"Du! Ran! Dal!"
Elysia had a feeling that by tonight, she'd be filling another page in her little notebook with a certain someone's name.
So, why was it that this girl always managed to shatter her composure so effortlessly?
If they weren't in a public place right now, Elysia thought, given how infuriatingly annoyed she felt, she might have just pounced and taken a bite out of her.
"Alright…"
Even Durandal, dense as she could be, understood that Elysia was genuinely angry this time.
So, she offered a rare explanation. "Sorry… It's just that Eden's concert is still half a month away, and I've been discussing some things with Connie lately, so I forgot to mention it to you after I got back yesterday. Besides, I didn't expect Kevyn to move this fast…"
Alright then…
Elysia wasn't one to hold a grudge for long. Hearing Durandal's somewhat reasonable explanation, she quickly calmed down.
Almost as soon as her anger receded, her attention was snatched away by another matter.
Leaning in close to Durandal's ear to prevent Kevyn from overhearing, Elysia curled her lips into a pleased smile and whispered, "Caught you~? Durandal, you transferred schools just for this Kevyn girl, didn't you~?"
Durandal: ?
Elysia and Durandal were completely unaware of how their current actions appeared from Kevyn's perspective…
From Kevyn's View: Elysia had been really angry because Durandal decided on the concert trip without consulting her.
But after Durandal patiently explained herself, Elysia's anger melted away, turning into a smile, and now they were being all intimate and whispery right in public… Elysia was truly bold, and Durandal was an absolute legend!
Thus, a certain white-haired girl, feeling she shouldn't be a third wheel at a time like this, decisively slipped back to her own seat to listen to music with Mei.
"Huh? How come your Kevyn left?"
After saying that and straightening up, Elysia finally noticed that Kevyn had disappeared at some point.
Durandal: "…"
Since when did Kevyn become hers?
If Mei heard something like that, who knows what kind of misunderstanding it would cause!
Even if Mei didn't think much of it now, in the future, after she and Kevyn got together, recalling this would surely leave a bad taste.
Given Elysia's habit of 'shooting her mouth off,' Durandal felt compelled to correct her.
"Watch your wording… I just think Kevyn has the potential to become a Flame-Chaser like you and me."
After a pause, Durandal added, "Speaking of which, is that why you've been observing my every move these past few days?"
"I thought… you'd already figured out my intentions on the first day, from the look on my face when I saw Kevyn in the office."
Besides, what Durandal didn't say was that she hadn't transferred just for Kevyn alone.
Out of the five people going to the concert together, aside from herself and Elysia, including the main performer, all were targets Durandal intended to recruit.
Elysia: "…"
Thud—just like that, the joy she'd felt from guessing Durandal's motive vanished in an instant.
"Durandal…"
Elysia's voice was faint, almost haunting.
"What is it?"
Durandal looked back, her expression one of pure confusion.
"You're such a killjoy, you know that?"
Seeing Elysia puff up with irritation again, Durandal felt both baffled and a little amused. "Well then, Elysia, would you like to hear my assessment of you?"
"Even if you don't say it, I already know!"
Elysia huffed.
"Oh? But I think what we have in mind is probably different."
Almost as if guided by some whimsical impulse, Durandal reached out and poked Elysia's cheek, remarking with a hint of wonder, "To me, you're like a pufferfish. The slightest touch, and you puff up all angry."
Elysia: ?
"That's how you describe a beautiful girl?"
Elysia was so stunned by Durandal's utterly absurd comment that she unconsciously ignored the fact that Durandal had just poked her cheek.
The moment Durandal's hand made contact, Kevyn glanced back.
A wave of envy washed over her before she turned to look at Mei beside her, wondering when—or if—Mei would ever allow her to touch as naturally as Elysia allowed Durandal…
Abruptly, Kevyn's face flushed red, and she stopped her train of thought right there.
After waiting a moment for Kevyn to change the song to no avail, Mei looked up, puzzled, only to be met with the sight of a blushing beauty.
Mei: ?
She suspected Kevyn's walkman had dual audio channels and that they weren't even listening to the same song!
If Mei were possessed by the spirit of a silly netizen at that moment, she'd probably have complained: What are you blushing for, you bubble tea pot!
--+--
That evening, back at home, as Elysia took out her notebook, intending to write down the names of the new classmates she'd met that day, it finally hit her—back at school, it seemed, perhaps, maybe, she had let Durandal poke her cheek?
In a daze, Elysia heard the familiar 'scratch scratch' of her pen once more.
When her focus returned, she discovered she had unconsciously filled yet another page with that certain someone's name.
At that, Elysia completely lost her mood.
She put away the notebook and pen, flung herself onto the bed, and draped her right forearm over her forehead.
Feeling the perfectly normal temperature of her skin, she stated with absolute certainty, "It seems I'm sick. And seriously ill, at that."
--+--
On the weekend, one week before Eden's concert in Nagazora City, Connie led Durandal and Elysia to the city's old district.
"Connie… this is the place you found, the one most suitable to be the base for the Flame-Chasers organization?"
Just like the old districts in many pre-Shown capitalist countries that basically turned into slums, Nagazora City was no exception.
Durandal wasn't asking because she looked down on the dirt and disorder.
It was just that an environment this chaotic, in her view, wasn't suitable for the Flame-Chasers' headquarters.
"Lady Durandal, just follow me."
Connie didn't offer much explanation, instead leading Durandal and Elysia into a narrow alley.
Then, Durandal and Elysia keenly noticed that the previously hostile gazes fixed on the three of them now withdrew, filled with a uniform look of fear.
It seemed this place was far from ordinary.
--+--