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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 2, Chapter 2: A Day for the Invaders
Volume 2, Chapter 2: A Day for the Invaders
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Monday, April 27th
Over half a month had passed since the four invaders forced their way into Room 106.
During that time, they had fought over the room primarily using card games with points going back and forth. However, Koutarou didn't believe that games alone would be enough to solve his problems.
He was using every cell in his not-so-clever head to come up with countermeasures.
That was why he was visiting Kitsushouharukaze High School's cosplay club.
Of course, his goal was to deal with the invaders.
"...And like that, she's just cosplaying without taking into account her situation or place. That's why I'd like you to teach her the true meaning of cosplay.”
Koutarou was sitting down by a conference table and talking to six girls.
Those six were the Cosplay Society's club president and their five members.
The Cosplay Society only had girls and, like the Knitting Society, they were a weak club.
Having visited the Cosplay Society, Koutarou was in the middle of explaining his situation.
That he had an acquaintance who was a cosplayer.
And that this cosplayer was cosplaying regardless of time, place and occasion.
“And this is a photo of the cosplayer in question.”
Having explained most of the situation, Koutarou pulled out a photograph and put it on top of the table.
The club president, who was sitting on the opposite of the end of the table, picked up the photograph.
“I see. So this girl is...”
The photograph showed Yurika in her magical girl outfit.
“What a cute girl. Is the outfit an original magical girl?”
“The quality of her outfit seems to be pretty high.”
“I wonder, is it custom made? Either way, it must have cost quite a bit...”
“Look at the cane! It's of really high quality!”
“It seems she's at least got the resolution.”
The members of the society peeked at the photograph and stated their impressions.
“If we just leave her like this she will eventually cause problems for all of you. If she walks around in this outfit around here, people would suspect it's one of you.”
“Yes, that's what they would think...”
As the club president responded to Koutarou she looked down.
Koutarou noticed her shoulders were trembling slightly.
Not good, did I make her angry?
It was a given that Yurika would cause problems for this club sooner or later.
“What will you do?”
“President!”
The other members noticed their president's behavior and looked at her anxiously.
“So how about it, will you do it?”
As Koutarou said that, a tear streamed down from her face and fell.
The teardrop fell on Yurika's photograph, distorting the outline.
Seeing that, Koutarou thought this negotiation had ended in a failure.
“Fu, fufufu, fufufufu...”
The president's shoulders trembled as she began laughing in a small voice.
And her laugh gradually grew louder.
“Ahahahaha!”
And as the president looked up, she revealed a large smile.
“How could this be!?”
“...?”
The president was crying as she laughed.
Koutarou didn't understand the meaning behind her actions, and he looked puzzled at her smile.
“President, what about his request!?”
“Marvelous! Absolutely marvelous! Today is a wonderful day!”
The president excitedly slammed her hands down onto the table and kicked her chair away as she stood up.
“So you will accept it!?”
“Of course! This is love, a deep, deep love! Satomi-kun couldn't have made this request without understanding the behavior of cosplayers and holding a deep love for it!”
“In that case, President!”
“You all understand, right!? If we don't respond to Satomi-kun's deep love, how can we call ourselves cosplayers! Let's combine our powers and turn this girl, Yurika-san, into a first rate cosplayer!!”
“Yes!”
“CosCluuub![1]”
“Fight!”
The five club members responded to the president in choir.
All of the members of the cosplay society were completely motivated.
“Uhmm...”
Having been taken aback by the unexpected development, Koutarou was finally able to regain his composure.
"...In other words, you'll do it?”
“Ah, S-Sorry Satomi-kun, we were getting a bit to heated up...”
The president's cheeks turned red with embarrassment.
“I don't know if it was just a fad, but a shadow has been cast on the cosplay boom lately... On top of that, we have to endure the prejudice and harassment of heartless people... That's why we were just so happy that a normal person like you showed your understanding...”
The president's was beet red.
The other members were in a similar state, some scratched their nose and others scratched their head; they were showing their embarrassment in one way or another.
They were all looking at Koutarou in a friendly manner.
I see, they've been having a hard time too...
Koutarou felt sympathy for the girls.
The knitting Society and the Cosplay Society were similar in the sense that they were both isolated.
