Published at 17th of August 2019 6:55 am

Volume 7, Chapter 5: The Fire Dragon Emperor and the Silver Princess

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

Sunday, January 10

“Let's go, Yurika.”

The strong lighting on the stage made the blade of Koutarou's sword shine bright white. This sword was the treasured sword Saguratin that Theia had lent Koutarou alongside with the armor he was wearing. She had told the other actors in the play that it was a special-ordered replica, but in reality, the blade was real. That said, thanks to the armor creating a barrier to block the blade, there was no fear of cutting anyone.

“No way!”

However, Yurika who was going to be Koutarou's opponent was afraid. Even though there had been attempts to assure her that the blade would be blocked by the repulsion barrier created by the armor, Yurika simply couldn't relax when she saw the blade shining in the light.

I'll be cut! Satomi-san is definitely going to cut me up!!

Yurika cried inside the large costume she was wearing. Yurika was currently wearing a costume acting as a giant dragon while facing off against Koutarou. That dragon's name was the Fire Dragon Emperor, Alunaya. It was the strongest enemy that the Blue Knight would fight at the climax of the play.

When the discussion for who would play the role came up, Yurika's name popped up as someone known for acting animals. When she had been acting as a horse's rear, her acting prowess had been overwhelming, and no other human could keep up. Yurika had been overjoyed when she thought she it was her time to shine, but that joy only lasted until they began practicing the play.

“Don't be selfish, Yurika! There are people waiting to use the stage!”

“Even if you say that!”

Not only did the sword look sharp, but Koutarou who was wielding it looked just like a tough knight. Koutarou's training with Theia over the winter vacation hadn't just been for show.

“I'll definitely get cut in half!”

Yurika, whose tears were still streaming down her cheeks, imagined herself being cut in half along with her costume. Yurika's fear had only grown more powerful when she had joined Koutarou and Theia in watching a movie from Forthorthe to prepare for the play. The Forthorthe knight that appeared in the movie cut any enemy in half. That image was burnt into Yurika's mind, and it scared her.

“Yurika, what kind of dragon emperor acts like that!! Keep it together!!”

“Uwaaaah, that's impossible! At least do something about your sword!”

“That's impossible!

“Nooooo!”

Theia furiously shouted at Yurika from the bottom of the stage, but that wasn't enough for Yurika's fear to go away. The Fire Dragon Emperor, Alunaya shook its head and retreated off the stage.

If she was acting a scared dragon it would be perfect, but...

Seeing that, Theia went past being amazed and was instead impressed.

“Yurika-chan, you can't be like that. If anything, you should be trying to go all out to beat Satomi-kun!”

“Ah, beat Satomi-san!?”

What changed Yurika's mind was the drama club president acting as the stage manager's shout.

That's right, I only need to beat him before he beats me!! I only need to defeat him before he cuts me!!

Thanks to the stage manager's words, Yurika was able to gain enough hope to overcome her fear of being cut in half. She would defeat Koutarou before he could attack her. By doing that, she wouldn't have to be scared.

“Gufufufu, *roar*, *roaaar*!”

The Fire Dragon Emperor's giant figure advanced. The dragon’s stride was completely different from before, and fitting of the name Fire Dragon Emperor, Alunaya. It was almost as if each step caused a tremor.

“Ah, Koutarou, it looks like Yurika's gotten motivated.”

“That'll help.”

“Yeah. But it seems like it's a bit different from being motivated...”

“I'll beat him, I'll beat Satomi-san! By doing that I won't have to be scared!”

Yurika's eyes were bloodshot and she continued muttering to herself. Clinging on to her tiny hope, Yurika pointed Alunaya's head upwards and roared.

“Yurika fight! Yurika fight!!”

But of course, that wasn't hope, but rather escapism or desperation; it was simply an illusion.

This was the first day of stage practice after the winter vacation had ended.

The goal behind this practice was to perform all scenes from start to finish. But rather than confirming the abilities of each individual actor, the focus lied on the staff to get a feel for the flow. There were countless things to check: the acting, the sets, outfits, special effects, the lighting and more.

“*roar* *roar*”

“Nijino-san, get it together!”

“Leave it to me, Sakuraba-senpa― kyaaaaaa!!”

“Hey, don't run, Yurika!!”

