7th Heaven: Weapons of God's fury

Chapter 10 - New Day, New Trouble

On an early morning in still-chilly April, two figures stood outside Caelestia Academy. One was Near Roswell that hid his last name as a Lainswoth; he was wearing a jersey and standing in front of the main gate, sipping from a sports drink bottle while moving his shoulders up and down lightly. The other was Laura Stuart; she was quite a distance away and panting from fatigue, running towards the main gate.

Near sealed his magic talent so that he can set intense training routines for himself, and ran about twenty kilometers every morning to maintain his physical fitness. Those twenty kilometers weren't some light jogging; he sprinted at full speed and changed the rhythm often to strain his heart and lungs. Laura, who had become his roommate three days ago, also joined him in this daily routine. On the first day, she collapsed along the road. On the second, she threw up. Because of that, Near started to match his pace with Laura for today, the third day.

"Didn't I say not to mind me!?"

But when he dropped his speed, Laura shouted at Near with an intensity he hadn't seen before, so he ran as usual today too. And today, though there was quite a delay, she made sure to reach him.

...As I thought, Laura really is amazing.

As she staggered to the gate, Near admired Laura's figure. She possessed great talent in magic, but also trained herself physically. He had to acknowledge her continued improvement without relying solely on her talent.

"Haa, haaaa―! Goooaaal...."

"Well done."

"I-I'm fine... th-this much is―"

She was so exhausted that her clothes were damp with sweat. That was some amazing willpower. Near watched Laura breath heavily, and offered her the beverage he had just been consuming.

"Here, want a drink?"

Stella stared at the bottle with a bewildered expression.

"Eh, that's... indirect kiss...."

"What's wrong? ...Oh, sorry. You can't take a bottle that a boy used."

"I-I didn't say anything was wrong with it! Just the opposite!"

"Opposite?"

"N-N-Nothing, you idiot! Give it to me!"

Ah, of all places, she drank from where I put my mouth.

Stella took the bottle with her face even redder than running had made it, and Near wasn't fast enough pointing that out. Feeling apologetic, he ducked away from Laura's gaze to look at Caelestia Academy's main gate, where there was a signboard indicating the school formalities.

"The opening ceremony, finally."

This moment was deeply personal for Near; last year he wasn't able to attend this school because of discrimination, but this year was different because Semiramis Martini, the new board chairman, was giving all the students the chance to learn. He could feel his anticipation rising. And also―

"You look pretty happy, Near."

"Do I? Actually, there's someone I want to meet."

"...I don't suppose it's a girl?"

Huh? I feel killing intent.

"Umm, it's true she's a girl, but―"

"Farewell."

"Wait, wait! Put down Zaphkiel and listen to the rest! I'm talking about my little sister!"

"Sister? Come to think of it, you said something about a sister during the duel."