“Thank you very much, everybody. I won't forget this debt. If you ever have problems with something, please let me know.”
He had come there as a countermeasure for the invaders, but his feelings of using them had disappeared.
He just thought that it was a good idea to consult with them ahead of time.
It would have been too late after Yurika had caused problems for them.
“In that case, can I ask something of you, Satomi-kun?”
“Yes, what can I help you with?”
“Well... Could you stop by and play from time to time?
The president put her hands together and had an apologetic look on her face.
“I don't mind, but... Why?”
“W-Well you see... Our club only has girls in it, right?”
The president pointed at the club members on her side with both of her hands.
“We'd like to hear a boy's thoughts on designs... But it's hard to ask a normal boy... It's easier to ask a person like Satomi-kun who doesn't have any underlying thoughts or prejudice...”
The president's voice gradually turned lower and lower.
And in the end the voice vanished and the president looked at Koutarou with an uneasy glance.
“I understand. Since you listened to my request I have no reason not to listen to yours. I'd love to cooperate with you.”
Hearing her explanation, Koutarou nodded his head.
Since he was asking them to help with Yurika, this seemed like a fair deal to him.
“Thank you, Satomi-kun!”
“Then let's get to it right away, President!”
“Eh, now!?”
“Of course, Satomi-kun! It won't take a lot of time!”
Hearing Koutarou's response, the girls jumped into action right away.
They took the outfits from the hangers and ran around the room.
They looked like they were having a lot of fun.
Well, alright then.
Koutarou, who had been taken aback momentarily, quickly recollected himself and relaxed as he fixed his posture in the chair.
Part 2
“Well then, I'll take my leave now.”
“Thank you, Satomi-kun. Leave Yurika-san to us!”
“Please come visit again, Satomi-kuuun!”
“That's wrong!”
“Oh, right!”
“All together now...”
“Farewell Master! We'll be waiting for your return!”
“Ahaha, well then, see you later.”
Koutarou left the club room as he was seen off by the Cosplay Society's smiles and voices.
The windowless hallway was dim and chilly, the complete opposite of the Cosplay Society's club room.
“However, they sure are great. Cosplaying should be disciplined like that.”
The girls of the cosplay society would not change places without permission whilst cosplaying.
They wouldn't enter the hallway while still wearing their outfit.
Even when going to the toilet, they would make sure to take off their outfit first.
“I absolutely agree.”
And all of a sudden Sanae, who had kept quiet in order not to disturb Koutarou, opened her mouth.
She was hanging onto Koutarou's back with her arms around his neck, and she poked his cheeks.
“But aren't you a sly one, trying to pawn off Yurika to the Cosplay Society.”
“That was my plan at first. But after talking to them, I felt like it was a good idea talking to them.”
“Give and take?”
“Something like that.”
“...Isn't it just because you love maid outfits?”
“It's not!...Well, I don't hate them though.”
“If you say so... But with this, it looks like there'll be one less rival, right?”
“Kukuku, that makes one...”
Koutarou grinned and laughed.
If Yurika entered the Cosplay Society, she would no longer need Room 106 as a place to express herself.
That was Koutarou's goal.
Leaving the cosplay society aside, having one less invader to deal with was worth celebrating.
“...You really are sly, you know.”
“Is that so?”
Koutarou and Sanae exited the club building as they were talking.
Just like that, the negotiation between Koutarou and the cosplay society peacefully ended.
Leaving the club building, they then headed back towards their classroom as the lunch break was about to end.
By the way, even though Sanae was floating in the air, none of the students made a commotion.
Only the residents of room 106 could see Sanae in the high school.
The only exception was Shizuka; she could see Sanae while she was at Corona House and if Sanae wasn't hiding her presence.
It looked to Kenji and Shizuka that only Koutarou had returned to the classroom since Sanae was hiding her presence.
“Welcome back, Satomi-kun.”
“Where'd you go, Kou?”
“I had an errand to do at the club building.”
“An errand?”
“Yeah, I went to one of the clubs and talked about Yurika.”
“About Nijino-san? What kind of club was it?”
Having taken notice of the mention of Yurika, Kenji adjusted his classes and leaned in.
Kenji's contact with Yurika had recently increased since she sat next to him.
