't worry...I've completely gotten rid of it..."

"What you say makes you care more!"

While Leilu took a deep breath of fresh air, she untied the light green kerchief wrapped around the lunch box and spread it on the small table in the courtyard.

A cute kitten hair accessory is pinned to Relu's slightly curly shoulder-length hair, and the slightly raised bunch of dull hair swings from side to side as if to express her vitality.

After she held down the hem of her skirt and sat down on the bench opposite Aika, she peeked at Aika through her hanging bangs.

"are you angry……"

"Why are you angry?"

"It's obviously our first date, but I'm late..."

"This is not a date, and aren't you still being pestered by the man chasing you?"

"Chasing my man?"

"The one you just mentioned."

"……I remembered!"

Why do I suddenly feel like I've been cheated...

"That's not your excuse for being late, right? To be honest, I'm very concerned about it."

"How could it be an excuse? Haha..."

Leilu buried her head and folded the corners of the handkerchief into different shapes, not meeting Aika's suspicious gaze.

If she was really entangled by a strange man, Aika was a little worried, hoping it was just a joke.

Aika's lunch today was made for him by Ling, and it was no less rich than the "Moonlight Bath".

Speaking of which, it is rare to see Ling practicing cooking at home. But now, this level has been greatly improved compared to the terrifying level when they first met, when they almost burned down the entire kitchen.

He probably had secret training somewhere that he couldn't see. If this is indeed the case, Aika really wants to appreciate her hard work with her own eyes.

At this time, Leilu, who was sitting opposite Aika, had a gloomy expression on her face and gently poked the tomatoes in the lunch with the fork in her hand.

"When Tiruya-senpai and I said we were going on a date with Aika-san, we were obviously very happy... but now I'm so disappointed..."

"Wait, can't you put it another way? If word spreads, it will be a big problem!"

Leilu didn't seem to hear what Aika was saying, and she stopped what she was doing as if she suddenly remembered something, and her gloomy expression quickly turned into a cute smile.

"By the way, there's an extra maid in Principal Phyllis's office today, and she says she's someone you know."

"It should be Anjie. In fact, we haven't been in contact with her for a long time. I heard that Lan Ming and Xia Luo dated her a long time ago."

Principal Phyllis kept Anjie by his side to help with chores according to her own wishes.

In fact, Anjie seems to be the kind of girl who can't settle down without working.

"She has the same background as the two transfer students today, right? Many famous people from the Bisi Empire have recently transferred to Shimozuki Academy."

Aika was a little surprised that Leilu was well-informed. But on second thought, it’s not surprising that the student union has information about all students.

On the surface, Principal Phyllis is the manager of Frost Moon Academy. In fact, her more important responsibility is to manage the neutral area. She usually just stays in the principal's office and does not go out.

The student council and the Discipline Team are actually responsible for the large and small affairs of Frost Moon Academy. It is not an exaggeration to regard these two organizations as the de facto managers of Frost Moon Academy.

"Leilu, actually I want to ask you about the six-winged elves."

Leilu was slightly startled when she heard the word "six-winged elf".

"Why does Aika suddenly want to know about this kind of problem?"

Now that Leilu already knows the identities of Lan Ming and the others, she must have also learned about the turmoil in the Bisi Empire.

If you need to get real answers from others, you must first be sincere.

Aika told Leilu all about the relationship between the Seraphim and Charlotte.

"I heard from Charlotte that the six-winged elves have a special status among the elves, so I wanted to find out more from you."

Leilu listened to Aika's words carefully and sighed at the end.

Four translucent wings materialized by magic power, like dragonfly wings, spread out behind Reilu.

The translucent wings flow with the same color as the master's magic power, exuding a dreamy color under the sunlight.

"As you can see, the elves generally only have four wings, and six wings is a very rare mutation. The six-winged elves are taboo among the elves. If you didn't specifically ask about it, no one would specifically talk about this issue. "

Is this a taboo subject? But Aika remembered that Corel showed her six wings to herself without hesitation.

"Can I ask more about the reason?"

"Actually, the reason doesn't sound serious at all. Instead, it feels a bit silly." Leilu chuckled a little self-deprecatingly. Normally she would never show such an expression, "The elves' beliefs are symbiotic with the natural elves, and Can Aika-san understand this explanation that the family that gave birth to the six-winged elves can use magical equipment that controls nature spirits?"

"...Because of the conflict of beliefs, is it regarded as a cult or something like that?"

"Yes, the seraphs are regarded as the 'cursed bloodline' among the elves. They saved the elves during the cross-border war, but after the war they were expelled from the race they saved. The only answer Aika wants to know is So much."

Now, Aika finally knows what intra-racial discrimination is, which is even more egregious than hurting each other for power and status within the empire.

Aika didn't know anything about faith, and even when faced with Inili, the founding saint of the Bes Empire, he had no idea of ​​devout worship.

Perhaps for people of faith, this is a fundamentally intolerable blasphemy. But in Aika's eyes, this was just completely incomprehensible absurdity.

He who does not know is not guilty.

"Ah, I really didn't expect that Aika-san would do so many shocking things during her time away from Shimozuki Academy. I really believed the reasons for absence submitted before."

