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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 3, Chapter 3: Rare Cards and Beetles
Volume 3, Chapter 3: Rare Cards and Beetles
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Monday, August 11th
After enjoying the watermelon to their fullest, Koutarou, the invaders, Harumi, Shizuka and the cosplay society members played until sunset.
By the time they got back to the inn, they were exhausted.
Because of that, Koutarou and the others were on their way to the hot springs to heal up.
“Ahhhh~ I feel alive again~”
As Koutarou dipped into the outdoor hot springs, he felt as if his exhaustion simply melted.
On top of that, his tanned skin stung a little as he entered the water.
However it wasn't a sharp pain, instead it was one of the factors in his healing.
“The room is small, but this hot spring is so large...”
The hot springs here were separated for men and women.
So Koutarou had dipped into a different hot springs than the girls and because there were no other guests it was almost as if he was in a large bathtub.
Because Koutarou's surroundings were always noisy, this large and quiet hot springs was just what he needed.
“Today was fun... The perverts aside, we played for a long time...”
Koutarou recalled the events for today.
After chasing off the perverts(?), Koutarou and the others, a total of 14 people, played together.
Not just swimming, they played beach volleyball and had a barbecue.
“And senpai got along with everyone, good good.”
Though Harumi didn't swim because of her weak constitution, she, Yurika, Ruth and the cosplay society members, in other words the people who weren't good with sports were playing on the beach.
And she also joined Koutarou for a little while to play beach volleyball.
Having fun really is the most important part...
Harumi, who was mostly on her own, was next to a lot of other people.
And that was the thing Koutarou was the happiest about.
Because of that, even after Harumi had returned to her villa, Koutarou was still in a good mood.
“...!”
“...!?”
The girls from room 106 could be heard from the women's bath.
Though it was through a wall and he couldn't clearly hear them, they were all together discussing something.
“Fufufu, are they at it again?”
Normally Koutarou would get angry and shout at them to not cause trouble for the other customers, but not this time.
He could hear the girls talking in calm voices.
They had all played a lot during the day and were all exhausted.
“You guys, don't get too carried away...”
And as Koutarou was soaking in the water, he dozed off.
After Koutarou had fallen asleep in the men's bath, a special topic could be heard being discussed in the women's bath.
In the women's bath, the girls from room 106 were the only ones there, on top of that, Koutarou who was always with them was in the men's bath next to them.
Because of that, the topics naturally drifted towards something they normally wouldn't talk about.
Their first topic was complaints about Koutarou.
Normally he was straight on, not holding back, but from time to time he would do something incredibly stupid.
Dissatisfied by that, all of them were recounting previous experiences. “...That's why to tell you the truth, I'm not that attached to the throne. As long as I can protect my mother, I don't need to become emperor.”
The next topic branched off from that.
Due to Koutarou's unexpected resistance, the girls’ invasions weren't going as planned.
It had already been four months since they came to room 106, so everyone was starting to panic.
But nobody was giving up, and that was because they all had reasons to not back down.
So the conversation naturally drifted towards that topic.
“However, to protect my mother, who is the current emperor, being just a princess is not enough. I need to show that I am worthy of being emperor, or the citizens will not approve of my actions. From there, I would just get absorbed into a highly structured military organization.”
“So you don't want room 106 to become emperor, but because you want to protect your mom?”
Oddly enough, Sanae had listened to Theia without making fun of her and was looking at her with a serious expression.
“That's right. So I definitely won't back down.”
“Hmm, so you're kind of like me.”
“Like you?”
And Theia was just as serious.
She didn't feel like making fun of her own intentions.
And as her small body was soaking in the water, she pointed her ears towards Sanae.
“Yes, like me. I need to wait for papa and mama in room 106.”
Sanae sat down on the edge of the hot springs and began talking while lightly kicking her feet.
However since she was a ghost she couldn't stir up the water, her legs moved almost as if there was no water there.
“My papa and mama would be troubled if I wasn't there when they got back, right? That's why I definitely won't lose either. That place is my home after all.”
“I see, so you're also doing it for your parent’s sake... In that case you can't back down.”
