Kasou Ryouiki no Elysion
Chapter 2 : Chapter 1 - Moving In, School, and The Cyber World Part 1 A remote city that has signifi

Chapter 1 - Moving In, School, and The Cyber World Part 1

A remote city that has significantly developed in the few recent decade.

The most important factor that allowed it to develop would be the presence of the 《Kiritou Group》 a conglomerate that has its headquarters in this land.

It came down to the point where the city's management was no longer done by the government, instead it was done by Kiritou now which resulted in the city benefiting greatly.

From establis.h.i.+ng new schools, the most advanced Elysion that its foundation, and second life of many people. It seemed like Kiritou cast their shadow on all of it.

Because of all that, it was now called: New City.

And now, in a town like that, a boy starts his new life——

"Hey you, what do you have wrapped on your back there?"

"Ah, this is just a bamboo sword okay? It's nothing dangerous alright?"

He was caught by the police in front of the station.

Stations were common routes for bringing in dangerous materials, so a police box's window was installed where the traffic was greatest.

It was right before noon, a policeman watching the ticket gate happened to find a boy. Although he was normally dressed, he had a slender, one meter long wrapping strapped on his back——in modern times it was obvious to be wary of unknown things like that.

"A bamboo sword? Even though it's this heavy?"

"Yeah〜...look, it's this heavy because the core is made out of metal! It has a pretty good feel because of that!"

"Well, for the time being, why don't you show it to me?"

".................."

".................."

"...farewell!"

"Hey brat! Don't run away!"

But even though he said that, he couldn't catch the boy.

The boy couldn't pull out a blade that was a perfectly dangerous weapon. It was already a miracle that he arrived there without getting caught.

The boy, who rushed through the crowd with large steps was——Tenryo Taiga.

While carrying a nodachi that weighted a few kilograms, he ran like the wind, shaking off the police officers that followed him in the blink of an eye.

After leaving the crowd he continued to run for a while until he made some distance, and finally took a breather.

"Haa〜, to think I was suddenly spotted. This thing stands out after all, I didn't notice it before because at Renjou's it was normal to carry these."

In fact this boy, was probably lacking common sense.

"Well, I'll just break through with force if I have to. After all, it's just police."

Correction, even if it wasn't just police, he would still do it.

Although he remembered the directions from the station, if he went back now he would meet those policemen again. Thus he judged that the best way to proceed would be by operating the device attached to his wrist——and he started the window.

On the map of the New City, his position was displayed as a red dot. Taiga looked at the illusory map visible only to him, and memorized the geography of the area.

"U〜mm, the destination is... here."

There was a blue marker on the map located about five minutes by foot away from his position. And written on top of the marker was 『Little sister is here』 with a very lousy handwriting. Taiga slowly started to walk in that direction.

As expected of New City, every building was modern and clean.

Taiga who lived in seclusion before looked around curiously sightseeing like a country hick.

He walked like that and finally his destination came into view (it took him twice as long because of sightseeing).

"It was the top floor wasn't it..."

It was a mansion that stood in the corner of the area with expensive homes, also it was within the walking distance from the station. There were only two apartments on each floor, and each was cla.s.sified as a luxurious apartment. It was clearly different from all other buildings surrounding it.

"...uwaa〜 that Fuyuki, she really splurged on this. Will our funds hold out?"

Even though Taiga earned a decent amount of money while doing various requests at Renjou's, it would still be hard to buy an apartment in this mansion.

He walked past by the perfectly clean reception desk, and entered the elevator aiming for the top floor.

*ding*——The arrival at the highest floor was announced with a light electronic sound, after which the door opened.

"Beep—beep—. Warning. The owner of this apartment is currently moving in. People unrelated to moving in are asked to leave."

"People related are to finish their work and leave quickly as well."

"Requesting brain wave authentication."

"Yes yes... there you go."

He saw an automatically-controlled machine approach him the moment he set a foot on the floor, a 《Drone》——the small flying machine——was a terminal the brain waves confirmation was supposed to be sent to.

The vein authentication, fingerprint authentication... there were many methods of authentication, and now the mainstream was brainwave authentication. It was possible to identify individuals by the information measured with the terminal.

"Authentication complete. Confirmed to be the current resident Tenryo Taiga. Please come in."

After saying that, the egg-like robot went back to work as if nothing happened.

There was a lot of luggage piled up nearly reaching the ceiling in the hallway, it seemed like the moving in work just started. A dozen of drones were taking them into the apartment one after another.

Honestly speaking, they looked creepy, like some kind of insects.

"Technically speaking, drones were always my enemies..."

Though, the military drones armed with blasters weren't as fancy as these. He destroyed thousands of small, medium, and large sized ones. Truth be told, he almost reflexively cut down the security drones deployed around the city before.

Even though he got used to them being deployed in the city now, the old habits don't die easily.

While avoiding the white eggs moving to and from, he entered the apartment through the wide-opened door. There was only one apartment on the top floor. The other part of the floor was taken by a garden.

Because of that, the cost of the top floor was accordingly higher.

"As expected of Fuyuki. She chose a good place."

Both Fuyuki and Taiga came from different fields, but both of them were taken in by prestigious families. After taking a hurried look around, he was quite pleased with the apartment.

He looked at the floor plan on the terminal. There was a living room, bathroom, a dining room combined with kitchen, a toilet, and four rooms in addition to a dressing room and a washroom. Two rooms would be left over even after they moved in.

Well, one could be used as a storage room.

There was a large amount of luggage piled up in the hallway. Since Taiga didn't have much personal belongings, about 70% of the luggage was Fuyuki's. He didn't think that much luggage would fit in her room.

"—————, ———, —————"

Suddenly, he heard a voice.

Even among the racket made by the moving in work, his attention was clearly attracted to the cool voice. Taiga put a hand on the doork.n.o.b of the room he heard the voice from.

*clank*——He turned the doork.n.o.b slowly, opening the door.

"Ah..."