"Sorry, we can't announce this kind of thing... but we didn't submit a reason for absence?"

"Principal Phyllis submitted it for you personally. Otherwise, do you really think you won't be targeted by the discipline team if you are absent for such a long time without any reason?"

Leilu stopped talking about the Seraphim and happily ate the delicious-looking bento.

"Although Shigetsuki Academy adheres to liberalism, in the past, students who were absent without excuses would cause big and small problems outside. So now the student union and the discipline team have begun to pay attention to this issue. Students who are absent without excuses must be arrested and punished. interrogation.”

"The interrogation...just listening to it is terrifying. I guess it's just taking notes or something?"

"Hmph, Aika-kun, you are still very naive."

Leilu shook her finger mysteriously, but did not tell Aika the specific content of the interrogation, which instead sent a chill down Aika's spine.

The students of Shimozuki Academy appear to be unrestrained in all aspects, with almost zero restrictions. Not only talents are born, but also various dangerous elements are born.

After knowing the meaning of the six-winged elves, Aika became more concerned about Corel, who was absent for a week.

"Leilu-san, do you know Corel, the first-year Pisces classmate?"

"Kerrell..."

Leilu tilted her head and thought for a while, then took out her PDA and flipped through it for a while.

She frowned slightly, then clapped her hands in realization.

"I understand, the six-winged elf that classmate Charlotte met must be Corel, right?"

This conclusion was something Aika never expected, and what Leilu said casually was probably a joke.

The junior who was so clumsy that he was nervous even when handing out leaflets, could not connect her with the assassin who had sneaked into the castle.

"Krelel did not hide her identity when she entered school, and Frost Moon Academy did not exclude the six-winged elves. She left school at the same time as you, and she is as good at wind magic as the girl described by Charlotte. Although she usually The test scores are average, but the abilities occasionally displayed far exceed the elves' control over natural magic."

"...Based on this, we can't be sure that Corel-san is that girl, right?"

"Did classmate Charlotte ever mention the weapons she used?"

"I remember it was a magical costume that looked like a crossbow..."

Leilu placed her PDA in front of Aika. Her PDA has been connected to the student union's database, and the complete information about Corel is displayed on it.

The photo shows the innocent junior in Aika's memory. She looks at the camera with a secretive look that seems to be due to embarrassment.

Sliding down further, the weapons she registered when she enrolled were displayed.

"Her weapon is a magic weapon - Star Crossbow Deneb. It is also a magic weapon with the appearance of a hand crossbow."

Charlotte didn't mention the name of the girl's magic costume. Only Charlotte, who had seen it with her own eyes, could confirm whether it was the magic costume in the photo.

As long as the magic outfit and its holder are identified, it can be confirmed that the girl is Corel herself.

Therefore, now there is only the last step left to assert, and the answer is basically certain.

"I really didn't expect that..."

"Classmate Corel should belong to the family that was exiled from the elves... Only we know this kind of thing, and no one wants to talk about this issue, so classmate Corel and I didn't say anything..."

"Is she acting for some purpose..."

Perhaps she, like him, was wandering on the edge of taking risks for the sake of her family.

The "Sea Mist Fleet" mentioned by Lan Ming and Xia Luo is unknown whether it is an enemy or a friend, and Ke Leier may be in that unknown organization now...

Aika realized that she might now overlap Lolo's shadow with that of the innocent junior.

Leilu checked Corel's departure date, and the cheerful smile was no longer on her childish face.

"Is that fleet doing the right thing?"

"Sorry, I don't know this either, so we want to find the girl who is connected to the fleet."

"Actually, what I just talked about was the past of the elves."

"past?"

"Yes, the elves no longer reject the six-winged elves. Although they have different beliefs, it is not impossible to coexist. If Corel is dissatisfied with the elves..."

Aika understood that Lelu was worried that Corel would go down the wrong path for reasons similar to her own.

Aika doesn't know yet whether this is pity among fellow tribesmen, Leilu's own goodwill, or other reasons.

"Aika, I also have a request." Leilu let go of her clasped hands under the table and stood up in front of Aika, "If you want to go to Corel, please take me with you. "

"Leilu-san, don't make such a hasty decision yet. If the girl Charlotte met is really Corel-san, we have to find the fleet first before we can see her. Although I know you don't treat this matter as an ordinary matter. It’s an adventure game, but we still can’t involve you who have nothing to do with it.”

"I have already thought about it." Leili lowered her head to Aika and begged him sincerely, "Thanks to Aika coming to see me today, I learned about the current situation of Corel. I have to go The reason to meet Corel-san.”

Leilu didn't say clearly what her reasons were, nor the necessity of telling Aika. This is a problem between herself and Corel.

The only question is whether Aika can take him with him when he goes to the "Sea Mist Fleet". After all, he doesn't have any information about the "Sea Mist Fleet".

"If we determine the time for the operation, we will tell you. Please think about it carefully during this time. Even just finding the fleet may be very risky."

"I just want to tell Classmate Corel these words, that's all..."

As for whether he can take Leilu with him, he must seek permission from others. Aika can only reply that Leilu will definitely tell everyone.

Before parting, Aika copied a copy of Corel's information and sent it to Charlotte, and then got the fact that was already certain.

…………