Read Daily Updated Light Novel, Web Novel, Chinese Novel, Japanese And Korean Novel Online.
Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 2, Chapter 3: Practice and a Sense of Distance
Volume 2, Chapter 3: Practice and a Sense of Distance
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Friday, May 1st
As the month changed to May, a large amount of clubs in Kitsushouharukaze High School started practicing for the obstacle marathon.
There were originally plenty of clubs in the school, and the more powerful the club was the more influence it held inside of the school.
That was why events where clubs could compete against one another drew a lot of attention.
Because of that, there were plenty of people in the schoolyard, and various clubs could be found training.
The girl's track and field team that Kiriha had joined was one of those clubs.
They were in the middle of measuring their times in a 5 kilometer long distance race, in order to choose their representatives for the obstacle marathon.
“Hah, hah, hah...”
Kiriha was running on the track with proper form and breathing.
Her beautiful form and unwavering pace stood out, even in the track and field team; she had run from start to goal in the same condition.
However, Kiriha was currently in third place.
There were two girls running in front of her.
Kiriha was dexterous; however, due to the difference in training, she was lacking in stamina and experience, and her feminine body wasn't suited for long-distance races.
With that in mind, she was putting up quite a fight.
“Kiri-chan, keep it up~!”
“Hah, hah, hah...”
Being cheered by one the girls who had crossed the finished line before her, Kiriha ran through the goal, still in third place.
Following Kiriha, the girl's track and field team members crossed the finish line one after the other.
“You're quite fast, Kurano-san. It's hard to believe you're an inexperienced first year.”
“Fufufu, don't compare my Kiri-chan with one of those normal first years!”
“T-Thank you very much. Fuh, fuh...”
After crossing the goal and while Kiriha was catching her breath, the two third years who had finished before her approached Kiriha.
“Why are you the one boasting?”
“Kiri-chan and I are bound together by fate; that's all I need!”
While Kiriha was breathing heavily, the two who had finished before her showed no signs of having issues breathing.
The two were marathon competitors to begin with, so five kilometers was nothing to them.
“But you're quite unfair, Kiri-chan... You're beautiful, have big breasts, you're smart and you're so fast!”
“B-But I can't quite compare to you two, Senpai.”
“Kyaan, even your personality is beautiful!”
“Kya!?”
“Would you stop it, we're being serious here...”
“Sorryyy, Kiri-chan.”
“N-No, it's not...”
The high spirited third year was called Takahashi, and the serious one was called Kawashima.
That is what was written on their chests on their gym outfits.
By the way, Kawashima was also the girl's track and field's president.
“But, with this we have our representatives for the obstacle marathon.”
“Kiri-chan and I!”
“That's right.”
“Eh, me?”
Though it went just as planned, Kiriha was slightly surprised.
“That's right. Traditionally, we've always chosen the smartest one and the fittest one as representatives.”
“Which means, that it's me and you Kiri-chan. Even my head is full of muscles after all.”
“Don't brag about it, geez...”
Kawashima was amazed at Takahashi's thoughtlessness, and Kiriha asked the two of them.
“By the way, Senpai. What kind of obstacles does the obstacle marathon have?”
“Kawa-chan, please explain.”
“Geez, you're always like that...”
Kawashima shoulders dropped when Takahashi easily gave up on explaining.
And after sighing she began to explain.
“You see, Kurano-san, in total there are ten obstacles. In the past it's been everything from who could eat curry the fastest to reading kanji, to standard sports festival obstacles. The obstacles change every year, so we don't know what it'll be this year. That's why―”
“An idiot like me can't win on her own. If an English or kanji[1] reading obstacle comes up, I wouldn't stand a chance.”
“I keep telling you to stop bragging about it!”
“Tehehe, sorry~”
The obstacle marathon for clubs was a five kilometer long course with 10 obstacles along the way.
Which is why roughly every 400-500 meters, a new obstacle would appear.
The obstacles came in all different shapes and forms: some required physical strength, some required dexterity, and some required brains.
Shot put[2], spoon races, quizzes, and the like were popular obstacles.