Theia showed a gentle expression.
Her normal aggression was nowhere to be seen.
The fact that she was exhausted might have helped as well.
Thanks to that Sanae forgot the antipathy she had begun feeling.
“I-In that case I can't back down either!”
“You?”
“You're just lying~”
Theia was amazed and Sanae quickly denied it.
“I'm not lying! I have a proper reason too!”
Yurika would normally back down but because of the serious atmosphere, her bullish attitude didn't change.
Slightly excited, she firmly grasped the towel she was playing with.
“I'm kind of interested, tell me more, Yurika.”
Next to her, Kiriha smiled.
Having entered the hot springs, her breasts were free from gravity and looked even bigger than normal.
And while Kiriha was hiding them behind a towel, she showed a gentle smile.
“Y-Yes.”
Unexpectedly receiving support, Yurika was a bit confused.
However she quickly pulled herself together and began explaining her situation.
“Actually, I'm a magical girl as a replacement for the person who I owe my life to.”
“Owe your life...”
Shizuka, who was in front of Yurika made, a perplexed expression.
She was currently undoing her hair, so at first glance she could be mistaken for a different person.
And her long hair shook as she tilted her head.
Shizuka had vague doubts about what it meant to owe your life to a cosplayer.
“Yes. When I was in danger that person saved me. But in return that person suffered a large injury...”
Yurika looks down with a sad expression.
She felt responsibility for that person’s injury.
“So that's why you became a magical girl instead of that person?”
“That's right.”
Yurika nodded.
“That's why I'll defend the peace in the world. I miss not being able to see my family but this is something I have to do.”
“What do you mean not being able to see your family?”
“If a magical girl stays at home, they'll only cause trouble for their families. That's why I left before they got in any danger. My predecessor also fought alone.”
“Oh.... That's an inspiring determination...”
Before causing trouble at home as a cosplayer she's trying to become independent... And she started cosplaying to repay the kindness that was shown to her. I thought she was completely useless, but it seems she at least has some guts....
Even Sanae who would always throw negative comments at Yurika began showing her slightly more respect.
“I see. A reason befitting of you.”
Theia felt about the same, but she obediently accepted Yurika's words.
And after lightly nodding towards Yurika, Theia turned her attention to Kiriha.
“So for what reason did you come to the surface, Kiriha.”
“I believe I've told you before. I'm here to reclaim what was stolen. That is all.”
Theia was not satisfied with Kiriha's answer.
“After spending several hundred years underground, there has to be a reason for suddenly planning to invade the surface, right? Why now?
“That's harsh...”
Kiriha smiled wryly and she gave up on trying to hide her reasons after Theia stared at her.
“...As the surface dwellers advance, we, the People of the Earth have begun drastically dropping in population.”
“Your population?”
“With the admiration towards the modernized surface, our population is emigrating and at the same time, the resources underground began to dry up. When calculating the decline in population and the resources drying up, it will become infeasible to live underground in a few generations.”
In the past, Kiriha's clan held a vastly superior scientific technology over the surface dwellers.
And pretty much everyone held pride in that, so almost no one left to go to the surface.
But with the surface becoming modernized in a large scale, the underground began losing its appeal.
The cultural aspect, starting with art and music that had begun to greatly develop was the biggest reason.
More and more headed towards the surface and didn't return.
And as the resources began depleting, the emigration only accelerated.
“However, we can't just wait on our extinction. And that's why I decided to come up to the surface. The only choice we have is coming to the surface, making a base and prospering again.”
“But the surface governments won't allow it.”
“That's right. Having been forced underground by the surface dwellers, it sounds like nothing but selfish excuses to us.”
“I don't really get it but if you don't invade, everyone will lose their homes?”
“Fufufu, bluntly put, that's correct.”
In contrast to the seriousness of the situation, Kiriha smiled.
“But, Kiriha-san, you seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“Even though my clan will go extinct at this rate, it's not something just my generation can do something about. We can't back down no matter what, but on the other side we can't force our way and cause an irreparable situation. Because of our small numbers we only have one chance.”