There was a girl who bathed herself in the daylight that entered through the window.

Her black hair s.h.i.+ned brilliantly in the sunlight contrasting with her snow white skin. The eyes of the girl who turned around had the colour of a never-ending sky.

"——I'm back. It's been a while, Fuyuki."

"Yes. It's been eight years, Brother. Little Sister was eagerly waiting for this moment."

Greeted with a blooming smile, the siblings were reunited.


Apparently she was speaking with someone. She closed the terminal's window and faced towards him.

"You're quite late. No wonder the police was suspicious of you when you're dressed like that."

"Wait a moment, why do you know that meine Schwester?!"

"Little Sister has been observing Brother ever since he left Renjou's by hacking into the monitoring devices everywhere."

"Could you stop coming up with crimes so easily?!"

"Hmph, such hurtful words. Little Sister was just worried about her brother who doesn't know the outside world."

She pouted slightly in a way that miraculously blended childishness and adult charm, Taiga's heart skipped a beat taken by surprise.

Even though they were a twin brother and sister, they didn't speak face to face for eight years (except for remote communication). The gap between the image of her as a child and the current one was too big, if he wasn't careful he could see her as someone of the opposite s.e.x.

That's how beautiful Fuyuki has become.

"What is it, brother? Did Little Sister do anything wrong?"

"Ah, no... it might be a little late, but you really grew up."

"That's Little Sister's line. Even though you were tall in the past, brother has really grown too much."

"No, it's just you not growin——"

"——Suddenly, Little Sister was bullied. Brother, sit down in seiza over there right now!"

"Eh? Suddenly wha—"

"Sit down."

"...yes."

He succ.u.mbed to the black pressure that emanated from her small body.

A mere minute after he reunited with his little sister, a ridiculous situation where the brother was ordered to sit in seiza happened, it could be said that his honour gave him no choice but to do it.

He reaped what he sowed.

"Listen brother. This little sister certainly is shorter than average, but she's just fifteen years old, there's still more room for growth."

"Yeah, that's certainly possible."

The possibility wasn't 0%. Still, it was just a dream.

"In the first place, if the twin brother has grown that tall, it's possible that the little sister will also grow taller. One year, just one year in a growth period is enough to——"

"No, the growth of men and women differs right? In the first place, I'm not that tall, just a little taller than average?"

"....... *rub rub*'

"Ouch, it hurts! Don't scratch me with your toes!"

"An attack of Little Sister who is so small. is like a mosquito bite isn't it."

She was quite angry. But suddenly her expression got unexpectedly gentle.

Taiga was puzzled by her sudden change of mood. His little sister was definitely angry just now.

"What is it?"

"Nothing... even though we reunited after eight years, it's as if we were always together."

"...because we are siblings, isn't it."

"——Yes."

It was quite an embarra.s.sing, but a cosy atmosphere.

What if it becomes awkward——is what the two of them secretly thought earlier, but that insecurity was gone before they knew it.

Fuyuki looked into Taiga's eyes and bended her knees, their eyes of exactly the same colour made contact and she slowly approached him.

"...umm... wait... hey..."

Fuyuki was an incredibly beautiful girl. Although she was quite small, despite being her brother he admired her refined features that were like the crystallization of art.

Fuyuki's face, with her cherry-blossom coloured lips captured Taiga's gaze and wouldn't let go.

Her lips slowly approached the unmoving brother slowly and provocatively——moved right beside his face, and closed on Taiga's ear.

"Brother, moving in might take a little longer so let's go out for lunch."

She whispered with a voice like a bell, penetrating his brain, and backed off immediately.

Somehow, he was oddly disappointed by that curt att.i.tude——

"What is it, Brother? Maybe you wanted a kiss?"

"N-n-nn-nn- no way in h.e.l.l! We're siblings, siblings!"

"Why don't I tell you something good, Brother."

Fuyuki approached him once again, she stopped at a distance at which their lips almost touched.

"——Kissing with your little sister is not forbidden by law, you know?"

"——————!!!!"

Momentarily, his blood started boiling.

The same as his own, Fuyuki's pupils clearly saw through his inner thoughts.

The red tongue crawling over the glossy red lips dulled his ability to think.

"Blus.h.i.+ng like that... Brother is so cute."

A finger that was like white porcelain stroked his cheek. He was strongly hugged and his lips were almost stolen, but his reason kicked in, he grasped her shoulders and separated the himself from her by force.

"D-d-dun make fun of your brother t-too much."

He was incredibly shaken.

And Fuyuki just looked satisfied as she found it interesting how her brother was shaken up, she pulled her body up obediently standing up.

"Little Sister is satisfied. Let's stop the teasing at this."

"It's too much for my heart..."

"Fufu, Brother seems not accustomed to girls."

"Uh... because all I did at Renjou's was training, there was no opportunity for that. Even I want to have a girlfriend or two——"

"Brother, don't get too full of yourself and cheat. You'll die you know?"

"...I don't really get it, but I'm very sorry."

He apologized profusely to Fuyuki who made a gesture as if she twisted something with both of her hands.

Although calmly thinking about it, there was no way she could do such a thing with her thin arms, but the thirst for blood he felt derailed his judgement.

"Keep your absurd remarks to yourself... it's a good time to go out for a lunch. The moving in will take a little longer, and I have someone I want to introduce to you."

The brother had no choice but to comply with his angry little sister. And that aside, he didn't eat anything since last night anyway.

Part 2

The siblings left the mansion. It seemed like Fuyuki arrived in the city in the morning as well, she kept walking by relying on the terminal's map for directions.

It was a holiday, so a lot of young people could be seen here and there in the city, within them were pairs that were dating. There was a school nearby, so there was a lot of people who were the same age as them.

"Haa〜"

It's a holiday indeed, is what he thought after he saw that and sighed. It was not a sigh caused by negative feelings, but one that came from pure novelty.

"Did something happen brother?"

