Read Daily Updated Light Novel, Web Novel, Chinese Novel, Japanese And Korean Novel Online.
Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 8, Chapter 7: What's Inside the Pocket
Volume 8, Chapter 7: What's Inside the Pocket
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Thursday, February 4
The next day, Maki was contacting her allies in Darkness Rainbow from her room in the hotel. Her other classmates that shared the room with her had all left to go ski, so she was all alone. She wasn't using her small magical tool to talk with one person, but the magical tools used to talk to multiple people at the same time.
“It was certainly a strong demon, but it was horribly frightened from the start and there was no way to make a contract with it. When I talked to it, it attacked me and I had to put it down.”
“Hmm, it's rare to see you resolve things with force, Maki.”
“If there's no way to talk, it would have to resolved by force.”
“That is true.”
Maki was reporting about the white demon while keeping a lot of information hidden. The only thing she reported was that the demon was scared and that she had ended up killing it.
“Navy, why was the demon so afraid?”
“I never found out. The only clue was that the demon kept repeating the term 'Vadra'.”
In the end, Maki never understood what had caused the demon to be so scared. Since she was unable to properly talk to the demon, her only clues came from the demon talking to itself. What she had found out was that Vadra was a noun.
“I see... Vadra, huh... I haven't heard of that word before.”
The girl in purple shook her head. She was the most knowledgeable in Darkness Rainbow, but not even she had heard the word before.
“Well, in the end it was just a lone demon. I think it's better if we switch to talking about Rainbow instead.”
Seemingly bored, the girl in red tried to end the discussion regarding the demon. To her, fighting was all that mattered; talking about something that had already been killed was meaningless.
“You have a point.”
Maki agreed, she wanted the discussion to shift away from the demon as well since there were a lot of things she wanted to keep hidden. Because the other girls were quiet, Maki changed the topic.
“About the magic power of room 106. The reason for the increase was because Yurika and Satomi Koutarou got their hands on some artifacts.”
“Artifacts?”
The girl in red was surprised, and Maki nodded to her.
“Yes. Yurika has obtained a new cane and Satomi Koutarou's sword has been strengthened.”
“Navy-chan, how is Yurika-chan's new cane? Was it cute?”
Hearing about a new cane, the girl in orange was the first to react. She had the same reaction as when Maki got her cane.
“It had a design that wouldn't live up to your hopes.”
“Eeeeeeh!? Another serious and old-fashioned one!?”
“Navy, what is that cane's ability?”
“It's a rather strange ability. Because of that it doesn't pose much of a threat on its own.”
Maki began explaining Yurika's new cane.
“Yurika's cane has been created so even someone who isn't a magician can use it. Because of that, the cane handled almost all of the execution. It also has a large variety of spells stored inside it.”
“That sounds pretty special.”
“Yes. Because of that though, the power of each spell is weak.”
“Navy-chan, does that mean that even a complete amateur can become an average magician?”
“Yes. So even if we use that cane, it won't have much of an effect. It's not like we would get twice as strong.”
“Then what’s the point? It's not like we fight 1v1.”
“We don't. That's why I'm not worried.”
Maki smiled at the girl in orange. If Yurika's new cane had been limited to a few spells, their strategy would have to be reconsidered. Since the overall magic power of the cane was large, if that magic power had been focused into a few spells, each of them would be powerful. However, since that wasn't the case, Maki was able to casually chat about it.
“So Maki, what about Satomi Koutarou? His weapon increased in power, didn't it?”
“Yes. Its abilities are the same as before, but its performance has greatly increased. It's completely different from before. I don't think I could beat him on my own.”
What Maki had seen before was energy given the shape of a sword. What she saw this time seemed to have the same abilities, but the power was on a different dimension.
“You don't sound very worried though.”
The girl in red noticed that Maki's tone of voice didn't sound very worried. And Maki honestly admitted that.
“That's true. I don't think it's necessary to regard Satomi Koutarou as dangerous.”
“What do you mean, Navy?”
Not only the girl in red, but the girl in purple also questioned Maki.
