CK 33

Chapter 33…

For Someone Who Can’t Fight

I Never Taught You That

Late Saturday morning.
I was training, as usual, in the parking lot of the old research lab ruins.

Now that I knew how to neutralize a Fallen Star, our way of fighting would have to change too.
That’s why I wanted Yui to come as well…

But lately, she’d been skipping our after-school practice, saying, “Sorry, I have something to do!” and disappearing.
She finally said she’d come today—but even though it was almost noon, she still wasn’t here.

What’s with her? She was so full of energy before.
Ever since she learned to summon her Star Armor and got that fever… has she lost her motivation?
No, that’s not like her—or at least, it shouldn’t be.

As I was thinking that, I heard a voice:
“Sorry… I’m late…!”

Turning around, I saw Yui reaching the top of the stairs, out of breath.

“Huh? So you finally showed up.”
“Yeah… um… I’m really sorry. I kinda… overslept…”

Her breathing was rough. She looked apologetic, her hair messier than usual.
Something about her felt off today.

…Well, whatever she’s been up to, I’ll just keep an eye on her for now.
Even if it turns out she’s doing something that could be a problem for me, I can deal with it later.

Right now, we need to focus on what’s ahead.
Since that last battle, no new Fallen Stars have appeared.
But since we don’t know when the next one will, we can’t afford to relax.

“So, what’s the plan today?”
“Weren’t we gonna talk about what to do next?”
“Yeah, let’s start with that.”

“Okay, so… from now on, we both fight using our Star Armor. You’ll deal with the Fallen Stars directly, and I’ll support you. But turning the Fallen Stars back into humans—that’s my job… right?”
“Pretty much.”
“Got it~! I’ll do my best!”

Yui pumped her fist in the air with her usual cheerful energy.
I had been a little worried when she showed up late, but she seemed back to her normal self.

“…Just don’t push yourself too hard,” I warned her anyway.

“I knooow!”

Her answer was bright and confident—but last time she said that, she ended up with a fever.
…Is she really okay?

Still, if I kept dwelling on it, we’d never move on. I set my worries aside.

“Alright, next. Since you can now generate Star Armor, we’ll move on to weapons and unique abilities.”
“Weapons… like that staff you use, right?”
“Yeah. But yours will probably take a different form.”
“And your unique ability is… that thing where you make fire and water appear?”

That wasn’t exactly right—but it wasn’t worth correcting.
“More or less,” I said, and continued.

“Let’s start with your weapon.”
“Okay! …So what do I do?”
“First, summon your Star Armor.”

“Got it!” she said again, stepping back a few meters.
Then she called forth her Replic Gear and, following her usual process, generated her navy-and-red Star Armor.

“What now?”
“Think about your unique ability, your fighting style, and what kind of weapon would suit you best.”
“Um… hey, what is my unique ability, anyway?”

That question caught me off guard.
Aside from the time she restored the Fallen Star of Pisces to human form, I’d never seen any sign of her Aries ability.

Truth is, I had no idea what her power was.
In that case… this was the simplest way to find out.

“…We’ll figure it out through a light sparring match.”
“Huh?”

Ignoring Yui’s confusion, I stood up and summoned my own gear.
We shifted positions slightly as I generated my navy-and-black Star Armor—my usual one—and donned it, letting the constellation’s power flow through me.

“Alright, come at me.”
“‘Come at you’? What do you mean, just like that—?”
“It’s a combat ability, right? You’ll only know what it is when you actually fight. Besides, when you turned Pisces back, you used a punch, didn’t you?”

She still looked hesitant. “Well, yeah… but…”

“What’s there to hesitate about? We’re both wearing Star Armor—it’s not like fighting bare-handed. Come on.”

After a pause, she finally nodded.
“Alright then… here I come, okay…?”

She closed the distance and prepared to throw a punch.

I could’ve dodged easily—but dodging wouldn’t help us learn anything.
So I silently cast a no-incantation anti-impact spell and gathered starlight energy in my left hand, ready to block.

Then—her fist struck my hand.

A tremendous force pressed against my left arm.

But my body was fine—I’d absorbed the blow completely.

Still… her punch felt heavier than before.
And the way she struck—it wasn’t any technique I’d taught her.

I never showed her that kind of punch.
Could she really have figured that out on her own, in such a short time?

As I was silently thinking, Yui asked worriedly,
“Um… are you okay?”

“No problem.”
“Aww, man…”

You can’t expect to figure things out from just one hit.
…Guess we’ll have to test a few more things.

“Alright, let’s keep moving. We’ll handle the rest later.”
“…Okay.”