v2c4 - 1

 Chapter 4: The Limited War

The air felt oddly heavy.  

Sensing this, Toru lifted his gaze from his hands.  

“…”  

After revealing their main purpose to Dominica in the dining hall—  

Toru’s group had retrieved various equipment from the Svetlana, parked in front of the mansion and returned to their assigned guest room. “If you want them, defeat me and take them”—having been told they had no choice but to face the dragoon cavalier head on. And against a dragoon cavalier, holding back any means would make victory impossible. They needed to ensure their equipment was in perfect condition and, of course, share all available options before devising a strategy.  

That aside…  

“…!”  

Their eyes met, as if by some unspoken agreement.  

It was Chaika.  

She hurriedly averted her gaze and resumed maintaining her gundo, which she’d disassembled and laid out before her… but her heart wasn’t in it, her mind clearly elsewhere else. Toru didn’t know much about gundo structures, but it looked like she was pointlessly attaching and detaching the same parts repeatedly.  

(…Well, I see nothing surprising.) Toru sighed.  

From Chaika’s perspective… Toru, who she’d entrusted with the final decision, had gone ahead and arranged a duel with Dominica without her consent. It wouldn’t be strange if she felt betrayed. Of course, Toru had done it for her sake—or rather, judging that Chaika wouldn’t be able to make up her mind, he’d deliberately taken on the dirty role. But expecting her to understand that much was probably too much to ask.  

Despite everything, Chaika was still a young girl and moreover, until the Gaz Empire’s fall, she’d been a bona fide princess. Expecting her to read others’ thoughts was unreasonable. Unlike Toru and Akari, saboteurs trained to habitually read and sometimes manipulate others’ thinking to their advantage, she was fundamentally different.  

“Hey, Chaika.”  

“Ii!?”  

Chaika flinched at his voice, her body tensing.  

She raised her face warily, her purple eyes glancing up at Toru. They were the nervous, wary eyes of a wild animal, brimming with caution.  

Which… hurt Toru a bit.  

She didn’t need to be that on guard.  

Of course—playing the dirty role was fine. It was a saboteur’s fate.  

But heading into a duel with misunderstandings unresolved wasn’t ideal.  

Their opponent was a dragoon cavalier aferall. Toru and Akari alone couldn’t win so magical support was absolutely necessary… so, in that sense, deepening mutual understanding—or at least clearing up any grudges—was crucial to avoid trouble. 

 

(…Akari’s a problem in her own way, though.)  

Toru glanced toward the wall.  

She… was lying on the floor like a corpse, facing the wall.  

“…”  

She’d been like this the moment they returned to the room.  

With her back to them, her expression was unreadable, but this was probably her sulking. Despite her usual lack of expression… Akari’s rare actions like this were very transparent, or rather, very childish.  

Toru had no idea what had upset her so much, but he’d need to talk to her properly later, too.  

For now, though…  

“I was wrong to say that stuff on my own.”  

“…?”  

Chaika, for some reason, looked surprised, staring at Toru and blinking.  

“N… no.”  

She shook her head rapidly, her pale face suddenly flushed, as if excited.  

Seeing her so angry—Toru felt a bit weighed down.  

“But it was necessary.”  

“N… necessary?”  

Chaika tensed further, asking back.  

Patiently, in a gentle tone, Toru layered his words carefully.  

“You didn’t want to fight Dominica, right?”  

“…”  

Chaika blinked, her expression suddenly blank, almost comically so.  

“You need to collect the remains, but Dominica’s a good person, so you don’t want to fight her. Stealing and running feels wrong, so you thought about honestly asking her to hand them over. But if she refused, a surprise attack would be off the table, making it harder to collect the remains—that’s what you were thinking, right?”  

Pausing, Toru gauged Chaika’s reaction.  

Chaika—her eyes wide, stood stunned, as if some expectation had been upended. Whatever she’d thought he’d say, Toru couldn’t guess, but her wariness seemed to ease. Judging this, Toru pressed on.  

“I figured if things stayed like this, you’d never reach a decision.”  

“…”  

“It’s normal to hesitate as a human but there’s a chance that knight called Gillette, catches up. We can’t afford to take too long. So, I tried pushing things forward on my own. It’s not that I disregarded your judgment. I hope you understand.”  

“…”  

She didn’t get it.  

Chaika’s expression still seemed confused, her eyes blinking repeatedly.  

But then—  

“…Fu.”  

For some reason, she suddenly relaxed, letting out a sigh.  

Her reaction was somehow off from what Toru had expected.  

“What? Weren’t you mad because I moved things along on my own?”  

Toru asked, frowning.  

“…N-no!”  

Chaika shook her head frantically.  

“Then what’s with you? Why were you looking at me all resentful?”  

“Resent, bitter, no.”  

Shaking her head again, Chaika looked down.  

