Sky Striker Ace, But Symphogear

Then Chris made up her mind. She absolutely had to stay completely focused and keep Christina's persona from falling apart. She absolutely would not let that strange outfit control her movements.

"Haha, what a truly distinctive child. Tsubasa Kazanari, wasn't she the idol of that kid who ate quite a lot? Then this old lady wishes you the best in achieving your dream. Go for it, little Chris."

On the other side, after hearing what Chris had said, the woman said with a smile.

"O-Okay, thank you."

Chris stiffly accepted the woman's blessing.

"Don't worry, ma'am. Even if Christina herself gives up, I'll still make her the number one diva in the world. Well then, we'll be going now. Goodbye. We'll come again if we get the chance."

Holding her tablet, Raye naturally picked up the conversation. Then she took Chris's hand and turned to leave.

"Mhm, come again next time."

Accompanied by the woman's voice, Chris was pulled out of the okonomiyaki shop by Raye. At that moment, two office workers in black suits brushed past them and entered the store.

[Strange. Since when did Hibiki Tachibana's security level become this high? It was perfectly normal yesterday, wasn't it?]

Raye thought in confusion. In the instant they had passed each other, the airspace had already analyzed the abnormalities of those two and displayed them on the contact lens in her right eye.

[Huh? What happened?]

Chris spoke through telepathy, not understanding why Raye had suddenly thought that.

[Hm... Did I forget to turn off telepathy? Whatever. It's nothing. I just suddenly realized those two office workers were official security personnel, so I was wondering why Hibiki Tachibana's security level had been raised.]

Realizing she had left the telepathic connection open, Raye explained it to the somewhat baffled Chris.

P.S. Good night.

Infiltration Once More

[The security level was raised? Wait, you mean those two middle-aged men who just went inside were our enemies? In other words, if we'd been careless just now, we might have already been discovered?!]

After hearing Raye's reply, Chris thought for a moment before realizing that fact.

[I don't know. Honestly, I didn't notice anything strange about those two at first either. I only made some preparations out of caution. I didn't expect them to actually come in handy.]

Raye replied mentally, then picked up her computer and began trying to look up information on Hibiki Tachibana, just as she had yesterday afternoon.

Then, unsurprisingly, the information that had been as vulnerable as a delicate girl in a pleasure quarter yesterday had become as difficult to find as the weak points of a metal can clad in heavy armor today.

[As expected, I can't find anything. That makes things a little troublesome.]

Looking at the information that had been almost completely sealed off, Raye continued strolling around with Chris like an ordinary girl while thinking this with some frustration.

[Isn't that terrible?!]

Walking beside Raye, Chris spoke in her mind, her expression not looking very good.

The feeling that someone passing by you could actually be your enemy made Chris deeply uncomfortable. Compared to this kind of sinister battle, she would rather fight someone head-on with real weapons.

[*It is terrible. Based on the previous security level, I could have accomplished my objective through ordinary methods like deception, threats, and traps, without even needing to fight.

But now, I'll probably need at least one fairly intense battle to complete the planned objective. Sigh.*]

As she spoke, Raye raised her head and looked somewhat gloomily at the few white clouds hanging in the azure sky.

She had more or less gotten used to unexpected complications arising halfway through things, but that did not stop her from feeling some resentment whenever something really did go wrong.

[It's fine. As long as it's a head-on fight, I won't lose. With the Bronze Serpent Armor equipped, I'm super strong.]

Chris said confidently.

She was not very good at the work Raye did, but when it came to fighting, with a complete relic in hand, she would not lose to defective imitations that did not even possess complete relics.

[Mm, it's good that you're confident, but... never mind.]

Hearing Chris's excessively confident words, Raye wanted to say something, but ultimately did not.

Still, she felt the pressure on her shoulders grow heavier, because she could not understand why Chris, who could not even beat her, was so confident.

"Let's hurry, Christina. The sooner we get to Lydian, the longer we'll have to look around."

No longer thinking about those tedious matters, Raye perked herself up a little and said this to Chris.

"Ah, oh, okay."

Chris matched Raye's pace.

Since the okonomiyaki shop was not far from Lydian Music Academy to begin with, the two soon arrived at the academy gates on foot.

"Hello, we made an appointment to visit earlier. There are two of us, and here is our electronic confirmation."

Upon arriving at the school gate, Raye immediately swiped across her tablet a few times, then showed it to the guard at the entrance.

"Let me see. All right, no problem. Miss Rose and Miss Christina, correct? Welcome to your visit to Private Lydian Music Academy. I hope you have a pleasant experience."

After confirming that the electronic confirmation was valid, the guard returned the tablet to Raye and said this.

"I'm sure we will. All right, let's go, Christina."

Grabbing Chris's arm, the two slipped into Lydian without drawing anyone's attention.

At this time, perhaps because it was still the lunch break, Raye could see students wandering around the academy in twos and threes like ants.

[All right, we've successfully infiltrated the place. Next, I need to set up surveillance units and transport units at the key locations identified after the previous investigation. Sigh, if I'd known I would have to come here again, I should have set up more transport units last time.]

After sorting through her thoughts, Raye thought this.

When she had infiltrated the academy last time, she had considered the cost and the fact that she only needed to take Durandal away. Thus, she had not paid much attention to investigating Lydian Academy or planting too many eyes in advance.

[So what am I supposed to do?]

Chris asked in her mind.