And handicaps were placed depending on the success and failures of the obstacles. Just being fast wouldn't be enough to win the race, and that's what made this event so difficult.
The clubs had various strategies for the event, from sending out well balanced people to sending out a fast competitor to make up for their lack of brains.
The strategy the girl's track and field team used was to send the most fit and the smartest as a pair.
“I see, I understand.”
“Let's give it our all, Kiri-chan!”
“Yes, let's, Takahashi-senpai.”
“I'll leave it to you two.”
Kiriha had a bright smile on her face, but secretly she was satisfied.
Everything went just as I had wanted it to...
Takahashi was the fastest in the club, and she was also quite small.
She matched perfectly with the partner that Kiriha had in mind.
All that's left is...
Kiriha signaled with her hand in an inconspicuous way.
“Ho, did you call for us, Ane-san-ho?”
“What is it-ho?”
The two haniwas, Karama and Korama, responded immediately.
They were using an advanced built-in stealth system to hide themselves as they followed Kiriha around.
“I've been chosen as a representative, according to plan. I want you two to focus on gathering information about any obstacles.”
“Understood-ho!”
“We'll get to it right away-ho!”
“Take note of all people in the courtyard who are fitter than I am. And don't forget to take data regarding their physique as well.”
“Ho, Leave it to us-ho”
“Ane-san can practice at ease-ho!”
“Good. And after you've done that, I want you to prepare some funds. We still have the gold I was planning on handing over to Koutarou, right?”
“Hoho! Understood-ho!”
“Roger that-ho! I'll bring it over-ho!”
Shortly after, the presence of one of the haniwas was heading far away.
And as Kiriha felt that she grinned.
“If you think I'll only play by the rules you're mistaken, Theia-dono.”
Kiriha showed a fearless and confident smile.
She was confident that she wouldn't lose to Theia.
“What are you doing Kiri-chan? The practice is starting.”
“Sorry, I'll be right there!”
Kiriha put on her honor student act and headed towards her teammates.
Part 2
Meanwhile, Theia was steadily preparing for the sports festival as well.
Having completely taken over the cheerleading squad, she was shouting at them today as well.
“Maggots, what is your specialty!?”
“Unity! Cheering! Victory!”
“Who is your master!?”
“Hail to the princess! Hail to the princess!”
“I can't hear you!”
“Hail to the princess! Hail to the princess!”
While the cheerleading squad members were responding to Theia, they were marching in formation around the school building.
Theia was in the back of the formation, waving around a bamboo sword and pushing them forwards.
“Would you die for my sake!?”
“As you wish, my princess!”
“Offer your blood, along with your comrades to me! Devote your lives for the sake of victory!”
“Gung Ho! Gung Ho! Gung Ho!”
The sight of powerful men dressed in jet-black uniforms being ordered around by a young girl in a gym outfit was quite surreal; however, they were all serious about it.
Anyone who would have objected had already been purged by Theia.
“Good! Now sing, you maggots! After me!”
“Hail to the princess! Hail to the princess!”
“One, two, three, go! We're the wonderful cheerleading squad♪”
“We're the wonderful cheerleading squad♪”
Following Theia's high pitched singing voice was the men's low pitched singing voice.
The voices were carried by the wind and spread across the entire schoolyard.
“Believe in your comrades and protect our princess♪”
“Believe in your comrades and protect our princess♪”
“It's pretty great!”
“It's pretty great!”
“It's pretty great!”
“It's pretty great!”
“We'll work until we retire♪”
“We'll work until we retire♪”
Just as Theia and the new cheerleading squad finished singing their first song, Theia's bracelet let out a beeping sound.
It was an incoming communication from Ruth.
"...Oh, it's Ruth... We just got to the good part... Hey, you people just keep on marching!”
“Hail to the princess! Hail to the princess!”
Theia called out to the men's backs and they continued to march and shout.
And as the men disappeared around the corner of the schoolhouse, Theia ordered the bracelet to communicate with Ruth with a slightly annoyed expression.
“Blue Knight, open communications with Ruth.”