“I see. So a slow, careful and certain invasion over a long period of time is required. I assume you're currently laying the foundation for that, correct?”
“Spot on, Theia-dono.”
Kiriha's clan was a minority; their biggest fear was being branded as terrorists by the surface dwellers.
If that were to happen, they would meet the same fate several other minorities around the world had.
So in a few generations, if they didn't succeed at making a base on the surface, they would meet their end.
So to Kiriha who was leading the invasion, the most important thing was a plain, safe and certain invasion.
If they relied on force they would not be able to avoid extinction.
In a way, it was a situation very similar to Theia's.
If the invasion wasn't supported by the citizens they would be unable to survive.
“That said, it is true that I have been enjoying myself since I came to the surface.”
“Is there something you want to do?”
Kiriha nodded to Shizuka's question.
“I've been wanting to ride on a roller coaster.”
“A roller coaster!?”
Everyone was caught off guard.
“Actually, I once came up to the surface as a child but back then I was unable to ride one, because I was too short.”
Kiriha felt nostalgic.
“So that's why you want to ride one? Surprisingly good taste for an underground person.”
“If you told my father he would scold me though.”
As Kiriha said that her shoulders dropped.
The urge to go to the surface was one of the reasons for Kiriha's clan's decline.
Which was why, the idea that the patriarch's daughter wanted to ride a roller coaster was ridiculous.
“Looking at it from a distance, it seems all the invaders of room 106 have family problems.”
Having kept quiet up until now, Ruth came to that conclusion and Shizuka quickly agreed.
“Now that you mention it... Besides, I want to value Corona house that my parents left me, and Satomi-kun is living in room 106 because he didn't want to cause any problems for his father. So we're just like everyone else.”
As a mysterious coincidence, everyone had been born in that kind of family, and that was why they could understand one another.
That they or the others would never back down.
Their fight over room 106 would still continue on.
“It sure is problematic.”
“There's no problem. I'll win after all.”
“I-I won't lose either!”
“I don't understand why Yurika hasn't lost yet. No matter how I look at it she's just not capable but...”
“That's a horrible thing to say~!”
“L-Look Nijino-san, they say luck is a skill of its own.”
“Don't put it in a way that sounds like it's all because of luck!”
Part 2
Cheerful voices could be heard from the women's bath.
They were all enemies, and they would still fight, but oddly enough they were all smiling.
That was probably because they knew somewhere deep inside that they were both enemies and friends.
“...Let's go, Hachi.”
“Got it, Aniki.”
And it was at that moment that the ghost hunter attempted their second plan.
“Hm....? E-Eh? What?”
Koutarou woke up from his sleeping after hearing the commotion from the women's bath.
“Nooooooooooooo, P-Perverts!! Peepers!!”
“You bastards! You boldly came here to sully my noble body!?”
“T-They tried to touch them!! Those people tried to touch my breasts!!”
“Karama, Korama, protect Ruth! Ruth, this way!”
“Would you guys give it a break!? Are you stalkers!?”
“Ahhh I've had it!! Just as we were happily chatting away!”
He could hear the six girl’s voices.
And for some reason they were enraged.
“What's going on over there?”
Having just woken up, Koutarou had no idea what was going on.
“I-It's just a misunderstanding! We're not into peeping! We have no interest in your normal bodies!”
“That's right! We only want to lock in that small girl and sip on some sweet juices!”
The familiar voices of some men could be heard.
However, still foggy, Koutarou couldn't connect their voices to their owners.
“Arghhh!! S-Shizuka, c-can I blow these guys away!? I can't forgive them for saying something like that to me!!”
“That's fine! This time's special! Setting these no-good criminals free the first time was a mistake!”
“Blue Knight!! Bring out the high density beam cannon!!”
“Karama, Korama, set up an energy amplification field!!”
“Understood Ho-! Let's go Korama!”
“Now's the time for our ultimate formation Ho-!”
“Waaaaaaah, It's already over!!”
“Aniki! Anikiii!!”
“Die perverts~!!”
Flashes could be seen from the women's bath.
“Woah!?”
