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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 3, Chapter 4: Sanae's Crisis
Volume 3, Chapter 4: Sanae's Crisis
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Tuesday, August 12th
The next day, the weather was clear.
Koutarou and the others were about to spend their second day at the beach.
“Yurika, what are you up to?”
“Shhh, Shhh.”
Koutarou was on his way back to his parasol after buying some yakisoba[1] when he saw Yurika nervously observing her surroundings and hiding as she moved around.
Yurika normally looked suspicious, but this time she stood out even more.
“...Are you pretending the enemy magical girls have come to attack?”
“You're wrong! I don't want the cosclub members to find me!”
Koutarou assumed this was a part of cosplaying, but Yurika just wanted to escape from the cosplay society.
Yurika was behaving so suspiciously to avoid the eyes of the cosplay society members playing far away.
“Why?”
“The cosclub is trying to catch me so they can drag me to the Comiha event the day after tomorrow!”
“Why don't you just go then?”
That way, room 106 would be more peaceful.
“I don't want to.”
“Besides, you have friends at Comiha, right?”
“I don't! Why do you keep teasing me like this, Satomi-san?!”
“Idiot, if you keep shouting they'll find you.”
“R-Right.”
Yurika headed towards some rocks in order to hide.
The plan was to hide until the cosplay society gave up.
“...You're not being honest at all.”
Watching Yurika leave, Koutarou opened the box of yakisoba he just bought.
As the thin plastic box opened, the fragrant smell of yakisoba leaked out.
"Having come all the way to the beach, I can't leave without eating this.”
The yakisoba filled Koutarou's mouth, along with a thick taste that spread throughout it.
Because of the people swimming in the sea, yakisoba from a seaside restaurant has a thicker taste to make up for the loss of taste.
“Do you want a taste to, Sanae?”
Having affirmed the taste, Koutarou stopped his chopsticks for a moment and tapped his own shoulder while looking at Sanae who was sitting down a bit away.
Sanae stared at the sand as she responded.
She didn't even try to look at Koutarou.
So it was no use...
Koutarou was slightly disappointed after hearing her answer.
In reality, Koutarou had bought the yakisoba because he wanted to talk to Sanae.
Sanae had been acting strangely since this morning.
Not trying to do anything, she was thinking of something with a gloomy expression.
Or so you'd think, but she was constantly staring at Koutarou.
But as Koutarou would notice she hurriedly looked elsewhere.
With Sanae, who would always have an energetic smile, depressed like this, the atmosphere around Koutarou and the others got awkward.
Thanks to the cosplay society who didn't know about Sanae, the atmosphere wasn't completely hopeless.
“Just what exactly is wrong? You've been like this since the morning.”
“Just leave me alone... Why do you care about me? We're enemies!”
Sanae said that as she sulked.
“Even if you say we're enemies, when you're making a face like that all the time―”
“I told you to leave me alone! Don't bother with me! It was strange for us to get along since we're enemies!”
Sanae yelled at Koutarou.
Tears were forming in her eyes.
Sanae... you...
Koutarou was more shocked by her deep sadness and anger than her words.
Her eyes were desperately pleading for something.
But Koutarou couldn't tell what it was.
He couldn't imagine what was going on inside of her head.
While Koutarou was unable to say anything, Sanae stood up and turned her back on him.
And seeing that, Koutarou was finally able to squeeze out some words.
“W-Wait, Sanae, this conversation is not―”
“It's over! If you won't leave me alone, I'll just go somewhere else!”
But in the end, Sanae wouldn't listen to Koutarou and left.
Being able to pass through people, Sanae quickly put a large distance between her and Koutarou.
“Just what's going on with Sanae...”
With the yakisoba still in hand, Koutarou let out a sigh.
He could not understand the reason why she was so depressed.
The only reason he could think of was their discussion last night.
But the only words they exchanged was stating the fact that they were enemies.
Despite Sanae and Koutarou having a truce, it didn't change the fact that they were enemies.
