Non-Administrated World #97, Star Rail Universe…
The atmosphere around a certain table in Uminari City's shopping district had become painfully tense.
The festival continued around them. Families laughed, shopkeepers called out their specials, and the warm smell of autumn food drifted through the street. Yet none of it could soften the heavy pressure gathering around the five young teenagers seated at the table.
On one side sat Alisa Bannings, curious yet alert, and Noah Schweinorg, who was sweating coldly as his friends stared at him from across the table.
Opposite them, Olga Marie Animusphere stared dangerously at the almost nonexistent gap between Noah and Alisa. Gray, meanwhile, looked like a lost girl who could not believe what she was seeing.
And finally, Reines El-Melloi Archisorte wore the exact smile of a Cheshire cat, enjoying every reaction around her with shameless delight.
Noah slowly blinked.
"…Marie? Are you okay?" he asked carefully.
Olga slowly turned her head toward him. A small, polite smile appeared on her face.
"Noah," she said. "You seem busy."
Noah did not know why, but Olga's tone made him feel like he had been caught doing something wrong.
Ruby gasped softly. "The first shuraba instance is here!!!!!!!!!"
Argent's screen flashed one sentence. "First of possibly many romantic collisions. Saving for future reference."
Olga and Alisa immediately glared at the two troublesome Mystic Codes.
Somehow, the combined force of their glares made Ruby and Argent fear for their magical lives. The two floated down onto the table and sat there like well-behaved children awaiting judgment.
Alisa looked from Noah to Olga, then to Reines, and finally to Gray. Her eyes narrowed before returning to Noah beside her.
"Noah, who are these girls, and what is your relationship with them?"
At that moment, every survival instinct in Noah's body woke up at once. It felt less like he was sitting at a festival table and more like he had been dropped into the middle of a battlefield without armor.
"Dear Noah," Reines said with visible delight, "care to introduce us to your new girl?"
"Dear?" Alisa frowned at Reines.
"New… girl…" Gray looked like her soul was about to ascend.
Then Olga's mana lightly fluctuated.
Noah shuddered. He did not know why, but the four girls' reactions made him fear for his life.
"E-ev-everyone, l-let's please all calm down." He slowly raised both hands, trying to defuse the situation.
Alisa narrowed her eyes at him. Olga's smile became a little colder. Gray looked at him with trembling eyes. Reines leaned forward and rested her chin on one hand, looking as if she had purchased a front-row seat to the best entertainment in Uminari.
"My, my. Poor Noah. Surrounded on all sides."
Noah looked at her helplessly. "Reines, stop adding fuel to the fire."
"Ara? But I'm only stating the truth."
"That is exactly the problem."
Noah closed his eyes, already feeling completely exhausted.
Alisa's eyes sharpened. "So? Introductions?"
Noah did his best not to shiver at her cold voice. He opened his eyes, forced a careful smile, and began introducing them to one another.
"This is Olga Marie Animusphere. She's my childhood friend."
Alisa's expression changed.
"Childhood friend?"
Olga straightened slightly, as if the title had given her proper legal authority over the conversation.
"That's right."
Ruby twitched on the table but wisely remained silent. Even Argent did not move an inch, likely choosing survival over commentary.
Noah continued quickly before anyone could weaponize the word childhood friend.
"This is Reines El-Melloi Archisorte."
"A dear friend of Noah's." Reines smiled beautifully. "…For now."
"Reines."
"What? It is true."
Noah pinched the bridge of his nose. "And this is Gray."
Gray immediately bowed her head. "I-it is nice to meet you."
Alisa looked at Gray's nervous posture, and her demeanor softened just a little.
"…Nice to meet you too."
Seeing Alisa's gentler reaction, Noah thought things might finally go smoother.
That hope lasted less than three seconds.
"And this is Alisa Bannings," he said. "After the Rin-Luvia Liability incident, Ruby formed a contract with her. So she is now Ruby's master."
"I don't think that is all, though." Reines' smile became far too bright. "After all, how could a mere master of Ruby sit beside you close enough to share your breathing space?"