Right afterwards, two charred men came flying out of the women's bath and landed in front of Koutarou.
“You guys are those guys from the beach...”
As he wiped away some splashed water from his face, Koutarou finally remembered the men in front of him.
They were the perverts trying to capture Theia at the beach.
“...You guys... despite getting beaten up that badly during the day... you have guts, I'll give you that...”
Their objectives aside, Koutarou found himself unable to not admire their determination.
“Y-Young man, what is up with t-those girls you’re with...?
“I'm having trouble with them myself.”
“I-Is that so...”
But that was the end of their guts.
Having been beaten to a pulp by the girls, they were unable to do anything else.
“Glub glub glub.”
“Please pass on...”
Koutarou watched on as the two men sank to the bottom of the hot spring.
Part 3
“Geez, it's gotten really late.”
Koutarou left the men's bath a while after the girls had left the women's bath.
Since he was the only one in the men's bath, it took a lot of time pulling the ghost hunters up from the hot springs.
“I'm back.”
Because of that the girls should have gotten back to the room before he did.
But even after opening the door to the room, no sounds could be heard, the room was oddly quiet.
“...That's strange, they should have gotten back by now.”
Koutarou tilted his head, took off his slippers and entered the room.
“Welcome back, Koutarou.”
Kiriha was the only one in the room.
The lights were off, and the room was dark.
So Kiriha was lit up by the faint light coming through the window.
Kiriha sat next to the window frame and stared out.
Her yukata[1] and beautiful black hair fluttered in the wind coming through the window.
She was looking at the night sea.
But even though she was looking at the night sea, it wasn't pitch black.
It was being lit up by the star- and moonlight.
Oh, so that's why the lights are off...
With the lights in the room on, she wouldn't be able to see the faint water surface.
Kiriha's profile while looking at the sea was strangely gentle.
But she looked even gentler as she looked down on her hand.
She was holding onto a small card from an old card game.
Though the card originally had a metallic shine, time had taken its toll and it was now barely reflecting the moonlight.
The card had something scribbled on it with solvent ink.
And as Kiriha traced the scribbles her smile got brighter.
She must have some really precious memories involving that card...
Kiriha's expression, her fingertips gentle movements and her earnest glance led Koutarou to believe she was reminiscing her memories involving that card.
Koutarou also had some things he had precious memories off, so he understood Kiriha's feelings.
What is this... just looking at this scene I feel relieved...
Koutarou saw Kiriha's smile every day.
She would purposefully show it to Koutarou.
But the smile he saw now was different from any smile she had shown him so far.
Oddly enough, this struck a chord that deep inside of Koutarou.
And for some reason Koutarou dropped his guard around Kiriha.
“What's wrong, Koutarou, standing up over there?”
Kiriha broke the silence.
She looked at Koutarou and smiled.
The smile she showed him was very similar to when she had gazed at the card.
“Ah, u-uhm...”
Koutarou couldn't say he was staring at her in admiration and hurriedly looked for an excuse.
But fortunately he found an excuse regarding what she held in her hand.
“You looked like you were valuing that card a lot, so I was just wondering what it is.”
“It doesn't suit me, right? I'm well aware of that, but I just can't part ways with it.”
As Kiriha said that she gazed down on the card again and smiled wryly.
But Koutarou shook his head.
“You don't have to part ways with it. It's your treasure, right?”
“...Koutarou?”
Kiriha looked at Koutarou suspiciously.
She was puzzled by Koutarou's words.
“What's the matter, Kiriha-san?”
“I thought you would laugh to see I have something like this. So I was just slightly surprised.”
“It doesn't matter who you are, Kiriha-san, I have no intentions of laughing at someone else’s memories. Besides, I also have stuff like that hidden away too.”
As Koutarou was joking around Kiriha's smile returned, it was the mysterious smile that struck a chord deep inside of Koutarou.
“...Thanks, Koutarou.”
“You won't get anything for thanking me you know.”
As Koutarou said that to hide his embarrassment, Kiriha shook her head.
“That's fine. I've already received enough from you.”
“H-Hey...”