Kenji, who normally looked after others, couldn't simply let Yurika be. He felt it was dangerous to leave her on her own, even more so than Koutarou.
“I can't say, not even to you. It's about Yurika's personal hobby.”
“Hmm... Well, that's fine. More importantly, Kou, where did you meet those four?”
“What four?”
“Don't try to play stupid. I'm talking about Nijino-san, Kurano-san, Ruth, and Theia.”
“Ah, you're talking about them.”
Koutarou wasn't trying to play stupid. Including Ruth, there were five invaders, so the mention of four just didn't click for him.
Kenji didn't know about Sanae's existence; it had been a simple misunderstanding.
“You were acquainted before they transferred, right?”
“Yeah, I met them when I had gone out shopping once.”
“Shopping...?”
Kenji tilted his head. He usually spent a lot of time with Koutarou, but he didn't have any recollection of those four when he had been out shopping with him.
That's why Kenji felt something was odd with Koutarou's explanation.
“When was this sho ― ”
“N-Nevertheless, those four girls sure stand out, don't they Mackenzie-kun?”
“Eh? Yeah, they do. I guess you could stay they're rich in variety...”
Having sensed where the conversation was heading, Shizuka, who knew about the circumstances, diverted Kenji's attention elsewhere.
Kenji didn't have the will to pursue it either and obediently responded to Shizuka's change in topic.
“Phew...”
That was close. Thank you, Landlord-san.
As Kenji's attention shifted towards Shizuka, Koutarou let out a sigh of relief.
Shizuka smiled as her and Koutarou's eyes met.
In the present situation, Shizuka was one of Koutarou's few allies, and she would give him a hand even now and then.
“Mackenzie-kun, which one of those four would be your type?”
“Me!?”
“Yeah, I'm kind of interested.”
“For Mackenzie, it's that girl in the drama club, right? You even joined the drama club to chase after her.”
“You're wrong. I was asked by an acquaintance to join to even the numbers.”
Kenji sighed at Koutarou's comment.
It had already been brought up several times before.
“Then tell me, Mackenzie-kun! My friends are always asking who your type is!”
“Hmm... Out of those four...”
Kenji looked over at the four girls.
Koutarou naturally looked over as well.
Apart from Sanae, the four invaders were grouped up and chatting.
There were several students there apart from the four, and the invaders were actively chatting with them.
When they had first arrived they stood out, but now they had blended in and were a part of the class.
“Are you dating someone, Kurano-san?”
“Would you leave it alone? You boys only care about that...”
“Aren't you interested as well?”
“T-That's...”
“Fufufu, I don't mind. I don't have anyone I am currently seeing.”
“Alright! Me! Me! I'll volunteer!”
“You idiot...”
“But there is someone I have chosen”.
“What, really!? Who!?”
“Ahaha, that's a secret.”
Kiriha was known as the class's honor student.
Kiriha would act completely different from her normal self.
She was active, had a quick mind, and was kind to everyone. Because of that, she attracted a lot of people to her.
In reality, the majority of the students around the invaders were Kiriha's friends and acquaintances.
She had put on quite the act, but to Koutarou, who knew her true self, he couldn't help but feel they were pitiful.
“Ah, only five minutes left! I still have six problems left; I won't make it! Um... Eh...! Fueeee!”
“Yurika-san, do you want me to show you my homework again?”
“Is that okay!?”
“If you'll buy me juice.”
“...That's fine, I'll solve them myself...”
Compared to Kiriha, Yurika was known to be useless.
She was unable to remain calm and had a suspicious behavior. She failed a lot and was often late.
Forgetting her homework was an everyday occurrence, and even now she was desperately working away at her math homework.
Yurika and Kiriha could often be found together; this only enhanced her uselessness.
However, the person in question didn't realize this at all.
“I'm not fond of rock.”
“Then what do you listen to, Theia-chan?”
“Normally classical music. Although I'm interested in enka. Last year's big hit 'The Festival's Flame Drum' utterly impressed me.”
“That was a huge hit in the enka[2] world, wasn't it?”
“So cool... As expected from a princess...”
The most conspicuous of the four was Theia.
Unlike Kiriha, Theia was simply acting like herself.
However, she couldn't just call herself an alien princess, so she had changed her background to an international student from Europe.
