A serene sounding voice reached out to all the students in the gym them. Today's closing ceremony marked the end of the first school term and Erina, the student council president, was giving the closing speech up on the stage. Not only did her voice seem noticeably more cheerful than usual, her twintails were bouncing about joyfully too.

While the entire student body listened on to Erina's words of caution and encouragement, I was awash deep in a sea of emotions. A lot of time has passed but it's still only just the first term and a little under four months has gone and past. I can feel all sorts of feelings slip in and out of my chest from looking at Erina's twintails.

Yes... The first day of my highschool life. Just like now, Erina gave a speech onstage and I was enchanted by her radiant twintails. That was the start of it all. The start of the Twintails fight to protect twintails as well as and the world's peace.

"So then everyone, have a wonderful summer and make lasting memories."

Erina descends down the stage to the applause of the entire school. Yougetsu High School's first term closing ceremony has come to an end.

Walking from the gymnasium back to their classrooms, the students were abuzz with their plans for summer vacation. Surrounded by all these bustling students, I can't help but think back on the incident from a few days ago.

Just days ago, after fighting off some elemarians, my real body turned into that of an actual girl's and got stuck that way. The cause of it though was effectively my own doing. I came to school as Solar, a girl that rivaled Tail Red in popularity, and raised a huge stir. And in the middle of that sitr, I not only reaffirmed my respect for twintails but also learnt of their inherent difficulty and depth... I learnt all sorts of things about them and grew a great deal myself.

After being run through the ringer to get my body to normal, Solar disappeared right after and that consequently led the entire school to carry out a massive campus-wide search party for her. They were just completely gung-ho about it. They even brought out handbells and taiko drums to keep their morale up. The made a lot of noise but they've calmed themselves down by this point though. On top of that, going by all the talk around me, they've turned the target of their love back onto Tail Red. So nothing's really changed for me. Sure enough, the heart of their summer plans revolved around Tail Red.

"I managed to score a spot for the Let's Find Tail Red-tan tour!"

"For real!? Holy moley! Aren't the odds for that 400 to 1!?"

"Yeah! I've got no plans on going back home this summer until I find myself a wild Tail Red-tan!"

Please stop before your parents put out a missing persons report for you okay...

"There's just so many events going on that there's no end to them~ Got no choice but to narrow them down."

"I guess the top item on my agenda has to be the TGS"

(TGS = Tail Red Go! Show. Open for 3 days)

The Tail Red events just exploded in numbers thanks to the summer season. I've even seen special editions of travel magazines compiling Tail Red events on sale. You'd think they were dictionaries seeing how thick they were.

It'd be nice if they did Tail Blue and Yellow events every now and then too... sigh...

"Aiiikaaa~ Summer break's here so get your act together! You've got a lot of rivals don't you!?"

"You could like drag him to the back of the shrine at the summer festival you know...! Aika!"

Aika who was walking along behind me continued on being questioned by girls from our class who swarming around her. A frustrated looking Twoearle however could be found off to the side. This was a fairly common scene.

Summer vacation huh? I wonder what I should do...

"Oh no~ Summer vacation starting tomorrow has been on my mind so much that I completely forgot to wear panties today... Ah, excuse me Souji-sama but I seem to have accidentally dropped my eraser under the table!"

"Knock it off you peeerrveeeeeeeeeeeeeeert!"

Aika's howl roared through the twintail clubroom one last time for the term. If it weren't for the room's soundproofing I'm sure it could serve in place of the last chime of the school day given that this usually happens everyday at about this time.

Aika's heel drop bursts into the long table and splits it in two.

Jumping back by a hair's breadth, Twoearle gives Aika some words of reproach.

"What an indecent person you are Aika-san! You may just be imitating me but I bet you were scheming on using your heel drops to mask away you flashing off your panties! You were a step too slow though! Today I'm dead set on showing off the Miracle Twoearle-san beyond the panties!!"

...imitating?

Putting that aside for now, why do the fixtures in this room have such a short replacement cycle?

Pressing down on her skirt with one hand, Aika shoots her rebuttal back at Twoearle.

"I'm not showing off my panties! You were just looking at them on your own!!"

Twoearle grins knowingly at the words of the rapidly agitated figure and skillfully weaves Aika in.

"I have no stake in seeing panties belonging to any woman who has grown out their secondary sexual characteristics! They simply cannot please me! The part of you that's developed those characteristics is that you down there!"

"Don't talk about do-down there!"

I get embarrassed just watching this so I face away from them. Since they're both girls, these two really don't seem to hold back on anything when they talk to each other...

Without sparing a look their way, the talk comes to halting stop as the usual development unfolds.

"I'll just have make it so that it's fine even if you do forget your panties! I'm gonna cover every last part of you up!!"

"Guuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!"

Not letting the broken V-shaped long desk go to waste, Twoearle becomes a hamburger pressed in between the wooden buns. She unreservedly lets out a pitiful cry of sorrow that only ingredients sandwiched between a pair of buns are capable of.

I was out of it during the closing ceremony reminiscing over this past term, but when I think about what happens in this twintail club clubroom, I'd say 12 minutes is about enough time to relive all those sounds of property damage. An audio drama of Aika's roars and Twoearle's screams.

"Oh, so you're going at it again then?"

Showing up like how a regular would walk through the entrance of their bar, Sakuragawa-sensei shows herself in.

Yeah. Just the same old roughhousing as usual.

"Wait a moment, please!"

She must be tired from all her student council work but Erina follows in right after, not showing even a single trace of fatigue on her. She doesn't bat an eye at the smashed up desk either. Such sights seem to have become completely part of our twintail club activities to her.

We all reposition our chairs over at the remaining desk and take our seats. Like a closing ceremony rite in itself, Erina promptly asks me about our plan for the summer.

"I have an engagement with the student council arranged during the summer break but does the Twintail Club have anything planned?"

"Plans huh? Our main activities basically depend on what Ultimaguil get up to... Okay then, how about we come up with that stuff while we're here?"

As the club president on paper, deciding club activities for long school breaks would be an important duty of mine.

"Please take this more seriously! This is an important matter!"

"O-okay."

Erina's drive overtakes me. She's really pumped up about this.

And just like that, the twintail club's going to be having meetups on Saturday afternoons even during the break. That said, those meetups still depend on what we've got planned on our own individual agendas. Alright then, what else should we get done?
 
"Those Ultimaguil bastards haven't been showing their faces lately. You guys think we finally got them all?"

Aika who aims to massacre every last elemarian asks ever so casually.

"I don't think so. We do have a feel for their patterns now. Whenever those guys get quiet it's usually because they're taking a short break till the next batch of reinforcements arrive."

After all, I'm still seeing the seemingly innocent Iisuna Anko continuing on with her idol activities so them giving up and calling a retreat is off the table.

...but now that I think about it though, I haven't seen her on any live broadcasts these past two days.

"Regardless of whether they're awaiting reinforcements or not, it is rather odd how quiet they're being. I believe that Arachne Guildy we defeated last mentioned that he was an adjutant. Therefore..."

Aika nods in agreement at Twoearle's misgivings.

"At the very least, we still got their commander to deal with. The one in charge of that bug army."

Erina chimes in agreement with them.

"The adjutant was already so formidable...  Their general will likely make for a grand battle."

I really don't want to think about there being an even stronger opponent than him... If we keep talking about stuff like this we're just going to lose our spirits. It might seem a bit forced but I decide we could use a change of subjects.

"Well I say the less they show up, the better it is for us. How about we come up with a whole bunch of battle strategies over the summer? What do you say to gathering here every few days?"

"I would not mind at all if we were to gather together every day!"

Erina spiritedly raises her hand up in the air in approval and adds on to the suggestion.

"If it's possible... we could arrange for events like training camps for special training as well. Will that be alright?"

"Special training!?"

While I'm letting myself get taken by surprise, Sakuragawa-sensei pushes along a whiteboard within easy viewing distance of everyone here. And like the way one would for a cultural festival, she begins noting that suggestion down on it.

"But the thing is that we're technically a cultural club aren't we? Since we're not an athletics club I don't think we'll even be allowed to have training camps..."

Aika doesn't seem to care for the idea so Twoearle puts forth an odd argument for it.

"Just listen to yourself Aika-san. Training camps are events that that just don't come by to cultural clubs even if they want it. The lonely bodyguard isn't going to keep a sharp watch even if it's a school hosted event. It really wouldn't be that hard to go out to a hotel and bring along company there, right?"

Aika reintroduces Twoearle to the table we had been using just earlier with some hands-on assistance.

"I would like to have special training with Mitsuka-kun again!!"

"Err, sure. We can do that."

Without thinking it through, I falter at Erina's pressing on. I wonder if this is going to end up with her stripping down and making craters out of her surroundings again.

"A training camp to get stronger... We really do might need one of those."

"Why is that?"