Koutarou showed a puzzled expression.
Something about Kiriha was fundamentally different.
You could say she had an honest and transparent will, either way she had a different atmosphere around her.
And Koutarou found that preferable.
Even though he knew he couldn't let his guard down around Kiriha.
“I got this card a long time ago from the person I loved. And I haven't seen him ever since...”
“Do you want to see him?
“Yeah, I want to see him... But I don't know what to do if we met...”
Kiriha would normally lie and scheme, but the thought of using her own memories didn't cross her mind.
Which meant this was the first time she had shown Koutarou a bit of her true self.
She was showing Koutarou her gratitude for not laughing about her card.
Is she trying to trick me again? No, she doesn't seem to be but... No, no, this is Kiriha-san we're talking about. I can't let my guard down. But are these really the eyes of a liar?
But Koutarou didn't understand that and he was confused by her sudden confession.
“Ah, there they are! Koutarou and Kiriha, you two hurry up and come too!”
“Wah!?”
With Sanae suddenly appearing, Koutarou was so surprised he felt as if his heart was about to stop.
For good or bad, Kiriha was the only thing in Koutarou's mind.
“I-It's just Sanae...”
“What's wrong, Koutarou, you're making a strange face. It's disgusting.”
“L-Leave me alone.”
I wasn't being myself, that's right, coming to the beach, I'm just feeling a bit generous...
Though he had been incredibly surprised by Sanae's appearance, it let him recollect himself.
“Well then, there's a table-tennis table over there, so hurry up and come! We're having a tournament!”
“Oh hoh, that's good to hear!”
Sanae and the others hadn't returned because they found a table-tennis table on their way.
Because of that, Kiriha who was deep in thought returned to the room alone.
“Let's go, Sanae!”
“Aye aye sir!”
Hearing about table-tennis, the sports-loving Koutarou joyfully dragged Sanae with him and jumped out of the room.
Because of that, Kiriha was once again the only one left in the room.
“...How odd. Why did I tell Koutarou all that...?”
Kiriha was surprised at the fact that she revealed a bit of her true self to Koutarou.
Although she was happy that he hadn't laughed about her card, in the fight for room 106, revealing herself would only serve as a minus for Kiriha.
But even then, she couldn't keep herself from talking.
She felt like she wanted to let him know.
“How odd. This is almost as if our situation had been reversed...”
Kiriha would try to enter Koutarou's mind whenever she got the chance in order to obtain room 106.
Instead, Koutarou had entered her mind.
“A tactician outsmarting oneself... Fufufufu.”
But despite what Kiriha had said, she wasn't regretting her decision.
Part 4
Koutarou and the others went to bed after midnight.
Normally, everyone would stay up a while longer, but everyone was tired after playing all day.
On top of that, they still had two more days to play on the beach, so instead of forcing themselves they decided to just go to bed.
But seven people sleeping in a six tatami mat room was not an easy task.
And it wasn't just the lack of space, the narrowness and heat were a big problem.
In the end, Sanae would sleep by the ceiling, and Yurika who had lost in rock-paper-scissors would sleep in a sleeping bag, so for the time being the problems were solved.
However that would not deal with the heat problem, fortunately being so close to the beach, by 1 o'clock the temperature had dropped enough to sleep.
By 2 o'clock, everyone had fallen into a deep slumber.
But the real problems with sleeping were just about to begin.
“....Hm... H-Huh...?”
Ruth was the first to notice the change.
Even when she tried to roll around, her body was unable to move.
She felt like something warm wrapped around her entire body.
“Fuh.... Fuh...”
A breath that didn't belong to Ruth stroked her cheek repeatedly.
And the smell of an unknown body soap reached her nose.
What is this, I wonder...
She didn't know what was wrapped around her body.
But as a hot breath stroked her cheek, Ruth lowered her guard and felt a strange sense of freedom.
So Ruth entrusted herself to that powerful warmth.
“This is mine...”
A man's voice whispered into her ear.
And the something wrapped around her body tightened its grip and Ruth felt an even deeper sense of security.
A man's voice...