She said she was a princess from a country where monarchy still remained.
The translation machine she used had the ability to augment the topic, so she suffered no real problems in her conversations.
Thanks to that, she had been accepted into the class as a princess.
“So, does Ruth-chan make your lunch as well?”
“Yes. But I'm still studying the kind of food that the citizens of this country eat.”
“That's nice. I wish I could cook...”
“You're envious, aren't you? Ruth is my childhood friend. Right?”
"Yes.”
Compared to the other three who were all unique, Ruth lacked impact.
She didn't speak out of line, and apart from her fitness she had no real flaws.
She was always in the background, smiling next to Theia.
However, many were quite attracted to her moderate personality and she was secretly quite popular.
Although she didn't compare to the other four, she still stood out.
“Hmm...”
“Don't act like you're wondering, Mackenzie. Out of those four you'd pick Yurika.”
Koutarou smiled and called out to Kenji as he was thinking.
“Don't just decide on your own!”
“Nooo, I'm right. You've always been like that. You always get attracted to the girls who are too dangerous to leave on their own.”
“Ahaha, is that so Mackenzie-kun?”
“It's not, Kasagi-san. Kou's just getting ahead of himself.”
Kenji hurriedly denied it.
“Then who is it?”
“...”
However, as Koutarou pursued the question even further Kenji fell silent.
Yurika was most likely his type out of the four.
“See. It is Yurika!”
“You're wrong! It just happened to be her!”
“Now that you mention it, Satomi-kun is too dangerous to leave on his own. It really is your type, isn't it?”
“Please don't say something so terrifying, Kasagi-san!”
“There's no need to be embarrassed~”
“You just shut up! It's not like that, Kasagi-san...”
After scolding Koutarou, Kenji began to desperately explain himself to Shizuka.
At that point Sanae, who had been floating in the air nearby, started hanging off of Koutarou's back.
“Hey Koutarou, what about you?”
“Hm?”
“Which of us five would be your type?”
Sanae hung onto Koutarou and whispered into his ear.
And Koutarou whispered back to her.
“...You don't even need to ask in this situation.”
“You mean it's me!? I'm always with you and I'm innocent, full of energy, and brave. The beautiful ghost Sanae-chan!?”
Sanae's eyes sparked with anticipation.
However, Koutarou shook his head.
“Of course not. It's Ruth-san. Among the five of you it's not even a contest.”
To Koutarou, who was struggling daily, his only choice was Ruth, who didn't take part in the fighting.
“Don't kid around! I'm obviously the cutest!”
“Gueh!”
Sanae strengthened the grip around Koutarou's neck and choked him.
“I'm always right next to you! Can't you say something like in love comedies like your heart is always throbbing and that you think I'm cute!?”
“N-No, I don't really feel anything...”
“I'm even cheering for you in the sports festival!!”
In her excitement, Sanae tightened her grip around Koutarou's neck even more.
“I-In the end you want to chase me out of the room anyways...”
“Even then I think it's unfair!”
With the pressure to his neck, Koutarou felt like he was about to pass out, but to others it seemed like Koutarou was just sitting down on his chair.
It wasn't just the four invaders, but Koutarou's and Sanae's odd relationship was also already a part of the class.
Part 3
After school, Kiriha had gone to the club building on her own.
“In order to take part in the obstacle marathon for clubs I'll need to join a club as well, but...”
Her goal was of course to take part in the sports festival next month.
The event they were going to take part in was called the Obstacle Marathon for Clubs.
And as the name suggested, two representatives from a club would take part and compete in a group.
Because of that, they needed to join a club and be chosen as one of the representatives.
“Now then... What club should I join...”
Kiriha stood at the entrance of the club building looking at a bulletin board.
There was a list of clubs on it.
Kiriha was staring at that list and thinking out her strategies for the marathon.
Since there are two people taking part, if I get into some trouble my partner needs to be quite capable. In which case, the first thing required are fast legs. Since it is a marathon, picking a sports club is inevitable. Relying on a liberal club member's leg is foolish. And since it's an obstacle race, having a small body would be favorable. The first club that comes to mind is...
As Kiriha gathered her thoughts, a single club's name popped into her view.
“The girl's track and field team.”
A smile appeared on Kiriha's face as she said its name.
