The courtyard was quiet again, the only trace of the battle being a faint, lingering scent of toasted sourdough and a light dusting of golden flour. Students were beginning to stir, blinking as the "hunger trance" lifted, leaving them with nothing but a vague craving for a snack.
Konone and Yui sat on the edge of the fountain, finally finishing the yellow-bag lunch that had started the whole ordeal.
"I have made a decision," Konone said suddenly, set down her chopsticks and looking at the school building with a sharp, tactical gaze.
"Is it about the butter?" Yui asked, her mouth full of rice. "Because we definitely need a better way to handle grease."
"No," Konone replied, her voice firm. "I cannot fulfill my duty from the Hanamachi shop. Today proved that the Void is targeting this facility. If I am not here, you are at a disadvantage. My 'orphan' status should allow me to be enrolled under your mother's sponsorship."
Yui’s eyes lit up. "Wait, for real? You’re going to be a student? With the uniform and the tests and the club activities?"
"I will endure the 'tests,'" Konone said, though she looked slightly pale at the mention of them. "But more importantly, I will be here to ensure that no monster—bready or otherwise—threatens this world’s peace again. As of tomorrow, we are a team, both in and out of the Blazing suits."
The Shadow in the Leaves
High above the courtyard, hidden within the thick branches of an ancient cherry blossom tree, a pair of violet eyes watched them.
Blazing Arcana sat on a limb, her dark uniform blending into the shadows. She wasn't wearing her armor now. She was dressed in the same high school uniform Yui wore, though the fabric looked cold and stiff on her.
Beside her, a small, distorted shape hovered—a Corrupted Fairy, its wings tattered and its body glowing with a sickly purple light. It let out a low, distorted chime.
"Let them celebrate their 'lunch,'" Mahiru whispered, her voice like ice scraping against glass. She reached out, her fingers crushing a cherry blossom until it turned to gray ash. "The King says the Ice Girl’s heart is the key. If we can't break her from the outside, we will rot her from within."
She looked at Konone, and for a fleeting second, a look of unutterable pain crossed her face—only to be instantly replaced by the blank, hypnotic stare of a slave.
"I’m coming for you, Konone," she murmured, standing up as a bolt of silent lightning flickered around her feet. "But first, I’ll make sure your new 'best friend' learns what real despair feels like."
Mahiru stepped off the branch and vanished into a rift of gray static, leaving only a single, withered petal behind.
Down below, Yui laughed at something Konone said, unaware that the desk next to her in homeroom wouldn't be empty tomorrow. The Void wasn't just coming to school—it was already enrolled.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfY35i6HSU
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