Her pale cheeks seemed oddly flushed—  

“…I don’t get it...just say it clearly will you?”  

“Anii-sama.”  

A voice from behind suddenly startled Toru, making him flinch this time. It was Akari, who’d been lying in the corner of the room like a corpse, was suddenly standing right behind him.  

“W-What’s up?”  

Toru said his voice quivering, glancing over his shoulder at Akari.  

For some reason, an intense aura, like killing intent seemed to rise from her like heat haze. What’s she so fired up about? Toru thought to himself.  

“I need to confirm something.”  

“Hm? What, about tactics? We’ll get to that—”  

“…No.”  

Akari said, glaring at Toru with narrowed eyes.  

Her gaze wasn’t just piercing—it felt like it was mercilessly digging in, trying to scoop out his insides. It was kind of scary—like it’d even make a grown man cry.

“Then what?”  

“It’s important. Very important…”  

Saying this, Akari leaned in closer.  

Toru instinctively leaned back, overwhelmed by her intensity.  

Staring straight at him, Akari spoke in a grave tone, as if questioning the truth of the universe.  

“Does Anii-sama prefer smaller breasts?”  

“What the hell are you talking about!?”  

Toru spun around, shouting at Akari.  

But his expressionless sister answered boldly, unfazed.  

“No matter what you say, it’s about Anii-sama’s sexual preferences.”  

“Who the hell cares about that!?”  

“It matters.”  

Akari declared firmly.  

Her expression was as blank as ever, but now it was oddly charged with determination. Or rather, her intensity was so overwhelming that even Toru couldn’t help but shrink back.  

“It’s very important.”  

“I… I don’t care about breast size or anything like that.”  

“So, you’re into waists that haven’t quite curved yet, a bit boxy?”  

Akari said, glancing at Chaika.  

“What the hell are we even talking about now?”  

“I told you, Anii-sama’s sexual preferences.”  

“I don’t have some hyper-specific fetish like that!” She didn’t seem likely to drop it without a proper answer, so Toru reluctantly said. “It’s, like, everything in moderation or whatever.”  

“Hmm.”  

Akari crossed her arms, tilting her head.  

She seemed to be thinking seriously…  

“I don’t get it…”  

“I don’t get you.”  

“Then what’s important to Anii-sama?”  

“Look you—” He started to say, then finally realized what Akari was getting at. “Hold on.”  

“Hm. I’ll wait. If it’s about revealing the truth of Anii-sama’s preferences, I can wait until the earth rots away.”  

“That’s would take too long!” Tossing in that retort, Toru scratched his cheek and continued. “So… it’s not like that. That ‘important person’ thing was just a figure of speech.”  

“A figure? Some other woman?”  

“It’s not a woman’s name!”  

Sure, “important person” generally implies a lover in common parlance.  

But of course, Toru’s words meant something else.  

Namely—  

“Well—uh.” Clearing his throat, he glanced at Chaika, who was still looking blank, and said. “Chaika...she gave me a purpose. I was just a washed-up saboteur, my skills going to waste, rotting away. I feel indebted to her for that. That’s all.”  

“Toru…”  

Chaika murmured his name, her expression stunned.  

She probably hadn’t even realized it herself.  

She stared at Toru, visibly surprised.  

And then…  

“Love confession?”  

“Listen to people properly damn it!”  

Toru shouted at Chaika, who tilted her head and asked that out of nowhere.  

Why did the women around him always twist his words? Or was this just how teenage girls were? Back in the Acura village, there’d been other young female saboteurs and apprentices besides Akari… but Akari’s presence had always been so overwhelming that he could barely recall the others.  

“—Anyway.” Calming his breathing, Toru continued. “Our opponent’s a dragoon cavalier. We can’t see the dragoon, but there’s no doubt Dominica can use its power. Even without the dragoon nearby, she’s practically a dragoon herself—if we coordinate perfectly and boost our morale, we probably still can’t win with straightforward methods.”  

“…”  

Chaika swallowed hard at his statement.  

At this point, even she had to get serious. This was already a conversation about a life-or-death battle. Disunity in will or understanding could lead to death. She should know that much.  

“So we need to start strategizing.”  

Lay out every option available. Share every possible idea.  

Even then, choosing the best approach—their odds were probably fifty-fifty.  

“—Toru.” Chaika tilted her head and spoke. “That thing—misunderstanding. Possibility. Consider.”  

“Huh? Misunderstanding?”  

Caught off guard by Chaika’s words, Toru frowned.  

“You saying I’m misunderstanding something?”  

“Dragon. Might be—here.”  

Chaika said, looking around the room.  

“…What’s that mean?”  

“Armored dragon magic, transformation magic, shapeshifting magic.”  

“Yeah, that’s right.”  