The Fire Dragon Emperor, Alunaya costume that Yurika was wearing was amongst the most important things to check. The outside appearance still had plenty of things to touch up on, but they needed to confirm if the props inside were functional. Because the performance was set to play at the end of the month, they had to hurry up and finish anything mechanical.

“S-Satomi-san, you were just about cut me in half, weren't you!?”

“Of course. That's what I'm supposed to do in this scene.”

“Since you're a villain, just accept your fate and get cut up.”

“Satomi, cut the tail off next.”

“Understood.”

Inside the Alunaya costume were devices that let the tail fly off when cut or to spew fire from its mouth. Through the use of wires, it would be able to fly through the sky. The props team had put various devices inside the costume to make this possible through their combined techniques and hard work. That was just how excited they had gotten for the play.

“Hmm, aside from Yurika's courage, the devices are all functioning properly.”

“Good. Alunaya is an exceptionally well made prop for a high school play.”

“I heard the props team spent several nights working on it.”

At that moment, Koutarou's sword cut off the costume’s tail. Seeing the device work flawlessly, Theia nodded satisfied from below the stage.

“You have all done great job! Allow me to praise you, you can feel proud!”

“Alriiight, it's a success!!”

The props team that were looking up on the stage next to Theia cheered. This was the moment where all their blood, sweat and tears paid off. Looking at their cheerful expressions, Theia nodded once more. Then Ruth, who was nearby, called out to Theia.

“It looks like preparations are proceeding smoothly, your highness.”

“Yes. All we can do now is put our expectations on the actors.”

The Alunaya costume included, preparations for the play were proceeding smoothly. This was the second time these members worked together on a play, so the outfits and sets were all prepared and the lighting check-up was continuing smoothly.

So it was just as Theia had said, all that's left now were the actors.

Part 2

“T-That was... really scaryyy~”

“Good work, Nijino-san.”

Having finished her part, Yurika shivered while holding her knees while Harumi was gently consoling her. It looked like a giant dragon crying to a princess, but it looked oddly picturesque with Harumi smiling.

“Lately it's been hard to say no to Sakuraba-senpai.”

After taking a picture of Harumi and Yurika, Shizuka began talking to Koutarou who was nearby. Since the scenes were leading up to the climax of the second half, Shizuka's turn was still a bit away since she was playing a maid. So Shizuka was left to take pictures for an activity report.

“Is that so?”

“I guess you can say she's getting used to being a princess... well, she might just be getting used to acting in front of people.”

“Well, I can agree that it looks like she's gotten used to it.”

Koutarou was always practicing with Harumi, so he couldn't quite get a grasp for her change. Since she had slowly changed in front of him, he couldn't get a good feel for it. But since Shizuka hadn't seen Harumi act for a while, the change was noticeable for her.

But compared to the Harumi back in spring, she had gotten much better at dealing with people. She had stopped getting nervous when speaking to people she didn't know, and she would even smile from time to time. It was clear that ever since she had gotten up on the stage, Harumi had grown a lot.

“Hey, Theia.”

“What?”

“Since Sakuraba-senpai has gotten more used to it, shouldn't we switch back the Blue Knight role to Mackenzie?”

In the beginning, Koutarou had only gotten the role as the Blue Knight because Harumi was unable to act with anyone else. But now, Koutarou felt like there was no longer any need to worry. So he suggested that the roles were switched back to their original casting, with Kenji as the Blue Knight.

“A-Absolutely not, you're good as the Blue Knight!”

However, Theia shook her head with an awfully surprised expression.

“Why? He looks better.”

“Why, w-well...”

Theia couldn't answer right away. But she already had her answer.

My knights are just you and Ruth...

The thought of training a knight other than Koutarou never entered Theia's mind. Her knights were just Koutarou and Ruth. That was the firm thought she held inside her.

But Theia couldn't say that out loud. If she did, Koutarou would have to answer, and that scared her. So Theia's glance naturally shifted to Harumi who was behind Koutarou.

“That might but true, but it's too late for that now, Satomi-sama.”

Seeing her master troubled, Ruth answered instead.

“We've already begun advertising. And besides, if we suddenly changed the roles, I don't think Mackenzie-sama could pick up the Blue Knight's role in the short time we have left.”