“I understood this after my contact with him this time but... it seems like Yurika and Satomi Koutarou aren't necessarily in a cooperative relationship.”
“Navy-chan, by not in a cooperative relationship, do you mean they're not allies?”
“Yes.”
Maki nodded and looked at all of the six girls.
“Last time their goal just happened to overlap, but in reality, Yurika hasn't revealed her identity to Satomi Koutarou yet. Since Rainbow Heart forbids the private use of magic, they might not be able to reach a cooperative relationship.”
“Which means, Navy-”
The girl in purple realized what Maki wanted to say and looked at her.
“That's right, Purple.”
Maki nodded.
“We might be able to avoid having to fight Satomi Koutarou.”
As Darkness Navy, she would be able to avoid fighting a powerful enemy. And as Aika Maki, she wouldn't have to fight Satomi Koutarou. Maki was happy that her two standpoints overlapped on this point. However, the girl in red looked at Maki and showed a malicious smile.
“Hmm, last time you were going on about how you were going to kill him, but now you've so easily given up, why is that?”
In her report the other day, Maki had repeatedly said that she would kill Koutarou. However, now she had easily given up on fighting him. The girl in red was curious about the reason why, but she also wanted to tease Maki.
Not good...
But that was the topic that Maki didn't want to discuss. Not even she was certain of the reason why. It wasn't for the simple reason of her life being saved. It was just that some vague part of her heart had already accepted Koutarou. That was something too hard to explain to others, and a topic she didn't want others to discuss.
“I don't live to fight like you.”
So there, Maki carefully chose her words and spoke of Dark Navy's reasons. She also took care not to mix in Aika Maki's reasons in that.
“If I don't have to fight against an opponent I know I'd lose to, there's no harm in not doing so. I don't believe that fighting is worth it even if I know I'd lose.”
“That's harsh.”
Having suffered a counter attack, the girl in red smiled wryly.
“But that does sound more like Maki. Going on about killing was unlike you.”
She didn't think that Maki's feelings for Koutarou had changed, so she didn't pursue the topic any further. She believed that Maki still despised Koutarou, but wanted to avoid a fight.
Like me, huh...
Just who was her true self? Was it Dark Navy together with her allies, or Aika Maki together with Koutarou? Maki felt anxious about that as she listened to the girl in red's words.
“Navy, what are the chances of making him one of our allies?”
Maki was about to enter some deep thoughts when the girl in purple pulled her back into reality. Maki shoved her thoughts away and directed her attention towards the girl in purple.
“Let's see...”
She began thinking about Koutarou. He was straight forward, clumsy and stubborn. He would very rarely lie, but he never betrayed someone else's trust. He was the only person to remove the burden on Maki's heart and set her free.
As she put together her thoughts, Maki was careful not showing a smile on her face.
“I don't think there's much of a chance to make him a member.”
Based on Koutarou's personality, Maki couldn't imagine that he would agree with Darkness Rainbow's motives. If anything, he would be on Rainbow Heart's side.
More importantly, she wanted to keep Koutarou away from the fight between Darkness Rainbow and Rainbow Heart. She wanted him to remain as Aika Maki's friend, rather than Darkness Navy's ally.
“But, he's not the type who would cut his ties with his allies. Even if we can't completely make him an ally, we should be able to gain an advantage based on our effort.”
After thinking for a while, the words that left Maki's mouth ended up belonging to Dark Navy. They didn't coincide with Maki's desire, but it was the truth and she believed that expressing it that way would be the best way to convince her allies.
As long as I can keep Koutarou away from the room during the fight, he should be safe...
That was Maki's main goal.
“As expected of Maki. Your thoughts are deep and vicious.”
“Petty tricks like that don't suit me, so you do it, Maki.”
“Navy, can we leave that work to you?”
Fortunately, Darkness Navy had no suspicions about Maki's report, and all six of them agreed with her.
“Yes. I managed to gain some of Satomi Koutarou’s trust during this case, so I believe it would be best if I did this.”
