"Speaking of which, Yakumo-sensei is really popular."

Cindy, the name of the girl who played the game with Natsu and the others, clung to this point after discovering that just mentioning Yakumo in front of Natsuin would make this delicate girl as delicate as a puppet suffer from a red-faced exam.

Sure enough, although Xia Yin was shy in her heart, she couldn't help but pluck up her cute ears and listen carefully to Cindy's talk.

This look made Xiao Nagisha, who noticed this, couldn't help but snicker.

"Don't say anything else, Xia Yinchan, Teacher Nangong is a fierce opponent!"

"Teacher Nangong is a very good person-"

Xia Yin wanted to refute, but Xia Yin had always been grateful to Nangong Nayue, who had taken him in.

"But you can't deny that she has a very close relationship with Yakumo-sensei, right?"

Cindy cocked up her index finger and looked at Natsuyin with a grin.

The silver-haired girl was speechless.

As if to escape, Natsune suddenly stood up.

"Huh? Natsuon-chan, what are you going to do? ”

"I'll go to the deck to see the dolphins!"

The girl smacked out of the cabin.

"Ahh Dolphins, I'll go too! ”

Xiao Nagisha immediately followed, and the uneasy Hiiragi Yukina and Cindy also followed.

◇

On deck.

Natsu Yin, who had returned to his room beforehand, had a large black optical machine hanging from his chest - it seemed to be something that Natsu had borrowed from the ferry company.

"What are you doing? What is this thing? ”

Xiao Nagisha, who came out, looked at Natsune's chest curiously.

"That's what binoculars say."

After speaking, Xia Yin's blue eyes flashed like jewels, she is a complete animal lover. Usually well-behaved and quiet, she will burst out with amazing action when she works with wild animals.

"I've seen dolphins before. Speaking of which, maybe it's around here. Look, the photo. ”

Cindy pulled out her phone after saying that. The standby screen shows a pod of dolphins jumping head-to-head with a boat at sea. Seeing this photo, Nagisa's expectations skyrocketed.

But for several minutes, there was no movement from anything resembling a dolphin.

"The dolphins aren't there......"

Nagisa muttered as if dejected.

Cindy patted her on the back as if encouraging.

"You can't see it so lightly, right?"

At this time, only Natsune and Ji Hiiragi Yukina looked at the back of the boat as if they had suddenly noticed something.

Something shimmering silver floated in the gap between the white tracks left by the sea.

They felt a sticky gaze coming from the thing.

It was a metallic sailing object that was reminiscent of a mini-submarine or a torpedo — but it writhed like a sea serpent. Immediately sank into the water.

"What's that? Is that a dolphin? ”

Nagisa asked, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"No......" Yukina muttered only one sentence.

Natsune, who was beside Ji Hiiragi, bit her lip tightly as if she was afraid.

"Yakumo...... Brother ......"

◇

The sky is clear and the view is very good.

Yakumo Mo, which was flying in the clouds, did not open the barrier of demonic power, and let the whistling wind blow on him.

Chasing the aura of that "sage", Yakumo Mo walked in a certain direction.

泣かない約束した

限りなく続く以后に

明日また会えるから

言葉残して......

A lonely moon sounded, and Yakumo Mo took out his mobile phone from his sleeve.

It was once after school, and that month was thrown to Yakumo Mo in case of emergency.

Caller ID, it was that month.

"Yo. That moon sauce, what's the matter? ”

"How's it going over there?"

On the other end of the phone came Na Yue's indifferent voice.

"Well, I'm chasing that guy, and the target is really the ship that Natsune-chan is on."

"You're all right, right?"

Although his tone did not change, Yakumo could hear the deeply hidden concern.

"Don't worry, it's just an alchemist, and that metal lifeform is useless, it was his luck to let him run away before. This time the sea was so vast that he had nowhere to run. What about you? Xiao Gucheng didn't cause you trouble......"

"Well, an ancient alchemist has been resurrected—not really alive."

"Nina? Adillad? ”

"It's her, and now the alchemist has regrouped her body with what was left on the docks from the sage's spiritual blood, and she has been living in the body of Blue Feather and Shallot before."

"Xiao Gucheng should be very distressed now...... Now, I saw the ship, and I hung it first......"

After hanging up the phone. Yakumo turned into a streamer and went straight to the cruise ship.

◇

"-Yukina-chan, where are you going?"

Xiao Nagina called out in surprise to Yukina Hiiragi, who was about to quietly return to the cabin.

The trainees of Saikai School Park are walking towards the lobby inside the ferry. According to the scheduled schedule, they will all watch textbook movies there before lunch. Although this is a boring activity for the students, it is mandatory to report their feelings because of the regulations. So if you want to be lazy, you have to be quite courageous.