"Mm, no... it's just, this is how a normal holiday is, huh. At Renjou during holidays I was just immersing myself in training."

In the house at which those who reached the top of military gathered, there was no concept of holiday. It wasn't necessary for Taiga either, it was the first time for him to experience the 'Holiday-like' feeling.

"You've led a really lonely lifestyle, haven't you."

"I didn't really feel lonely. It was fun becoming stronger, and it's not like I was always alone."

He thought about the days he kept training.

Moving with all he had, every day he swung his sword until the skin on his fingers wore out.

He kept seeking strength, everything he did was for that sake.

Before he noticed, he was called the strongest, and surrounded by subordinates.

It would be a lie if he said he didn't enjoy it. It would be a lie if he said he didn't regret abandoning those days.

Even so——being able to stay together with his little sister, he didn't hesitate.

Because his strength, commitment, and will, were obtained all for her sake.

"Ah, it's here brother." And she stopped walking next to him.

Three minutes on foot from their apartment. There was a two-story building by the back road on the side of main street many cars were driving through.

"...café 《Paradise》?"

Even though it was called a café, it had a little grown-up feel to it, like a restaurant. At the first glance it felt more like a bar to be accurate——it didn't have the glamour a café should have.

"Hmm certainly, it's just like Rucchan said, it's mainly older people who come. Students wouldn't really enter it."

"...Rucchan?

Though it was probably a nickname, he wasn't familiar with it.

"Its the person I wanted to introduce you to. Sorry."

During holidays, normal restaurants earn quite a lot. However this store was more like a bar located in a backalley, and because of that, there were no customers.

"Welcome to 《Paradise》...! Hey, ain't it Fuyuki!"

"That's quite an att.i.tude you show your customers, Rucchan. As a waitress.You might want to show the bare minimum of courtesy."

"Ahaha, we're friends so dat's okay isn't it? So... is that the rumoured Onii-san?"

Welcoming the siblings with unhesitating voice, seemingly same age and talking friendly with Fuyuki who always had a severe fear of strangers was——

"...a maid?"

"Not a maid, a waitress."

It was a complete and perfect maid. Not one of those fake maids with high exposure that are popular these days, wearing an ap.r.o.n dress hiding everything down to her knees, and she had a tasteful, detailed white prim in her hair.

By the way, the thought 'seemingly same age' was caused by her unusually incredible body growth as compared to the little sister that stood next to him. Even though the neat maid exposure was small, the feminine bulges could be seen, and his eyes were drawn to her devilish charm.

"Brother, any more and your eyeb.a.l.l.s will be crushed?"

——He was busted, and diverted his gaze at the speed of light.

The little sister he reunited with was somewhat dangerous, the brother cried out in secret.

And, the maid girl held out her hand to him. He understood that it was for a handshake, and overlapped his hand with hers.

"Nice to meet you for the first time, name's Saionji Rui, I've been getting along as friends with Fuyuki for four years now."

"I'm Tenryo Taiga, Fuyuki's brother. Nice to meet you, Saionji-san."

"Non non, rather than Saionji-san, call me Rui-san. I'll also call you Taiga."

"...that's high tension〜. Also, why french?"

"Rucchan, could you keep your distance from Brother?"

In addition to previously jabbing at Taiga who was lost in thought unconsciously, Fuyuki gave a warning-like advice to her best friend, that encounter was depressing in various ways for her. But, Rui complained.

"No, I've heard so much from Fuyuki it doesn't seem like he's a stranger to me at all. Hey, it's fine, right?"

"...if you want to get along, then you're welcome."

"Yes! It's decided! I'll be in your care from now on Taiga!"

"Yeah, I'll be in your care, Rui."

It was a quite good feeling, so he was swallowed up by the momentum. This kind of thing is not bad——is what Taiga thought. Because his sister was scared of strangers, so the one to pull the other along was always him. A situation where he was the one pulled, was quite fresh.

"Mmm——Little Sister is quite jealous..."

Fuyuki got angry, she stood beside and pinched him, but it didn't hurt so he ignored it.

The fact that he found her cute when angry was a secret.

"Well, now that the greetings are over——welcome to 《Paradise》! Do you want a lunch?"

"Please get us something recommended."

"Take these seats then!"

The maid waitress guided them to bar-like counter seats in the back of the store. Those seats made it look even less like a café.

And across the counter, in a place that looked like the kitchen, was a dandy old man who looked like a barman.

"Welcome... are you Rui's friends?"

"Even his voice is like that... is this really a café?"

"Don't be so rude to people you just met, Brother. Well, certainly I can see a lot of bottles with liquor there."

"Ahaha〜 certainly, the only thing here that's café-like is Rui-san."

Even she agreed with that opinion, and naturally the barman-like owner ignored it.

"Hey, Rui——"

"Yeah, the order is two lunch courses, dad."

"...got it."

The owner gave up on defending his café and started cooking. The daily menu for the lunch course was made depending on the day's mood, this time it was omelet with rice, salad and soup.

Taiga observed the owner cook with finesse (honestly, it didn't suit the store) from his counter seat.
Renjou's ate only j.a.panese food so western food was a rare thing for him, his eyes looked sharp like raptor's because of hunger.

Rui brought them wet towels, and water which they drank right away.

"Dad might look like that but his cooking is really good, so look forward to it okay?"

"Is this your home Rui?"

"Yup, that's it. We run it together the three of us, mom, dad and me. That's the owner and the chef, Saionji Jyugo."

The siblings bowed to Jyugo who just raised a hand in greeting because he was busy cooking. That moment, the two of them decided in their hearts——to call him Master.

Since there were no other customers, Rui decided to sit by their side as well——the order they sat in was, starting from the right; Fuyuki, Taiga and Rui ——and they engaged in silly conversation for a while longer.

The dishes lined up in front of them not only looked delicious, but in fact were delicious.

Fuyuki gobbled everything up, and Taiga who got three refills was also satisfied. After a meal they enjoyed a cup of tea.