Finishing up with making Twoearle like the Gnu getting swallowed up whole in the jaws of the raging alligator that was the table, Aika questions my suggestion.

"I just figured that we could use some training, physically and mentally. I'm sure there are plenty of areas that come to mind for you all, right? I mean just recently..."

I lost sight of everything around me in a twintail induced trance, Aika and Twoearle are demonstrating theirs as we speak and Erina's been giving me dangerous looks when we come across dog owners walking their pets on our way to school plus a whole bunch of other stuff like that.

"Hmmm, quite right. The young mistress is a sweet thing but her symptoms do get worse around you three. How do you all feel about taking a trip to a shrine or a temple?"

Sakuragawa-sensei carries on smiling as if she were an outsider to all this. I vehemently protested the stance she takes.

"Hold it a second, Sakuragawa-sensei! Just today you were passing out marriage forms instead of our report cards! You even gave them to the girls!!"

And just like before, our homeroom teacher Tarui-sensei didn't bother to get himself involved in the least. I can't say I've seen that man do anything befitting his post this entire term.

"Wait, don't get me wrong! The forms weren't for the girls themselves. I wanted them to pass the papers to their older and younger brothers and the like in their families."

If they handed them those forms with our deputy homeroom teacher's name on them, they'd be telling their brothers to commit themselves to a lover's suicide.

Twoearle poses with her hands in the air to gesture her disbelief.

"So you aren't targeting their fathers? You're taking things far too easy then. It's no wonder why Mikoto-san's still single even now."

"Hmph... You might be right about that. Even so, I simply cannot drag a happy family down just to pursue my own bliss."

That does sound like a proper principle to be upholding Sakuragawa-sensei but if you've got your sights on our classmates' even younger brothers then it really doesn't...

I feel a sudden sharp rush reverberating through me. My twintail senses are tingling!

"! Somebody's.... A twintail is coming this way! Everybody!"

"Alright everyone! Perimeter check!"

On Aika's command, everyone makes certain of what's around them. It's important we take care not to let any mysterious devices out in the open when we receive guests. It may be strictly limited to twintails but I can boast that it has a 100% guaranteed sucess rate so everyone knows that they can trust it.

Knocking comes at the door and it opens to reveal...

"Greetings children."

"The chairwoman!?"

Yougetsu Academy's chairwoman, Shindou Emu-san. Erina's mother.

And as always, she carries herself magnificently. Just no other way to describe it. Normally when one with twintails enters a room, it's a given that they have to be careful not to let their twintails get caught when the door closes and press down on them with their hands.

The chairwoman's twintails however, swayed forwards with her keeping their center of gravity in check as she stepped onwards securing them well within her elegance, all without needing any conscious effort on her part. One would normally have to keep one foot planted firmly on the ground to achieve that and that is a feat far more difficult than it looks. With her long twintails, it was truly a technique that allowed her to literally "walk" together with them.

"Mother!? Why have you come here!?"

It may have been because she was surprised at this inconceivable visitor but Erina who sat next to me rested her hand atop my my shoulder. Seeing that, the chairwoman presses her over her mouth in a seemingly pleased manner.

"Ufufu, I do apologize. I simply had to see Erina and my dear son-in-law get along carrying out their club activities together at least once."

Twoearle stands up looks and waves out her hand to make her declaration.

"Then that is a pity! As you can see before you, this is a space where the boy-girl ratio is one to four!!"

"Then my coming here makes that one to five, does it not?"

The chairwoman catches her intent with those words but something in them seems to have shaken Twoearle.

She moves the chair that Sakuragawa-sensei prepared for her all to right beside mine and seats herself next to me. I feel a tinge of guilt for making a traditionally dressed beauty like her sit on a pipe chair.

She then directs her gaze towards me and starts looking over me as if to study what she sees.

"Son-in-law."

"Y-yes?"

I wonder if I really should be responding to her calling me that but at this point in time it doesn't seem to be something I get to have a say in.

"It seems that you have shed away your old skin. Your countenance looks much manlier now."

"Thank... you..."

Having the chairwoman praise me gives my confidence a boost. However, she managed to perceive just that much. It makes me worry about how much she bought of the excuse Erina gave her for "my" time off  during the Solar incident.

"And it appears that you were even able to detect my coming approach to this room as well."

Sure enough, our unhurried preparation for her didn't go unnoticed either.

"If that is the case then... You are capable of sensing twintails aren't you, Son-in-law? You are showing yourself to be quite the promising young man to achieve such a feat at your age."

"I don't think age has anything to do with it in my case though... Still, hearing you say that makes me happy."

"In the pursuit of true twintail love, making use of the five senses to sense them is but the base of the mountain you must climb. As you are now Son-in-law, you appear to be halfway to the peak. I do hope you will continue to strive to reach it."

"Yes ma'am!"

I engrave the words of this great pioneer into my heart. Halfway up mount twintail huh... I still have a long climb ahead of me.

"There's going to be a whole of problems if that doesn't pass for the top...!!"

Even Aika wouldn't be able to carelessly run her mouth in front of the chairwoman so she she just mumbled her hushed retort.

The chairwoman now has her eyes on the whiteboard with all our ideas on it.

"Oh? The twintail club will be having a summer training camp then?"

Like a ferry making its way, Erina comes up to the one of the gateways and seeks out permission to cross it.

"That is correct mother. And thus, I would like to ask for your permission to... spend some nights away from home so..."

"I see."

Without an immediate answer, she redirects her gaze. Aika, Twoearle, Erina and even Sakuragawa-sensei - she passes a sharp and probing look over each and every one of them.

"Mikoto, Son-in-law's ears if you would."

"Huh? ...very well, mistress."

Considering what action she was being asked of from that code-like omission, Sakuragawa gets up and goes to stand behind me.

"Uwaah...!!"

Going from head to toe, I feel a strong but soft ticklish sensation run through me like the blood coursing through my vein.

Sakuragawa-sensei had plugged up my ears with her fingers.

"Y-you're tickling me sensei!"

"Hold still you!"

She then restrains me by clamping down her body on mine. I stiffen up at this. She's using her whole body to restrain a man's arm strength and I feel a soft sensation lock themselves onto my back. Not leaving the slightest gap open Sakuragawa-sensei uses her fingers to plug up my earholes, her short kept nails probably in keeping with the fashion of her occupation. I can keenly feel the silence slowly seep through my entire body.

"If we keep staying quiet these two hags are going to keep having their way with Souji-sama! Don't you think this is all completely unbefitting of your bodies and ages!?"

Twoearle says something in resistance against the chairwoman but I can't hear a single word of it.

"Ohohoho, I'm pleased to see such vigor! Erina will not be able to make strides without an excellent rival to push her along. I welcome your attempts wholeheartedly!"

"Gnunu...!"

The chairwoman gives an elegant smile to Twoearle's resentful teeth gnashing.

"Erina, these nights away from home... are you asking for permission to spend them together with Son-in-law?"

"That is not what I meant at all!"

"Inadequate! If that is not what you meant then make it mean that!"

Erina and the chairwoman seem to be exchanging words now. It seems completely sudden from here but Erina's face goes completely red at something. I guess she must be fighting for permission to stay over outside home...

Twoearle cuts in between Erina and the chairwoman.

"I am in total agreement with her! When you talk about spending nights away from home it's obviously going to be about that sort of thing! While you're wasting time twiddling around and sucking your thumbs I'll do my sucking on another appendage..."

I can't hear what they're saying but Aika's restraining Twoearle now. In my present state it looks like a silent comedy is unfolding before me.

"Erina. During this sleepover make certain that you do make headway on your relationship with Son-in-law. So long as you do so, I will allow you any number of days away from home."

[[["WHAT!?"]]]

Everyone's making a big deal over something that was just said. I can't help but be curious at what is was.

"Mo-mother! Why would you say that in front of everyone!?"

"I believe I told you the same for that previous trip to the sea didn't I? I said so because it appears that you didn't live up to my expectations then so I thought that declaring it in front of everyone would light the fire under your bottom. This too is a form of a mother's love."

At the chairwoman's signal of assent, the plugged up sensation disappears from my ears and Sakuragawa-sensei separates from me.

"I do apologize for that Son-in-law. We needed to have a short talk about womanly matters that would be unbecoming of a gentleman to listen in on."

"I see. So it was about that kind of stuff. Please don't worry about it."

I'd have trouble reacting to it like earlier with the girls' talk they were having with absolutely no consideration for the boy in the room with them hearing it. I'm actually grateful for it. I could have just left the room for a while if she had just told me so from the start though.

Erina puts on a stiff smile as she avoids looking me in the eye.

"I have been given per-permission Mitsuka-kun... We can have the training camp."

"I see. Alrighty then, now we just have to decide when and where to hold it."

I look to Sakuragawa-sensei as well for confirmation. She was speaking with the chairwoman whose cheeks and ears had gone red for some reason.

"Will this be really alright Mistress? The Master's reaction to this would be..."

