Chapter 44: The Results of Training

“…Good morning.”

“…Good morning.”

By the time I woke up, Lirisha, who had already prepared for school, quickly left the room.

Hmm, kinda awkward…

Since then, Lirisha and I haven’t talked much. I angered her with my careless remark.

Maybe it would be better to apologize, but I feel like even if I apologize, she’d just brush it off with “About what?”…

As Carrol said, the anger directed at me was close to taking it out on me, so I think even if I apologize, she’d feel awkward too.

Therefore, I’ve been trying not to touch on the subject, but as a result, we’ve become distant like this. Well, it’s not like we were that close to begin with, though.

But being in this state with a roommate all the time is just so hard to deal with… It was actually easier when we were exchanging insults.

Wondering what to do, I decided to go to the cafeteria to eat breakfast.

I don’t have much of an appetite today, so maybe I’ll just have udon…

“Nero, g’morning~.”

“Good morning, Nero.”

“Ah, good morning. Sherry, Carrol.”

Just as I pressed the button for Kake Udon on the ticket machine, Sherry and Carrol called out to me.

The three of us went together and sat at a table seat near the corner.

“Did you manage to make up with Lirisha?”

“No, it’s not like we’re fighting or anything…”

So there’s no making up or anything.

Saying there was nothing to talk about, I just slurped my udon zuru-zuru. Delicious.

The two of them didn’t ask any further.

Sherry spoke to Carrol next to her while biting into her ham toast.

“Come to think of it, when are the members for the ‘Inter-School Match’ decided?”

“One month before the ‘Inter-School Match’. That’s two weeks from now. Even if there are changes in the ranking after that, unless it’s due to injury or illness, the talk is that there won’t be any changes.”

So if we are confirmed as regulars in two weeks, we’re safe as long as we don’t get injured or sick, huh.

“What rank is Nero right now?”

“Technically fifth in the grade ranking.”

“Then you probably won’t drop out~. Carrol is ninth, right?”

“Yeah. I want to avoid becoming a reserve, so I’d like to move up one or two spots.”

The regulars for the ‘Inter-School Match’ are the top nine in the grade. And with three reserves, a total of twelve first-years will challenge it.

Carrol is ninth so she’s barely a regular member, but nobody knows what will happen in these two weeks. She can’t let her guard down. Well, that applies to me too, though.

“I might be in a bit of danger… I might have to bet big.”

Sherry’s grade ranking is twentieth. Moving up to twelfth in two weeks from there might be quite difficult…

“Sniper-type Frame Gears are slow starters, so they are inevitably at a disadvantage in their first year. The equipment isn’t complete, and adjusting the machine isn’t easy. That’s why they say first-year teams for the ‘Inter-School Match’ inevitably tend to have many Ritter, Titan, and Lightning types. Well, I chose it knowing that, so I can’t complain.”

“Huh? I feel like I remember seeing a Custom type first-year a few years ago…”

“There was~. But that was a machine formed by the Frame Gears of three students combining, right? One machine got taken out first so they couldn’t combine, and the remaining two were easily defeated too, right? Taking up three precious regular slots for that is just no~.”

Sherry was laughing kara-kara, but hey, is that okay? Isn’t that student still enrolled…?

I don’t know if they’re in the Black Tortoise Dormitory, and since we’re in a corner seat I don’t think they can hear, but still.

That Custom Frame machine apparently only became a powerful Frame Gear when the three machines combined.

Separated, they were normal, or perhaps even weaker machines, I hear.

“Amazing they got into the ‘Inter-School Match’ regulars with that.”

“You know, there are team battles in [Star Duels], right? Apparently they climbed the ranks using that.”

Sherry answered my question. Ah, team battles, huh.

[Star Duels] have several special formats, and if both parties agree and apply in advance, they can be held as official matches.

Team battle is one of them, a [Star Duel] where stars are contested through multiple vs. multiple combat.

If it’s a Custom Frame that fights by combining, that would certainly be advantageous.

“Don’t tell me there’s a student with a combining machine among the first-years likely to be chosen for this year’s ‘Inter-School Match’…?”

“Ah~, doesn’t seem like there are any right now. There seem to be students with Custom Frames, though.”

There are Custom Frames, huh. If it’s too special, I feel like coordination would be impossible…

“…What rank was Lirisha again?”

“Hmm~? I think she was around sixteenth the last time I asked.”

Four people above her to slip into the reserves, huh… She might barely make it if she bets big…

“From here on, everyone will go for big gambles aiming for the ‘Inter-School Match’ regulars. Win and it’s heaven, lose and it’s hell. I think many kids will take huge gambles.”