"Why aren't you commenting on the fact that it's j.a.panese tea?"

"It's Rui-san's hobby〜."

"It messes up the shop's atmosphere doesn't it."

For some reason, his little sister insisted he did that, though she might have been so harsh because her brother's eyes were glued to the maid's ample bust.

Its seemed like Master went to prepare things for the evening in the back, there was a stylish atmosphere with only the three of them left in store.

He talked friendly with Rui whom he just met a little while ago.

Taiga was drawn to her and didn't hold back. She acted like a proper, neat and clean, humble maid and she was hilarious at the same time. Even though it was mismatched, it added to her charm and beauty instead.

If Fuyuki was moon, then Rui was sun. If Fuyuki was winter, Rui would be spring.

They were polar opposites, but because of that they complemented something each of them was missing.

"...I see, that's how it is."

"Did you say anything, brother?"

"No, nothing. By the way, what are we going to do now? Moving in isn't done yet."

He checked the situation on the terminal, it seemed like carrying in large luggage went slowly, and it was taking more time than expected.

"Hmm. If you want brother, we can visit the school. Because we didn't come to school for a week after enrolling, we should at least say h.e.l.lo there."

"Hmm that may be so, I guess it's bad for freshmen not to show up for a week after enrolling."

Rather than Renjou or Karasuba, the siblings entered the 『Kiritou Academy』 as Tenryo, however, they couldn't attend because they ran away from home just the other day.

"Oh, you're going to school? In that case, this Rui-san will guide you!"

"Umm, is Rui also a student of Kiritou?"

"The same cyber department's freshman, and we're in the same cla.s.s too."

There was more than one school in New City, but everyone wanted to get into Kiritou.

Vacant seats of two admitted students definitely stood out. Teachers also had no contact with them, that was the first impression they had of them and were definitely bothered.

"Then, we'll leave it to you. Let's go, Brother."

"I'll change so just wait for me in front of the store okay?"

After paying (Taiga paid for all of it), they waited for Rui. While looking at the café 《Paradise》 that hardly could be called neat, he thought.

Looks like we'll be in their care from now on.

Certainly, the food was delicious.

He learned earlier that Fuyuki can't cook, he didn't know how to cook either. Although eating outside was considered expensive, this store had a reasonable pricing and it was just three minutes by foot from their home. As a bonus, there was a cute waitress——

"Brother, if you ogle Rucchan I'll kill you?"

"Are you an esper?!"

His little sister was so sharp it was scary.

Then, light footsteps and the door in the back opening could be heard, as well as a cheerful voice.

"Sorry for the wait, Fuyuki, Taiga."

"Well then, let's go to school——"

After turning around, he was stunned.

As expected, Saionji Rui was there, her chestnut-coloured wavy hair fluttered in the breeze.

Her clothes captured Taiga's gaze.

She had a camisole and a tank top on, exposing her shoulders, and sensual hot pants that exposed her captivating thighs openly.

Contrary to the maid clothing she previously wore, it was a perfectly coordinated exposure, and she had a wonderfully exaggerated 'fantastic body'. It was like a poison for his eyes.

"Please die, Brother."

"Dange—, wa-wait don't try to seriously blind me!"

"Silence. Brother who looks at girls other than his little sister is a b.a.s.t.a.r.d that should just die."

"Fuyuki-san?!"

Her fingertips aimed at his eyes without any hesitation. Seriousness could be felt from the arm that was thrust at him quietly.

"Ahahaha, a violence between siblings."

"This——isn't a laughing matter!"

Even though he was happy seeing her jealous and found it cute, he would like it if she spared him the violence. Because he was trained thoroughly, he found out that would be dangerous if it hit.

"Leave it at that, Fuyuki. If we don't hurry up the crowd is going to gather."

"Grr—... it's Rucchan's fault in the first place, but let's end it here. Because Little Sister is forgiving."

When he wondered how was Little Sister that tried to blind her brother forgiving, she subtracted her hand for the time being, and Rui took them to the station.

Since it was a holiday, the station was crowded. In the middle of people like that, as expected the two beautiful girls stood out, and were quite eye-catching.

Especially when they sandwiched a boy between them as an extra.

"They're going to poke a hole in me with their gazes..."

"Really, how uncomfortable. Little Sister isn't an attraction."

"There's no choice but to give up, is there?"

""Don't want to hear it from the one who stands out the most!""

Voices of the siblings resounded in wonderful splendid unison.

Majority of the gazes were those of men, and more than a half of them was directed at her exposed beautiful skin.

They didn't complain any more, since it couldn't be helped, they silently ignored the gazes. they were held up for a moment at the ticket gate terminal, and went to the station's yard. It was a gateway of the New City, a lot of Kiritou Academy's students and business district workers used it, so it was extremely large. This incredibly advanced station was managed mostly by drones instead of station staff.

The exclusive direct line with the school was mostly devoid of pa.s.sengers because of the holiday, to the extent where the platform was nearly empty.

"A dedicated line connecting with home. That's really luxurious."

"That's because both the school and the train station were made by Kiritou. Also, there's a lot of students in Kiritou Academy, so if not for this it would be hard to get to school on time."

"As expected of Kiritou, that's really grand isn't it."

After waiting a few minutes they boarded the linear train that emitted a loud sound after arriving, and just continued to vibrate afterwards. After stopping in the middle of the station, the linear picked people up and continued to the destination.

The destination was, 『Kiritou Academy Entrance』.

Kiritou is currently encompa.s.sing many projects, and a lot of them are a.s.sociated with cyber world. That's why they made a professional department in high school that specializes in cyber-related things, they develop human resources by using education to get future employees. Speaking of which, more than half of the graduates seem to be employed by Kiritou.

"Cyber department is in the west block, let's go."

Fuyuki walked smiling with a stretched school map on the terminal in front of her. While it wasn't needed since Rui was guiding them, walking on your own while looking at the map was the best way to memorize it. Taiga also walked while comparing it with the map he expanded the same way.

