Prologue: Silver Phoenix Knights Begin
Translator: Skythewood
Editors: Darkdhaos, Thorify D, Storm Loki, alkin
He didn’t
know how long it had been.
The dark
barren space seemed to be endless, his pale white skin and brilliant silvery
purple hair was a strong contrast against the background.
He couldn’t
feel the ground beneath his feet, only a sensation like floating in water.
It was
strange, but, he wasn’t bothered by it, or interested in this situation. He
simply stared into the other end of space with a blank expression.
Finally,
something other than him appeared in this stagnant space.
It was a
rectangular box printed with colours. On closer inspection, it had a picture of
a ‘robot' in a cool pose on it, and the ‘logo’ displayed the name of the robot
on the side. The box was labeled with a detailed ‘description’ on four of the
sides— indicating that this was a box containing a ‘plastic model’.
And, there
were more than one.
All sorts of
boxes were chained together, encircling Eru. He was familiar with all the
robots depicted on the boxes and would never forget them— He bought all of
them right before the ‘traffic accident’.
“Aahhh…
That’s right, these are the ‘yet to assemble’ ones. It’s a rare chance, I have
to complete them.”
Ignoring why
the things he had lost were here, he didn’t even care why ‘boxes of plastic
models’ were before ‘Ernesti’. He smiled calmly and acted as he usually did.
Holding
clippers in his hand, he placed a cutting mat, box cutter, tweezers, file, and
glue tidily before him.
This was a
habit he had in the ‘past’, placing his tools and model pieces tidily before
assembling it in earnest. It was like a ritual and was a part of his routine.
Eru, who had
finished the preparations, was in a great mood as he reached out for a box
floating in the air.
Opening the
box, taking out the model parts, and starting to read the instruction manual.
This was a
time of happiness as he immersed himself in his hobby, but, for unknown
reasons, the box moved unexpectedly and dodged his hand. He tried several
times, but, couldn’t touch any of the boxes, and they seemed to be drifting
further and further away, about to disappear into the darkness of the abyss.
“Hmmm?
Please wait, I haven’t done anything yet. There are so many I have ‘yet to
assemble’, I want to keep assembling!!”
He gave
chase, but, whenever he was about to touch them, the boxes slipped away.
The
frustrated Eru started getting serious. The clippers in his hand started to
morph into the gunstaff, ‘Winchester’.
Mana and
script flowed into his beloved staff, manifesting into physical phenomenon
through the catalyst crystal. ‘Aero Thrust’— The air pressure created from
the magical explosion propelled Eru’s body forward like a bullet, reaching
speeds that surpassed that of any normal man. However, he still couldn’t reach
the boxes. The boxes shook at a place just beyond his reach, mocking his efforts.
“Don’t even
think of running… I won’t let you get away! My, my plastic models!”
Just a bit
more and he could touch them. Eru pounced at the boxes.
He finally
grabbed it into his arms, holding it tightly and refusing to let go.
‘The box of
plastic models’ should be something made from thick cardboard.
But, the
sensation in his arms felt so familiar, a tenderness that wasn’t too hard or
too soft.
For the
first time, his mind was filled with doubt and he lifted his head like a spring
— And,
he woke up from his dream.
His
sleepiness was gone in an instant.
Eru blinked
his eyes and sighed deeply. His mind was clear, but, his mood was terrible.
“... It was
a ‘dream’. To stop at such a place… Even if it was a dream, at least let me do
it until the very end.”
Light shone
through the thin curtains and the room gradually grew brighter. It was morning,
even though recalling the dream that was becoming vague made him upset; he
still prepared to get up from bed out of habit.
At this
moment, he realised that something was right before him, and he was being
pressed down.
It was too
close so he thought it was a blanket. But, looking at it closely, he realised
it wasn’t ‘something’, but ‘someone’.
Eru slightly
lifted his head and recognised who it was. The one hugging Eru in her sleep was
the girl who grew up alongside him— ‘Adeltrud Olter’. He understood why
the dream ended.
“... Ahh,
right, we slept together last night.”
He was
confused momentarily, but, remembered the reason in no time.
It happened
last night.
He was
pulled into a certain incident a few days ago, and Ady was unhappy at being
left out.
And, so, she
announced that she would punish Eru ‘like a pillow’. So she snuggled into his
bed and executed the punishment.
Ady was
sleeping soundly without a care in the world, wearing a satisfied expression.
Her face looked so happy that Eru hesitated to wake her up.
If he hadn't
been rendered immobile by her tight embrace, he might have let her continue
sleeping.
“Ady, it’s
morning, wake up.”
It couldn’t
be helped since he couldn’t move, so Eru shook Ady’s shoulders to wake her up.
A moment later, she opened her eyes in a daze— then smiled brilliantly and
hugged Eru tighter.
“... Hmmm…
It’s Eru… Fufu, so warm, so happy…”
Winter is
the time when one longs for the warmth of the bed, and the young boy whose size
was just right for hugging provided great warmth.
“Time to get
up Ady; don’t keep sleeping just because it's cold.”
“... Just,
three more hours…”
There seemed
to be no end to this. She rubbed her cheek against Eru’s hair, smiling happily
as she dozed off into dreamland once again.
Saying this
verbally was useless, so, Eru gave up and adopted drastic measures. He moved
his hand under her clothes and used gentle and cautious motions to tickle her
flanks and back. Ady, slept for a while, but moved involuntarily in no time,
waving her limbs about.
“......!
……!! Fu, hya!? Wait, stop, it tickles, Eru, stop!!”
After
struggling for some time, Ady finally suppressed Eru’s hands, stopping further
attacks. She maintained this position and lowered her gaze, meeting Eru’s, who
was smiling gently in the eyes. She blushed and moaned in tears:
“Eru~! Boo,
hoo, you are becoming mean recently…!”
“No such
thing. Good morning, you are finally awake. Come, it is a beautiful morning,
let’s get up from bed.”
He then
pulled the reluctant Ady up.
She looked
displeased with the cool breeze. In contrast, Eru was stretching his limbs and
swinging his arms for some reason.
“Now is not
the time to lose to the cold. Here, let’s begin the activities of the ‘Silver
Phoenix Knights’. I couldn’t do it in my dream, but I won’t give up this time!”
“...? Aren’t
you unusually excited after forming the Knights Order?”
Seeing Eru
full of drive made Ady tilt her head, baffled, but, she still complied with his
urgings and left the bed.
“That’s
right, models are dreams… A dream that is beyond reach, so I have to make a
‘substitute’... I won’t give up so easily!”
It had been
a long time since he dreamed about his previous life.
It gave Eru
a weird goal— which was like putting the cart before the horse.
For the time
being, it will be a while before his ideas that go beyond the boundaries of
worlds take shape.
“Please wait
for me, my robots!”
In
conclusion, he was full of life today as well.