[Hm... Chris, you can do whatever you want. If possible, just help draw some attention and cover for me.]

Raye replied.

[After all, this is meaningless work that only came up because Fine insisted on it for some reason. I don't know what I should be doing either, so you can just halfheartedly put on a show.]

Raye continued explaining.

Although she had accepted the assignment under Fine's demands, she truly did not know what one was supposed to do in a completely purposeless job like this.

In a sense, she had chosen to make preparations for the "hunt" while on a "date" because she genuinely did not know what to use to fill this time.

[So I just need to follow you, right?]

On the other side, after hearing Raye's words, Chris realized that in this "date," she only existed as an accessory to Raye's work.

[Mm, if you want to, you can do that.]

Raye replied.

[Is that so?]

[Say, if Fine hadn't demanded it, would you have sent me back after I finished the "idol" job, then gone off to do what you're doing now by yourself?]

After hearing Raye's response, Chris fell silent for a moment before asking this.

[Most likely. I'm used to working alone. It lets me be more flexible whether I need to retreat or attack.]

Raye said it as though it were only natural. If not for various reasons, she absolutely would have done that.

[I... see.]

Although she had expected it, hearing that answer for real still gave Chris a slight sense of defeat, and she fell silent.

Ding, ding, ding—

Just as the two communicated through telepathy, a long preparatory bell rang throughout the entire school.

"Mm, class is starting? Oh, right, Christina. Since you want to get a feel for Lydian Music Academy's standards, why don't we find a classroom and sit in on a lesson? I think that class looks good."

At the same time the bell rang, Raye's voice naturally sounded.

Hearing Raye say that, Chris understood that she was being asked to cooperate with the operation.

"That makes sense, Rose. Then I'll listen to you."

Feeling the softness coming from Raye's arm, which she could sense even through her clothes, Chris agreed. Since she had said she would be a good accessory, she just had to be a good accessory.

The Classroom

"Who are you?"

After the preparatory bell ended, Raye and Chris entered a first-year classroom. Seeing that they were not wearing uniforms, a blonde female teacher came forward to ask why they were there.

"Hello, teacher. We're here to visit Lydian Music Academy."

Raye said this.

"Ah, is that so?"

The blonde teacher asked with some uncertainty. She had not received any relevant notice.

"Here is our electronic confirmation."

Raye showed the electronic confirmation she had arranged once again.

"So you really are here to visit. Why would there be visitors at this time? Well, never mind. Since you're here to visit, why did you come here? We'll be starting class soon."

After seeing the electronic confirmation, the blonde teacher dismissed her doubts and began asking Raye's purpose.

"It's like this. Christina, the one beside me, was unable to enroll because of certain circumstances, so she now wants to find a school to transfer into. We came to visit this school to see whether it would be suitable for her transfer."

"Teacher, you should understand that if someone wants to determine whether a school is suitable for transferring into, they definitely cannot just look at the campus environment. Naturally, they need to actually sit through a few lessons before making a judgment."

"So we came here hoping you would allow us to sit in on one class. Of course, we don't need seats, and if this causes you any inconvenience, we can go elsewhere."

Raye explained the reason she had prepared in advance, as well as the reason she had used to arrange the visit.

"Is that so... All right, no problem. I can allow something this minor."

The blonde teacher thought for a moment, then agreed without much surprise. After all, it was not a particularly difficult request.

"Thank you. In that case, we'll sit in on the lesson from the raised platform at the back. Let's go, Christina."

Glancing at her tablet from the corner of her eye and seeing that the other party had agreed, Raye politely thanked her, then prepared to take Chris to the side of the classroom.

"Wait, there's no need to stand. One student happened to take leave today, though I don't know where she went, so there's an empty seat. Since, um, Christina intends to sit in, wouldn't it be better to sit at a desk and listen for the full experience?"

The blonde teacher pointed at the seat next to a black-haired girl wearing a white bow and smiled at Chris.

"An empty seat? But wouldn't that be troublesome? What if that person has some kind of germophobia?"

Raye glanced at the seat, thought for a moment, then said this.

"You don't need to worry about that. If it's her, I think she'd be the type to give her seat to someone else and stand herself."

After hearing Raye's concern, the blonde teacher merely thought for a moment before saying this.

"Besides, it's only a seat. We can't have an empty seat and still make someone stand at the back."

The blonde teacher said this.

"All right."

Seeing the other party put it that way, Raye stopped declining.

And so it was decided. Chris would sit in the empty seat, while Raye, who had not come to attend class anyway, would stand on the fenced raised platform at the back of the classroom with her tablet and carry out her own work.

"Christina, take this."

Just as Chris was preparing for class, Raye suddenly pulled a black shoulder bag from within her black coat and handed it to Chris.

"It's so light. What is this?"

Taking the shoulder bag, Chris had initially thought there was something inside. Only after receiving it did she realize it was completely empty.

"You'll find a use for it."

Raye said that, then left Chris's side, leaving her confused.

Soon, with the sound of a melodious bell, the music class at Lydian Music Academy began. Chris also began a campus life she had not experienced in a long time.

"Ugh..."

Feeling the strong academic atmosphere around her, Chris was at a loss for a moment.

As someone who pursued the ideal of "a world without war," was there not something wrong with her now sitting in a classroom and taking lessons?

"Now then, please turn to page..."

[Forget it. Since Raye wants me to cooperate and cover for her, I just need to attend class properly, right?]