"...looks like this school isn't too easy on the students. Little Sister doesn't have much stamina."

"Ain't that fine. If you're in a pinch you have a reliable Onii-san to help you."

"That's true. Brother, carry me."

"Don't rely on me from the get go..."

Carrying his little sister around the school would be too embarra.s.sing.

——『Don't want to』, nor 『Impossible』, he didn't neither of these because he was too soft on his little sister. He wouldn't hesitate to do it if he had to.

The amount of necessary equipment was considerably larger as compared to other departments, so the number of school buildings it had was bigger. There were much more school buildings in front of them than there were for other departments.

"How much further do we have to go..."

"It can't be helped. Academic affairs building's in the back."

Ever since they left the train station, they have pa.s.sed by five school buildings. Fuyuki who claimed to have poor physical strength started to lose her breath.

If it goes on he will really have to carry her——as Taiga thought that seriously, both Rui and the terminal informed them that they arrived at their destination.


"""Excuse us!"""

They bowed and left the staff room. They closed the door and all three of them sighed.

"Looks like the princ.i.p.al is on a business trip..."

"I was unexpectedly nervous〜"

"Hmm, I didn't think that my sister would be the grade's top student."

He thought there will be a need to explain themselves to the teachers, but it was beyond his expectations.

No, it might've been because of his little sister.

It was simple. Tenryo Fuyuki is a very talented person, she topped the entrance exam this year and was selected as the freshmen's general representative.

A freshman general representative is an honour student that represents the entire school year. Going truant for a week after enrolling, there's no way that wouldn't be a problem. It seemed like it became a big fuss that involved the princ.i.p.al and every vice-princ.i.p.al from other departments.

"If it's like that we were lucky that he wasn't there..."

Even Rui, who wasn't a concerned party like the siblings, was scolded. They could only apologize to her.

They couldn't do anything even if they stood there forever, so the three of them left the academic affairs building. After thinking for a moment about what to do, Rui proposed.

"Since we're here let's look around the cla.s.srooms?"

Taiga refused saying not interested, but Fuyuki was curious, so the two of them went towards the specialized cla.s.sroom and Taiga just wandered around.

"But there's hardly anything to look at, eh〜"

It was just a school, everything was brand new and there wasn't anything special about it.

Maybe he should have gone with the other two even if he had no interest, Taiga regretted his choice. For the time being he decided to enter some school building out of curiosity.

The building was completely empty. It looked like it was rarely used, he didn't really know what to look at in cla.s.sroom filled with things he didn't recognize.

"This, and that, just what are they used for... and... this is——"

Between them, was a machine that looked familiar. It was big enough to be barely fit in both hands. It had a shape of dodecahedron with a large number of lenses embedded next to each other on its surface.

He remembered how to start it, and found the switch by touch. A pale light flowed from the moving lens, and the walls were covered with mysterious s.p.a.ce one after another.

"It's a holographic projector after all. Even Renjou's no longer use this thing〜"

It's no longer necessary because everyone has a terminal with a small projector with them, it was a machine that projected a 3d image in a predetermined range. Some time ago they used this to make a wide range holograms appear.

But it was a previous generation machine after all. Also, it seemed like it was broken, a loud noise could be heard from it as it projected a hologram.

Because of that his mood worsened and he tried to turn it off, but then he saw a small girl on the edge of his view.

"——Just now."

It was just for a moment, but it was... an incredibly strange girl.

A fantasy-like figure, she had fluttery clothes, and if fairies were to exist, she would definitely be one.

Somehow becoming concerned with the girl's figure, he chased after her into the back of the school building. Apparently she was a holographic projection since her figure blurred together with the noise.

He eventually reached the room located deep within the school building. The projector's power has gone down, and the girl's figure disappeared in the thin air.

Obviously, even if he looked around, he wouldn't be able to find her.

"...what the h.e.l.l am I doing..."

He calmed himself down. To begin with, seeing a whole body of a person projected by a hologram was not uncommon, like the long-distance face-to-face conversations.

Just as he wanted to go back to the other two, he heard a voice from the room in front of him.

He wondered if the wall was sound-proofed, since the voice was really faint. Taiga wouldn't notice it if not for his sharp five senses. He opened the doors a little and looked inside.

Without any real purpose, he just pressed the door lightly a little curious of the whisper from inside.

——just a moment later he realized it was the wrong choice.

"Excuse m——"

"Aghhhh come onnnnn——! What's with that bald vice princ.i.p.al! 『"The first year representative is not coming, what's happening?"』 I don't know either! Do something about it yourself! I'm busy so stop bringing me any more trouble!"

Suddenly hearing a loud voice Taiga stopped his legs.

No, it wasn't actually because the voice was loud, it was because the individual inside was incredibly selfish.

The voice owner seemed like a ladylike, neat looking female student and as a bonus, she howled loud enough for her voice to reach the heavens. If it turned out to be the fairy-like girl from before, he wouldn't be at a loss for words.

The female hologram that disappeared after his projector battery went down, was probably displayed on the girl's terminal and responded with a deadpan expression.

〈"Master. I am not here to listen to Master's complaints you know?"〉

"It's fine, just listen to me for a while. In the first place, the teachers rely on me too much——"

〈"Master. You told me something similar the other day."〉

Taiga quietly closed the door.

".........let's go back."

He'll pretend he didn't see anything—— he didn't know who that was, but the person talking with the hologram seemed to have a grudge against them. Seeing that scene by an accident will definitely turn into something troublesome.

Without making any sound, he left that place. But he couldn't get rid of those two's figures from his head for a while.


"Haa〜, unexpectedly it was time well spent."

"No matter how long I've stood here you two wouldn't come back..."

"Little Sister got a little bit too obsessed over there... how dreadful, the Kiritou Academy."

The three of them were back at the central station's ticket gate at about three p.m. the trip to school and back took them about two hours.