The advertising for the play had already begun. In the past, flyers had been scattered around the area and put up on bulletin boards. Of course, the cast was listed on those flyers. If they altered the cast now, they had to correct all those flyers.

And since the play was set for the end of the month, Kenji would only have about two weeks to learn all of the Blue Knight's scenes in order for him to make it in time.

Ruth was calling the change in cast unrealistic because of those two reasons.

“I see... and here I was thinking I could slack off...”

“Stop thinking of stupid things and get back on the stage! Next up is your fight with the minister and court magician!”

“Yes, yes. As you wish, my princess.”

Koutarou revealed a small bitter smile and climbed back up onto the stage with light steps.

“‘As you wish, my princess’ huh...”

“I just wish those words weren't said jokingly...”

However, the feelings of the two he left behind were anything but light.

Part 3

Koutarou and the other’s voices filled the gym where they were practicing.

“You bastard, are you trying to destroy Forthorthe!?”

“Hahaha, that's only obvious, I'm stealing the country after all.”

The practice was reaching the climax scene, and Koutarou was talking with the minister, who was the evil mastermind.

A cleverly concealed, complex sensor recorded that and converted it into three-dimensional footage before sending it off somewhere.

“Curse you, fake Blue Knight.”

The person looking at the three-dimensional footage was the second princess of Forthorthe, Clan.

She was hiding in the shadows inside the equipment room next to the gym while staring at her bracelet, which was very similar to Theia's. The complex sensor was streaming the three-dimensional footage of the gym to it.

“It's even more irritating now that the acting is becoming of him...”

Clan's dark, sharp glance was fixed on Koutarou. She was plotting revenge on Koutarou after getting in the way of her previous attack. And those feelings even exceeded those she had for Theia. Clan believed that as long as she got in the way of Theia's trial, she didn't need to defeat her, but she felt she had to defeat Koutarou no matter what.

Clan had a lot of pride, just like Theia, and as a woman from Forthorthe she had strong feelings for the Blue Knight. So having a commoner from an undeveloped planet pointed a sword at her, dressed up as the Blue Knight, and even worse, defeating her, was completely unacceptable.

“But still, I can't seem to find an opening. How irritating!”

So Clan was watching for Koutarou to reveal an opening. But she couldn't find the kind of opening she wanted. That was because Koutarou was almost never alone, but the opening she wanted had some rather harsh conditions.

Clan wanted Koutarou to know who he had lost to when he fell over, and to regret ever pointing his blade at her. So she wanted to defeat Koutarou after showing herself to him. If she didn't, her wounded pride would never heal.

Because of that, the only time she could attack was when Koutarou had separated from Theia and the others and where there were few people watching. Of course, that situation rarely happened. Because of that, Clan had kept waiting for a chance to show up for a while now.

“Hm?”

That was when Clan spotted Koutarou getting off the stage and heading towards the back of the gym alone. Based on the footage she could see of the gym, it looked like they were taking a short break before the last scene.

“That's it, this is the perfect chance to send him my greetings!”

Behind her glasses, a fire was burning in her eyes.

The back of the gym was isolated, and the only one else there was Harumi. It was possible for her to reveal herself in a way that only Koutarou would understand, and possibly even defeat him then and there.

“My chance is finally here!”

Clan swiftly operated her bracelet and shut off the footage. She jumped out from the shadows of the equipment room and rushed forwards in Koutarou's direction. Her steps were light, almost like a dancer's. She was excited that her chance for revenge had finally arrived.

“Just you wait, fake Blue Knight! I'll be right there!”

Clan was almost like a girl running to her first date with her first boyfriend.

After running for a few meters, she gently kicked the ground. As she did, it was almost as if she sprouted wings and flew up into the sky. Clan showed no signs of surprise as she continued to rise up into the sky. The speed at which she rose was much faster than when she was running, and she flew past the roof of the gym in an instant.

This was the ability of a new tool she had invented. The defensive barrier that Clan and Theia were using worked by controlling gravity to deflect attacks using the repulsion created from it. Since it could control gravity, it could be adjusted to fly in the sky rather than create a repulsion barrier. That was what Clan was using now. She had altered her own barrier to allow her to fly through the sky.