The girl's track and field team... not bad. Now all that remains to be seen is if I'll be chosen as one of the representatives. I'll try to explain my situation. If it's no good I'll just head to a different club. I still have time left...
“Karama, Korama, you're here, aren't you?”
“We're here-ho!”
“Of course-ho!”
The only one here was Kiriha, but her servant haniwas' voices could be heard coming out of thin air.
They had been secretly following Kiriha around using built-in defense devices that hid their bodies.
“Record conversations at the place I'm heading towards. I need to analyze everyone's character and their relationships, so the more conversations you record the better.”
“Understood-ho!”
“We'll do our best-ho!”
Kiriha was planning on forcing her way into the girl's track and field team like she had done with Koutarou.
She would examine the characters of the club members and skillfully lead them into selecting her as a representative for the obstacle marathon.
“Alright.”
Kiriha nodded to the haniwas and headed for the entrance of the club building.
“Nooooo!! I won't join the cosplay club!! I keep telling you it's not cosplay!!”
“This girl is struggling more than I thought she would...”
“This is for Satomi-kun's sake. Don't mind that and bring her in!”
“Roger!”
“Noooooooooo!”
As Kiriha was passing through the entrance she crossed paths with an odd group. However she paid no attention to them.
Her current concern right now was to get the girl's track and field team to choose her as their representative.
“Fufufu, I wonder how the others will manage...”
Kiriha smiled confidently and headed for the track and field club room, taking the two haniwas with her.
As Kiriha was trying to join the track and field team, another invader was trying to join a certain club.
“So she's joining the girl's track and field team...”
“Yes. She was confirmed to have entered their club room.”
“Good work, Ruth. Keep up the observation.”
“Understood.”
With a beep, Ruth's voice that was coming out of Theia's bracelet was cut off.
Theia's bracelet, which was attached to her right arm, had several functions aside from calling out weapons.
Communication was one of those functions; she was able to communicate with Ruth's bracelet whenever she wished.
After receiving the report from Ruth, Theia put both of her hands on her waist.
“Kukuku, so Kiriha is joining the girl's track and field team... That would be the proper way to go about things... However!”
Theia opened her eyes and looked up at the building in front of her.
As she was doing that it seemed like it was a rather large building. However, in reality it was simply because of her small size.
“A competition is all about organizational strength and combined force! I'll just leave physical strength to the men! You chose the wrong club, people of the earth! Kukuku!”
The building in front of her was also a club building, but it was different from the common club building.
It was a prefabricated hut the men's cheerleading squad was using.
Because they made a lot of noise when they practiced, they were in a separate building.
“What I seek is complete unity and utter loyalty! I'll have you die for my sake, men's cheerleading squad!”
“Go! Go! Ha-ru-ka-ze!”
“Go, Go, Harukaze! Go, Go, Harukaze!”
As Theia was laughing loudly, the men's loud voices along with an intense drumbeat leaked out from the prefabricated hut, shaking the ground.
“Good, very good! Fitting for my troops! Prepare yourselves!”
“Go, Go, Harukaze! Go, Go, Harukaze!”
Loud voices and drums roared; it seemed like it would have been enough to blow away Theia's tiny body.
However, that did not intimidate Theia, and she walked up to the door with a determined glance and knocked on the door.
“Greetings!”
“What is it? We're busy practicing. If you have any business with us, come back later.”
Shortly after Theia had knocked, the door opened and a man with a rough looking face appeared.
The uniform he was wearing was of a more classic style.
The hems of his coat and pants were longer and had lots of embroidery.
He had an armband attached around his left arm and had 'head' written on it. He was this club's leader.
And the most noteworthy thing about him was his gigantic figure.
He looked like he would get caught in the door's frame, and when compared to Theia, he looked like a giant.
“That won't happen. From today on I will be this club's ruler!”
Even then, Theia's smile didn't waver.
Her confident smile was very fitting for that of a ruler.
And Theia pointed at the face of the giant man in front of her.
“Hand over ownership of the cheerleader squad to me right away and have all of the members obey my every command!”
“What!? Do you think you can hurt the glory of our squad with that tiny body of yours!?”
“That's the spirit! However, current head, I won't let you get off easily! I'll properly discipline you and make you regret calling your master tiny!”