"It will be fine Mikoto. I shall simply have to punis... persuade him."

I think I heard a mention of what might have been an inappropriate word but I really shouldn't be prying into the affairs of another household.

Aika isn't able to take her assaulting attitude here with the chairwoman even in front of just the usual members. She's just sitting there sulking begrudgingly with her arms crossed. The chairwoman leaves that same Aika some kind words as she departs.

"Tsube Aika-san. I think it would be good for you to follow Twoearle-san's example and not be so reserved around me, don't you agree? You have such beautiful twintails after all. By all means, please do polish yourself further together with Erina."

As soon as she's made sure the chairwoman had already done, Aika takes in a deep breath as if she had just reached the surface from a deep dive and plops herself onto the table.

"She really knows how to keep things tense that one..."

"I am so sorry about that. I was under the impression that she rarely goes out to visit the clubrooms so I..."

Embarrassed at her slip-up, Aika vehemently denies the need for an apology from the guilt stricken Erina.

I watch Aika's twintails swing in tandem with her motions and I myself unconsciously mutter out a slip as well.

"...she's right. Aika's twintails really are beautiful."

It's only natural for the chairwoman to give her approval. I don't just admire them either, they're also a goal for me.

"Eeee...!"

Something sets off a panic in Aika and she and the pipe chair she sat on take a tumble backwards.

"Wh-wha-what do you think you're saying!? You're embarrassing me!!"

"Sorry... It's just that I was thinking that the chairwoman was exactly right about them..."

Sure, it may be somewhat conceited of me to say so but I could only come out and say such things because of how much I learned about twintails through a girl's perspective from my time as Solar.  I feel like I can appreciate the wonders of other peoples' twintails more than ever before now. Pulling myself together, I make an attempt to steer us back to what we were talking about before the chairwoman came by. However...

"Okay, back to the suggestions for the training camp..."

"Excuse me but I will be taking my leave for today... We will continue tomorrow."

Her seemingly brooding shoulders drooping down, Erina walks out of the room with Sakuragawa-sensei in tow.

"...err?"

Aika was being strangely fidgety too and Twoearle was muttering something under her breath with hollow eyes as she typed furiously away at her computer.

It was the last day of school but the atmosphere doesn't feel the least bit club-like at all...

Having parted ways with Souji and Twoearle in front of her house, Aika opens the door to its entrance. She calls out to say that she's home as she puts away her shoes and heads to the bathroom. Once she finished taking care of business in there, she climbs up the stairs and walks into her own room leaving her schoolbag by the side of her table. At this point she would normally sit down on her bed and take in one huge breath but today, she just stood there standing ever so still with her head hanging down, doing and saying nothing.

Suddenly, she looks straight up and begins moving from one corner of her room to the next with her arms crossed. She didn't seem to have any particular destination as she steadily sped up as if she were trying her best not to lose a walking race. She soon comes to a halt as abruptly as she started and her shoulders start quivering away.

Just as her behaviour started stepping into suspicious territory, she throws herself onto her bed spread-eagled.

"......"

She buries her face in her pillow hugging it tight. Her legs start kicking away as she rolls around on her bed never letting go of the pillow.

"Fufuu..."

Her face peeks out from behind the pillow. Cheeks and ears flushed completely red, she has a huge smile plastered on her face.

Thanks to her obstinate nature, she absolutely could not let Souji see her smile so unguardedly like this. It would not bode well if she did either, a being of flesh and muscle could only take so much punishment from her present outburst. The pillow continues to suffer the young girl's unceasing sweetness. Like a star collapsing in on its own gravity in the last stage of its life, the pillow soon undergoes its supernova in her arms.

One would think there was a kickboxing meet taking place in her room from the sounds coming out of it. Those sounds though were actually the mournful cries of her bed enduring the joy in her feet. Her legs held such vigor in them that you could not say one way or the other if two huge men from a heavyweight meet would be able to stop them even by putting all their body weight into the struggle.

Aika sinks her face and body into the bed as if to soak in the reverberations. But then, like a boxer down for 9th count and on the verge of the 10th, she springs right back up awake in full force with her unyielding fighting spirit.

"...Aika's twintails really are beautiful."

Aika poses a chivalrous look with her eyes and mimics Souji's voice.

She falls right into back into a girlish way of sitting immediately after and her upper body starts wriggling and swaying away. Her rooms falls to pieces in the wake of this overflowing stream of girlishness.

"......"

She grabs hold of her pillow and slowly pulls it towards her lips. Coming to meet the very end of its service life, the pillow closes in those small lips and in an instant, it...

"Excuse me..."

"HOWWAAA!!"

A piercing scream fills the room without notice as Aika lets out a strange bird-like cry. The pillow she held in her hand goes flying across the room and slams into the wall. Standing there apologetically with her hands overlapping one another in front her waist in the corner of the room was Twoearle.

"T-Two-Tw-Two-Twoearle!!?"

Eyes gone completely white, Aika shrieked.

"That tonguing technique was magnificent. I would say you nailed the staccato."

"What the hell are you doing in my room!?"

"I apologize for that. I had only intended to give you a surprise... I did not come to watch... No, I can't say I didn't at all but I certainly did not come to watch THAT..."

I had thought Aika-san would eventually detect my presence, so Twoearle explains herself.

"That doesn't make it any better! In fact it makes things a whole lot more painful!!"

"I would say it does make it better... Prior to this I had this image of you where you would stand naked in your room in all your glory rubbing your chest down with a towel chanting out "Grow bigger! Bigger!"... "

"The heck kind of image do you have of me!?"

Cheeks puffing and blushing Twoearle continues on.

"To make up for this transgression, I shall allow you to bear witness to my own little solo-play right here and..."

"Like hell you will you moorrooooooooooooon!"

Aika's expression gives way to another as she stops Twoearle was undoing the buttons of her uniform's top. She hadn't been joking and was making good on her word.

"But if I don't balance it out with a spectacle as unpresentable as the one just now then what..."

"GYAAGH! JUST FORGET ABOUT ITTTTTT!!!"

Agonizing at the very memory of it, Aika clutches her head and rolls around the room.

"Well... It is my first time over here but your room is... shall I say, much more maidenly than I had expected it to be..."

"What, were you expecting there to be a barbell set lying around?"

Aika reflects upon her own room as Twoearle pointed that out. Between all the stuffed toys and the frilly cushions inside, one would think that the room had an overwhelming appeal to girls.

"Just what did you even come over here for today anyway?"

Sitting herself down on the bed, Aika asks her with a sigh mixed in.

"Since I had invited you over to my room before this, I just thought it was time for me to take the opportunity to intrude in on yours."

"Don't just go breaking in here before I actually invite you over!!"

...no, maybe it wasn't just Erina's but also Twoearle's and Souji's praising of her twintails that's gotten to her. Aika has that thought but does not put it into words. She opts to switch the topic instead.

"Today was just another amazing one, wasn't it? Souji that twintail loving idiot. I really have to do something about him soon or else."

In that moment it felt as though the bed that had just endured her very happy kicking had something to say. But alas, such was the limit of unspeaking furniture.

"I believe we have a more worrisome matter to attend to though."

"And just what's that?"

Twoearle kneels herself into the chair next to Aika's study desk and spins around in it using centrifugal force as she breathes out her answer in an intoxicated tone of voice.

"...Souji-sama. Don't you think he's become even more admirable as of late?"

"Huh? I gu-guess so..."

Aika shyly agrees as she scratches the back of her head.

"What are you acting so embarrassed for Aika-san!? You shameless girl!!"

Even in that anger, Aika was of the same mind and view on Souji's recent change.

"Now that you mention it, you might be right. But... just why is that?"

"The Souji-sama up till now seemed to have felt that his love for twintails was some sort of drawback for him. As such, he exuded this attitude lacking in self-confidence and had treated it as a minus. But now, things are different."

It might have been Aika's confession to not knowing why triggering her superiority complex but Twoearle lightly gets off the chair and sits herself down right beside Aika.

"He's protected the world as a twintail and takes pride in that he continues to do so. That is why Souji-sama shines so brilliantly. Of course, he does take it too far at times but overall he is without a doubt becoming a very charming young man."

"Yeah... he really is. Souji's shining so much brighter now than he did before..."

The present Souji is proud to be protecting twintails. And to Aika who has been by his side for so long, it was always something he should be proud of.

Twoearle really is a formidable adversary.

She may be an utter and complete deviant but she's always paying close attention to Souji.

"Incidentally, it was the pillow that was moving closer to your head and not the other way around earlier, was it not~? Pupupupuu! Even this Aika-san wants to be the one that gets kissed instead of being the kisser does she!?"

Twoearle repeatedly pokes at Aika's squishy cheek as she licks at her with such stubborn words.

Not waiting for her comeback, Twoearle makes a run for it while she can. Aika picks up the the pillow off the floor and shoots it at her with all her might.

