Chapter 29…
To Fight Together
Replication
“Masato, you bastard… Why didn’t you tell her about me?”
The red-haired man muttered this while opening the refrigerator.
This place… is this his house?
In the end, I came inside, but I had no idea what was going on, so I just stood there.
He knows my name and Ma-kun’s name… so is he a Zodiac Knight too?
But… Ma-kun said there weren’t any other people who could fight… right?
“Ah, sit wherever you like. As for drinks… there aren’t any, so I can’t offer you one. Seriously… that guy’s living habits are terrible.”
“Ah, um… thank you. It’s okay, I don’t need anything to drink.”
I thanked him and sat down on the sofa.
The red-haired man sat on the one across from me.
There were so many things I wanted to ask that I finally said, “Um… can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. As long as it’s something I can answer.”
“Um… where is this?”
“Wait… you came here without being told anything?”
When I answered “Yes…”, the red-haired man burst into laughter.
“It’s not something to laugh about!” I protested, but he kept laughing anyway.
After he’d laughed enough, he finally answered my question.
“Sorry, sorry. This place is the one Masato uses as his home.
Didn’t think he’d forget to mention even that. What did he tell you then?”
“Wait, this is Ma-kun’s house!?”
I’d wondered where he lived now since the house he used to live in as a kid had new occupants…
I never imagined he was living on an entire building floor.
But now’s not the time to be surprised—I have more important questions.
“Um… could I ask your name?”
“Oh, right! So you were invited in by someone whose name you don’t even know, huh? My bad, my bad.
I’m Homura Hōō. Call me whatever you like.”
He answered with a laugh.
What a strong-sounding name. Actually… isn’t that kind of a flashy name?
But it’s probably not good manners to comment on someone’s name.
Anyway, I still have a lot to ask.
“Um… Mr. Homura?”
“Yeah?”
“What kind of relationship do you have with Ma-kun?”
“Hmm… I guess I’m something like a boss, a mentor… or maybe a guardian?”
Then Homura-san fell silent.
Maybe their relationship is kind of complicated…?
But before I could ask more, he spoke again.
“Oh right, since you were chosen by a constellation too, that makes me your superior as well.”
“So… you’re the leader of the Zodiac Knights?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“But Ma-kun said he’s the only one who can fight…”
“Ahh… well, that’s not entirely wrong. I don’t usually fight myself.”
I almost blurted out, “Even though you have such a strong name?”—but managed to hold it back. That’d be rude.
…Anyway.
“Where’s Ma-kun now?”
“Oh, the usual place. Did he tell you where that is?”
“The ruins of the lab?”
“So he did tell you that. You contacted him before coming here, right? Then he should be back any minu—oh, speak of the devil.”
Right on cue, the door opened.
Ma-kun came in, wearing the same tracksuit he wore during training over the break.
He was holding two black cases in his hands.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“Never mind that—why didn’t you tell her about me? She was so startled she almost left, you know?”
“…Huh. I didn’t mention that?”
“You didn’t tell me about this place or about Homura-san!”
At my words, Ma-kun awkwardly averted his gaze, then silently walked into the back of the room.
“Hey, say something!” I called out, but there was no reply.
He was doing something at a shelf.
I sighed and waited, slightly annoyed.
After a bit, he came back and set one of the black cases on the table.
Then he sat down next to Homura-san on the opposite sofa.
“So, why did you call me here?”
“To give you that. Go ahead, open it.”
He pointed at the black case.
So he called me here just to give me this?
I opened it.
Inside was a familiar-looking dark-blue rectangular object.
“This is… a Gear?”
Yes, a Gear—the same kind Ma-kun always carries, and the one I’ve borrowed a few times before.
…Wait a minute.
“I thought there was only one Gear?”
“This is the Replication Constellation Armor Generate Gear.”
“…What?”
I hadn’t caught that, so I asked again.
Ma-kun sighed.
“…It’s a Repli-Gear. A duplicate of my Gear. We’ll need more than one from now on.”
“Repli-Gear… a duplicate… Wait, this one’s for me!?”
“I’ve been saying that.”
“You don’t explain things properly, Ma-kun!”
“Yeah, seriously—explain things clearly to your rookie,” Homura chimed in.
Ma-kun went quiet.
That reaction told me there’s probably still something he’s not telling me…
…but I promised I’d wait until he’s ready, so I shouldn’t push it now. We’d just end up fighting again.
“Can I try using it now?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Since I had permission, I stood up.
…But is it okay to do it here?
“Um… is it alright to do it here?”
“Summoning your armor’s fine. Just do it over there.”
He pointed to a more open space.
Yeah, probably not a good idea to do it between the sofa and the table.
I moved where he indicated, attached the Gear, and went through the familiar steps.
“Star Armor Activate!”
At that moment, I pressed the button.
The Aries constellation burst out from the center of the Gear.
I was wrapped in light, and within it, donned deep blue and red armor.
Then the light faded.
I’d successfully summoned my Star Armor.
“How is it? Anything different from the one I use?”
“Hmm… ah! My body doesn’t hurt at all!”
“Right, you mentioned that. So this one doesn’t cause pain, huh.”
He didn’t continue after that.
…Was he lost in thought?
I moved around a bit.
No pain. No other big differences either.
After checking, I thought maybe I could dismiss it now.
Just then, Ma-kun spoke.
“Yui, which one do you want to use?”
“Which one?”
“Mine or yours—whichever you prefer.”
“Hmm… I think this one? Yours hurts my body too much.”
“…I see.”
His response somehow sounded… dissatisfied.
So I asked, “Is there a reason this one’s no good?”
“Yeah… this duplicate version was just completed, so we don’t know if it’s safe yet.”
“Eh!? Really!? Then what about yours?”
“Actually… we don’t know that one either.”
“…What.”
I was so shocked I went speechless.
You’re kidding me!? So we’ve been fighting with something we don’t even know is safe!?
…Now I’m suddenly scared.
But I also wanted to know why he said they don’t know.
“What do you mean by ‘don’t know’?”
“Just what it sounds like. There’s some kind of unknown magic cast on it.”
I tilted my head, not understanding.
Seeing that, Ma-kun sighed.
A few seconds later, he explained again.
“It means, ‘we know that there are multiple spells on it, but we don’t know their trigger conditions or effects.’ Get it?”
“So… you know that you don’t know?”
“Pretty much.”
“Is that spell on this one too?”
“No, not really. I had them avoid those spells as much as possible. The duplicate’s uncertainty is just from lack of testing. From what I could tell when I used it earlier, it should be fine though.”
“I see…?”
I kind of understood, but kind of didn’t.
Still, it seemed even Ma-kun didn’t fully know either, so I decided not to press further.
“Anyway, if you notice anything strange, tell me right away.”
“Got it! But Ma-kun, you be careful too.”
When I said that, he just replied, “…Yeah.”
But he didn’t meet my eyes.
…Yeah, I still can’t tell what he’s thinking.
Just then, Homura spoke up.
“Hate to interrupt your little heart-to-heart, but… aren’t you going to set up the summoning magic?”
“Ah.”
“Eh?”
Summoning… magic?