“Rubbish! Don't get ahead of yourself shrimp! Men, to arms! Don't hold back even if it's a tiny girl, she is ridiculing our squad!”
Being called out by their head the members inside streamed out of the club room.
They were all huge, and as they surrounded Theia, she could no longer be seen from the outside.
“Very good! That's the behavior I expect from my vassals!”
“Cut the banter!”
“Don't think you'll be able to get out of this alive!”
The squad members flied into a fit of rage and threatened Theia.
It was almost like a pack of fierce animals hunting a rabbit.
“Of course I'll get out of this alive! That is what you call victory! … Prepare for the seventh princess of the Holy Galactic Forthorthe Empire, Theiamillis Gre Forthorthe!!
However, here the fiercest animal was the tiny rabbit.
Part 4
Roughly an hour later.
Theia's figure could be seen inside of the prefabricated hut.
She calmly sat down on an elegant chair in the back of the building.
And she had the head's armband on her left arm.
In addition, there was originally a Kitsushouharukaze High School flag behind her, but that had now been replaced with a flag that had the same crest as her bracelet.
It was the crest of the Forthorthe empire.
The cheerleading squad had lined up in front of Theia.
Strangely enough, they all had various wounds of differing sizes.
Bruises and sprains aside, they had burns, blue bruises, and some even had scorched hair.
However, the men with iron will were not the type to cry about that, and they stood with a straight posture and confidence.
The ten men wearing black uniforms left quite an impression.
They were lined up in a military fashion.
The only exception was the person who had been the head an hour ago; he had been roughed up and was now lying in the corner of the room.
“Noooooo, I don't want to wear that and take part in the sports festival! Please forgive me!”
“Just give up, Yurika-chan!”
Voices from the outside could be heard, but the men inside didn't pay any attention to them.
Theia did the same and she gave a satisfied smile as she watched the squad members lining up in an orderly fashioned as she stood up.
She put both of her hands on her waist as she declared in a dignified manner.
“Listen up, from this point on the cheerleading squad will be reborn! You won't be cheering for something as vague as a school, from this point on you are the royal cheerleading squad, and you will only cheer for me! This is the first time in the long history of the Forthorthe empire that royalty has ever had an immediate cheering squad! I want you to be fully aware of that importance and pour your heart and soul into it!”
“Hail to the princess! Hail to the princess!”
In response to Theia's declaration, the ten men roared.
Their powerful voices that had gone through daily training shook the prefabricated hut.
However, that could no longer be called cheering but more of a proof of loyalty to Theia.
“Boast and praise my noble name! Defeat is not permitted in Forthorthe! Don't forget, Forthorthe is a synonym of victory!”
“Victory for her highness Theiamillis! Glory to the Forthorthe royal family!”
Theia had seized the cheerleading squad through military force.
Kiriha's way of gradually taking control didn't suit Theia.
As Theia took over as leader of the cheerleading squad, she radically changed its structure; she made it a cheerleading squad that existed only for her sake.
She was going to take on the sports festival with this reformed cheerleading squad.
“Fight the enemies of the royal family! Bleed for my sake! Complete discipline and trust in your companions, and finally utter loyalty to me will lead us to victory!!”
“Hail to the princess! Hail to the princess!”
“Kukuku, what will you do now pleb!? Now that I have obtained an invincible army!”
The excited Theia was thinking of Koutarou.
Just you watch, pleb. I'll show you how powerful loyalty and unity can be!
Theia had not noticed yet.
That part of the reason for why she had taken over the cheerleading squad was to get back at Koutarou who would not swear his loyalty to her.
Part 5
Koutarou was in the Knitting Society's club room.
He wasn't even aware of Theia and Kiriha's progress in their invasions.
In fact, he had completely forgotten about his normally chaotic life.
When he was knitting together with Harumi after school, he had a strange sense of fulfillment, similar to when he was sleeping.
“Satomi-kun, you've gotten better.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You no longer have any hesitation when you're knitting.”
“Hahaha, I've just used the same method since I started. I guess I'm bound to get less clumsy.”
Koutarou, who had been unaware of his progress, only noticed when Harumi mentioned it.
As she had said, he was no longer hesitating in the procedure.