"GOOOOOOAAAAAHHH! The pillow's steel hard from sheer centrifugal force!?"

After having (quite literally) kicked Twoearle out back to her home, Aika makes her way down the stairs to the living room to find a young woman with a gentle air about her sitting there on the sofa.

It was her older sister, Tsube Renka, a second year student at the Yougetsu Academy University.

As both their parents were presently overseas for work, these two sisters lived together all by themselves. She and Aika were similar in appearance but if it had to be asked if Aika would ever grow the way Renka had, the answer would quite clearly be a resounding NO.

The air about them ran completely counter to the other. She had long beautiful straight hair. If there were an angel's halo propped above her head nobody would question how it stayed afloat given her demeanor. She could bestow a sense of ease to anyone just by standing next to her. She wore a one piece dressing gown familiar to this room but on her it looked like a gorgeous party dress. Her presently overseas mother also had a nice figure to her so it was no wonder that her chest would grow to be so ample.

Maybe I was raised the wrong away, Aika would mournfully ruminate from time to time.

"Has your friend already gone?"

Renka smiles ever so gracefully.

"Mmm. She really didn't come here to play today."

Not denying the designation of friend, Aika walks towards the kitchen. She takes out the milk from the refrigerator, pours it plainly into a cup and downs it in one go.

"You gave me quite the fright. I kept hearing what sounded like a diesel hammer banging away on the second floor."

You're just exaggerating now, Aika smiles uneasily.

She was not however. Her words held no such embellishment. If an ordinary person had heard the pitter patter of Aika's feet coming from the first floor they would have resigned themselves to hiding under a table or run outside the house if they were so capable.

Renka continues to make conversation with Aika who was now on the sofa herself.

"I stopped by auntie Miharu's cafe for some coffee earlier but... don't you think she's been getting more and more curious customers lately?"

"Yeah, maybe..."

Of course she'd choose her words, Aika forces a smile. To be perfectly candid, it's a hangout for weirdos. That said, even though the place is rife with people who talk and act strangely they are self aware enough to know not to cross certain lines so it's not like the cafe has a bad vibe to it. And as one of the most frequent regulars to the place from before the shift in the quality of its customers, it wouldn't be enough to make her sister stop going there.

"I bumped into Sou-kun while I was there too. He seems to have become pretty cool lately."

"Y-you think so too Oneechan!?"

A refrain of chairwoman's words play out.

"Yes. It feels like he's changed quite a bit since he's become a high school student."

And recalling her earlier conversation with Twoearle, Aika avoids eye contact and looks away.

"Is that going to be okay? Sou-kun is rather popular with the girls around him. That friend of yours who was just here was the one who's doing a homestay at his house wasn't it? She's very pretty."

Renka shouldn't have seen Twoearle coming and going. If she had, she wouldn't have seen her as anything but a pretty faced freeloader. It was only natural to feel wary of what was coming.

"So-sorry Oneechan. You're cheering me on and all but I..."
 
Renka, being the good older sister she was, has been pushing for Aika and Souji to get closer together. She's been doing so since they were kids. Fully set on doing so, she's been patiently watching over their very slow and unmoving relationship and has been giving her sister advice from time to time. Between her sister and the friends who similarly stand by side and cheer her on, Aika felt herself blessed. She truly felt that to be true so it makes their present state of affairs all the more frustrating.

Renka scoops up her own hair and plays around with it with her fingertip.

"I'm going to be 20 soon. I was thinking that maybe I should give twintails a try before that happens."

"! D-Don't!"

Aika clings to her and pleads with her not to. Renka gives her mischievious smile and cheekily sticks out her tongue in response. Aika envies her in how she can act so childishly and still look better for it.

"Don't worry. I did promise not to put on twintails until you and Sou-kun are properly tied to each other after all."

"You promised...?"

"Fufu. I mean you were just so adorable. I still remember it clear as day even now. "If Oneechan wears twintails you're gonna take Souji away from me! I don't want thaaat!" you said to me."

Right out of her personal black history and so much more embarrassing than even having wet the bed, Aika's face goes completely red at that.

"You're still gonna bring up that old story."

"Auntie happened to take a picture of you from that time and gave me a copy. It's my personal treasure."

Putting on a sulky look, Aika throws herself back onto the sofa.

"Why haven't you gone and gotten yourself a boyfriend already?"

"Right now I'm more worried about you Aika so I really don't have the time for one."

She wasn't just putting on a brave face. Aika came to know of her sister's popularity with boys during their days commuting to primary school together. Even as a child, Aika, who had been treated by the boys as more than just merely their boss but also as the Satan Princess they all feared, understood things well enough to worry about whether or not her reputation was being a bother to her sister.

"I'm only going to pull out all my stops when I make sure for myself that you and Sou-kun are finally real lovers."

And just like always, she'll act like this so that Aika won't worry about her. For Aika, her sister Renka was the person she admires the most and the one she's most proud of.

"But really, where does the time go? That little Sou-kun that I used to bend down for to stroke his head is now taller than I am..."

"Yeah... We're not little kids anymore..."

So Aika murmurs as she thinks on it.

"I guess it's going to be a different head that gets the stroking from now on."

Right beside Aika who was deep in thought, Renka quietly whispers something out herself.

"Did you say something Oneechan?"

"Uh huh. I was just praying so that you and Sou-kun becomes lovers soon."

"Come on..."

Right, Aika reaffirms herself with a nod and gets up. Wanting to answer her sister's encouragement, Aika feels the need to act soon. The two of them can't stay kids forever. Something needs to happen for their first summer after as high school students.

Where it concerns summer break, Ultimaguil has no definite concept of such a thing. That having been said, the unit currently present in Souji's world have temporarily put their elemera plundering invasion on hold. Nearly all of its members could be found sitting down in an orderly inside their base hall. On this occasion however, their convening together was not for their usual strategy meeting. The head of Bee Tiful Heart, one of the units under the leader's direct command and subordinate to Dark Grasper, stood silently before all the warriors in the hall.

Their adjutant, Arachne Guildy, had been defeated by Tail Red just some days before. To grieve and then hold funerals for those fallen in battle immediately after - the commander of a strong unit does not entertain such leisurely soldiers. Even though they had put their invasion efforts to a rest, he had determined that their unit must be strengthened thoroughly.

He had a great big horn that would break into the heavens that shone brilliantly like a gem and evoked the hardness of metal. His shell possessed those qualities to it and yet it vividly pulsed with life. In all the times he had attended the strategy meetings in this hall, this figure exuding traits of the mighty had never demonstrated the tenseness he did now.

One elemarian slowly approaches and hands him an object. Ready to cleave all there is in twain caught between his warped blade-like horns, this elemarian was Stag Guildy. His appearance evoked the impression of a stag beetle and together with Beetle Guildy, they harmonized a presence mightier than the sum of their parts. What he handed over was a pen, completely smooth and round at the end, specially designed for touchscreens. With it in hand, Beetle Guildy begins gathering together all of his spirit.

Bee Tiful Heart

A unit that was made of of especially strong elemarians that valued beauty and could channel it into power. While serving as their leader, Beetle Guildy was also revered as a creator of beauty. He was presently demonstrating his legendary technique to his subordinates.

The gigantic monitor on the wall was connected to the terminal in his hand and it projected the contents of that terminal. What was displayed onscreen right now was a blank rectangular canvas with the color panel and tool palette on either side of it - software made for the purpose of drawing CG illustrations. Without an underlying piece of art readied beneath, he rips across the blank canvas and creates a pair of magnificently drawn twintails in a single stroke.

He continues on. His arm blazes an aurora of afterimages not unlike that of a trailing cursor as the pen dances in the air. The elemarians in the hall are struck in awe as they go, "OOOOOHHHH..."

Not pausing for an instant upon completing the twintails, he continues to add part after part after part.

Lovely but resolute eyes that held the burning flames of justice in them.  A tiny body that had neither curves nor tone but brimmed with boundless potential instead. Not wavering even once, the pen did not cease its work until the Tail Red lineart on the canvas gave its birthing cry. With Twintails that looked ready to jump of the canvas and surging fighting spirit to go with it, it was an intensely eyecatching illustration.

This lineart already had such appeal to it but coloring work began momentarily. Not letting their eyes wander away from this technique even for an instant, the soldiers took it all in with bated breaths. The base colors are applied in the blink of an eye and elegantly filled shades come following after. The twintails in particular looked as if the creator had painted them in with his very soul. Especially bold and especially delicate.

Sparing not even a modicum of speed to look away as he changed brush sizes and tools, Beetle Guildy solemnly performs this coloring ceremony. Taking in a breath, Tail Red's trademarked twintails is completed in spectacular fashion. In that moment and as if divine, the illustration shot forth a dazzling light that bathed the hall entirely in gold.

"It is done."

The moment Beetle Guildy puts down his pen, everyone stands up and meet him with thunderous applause.