However, after realizing that, Ruth quickly woke up.
“W-What!?”
With her eyes wide open, the first thing Ruth saw was the figure of a man on top of her.
The perverts she had met at the beach and hot springs came to mind and Ruth tensed up.
I-I'm being, a-attacked again...!?
Ruth couldn't say a word due to her surprise and fear.
She was unable to scream, and she couldn't do anything but stare at the face of the man in front of her.
That was when faint light came through the window and lit up the man's face.
Thanks to that, Ruth was able to identify the man.
“...Eh? S-Satomi-sama!?”
That face belonged to Koutarou.
Once she recognized him, Ruth's tension vanished immediately.
“Oh, it was just you, Satomi-sama... Please don't surprise me like that... geez...”
Ruth let out a sigh of relief as Koutarou's breath stroked her cheek again.
And the sense of security she had felt before returned.
Ruth kept at it for a while until the reality of the situation struck her.
“...Eh? So this is Satomi-sama!?”
Once she realized that, Ruth tensed up once more.
At the same time her mind goes blank, and she became unable to reason.
“S-Satomi-sama is, desiring me... desiring... ahhh!”
Ruth felt the same fear she had felt when faced with the perverts.
She had been gripped by a strong sense of surprise and embarrassment, and a slight sense of joy.
“W-W-W-What should I do!? I-I'm not prepared! Satomi-sama, this is too sudden!!”
“I won't hand it over to anyone...”
As those words leaked out of Koutarou's mouth, Ruth panicked and tensed up even further.
“F-Fuaaaaah!!”
At that moment, all power left her body.
“I-If you say something like that, I'll...!!”
Coming from a noble family and being raised in an environment with only girls, this situation was far too much for Ruth.
If it had been someone she hated she might have been fine, but since it was Koutarou things were different.
At that time, Koutarou brought his face closer to her, and Ruth's intuition told her he was going to kiss her.
And Ruth recalled when she imagined kissing Koutarou back at the lottery tent.
“T-This... At this rate I'll.... I'll...!”
I-It's fine, right!? I'm being desired and embraced so I can't escape; it's not just my imagination and selfishness, right!?
Ruth finally gave up, raised her face and closed her eyes.
Thank god... It was my misunderstanding...I thought he didn't care about my swimsuit appearance... he really does see me as a woman...
“I found this tree, Mackenzie. If you want a beetle go find your own tree...”
But unfortunately, Koutarou didn't see Ruth as a woman, but rather a large tree with several beetles in it.
“Eh...?”
At that moment, Ruth's mind went blank once more.
“...I won't hand over a single one to you...”
“H-He's just dreaming...?”
Ruth finally understood everything.
Koutarou had an unbelievably poor sleeping posture.
He would always roll around when he slept, to the point where Ruth would always step on him.
This time, Ruth just happened to be in the way.
He was only clinging on to Ruth because he thought she was a tree.
“I win this year, Mackenzie... Guhahaha...”
“He's not after me but, beetles...?”
Ruth's throbbing heart, her feeling of being desired and belief that she was about to get kissed were all her misunderstanding.
That reality was just far too cruel.
“N-Nooooo! This can't be trueee!”
Ruth began struggling to escape from the harsh reality and Koutarou.
She desperately pushed back Koutarou's chest and started screaming.
“A-An earthquake... this is dangerous...”
“Noooooooooooooooooo!!”
Koutarou mistook it for an earthquake and held Ruth even tighter.
But Ruth didn't stop because of that and Koutarou tossed around while still holding onto her.
“Kyaaaa!”
“Gue.”
“Kyaaa, w-who just touched my breasts!?”
“W-What, what's going on!?”
Koutarou energetically rolled around with Ruth.
They knocked over Yurika, touched Shizuka's breasts and stepped on Theia's face.
The only ones who were safe was Kiriha who had noticed the commotion and Sanae who was sleeping by the ceiling.
“Alright, let's go, Hachi!”
“Got it, Aniki!”
“Satomi-kun, you pervert!!
“Dieeee!! You'll pay for this with your life!!”
“Satomi-sama, you idiot!!”