It's gradually getting longer...
Koutarou stopped moving his needles and looked at his progress for the day.
It was already over 30 centimeters long, and if he kept it up at this rate he'd have completed a muffler shortly.
This part here is pretty poorly done...
The part at the start was a mess.
It would bend here or there and the finish was uneven.
And by 10 and 20 centimeters the quality gradually increased.
He was still no match for Harumi, but there was a big difference between when he had started and now.
Now that I look at it, I really have gotten better,
Since one can tell the quality of knitting just by looking at it, Koutarou was able to get a good feel of his improvement.
“...You sure are giving it your all, Satomi-kun.”
“Eh?”
As Koutarou looked up he saw Harumi staring at his work.
“Looking at your knitting, I can tell.”
Harumi slowly and gently patted Koutarou's work.
“You must really love knitting, Senpai.”
Harumi was gently touching the knitting with the tip of her fingers.
Seeing that, Koutarou understood just how much Harumi loved knitting.
Harumi blushed slightly and turned her face down when Koutarou pointed that out.
“Yes. I love it. That's why... You know... when Satomi-kun is working so earnestly, it makes me really happy...”
“In that case, I have to live up to your expectations.”
Koutarou smiled at Harumi and began moving his needles again.
He had started to enjoy knitting, even when he left out the reason for why he started with it in the first place.
Even more so now that he knew that he was improving.
“N-No, there's no need to be in such a hurry... Let's talk some mo―”
“Yes?”
“I-It's nothing, nothing at all!”
When Koutarou looked back up, Harumi's face was for some reason dyed red and she began to move her needles haphazardly.
Harumi's pattern was rough and uneven, and Koutarou couldn't see any of her normal calmness when knitting.
I wonder why...
Having stopped moving his own knitting needles, Koutarou looked at Harumi and tilted his head.
And after doing that, Harumi's face turned even redder and her pattern got even rougher.
“Please stop taking my clothes off! I can change clothes myself!”
“It'll be alright, just relax!”
“Stop fooling around and take this seriously. This is so we can measure you for the outfit you'll be wearing for the sports festival's obstacle marathon!”
“I don't want toooo!!”
Ah, I completely forgot!
Hearing the voices coming from the outside, Koutarou remembered something he had forgotten, and he called out to Harumi.
“By the way, Senpai, I have something I'd like to ask.”
“Y-Yes!”
Harumi straightened her posture as if she had been startled.
And while Koutarou found it strange, he continued talking.
“Would you mind participating with me in the upcoming obstacle marathon for clubs?”
“For the obstacle marathon...?”
As she repeated his words she returned to her normal self.
Shortly thereafter, she furrowed her brow and showed a sad expression.
“But, I'm not good with sports so... I'll probably just get in your way...”
“That's fine, it doesn't matter.”
Koutarou shook his head.
“I made a bet with some friends about that race. The first one to reach the goal gets to order the others around. But that event requires groups of two, so I can't just enter it on my own.”
“With your friends...”
“Besides, even though you start as a group, only the best result is kept. So if you retire right after the race has started I won't mind; all I need is for you to participate.”
The obstacle marathon for clubs required two representatives from every participating club.
However, out of those two, only the one with the better position would be recorded.
In other words, if Koutarou tried to enter alone, he'd be refused, and even if Harumi retired at the start it wouldn't cause a problem.
“Now that you mention it, that was one of the rules... I understand. If that's how it is I'll gladly accompany you.”
“Thank you very much, Senpai!”
“No, this is nothing.”
In the end, Harumi accepted Koutarou's request with a smile.
Harumi was only hesitating because she would have just held Koutarou back. With that not being the case, she had no problems with retiring from the race.
Koutarou and Sanae didn't leave Harukaze High School until 4:30 in the evening.
“But the Knitting Society's members and activities sure are plain~”
“Just leave it.”
However, this was very early for club activities to stop for the day.
That was because Harumi had to go to the hospital today.
Whenever Harumi would go to the hospital, they would either end it early or they wouldn't have any club activities at all that day.
“But is it really okay to group up with that weak-looking girl? If you retire we'll get last place, you know.”
“It'll be fine as long as I win. Fufufu. Fortunately, I used to be a star during sports festivals.”