They were both aware that they needed to chase out one another in the end, so he didn't think that fact would hurt Sanae.
“Satomi-kun, were you unable to make up?”
“Yeah, I failed, Landlord-san.”
Shizuka nodded as she approached Koutarou.
Theia and the others were behind her.
They were also worried about Sanae.
“Just what is Sanae so angry about...”
Theia looked in the direction Sanae had left and let out a small sigh.
“Sanae-sama looked less like she was angry and more like she was crying.”
“I felt the same. It would be best to do something fast, Koutarou.”
“That's right. With Sanae like that, I can't get in the mood to solve the problems with room 106.”
“Even if you tell me to do something... I don't know what to do...”
Just like the girls, Koutarou was staring at the direction Sanae had left in.
Koutarou couldn't get in the mood ever since Sanae's smile had vanished.
So he wanted to do something about the situation, but he couldn't come up with an answer.
“Argh, I give up on thinking! Just thinking won't get us anywhere!”
Koutarou, who wasn't much of a thinker simply, stopped.
“Landlord-san, I'm going to go look for Sanae. I'll see you later.”
Acting before thinking.
That was Koutarou's motto.
“Okay, see you later, Satomi-kun.”
Koutarou left his luggage behind and went looking for Sanae.
Alone, Koutarou started by heading in the same direction Sanae had gone.
Part 2
Koutarou made his way through the beach full of people.
After searching for a while, the people surrounding him gradually decreased.
In front of him was a rocky area, which was a no swimming zone.
“Geez.”
Koutarou let out a sigh of relief after getting away from the crowded beach.
The footing by the rocky area was worse, but it became easier to walk thanks to the lack of people.
“Satomi-kun!”
A voice called out to Koutarou.
As he looked towards the direction of the voice, he saw a certain parasol on top of a waterbreak.
Harumi was the one calling out to him.
“Sakuraba-senpai!”
As Koutarou waved back to Harumi he climbed up the waterbreak.
“Hello, Satomi-kun.”
Koutarou was out of breath after climbing up the waterbreak, and Harumi greeted him with a smile.
She was wearing a light blue summer dress and holding a parasol.
“H-Hello, Sakuraba-senpai. I know it's a bit sudden but, Sa―”
I know it's a bit sudden but, Sanae is missing, have you seen her?
Koutarou was about to say that but he shut his mouth halfway through.
Harumi couldn't see Sanae, so asking would only confuse her.
The only ones who could see Sanae was for some reason those related to room 106.
“Satomi-kun?”
“Ah, no, I was just wondering why you're at this lonely place, Sakuraba-senpai.”
“Actually, my villa is just beyond here.”
Harumi didn't think anything of Koutarou changing his question partway through as she smiled and pointed towards the mountain path behind her.
Several large houses lined the mountain road that Harumi had pointed at, and one of those houses was the villa Harumi was staying at.
“I see.”
“And what about you, Satomi-kun? Why are you at this lonely place?”
“Well, that's...”
As Harumi asked him that, Koutarou hesitated whether or not he should tell her.
But he soon decided to tell her.
Excluding the part where Sanae was a ghost, there wasn't any inconvenience in telling her.
“Actually, I had a fight with one of my friends I came to the beach with.”
“Oh dear...”
Harumi opened her eyes wide in surprise and showed a concerned expression.
“So I'm currently looking for my friend.”
“I see...”
And Harumi's sadly looked down.
She sensed Koutarou's feelings and was worried about someone she didn't even know.
“Satomi-kun, if it's not too much of a bother, could you tell me reason for why you got into a fight? If you tell me I might be able to help you with something.”
“Sakuraba-senpai...”
Koutarou welcomed Harumi's offer.
He felt like she had an answer for this problematic situation.
“Well, I actually don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“I have an idea but I have no clue if that's the reason or not...”
“And that's...?”
“When I said the truth out loud that we didn't get along, it seemed to hurt her.”
