“It's over,” Mingyue said, leaning her scythe against the ground and letting out a long breath. The lingering Star-trail mana on the blade slowly dissipated with her sigh.
She looked down at Star-trail on her shoulder, its sharp combat edge already completely withdrawn.
“Thanks for that back there,” she said, reaching out to pat Star-trail's ears.
Nuomi trotted over from the rock wall, its two tails wagging excitedly behind it.
It ran to Mingyue's feet, spun in two circles, and pointed at itself with its tail, its ears standing straight up. “Nuomi helped too! Don't forget Nuomi!”
“Yes, yes, you helped too,” Mingyue said, bending down to scoop Nuomi up and placing it on her other shoulder.
Mingyue remained where she was, the aftereffects of that strike still tingling in her hands. The sensation of starlight quenching her blade was so vivid it felt etched into her very bones.
“Senior!” Seina was the first to leap down from above. Before she could even sheathe her bow, she ran over, grabbed Mingyue's arm, and circled her in excitement.
“What was that just now? Your scythe suddenly started glowing, and Star-trail—when it landed on your shoulder, your entire mana spectrum changed! It was super, super beautiful! Even the hem of your skirt was glowing!”
“It was Star-trail,” Mingyue said, patting Seina's shoulder. “It lent me some of its mana.”
Kohinata leaned in from the other side, even more excited than Seina. She had forgotten to put away her hammer, and its heavy head dragged along the ground, leaving a crooked trench behind her.
She rushed up to Mingyue, resting her hands on her knees as she looked up. Her eyes shone like two freshly charged lightbulbs. “How did you make that silver light? I've never seen anything like it!”
Amamiya walked up behind her. After sheathing her twin blades, she stared intently at Mingyue's left shoulder, her expression thoughtful.
Night Sakura jumped down with her camera on her shoulder, bringing the lens close to capture Mingyue's profile. “Come on, say it for the camera! What's the name of that form? Firsthand footage of a new ability is worth way more than fighting Erosion Bodies!”
Mingyue felt her face grow hot before she even realized it.
“Wait a minute—could you all please stop crowding me?” Mingyue took a half-step back until her back hit the protruding rock wall behind her.
With one hand still holding her scythe, she didn't know what to do with the other. In the end, she scooped Nuomi off her shoulder and cradled it in her arms, using its tails to shield her burning ears.
Unable to move a single inch under their siege, Mingyue tried to block Night Sakura's encroaching camera lens with Nuomi. But Nuomi refused to cooperate, instead poking its head out from her arms and flashing a peace sign with its paw at the camera.
Snowrealm didn't join the crowd.
She had been quiet throughout the battle, and now she was completely silent.
Instead of crowding around Mingyue, she quietly took Star-trail from Mingyue's shoulder.
Standing on the outer edge of the group, she bowed her head and gently brushed aside the tuft of fluff on Star-trail's forehead, which had been ruffled by the mana currents.
Star-trail kept its eyes closed, resting limply in her arms. Its starlight was much dimmer than usual.
Carefully cradling Star-trail in her hands, she unbuttoned the top two buttons of her jacket and tucked it inside against her chest, leaving only its two floppy ears peeking out.
“...Mine,” she whispered.
In that final strike, it had given all the mana it could muster to Mingyue, leaving it without even the strength to float.
The mana had surged from its star-shaped mark like a reverse galaxy, pouring entirely into Mingyue's magic circuit.
When that slash fell, it had illuminated the entire night sky.
It was beautiful—so beautiful that she hadn't been able to tear her eyes away.
But at that moment, a tiny voice inside her had whispered: That is your Contract Spirit, yet it gave its starlight to someone else.
She knew such thoughts were childish. On the battlefield, mana went to whoever needed it most. Mingyue was the main damage dealer, so Star-trail's decision had been completely logical.
In its sleep, Star-trail nuzzled the skin just below her collarbone. It felt cool.
Her heartbeat pulsed through the thin fabric of her clothes and against Star-trail's ears. Its ears twitched slightly, and it buried its face deeper into her warmth.
Lightweaver had already finished "fishing" and said her goodbyes to everyone.
The victory in the battle far away had absolutely nothing to do with Qiluo Tian Gong.
“Are things wrapped up with the class?” she sent a message to Yuki.
A few seconds later, Yuki's reply popped up: “Just finished. Where are you?”
Without exposing Yuki, she opened her chat window with Kizuna: “Are you coming back?”
Kizuna's reply came almost as fast as Yuki's: “My sister has to go back to work! I'm coming right back! I'm so sorry for rushing off earlier without saying a proper goodbye. Are we still meeting up at the sports field later?”
It was followed by an emoji of two hands pressed together.
“Okay,” she replied, before tapping on a Line contact she had only recently saved.
This person had taken forever to add Lightweaver as a friend, yet when Qiluo Tian Gong added her, the request was approved almost instantly.
She typed a few words into the input box, deleted them, and finally sent a very ordinary greeting.
“Kirishima-senpai, is the temporary patrol for the student council over?”
“Just finished, I'm heading to the sports field now,” Shizuru's reply came quickly, followed by, “Are you still there, Tian Gong-san?”
“I'm waiting by the fence next to the sports field for Yuki and the others.”
The campus, which had been bustling all day, was gradually growing quiet.
The classes that were closing up their stalls stacked their tables and chairs one by one. Most of the flea market in the courtyard had been cleared out, leaving only a few students crouching on the ground to roll up the tarps.
The school festival's traditional closing song played over the speakers, blending with the occasional, scattered sounds of the brass band packing up their instruments in the distance.
Night Sakura pushed Misa Tachibana's wheelchair at the front of the crowd. Kohinata had already put her hammer away, replacing it with a half-eaten chocolate banana.
Amamiya walked on the other side of the wheelchair. With a blank expression, she pulled a bag of freshly bought crinkle-cut potatoes from a paper bag, skewered one with a bamboo stick, and held it up to Misa Tachibana's lips.
“Store Owner, say ah—”
“I can do it myself,” Misa Tachibana said as she took the bamboo stick, took a bite, and put the rest back into the paper bag.
Night Sakura took advantage of her lowered head to quickly steal a potato from the bag, only for Amamiya to lightly swat the back of her hand with the paper bag.
Along the path lined with ginkgo trees behind the school building, Kizuna walked with her head down, messaging her sister that the battle was over and everyone was safe, attaching a starry-eyed emoji.
She quickened her pace to catch up, walking side-by-side with Yuki onto the sports field.
From a distance, they could see Qiluo Tian Gong leaning against the fence. She had already changed back into her school uniform and was holding a newly bought drink.
“Tian Gong-san!” Kizuna ran over. “Have you been waiting for us here this whole time? Didn't you go look around anywhere else?”
She scanned Qiluo from head to toe, as if trying to make sure she wasn't upset from waiting so long.
Rate on N.U.