“I'm starting to get real uneasy all of a sudden...”
The two were joking around as they passed under the front gate.
Other people couldn't see Sanae, so when Koutarou got to crowded places he would fall silent.
And as Koutarou passed under the front gate, he didn't say a word.
Sanae also understood that and she didn't really seem to mind, and once they got passed the crowded area they began talking again.
“...Don't play around, Koutarou. I'm in the same boat as you this time.”
“Just leave it to me!”
“I'm starting to get worried...”
“Just wait and see. I'm going to start practicing tomorrow, so don't get surprised by my capabilities, Sanae!”
“I hope that's the case...”
“...”
At that point Koutarou stopped talking.
It wasn't because there were any people nearby.
Koutarou was just normally walking along the fence around the schoolyard.
When Sanae followed his glance, she found that he was staring into the schoolyard.
“What are you looking at?”
“Hm? Oh, just something.”
Koutarou was looking at the baseball club, which was in the middle of practicing.
The field was equipped with lighting during the night, so they would be continuing for a while.
Their practice had just started.
“The baseball club, huh... you were in a baseball club too, weren't you?”
“Hm? Yeah. I was in the baseball club up until I graduated from middle school."
“You have lots of stuff like that in the room, too.”
Sanae remembered the day she had met Koutarou.
At that point, there were baseballs, bats and gloves lying around.
She had also been chased around by Koutarou, who was wielding a bat.
“Right now I'm just loyal to the Knitting Society.”
“That's because that senpai is your type!”
“More so than you guys.”
“What's with that~ There's no need to put it like that, right~”
Sanae puffed up her cheeks in response to Koutarou's retort.
Koutarou smiled wryly as he looked at her, and just before he was about to say something he quickly turned to look behind him.
“Eh?”
“What? What's wrong?”
Because of Koutarou's sudden behavior, Sanae was taken aback, and her puffed-up cheeks returned to their normal size.
“I just had a feeling someone was watching...”
“There's nobody here.”
“Must've just been my imagination...”
“Well, aren't you self-conscious. Not good, that's what they call the start of becoming a narcissist!”
“Don't group me up with Mackenzie.”
“Eh? Is that glasses-kun a narcissist?”
“Yeah. Enough to join the drama club.”
“Hmm... So he's just like what he looks, then.”
“Right?”
For better or worse, Sanae had forgotten the dissatisfaction she had felt earlier.
Neither of them was aware of that as their peaceful conversation continued.
“Either way, maybe it was someone who would be glad to see me?”
“...Unexpectedly enough, I don't think so.”
“Hm? What was that?”
“It's nothing~ Stop paying attention to strange things and just keep walking.”
“Fine, fine.”
And after the two of them had passed several intersections, a shadow came staggering out from a nearby alley.
“S-Satomi-saaan...”
The one approaching them was none other than Yurika.
“Yurika!?”
“What happened to you!?”
Yurika's appearance was strange.
She had an exhausted expression, and there were signs that tears had been flowing from her eyes recently.
Her clothes were in disorder, her scarf was bent, buttons were buttoned incorrectly, and her underwear was peeping through; they were in an awful state.
“Help me please, Satomi-san. Some strange club is chasing me around and bothering me!”
Yurika grabbed onto Koutarou and looked up at him with tears in her eyes as she desperately appealed to him.
“They would strip me, measure me, put on weird outfits; I can't take it anymore!”
“T-That sounds terrible.”
“I guess all clubs are desperate, aha, ahahaha...”
The club chasing after Yurika was of course the Cosplay Society that Koutarou talked to. However, they couldn't just tell her that, so Koutarou and Sanae played it off with dry smiles.
“They said that they'll measure my underwear tomorrow!! I don't want to show my everything except to the person I love!”
“Aha, ahahaha!”
“Nyaha, nyahahaha!”
While Yurika was desperately explaining her situation, Koutarou and Sanae were desperately trying to play stupid.
So the one from before was her...
With the appearance of Yurika, Koutarou understood the glance he had felt a while back.
However unlike Koutarou, Yurika was in a situation she didn't understand.
Translator's Notes and References
1. ↑ An abbreviation of Cosplay Club
2. ↑ A Japanese music genre; a form of sentimental balladry that shares some resemblance to blues.