"The process will be approximately as you have just seen. There is no need to imitate everything I did however. Each and everyone of you should grasp out for the methods that suit you best as individuals."

As he tells them that however, the elemarians had already decided to follow Beetle Guildy's example and had large LCD tablets before them. They were all excited to be drawing Tail Red but then a heartless declaration hits them.

"You will all be drawing Tail Blue and nothing else but her."

They were stunned speechless at this.

Stag Guildy places Tail Blue figures atop each of their tables. They were all of course collaborative masterworks between Beetle Guildy(Original Illustrator) and Stag Guildy(Producer).

They were masterworks but it was Tail Blue. It was Tail Blue but they were masterworks.

It was philosophy in motion.

"One more thing. I am not going to acknowledge your work if it's simply been traced. Look at your figures, take it apart in your head and come up with your own individual compositions from that."

Hearing yet another impossibly difficult instruction, they all finally understand why was it that they were all gathered there.

"This will serve as your training. You must conquer that terror in your hearts. By completing beautiful drawings you will then come to possess the pride necessary to do whatever you will to the likes of Tail Blue."

This was an outrageous way to be resting. This was without a doubt a training session. Like thunder out of a clear blue sky, the stunned elemarians were all struck down with a great ordeal. The word of their superior officer was law.

One by one, shaking hands take hold of their pens and illustration work commences as they eye the figures before them. More so than the fearsome Asura Tail Blue herself, it was the ever mounting terror that continued to pile up in their hearts with each day that was becoming their biggest obstacle. If they could not conquer that then there would be no tomorrow for them.

"Still, I have to say... You've outdone yourself again with this new tablet Stag Guildy."

Beetle Guildy gives Stag Guildy a priding pat on the shoulder as he returns from distributing the figures.

"The response time is just incredible. I didn't feel the slightest time lag even at full power. It even feels more intuitive to use. It's definitely an outstandingly creative LCD tablet."

"Yes. I just wanted to bring out Nii-san's technique even if it's only by a slight amount. I did everything I could to achieve that."

From the paint software that Beetle Guildy used to paint the furthest reaches in bloom to the tablets he did them on, everything was developed by Stag Guildy's own hands. If Beetle Guildy was the artist in the light then Stag Guildy would be the one supporting him from the dark. Hard or soft, he wielded his brilliant wares development skills as the leading actor in the shadows.

Elemarians were not born with blood relations but even so these two acknowledged one another's genius and strived together to reached the heights as sworn brothers. Stag Guildy would definitely not excel in battle strength or leadership ability. In fact, the role that required those qualites were actually left to the Bee Tiful Heart's adjutant, Arachne Guildy. Although, if anyone asked who Beetle Guildy's right hand man was, they'd most certainly tell them it's Stag Guildy.

Beetle Guildy takes his time walking around with his hands behind his back as he revises everyone's works. It goes without saying that half of them were complete beginners to illustrating. He was not doing so to examine their technique though. He needed to see just to what extent they managed to imbue their illustrations with the will to strike Tail Blue down. That was what he was looking out for.

"......"

His eyes fall upon a single elemarian's display and he comes to a stop. It was the giant with the scythe like horn, Rhinocerous Guildy. His stout arm did not move for he had the fear of Tail Blue rooted in him as the sole survivor by chance from one particular sortie. That terror would naturally manifest itself in his illustration. As if lost, he would slowly and weakly draw lines that formed her chest only to erase them away right after. He was just switching between the pencil and the eraser tools without making any progress in completing the work.

It was then that Beetle Guildy gave him an inconceivably daring piece of advice.

"If you are having so much trouble with drawing her chest then I would suggest that you just make one straight line and give it no further thought."

The others stopped in their tracks and as they doubt their ears at having heard such a risky suggestion. Predictably, Rhino Guildy would not understand him and objects, aghast and terrified.

"But Beetle Guildy-sama! Even if it is Tail Blue's chest, drawing a straight line is just..."

Returning back to the front of the hall, Beetle Guildy addresses not just Rhinoceros Guildy but everyone with a new lecture.

"Listen up. We're not here to do fine art, we're here to draw illustrations. Illustrations sometimes require bold deformation and exaggeration. There are times you can just forget about anatomy to bring out lively compositions. Strictly abiding by your motif is not a must."

Everyone looks at the figures at hand. To see their archnemesis Tail Blue draw her gaze on them, it was only natural to quake in fear and end up running away.

"Tail Blue... While it is true that her flatness is simply extraordinary she still has the slightest bumps to her chest. Drawing that with a straightly is merely a technique in exaggeration. It is easy to understand, evokes the character and brings life to the the illustration."

The figures were complete replications of her down to the astonishingly minimalistic chest. It was if it was to serve in place of a warrior's compassion. There are occassions when one simply must pretend not to have seen such things. And since the exaggeration would treat it as a minus it would not come to be seen as any form of relief.

Rhinoceros Guildy slowly stands up and expresses his deepest gratitude.

"I see now...! I was being too overbearing with my opinion. With Tail Blue it would actually feel more realistic if I just drew her frame with straight lines!!"

Yes, Beetle Guildy nods affirmingly as he goes back to check on the illustrations.

Their manifested fear, the wickedness that oozed out of every surface of Tail Blue's illustrations, had now scattered and gone from their tablets.

'This should do. To conquer fear is to first meet it head on and then work to overcome it.'

Beetle Guildy smiles as if to respond to something.

"Will using the straight line tool to draw Tail Blue's chest really be acceptable!?"

With the mood completely taken back, another elemarian raises his hand asks him question.

"So it's a matter of not wasting time right? There's a difference between deformation and skipping steps altogether. There may not be much of a difference but drawing a straight line freehand still brings out a more fleshy impression than the alternative... Actually wait, surely, you're not telling us all to draw Tail Blue chest's as a single straight line are you?"

No response at first but then, raucous laughter. There was no conspiracy to be had there. It was simply the banter among this gathering of matured men who rally under the banner of taking down Tail Blue.

I hear the voice of a young girl ring out in my head.

"It feels like a dream... I guess these things do happen."

Yes. A dream. I'm having a very strange dream. In this dark space where there's nothing, I come face to face with a little girl. I can tell since it's the same sort of atmosphere as when I talked with the twintails inside of me. Dreams are supposed to be when the brain takes a rest and sorts out your memories. If it seems like I'm seeing something I've never seen before that just means I'm just not aware that I have actually seen it.

So just when and where did I see this girl right in front of me?

Her perfectly harmonious twintails had stolen away my eyes. They reached to just above her shoulders and had a cotton candy-like volume to them that emphasized their charm. They were adorned with ribbons of contrasting colors on either side. Her outfit was pink at its base and trimmed with frills that were arranged by and colored two-toned in black and white. She had a big ribbon at her waist, also asymetrical in shape. Both in color scheme and decorations, her outfit was completely dressed up in asymmetry.

"It's not a dream on this side. Right now Lolory is coupling with your heart Oniichan."

Seemingly reading my mind, the girls denies it being a dream. Her large wide eyes made quite the impression. Her skin was a pretty porcelain white where it was exposed along her outfit. 

"You kinda look like a magical girl."

Others may say otherwise but I say magical girls really do have to have twintails. On that point she was the very picture of one.

The girl gives me a beaming smile at my candour.

"Yup, Lolory is a real magical girl. Ehehe, a magical girl and a twintail warrior that is."

"A twintail... warrior..."

"Yes. But twintails warriors aren't all just girls now are they, Oniichan?"

This really has to be a dream. Nobody but my comrades would know that I turn into a twintail and nobody else should.

Lolory responds to my doubtfulness.

"I mean after all, this voice should only reach the holder of the world's strongest twintail affinity... Only twintail warriors can hear it. In order for me to meet with other twintail warriors, I have to call out to them like this. That means Oniichan must have finally "accepted" it!"

Just exactly as she said, my thoughts are coming through to her through our connected hearts.

Still... they're just so cute. Those fluffy twintails of hers. I can't stop my eyes from going back to them.

"Oniichan, why don't you come over and meet with Lolory. The fight in Lolory's world has already come to an end and it's become peaceful you see. That's why you should come over to play!"

Since my thoughts would be communicated either way, I give voice to my doubt.

"Come over to play... But I've heard that crossing over to other worlds isn't so easy to do."

Those soft twintails sway as they come closer and Lolory takes hold of my hand.

"The thing is that Oniichan's world and Lolory's world seem to be connected by a tunnel. I really don't think it'll be so hard to travel between them."

"A tunnel? So that kind of thing does exist..."

Lolory nuzzles her cheek against my chest like a kitten wanting to be spoiled. I feel her twintails on my arm. And still just like a newborn kitten, it's frail, delicate and also warm.

"Ehehee. Oniichan, would you stroke my twintails for me?"

Her actions warm even my heart. I gently brush at Lolory's twintails.

"Oooh. Oniichan... you're very good at touching twintails... It's making Lolory's heart beat faster."