“Then please do, Navy.”
“I'll do it in parallel with my information gathering.”
“Navy, do you have anything else to report?”
“I don't. This is all for now.”
“Then this meeting is now over. Navy, please report any changes in development.”
“I understand.”
And like so, Maki's report ended. As a result, fighting against Koutarou would be avoided whenever possible, and Maki would be in charge of making that happen. Since she wanted to avoid fighting Koutarou, this was just what she wished for.
“See you later, Navy-chan.”
“Until next time.”
The 3D images of the girls surrounding Maki vanished one after another.
“Oh right. Maki, you were on a skiing trip, weren't you?”
“Yes.”
“Then that's good. How about you let loose a little.”
“That's none of your business.”
“You know, you're just wasting your life.”
The girl in red persevered, but in the end, even she vanished and Maki was left alone in the hotel room.
“...Good, I don't have to fight with Satomi-kun...”
As she was left alone, the serious expression melted away from Maki's face. It was like she was a completely different person from when she was speaking as Dark Navy. However, Maki wasn't aware of that. Maki still believed herself to be the cold, evil magical girl, Dark Navy even now.
“Alright then, let’s go meet with Satomi-kun right away. I have some work to do after all♪”
But as Maki flung open the door and left, she looked more like a magical girl bringing love and happiness.
Part 2
When Yurika woke up, she was lying on a bed in the hotel. The last thing she could remember before waking up here was her being attacked by the white demon in the mountain.
“Aika-san, Aika-san, rock-paper-scissors.”
“Eeeeh!? Satomi-kun, you want me to go buy!? Matsudaira-kun is―”
“I'm not a weakling like Mackenzie who always goes easy on women.”
“Geez, it's because you're like that that you never get any chocolate.”
“Shut up. Here we go. Rock, paper, scissors―”
“―shoot.”
“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.”
However, what surprised her more than that was the carefree sight on the sofa in front of her. Koutarou and Maki playing rock paper scissors seemed absurd to Yurika.
“Aaagh!! I lost!!”
“So you really did use scissors. I felt like you would do that when we got a draw.”
“W-What are you two doing?”
Koutarou threw scissors while Maki threw rock.
Having lost, Koutarou was holding his head and was mortified, while Maki, who won, smiled. That sight made Yurika's eyes open wide in surprise.
M-Maybe I've been cursed to make it look like rock-paper-scissors...?
Yurika knew that Maki was planning on killing Koutarou. So she felt like there was a danger behind the smile she was showing Koutarou. And for the same reason, she felt it was dangerous that Maki was in her room.
“Oh, Yurika, you woke up?”
“S-Satomi-san, just what happened?”
Yurika looked back and forth between Koutarou and Maki and asked for the reason why the two were together.
“Hm? After you were done in, I had Aika-san help me beat that strange monster, and after that I carried you back home.”
Yurika had planned on confronting Maki after putting Koutarou to sleep. However, since she ended up being frozen, the showdown with Maki never happened. As a result, it ended with Koutarou saving a stranded classmate before it became a problem.
But that wasn't what Yurika wanted to know.
“T-That's not what I meant. Why are Satomi-san and Maki-chan so... so friendly to each other!?”
“Why? Well, that's because we're classmates.”
Koutarou stared at Yurika. To him, Maki was a classmate. He hadn't had much to do with her up until now, but it's not like he hated her. And this time she had helped him a lot. He was just treating Maki like normal, so when questioned why, he couldn't understand the question.
“Uhm, that's not it, Maki-chan is, you know, Satomi-san's...!?”
Yurika wanted to convey this situation to Koutarou somehow. Maki was an evil magical girl and she had been enemies with Yurika for a while now. And that Maki was aiming to kill Koutarou. Yurika wanted to convey that to Koutarou, but she couldn't come up with the words that would convince him. But before she could, Maki opened her mouth.
“Fufufu, Satomi-kun, since Yurika-san had just woken up, how about you give her some time to get her feelings and clothes in order?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Koutarou nodded at Maki's words. He believed it was just as she said.