That said, it wasn't all positives; whenever she flew, the energy use was increased exponentially, and the barrier’s defensive power greatly decreased. The current defensive power was probably less than half of what it had been before. But Clan didn't mind the reduction in defensive power. Since the barrier couldn't stop Koutarou's sword when they fought in the past, she believed it would be better to raise her mobility instead. In reality, her movements in the air were impressive as she gracefully changed her posture and moved almost like a fairy that could be seen in movies or anime. It was fundamentally different from Yurika's flight using wires.

“There he is!”

At the same time that she spotted Koutarou and Harumi, she gently touched her bracelet. When she did, her appearance melded with the blue sky and disappeared. This was yet another counter-measure for Koutarou; by setting up a field that let the surrounding light pass through her body, she would become invisible. Whether she liked it or not, when she was flying in the sky she was bound to stand out, so this was another indispensable equipment of hers.

And what's more, Clan pulled out a strangely mechanically designed large-scale rifle from a hole in the space-time. This rifle was an even further improved version of the rifle she had used before. Since it was expected to be used in the sky without footing, it was smaller and the accuracy had been increased. In return, the amount of bullets it could fire was greatly reduced, but when considering the use, it was an appropriate design. In the past, it had been too large to keep up with Koutarou's speed.

“Let's start by trying him out!”

Clan held the beam rifle with both hands and pointed the barrel at Koutarou. As she did, the scope that was synchronized with the bracelet automatically aimed. Although it was an unstable shooting from the sky, the scope wasn't shaking at all. Clan's preparations were perfect.

“If you can do anything in this situation then please show me, fake Blue Knight!”

A smile appeared on Clan's lips as she squeezed the trigger.

Clan wasn't planning on defeating Koutarou with this surprise attack. If Koutarou died without knowing who defeated him, she would never feel better. So her aim was to attack Koutarou's right arm and make him unable to use his sword.

There's no way you could dodge this! Get taken by surprise, fake Blue Knight!”

A scorching hot, heavy metal particle came flying through the muzzle of the rifle. The beam consisting of heavy metal that had been heated by electromagnetism inside the barrel, approached Koutarou with a frightening speed. Since it had been fired by a handheld firearm, the speed wasn't as quick as a one fired from a spaceship, but it was far faster than a gun using gunpowder. At this point, Clan was convinced of her victory.

Koutarou had his back facing Clan and was talking to Harumi; he had completely dropped his guard. He was fired upon by in that state by Clan who was flying in the air and invisible. On top of that, the distance between them was so close that the rifle had no chance of missing. Koutarou wasn't showing any signs of activating the barrier on the armor either.

No matter how you looked at it, Clan should be able to shoot right through Koutarou's right arm. And when that happened, Koutarou would be unable to swing his sword around. After that, she could do whatever she pleased. A knight that couldn't use a sword was no match for her.

However, that's when something unexpected happened.

The exact moment before the beam hit Koutarou, it crashed into a white wall and scattered. There was no damage to Koutarou.

“Impossible!?”

Seeing her shot get blocked, she hurriedly checked the data on her bracelet.

“It wasn't a repulsion barrier!? Then, just what is it!?”

At first, Clan had thought that the armor had reacted to the beam and automatically protected Koutarou with a barrier. However, her bracelet couldn't detect any distortion in gravity. It wasn't a barrier created by Forthorthe.

“And the fake Blue Knight hasn't even noticed!? Then just what― Hah!?”

After going through the data, Clan looked back at Koutarou. There was someone facing Koutarou, who hadn't noticed he had been shot at.

“Could it―”

A chill ran through Clan's spine.

Harumi, who was facing Koutarou, was staring right at Clan. It was as if she noticed Clan was there.

Could it be that that fake Silver Princess did something!?

Clan and Harumi stared at each other. Harumi's eyes were calm and showed no signs of wavering. Her eyes were shining with a strong will, just like the sword crest on her forehead. Seeing those eyes, Clan's intuition told her that Harumi had blocked her attack. It was a logical conclusion, and when Clan looked into Harumi's eyes, that was the only thing she could think off.

“There's no mistaking it. That girl, that fake Silver Princess is―”

At the same time she came to that conclusion, Harumi raised her right arm, past Koutarou's shoulder and pointed her palm straight towards Clan.

“Gathering spirits of light, become like a heat daze, dance, dance―”

“She's counter attacking!? And this is!?”

