For the students of Reien, the brief vacation was followed by a long stretch of school life.
That had not changed even now.
However...
"This is so boring..."
Watching the uniformed girls passing by outside the window, Kiritou Senka stretched lazily, then slumped over her desk.
"If I'd known it would be like this, I wouldn't have gone home during vacation. Home was even more boring..."
"Then why did you go back?"
"How could I possibly let you spend summer vacation alone with my brother!?"
Hearing the voice from beside her, Senka immediately sprang up and glared irritably at the girl seated next to her. She had shoulder-length black hair and an overall androgynous, gallant air. Even at Reien, she was quite popular.
But to Kiritou Senka, she was the most irritating person imaginable.
"Listen, Ryougi! As long as these eyes of mine haven't rolled back into my head, I'll never let you sneak off to see my brother!"
"Who's sneaking around? What an awful way to put it."
The black-haired girl—Ryougi Shiki—looked displeased as well.
"Your brother was the one who came pestering me. I find him annoying."
"What? You dare say my brother is annoying?"
"What exactly do you want from me?"
"Alright, alright..."
Seeing the two about to start fighting, the girl seated between them hurriedly tried to mediate with a smile.
"It's the start of a new term. Shouldn't everyone be a little happier? Right... Akiha?"
"Ah, yes..."
At the girl's words, Tohno Akiha nodded. The girl who had just stopped their quarrel—Seo Shizune—then deliberately turned to her as if to change the subject.
"Oh, right. Teacher Fiore told me that during vacation, you went back to Misaki Town, fought a Dead Apostle head-on, and even defeated it?"
"Huh? Really, Akiha?"
"Tohno, you encountered a Dead