There was no way she wouldn't be confused after being frozen solid. She needed some time to calm down, and Yurika was a girl, she should be given some time to fix her outfit.
“Maki-chan...?”
However, that perplexed Yurika. She couldn't help but be anxious over what Maki was trying to do.
“Also, you're going to buy for my sake aren't you?”
“It's not for your sake, Aika-san. Hey Yurika, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday, so you're hungry, right? I'll buy you something, what do you want?”
“Ah, u-uhm...”
“I want something to drink.”
“I won't buy anything for you, Aika-san.”
“Eeeeeeeh!?”
And while Yurika was perplexed, the two continued their intimate conversation.
J-Just what happened...?
Koutarou and Maki's conversation seemed to go past the lines of just friends. Their relationship might have been similar to Koutarou's and Yurika's.
“What is it, Yurika?”
“Ah, eh...?”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Ah, r-right! If there's some bread or something, that'll be fine!”
“I got it, I'll be right back.”
Koutarou got up from the sofa and walked towards the room's entrance without noticing Yurika's confusion.
“Satomi-kun, make sure you don't get lost.”
“As if I would! Idiot!”
“S-Satomi-san!?”
Yurika helplessly called out Koutarou's name. However, Koutarou left the room without turning around, leaving only Yurika and Maki in the room.
After Koutarou left, the room turned silent. There were a lot of things that Yurika wanted to ask Maki, but the situation of being alone with Maki in a room was too eerie, and she had trouble opening her mouth.
However, as time passed, the sight of Maki smiling on the sofa became frightening and Yurika couldn't stay quiet any more. So she finally spoke up and asked what was on her mind. By speaking she was able to divert her fear.
“U-Uhm, Maki-chan.”
“Hm?”
Having been called out, Maki casually raised her head. And without ruining her smile, she stared right at Yurika. Despite being slightly pressured, Yurika did her best to continue talking.
“Just what are you planning?”
“What do you mean?”
“I'm talking about Satomi-san! What are you planning on doing to Satomi-san!?”
Yurika's most pressing question was the reason behind Maki being so close to Koutarou.
Yurika knew that Maki considered Koutarou an enemy, so she definitely had an ulterior motive for getting closer to him.
Since Maki understood that as well, she honestly answered without sneering or making fun of Yurika.
“There's no need to be so scared, Yurika. I'm friendly with Satomi-kun because I don't want to do anything.”
“Don't want to do anything!? W-Wha, what's that supposed to mean!?”
Yurika was confused.
She didn't understand the meaning of Maki's words. Getting friendly because she didn't want to do anything; she had a hard time taking that at face value, knowing that Maki considered Koutarou an enemy.
But what confused Yurika even more was the atmosphere around Maki. It wasn't the same pressuring, sharp atmosphere from before; instead it was quiet and stable. Yurika couldn't even sense any hostility towards herself.
What is this? She's not scary, but... I don't feel like I can win...
Yurika could feel that Maki's hostility had been greatly reduced. However, in return, she didn't think she could win if they ended up fighting again. She believed she had a higher chance of winning against Maki from yesterday than today.
Maki-chan has gotten much stronger... Just what happened between yesterday and today...?
It wasn't like Maki's magic power had increased or that she had gained new abilities. Instead, her mental stability was drawing out all of Maki's strength. And that let Yurika feel an overwhelming difference in ability.
“That's true, Yurika. This is probably hard for you to understand after everything's that's happened... but we, Darkness Rainbow, have decided to avoid a direct confrontation with Satomi-kun.”
“You won't fight Satomi-san!?”
Yurika was surprised once more.
“Wait, Maki-chan, what does that mean!?”
“Calm down. Since this concerns you too, I'll properly explain.”
Yurika was panicking while Maki remained calm. Indeed, if the two were to fight now, Maki would probably win easily.
“I figured this out while talking to Satomi-kun yesterday and today, but... Yurika, you still haven't truly revealed your identity to him, have you?”