"Well then, it's about time to enter the main event of the day."

"So it is."

"What main event?"

"...there's actually something I kept secret from Brother. It's pretty important."

"Mm? Something you couldn't tell me?"

"Yes. Actually... I spent too much for our new home, so we don't have enough to cover the living costs."

"——Ha?"

"That's why, umm... the living expanses prepared by Brother and Little Sister, are in a serious pinch."

"Ha?! Wasn't that more than enough for two people?!"

"It couldn't be helped! It's a home for Brother and Little Sister to live in! Little Sister was just a little bit too trigger happy when spending, so no-one will blame her right? You can't do it right?!"

"Why are you asking a rhetorical question?"

"Little Sister is reflecting on her actions, but she doesn't regret buying that apartment."

The amount of money Fuyuki and Taiga earned after being separated, was considerably big, but after subtracting tuition, admission fees, and other miscellaneous costs it didn't give them much room to maneuver.

That thought pa.s.sed through Taiga's head.

"...oh well, what's done is done. So, how is the lack of money related to the main event?"

"To summarize it in few words it would be, introduction teaser for work."

"An invitation to the part-time work in Elysion〜something like that."

"...a part-time work?"

Hearing an unfamiliar term, Taiga asked.

"Come on, hurry up brother. Come this way."

"Don't pull me, don't pull me. I can walk on my own."

Five minutes later they separated with Rui who said 『"Then, see you over there〜"』, and they arrived at their new home. The Drones doing the moving work were gone, but before he could take a good look he was pulled by his little sister again.

He looked at Fuyuki beside him who made excited noises smiling in euphoria and led him to one of the rooms in their home——they stepped into a room Fuyuki named 『Dive Room』.

There were several illuminated machines inside. A number of cables could be seen on the floor... it was a type of room he has never seen before when he was at Renjou's.

"...umm it feels hot and yet cold."

"What's with that weird description? I don't get what you want to say."

The cooling was attached to avoid overheating of the equipment, it was the first time Taiga felt an unpleasant sense of both temperatures interweaving.

"Brother, please sit on that chair."

"——This is arclight, right?"

"Yes. It's immersion dedicated equipment with a program that sends human consciousness into Elysion, commonly known as 『Arclight』."

Generally homes have small sized headgear types of it, but that was a medium-sized machine used by companies.

A number of wires converged with two chairs as their destination. Feeling like a capsule, it covered the head completely after sitting down.

After sitting as he was told to, Fuyuki who sat on the chair opposite and directed him how to activate arclight.

"First, press the power b.u.t.ton with your right hand, yes that one. An authentication window will come up in front of you, please authenticate your brainwaves with the terminal."

Releasing the locking, he proceeded. There were a lot of troublesome settings on the first start——connecting it with the terminal, and the personal mental structure authentication——after a few minutes all the settings were finally set up, and there was a complete reboot.

"Now we're going to dive into Elysion. Are you prepared, brother?"

"Mm, wait a moment. Let me take a deep breath——"

"Counting, 3 – 2 – 1."

"Wai—, Fuyuki-san?!"

"Dive start!"

Together with a surprise countdown attack, Taiga's consciousness fell into darkness.

Part 3

——He saw a light.

His field of view started to flicker and changed rapidly. And the light came projecting his entire body, projecting the structure of a human named Tenryo Taiga.

All his five senses together with appearance information like weight and height, all of it turned into data.

Floating in front of him, was a doll without any distinguis.h.i.+ng features.

Even though it was a human being, the body had no individuality. It had no consciousness, and no features.

Into it, the individual mental structure was built in.

——— Nerve connection start ———

*click* , his view changed.

While other senses still remained, his vision changed to that of the doll.

——— Visual tuning complete, starting auditory tuning ———

Hearing followed, and touch after that, other senses gradually switched one after another into those of the empty sh.e.l.l's, but he still couldn't lift a finger.

——— Mental structure transplant completed ———

And finally, together as his 『Heart』 was transferred with consciousness, the doll turned into a 『Body』. The light slowly faded, and all he could see was endless darkness.

——— Starting logging into 《Aries》 structure, pa.s.skey authentication start ———

"——Eh?"

Suddenly, his senses became sharper.

Before he noticed, he cried out, it was only natural since suddenly, both of his feet were firmly attached to the ground. His closed eyelids reacted to the light outside, and convulsed slightly.

Legs, knees, hips, belly, elbows, he checked all of his senses up to fingertips.

"...okay.'

He slowly opened his eyes.

Fuyuki and Rui looked at him from a super-close distance.

"Uwaoahhhhh!!!"

He instantly backstepped with a tremendous force.

"...now, how many meters did he jump back?"

"He easily jumped back about five meters..."

The two beautiful girls commented after seeing him make a leap beyond a limit of human body. But, it couldn't be helped since suddenly he saw beautiful girls at a distance where their lips touched him.

"W-wh-why are you so close! You surprised me!"

"No〜, it's just that Taiga had his eyes closed so I was worried."

"I wondered if there was any trouble with your first log-in."

"Ugh..."

Being told that, he couldn't talk back.

Certainly, if he continuously kept his eyes closed they'd worry, especially after he just entered Elysion——

"...is this the Elysion?"

"Indeed, brother. It's your first experience with Little Sister."

"Stop saying it like that."

He retorted to his sister, who grinned like a ches.h.i.+re cat. Once again he felt uncomfortable in the world he was in now, and he looked around.

It was a large forest, like one of the ones that were destroyed in the modern times, the large tree trunks that extended above his head no longer existed in the real world, the foliage was blocking the light of the sun.

"————————"

Unconsciously, he was at a loss for words.

It was a scene impossible to find in reality, he couldn't believe it.

A breeze shook the leaves, a fragrant smell came from natural plants, sounds of life could be heard all over, he could feel it with all of his five senses.

"...woah."

It had felt really realistic. He already had knowledge about the virtual world——but he was still surprised by the cyber world that projected itself directly connecting with brain nerves.