The ghost hunters were planning on sneaking into the room as everyone had fallen asleep but as they tried to enter through the window they were blown away by a stray bullet.
“...H-Hachi... j-just exactly, what happened?”
“W-Who knows? But we found out something, Aniki.”
“What?”
“We should wait until that ghost is alone...”
“T-That's what I was thinking... at this rate, we'll get killed...”
The two people were thrown to the foot of the inn and then fainted.
And just like that, their third attempt ended in a failure.
“What are you doing, Satomi-kun? Keep it together. What time do you think it is, geez...”
“I am truly sorry. I have no excuses. I completely forgot about my own poor sleeping posture.”
It was now 2:30 in the night.
In the lit up room, Koutarou was repeatedly apologizing to the girls.
“Besides, what kind of dream could you have to make you roll around the room?”
“Well, me and Mackenzie were hunting for beetles when suddenly an earthquake happened. I held onto the tree with all my might, but apparently that's when I started rolling around.”
“It was only shaking because you were rolling around. You really are an idiot... Besides, you were hunting beetles at your age?”
“Even if you say that, there was a big one over eight centimeters. As a japanese man I couldn't just not―”
“Satomi-sama, that’s enough with the beetles! It's really unpleasant!”
“S-Sorry.”
All the girls were angry, but Ruth who had been tossed around with Koutarou was especially so.
She was so angry her usual obedient attitude seemed like a dream.
The only ones that weren't angry were Kiriha who hadn't gotten involved in the commotion and Yurika who was out cold.
“Hey, pleb.”
At that time, Theia pulled on Koutarou's sleeve and whispered to him.
“What?”
“What did you do to Ruth? That rage is abnormal. Are you sure all you did was holding onto her and tossing about?”
“Yeah, supposedly that's all but...”
Of course, Koutarou had no clue about why Ruth was so angry.
All he was doing was hunting for beetles.
“Hmm. That's unusual... This is the first time Ruth has gotten that angry at someone other than me.”
“This is bad...”
“When she's like that it's best to leave her alone. It takes about a week for her to cool down.”
“Your Highness! Satomi-sama! What are you whispering for!?”
Ruth's eyes were burning with rage.
“N-Nothing.”
“I-It's nothing, nothing at all.”
The both of them easily backed off and stopped talking.
“...Don't take me down with you.”
“Don't be so selfish. You're the one who started talking to me.”
“Are you listening to me, you two!?”
Sanae understood Koutarou's and the other's feelings better than anyone else.
“...”
That was because she was the closest to Koutarou and the fact that she was a ghost.
She had a good grasp of how Koutarou and the others felt about one another, more so than the others.
Theia and Ruth are interested in Koutarou... I need to do something fast or Koutarou will get along better with them than with me.
“What's wrong, Sanae? You're making a funny face.”
“K-Koutarou!?”
Sanae's train of thought was stopped by none other than Koutarou.
“I'm sorry, you're angry too, right?”
“I-I'm not really angry. I'm not one of the victims.”
“Really? Then why are you making that kind of face?”
“Why do you care about me!? In the end we're just enemies!”
In the end, we're just enemies...
Sanae was shocked by her own words.
Koutarou and Sanae were enemies.
In the end, one of them had to leave.
That obvious reality put a damper on Sanae's feelings.
Compared to them, Koutarou and Theia were not strictly enemies.
Theia was after room 106, but in the end she was trying to make Koutarou an ally as well.
She had no need to chase out Koutarou.
She knew this from the very beginning, but right now Sanae couldn't accept that reality.
“Well, it's true that we're enemies. It's just as you say.”
Koutarou dropped his shoulders and the conversation stopped.
'It's true that we're enemies'...
Koutarou's words pierced through Sanae.
Even though she knew that's how Koutarou would respond.�
Despite knowing, it still shocked Sanae.
I... can’t... I'm going... crazy...
The reality she was well aware of, and the unease growing day by day.
Tormented by that, the innocent smile on Sanae's face disappeared.
Translator's Notes and References
1. ↑ A traditional japanese garment, kind of like a robe