“Y-Yes... that's sort of what happened...”
At first she wanted him to believe her. However, lately Yurika had come to feel like they were fine this way, and she let Koutarou's misunderstanding as it was.
“That's why you're not in a proper cooperative relationship. Isn't that right?”
“...Eh!?”
That left Yurika aghast. In her mind, Koutarou was already her ally. However, Maki's words made her aware that it might not be the case.
“T-That's, true, but..”
“That's why. Darkness Rainbow isn't strictly Satomi-kun's enemy yet. So there's no need for us to increase our enemies. Isn't that right?”
“Ah...”
That was when Yurika realized what Maki and Darkness Rainbow were thinking.
Since Maki believed that Koutarou and Yurika were allies, they recognized Koutarou as an enemy. Since that wasn't truly the case, there was no point in attacking him. Instead, she began to feel the other way about him.
“S-So you're befriending Satomi-kun!?”
“That's right, Yurika. Since Satomi-kun is strong, I'd rather not fight him.”
Maki quietly nodded at Yurika.
“And if possible I want to make him an ally. Even if that fails, because of the way Satomi-kun is, as long as we get closer he won't be able to get serious in a fight. So I want to befriend him by any means possible.”
“Maki-chan!”
She would use Koutarou's good will for the sake of the fight. That was something that Yurika couldn't forgive. Because of that, strength returned to Yurika's eyes.
“But Yurika, this situation is useful for you too.”
“Eh?”
“As you know, Satomi-kun is a gentle person. He might fight, but he won't fight to the death.”
Maki continued speaking with a thin smile. A strong sense of trust for Koutarou could be sensed from that smile. That puzzled Yurika, as that wasn't the smile of someone planning on using Koutarou's good will.
“Darkness Rainbow's intentions are just what I said. But, based on how you and I act, we might be able to keep Satomi-kun out of our fight.”
“T-That's...”
That was certainly something that Yurika wanted. She wished that Koutarou would think of her as just a classmate. And she wanted to graduate alongside him as just a classmate. In order to do that, it was important to not involve Koutarou in her fight. So using this situation to distance Koutarou from any fighting was indeed something useful for Yurika.
Maki-chan just said 'Darkness Rainbow's intentions'...
There was also one more thing that caught Yurika's interest. The way Maki phrased 'Darkness Rainbow's intentions' made it sound like she personally had different intentions. In that case, what were they?
“...What's the reason for you to personally not want to involve Satomi-san, Maki-chan?”
“Yurika...”
Yurika honestly questioned Maki, and after recovering from her surprise she smiled. And while smiling, she looked towards the door that Koutarou had left through.
“Yesterday, after you got frozen... I was attacked by that demon and almost died.”
While staring at the door, Maki touched her side with her hand. Just yesterday night, there was a large wound there, large enough to threaten her life.
“And Satomi-kun saved me. I want to return that favor.”
However, now there was no wound carved there anymore. Koutarou had healed her using Signaltin's powers. Instead, a lot of things had been carved into Maki's heart, and they urged Maki to return the favor.
“Satomi-san saved Maki-chan... and that's why...”
Up until now, Maki had taken a lot of incomprehensible actions, but after hearing the reason behind them, it was enough to convince Yurika.
Darkness Rainbow wanted to avoid a fight with Koutarou. There were many methods of doing that, and amongst those, Maki had chosen the safest one for Koutarou in an attempt to repay the favor.
“So let's work together, Yurika. You and I have to keep that person away from the fight!”
“M-Maki-chan!?”
However, despite understanding all of those circumstances, Maki asking Yurika for her cooperation was just so surprising.
Part 3
Koutarou returned shortly after Yurika and Maki's discussion. Because of that, Yurika still hadn't recovered from the shock and was sitting on the bed with a spaced out look on her face.
“I'm back, Yurika. I got you some bread. They had your favorite yakisoba bread, so I got you that.”
“Welcome back, Satomi-kun. What bread did you get for me?”
Because of that, Maki was the only one to welcome him back. She got up from the sofa and approached Koutarou.