A small ball of light appeared in Harumi's palm. There was no doubt that it was some kind of reaction to Clan's attack. The ball of light soon reached the size of a tennis ball and glowed stronger alongside the sword crest on her forehead. But that wasn't what had surprised Clan.

“The ancient language of Forthorthe!? Just who is this girl!?”

The bracelet's automatic translation function translated what Harumi was saying. It was a language that hadn't been used for over a thousand years, the ancient language of Forthorthe. And Harumi was using special words used by people over a certain status, performing a ritual.

Leaving what she's planning on attacking with aside, facing someone who is using Forthorthe's ancient language's keywords for attacking is too dangerous!!

But Clan wasn't just surprised. The moment she realized she was facing someone unknown, she turned tail and fled. Clan wasn't foolish enough to try to take on two uncertain elements at the same time.

“The fluttering veil's―”

When she did, Harumi stopped speaking mid-sentence. At the same time, the ball of light in her hand disappeared. Seeing that, Clan was overcome with relief.

She let me go...?

As Clan was flying away from Koutarou and Harumi at full speed, she looked back several times. She couldn't help but want to confirm if Harumi was going to chase her down or not. That's just how surprised Clan had been.

But still, just what is happening? That barrier, the ancient language... It's not just the Blue Knight, that Silver Princess is also an unknown fake. I need to come up with some counter-measures right away...

Clan gave up on relief and began coming up with plans to deal with the new enemy.

Part 4

Koutarou looked up after checking his lines, and for some reason, he saw Harumi staring and reaching her hand towards to the sky. Although when Koutarou turned to look in the direction she was staring, he saw nothing but the winter sky.

“...What are you doing, Sakuraba-senpai?”

“Eh?”

Having snapped back reality from Koutarou's call, Harumi blinked repeatedly.

“E-Even if you ask me what, I don't..

Not understanding what she was doing herself, Harumi was at a loss; she instead turned red and hurriedly dropped her hand back down before searching her memories to recall what had happened.

Uhm, we came to the back of the gym to confirm our lines for the next scene and to take a break... I was reading the manuscript with Koutarou... and then... and then... huh?

Harumi tilted her head. The last thing she remembered was reading her lines, and the next thing was Koutarou asking her what she was doing. She had completely forgotten why she had raised her hand into the sky.

“...What was I doing, I wonder?”

“Why are you asking me that, ahahaha!”

Koutarou found himself laughing from the unexpectedly senile answer from Harumi. Her face then turned several degrees redder and she began coming up with excuses in a flustered manner.

“It's because of the acting! I-I've gotten too into my role lately!”

“Gotten too into... W-Well, you were muttering something. Kukuku.”

Koutarou continued laughing. It was so funny that tears formed at the edges of his eyes.

“Satomi-kun, you meanie! I'm being serious here!”

Harumi puffed up her cheeks like a child and held her hands in front of her chest while looking at Koutarou with a defiant look. Seeing the supposedly noble and elegant Silver Princess do that, Koutarou was unable to hold his laughter in.

“Wahahahahah! Ahahahaha!!”

Koutarou shook the manuscript in his hand while laughing. The metallic card Koutarou was using as a bookmark shined every time he shook his manuscript.

T-This won't do. Not at all.

But he realized he was laughing too much, and he shut his eyes and mouth to hold back his feelings.

“I've just been so busy with my duty that I've gotten tired!!”

However Harumi's next words easily pushed Koutarou past his limit.

“Guhah!! S-Senpai, duty...? Y-you sound like a real princess! Wahahaha!!”

“Geez, Satomi-kun!”

Harumi was desperately trying to smooth things over, however Harumi's effort only fanned the flames of Koutarou's laughter.

“Kuku, kukukuku, s-senpai, y-you've got a surprisingly fun side to you, gufufufufu!!”

“Please forget everything that just happened!”

Harumi's mind turned blank. She was really embarrassed, and felt somewhat bitter at Koutarou.

She had forgotten about everything else.

“If you laugh anymore, even if it's you, I'll get angry!”

“P-Please!! Get angry!!”

“Hey!!”

However, Harumi would probably notice when she got into bed tonight.

Just how long she had waited for this moment, and just how blissful of a time this was.

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