Koutarou changed enemies to not getting along, which was necessary to make it easier for Harumi to understand.
“The truth...”
“But that's the relation we've had, and until now we've quarreled about it. So I don't think that's really the reason for it.”
From the start Koutarou and Sanae were enemies and didn't get along.
And since they were enemies they would always bother and insult each other.
And Koutarou didn't think that it would all of a sudden hurt Sanae.
“I see... Then she might be hurt.”
But Harumi didn't think that way.
She came up with an answer after hearing Koutarou's explanation.
“You understand!?”
“Yes. Probably...”
Harumi showed a small smile and began explaining like a mother admonishing her child.
“We are both club members, right?”
“Yes, you're always helping me out a lot.”
“But, I can also say it like this.”
Harumi stopped talking and looked directly at Koutarou.
“...That we're utter strangers that happen to be in the same club.”
As she said that, Koutarou felt her words were cruel and cold.
He hated hearing her say that.
“That's...”
“Another way to say it.”
Harumi revealed a warm smile, and at the same time warmth returned to her words.
“If you had said that when we first met I wouldn't have thought much of it.”
She put her hands in front of her chest and smiled.
“But right now, if I had heard that I would be sad. If you had said we are complete strangers, even if it's the truth, I would be very sad.”
“...”
Even if it's the truth...
Those words echoed in Koutarou's head.
“What about you, Satomi-kun?”
“...Same here. If you said we are complete strangers I would be shocked.”
Koutarou nodded at Harumi's words.
“I think it's the same for that person.”
Harumi looked towards the ocean as she said that, her eyes were gently and sad.
Almost as if even though she was hurt, she was trying to be considerate of somebody's feelings.
“I know it's the truth. At first I really felt that way. But as time passed those feelings changed. I hated just thinking that way. There must be something else. I wanted there to be. Isn't that what that person is thinking?”
“She's...”
That was something Koutarou hadn't thought of.
He hadn't even imagined that something inside Sanae had changed.
“But you said the plain truth to that person, Satomi-kun. I think that was the same as calling us complete strangers.”
“Ah...”
At that instant, Koutarou remembered the words Sanae had said.
“I told you to leave me alone! Don't bother with me! It was strange for us to get along since we're enemies!”
Did Sanae hate thinking that we were just enemies? But I told her that we were just enemies. So she was hurt and left?
“I'm sure that person thought it was very sad. Because I also want Satomi-kun to think of me as a friend. I don't want to hear you say we're just complete strangers...”
“So that's why...!”
Harumi's words explained Sanae's actions.
Koutarou felt she was absolutely correct.
“Then what should I do, senpai!? What do I have to say to get her to forgive me!?”
There was no longer any room for doubt.
He was convinced that Sanae was hurt because of that.
So Koutarou sought for an answer from Harumi.
He felt she would give him the answer he needed.
“...I'm sure you already know the answer, Satomi-kun.”
Harumi smiled gently, letting Koutarou feel at ease.
“Satomi-kun, you don't feel the same as before, right?”
“My...”
When they first met, Koutarou only thought of Sanae as an enemy.
That she was an evil spirit possessing his room.
But over these months, those feelings had gradually changed.
It's true that we're still enemies. But that's not all. If it was, there wouldn't be a truce. And she wouldn't possess me either. And because she didn't understand she―
“I got it! Thank you very much, Sakuraba-senpai! I'll be going now!”
“Yes. I'll pray for you to make up.”
Finding his answer, Koutarou began running.
He didn't even look back at Harumi who was nodding.
Having decided on his next action, he ran straight for it.
That was one of Koutarou's good parts.
“Satomi-kun...”
But Harumi had a sad look in her eyes as she saw him off.
They were not the eyes of someone watching their underclassmen running off to make up with their friend.
And when she could no longer see Koutarou, she let out a sigh.
“...I want you to think of me as a friend, huh...”
Harumi wanted Koutarou to think of her as a friend.
That was an undeniable truth.
She had felt that way for a while now.