“There's none for you. Why would I have to do that much?”
“My, well if you start earning points now, I'll let you become my boyfriend eventually.”
“I don't want a girl you can get with bread.”
“Geez, you're not being honest.”
Koutarou and Maki joked around. But to Yurika who watched over the two, their relationship didn't seem like something that developed over a single day. It was as if Koutarou was acting as he was with his childhood friend, Kenji.
Maki-chan said that Satomi-san saved her life, but... is that really all...?
Koutarou and Maki's relationship seemed different from savior and saved to Yurika. Something more dramatic than saving Maki's life must have had happened. That was what Yurika was thinking, but the more she thought of it, the more unlikely it seemed. Yurika just got more and more confused.
“Well, you helped me out a lot yesterday, so I can at least buy you a drink.”
“Really?”
“Consider it a bribe to keep you quiet.”
“Ahaha, understood. So what is there?”
“Let's see, an unhealthy cola, an unhealthy cola made by another company and overly sweet strawberry milk for Yurika.”
“A cola then. I love cola.”
“What a coincidence, actually I do too.”
Koutarou pulled out two black bottles from the plastic bag and then put the rest on Yurika's lap. What was left in the bag was the strawberry milk and the yakisoba bread.
“Here, drink this.”
“I prefer the other one.”
“Don't be so picky.”
“Since it's a bribe, I think it's okay to be picky.”
“...Fine...”
Koutarou reluctantly handed his favorite cola over to Maki. She accepted the drink with both hands and smiled.
“That side of you is worth a lot of points you know?”
“Hurry up and drink it before I take it back.”
“You know you won't, geez~~”
While Yurika watched over the two, they began drinking their cola while chatting. They constantly smiled and were close to spouting out their cola from time to time.
They somehow... get along really well...
Yurika felt like the atmosphere surrounding Koutarou and Maki was special.
“Right, then.”
“Where's your manners?”
“Thank you for the drink, Satomi-kun.”
After finishing her cola, Maki got up from the sofa. She then put her hands together and smiled at Koutarou.
“Satomi-kun, do you want to go skiing together after this?”
“Yeah, let's do that. Yurika, you're coming too, right?”
“Ah, uhm...”
“Alright, then it's decided. I'll go get ready!”
Before Yurika could give a clear answer, Maki was already walking towards the door, as if she wasn't going to take a no for an answer.
“Let's meet up in the lobby after getting changed.”
“Yeah.... Yurika, don't space out, hurry up and eat or we'll leave you behind.”
“O-Okay! I will, I will!”
Yurika was still doubtful, but even though she had to move her body, she had no choice but to go ski.
“Fufu.”
Maki left the room with a short laugh and after entering the hallway and closing the door, she stopped for a moment.
“Phew...”
Maki let out a sigh of relief. Her and Koutarou was one thing, but she still felt a little nervous being around her enemy, Yurika.
Oh right...
As she sighed, she remembered what was in her pocket.
“...Maybe I should... use it...?”
Maki mumbled to herself in a quiet voice and put her hand in her skirt's pocket. She touched something small and hard with her fingertips. But Maki was still hesitant and couldn't pull it out. Her expression changed into an anxious one.
“But, won't it... be like tricking him...?”
Maki began grasping what was in her pocket; however, she still wasn't pulling her hand out. At the same time, she couldn't let go either. Maki was still hesitating, but―
“No, I'm sure it's fine... he's not the kind of person who would be moved by something cheap like this...”
Maki mustered her courage and pulled her hand out of her pocket.
“Then... then it'd be fine if I make myself... look a little cuter, won't it...?”
She slowly opened her hand. Her heart started beating faster, she was starting to blank out and her hand was slightly trembling.
“If he would get happy over something like this...”
On top of her hand was something she always hated.
“N-No! That's not it, this is for Darkness Rainbow's sake!! That's right!! If it's for everyone's sake, I can do my best, even with things I don't like!!” It was the liquid lipstick that she had been given and supposedly thrown away right thereafter.