Noah looked betrayed.
Alisa blushed and looked away, but she did not stop paying attention. If anything, she looked like she was waiting for his answer to Reines' question.
What Olga, Gray, and Reines focused on, however, was something else.
Despite Reines teasing her about it, Alisa still did not move away from Noah. Rather, she gave off the unmistakable presence of someone who believed the place beside him was rightfully hers.
Noah cleared his throat.
"Well… she is my friend."
"…Friend?" Alisa looked at him.
Noah immediately realized his answer was also dangerous.
"…A very important friend?" he tried to correct himself.
Somehow, Noah's heart hurt a little when he saw the hint of disappointment behind Alisa's flat expression. He opened his mouth again, trying to say something more, but Reines beat him to it.
"Ara? Aren't we also your important friends?" she asked with a sharp smile. "And yet, I don't believe any of us have ever had the chance to sit that close to you before. Or was it just me?"
She glanced at Olga beside her. "How about you, Marie? Have you had that chance before?"
"…No," Olga answered.
Reines' smile widened before she looked at Gray. "And you, Gray?"
Gray lowered her head and fidgeted slightly. "…I haven't either."
Reines nodded and crossed her arms. "My, my. So even those who have known you longer have never sat beside you like that."
"Reines…" Noah frowned as he looked at her. "Just what are you trying to do?"
"Well, it simply made me realize something." Reines tilted her head. "Perhaps there is a certain favoritism here. Or perhaps…"
Her smile stayed playful, but her voice thinned just a little.
"We are not as important as Miss Alisa beside you."
Olga narrowed her eyes, and Gray looked at Reines in surprise. Even Alisa could not help but frown. Her words carried the same teasing tone as always, almost casual on the surface, but the three girls clearly heard the faint jealousy hiding underneath.
"Alright, stop that train of thought," Noah said, unusually serious. "I don't know why you thought that, but whether it's you, Reines, Marie, Gray, or Alisa, all of you are truly important to me."
He looked at each one of them.
"Each of you has become a part of my life that I would never exchange for anything."
The old woman's words suddenly came back to him.
'Since feelings won't wait for time, I'll say it honestly this time and let what I feel reach them.'
Noah looked at Olga first.
"Marie… you have been with me since we were children. You know parts of me that I don't even know how to explain to others." His expression softened. "Whenever I try to run too far ahead, you pull me back. Whenever I pretend I'm fine, you look at me like you already knew I was lying from the start."
"Y-you…" Olga's eyes widened.
"You are strict," Noah continued. "Proud, difficult, and sometimes really scary when you're angry."
Olga's eyebrow twitched.
"But you care more than you let anyone see. You always have. That is why I trust you."
Olga's face turned red so quickly that she could not keep her proud expression in place.
"N-Noah, that is… You cannot just say something like that so suddenly…"
Noah smiled gently.
"I'm glad you're my childhood friend, Marie."
Olga looked away, raising her pastry bag as if it were the last shield protecting her dignity.
"…Idiot," she muttered, but there was no bite behind it.
Then Noah turned to Reines.
Reines, who had been smiling so smugly a moment ago, suddenly felt danger.
"Reines, you are always teasing me."
"My, how cruel. That is your opening?"
"But you also notice things other people miss," Noah said.
Reines' smile twitched.
"You act like you're only playing around, but you always watch the room. You notice when someone is uncomfortable, when someone is lying, when someone needs a push, and when someone needs a way out."
Her expression slowly changed.
For once, it felt like she was the one caught in the act.
"You make me panic more often than I would like," Noah admitted. "But you also make lonely times feel less suffocating. When you laugh, even troublesome situations feel a little easier to face."
Reines' lips parted slightly, then closed again; she couldn't come up with a comeback.
"So yes, you are important to me too," Noah said with warmth.
Reines slowly covered her mouth with one hand.
"My…" she whispered, but the word came out weaker than usual. "That was rather unfair, Noah."
"Unfair?" Noah blinked.
"Very unfair." Reines looked away, a faint red spreading across her cheeks. "You are not supposed to counterattack with sincerity."
