Polar Opposites (1)

It was Sunday, and the match was being held in broad daylight. Blow, having arrived early at Björn Arena, had taken the seat between Rachel and Skadi, while his employees—Jane among them—sat in a loose ring all around him.

"Boss, thank you!!"

"Because you looked out for us, we made it all the way to the finals...!"

"I'll lay my bones down at Red Forest, Boss!"

One by one, his people offered their thanks. Blow answered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠each of them with a nod, then let his gaze drift to Rachel, who was clenching and unclenching her fists as if she were more nervous than she cared to show.

"So. Did you enjoy yourself these past few days?"

"Enjoy myself? What are you talking about?"

"The training you did with Senior Yulia. I hear you kept at it until last night."

"There was a certain pleasure in dyeing her, I'll give you that."

"In your color, Princess?"

"Mm. Orange, like Straight Rachel. Haha!"

"You've had a hard time of it, in more ways than one."

"It was nothing but fun!"

"You'll be heading straight up tonight, then?"

"No. I'm going down. What's our President Blow going to do now, bored out of his mind without me?"

She said it with a swagger, and Blow only shrugged, as if to say he would be perfectly fine.

"That, truly, is nothing you need to worry about. But the capital is to the north. Why did you say south?"

"This time I've set the expedition straight south. I rested nearly ten days, so this one looks like it'll take longer."

"Oh. Are you granting the request I made at the Black Bridge Gathering, just like that?"

"That sort of thing ought to be done the moment you've made up your mind. The road out is what it is. On the way back, I'll be stopping at an Ain village."

"Thank you, Princess."

"We already promised. Hardly worth a thank-you. Haghia's at Greig's estate, so see to it you can reach me regularly."

"Will she be staying in Caipol from now on?"

"She's my communications officer. I mean to leave her here. She said herself she likes not having to travel."

At that, Haghia's face drifted through Blow's mind—the woman who always wore that leisurely smile. From what he had picked up coming and going, she was a genuine talent, one who had gone all the way through university at the magic school in the Imperial Capital.

"Then... would it be all right if I entrusted her with a little of the potion shop's work? If possible, I'd like her counsel as well."

He slipped it in sidelong, and Rachel's brow crooked all at once.

"Haghia?"

"Yes. She seems remarkably capable."

"You brat. If our Haghia's in the potion shop, that means you're under watch around the clock."

"I'm not doing anything wicked. Surely that doesn't matter?"

"Well. She is wasted on communications alone."

"The truth is, if you'll permit it, I'd like to place her at the second branch. If she's going to be monitoring anyway, she may as well run the place herself."

"Meticulous bastard."

And so, easily as anything, the two of them fell to discussing Haghia's wages and where the potion shop ought to stand.

A little later, Deschamp came into Rachel's view, stroking his beard as he looked down over the arena.

"Well, setting that aside—I knew you'd pull it off. Blow Deblique."

"You mean the Marquis?"

"Yes. He was supposed to head back yesterday, wasn't he?"

"It wasn't easy, but it worked out somehow."

"I've already softened Yulia up, so it'll go well."

"What? When?"

"Over lunch."

"Thanks to you, Princess, this has gotten a good deal easier. I was at a complete loss for how to handle it."

"We help each other where there's help to give, Blow Deblique."

She held a fist out toward him, and he tapped his own against it.

Pain drove up from deep in the bone, and he could not help but flinch.

...Steel?

They had barely touched, and still he felt how hard her bones were. He had been growing used to it of late, and yet the contact made him realize all over again that the woman seated beside him was Black Blade Rachel.

He was offering her a slightly awkward smile when Skadi, who had been hesitating at his other side, edged her way in.

"Blow Deblique! Who are you rooting for in this final!"

"Exactly half and half."

"Trying to drop both rabbits again, are you? Blow Deblique."

"It'll be settled soon enough anyway."

"Honestly."

Skadi watched Rachel shake her head, plainly dissatisfied, then spoke in a tone prim enough to be unlike her.

"Then I'll cheer for Hervena."

"And what is that supposed to mean, Skadi Hetaya?"

"Well, you'll be cheering for Senior Yulia, Princess, so I thought I'd say so."

"Fair enough. It does make for a prettier picture."

As if on cue, all three of them turned their eyes on Jane, seated behind them.

She startled, then answered in a voice that was barely there.

"I suppose... Hervena, for me. We're retainers together, after all..."

"Then you, Linne—you cheer for Yulia. Together with your lover."

"Y-yes? Wha—? A l-lover!?"

"Yes. That upstanding fellow right beside you. Wasn't he your lover?"