"AS YOU WISH, MY PRINCESS."
“Ruth, it's me.”
“Your Highness!”
“What is it? Did something happen?”
Ruth's serious voice could be heard through the bracelet.
Her voice had none of her normally gentle tone.
Theia quickly picked up on Ruth's behavior and her annoyed expression disappeared.
“I have discovered two unidentified flying objects above Kitsushouharukaze High School.”
“Unidentified flying objects?”
“Yes. Though they're hiding using thermo-optic electromagnetic camouflage, so it took a while before I discovered them. They seem to be gathering information from the schoolyard from roughly 100 meters in the sky.”
“Gathering information... Do you have idea of who it is?”
“I have a presumption.”
“Then let's hear it.”
“When Blue Knight's main computer analyzed the slight energy leaking from their camouflage, it calculated that it was with a 63% chance those two haniwas.”
“Haniwas... I don't know what she's investigating, but... What are you planning on doing during the sports festival, Kiriha?...”
Having had her first practice interrupted, the annoyed Theia, knowing of her rival's actions, looked up into the sky with a smile.
It was the smile of a ferocious animal.
“I won't let Kiriha do as she pleases.... Blue Knight, jam the area above the schoolyard and send out an unmanned attack vessel. Defeat the flying objects when you find them.”
"AS YOU WISH, MY PRINCESS."
“Your Highness, fighting with Kiriha-sama goes against the convention!”
Ruth was talking about the Corona Convention that Theia and the rest had signed.
In it, one of the articles clearly stated that fighting outside of Room 106 was forbidden.
And while Ruth was worried about Shizuka intervening, Theia's smile didn't waver.
“Kukuku, if those really belong to Kiriha, that would be true.”
“Your Highness?”
“However, those are unidentified flying objects. It's not certain that they belong to Kiriha. Just getting in the way of some peeper doesn't count as fighting with Kiriha!”
“Are you trying to feign ignorance?”
“That 63% saved me, Kurano Kiriha! Wahahaha!”
With the identity of the flying objects being uncertain, Theia was planning on feigning ignorance.
If she was going up against Kiriha it would be a violation of the convention, however that would not be that case against a peeper.
She was going to claim she didn't know it was Kiriha, but some peeper.
“Please stop, Your Highness! If you do something like that who knows what would―”
“It seems you're planning something, but it stops here, Kurano Kiriha! I won't let you have your way!”
However, Ruth's voice did not reach the excited Theia.
Theia watched as an unmanned attack vessel came out of a black hole in the air, and she smiled happily.
Theia's attack vessel was about 1 meter long and roughly had the shape of an airplane.
However, the unmanned attack vessel was much faster than one could imagine, and it continuously dodged the electric attacks from Korama.
“It's so fast-ho!”
As Korama was taken by surprise, the attack vessel opened the ports for its laser.
Noticing that, Karama hurriedly got in between Korama and the vessel.
The attack vessel's onslaught was blocked by Karama's yellow ether barrier.
“Are you okay, Brother!?"
“Karama! You saved me-ho!”
“Be careful-ho! Don't get into positions where it can go all out-ho!”
The attack vessel had only been attacking with its laser since it couldn't use missiles or live rounds or other things that would leave evidence behind.
And it couldn't cause damage to the surroundings, so it held back on the power and only fired its laser when parallel to the ground or when ascending.
If Theia hadn't ordered that it worry about that, the haniwas most likely would have had a hard time blocking its attacks.
“We can't just lose to some soulless machine-ho!”
“We'll show it our guts-ho!”
The haniwas used electricity and fire and faced the attack vessel.
The battle above Harukaze High School was about to reach its climax.
However, none of the students were aware of the battle raging on above them.
The only ones looking at the sky were the two involved, Kiriha and Theia.
Part 3
The students' glances were on the commotion unfolding in the schoolyard.
“Nooooo! I won't strip, I definitely won't strip!”
“It'll be alright, just relax.”
“Yurika-san, you no longer have anywhere to run, so why don't you just give up?”
The center of the commotion was a half-crying girl in uniform and six girls chasing after her in colorful outfits.