“But...”
But right now, that was not all.
There should be something else too.
She wanted there to be.
Some day, Harumi had began feeling that way.
“I'm... a coward and... a liar...”
She was unable to do the same thing she had told Koutarou to do.
And that fact was sad and painful for her.
Part 3
As Koutarou and Harumi parted ways, Sanae was sitting alone at a cliff.
She was on the other side of the coast, at a small cliff surrounded by rocks.
Despite being a small cliff, it offered a great view, overlooking the ocean.
“Stupid Koutarou... you don't even know how I feel...”
But Sanae, who was alone and holding her knees, didn't look at that beautiful sight.
Neither did the seagulls cries nor the waves crashing into the cliff.
“But, why do I feel so lonely and sad...”
Sanae was occupied thinking of herself and Koutarou.
She and he were enemies.
After arguing with Koutarou, she could clearly remember that, but for some reason she felt a heavy sadness and loneliness.
“Even though I wanted to chase him out when we first met...”
Even though they were supposed to be enemies, before she knew it, thinking that way was painful.
She couldn't believe that she felt that way.
The obvious fact that they were enemies didn't feel that obvious to her.
She was confused by her change of heart.
And while feeling confused, she took it out on Koutarou and ran away from him.
She knew he hadn't done anything wrong.
It was natural for Koutarou to think of her as an annoyance and an evil spirit.
She had brought that on herself.
But even though she understood, she couldn't hold back her feelings.
“It'd be better if I just returned to the way I was before I met Koutarou... He's an... enemy after all.”
Sad, lonely and being crushed by her own feelings, Sanae looked incredibly small as she held her knees.
She let out another deep sigh.
But no matter how many times she sighed, her feelings didn't revert back to what they had been.
And as Sanae was sighing, yet another girl sighed, not too far away from her.
It was Nijino Yurika.
“My pursuers are... gone!? Thank god, I finally got away~!”
Unlike Sanae, Yurika's sigh was one of relief.
Yurika had come this way in order to escape her pursuers from the cosplay society.
If she was caught she would be forced to the event to the day after tomorrow, and she felt truly relieved.
“I definitely don't want to take part at that event. If I do something like that, Satomi-san will― Eh, isn't that Sanae-chan?”
Yurika spotted Sanae sitting by the cliff.
“What is she doing at a place like that?”
Having desperately been running around since this morning, Yurika hadn't noticed Koutarou's and Sanae's delicate situation.
So she was confused by Sanae being all alone.
In her head, Sanae being next to Koutarou was obvious.
“Alright, let's take a look.”
Yurika didn't really have anything else to do, and she didn't want to go back and be caught by the cosplay society.
And although she was bad with ghosts, she had recently gotten used to Sanae and she had no real reason to hate her.
Because of hat, Yurika approached on the rocky area.
“Huh?”
And as she closed in on Sanae, Yurika noticed somebody other than herself approaching Sanae.
“N-Not good! It might be my pursuers!”
Yurika thought the cosplay society members had tracked her down, so she stopped moving and hid behind a nearby rock.
“Aniki, this is the perfect opportunity! W-We're so close to being rich!”
“Calm down, Hachi. Even the best of chances will run away if you're not careful.”
“Yes, as expected, Aniki, you're so reliable!”
“I might be a little too cool.”
But Yurika had no need to be afraid.
The somebodies approaching Sanae were the two ghost hunters.
After failing three times, they had waited for Sanae to be alone and they were now finally making their move.
“Our opponent is alone, and we are well prepared. If we fail here we'll be a laughing stock. I'm counting on you, Hachi.”
“Got it!”
While they had waited for Sanae to be alone, they had fully prepared themselves.
Their equipment and plans were flawless.
They had confidence this time would go well.
“Get in position, Hachi.”
“Roger!”
The two of them closed in on Sanae.
Sanae only noticed the crisis she was in when something white blocked her sight.
“W-What is this!?”
White smoke surrounded Sanae.