Her unexpectedly erotic voice she just let out takes me by surprise.

"Yo-you think so? Thanks."

Why? Why is it that I can feel my confidence as a man well up when girls tell me that I'm good at touching twintails?

"With this, Oniichan and Lolory really have coupled up together."

"Huh?"

Lolory twirls around with her hands together behind her. Her lovely magical girl dress twinkles in time with her.

"Make sure you come over to Lolory's world okay? You promised! Lolory will be waiting at the castle!!"

With those parting words Lolory melts away into the light. My own consciousness is sucked up by that same light.

When I came to, I was awake sitting upright on my bed. It seems like I spaced out for a bit.

I take a look at the clock. It's six in the morning. It's way too exemplary of a time for a student to be waking up at on the first day of the summer break.

"......"

I do away with dream notion. The touch of those twintails felt far too real. Feeling oddly calm, I get out of bed and head towards my desk. And as if possessed by some thing, the pen in my hand runs wild as I write down strange letters inside my notebook.

"...just what are these..."

The letters I wrote through no volition of my own seemed to make up a formula of some sort. I don't have a single clue as to what they may be.

I'll have to ask Twoearle about them later.

I stifle down a yawn as I go down the stairs when suddenly, Twoearle's head pops out from behind the living room door. She waves to me to come over.

"Souji-sama! Souji-sama! Come see this!"

"Oh what is it this time? Are aliens coming down from space to meet the Twintails now?"

Going to the living room in the morning has a high chance of being greeted with some bit of unwelcome news, for me at least. It happens so regularly now that I've got my heart braced for it at this point. Tailred hasn't been filmed fighting lately so it shouldn't be one of their special compilation of comical happenings, the ones that do nothing good for my heart.

["We have an message for the Twintails!!"]

Hearing that gallant sounding voice however snapped my sleepy eyes open wide awake in a heartbeat.

"Ul-Ultimaguil!?"

The tv projected an image of a hercules beetle-esque elemarian.

Insectoid types... That means he's got to be a Bee Tiful Heart soldier!

"They hijacked the entire world's airwaves... Are they planning on announcing their next raid!?"

I forget these guys are capable of outrageous stunts like this.

"This footage started playing at exactly 0000 hours today."

Twoearle explained so to me as she unbuttoned her blouse while looking up at me for some reason. It seems like they did the jacking last night and now the news are playing it for us.

"We hereby declare that until noon August 6th, Japan standard time, that the invasion will be put on hold! Twintails! We do this in the name of raising tenacious troops that will not lose to you!"

"They're taking a break to train!?"

Without thinking, I ended up answering back at the footage.

"Do not mistake this for a falsehood. I stake my pride and swear to you that it is no such thing. In exchange however, we will not be merciful once the period has lapsed. So until that time comes, farewell!!"

The address ends there and the tv cuts back to the studio.

"After this declaration was made a group comprising of more than 500 men and women have staged a protest under the banner, "We won't get to see Tail Red-tan!". The riot police have been mobilized to swee-"

Showing the newest footage coming from the heart of the city, they newscaster and rioter begin talking to each other.

I sit down on the sofa and start changing channels with the remote control. The newscasters and entertainers changed with them but basically they were all going on about the declaration.

"They won't get to see... That makes it sound like they want the elemarians to show up..."

"Everyone sure is being laidback about it."

Mom gives an awkward laugh at that. Sure, you can call that laidback but that's just understating it.

"Sou-chan, does Ultimaguil have summer breaks too?"

"Putting aside whether they do or not, those guys definitely wouldn't do anything that tarnishes their pride. They even swore to it so I think it's safe to say that the ceasefire is for real."

The real question at hand however, is why did they go out of their way to the media just to tell us that?

Not having looked forward to it in the least, the twintail club's summer activity on the first day of the break has turned into a strategy meeting. Me, Aika and Twirl met up with Erina and Sakuragawa-sensei went over the recording again on the brand new television that replaced the one that Aika destroyed before.

"So do you all think this is for real?"

I cut right to the chase and bring up our agenda.

"I believe that we can take their word on them not launching any attacks until the 6th of August but I am not so sure that we should be taking their pretext for training their soldiers at face value."

Twoearle says so as she gives a clap. It seems like she came up with something right after she saw recording.

"The 6th of August is the last day before the printing press starts charging the steepest premiums for summer meet. Even Ultimaguil would not see any luxury when it comes to deadlines for their new publications now would they? Perhaps they may even be working on something out of the left field like a Tail Blue book."

Printing press? That sounds like something to do with publishing books but I'm not sure that's what she's talking about.

Looking sleep deprived with very noticeable bags under her eyes, Aika leans back into her and snorts.

"There's just no way those freaks would draw anything of me. If they were drawing anything at all, they'd obviously be drawing Tail Red."

Twoearle doesn't disappoint and argues her point.

"Oh really? I would say that they may just be drawing Aika-san to improve their sense of self-confidence."

"No way. Just no way."

"Well then, how about we ask them the next time we fight an elemarian if they've been drawing Tail Blue during their break! If my theory proves to be correct then I will have you strip down naked and spend for the entirety of a day naked in this room with us inside!"

"Yeah yeah. Only if you got it right though."

It is rather unbelievable that such thing could happen. Aika just goes along with Twoearle's ridiculous suggestion with confidence to spare. Aika being Aika, it seems like she's gotten used to the treatment society gives Tail Blue...

"Since they went all that way to make sure it gets to us, I think it's okay for us not to think about it too deeply."

They sent it out to the whole world and the only ruckus that's been stirred up has to do with Tail Red not making any appearances till the ceasefire's over. Aika goes on to point out a fundamental issue however.

"Souji. I think your reasoning from before might be wrong."

"My reasoning?"

"Sure, the elemarians may not pull any dirty tricks but what about Dark Grasper? If she tells them to pull one over the Twintails then her underlings aren't going to be standing up to her now are they?"

So an underhanded move taking advantage of faith in the elemarians' warrior ways?

Twoearle puffs out her abundant chest in response and laughs at her.

"Acena doesn't have the guts to pull something like that! Whether it's her subordinates, Tail Red or Me, she's got full body scans of us all. Even she's transformed she's still just a gloomy stalker at her core!"

Holding a strange persuasiveness to it, Aika relents and withdraws her argument.

"Is that so. I guess you would know all about Acena wouldn't you Twoearle?"

"I would thank you not to say things that hold such implications! That child and I have no such connections whatsoever whether it be mental or physical!"

"I didn't mean anything by it but when you're so dead set on denying it every time it comes up I can't help but think there's something fishy about it!"

Scrunching up her face in thought, Erina finally decides to chime in with her own opinion.

"The elemarians, they are believers in fair play are they not?  As they will be giving their all to train for this period of time then isn't this their way of telling us to do the same?"

"I can see that. It fits their profile pretty well."

So well that we put way too much thought into it. They're not a bunch that's big on scheming so the implied message would have to be something just as simple.

Sakuragawa-sensei finishes pouring everyone's black tea and sits down.

"Then that's just perfect, isn't it? With that much time, we have plenty of room to get that training camp plan done."

We've moved onto the training camp that even the chairwoman instructed us to have. Aika voices her agreement on the matter.

"True. I guess I'll have to thank them for giving me the chance to go somewhere without expecting them to show up at anytime."

I see. If you think about it normally then...

"This is our chance to make the most of our summer break and enjoy it isn't it?"

These past few months I've had the worrisome thought about how I'd need to be ready for a sortie at any time but now, we have this unthinkable "Twintails' Summer Break" come to us in such a form.

"Alright, we better get to it then. Let's figure out where and when we'll be going by the end of today."

I declare as much but I really can't help but be bothered by how haggard Aika looks right now.

"...say Aika, I can't help but notice you look pretty worn out today."

"It's cause I had a bad dream this morning... I don't know why but I kept hearing a whole bunch of guys laughing their asses off for some reason... And when I woke up I had this really bad urge to go out and pummel some elemarians..."

Huh, isn't that just business as usual for her...?

But now that she brought up dreams it makes me remember something important that got blown out of my head by the elemarians' summer announcement.

"Oh yeah. Twoearle. We'll need to talk this out but about the training camp... Can we do it in another world?"

"Another world!?"

Aika turns towards me in surprise.

Twoearle says she'd like to be buried in this world before so I'm not sure if I really should be suggesting that we take a trip to another one...

I explain what I saw in my "dream" to them.

"I had a strange dream too but it didn't actually seem to be a dream though. I met with this twintailed girl and we ended up coupling together halfway through..."

"You did whaaaaaaaaat!?"

Aika screams out.

"Mi-Mitsuka-kun, why did you do it in a dream of all things!?"

"It's perfectly fine Souji-sama. It's only natural for boys your age to have those sorts of dreams! Now, do make with all the details! Leave nothing out!!"