“We finally got permission to wear these outfits, so you can't be the only one in uniform Yurika-san!”
“No thanks! That outfit is pretty much the same as not wearing anything! I refuse! Besides, I don't remember joining the cosplay society!”
Those seven girls were Nijino Yurika and the members of the cosplay society.
It was normal for clubs to have a specific uniform for the obstacle marathon.
For the cosplay society, that would naturally be a cosplay outfit. However, technically that wasn't a uniform, so they had been unable to use it until they got permission.
Which was why today was the first day they were able to train with their outfits.
“Be reasonable Yurika-san. But if you really don't like it you can use your own outfit.”
“But that's a uniform, it's not really cosplay...”
“Really? What cosplay cafe's uniform is it? The tailoring was really well done.”
“Yeah, the material was neither polyester nor nylon, I'm so envious~”
“I keep telling you that you're wrong!”
The cosplay society was trying to get Yurika in her outfit.
It was a custom made outfit the girls had made just for her.
However, Yurika didn't want to wear it and was running away.
But since Yurika didn't have a lot of stamina, she couldn't get away from them.
“P-Please let me go, I'm not like that!”
Being too tired to continue running, Yurika was cornered by the schoolyard fence.
The six girls approached Yurika while she was looking around for an escape path; however, she couldn't find one.
“W-Why does this always happen to me! It's not cosplay! I'm trying my best and even then no one listens to a word I say!”
“It's okay. You don't have to worry about a thing, Yurika-chan. Just open your mind and leave the rest to us!”
“N-Nooooooooo!”
“Get her!”
However, even then nobody listened to Yurika.
When the cosplay society's president gave the order, the five members grabbed Yurika at the same time.
“L-Let go!”
“That won't happen!”
“We finally caught you, there's no way we'll let go!”
The outfits she was forced to wear were often quite extreme, and even though she'd given it her all while running away, she was caught today, yet again.
“Bring her in to the locker room and get her changed right away!”
“Understood, president!”
“I'm telling you I don't want tooooo!”
“Yurika-chan's legs are long, so I think this long-slit Chinese dress would be good.”
“No, I don't think we can just throw away magical girl that easily. Especially when we take her own wish into mind.”
“W-Wait just a minuteee!”
The four club members left the president and vice president behind and took Yurika away.
“Hmmm... Magical girl... Chinese dress...”
The president followed the five girls with a cool expression.
The vice president walking next to her had a worried expression.
“Is something the matter, president?”
“Well, I was just wondering what we could put on Yurika-san to make Satomi-kun happy...”
The president blushed and slightly wiggled her body.
“It's love!”
When the president mentioned Satomi-kun, the vice presidents eyes also began to sparkle.
“It's because of the love he's shown!”
“You're right. From now on we shouldn't just cosplay based just on what we want, but we should also take in the opinions of the general populace. We might find more people who understand us like Satomi-kun.”
“Then should we go with the basics?”
“Yes... Alright then, it's decided! Put Yurika-san in a maid outfit!”
“Okaaay!”
“Nooooooooooooo!!”
Yurika began struggling frantically. However, she didn't have the strength to shake off four girls, so she didn't accomplish anything but shaking her body.
The president and vice president followed the five girls.
The cosplay society was in high spirits after capturing Yurika.
“Hmm? Are you practicing too?”
Koutarou and Harumi passed by. They were wearing gym outfits and were planning on practicing for the marathon.
“Ah, it's Satomi-kun!”
“Well hello, Koutarou-kun!
The girls passed by Koutarou one after another and greeted him with smiles.
Normally the girls would surround him, but today changing Yurika had a higher priority.
“Hehe, we're on our way to change Yurika. We'll start practicing after that.”
“I see, good luck.”
“H-Help me Satomi-san! I'll be stripped and forced to put on some strange outfit!!”
Yurika had been driven into a corner and was begging Koutarou for help.
The smiling president walked by, blocking the slightly surprised Koutarou's view.
“Geez, Yurika-san, even if it's Satomi-kun there's no need to be embarrassed.”
“Is Yurika always like that?”
