ALL NOVEL Chapter 120
“…That was a pretty loud noise. You okay?”
After Karukira’s treatment had wrapped up, I surveyed the area. The ground in the training field had caved in from the force of Karukira’s great axe, and a layer of dust coated all the equipment nearby.
“This is definitely going to require an incident report,” Karukira muttered as she scratched her head, taking in the aftermath.
The battle between Karukira and KAEDE had only lasted a few minutes, but it had been intense enough that anyone watching would have been captivated. The trade-off, though, was the utter destruction left behind. Karukira’s massive axe had left craters, and the loud crash from her blow must have been a serious disturbance to the neighborhood.
That’s why Karukira had a somewhat guilty expression as she quickly fetched cleaning tools from a shed near the door connecting the courtyard to the building.
“Cleaning up will be enough. I cast a soundproofing spell over the area before you two started fighting,” a voice called down from the second-floor window.
“Ah, Captain,” Karukira responded.
Feeling bad about leaving Karukira to clean up alone, KAEDE and I were about to grab some cleaning tools ourselves when we heard the captain’s voice coming from the team house window.
“Soundproofing spell?” I asked.
“It’s an adaptation of wind magic. I set up a dome to muffle the sound before the fight started.”
In simple terms, sound is caused by air vibrations, so Saioji had neutralized those vibrations with her wind magic. Because of that, the noise from Karukira’s blows hadn’t leaked outside the training grounds. Karukira visibly relaxed upon hearing this, but then Saioji added that she still had to write a report, which immediately deflated her mood.
—
“…So, this woman is the android sent from that other world?”
“Yeah, she arrived yesterday.”
Later, in a corner of the team house lobby, the three of us—KAEDE, Saioji, and I—sat around a table. Even though Karukira and KAEDE had already fought, it was still early in the morning. The only other person around was Karukira, who was busy cleaning in the courtyard.
“Let me introduce KAEDE. This is Saioji Shizuku… Does it help if I say she’s an ancestor of Saioji Minato?”
『Yes, a quick scan confirms she matches the data for Saioji Shizuku.』
Even though there was an empty chair, KAEDE stood behind me, watching Saioji with a slightly surprised look.
“Surprised?”
『I do wonder why she is in this world… but my orders are solely to protect my master, so I will take no action.』
As I introduced Saioji to KAEDE, I had her revert to her original form for a proper introduction.
“…I’m certainly surprised,” Saioji said.
Normally calm and composed, with a perpetual, confident smile, Saioji now wore an expression of genuine shock as she took in KAEDE’s true form—somewhat anime-like in appearance, very different from the common women one would see in the capital.
“I guess they prepared her to ensure my safety both here and on Earth. Because she’s an android, she can pass through the Moon Gate.”
“…So they knew in advance that you would come to this future world?”
Saioji had quickly deduced that the imperial state must possess some kind of special power. Seeing that she understood quickly, I explained the oracle-like ability of the Fuji family priestesses, and how they foresaw my role in the future world.
As I explained the situation, Saioji quietly listened, never interrupting with questions. She simply nodded, deep in thought, while gazing out of the window beside us. The morning sunlight streamed in, bathing Saioji in a warm glow, which made her thoughtful expression seem almost picturesque.
“It’s not that I ever doubted your story, but seeing her in person… it does make things more complicated,” Saioji said.
By “her,” Saioji was referring to KAEDE, who stood waiting patiently, as if uninvolved in the conversation. Seeing the android in person had made Saioji fully realize that her own family was part of a galactic superpower that dominated the stars.