"I forgot something. You go first. ”

After Hiiragi Yukina quickly left such a sentence, she ran out without listening to Nagisa's answer.

Back in the empty cabin, Hiiragi Yukina took out a slender cloth bag from the bottom of her travel bag.

Inside the cloth bag was a dagger—her original weapon, the Snow Wolf, had been handed over to her master for maintenance.

Hime Hiiragi inserted the two daggers into the back of her uniform, and in order not to be obtrusive, she put another coat on them.

The girl walked out of the cabin and headed straight for the bridge.

“…… Huh!? ”

Yukina Hiiragi, who ran up the stairs, was stunned when she noticed a figure walking in front of her.

Natsune was looking around uneasily as she walked to the bridge, which had been forbidden to enter.

"Xia Yin-san?"

"Ah......h

Xia Yin, who was suddenly stopped by Ji Hiiragi Yukina, turned around timidly.

This reaction is more like worrying about getting the sword witch girl involved than being met when doing something bad.。

Seeing Xia Yin's attitude, Ji Hiiragi Yukina understood her purpose.

"Do you mean?"

The question was vague. But Natsune seemed to clearly understand what she meant.

She nodded timidly, her blue eyes staring straight at Hiiragi Yukina.

"It feels like the ship is entangled in something bad, so-"

Xia Yin was about to say that she was going to find a way to solve it, but Ji Hiiragi stopped her with a smile.

"It's fine. I'll go ahead, so can you help me inform Sasazaki-sensei? ”

Natsune blinked in surprise when she saw the dagger that Yukina pulled out from behind her back. Soon a look of understanding spread in her pupils.

She also knows the identity of Ji Hiiragi Yukina Sword Witch.

"Then you take this with you, it's a talisman!"

After speaking, Ji Hiiragi Yukina stretched out her hand to Natsune, and on her palm was a wolf-shaped silver origami.

Xia Yin accepted the origami with a surprised expression.

"Ah, wait a minute—"

Natsune shouted from behind towards Yukina Hiiragi, who was about to run away.

She looked up at Yukina standing with a worried expression, her hands clenched in front of her chest trembling, and the girl tried to make her voice sound calmer.

"I felt something familiar, probably somewhere before. That feeling five years ago—"

"—A lot of important friends have passed away. So, I don't want that to happen again...... Yukina-san, please ...... too"

Listening to the clumsy Natsune's words, Ji Hiiragi Yukina felt that her heart gradually became warmer.

Natsune is worried about Yukina and tells her that she hopes she doesn't disappear because Yukina is a very important friend.

"Thank you, Natsune-chan, you have to be more careful!"

After nodding vigorously to each other, Hiiragi Yukina and Natsune each ran in different directions.

Xia Yin shouted in her heart as she ran back.

"Brother Yakumo. Hurry up......"

She believed that she was in danger. Yakumo Mo will definitely appear, just like it did back then.

◇

On deck.

Looking at Xia Yin who was held hostage, Ji Hiiragi Yukina had never been so remorseful.

Obviously, he had vaguely learned in advance that this alchemist, Tenzuka Mercury, his purpose was to kill Xia Yin as a sacrifice, why would he be stupid enough to part with her?

The hastily made amulet. It was easily broken by this alchemist.

Just when the Sword Witch Maiden went to the bridge to find the source of the matter, Amazuka Mercury had already quietly bypassed everyone and caught Natsune.

Fortunately, at the moment when Amazuka was about to kill Natsune, he was stopped by Hiiragi Yukina, who was rushed to the deck.

"You ...... guy"

"Yo. Miss Sword Witch seems to be angry? ”

In his usual frivolous tone, Tenzuka stood in front of the giant metal lifeform, the sage, and looked at Hiiragi Yukina with a cane in hand.

"Isn't it nice to be able to see the blood sacrifice and witness the birth of a sage?"

"Bastard!!"

Ji Hiiragi Yukina finally couldn't help it, and rushed forward again with a dagger in her hand-

It's just that without Xuexia Wolf by her side, her combat ability has dropped by several levels.

Very easily, she was repelled by Amazuka mercury.

Then, just as Amazuka was about to make up for the final cut, there was a whistling sound in the sky.

"What!!"

After dodging the brilliant beam of light falling from the sky, he glanced at the first class who was pierced by the beam, and then raised his head.

There, above the cruise ship, Yakumo was flying in with the sound of breaking the air.

"Yakumo...... Brother ......"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yakumo's voice, and Xia Yin, who thought that he was restrained and had difficulty breathing, showed a reassuring smile on his little face, which was a little blue. (To be continued......)