79 Lotus Team

The girl stood a good distance away from Nova.

『Why are you here, Nova?』

She stared at Nova with a sort of empty stare.

Nova was kicked out of his shock when she said his name.

『You know my name?!』[Nova]

She nodded and began to walk toward him.

『It's only been a few days.』

Her pure white hair began to slowly fade back to black.

Nova suddenly realized how she knew his name.

She placed her right hand on her chest and began to speak.

『Anri of house Tsukikaze, at your service.』[Anri]

『...Huh?』[Nova]

『Regardless, what are you doing out at this hour of night? You should be sleeping, like a good student.』[Anri]

Her dress slowly began to fade away and return to the normal school uniform.

『Wha..What is all of this? What just happened?』[Nova]

『...Well, it looks like I don't have much of a choice. Please follow me.』[Anri]

She took out an object that looked like an elegantly gilded cylinder with a rounded crystal top.

After twisting the top for a bit, it clicked onto a setting and she pushed the flat bottom to the floor.

The crystal glowed a bright white before a magical circle expanded from the base and reached several feet away.

『Woah?!』[Nova]

He was caught off guard by the magical circle.

She gave him a sideways glance as she slipped the crystal away.

『Stand still. You're going to assist in my report.』[Anri]

Nova met her eyes before he nodded.

In another moment, the white light flowed into his eyes and he found himself in a completely different place.

He found himself in a relatively cozy room with a slightly modern look.

『Follow me.』[Anri]

She began to walk toward a door in the back.

He looked around for a moment.

『Where are we?』[Nova]

She pulled on the doorknob.

『We're in the Lotus squad's Raidagem base.』[Anri]

Nova silently acknowledged her answer as they began to go through the door.

「Raidagem? This isn't the first time I've heard that… Wasn't that like some kind of group meant to carry out missions or something? 」[Nova]

He walked into the room and was met by a girl with vibrant red hair with white streaks.

She energetically called out to Anri.

『Hey, Anri! How was the mission? Did ya get the monster?!』

Anri replied to this person with a flat response.

『Yes. The rank 5 monster is in the first year's training yard. I've brought a witness with me, per school regulations.』[Anri]

The girl with red hair gave her a confused look.

She then turned to look at Nova and began to talk again.

『Oh! There you are. Aren't cha a bit too young to be snooping around at night? Also, nobody actually follows that rule, don'tcha know, Anri?』

Anri continued blankly talking, as usual.

『Senior, please introduce yourself to the witness, as leader of Raidagem team, Lotus.』[Anri]

The red haired girl quickly readjusted herself.

『Right. I'm fourth year, Saeyeon- leader of Raidagem team, Lotus.』[Saeyeon]

Nova faintly recalled her name.

『Ah… My name is Nova, a first year. Pleased to meet you!』[Nova]

Suddenly she began to look at him weirdly and scratch her head.

『I swear I have heard something about you...』[Saeyeon]

Nova realized that she may have been talking about his nicknames, so he quickly cut in with a flurry of excuses.

『Umm… Err.. Oh! Saeyeon! Aren't you friends with Hanzo and Leo? I'm friends with them! Hanzo has taught me a lot! Maybe he talked about me? I've heard a lot about how great you are, senior!』[Nova]

She looked at him and gave him a big smile before vigorously nodding her head.

『Right! That must have been it! What are you doing out so late, junior? And what great things have you heard?!』[Saeyeon]

She looked excited when she heard from Nova that he had heard of her.

『Uh… that you created your own style and taught it to Leo?』[Nova]

She began to nod her head proudly.

『That's my thesis for Genesis! 』[Saeyeon]

Ignoring Saeyeon, Anri began to give her report.

『Rank 5 monster, Grelegigan, subjugated. Materials remain in the training yard, ready for harvesting.』[Anri]

Nova overheard her report and was left in awe.

『That gigantic monster was only rank 5?!』[Nova]

He ended up accidentally saying it out loud.

Anri looked back at him.

『Yes. Different monsters tend to have drastically varying amounts of strength. For example, a brownling, native to Furescha Forest are weak enough for normal humans to kill. At rank 5, they become as strong as a rank 2 Grelegigan.』[Anri]

Nova's mind began to shake violently.

「...I almost died to a rank 5 brownling… Does that mean if she didn't show up, I would have died?!」[Nova]

Anri continued speaking.

『Of course, you wouldn't have had to fight the Grelegigan under normal circumstances. It was summoned to the training ground as a precautionary measure and form of harvesting. It's materials are used to fund the school and our Raidagem team. The entirety of the training ground self-repairs, after all.』[Anri]

『...Wait. So what do you all get for being a part of a Raidagem? Aren't noble families and most houses loaded? I thought that was the case, right?』[Nova]

Saeyeon let out a laugh.

『Some houses are freshly established, some nobles have fallen into ruin, and some people have other circumstances. Our 3rd year member just so happens to be in one of those categories.』[Saeyeon]

A noise similar to a small explosion called out from behind them.

The door swiftly swung open as they all turned to look.

Standing there was a woman that wore all black- contrary to the two who wore their school uniforms.

Nova looked over to her as she began to speak.

『I'm done with the mission.』

She looked back at Nova and maintained a blank look.

『...Sarena?』[Nova]

Suddenly, her face changed to a look of confusion.

『...Huh?』[Sarena]