Waves were lapping against a white beach.

As part of the landing party arriving at Midgard on small boats, Sleipnir was waiting here for their collaborator to converge.

All the other units had set off to subjugate the Academy"s various facilities.

One member of the team, Kunato Ktinos, looked up at the clock tower beyond the tropical forest and wiped sweat off his brow.

Did his other teammates not mind the summer heat? With robotic and emotionless expressions, they were quietly patrolling the vicinity.

How eerie, but he feared that his own expression probably resembled theirs too.

Mist shrouded his mind, putting his consciousness in a daze. Only particularly sharp when it came to matters related to combat or the mission, yet exceptionally sluggish in emotions.

Harboring a premonition that he would even lose the ability to have such thoughts, he pondered about the person they were about to meet.

Major Loki had called this person the last piece of the puzzle for Sleipnir.

But to be honest, Kunato found it difficult to imagine someone whose talents could rival Monon.o.be Yuu and John Hortensia.

At the current stage, the newcomer should be excluded if he or she would compromise Sleipnir"s level of completion.

Kunato thought this matter-of-factly.

He had not realized that this thought itself was already abnormal.

However, the moment he noticed the aura of the person approaching them, he knew that his worries were redundant.

Walking along the beach, the sound of her footsteps made Kunato"s spine tremble.

That sharp gaze made his breathing difficult.

"She" was exuding acute killing intent from her entire body, inspiring him with fear.

"Ah, so you guys are Sleipnir. I see now. Good enough to serve as limbs."

The one who appeared before him was a tomboyish girl.

Dressed in Midgard Academy"s uniform, she was looking at the members of Sleipnir with an appraising gaze.

The instant that gaze looked at him, Kunato could already sense his heart submitting to her.

Despite her lofty att.i.tude, he did not feel offended.

She was simply speaking what was matter-of-fact.

They had come here to act as her limbs. Kunato believed without hesitation.

"—Here."

Kunato took a step forward and gave her the red capsule that Major Loki had handed to him.

"Thanks."

She thanked Kunato and stared at the capsule.

Sharp as a blade, her aura and expression was shaken for merely an instant. It looked like she was slightly hesitant.

"—Sorry, Monon.o.be-kun."

But after a murmur, as though to firm up her willpower, she swallowed the capsule.

In that instant, Kunato felt as though his consciousness and senses had expanded dramatically. He became cognizant of what were blindspots to himself. This was probably what the other teammates could see. Understanding that their senses were now shared, Kunato trembled at this feeling of omnipotence. Right now, Sleipnir was definitely complete as a "collective."

"Well then, let"s move out."

The girl started walking. Kunato and the others followed silently.

Limbs did not speak. Sharing everything, absolute obedience requiring neither questioning nor confirmation.

Next, the monster, consisting of eight merged as one, moved on the offensive.

Towards the clock tower where "Gray" was waiting—

"Okay, let"s go—Everyone."

I announced, looking back and forth across the girls who had gathered in the living room of the cottage in the cavern.

I had told them everything. What Ariella had been hiding, what her "heart" was seeking.

Then I asked for their help. For the sake of what I had to do next.

"Yeah. Do your best, Monon.o.be!"

Iris clenched her fist and nodded.

"Yes. All of us together, Nii-san."

Although her body had not fully recovered, Mitsuki answered with fierce determination in her eyes.

"I was fully prepared a long time ago."

Lisa tossed her long blonde hair and said impatiently.

"Me too, no problem."

Firill answered with a thumbs-up.

"Tia too!"

Having regained her former vitality, Tia jumped around and said loudly.

"Oh well, the enemy might already know about this place. Staying here is definitely not an option."

Kili looked unmotivated, but she agreed without objections.

"Hmm... Suit yourselves. If ye have need of my power, feel free to release these bonds any time, understood?"

Even less motivated than Kili, Vritra pointed at the vine tied around her neck.

"Captain, you can leave Shion in my care."

Hugging Shion"s shoulders, Jeanne said solemnly.

"Papa... dO yOur beSt."

Murmuring in a feeble voice, Shion encouraged me.

Finally, all eyes gathered on Ren.

Ren took a deep breath and showed strong determination on her face.

"Mm. Let"s go, Onii-chan. To find Ariella... Onee-chan—And rescue her."

 

This is Tsukasa. Thank you very much for holding Unlimited Fafnir Volume 9, Cerulean Engage, in your hand right now!

As you can probably tell from reading the story, this volume is the first half of a major episode.

I really wanted to keep everything tightly wrapped up in one volume as before, but there were many depictions and things I had to write about, so this sort of structure resulted.

As the first half, this volume is slice-of-life—I wondered if it would be okay, but there you have it, non-battle scenes dominated.

And for some reason, "hot spring" scenes account for the majority of the volume.

Given the density of hot spring scenes, it"s better to call this a "hot spring volume" rather than a "hot spring event." It"s my first time writing an episode of nothing but bath scenes. With all that blood rushing up his head from the heat, I seriously worry for Yuu"s health.

Truth be told, when I first started writing the Unlimited Fafnir series, my intention was to put in one bath scene per volume.

But after putting all my strength into writing the hot spring scene in Volume 3, there was an interruption in bath scenes from Volume 4 until Volume 7.

However, with the number of bath scenes in this volume, it feels like I"ve more than made up for the deficiency all at once. If you calculate the ratio of bath scenes to volumes, you can see a trend shooting at 100% with super momentum. A bath scene ratio of 120%—People will probably no longer be able to tell what this novel is about.

Speaking of which, although it"s a completely separate matter, the other day I visited a hot spring for the first time in roughly ten years.

I was greeted by very refined and efficient systems with a rich variation of baths. Hot springs are surely evolving... After this experience, I"ll be able to depict evolved bath scenes that won"t be left behind by the times. However, due to the momentum of the plot in the current episode, there might not be any room left in the remaining volume for bath scenes...

And now for acknowledgements.

Korie Riko-sensei, thank you very much for your splendid ill.u.s.trations again this time!

Bath scene ill.u.s.trations are the best, of course, the frontispieces of Kili and Ariella are wonderful too. I especially love the depiction of Kili in high spirits.

Editor in charge, Shouji-sama, I really appreciate your support in all areas in addition to the novel, such as various anime-related maters.

I always look forward to the synopsis that Shouji-sama writes for each volume"s back cover, which is kept secret until publication, always impressing me with the intensity and fervor of his phrasing. I am honored to continue working with you.

Next, this is my first opportunity to write an afterword after the anime finished broadcasting (although the previous volume was released after the anime ended, the afterword was written before that), so allow me to express my grat.i.tude here.

Everyone involved in the anime, I am so glad to see Yuu and all the others speaking and moving. Getting to work with so many great people really motivates me to try my best.

Then finally, my heartfelt thanks to all the readers and watchers of the anime.

Well then, see you next time.