The three of them get up on the table and hurriedly home in towards me. At any rate, I told them everything Lolory told me word for word. About how the fighting's ended in her world, about how she wants to meet with twintail warriors from other world and stuff like that. Once I finished though, Twoearle looked oddly disappointed.

"Ehhhh!? So basically when you said you guys coupled up you meant it in just a spiritual sense!?"

What other way did she think I meant... Oh! That's right!

"One more thing. She mentioned that our worlds are connected together by a tunnel and that moving between them wouldn't be so hard."

Wanting to invite those in similar positions over to her world now that the fighting's over, it's quite kind and sweet of her.

"Since she did invite us over I'd like to take a trip to her world Twoearle."

"I see. It is rather intriguing. To send just your thoughts across worlds. It's not something I ever considered. Since elemera is the power of the heart I suppose nothing is impossible."

Twoearle's starting to get into it. I figured this would stoke her scientific curiosity.

"Souji-sama, of what height and age did this girl appear to be?"

"I think she was about the same as Tail Red, maybe a little bigger? It was a little girl."

"Let's go. We have our invitation so we simply must go meet with her!!"

...she's hooked 30 times as much now but that's getting me a little worried...

"Oh, there's this too. Since it's you Twoearle, do you have any idea of what it may be?"

I show Twoearle the strange numbers and formulae that Lolory guided my hand to write. Twoearle takes a glance at it and seems to have figured out something just from that.

"...this, it is coordinate data vital in travelling to another world. Souji-sama would not know anything of this and shouldn't be able to write it down by intuition... In any case, there's no doubt about them inviting us over."

"Coordinate data... Is it really that simple to figure where another world is based on that!?"

Aika takes a peek at the paper herself but it looks like it makes just about as much sense to her as it did to me.

"You would understand it once you have travelled between worlds but capturing the location of a specific world itself isn't actually all that difficult. It's just that when you do try to go to that world, fixing it to the axes becomes an exceedingly time-consuming undertaking. In fact, it may just be impossible to do in most cases. If what that girl says is true and that we are connected by a tunnel then that condition has been cleared and the rest is easy."

Is that so. Then we really are going. Off to another world.

Aika stands up with her arms crossed and speaks with a sigh mixed in.

"Make sure you set enough days for us to get back with time to spare. That's my condition."

"Of course we will but... is this really alright with you? For us to decide on it just like that?"

Aika jabs a finger at the tip of my nose and continues.

"If I say no after you had that dream then you're just going to get all down in the dumps about it. It feels like we're a bunch of kids going into the forest to hunt for rare insects but it's still a pretty summer-ish thing to do so I'll be fine with it."

Comparison aside I do have to admit that our motive is something along the lines of seeking out new and exciting twintails.

"Aika... Thank you."

Erina promptly nods along in agreement as well.

"I am also highly supportive of us all travelling to another world. We may never get another opportunity such as this so I say we go and see for ourselves what they are like."

Her elegant twintails imbued so strongly with her will, Erina continues.

"You never hear of it outside of stories. A world that isn't this one. An Earth that's not ours..."

It's true. We may never get another chance like this.

"Then it's settled! The twintail club's summer training camp is going take place in another world!"

Me, Erina and Twoearle raise our fists in high spirits at that. Aika follows suit less excitedly and mutters,"Good grief," as she does so.

"Time is of the essence. I shall take out the ship I used while I was travelling the worlds. It requires some maintenance but I will be done with them quickly so let us meet back at the base three hours from now!"

Twoearle said it so lightly that you would thinks she were talking about bringing us on a drive out. Three hours to prep up for travelling to another world though, as usual that's some really amazing technology there.

"How many people will be boarding? Just the four of us, correct?"

"What do you mean four? I'm coming along too! I'm the twintail club's advisor aren't I? That means I'll be leading the training camp."

Sakuragawa-sensei cuts in between Aika and Twoearle and makes a demand the way a child would. I sigh at this maid who is steadily forgetting her original occupation.

"At least say that you're Erina's bodyguard before you jump to that..."

Even with declarations of summer break, it's better if we have more time to do this.

With nobody raising any objections to leaving today, we all part ways for the time being.

Erina and Sakuragawa-sensei, carrying a large trunk in hand, arrive at my house for our meet-up. 

Looking at Twoearle and Aika, the both of them have bags of moderate size. Upon further observing Twoearle cheking off the luggage inside though it seems that the same strange phenomenon found in her labcoat pockets applies to the bag as well as she is clearly packing far more than the bag's apparent capacity.

"Battle underwear one check! Battle underwear two... Ace in the hole battle underwear nine along with, it goes without saying, the ultimate battle total naked wear! I am of course speaking about me, myself and I!!"

"Stop showing off your sleepwear out in the opeeeeeeeen!!"

Aika sends Twoearle up to the ceiling with a kick. She comes back down and lands right on top of Sakuragawa-sensei's trunk on her side. Following up that energy, she rides along on top of it and wheels it across the path. Aika chases after as if it were instinctual.

It's just amazing really. They've gotten so used to these comedic routines of theirs that they even manage to fit these little skits in between.

"Tsube-san, since you can perform such incredible kicks I think that we should work out a finishing kick move for you!!"

Erina proposes thus, her eyes filled with sparkles from watching Aika's kick. Even though Erina finally asks something of her, a disinterested Aika gently lets her down and refuses.

"Sorry but my kicks are reserved exclusively for Twoearle."

"But I'm not super pleased at all to have a monopoly on them though!?"

The five of us enter the underground base's console room and find mom sitting on the throne styled chair at its center.

"Yahho~ You all sure took your time."

"Huh!? Why are you here mom!?"

"You're going to another world aren't you? I'll be tagging along with you."

We only just started talking about it a few hours ago after getting that new information but she's grasped hold of it like it's business as usual for her... I told her we'd be going off for our training camp earlier but I'm sure I never mentioned where we'd be going!

"Give me a break and spare me the fate of having my mother accompany us along our club's training camp! I'm begging you here!!"

Furthermore, she's not wearing her usual villainess outfit but proper and fitting suit like that a battleship admiral's. She can't have made it in so little time so that must mean she's been waiting for a chance like this for a while now. 

Mom and Twoearle are close enough to have their two way comms so it's only a given that she'd get a hold of information quickly.

"Now now, I think it's fine Souji-sama if she comes. Don't you think so too? One more person onboard isn't going to cause any problems whatsoever."

"Loading capacity isn't the issue I'm having with this you know!?"

"Now now, it's okay Sou-chan. I do want to try going to another world but once we get there I won't be disembarking. I'll just become one with the background. After all, I'm not going to make myself out to be a bother while you youngsters are take a co-ed trip together."

Just leave it to me, so Twoearle says as she puffs out her chest. It's not a trip though, it's a training camp."

"But mom, what about the store? Did you put out a notice saying that the place will be on break for a while?"

The house might be locked but the cafe door might just be waiting for anyone to come right in.

"I'm telling you it's fine. I said to them "If I'm ever away from the store for more than twenty four hours then it means I've thrown myself into a "vortex" so I'm counting on you all to hold down the fort for me". And by them, I mean our regulars."

"So we're not just self-service but we're halfway to being a co-op now!?"

Just a while ago, even Renka-san was at a loss at the nature of our customers.

"At this point our shop's way past being just an exclusive spot that turns away new faces ..."

"But the customers that our regulars "invite" over do like the place enough to keep on coming too you know."

Mom says so as if it had nothing to do with her. It worries me that our very unique clientele aren't just hanging out and chatting away in the store but are also drenching perfectly ordinary people in their miasma and dragging them into their little club... 

We continue following Twoearle from behind out the console room as she guides us to a block in the middle of the base that we've never ever been inside of.

"Beginning from here, this is all factory space."

This goes for the base as well, but just why did you build a factory deep underground beneath a run of the mill house...

The interior is dark so we can't see anything of it. Looking at the areas with no electricity running through them I can't help but wonder if they're that way for a surprise showing.

As we come upon the entrance, we find an operations terminal lit up by a single lightbulb in one corner of the wall.

"Let us begin with showing you all what it is that is being built in this place."

Twoearle does something with a remote control and the wall opens up to reveal a monitor about half the size of the one back in the console room.

"Just a little while after I had completed Tail Yellow's brace, I began working on making it bit by bit in my spare time. I do not think it to be very likely but just in case I am preparing a countermeasure against a colossal-sized elemarian should one ever appear."

The left half of the monitor is split further into three parts where three vehicles, one in each part, were up on display. The first was a jumbo jet... No, it had two large main wings with a nother pair of wings perpendicular to them extending out from the base. Is it a combat jet? It had a vivid red coloring scheme to it going from to the body all the way to the canopy.

The next one looks like a tank with a full on yellow body colour that was clearly too yellow for desert camo. It hosted a pair of large shining siller drills in front and was clad in guns and cannos of various sizes.