Ruby trembled on the table, while Argent visibly tried to hold himself back from announcing something stupid like, "Master's confession made Miss Reines stop teasing!"
Without paying attention to the silent Mystic Codes, Noah turned to Gray next.
"E-ehh… m-me as well?" Gray nearly jumped in her seat.
"Yes."
Gray's hands tightened together over her lap.
Noah's voice softened even more.
"Gray, you are gentle in a way that makes people feel safe. You always worry about everyone else, even when you are the one who should be protected."
Gray's eyes trembled.
"You have courage within you. Not the kind that demands attention, but the kind that stays beside someone even when you're scared."
Gray lowered her head, but her ears had already gone red beneath her hood.
"I… I am not that…"
"You are," Noah said firmly. "You helped me more than you realize. Whenever I see you trying your best, I feel like I should try harder too."
Gray's face turned very red, and it looked like steam might rise from under her hood at any second.
"I-I-I…" Her voice broke into tiny pieces. "Thank… you…"
She lowered her face so far that only the tip of her nose was visible.
Reines, still blushing, whispered, "Gray has been defeated."
Finally, Noah turned to Alisa.
Alisa stiffened. She had been watching him the whole time, her face red and her eyes shining with something she could no longer hide.
"Alisa." Noah looked at her with the same sincerity that had ruined everyone else.
"W-what?" she said, trying to sound sharp and failing completely.
"You are someone I met only recently," Noah said. "But somehow, it feels like you've already become someone I naturally look for."
Alisa's eyes widened.
"You're stubborn. Loud when embarrassed. Reckless when someone needs help. You complain, but you keep standing up. Even when you're scared, you still move forward."
Her fingers tightened around the silver moon charm.
Noah's gaze softened.
"When you asked me to train you, I was worried. I still am. But I also felt proud. Because you didn't ask for power to show off. You asked because you didn't want to stand aside while the people you care about got hurt."
"Noah…"
He smiled.
"You make me want to be honest, even when I don't completely understand what I'm feeling yet."
Alisa's face turned crimson. Noah's own cheeks were red now, but he still did not look away.
"And when I'm with you, I feel like the days ahead are something I can look forward to."
Alisa stopped breathing.
Ruby raised both of her wings. On Argent's screen, a warning sign flashed.
Noah looked around at the four girls.
Olga was red-faced and silent, peeking from behind her pastry bag.
Reines had lost the ability to tease and simply held one hand against her warm cheek.
Gray was practically hiding inside her hood.
Alisa stared at him like her heart had just taken a direct hit.
"I'm truly glad I met you four." Noah placed one hand over his chest and spoke with a gentle smile.
What came next was silence.
Absolute silence.
The festival continued around them, but their table felt as if it had been removed from the world by pure emotional impact.
Olga's mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Reines' hand remained over her lips, her eyes wide and cheeks bright.
Gray made a small noise that might have been a word if her soul had not temporarily evacuated.
Alisa looked away, then back at Noah, then down at the charm in her hand, then back at Noah again. Her face was so red it looked painful.
Ruby suddenly collapsed backward on the table.
"Kuh…!"
Argent instantly floated beside her. "Ruby!"
"I can't… brother…"
"Ruby, stay with me!"
"It's too sweet… Young Master unleashed a mass confession…"
"Ruby!"
"I see flowers… I see wedding bells… I see multiple routes exploding at once…"
"Ruby, no!"
Ruby lifted one trembling wing toward Noah.
"Young Master… please… warn us before using wide-area romantic bombardment…"
"Ruby, stay strong!!!!"
Ruby's voice weakened even further. "Brother… tell Sapphire-chan I couldn't hold on until her candidate arrived to meet the Young Master…"
"Ruby, don't do this! We are already this close to Sapphire-chan's master's debut! It will be an even greater ROM-COM scene!!"
"G-gaahh…! A-an e-even greater rom-com t-than t-this…?!" Ruby gasped dramatically.
But the Mystic Codes did not notice their own slip.
The five teens beside them did.
"Sapphire's master?"