The smoke came from a smoke screen the ghost hunters had made.
Because they had used branches off of sacred trees to make this smoke screen it was capable of blinding ghosts.
“*cough* *cough* W-What is this!?”
But since they were so close to the beach, the smoke screen had soon blown away.
As Sanae regained her sight, the ghost hunters were already in the middle of their next attack.
“Even dead, I can't escape from the shackles of free economy.”
“It can't be helped. Money filled with obsessions[2] are just too good to give up.”
“Yeh. Gonna give it my all. I want to fill my belly with something good.”
“I ate a dollar bill the other day and it was incredibly delicious. I wonder if I can get my pay in dollar bills.”
As Sanae was blinded by the smokescreen she had been surrounded by several ghosts.
“W-Who are these guys!?”
The ghosts numbered well over 20 and they were all around her.
Their gender, age and clothes were all different, they had no common feature.
Almost like a random crowd of people turned into ghosts.
“Go, evil spirits! Earn your salary!”
They were actually low paid evil spirits the ghost hunters had called in as help to capture Sanae.
Those ghosts were the last ace up the sleeves the ghost hunters had.
“No, the true delicacy is the bill from a hyperinflation country.”
“Woah, just hearing that makes me drool.”
“Once you've eaten one of those you won't want to touch the bills of an economically stable country.”
“Is that really so... I think there are unique obsessions in a stable country. Like failing at the stock market or tributes to women. That's the way I like it.”
“A developed taste... hearing you describe it, I kinda want to taste that too...”
“Quit talking and go!”
“Okaaaay.”
And as Sanae was puzzled about the situation she was in, the ghosts attacked from all sides.
“Kyaaaa! Nooooo! Idiots! Perverts! Creeps! Where do you think you're touching!?”
“... I kinda feel like I'm doing something really bad.”
“Well she's just a little girl.”
“Aren't we actually doing something bad?”
“There's no need to worry, we're evil spirits after all.”
“Yeah.”
Completely surrounded, Sanae was easily caught by the evil spirits.
They grabbed her hands and legs and she was unable to move.
And as Sanae was immobilized, the ghost hunters approached with their insect nets.
“Looks like it went well, Aniki!”
“When we get serious, something like this is nothing to us!”
Their fourth attempt was going all according to plan.
But there was someone watching Sanae in her desperate times.
That was Yurika who had mistook the ghost hunters for her own pursuers.
“S-Sanae-chan is!?”
After hearing the commotion and deciding it couldn't be her pursuers, Yurika peeked out from the rock and saw an unbelievable sight on top of the cliff.
“L-Let me go! I said let me go!!”
Countless ghosts surrounded Sanae and deprived her of her freedom.
She desperately tried escaping, but the ghosts were too strong and she had no chance.
“It's over! You're gonna get caught by us and then sold off!”
“What do you mean sold off!!”
“I've never seen a ghost with as much spiritual energy as you maintain their stability. Someone like you would fetch a high price from a connoisseur!”
“Weren't you two just perverts!?”
“What are you saying after all this?!”
“We're ghost hunters! Bounty hunters that specialize in capturing ghosts!”
Ghost hunters!? Impossible, that sounds like something right out of an anime, there's no way that―
At first, Yurika couldn't believe that ghost hunters truly existed.
But she stopped her train of thought halfway through.
It wouldn't be strange for them to exist. Besides, magical girls exist, so it wouldn't be too strange. And besides, unlike Satomi-kun, I believe in people.
Yurika believed them mostly out of spite of Koutarou.
“B-B-But what should I do!? I need to save Sanae-chan! But there are so many ghosts! I-I-I-I don't know what to do!”
Believing it was fine, but Yurika had no idea on how to handle the situation.
She wanted to save Sanae, but she absolutely hated ghosts.
Just looking at them, she began trembling and was unable to move.
“B-But if I just leave them, Sanae-chan will...!”
“Kyaaaaaa!”