Huge gambles. In other words, guys aiming for a one-shot reversal by betting a large amount of their stars will appear.

If they win, they’ll make a huge leap, but if they lose, there’s no chance of becoming a regular.

I’m technically in the middle of the regulars at fifth place, but I can’t let my guard down. I might have to bet more stars on matches I feel I can win.

◇　◇　◇

“That’s it. Winner, Nero Silhoueska!”

Alright!

Having won a random Armed Gear match, I made a small guts pose in my heart.

It’s just one betting star so there’s no change in ranking, but a win is a win.

In random matches, you can’t take countermeasures since you don’t know who you’ll face, but the ranking doesn’t fluctuate that much whether you win or lose.

If I want to bet big, I’d have to do a nominated match, but…

Fortunately, even now, duel emails come to me almost every day. The standard tactic would probably be to choose an opponent with a high win rate from among these and duel them…

“The right to challenge is mine, right?”

As expected, I should be the one to challenge the grade ranking number one here. To borrow Master’s words, “Fear not, if you fear, there is no path.” Don’t hesitate, just go, if you go, you’ll understand!

I sent a duel request addressed to the grade number one, Pearl Frennel.

I debated whether to do an Armed Gear match or a Frame Gear match, but decided on a Frame Gear match.

The opponent is known as Frennel of the ‘Shield’. She’s bound to use a shield in Armed Gear too.

If that happens, I’d have to use ‘Battle Spirit Method’ to launch an attack that pierces the shield. If I mess up, there’s a high chance my Armed Gear will be wrecked even if I win…

If it’s a Frame Gear, even if it breaks, it’s in virtual space, so it won’t result in debt… There’s a penalty of usage restriction until it’s fixed, though…

Surprisingly, a reply came immediately, and the duel date was easily decided. Just past noon three days from now, huh.

Honestly, since she’s grade number one, I thought she might take the safe route and not accept challenges from students provisionally in the regulars.

It seems she intends to sprint at the top without letting her guard down either.

I’ll be stopping that solo run, you hear? I will definitely stop it.

With such determination in my heart, on the way back to the dorm, I saw Lirisha at the training ground again.

Come to think of it, she’s been coming back to the room late recently… Is she training right up until the time limit? She looks a bit overworked, but is she okay…?

She looks like quite a lot of fatigue has accumulated, but…

Well, I doubt she wants advice from me. She probably has some idea in mind and is doing necessary training.

My piano training would probably make others think, ‘What are you doing?’ too…

Even if I say, “This is traditional training that even the First Sovereign King did…!”, I feel like they wouldn’t believe me…

I myself am still doubting it a bit… Is it really effective…

That’s what I thought, but.

『Yup, pass~. You’ve become able to move them properly compared to before~.』

“Thank you very much…”

Having Sharon-senpai accompany me, when I tried training [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’ using the Frame Unit for the first time in a while, unlike before, I had become able to handle two [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’ even while moving the machine.

I am surprised by this myself.

How should I put it, is it that my head and body can make separate movements? I can move the machine while moving the [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’ easier than before.

I was able to control them simultaneously, moving the [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’ here while moving the machine. I wonder what it is, it feels like I grew two more arms.

『Then shall we try with three next~? Or should we focus on increasing precision control~?』

While I was making merry about being able to manipulate [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’ freely, Sharon-senpai pressed me to choose the next special training menu. Is she a demon?

Increase the number, or increase precision…

Honestly, even if two became three, I don’t feel like it would become that much more practical.

Rather than that, wouldn’t it be better to become able to accurately slam those two into weak points?

“…The one that increases control.”

『Understood~. Then I’ll specially lend you my training program~.』

Just as I heard Sharon-senpai’s voice from the cockpit speaker, several Cavalry units and several balloons with targets on them appeared on the field.

The balloons are drifting fluffily in the air, moving freely.

Eh, what is this?

『Pierce all the balloons with the [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’ while defeating the enemies~. Okay, ready, start!』

“Eh?”

At the abruptly started training, while bewildered, I did as told, defeating the Cavalry units while piercing the balloons with the [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’.

This is surprisingly difficult. The balloons sway with even a little wind, so I can’t pierce the center well.

Certainly, this requires accurate control…

As a result, I somehow managed to defeat all the Cavalry units and balloons, but it took an incredibly long time.

『At the end, it just became normal balloon popping after you defeated all the Cavalry units~. That’s meaningless, you know~?』

“As you say…”

This training is training to defeat them simultaneously with the machine and the [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’. Popping balloons with the [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’ after defeating the Cavalry units is completely meaningless.

『Want to try again?』

“Please!”

I have to somehow master the [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’ by the time I clash with the grade number one.

I’ll do it!