Elysion——a world of electrons almost everyone used these days. It's a lifeline of everyone from administration to security, it was even used in investigations and entertainment, it became an indispensable world to everyone. It was like a second utopia from the mythology.

He walked up to the big tree nearby, and touched it with his palm.

It had a rough feel of real wood. He put some strength in his muscles, and a piece of trunk popped out.

*snap*——he took the broken piece into his hand, but the weight unexpectedly disappeared. It vanished into thin air, the piece of wood faded away rustling and became small particles. Seeing that he made sure and he said "Right, this isn't reality after all".

"Did something happen, brother?"

"No... wait a moment. I just noticed but, what's up with those clothes?"

"Really, noticing it this late. This is not the real world, so wearing appropriate clothes is obvious right?"

"Mufun", Fuyuki puffed our her chest, her clothing was something——that looked like a kimono. Its bottom looked like a dress, it was toned black with red peonies drawn on it, it looked well combined with her glossy black hair.

"How is it, does it suit me?"

Standing next to his kimono wearing sister was Rui, her clothing was strange as well. The bottom were hot pants, and the top was a white coat on top of the skimpy tank top. At first he thought it was a normal coat, but it was more like the white clothing scientists wear in labs.

"...let's take a hundred step back and ignore the kimono. But why a lab coat?"

"It's Rui-san's hobby."

"Brother, why are you overlooking the fascinating kimono of your sister. Please compliment it more."

"No, umm... I have problems commenting."

In terms of feminine curves, Fuyuki has a terribly sorry figure compared to other girls of the same age. However, a kimono's fit people without curves. Also, as Fuyuki smiled devilishly it brought out a somewhat roguish atmosphere.

To put it simply, it was incredibly seductive.

"Fufufu, this little sister understands everything just by looking at your face."

"...no, I just admired——"

"Oh, did you just self-destruct now? Oo—oh, this siscon."

"I'm not a siscon!"

No, no matter how you looked at it, he was a siscon.

"By the way brother, are you not going to retort in response to your own appearance?"

"Hmm? My own appearance?"

"Look, a mirror."

"...woah, what's this."

Rui lightly shook her hand, and a window appeared reflecting Taiga's entire body.

His appearance wasn't that much different from theirs. Mixing black and white, stylish and giving him a freedom of movement—— a long coat with white as a base, and solid black pants.

"...well, it's better than having mismatched clothing."

"That, are you implying Rui-san's and the others have mismatched outfits?"

"Are you saying Little Sister's coordination is cheap?

"Eh, did Fuyuki make this? I guess that's fine then."

"A siscon after all!"

Rui accused him teasingly.

He looked at the figures of three people, including himself. There was no sense of unity at all. If they were to appear on the streets with such outfits, it couldn't be helped if they stood out.

However, it fit this world——that's what he felt.

"Well then, let's go."

Both Fuyuki and Rui held out their hands, and looked back at him.

And like fairies, they invited him.

The moon and the sun, girls in black and white announced the beginning with a smile.

""Welcome to 《Aries》!!""

World of those three began.


A structure.

Just one of the bubbles that form a vast world known as Elysion.

It's a small world formed within another world, it can be imagined as a single leaf of a large tree.

All structures are connected with the network, it increased to an amount that made it difficult to count them all. There are structures for electronic devices that are connected to the network, that structure connects with the city's structure, and that connects with a larger city's structure, which in turn connects with the province's structure, even the country is connected to the world's structure.

And what's most important, is to maintain control of all these structures somehow.

The lifeline controlling New City, its structure, which is also responsible for controlling structures of all personal terminals.

National, private... it has various administrators.

That's the structure 《Aries》.

It's a huge structure the largest company related to cyber world, 《Kiritou Group》operated. Rumour said it has something to do with the power supply for the new city. Rumours said you'll be shot if you reveal anything about it, it's a structure that has some kind of secret function.

"...hey, 《Aries》, why is it like this? Did they play around too much?"

"Not at all. There are good reasons for this."

"If the structure is just left alone, the bugs and viruses will just appear within, and since it's so large, the amount of viruses will be big as well. It's enough if administrators scan the small structures periodically, but it's not enough for a large structure like this〜"

A large structure has a large system that needs to be managed, and it could not afford a chance of being stopped. And it's too large of a burden for administrators to eliminate all of the bugs.

"And thats where, an idea was proposed to make this large structure into a game."

"A game?"

"The structure doesn't use all of it's computing power at all times. Since all structures are connected to the network, the excess computing power can be used somewhere else. So a game world was created that's maintained by the excess computing power which focuses on fixing the bugs and eliminating viruses."

"So the companies gather players and ask them to help eliminate bugs. Also, the players pay a monthly fee for it, so it's killing two birds with one stone."

Fuyuki's and Rui's explanation seemed to be a simplification of a bit more complicated issue, but it was roughly correct. Using the excessive computing power wouldn't make sense unless a large number of outside companies connected could use it as well.

This 《Aries》 is a new era's ma.s.sive multiplayer online game.

"More specifically, how do the bugs look like?"

"Well, that depends on the structure. But generally they look like an enemy 『To be hunted』."

"So, how does that lead to the part-time job?"

"Although it can be done only with permission of an administrator, there's a bounty set for boss-cla.s.s monster bugs. You get e-money for defeating it."

"Qualification is given depending on your rank and your achievements in Aries so far. Since Rucchan is one of the qualified people, Little Sister and the others are also eligible if they register as a group with her."

"...that, doesn't that disadvantage Rui?"

"Not really〜, a qualification holder can't do it without at least two more people. And the reward is divided equally among the group."

"So unless you have suitable people in your group you can't go, huh."

"Correct. Since we've just invited Brother, it would be a little bit too reckless to already go for a bounty, so let's have you gain a little bit of experience."

"Okay... so, where are we going now? Training field?"

"Something like that."