As Yurika was thinking of her next move, Sanae was wrapped up in the insect net.
“Nooooo, save me! Somebody!”
“It's no use, nobody is coming to save you.”
“Your friends are far away playing. And there's no way someone who could actually hear your voice would be nearby. Just give up.”
“No way! I don't want to be sold off!”
However, Sanae's words finally made Yurika make her decision.
“I-I'll go save her! I'm afraid of ghosts but, being scared won't help, Sakuraba-senpai would go save her!”
Yurika mustered all of her courage and moved her trembling body.
She remembered Harumi's words during the obstacle marathon.
I can't lose to myself! I need to be stronger, like Sakuraba-senpai!
“Alright, I can do this!!”
Eventually the trembles stopped allowing her body to move freely.
I'll call out Angel Halo, transform and save Sanae-chan!
Yurika strongly focused her mind as she reached out her right hand.
This was to call out her cane.
“Come! Angel―”
“Found you, Yurika-cha~n!!”
“President, I've found here! Yurika is over here!”
However, an unexpected obstacle appeared.
It was the cosplay society who had constantly been tracking down Yurika.
“Secure the target!”
As the president gave the orders, the five members jumped at Yurika all at once.
“O-Oh no!? A-At this important time!?”
Yurika hurriedly braced herself but it was already too late.
She was deprived of her freedom, just like Sanae had been.
“Alright, hurry up and bring her back to the hotel, we're going to prepare our outfits!”
“Bringing a spare outfit turned out to be the right call, president!”
“Wait, wait, Sanae-chan is... Sanae-chan is getting abducted!!”
“Sanae-chan?”
As Yurika desperately pleaded, the cosplay society stopped.
They looked around for the girl Yurika had called 'Sanae-chan'.
But all they could see were two suspicious men holding insect nets.
They couldn't see the evil spirits next to them, or Sanae who was wrapped up in the insect net.
“There's nobody here.”
“There is! Can't you see the men have captured a girl on the edge of the cliff!?”
“Wait a second, everybody look! They're yesterday’s perverts!”
“Uwa, creeps, let's go, we don't want anything to do with them. And make sure we bring Yurika with us!”
“Okaaay!”
Obeying the president’s orders, the cosplay society swiftly bound Yurika with a rope.
“Please wait, if we don't save Sanae-chan something horrible will happen!”
“But she's nowhere to be seen.”
Despite Yurika's desperate pleas the cosplay society members didn't listen.
Eventually the finished tying up Yurika and they put a gag on her.
“Hmm, Mmmh! HmmhH!”
At this point, there was no longer anything Yurika could do.
They attached Yurika to a long stick and carried her away; they looked like primitive men carrying back their prey.
“Hmmhhmm!!”
“Just hang in there, Yurika-chan. We'll undo the rope and get you into your outfit soon.”
“Hmmmm!! MmmHmm!”
And as Yurika was carried away, Sanae was left all alone.
“Let me out of here!!”
Sanae had been put into a mysterious transparent container after being freed from the insect net.
The container was a cylinder, 50 centimeters in diameter and two meters tall, made from some sort of transparent glass.
However the container was sturdy, and didn't budge despite Sanae beating on it.
On top of that, she couldn't pass through the container.
This was a tool that came in set with the insect net, a container used to transport captured ghosts.
“Just give it up already. You've been captured.”
“You're on your way to be sold off.”
“I don't want that, I don't want to go anywhere! Koutarou! Koutarou!!”
Just as all hope had been lost, Koutarou's name left Sanae's mouth.
As Sanae kept beating the container from the inside she called out Koutarou's name.
“Save me, Koutarou!”
However, her desperate screams couldn't reach him.
Part 4
As Sanae was being kidnapped, Koutarou was closing in on the site.
If he had only been a bit faster, he could have heard Sanae's screams as she was being taken away.
However, her voice didn't reach due to their small gap.
But, that didn't mean that all hope was lost.
“Oh, if it isn't Satomi-kun. What a strange place to meet.”
