4-44: The Girl That Was Played (1/5)

4-44: The Girl That Was Played (1/5)

The design of the buildings in the floating city of Kutoria could largely be divided into three main types.

One, the Earth-style, which is actually the Japanese-style and conforms to the legal standards of Japan.

Two, the simple Garesto-style, which focuses purely on function and affordability, a long way away from the Earth-style.

And three, a style that mixes the strong points of both.

Regardless the design, however, the three differing designs have one thing in common none of them were taller than a certain height.

That is a culture resulting from Garestos unsolvable problem.

In Garestos world, they always had to build their cities with raybeasts in mind, so they always had to make them in a shape that could be covered by a dome-shaped defensive wall.

And a building that was too high would obstruct that.

Moreover, they were also suffering from resource shortage, making costs an important matter.

Not to mention that in the unlikely event that if a building were to be destroyed by a raybeast, the collateral damage from the debris would undoubtedly also be big.

Because of those circumstances, there were no structures above a certain height in Garesto, and a similar rule was also enacted in the floating city of Kutoria, which was the place in Earth most frequented by raybeasts.

The city was also already somewhat complete before it welcomed its first inhabitants.

As such, most of the buildings were roughly as tall as the other buildings within the same district.

Thats why perhaps that might sound strange but it was precisely because of that that some students have been using them for this purpose.

Ive really done it now! Im going to be late!

A human-shaped figure with chestnut-colored hair could be seen running.

That figure was in fact a girl in school uniform, and though she was familiar with the road, she was visibly flustered as she ran.

But of course, it was doubtful whether that road she was running on could really be called a road.

After all, that so-called road was a rooftop.Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

With the rows of buildings in Kutoria at approximately the same height, a new road different from the road on the ground had inadvertently been created, making it possible to minimize the distance to certain destinations by jumping across the buildings. This was a path often used by students in a hurry.

Of course, there were some distance between the buildings, and having fences on rooftops were not uncommon either, but that level of obstruction was nothing to the students of the academy.

There! I can see it! I might just make it in time!

She(Tomoe) had been jumping across the gaps between buildings and fences to make her way.

When she saw her destination come to view, she heaved a breath of relief and said that.

She had gone to check on a friend, who had been discharged from the hospital, and ended up chatting with her a little too much.

By the time she realized that it was almost time for her appointment, she had no choice but to use this path and run on the roofs.

If that friend of hers were to know about this, she would likely make a glum face and tell her do that in front of me and Ill have to start regulating it.

Though this practice was tacitly accepted to some extent, the school has actually prohibited it.

Alright! I just barely made it!?

While apologizing to her public morals officer friend inside her mind, she kicked off against the roof and jumped, but perhaps because shed let her guard down after beelining for her destination or perhaps because she wanted to check the time, that last step meant to help her jump slipped().

Huh? Ah, no way!?

Her feet was right on the edge of the rooftop, but instead of stepping on the rooftop as usual, she had instead stepped on a pile of fallen leaves, causing her to silp.

A scene taken straight out from a comedy manga, yet it happened to this girl, and before she knew it, she was flying in the air.

Alas, the moment of weightlessness lasted only for an instant before gravity took its toll and dragged her straight down, face first.

With a foster attached, falling even from the roof of a high-rise building would not result in grave() injuries, but falling from such a height would indeed hurt, and failing to land properly would still cause injuries.

Given her abilities, she should be able to handle this much, but

Wah, wah, wahhhh!?!?

That would only be the case if she were calm. Unfortunately, the suddenness of this predicament had left her vulnerable.

But the boy jumped back and dodged it by a hairs breadth.

I know you were in a rush and all, but in the first place, a girl wearing a skirt shouldnt be going boing boing off the rooftops People will see it, you know?

The boy glanced down to the lower half of the girls school uniform.

Shut it! Most female students wear spats anyway!

So it wouldnt be a problem even if it were seen, she said with a voice stronger than expected.

You fool, Im telling you that there are men who prefer that!

What are you even worrying about!?

As nimble sounds rose, a short sword and a long sword danced.

Tomoe was slightly disadvantaged and was hit several times, but the way she handled her sword was both fast and beautiful.

But Shinichis dominance remained unchanged, as he was able to fend off her attacks with minimal movement.

The display put on by the two could only be described as spectacular, and the three spectators found themselves swallowing their breath.

But at the same time, the conversation they were having was turned in that direction.

Arent those called leggings?

How late are you on the trends? Nowadays, theres a clear distinction between the clothes used for fashion and those used for sports.

When used for fashion the term was Leggings, and when used for sports the term was Spats.

A somewhat petulant expression appeared on Shinichi because of that, and he found himself yelling.

This whole business of changing terms so frequently needs to stop! Consolidate the terms! I cant keep up!!

Dont complain to me!

The girl complained about his misplaced complaints and charged at the exposed body of the boy, but the boy still easily dodged.

Moreover, because Tomoe had taken such a huge step, she left herself fully open, allowing the short sword to descend on her from the corner of her eyes.

To dodge, she allowed her momentum to send her tumbling forward and distance herself from Shinichi.

When she turned to him, a leisurely face could be seen on him, while resting his short sword on his shoulder.

Ku, and I thought that was an opening for sure!

I just made it look that way, you simple-minded girl. Also, youre full of openings. However, I was able to confirm that you were indeed wearing spats, so that puts me at ease.

Con, firm? Ah!

For a moment, Tomoe didnt understand what Shinichi was saying, but when realization dawned on her, her cheeks flushed again, and her girl instincts compelled her to immediately push down on her skirt.

Apparently, hed seen her when she rolled away from him.

There was a stark difference between there being no problem even if she was seen and her showing it.

Mostly in regards to modesty, honor, and her pride as a woman.

Ku ku, didnt you say it wouldnt be a problem even if you were seen?

But Shinichi laughed despite knowing that and resumed his attack with his short sword.

Tomoes face was awashed with shame and anger, but all she could do was to glare at him as she was too caught up being on the defensive.

But I still think thats your weak point when fighting. At the very least you need to be trained enough to be able to hold yourself back during battle.

T-Trained!? W-Why did you have to phrase it like that!?

To agitate you, duh!

Ah!?

After being agitated as Shinichi intended, he swept away her long sword with his short sword, and like magic, the weapon she was holding was suddenly sent flying, while the hilt of Shinichs short sword was pointed right at her face.

You fool, this might just be a little contest, but you shouldnt take your opponents words so seriously. In the first place, I didnt mean anything strange by the word train. What were you imagining?