The three of them walked through the forest feeling a light crispy sensation under their feet. They entered the deep darkness, the dazzling light was obstructed by the trees leaving only occasional rays of light.

He wondered for a moment if there was another way to move instantly if this wasn't the real world—, but it seemed like there was no easy way to get to their destination as they moved on foot.

"U 〜mm, it was somewhere here... oh, there it is, Fuyuki."

"Hmm, yeah, it's just right for the first opponent."

"——eh, wai—, what's that?"

*zuzuzu*... sound was transmitted through the earth, it had a somewhat heavy vibrating physique. It didn't try to hide its existence as it moved slowly between the greenery, a pink glowing mucus dripped from it.

"...a huge earthworm?"

"Without a doubt."

Even though he kept it to himself, he thought that a more than three meter long earthworm was not an earthworm at all.

It's something that should be called a mutant or a monster.

"Well then, please go down there and defeat it."

"That's impossible meine Schwester! I don't want to touch it!"

He couldn't, he wouldn't do it, it was beyond the boy's common sense.

"It's alright, the worm is a bug that's one of the minor small fries. ...but it certainly is an organism you don't want to get too close to."

Fuyuki and Rui also felt a similar physiological aversion. He would rather slaughter a hundred rats rather than do that.

"Then brother, GO!"

"At least give me a weapon!"

It was a reasonable request. He can't just go and defeat it with his bare hands, this boy, won't even consider doing that for a second.

"Doesn't Brother have a weapon installed in his terminal already? Please don't underestimate your little sister."

"I mean, how do I take it out?"

"Please imagine it. The weapon you usually use."

"Imagine, huh."

"Somewhat like, as if you pulled out a legendary sword."

"Sorry, that's too difficult to understand."

"Oi, just go already! Rucchan!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

He was strongly pushed by the two who walked behind his back, after being pushed by two girls his body rolled forward.

The worm has noticed the sound (it didn't have eyes so it couldn't see) and looked behind.

"U〜mm, a nice weather, isn't it?"

After a few seconds of standing stiff, the worm opened its mouth agape. Although he thought it had no teeth since its body was soft, it seemed more like a snake than an earthworm.

There were sharp pointed fangs made to bite and cut people's flesh. There was an incredibly thick liquid dripping from them!

*click*, a switch deep within his body was flipped.

He reached out to the realm of his conditioned reactions.

Sensing the enemy's hostility, his body responded with its inhuman reflexes against the threat.

He stretched out his empty hand, and clenched the handle that appeared in it.

As the enemy's neck approached, he jumped up to the worm, and while reaching half-way he slashed it feeling as if he cut mud, he instantly followed-up and cleaving the worm and bisecting it.

In Taiga's hands was a one meter long j.a.panese sword, cla.s.sified as a nodachi.

It had a characteristic wavy blade crest.

In his left hand right next to it's cutting edge, was a sheath.

"Wow."

"As expected of Brother."

*kachin*, together with the sound of sword being sheathed the worm faded away turning into particles of light. Quick draw——the sword drawing skill beyond this dimension.

"Amazing! It was amazing Taiga! I didn't even see that cut!"

Rui clung to him excited, she grabbed his shoulders as she trembled and shook him. He didn't mind if she was impressed, but he wanted her to stop because his brain started shaking.

Taiga stared at his hands as he shook, looking at the nodachi in its sheath.

It appeared as his subconscious recognized the prey in front of him——the weight he has continued to wield when he was at Renjou's. Confirming it, he unsheathed the sword.

After seeing sunlight reflected on it's sharp edge, he looked up at Rui.

"How is it? How did it feel to use an attack-configured program Rui-san made?"

"...an attack-configured program?"

"Interfering with bugs and viruses, a special program made to eliminate them. Taiga's and Fuyuki's are specially made by Rui-san, normally you would have to buy one from management. It's a high performance program."

"Rucchan is an excellent creator, she can make a program more capable than ones made by the management. Brother's sword and Little Sister's design were configured by Rucchan."

"Oh, so that's why the blade looks like this."

The nodachi he showed her previously via the communication channel——its appearance was similar to his beloved sword 《Tenryuu》. But that sword was made out of ultra-rare materials, and it should be impossible to reproduce. The weight and texture would be different.

"Well then, now that you have a weapon, let's start the crash course. This time take that thing down."

"...eh?"

His little sister's finger pointed at the scenery, there was a huge mantis in the spot where the worm was before, and behind it there were a few more animals wriggling. Five in total.

"They're all small fries, so do your best."

"...ugh—"

He ran somehow losing his motivation, jumping into the flock of disgusting monsters and poised his sword.


"Taiga's amazing. He wasn't even grazed as he took them down."

"Obviously, it's Brother."

While looking from the distance as he rampaged with his sword like a storm, Fuyuki proudly praised her brother while puffing her chest. She grinned at her best friend who couldn't take her eyes off the battle – the hunt.

In the centre of that storm, was a boy who used the attack-configured program for the first time just fifteen minutes ago.

Every time he swung the sharp blade, the monster's head or body was cut. He was as fast as if he was the wind himself, the thirty animals that were there in the beginning of combat were reduced to half the amount within a minute.

"Normally, the movements made by using virtual body in beginning are sluggish aren't they〜"

"Such common sense doesn't apply to Brother. His motor skills were abnormal to begin with."

Virtual body was the physical body people operated in Elysion. In the first place, its performance and appearance was based on the mental structure implanted into the doll and became their bodies——in other words, the appearance changed together with the real one. The virtual body's movement capability was also corrected slightly depending on the structure.

"——How cool〜."

Rui muttered, words leaked from her mouth.

That was, pure envy.

Bypa.s.sing the difference of gender, a feeling like that reached her heart.

It was like a glitter of something you get in the end after doing hard work.

——That's why, she yearned for something like that.

The two watched Taiga vigorously bisect the last animal.


"Brother, it's about time to end. It's about time for that."

"Mm? Is that so?"

His little sister told him a