Rachel looked at Linne and Rowbedi both, and smiled a wicked little smile. Rowbedi could manage no reaction at all, only working his mouth open and shut, while Linne waved her hands and cried out at her.

"He's not!"

"I only gave it one poke, and she flops like a fish fresh off the hook. Isn't that right, President Blow?"

"Why are you tormenting the kids?"

"This is torment? I was only trying to match a pair that suits each other!"

Only then did Blow look behind him.

The two who ought to have been murmuring together had gone awkward, each staring off in a different direction and busily pretending not to notice.

"Rowbedi. Linne. No romances among the staff."

"Yes, Young Master."

"S-someone like me, what could I— haha......"

Linne seemed to be stammering even more than usual today. Even so, the answer came readily enough that Blow only shrugged.

"Aren't you the one tormenting them more, Blow Deblique?"

"Work is work."

"A heart in love is a natural disaster. How do you mean to stop it? Isn't that so, Princess Skadi Hetaya?"

"Wha—? Why me, all of a sudden...?"

"I just tried saying it, because that's how it looked."

Rachel answered playfully. Skadi's lips parted, then pressed tight shut, and for no particular reason she began twisting her own hair.

And when Rachel had finished turning their whole corner upside down, Aurora at last stepped up onto the arena in clothes even more splendid than usual.

The moment she finished, applause thick with expectation poured toward Aurora.

"I'm seriously dying to know what Hervena's going to do today."

"She'll just keep batting Senior Yulia's magic back, won't she?"

"And what if her mana burns out while she's at it?"

"You think Hervena's mana has a limit?"

"Fair point."

"Even so, I really don't think Senior Yulia can beat Hervena..."

Most of the talk ran along those lines, all of it about Hervena, though here and there a few voices rose with expectation for Yulia mixed in.

"Senior Yulia's whole way of dueling has changed. You never know, right?"

"Watching her spar with Cindy, her stamina looked incredible."

"Word is she's prepared something nobody can even imagine."

"Who said that?"

"Maxim. Deputy head of Public Relations."

"Senior Yulia really is diligent. She doesn't have to go that far."

And so everyone in the stands held a trembling heart of their own and watched the arena floor, until at last Aurora shouted, her voice so vast through the amplification circle that the formation itself seemed ready to shatter.

The arena nearly lifted off with the roar, and at last Hervena showed herself on the floor.

The same dark purple bob, the same green eyes, and—

"That's the outfit you bought her, Blow."

"It is. Not exactly clothes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a duel."

A black dress whose frills caught the eye, the hem falling to about mid-thigh. At the Black Bridge Gathering, people had praised it as though they were looking at a lovely crow.

Unlike other days, she seemed to have slept well; she looked refreshed. She raised a hand toward the first-year girls' section, where her name was being shouted louder than anywhere else. Over there, every one of them was stretching out hands that could never reach her.

"Sister Hervena!!"

"She's a total princess!!!!!"

"Her looks have been blooming like crazy lately!!"

Hervena answered the praise at her leisure. Then she set a hand to her chest and offered a bow to her young master.

In an instant, every eye swung toward Blow. Rachel saw it, chuckled, and murmured to him.

"Well, well. Hervena's really making you play the master, isn't she?"

"She is. I never told her to do anything like that."

Even so, he was pleased, and he sent Hervena a fervent round of applause. It seemed to suit her. She smiled as if satisfied.

Around the time the clapping in the stands began to ebb, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Aurora pointed to the side opposite Hervena and shouted.

With the introduction, Yulia walked out onto the arena.

Light gray high-waisted slacks rose all the way to her waist, and over them she wore a top that looked easy to move in. Her eyes, today, flashed sharper than ever.

And at that startling figure, a stir ran through the stands all at once.

"Eh? Senior Yulia, in trousers...?"

"I never knew. Her legs are incredibly long, Senior Yulia..."

"Those pants look really strange. For dueling? They seem to come up above the waist."

The reaction began with the upper-year girls, sensitive to that sort of thing, and spread. Blow monitored it with quiet satisfaction. Even to his eye, what Yulia was wearing now could have been sent to the other world on the spot and raised no sense of being out of place.

Once she had taken her position, she waved at once toward where Blow sat, and he answered with a wave of his own.

Yulia broke into a bright smile. Hervena glared, as if the sight did not please her in the least.

And so the two of them took their places with Aurora between them.

One side, a princess in a black dress. The other, trousers that looked made for ease. Had the students been polled on dress alone before the match, the verdict on who owned which look would almost certainly have come out backwards. The unexpected picture was entertaining in itself, and the delighted racket of the crowd was still swelling—

when the amplification circle of Aurora, who had been enjoying the unforeseen sight, suddenly flashed.