“Yes, she's quite the shy one.”
The president smiled as if nothing was wrong.
Seeing that smile, Koutarou was more concerned about the troubles he was causing the cosplay society than he was about Yurika.
“I'm sorry, it seems I'm causing you trouble.”
“It's okay. It's for none other than Satomi-kun's sake... Just wait, Satomi-kun, you'll be shocked when we're done dressing up Yurika.”
The president winked at Koutarou and left with the other club members.
“No, wait! Save me, Satomi-san!!”
Of course they were taking Yurika with them.
Yurika called out for help, but Koutarou showed no signs of helping, and she was dragged away by the cosplay society.
Part 4
“Geez, she's causing quite a bit of trouble... She's shy about the strangest things...”
Koutarou let out a small sigh.
Harumi, who had observed the entire encounter, pulled on the edge of Koutarou's shirt.
“Satomi-kun, that girl was asking for help. Was it alright to just leave her like that?”
“Yes, she was just covering up her embarrassment.”
“That was covering up her embarrassment?”
Harumi was amazed.
“She loves cosplay, but she's not being honest with herself. She's enjoying herself like that, senpai.”
“I see...”
As Harumi nodded at Koutarou, she turned to look at Yurika.
Covering up your embarrassment... That's right, I was the same...
Harumi had felt unrest when Koutarou had joined the knitting society and when she had learned that he was serious about learning knitting.
It's embarrassing, but finding people that share your hobby is such a blissful happening.
Harumi showed a small smile as she gazed at the backs of the disappearing cosplay society.
As the girls entered the club building, Harumi muttered.
“But, she has quite a unique hobby...”
Harumi understood Yurika's feelings, but not her hobby.
Koutarou looked at Harumi and dropped his shoulders.
“I don't really understand it either...”
"...I feel better hearing you say that.”
Harumi put on a large smile and showed her relief.
“I don't have any extreme hobbies like that.”
“Fufufu. I was actually a bit worried; what would I do if Satomi-kun had said he liked to wear outfits like that?”
“If I said that, what would you do?”
“I would be troubled...”
“Ahahaha, don't worry, I won't say something like that!”
Koutarou looked at the schoolyard as he laughed out loud.
He saw a lot of students practicing for the sports festival.
We'll have to work hard. Besides, those girls are planning on practicing as well.
“Shall we go, senpai? We have to practice too.”
"...B-But if it's just the two of us, I wouldn't mind what you wear...”
Koutarou proposed that they should begin practicing as well, but for some reason Harumi's cheeks were blushing and she was whispering something.
“Is something wrong?”
“I-It's nothing, nothing at all!”
When Koutarou looked at her, Harumi's face turned even redder and she began walking with quick steps as if running away.
“L-Let's get to practice...”
“Yeah...”
I wonder what happened...
Koutarou felt something wrong and chased after Harumi.
Koutarou sat down with spread legs and leaned his upper body forward. Harumi, who was sitting next to him, looked on in amazement.
She was stretching as well, but she couldn't even bend her body half of what Koutarou could.
“Satomi-kun, you're quite flexible.”
“That's because I played baseball during middle school.”
“Baseball, you say?”
Baseball and flexibility didn't quite click in Harumi's mind, and she tilted her head in confusion.
And when Koutarou leaned back he called out to Harumi.
“I was always the catcher. Did you know that you can't serve as a catcher if you're not flexible?”
Koutarou took on a catcher's posture and showed her some motions.
Stretching after a ball, blocking the home base, passing the ball to second base―
A catcher used their entire body and constantly moved up and down.
Harumi nodded after seeing Koutarou's examples.
“Baseball has some parts that are similar to rhythmic gymnastics, then?”
“That's the first time someone's said that.”
“I rarely move my body, so I'm just stiff.”
“Then please, try it.”
“Like this?... ”
Harumi let out a cute voice as she leaned her body forwards, and she stretched out her arms as far as she could.
However, like she said, her body stopped after 45 degrees or so.
“Is that all you can do?”
“Yes...”
"...I have an idea. Do you mind if I push you, senpai?”