The last one is... just what is it? It's form reminded me of two refrigerators standing side by side. Is it a bus? A train? It was coated in deep blue colours though...

"These are the Twintails' support mecha. SkyTwoearle, LandTwoearle and AquaTwoearle. They can be operated by supplying themm with elemera through the Tail Brace."

"Oh my! Ohmyohmyohmyoh! It's a robo isn't it!? Do they combine!? They combine don't they!?"

"Of course they combine~"

"That's fantastic!!"

Erina just eats up what's on the monitor like a kid would with sparkles in her eyes. Seeing Erina like this makes me happy too.

"You really do like it when they come together don't you, Erina?"

"Yes! Coming together is just the best!!"

Looking at Erina's high spirits, Mom and Twoearle trade winks and wordless nod to each other. 

...they must have got something on their recorder again. Just what do they use every time they do?

Aika jabs a finger at the monitor completely disatisfied with what she sees.

"Hang on a sec Twoearle! This Aquatwoearle... the colour means that it's Tail Blue's machine isn't it? What the heck is up with this design!? It looks like a youkan jelly cake! Why is this the only one that looks so half-assed!?"

"It's a submarine. A submarine. We needed an aquatic based countermeasure as well so it taking this shape was simply unavoidable."

Twoearle dodges her inquiry and answers her so halfheartedly that you would think she'd follow it up with some nose picking.

As far as this world's common sense goes, submarines and deep sea vessels are mostly made streamlined and rounded out to withstand high water pressure... Maybe things work differenly in other worlds?

"And the real reason would be?"

"It's just there to form the legs. That's all it's good for since it's the aquatic machine. It'll see the fewest opporunities where it can be used so it's only real purpose is to combine with the others. Furthermore, since Aika-san would be the one piloting it and it would only come out when needed it just made it feel like a complete chore to work on."

Knowing fully well how Twoearle can be, Aika drags out Twoearle's true motive.

"How about I shape those legs of yours into that same pretty shape they're in for you?"

"My thighs that I planned on locking and rubbing things in between with are beeiiiiinnnnggg!!"

Me, Mom and Erina keep looking at the monitor while we wait for Aika and Twoearle to finish playing around. Sakuragawa is the only one who shows no outward intrest in them. Well, I suppose that's the normal reaction to them.

"Now then, it's time for me to show you all that."

Harassing and being harassed, Twoearle turns on all the lights in the workshop.

Since our eyes were used to what little light the monitor was giving off in this dimly lit room, having it suddenly become bright blinds us for an instant. But once the awfully blinding light fades away we come to understand what she meant as we look on the thing reflecting back all the lights focused on it back at us.

What was before us was a giant version of Twoearle's face.

"It's a giant robooooooooo!!"

Erina breaks into a run and clings onto the the safety rails surrouding the robo. It seems that we've been standing in the topmost section of the factory all this time. The giant robot stood there right in the middle of the cavity running through several floors of this tower factory.

I'm a guy so I should probably be just as excited as Erina is at seeing a giant robot in front of me stored in the base.

However, the reason everyone standing on Aika's side happens to be "speechless" is because of what that giant robot's head looks like.

It had perfectly plain and simple circles for eyes that resembled the ones you'd see in an ascii art mascot character. And if you focused in on the eyes you even see a cockpit on the inside of those circles.

I too approach the safety rails like Erina did. I can't see the feet since it's so  far down but every thing from the neck down seems to be what you'd expect to be your average robot. I really can't picture just how the combination sequence for those machines earlier would go to form this but seeing this for a head spoils things for my inner child and pulls me back to reality. It's even all white and silver now. Where did the pre-combination colours go exactly?

"This is the robot that the three Tail Machines form together, Dual Tail Combiner Twoearle-Oh!!"

Showing the exact same triangle shaped smile on her own face as the one on the robot, Twoearle introduces it completely beside herself with confidence.

Erina voices enough approval for all four of us here.

It might be because this is just right up her beloved genre, and ever the lover of acting nihilistic, mom's reaction reflects that love.

"Let us hurry on board and fight off the elemarians!!"

Erina's pumped as can be about riding it but Twoearle sheepishly stops her.

"I'm afraid to say that this is still completely a work in progress."

"Is it!? It looks complete to me however."

I feel bad for the disappointed Erina but that really saved me. IF things go wrong and we do get these things operational, I'm afraid that she'll ask to sortie out in these even for the life-sized enemies.

"I did want to want to make a twintailed robot but as I am now it seems that I am unable to make twintails whether it be on myself or anything else. We can't have it go out without its finishing touches after all."

"I see..."

Erina comes to terms with it after hearing that reason. After having lost her twintail affinity, it's become impossible for Twoearle to make twintails for herself. It seems the same goes for anyone or anything else whether it's using a mannequin's wig or the steel of a robot.

"Two-Twoearle! If there's anything I can do just tell me and I'll give you a hand with it!"

Aika didn't seem to be taking any interest in all this up till now but was now shakily offering her assistance after something got her attention.

"Fufu. In that case, if I ever complete it, I'd like to have you fight it in battle as its opponent during the test drive~"

"Wh-what!? You mean be its pilot don't you!?"

I can feel my mouth smile broadly on its own watching this charming friendship of theirs.

"Now then, let's move on to the next item!"

Twoearle works her remote control the system on the monitor begins shutting down.

"...hm?"

I just happened have my eye on the monitor till the very end of it and caught some english letters appear right before the screen went dark.

Just before the usual phrases along the lines of "GOOD BYE", the letters "AASF" preceded it.

"AASF...? I know I saw AAS before in Twoearle's lab. It meant..."

...Anti Aika System.

The series of inventions that Twoearle cooked up to fight off Aika.

F... 

F... 

Final.

Anti Aika System Final.

".........."

Something cold runs down my spine. 

No way. Could it be that the giant robot Twoearle-Oh wasn't made to fight off giant elemarians in case they ever appeared but actually...

Walking away with the truth all by my lonesome, I leave it with heavy steps and make my way around behind it past the railing.

"And so the Twoearle-Oh's support mecha... What would have been the so-called no.2 robo would be this."

"This is..."

It was yet another very large vehicle. It was big enough to barely fit inside Yougetsu Academy's gymnasium. The front was an angular trapezoidal shape... The whole thing looked a bit like a light van with huge main wings folded upwards.

"This is the miniature battleship that I used to travel worlds with. I call it the Startwoearle."

"Just why does every single one of these things have your name attached to it at the eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnndddddddddddssssssss!!"

Aika must have been holding back on the retorts up till now because that shout was about 1.5 times longer than the ones she usually does.

We made quite a few stops on the way here but it seems like this battleship is what she wanted to introduce to us the most.

"I was intending on modifying this into the fourth support mecha. Unlike the others with their complex combining sequence, this one would have transformed into a giant robo all by itself and eventually combine with the Twoearle-Oh to form the Great Twoearle-Oh."

"That would be just so incredbily amaziiiiiiiinggg!!"

Erina hugs Twoearle tight at this. It's still just in the idea stage though...

"I-inconceivable! If I had known it was this easy to get my hands on Erina-san I would have told you all about this sooner...!"

A wickedness had started to take shape in Twoearle's eyes as she looked down on Erina but the peerless tag team between Aika and Sakuragawa-sensei saw to her ruthlessly executed removal.

It seems that the StarTwoearle also operated with the Tail Brace as a power source. The cockpit block and residential block being split must mean that Twoearle spent a long time travelling with it.

We carry our luggages and board the ship. Twoearle sat in the control seat with Mom standing right behind her. She thrust her arm into the air and shouts.

"Prepare for launch Twoearle-chan!"

"Roger that captain Miharu!!"

They're really getting into it... I'd be amazed by this if there weren't someone even more into it than them.

"Kyaaah! Kyaaaaaah!! There's huge bolts on the walls! There's a gangway as well! The view from the window makes it feel completely like we're about to launch!!"

Since Erina's as excited as a kid would be on their very first ride aboard a Shinkansen bullet train, I can't help but get excited from her excitement too.

The lift takes us down and the turn table makes a single rotation. The gate ahead of us recede back above and below while the sides expand and draws in towards the middle forming our catapult.

...this place is still underground isn't it?

"StarTwoearle, lift off!!"

Totally taking over the role of ship captain, the StarTwoearle begins its journey to another world at her command.

Name: Tsube Renka
Sex: Female
Age: 19
Birthday: April 1st
Height: 159cm
Weight: 49Kg
B88 W57 H84

Aika's older sister, a university student. With her gentle familial demeanor and prominent figure, she can be considered the top existence that sweeps away all of Aika's defects and still gets along with her. She's been cheering Aika and Souji's relationship on since she was young. So as to not get in the way of that she takes considerations like not to meeting with Souji unless necessary even though they are next door neighbours. Aika tries her best to repay her admired sister's support but in truth she is actually...? She doesn't put her hair up in twintails but does seem to have some interest in doing so.