"Candidate?"
"Debut?"
"This close?"
"Rom-com?"
Ruby and Argent suddenly stopped moving.
Five pairs of eyes turned toward them, each one shining with a dangerous light.
"Nee, Ruby," Alisa said with a beautiful smile. It was the kind of smile that could make anyone who saw it feel weak in the knees. "Can you tell us more about this?"
"That's right, Argent," Noah added with his own smile. "I… no, we would like to hear more about this."
"Fufufu, I'm also veeerrry interested," Reines said, her smile bright enough to look poisonous.
"Ruby, Argent," Gray said gently. "Let's be honest, alright?"
Her voice was as soft as ever, but somehow, to the two Mystic Codes, it was scarier than anything else.
"Eeeiii!"
Ruby wrapped her wings around Argent's frame.
Argent's screen flashed a warning. "Ruby, Master and Master's missus are about to end us."
Olga pointed her finger at the Mystic Codes as prana gathered at the tip.
"Start talking."
—-------
Somewhere in Uminari City, inside the mirror dimension, a blue light flashed across an empty street.
A pale blue kaleidoscopic magic circle appeared, spreading across the pavement like moonlight reflected on glass. In the middle of that silent street stood a girl with long dark hair and gentle eyes.
Suzuka Tsukimura looked up.
Above her, cracks continued to spread across the sky.
"Sapphire." Her eyes narrowed.
"Yes, Master," Kaleidostick Sapphire replied, floating beside her with composed elegance. "Dimensional distortion detected ahead. Tear stability is decreasing. Estimated breach time: forty-eight seconds."
"Then we close it before that." Suzuka raised one hand. "Let's go, Sapphire!"
"Yes, Suzuka-sama," Sapphire said as blue light covered Suzuka. "Kaleido Sapphire transformation sequence starts."
Blue light unfolded around Suzuka like ribbons of moonlit glass.
Her clothes dissolved into particles of pale sapphire, then reformed into a white-and-blue dress with layered frills and a short cape that swayed behind her. Lines of light traced across her gloves and boots as a crescent-shaped ornament appeared near her chest.
Sapphire floated into her hand, her blue gem shining softly.
The transformation ended without thunder or fireworks.
Only a soft chime remained.
Suzuka opened her eyes.
"Kaleido Sapphire, ready."
The light faded, leaving Suzuka standing in her magical girl outfit.
"Sapphire," Suzuka said. Her voice remained soft and gentle, even in this situation, but there was steel in her expression.
A sharp lance-like limb pierced through the crack in the sky.
Suzuka had already stepped forward.
She pointed Sapphire at it.
[Lucky Shooter!]
An ice-blue beam shot from Sapphire's tip and flew straight toward the Quantum Shadow, trying to crawl out of the tear.
The attack struck the monster directly.
Its body thrashed violently as the full force of Suzuka's magic pinned it against the broken edge of space.
"Sorry," Suzuka muttered, then raised her output even higher.
"Suzuka-sama, your output has reached a dangerous level. Please do not overexert yourself."
"Sorry, Sapphire. But just this once…" Suzuka tightened her grip. "We can't let that monster come out of the tear!"
The light around Sapphire intensified.
Suzuka pushed herself further, pouring more magic into the beam until the street beneath her feet trembled.
"Suzuka-sama!" Sapphire's voice sharpened with alarm. "Please stop. You will break yourself at this rate!"
But Suzuka did not stop.
Not until cracks spread across the Quantum Shadow's body.
Not until the creature finally burst apart into fragments of quantum particles, scattering across the silent street before dissolving completely.
Sapphire's blue gem eyes glowed as if to show her relief.
"Target neutralized. Dimensional tear remains unstable."
Suzuka nodded and turned her attention back to the crack.
"This one is worse than yesterday."
"Yes. The number of tears has increased compared to the previous days. Their expansion pattern suggests external pressure being applied against the boundary."
"So someone is forcing them open." Suzuka's expression became grave.
"That is the most likely conclusion."
Suzuka looked up at the broken line in the sky.
Her mind went to her friends.