“Eh!?”
The hasty Koutarou moved behind Harumi, not noticing her hesitation.
“It's fine... You don't have to...”
“It'll be fine, it won't hurt that much...”
Harumi started to panic, but Koutarou disregarded her and put his hands on her back.
“...”
At that point, Harumi who had been wiggling her body, stopped moving completely.
Instead, her face turned as red as a tomato.
“I'm pushing.”
“O-O-O-Okay!”
Harumi was completely bewildered.
Harumi, who was normally alone most of the time, was somewhat nervous just practicing together with someone.
On top of that, a man was touching her body.
Why am I this nervous?... But...
Despite being confused, she didn't feel any unpleasant feelings when being touched by Koutarou.
Normally, Harumi would feel fear when a member of the other gender touched her.
However, she couldn't feel any fear despite Koutarou's large hands pushing her back.
Instead she felt a sense of security and warmth.
"...So you're not lovers, but you're interested in him, right?”
Ah...
Harumi remembered the words a girl she was acquainted with had said to her in the hospital.
W-We're not lovers, but I'm... interested...
When she remembered those words, she got even more nervous and poured more strength into her body.
“Ahaha, your body really is stiff, senpai. It seems this is your limit.”
However Koutarou just laughed in a cheerful manner, unaware of her complex feelings.
When they switched over to running, Harumi's lack of stamina stood out even more than her stiff body.
Harumi was giving it her all, but since she had a weak constitution, was lacking in exercise and a low lung capacity, she couldn't even run half as fast as Koutarou.
Because of that, Harumi fell behind Koutarou right from the start.
Koutarou was able to run more than two laps around the 400-meter-long track for every lap Harumi ran.
Koutarou closed in on Harumi, who was running in front of him, as he was about to pass her yet again.
“Koutarou, will it really be okay with that girl?”
It was only natural for Sanae to feel uneasy.
“It'll be fine. I'll just work hard for the both of us!”
“You'll lose, definitely...”
Sanae flew next to Koutarou with a worried expression.
She had been going around the track with him like that from the start.
Sanae had bet on Koutarou, so her rights to the room depended on the ranking of the Knitting Society.
She needed the Knitting Society to win the obstacle marathon.
“We'll win. Or rather, I want senpai to win.”
“Why?”
“Well, I don't really have a reason. I guess it's as thanks.”
At first, Koutarou had just wanted Harumi to participate, but now he wanted her to stand up on the podium.
Koutarou felt it was his duty when he saw Harumi giving practice her all despite her condition.
“Hmm... Well, either way, make sure you win!”
“Leave it to me!”
Sanae didn't know what Koutarou was thinking. However, she could sense his eagerness, so she decided not to question his decision any further.
“Hmm?”
Koutarou suddenly stopped running, and Sanae came to a stop as well.
“What's wrong?”
Several students ran past them after they stopped.
“No, I just felt like someone was watching us again...”
Koutarou looked around, but he couldn't find the owner of the gaze.
“Isn't it that?”
“Hm?”
Koutarou looked in the direction Sanae was pointing and saw Theia, Ruth, and Kiriha.
They were wiping off sweat with their towels and drinking out of their water bottles.
When the three of them noticed Koutarou was looking at them, Ruth lightly bowed, Kiriha smiled, and Theia sulkily turned her face away.
“I see, they were the ones looking...”
Satisfied, Koutarou relaxed his shoulders.
“I'll go scout them out for a bit.”
“Yeah.”
Sanae left Koutarou and headed towards the three.
At the same time, Harumi came running up, as if to replace Sanae.
“Hah, hah, hah... S-Satomi-kun, were you talking to somebody?”
It seemed like she had overheard Koutarou talking to Sanae.
“Eh? Y-yeah, I was talking to myself. I was thinking of strategies for the sports festival.”
“Hah, hah... S-Sorry. I'm not very athletic, so I'm just getting in your way...”
After hearing Koutarou's explanation, Harumi showed a cloudy expression.
Though it was hard to hear her because of her rough breathing, she spoke in an apologetic tone.