Armored dragon magic was body transformation magic but neither Toru nor Akari had ever seen it in action—actually, the first time was when Dominica used it entering the mansion. As for armored dragons themselves, Toru had seen them in drawings but never in the flesh.  

Other dragon species—mostly like oversized lizards, collectively called sub-dragons—existed in several varieties on the Felbist Continent.  

But just as the two-headed dog was clearly distinct from normal dogs or wolves—armored dragoons were entirely different from sub-dragons in their use of magic. Some even called dragoons “true dragons” to distinguish them as the real deal.  

Moreover… with intelligence rivaling humans and the ability to manipulate “tools” like armor, they stood apart even from other Feyra.  

“If…” Chaika raised one finger and said “Size changeable… possible.”  

“Size? You mean dragoon's magic might not just change shape but size too?”  

“…Big case. Small case.”  

Chaika nodded enthusiastically, as if he’d hit the mark.  

“…I see.”  

Toru muttered, almost growling.  

Honestly, he hadn’t thought that far.  

From the terms “dragoon cavalier” and “dragoon,” Toru had unconsciously pictured a dragon big enough to carry one—say, a body twice or so larger than a horse. A senior saboteur who’d seen a dragoon cavalier and dragon on the battlefield had described it as about that size.  

…But on reflection, there was no guarantee a dragon using transformation magic stayed a fixed size. It might even be possible for them to shrink small enough to fit in the palm of a hand if they wanted.  

“Could that be why info on dragoon cavaliers and drafoons… is so scarce?”  

Dragoon cavaliers were like secret weapons for various nations’ armies, with much classified as military secrets—but their frequent use in guerrilla warfare and their reputation for being “elusive” even among allies might stem from the dragon’s ability to change size.  

For example, hiding in the dragoon cavalier’s luggage or pocket until the battlefield, then using magic to return to full size. If so, armored dragons—or rather, dragoon cavaliers—would have incredible mobility and stealth. Being ambushed by such foes would be a nightmare for enemy forces.  

“Hiding somewhere in this mansion?”  

In other words, Toru’s group might even be vulnerable to a surprise attack from Dominica’s armored dragon.  

“That possibility. Other possibilities.” Saying this, Chaika traced a circle with her finger as if pointing to everything around them. “The mansion… itself.”  

“…What?”  

Toru said, puzzled, then—  

“I see.”  

Realizing what she meant, he looked around the room uneasily.  

Yes. That’s exactly right.  

Not just shrinking—it could grow larger too.  

And—transforming shape—how far did that go? Did it keep a basic skeletal structure? Or could it something completely different?  

Toru’s group didn’t know the “limits” of dragon magic.  

Toru had assumed dragoon meant transforming surface skin, but… if size could change, it might not even look “dragon-like” at all.  

“We might be inside the dragoon’s—”  

—Stomach?  

The bed, so comfortable and welcome before, suddenly felt like some grotesque organ, and Toru grimaced.  

And then—  

“Mun!”  

The next instant, Akari suddenly slammed the pointed tip of her iron hammer into the wall.  

With a dokan, the wooden floor dented.  

“Whoaa!?”  

Toru!?”

Toru instinctively reached for his sword, tensing.  

Even Chaika, startled, froze with her hips half-raised.  

“What—what’re you doing!?”  

“Well, if this mansion might be the dragon, I thought damaging its floor or walls might get a reaction.” Akari said, utterly unapologetic. “But it seems I was wrong.”  

“…Don’t just do that again. It’s bad for my heart.”  

Toru said, eyeing the dented floor.  

No blood seeped out, and it looked like plain wooden planks.  

At least… there was no sign of stomach acid flooding in to digest them.  

“Bad for your heart? You mean, Anii-sama, it makes your heart pound?”  

“Well, yeah.”  

“I see. Come to think of it, there was a psychological tactic, the ‘suspension bridge technique.’ If I keep making Anii-sama’s heart pound, I might be able to control his mind.”  

“It’s useless if you say it right in front of me.” Toru retorted.  

As mentioned—saboteurs, being trained in agitation or scheming, learned techniques to manipulate human psychology. Akari’s “suspension bridge technique” referred to using the phenomenon where, on a shaky bridge, fear or excitement accelerates heartbeats, and a man and woman together might mistake that for romantic or sexual attraction.  

The effect was reportedly short-lived, but creating a “fait accompli” during it could bind the target. Essentially, it was a method taught for “seducing” someone, when creating informants in enemy ranks, as part of manipulation tactics.  

“I thought it was just for making enemy informants. A blind spot. To seduce the enemy, start with allies.”  

“Nobody says that.”  

“I’ll make it my mission to catch Anii-sama off guard in the night and morning.”  

“I’ll die of a heart attack!”  

Toru shouted, punching the wall.  

The sensation through his fist—was just that of wooden planks and wallpaper.