Alisa, Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate.
Then to her family, and to the ordinary people living in their city. They were likely enjoying a normal day right now, unaware of how thin the walls around that normal day had become.
Suzuka bit her lip, guilt tightening in her chest.
She had not told them yet.
She did not want to drag them into danger if she could still handle it herself.
That thought sounded noble.
But it also sounded terribly lonely.
Sapphire seemed to notice the change in her silence.
"Master, you are thinking about your friends."
Suzuka glanced at her and smiled helplessly.
"You notice too much, Sapphire."
"I am designed to support you."
Suzuka lowered her eyes as her smile turned a little lonely.
"I just wanted to make sure it was safe first. Alisa-chan gets angry when she's worried. Nanoha-chan would blame herself. Fate-chan would silently take too much responsibility. Hayate-chan would smile and then work until she collapsed."
Sapphire tilted slightly. "But what about you, Suzuka-sama?"
Suzuka did not answer right away.
Instead, she raised Sapphire toward the crack and began repairing the tear with careful, gentle streams of blue light.
"…I suppose I am doing the same thing," she admitted softly.
"Suzuka-sama…"
Before long, the tear finally sealed with a soft sound, like glass settling back into place.
Peace returned to the mirror copy of the city where she was born.
Suzuka lowered her hands. Her shoulders dropped as fatigue finally caught up with her. Sapphire immediately moved closer.
"Master, your stamina has fallen too low. You need to rest."
Suzuka gave a small laugh. "Looks like I really overdid it this time."
She leaned lightly against a nearby wall and took a deep breath. The mirror dimension reflected her figure faintly in the windows beside her.
A magical girl in blue.
Her cheeks warmed slightly as embarrassment caught up with her current appearance.
Then she suddenly lifted her head.
A strange feeling brushed against the back of her mind. It was a faint pull, like someone, somewhere nearby, had spoken about her without saying her name.
Suzuka turned toward the direction of the shopping street.
"Suzuka-sama?" Sapphire tilted herself.
"Ah… sorry, it was nothing." Suzuka smiled and scratched her red cheek. "It felt like someone was talking about me."
"I see…?" Sapphire then turned in the direction Suzuka was looking.
Shen then felt something familiar.
"Master."
"Yes?"
"I have detected a familiar signature near the shopping street."
"Familiar?" Suzuka blinked.
"It resembles the Young Master's magical signature."
"The one you told me about?" Suzuka's expression changed.
"Yes," Sapphire replied. "The person I told you would become your partner in all sorts of ways."
Suzuka's cheeks became even redder. For a moment, she looked less like a magical girl who had just sealed a dimensional tear and more like a maiden hearing the first line of a fairy tale.
When she first formed her contract with Sapphire, the Kaleidostick had explained several strange clauses that had required Suzuka to drink three cups of tea afterward.
One of those clauses involved a certain Young Master who would become her partner. Not only in her magical life, but also in her normal life.
To Suzuka, it had sounded strangely like a fairy tale where a princess would one day meet her knightly prince.
So hearing that he might be close made her chest tighten with a strange anticipation.
"You mean… he might be nearby?"
"Probability is high."
Suzuka looked at Sapphire, then back toward the shopping district.
"…Do you think it's fine to meet him now?" she asked, her voice softer than usual.
"Hmm. I believe it is fine," Sapphire answered. "Young Master Noah would surely be delighted to meet a charming young lady such as you, Suzuka-sama."
Suzuka's cheeks became even redder.
A shy, excited smile appeared on her lips.
But just as she was about to agree to head toward the shopping district, her phone suddenly rang. When she looked at the screen, she found a message from her mother asking where she was and telling her to come home soon.
Suzuka let out a disappointed sigh and lightly pouted at her mother's timing.
"…Geez. I guess I can't meet you yet," she said softly. "But next time, I'm sure we will meet properly."
With that small promise in her heart, Suzuka and Sapphire exited the mirror dimension and walked in the opposite direction from the shopping district.
'So until then… my destined partner, please wait for me.'
====== Chapter 215 END ======