Volume 2Prologue

The late-afternoon sun slanted into the Guardian Office.

Sitting across from the room’s occupant—a sharp-eyed girl named Freon Flamel, the Guardian Leader—were two students of the Guardian Department whom she had summoned.

One was Chloe Sevegny, a girl with a pale purple ribbon tying back her black ponytail. A second-year student in the Guardian Department’s Regular Course, she bore the epithet of Nirvana, the Princess of Annihilation, the strongest in the Academy Floating City.

The other was Yuri Flostre, a girl with silky dark-navy hair and crystalline emerald-blue eyes. She was a year below Chloe and would turn sixteen this year.

Both girls belonged to the Royal Guard—the Special Fireteam that reigned at the very pinnacle of the Academy Floating City—putting them in a position where their counsel and cooperation were sought regarding disputes within the city.

“—Which brings us to the matter at hand: it seems Kanata Age’s platoon has suffered its twelfth consecutive defeat. There is no mistake about that fact, is there, Chloe?”

“Yes… They ended the First Quarter without a single win…”

The intra-academy ranking matches were divided into four seasonal quarters across the year, and they had lost every single match of the first period.

Freon gave a quiet nod as Chloe spoke apologetically.

“…And let me ask you one more time: regarding that other incident, it truly wasn’t the two of you?”

“That’s right. We weren’t the ones who subjugated the new Chimera variant. Isn’t that so, Yuri?”

Chloe offered an angelic smile.

“Yes. Neither Chloe-senpai, Lloyd-senpai, nor I had any hand in its subjugation.”

Yuri stated this with a trace of hostility smoldering beneath her tone.

In truth, both of them already had a fair idea of who had actually brought the creature down.

“…Then who on earth besides you could possibly have defeated a monster like that?”

“Umm… Well, there’s Kanata.”

The name on Chloe’s lips was that of Mistgun’s traitor—Kanata Age.

Freon pressed a hand to her forehead as though struck by a sudden migraine.

“…That man really is a headache. You two might not have heard, but Kanata Age has been claiming that the girls of Fireteam E601—that F-Rank platoon he instructs—were the ones who defeated Chimera Deneb in the recent engagement. He even came to bargain with me in person, demanding that I turn a blind eye to their destruction of civilian property because of it.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I refused him, naturally. I looked into the matter just to be sure, and the girls of that F-Rank platoon insist they slew the Chimera themselves without borrowing Kanata Age’s power. As for Kanata Age himself, he sustained serious injuries for some reason, yet he refused to disclose how he got them…”

Several rumors were already circulating regarding Kanata’s injuries.

The most prevalent story claimed that he had hurt himself while fleeing in cowardice—supposedly getting swept up in the crowd of evacuees, tripping, and landing badly. Kanata had written as much in his own official report, yet having witnessed him riding his Broom across that battlefield with their own eyes, both Chloe and Yuri knew that account to be false.

“That was most likely—”

“—Yuri.”

Yuri clearly had something on the tip of her tongue, but Chloe cut in to forestall her.

She did not know what Kanata was thinking, but so long as he chose not to make the truth public himself, it was clearly something he wanted kept hidden.

“For the time being, I ordered Kanata Age’s students to submit written apologies regarding the property damage—though one of them was such an atrocious piece of work that I ordered a resubmission. On top of that, they are still extending their losing streak in the intra-academy ranking matches. At this rate, the future of those F-Rank platoon members remains a serious concern.”

“It’s true that Kanata’s platoon suffered a crushing defeat in the last ranking match as well. Even so…”

It was Chloe who had recommended Kanata for the instructor post in the first place. Although Fireteam E601 now stood at twelve consecutive losses under his tenure, not a trace of doubt crossed her expression.

She trusted him—even if the rest of the city branded Kanata a traitor.

Standing ramrod straight beside her, however, Yuri voiced her agreement with Freon.

“I share the Guardian Leader’s opinion. There is no way a traitor like Kanata-senpai could ever produce results as an instructor.”

Freon nodded deeply once more.

“Precisely. Which is why I was thinking of appointing you, Yuri Flostre, as his replacement…”

“Eh?! M-Me…?!”

“Yes. You submitted an application stating that you wanted to serve as an instructor the other day, didn’t you?”

“Th-That’s true, yes! However—”

“Oh? Do you not want the position?”

“Well, umm…”

“I see. Then it can’t be helped.”

Yuri breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The whole reason she had applied to become an instructor was to crush Kanata—the very man currently on the chopping block—in the ranking matches. Being appointed to take over his platoon instead would have completely defeated the purpose.

Freon was not finished speaking, however.

“Since there is no hope of Fireteam E601 growing any stronger, I cannot continue to recognize Kanata Age as an instructor. That platoon has been nothing but trouble from the start, so we shall disband it on the grounds of its unbroken losing streak. Chloe, I apologize since you were the one who recommended him, but he is being dismissed. Bring Kanata Age here so that I may inform him in person.”

Things were taking a decidedly grim turn. Wearing a heavy expression, Chloe stepped out of the office.