“Not at all, senpai. Since you're participating, just have fun while you're making your way to the goal. They say it's more important to participate, after all.”
“Hah, hah... Yes!”
Harumi smiled after being encouraged by Koutarou.
“You're finally getting into to it, so just have fun. Besides, I said you could retire at the start.”
“Even then, I... Um... didn't want to get in your way...”
Harumi showed an embarrassed smile while she was breathing roughly.
And Koutarou's desire to put her on the podium got even stronger.
Fortunately, the obstacle marathon for clubs was a team event, so only the first to cross the goal line mattered.
Which was why she could just complete the race in her own pace while Koutarou fought for a high position.
I'll definitely make her win!
At some point, getting Harumi up on the podium became more important than the match with the invaders for Koutarou.
Part 5
“What's with that woman!?”
While Koutarou began running with Harumi, Theia bit her lip, irritated.
Seeing Koutarou match his speed with Harumi and smile bothered Theia.
“She is the president of Koutarou's club. Her name is Sakuraba Harumi in Class 2-A.”
Kiriha, who was standing next to Theia, explained who Harumi was.
Kiriha had already investigated the people around Koutarou.
That girl will probably get in the way of getting Koutarou to hand over the room...
Kiriha also showed some interest in Harumi.
Based on Koutarou's behavior, some of the reason of why Kiriha's use of sex appeal to convince Koutarou wasn't working was definitely because of Harumi.
She was also the reason why Kiriha was avoiding sex appeal and fighting fairly.
“In other words, that Harumi girl is Koutarou's princess.”
Sanae said while she came up to Theia and the rest, her words sounding more aggressive than normal, probably due to the upcoming sports festival.
She was probably planning on putting some pressure on them.
“So what!? Does that mean Koutarou has sworn his loyalty to that woman!?”
“Yes, well... Something like that.”
“How could this be!?”
Sanae's words enraged Theia, and Sanae was secretly satisfied it had gone according to plan.
Theia showed no signs of noticing Sanae's intention and raged on.
“What part of that woman is better than me!? The fool, he's swearing loyalty to the wrong person!”
Theia couldn't hold it in.
The person that was supposed to swear loyalty to her had instead done so to some country girl.
On top of that, it was to a weak girl who had no power.
This hurt Theia's pride.
Theia had absolute confidence in herself.
She had confidence in her body, in her position as seventh princess, and even in her mental strength.
Theia believed she was superior to Harumi in every way.
Despite that, Koutarou had chosen the weak Harumi over Theia.
And he showed no respect towards Theia; she just couldn't accept it.
“It's got nothing to do with reasoning~”
“What's that supposed to mean!?”
It has nothing to do with reasoning!?
Those words upset Theia even more.
Even though the plebeian knows about the insurmountable gap between me and that girl, he still favors her!?
“That's not possible! That kind of thing is impossible!”
Theia couldn't accept it.
It took wisdom, power, and courage to stand above others.
The Forthorthe royal family had prospered for over 1000 years with that logic.
Because of that, Theia couldn't admit it, no matter what.
Ruth smiled and looked at Theia.
“Your Highness, I'm not following you based on reasoning either.”
Ruth put her hands in front of her chest and smiled gently.
She had always looked over Theia as an older sister.
Wisdom, power, and courage didn't matter to her.
“Ruth is special! The Pardomshiha family has served the royal Forthorthe family since before the founding of our country!”
“Your Highness...”
Hearing Theia's response, Ruth was both happy and sad at the same time.
The young Theia didn't quite accurately understand Ruth's feelings.
Ruth would have sworn her loyalty to Theia even if she hadn't been born into the Pardomshiha family.
However, if Theia admitted that, it would be the same as admitting that Koutarou didn't accept her.
The young and prideful Theia just couldn't do that.
"...Curse you, pleb. You're always finding some way to provoke me!”
And Theia continued to bite her lip as she stared at Koutarou and Harumi.
Translator's Notes and References
1. ↑ Characters used in the Japanese and Chinese writing system
2. ↑ An event where you throw a heavy spherical object as far as you can