“If it isn't the cosclub. Why are you all the way out here?”
As Koutarou was headed towards the direction where Sanae had been kidnapped, he met the cosplay society who were on their way back.
“Look, look Koutarou-kun, we caught our prey!”
“Hm! Mhh, Hmmmhh!!”
“Y-Yurika!?”
Their prey was none other than Yurika.
She was being carried along a long stick, almost as if she was about to be roasted.
Koutarou was at a loss for words because of the appearance which fit her so well.
I see, Yurika was caught in the end... rest in peace...
Koutarou remembered that Yurika had been running away from the cosplay society as he clasped his hands in his mind.
“Hmm, Mhhm! Hm, Mhmmm!!”
And of course, Yurika began struggling.
She screamed something as she violently shook her body.
“Kyaa, Yurika-chan, it's dangerous if you struggle like that!”
“Stay still, Yurika-chan!”
Because of Yurika's struggling, the cosplay society members began staggering.
She kept shaking, despite them telling her not to struggle, in fact she instead shook even more.
“Mhh, Hmmmm, Mhhh!!”
Yurika stared at Koutarou with a serious look in her eyes and she desperately moved her mouth and biting the gag.
“Mh, Mhmmmm! Hmmmm!!”
“Yurika?”
Is she trying to tell me something?
Feeling Yurika's behavior was strange Koutarou looked into her eyes.
They weren't the eyes of somebody holding a grudge, nor were they the eyes of somebody calling for help.
She was trying to appeal to Koutarou with the serious look in her eyes.
What's up with Yurika... She's not acting like herself...?
Since Yurika wasn't acting like her normal self, Koutarou wanted to talk to her.
And he also had something he wanted to ask her.
“Excuse me, but could I talk to Yurika alone?”
“Hmmm!!”
As Koutarou said that, Yurika's eyes sparkled.
As I thought, something happened...
Seeing her act like that, Koutarou had a bad feeling.
“Just the two of you? Is it a complicated story?”
“Well, yes. It's an extremely private conversation between me and Yurika about a common acquaintance.”
Koutarou didn't just want to hear her story, but he also wanted to ask her about Sanae's whereabouts.
But if the cosplay society were around, things would get complicated.
So Koutarou decided to deceive them by concealing the truth.
“Hmm! Mh!”
Sensing Koutarou's intentions, Yurika began nodding.
Seeing that, the president nodded.
“I understand. But you can't let her run, okay? We finally caught her after all.”
“I got it.”
“Everyone, put Yurika down for a minute.”
“Okaaay!”
The cosplay society lowered Yurika to the ground, and left Koutarou alone with her.
And once they were far enough away, Koutarou squatted down next to Yurika and put his hand on the gag.
“I'm taking it off.”
“Hm!”
As Koutarou untangled the knots, Yurika opened her mouth wide.
“S-S-Satomi-san! Satomi-san has been kidnapped and there are a lot of Sanae-chans and perverted evil spirits!!”
But her words were a mess, and Koutarou couldn't understand what she was trying to say.
“Calm down, please speak English.”
“There's no time to calm down!”
“Just take a deep breath.”
“O-Okaaay!”
Listening to Koutarou, Yurika took a deep breath and she calmed down slightly.
“So, what happened?”
“Yesterday’s perverts took Sanae-chan, Satomi-san!”
“W-What!? Are you serious!?”
“Yes! It seems like their real goal was Sanae-chan!”
“But she was captured even though she can pass through walls!? She's a ghost, and how!? She got kidnapped!? How did Sanae!?”
This time, Koutarou couldn't speak clearly.
Regretting having hurt Sanae, Koutarou had gone out looking for her.
But she had now been captured by the perverts.
Because of that, Koutarou was now as confused as Yurika had been.
“Please calm down, Satomi-san! Please speak English!”
“S-Sorry.”
Koutarou took several deep breaths and repeated his question.
“But Sanae is a ghost! How was she captured!? She can pass through walls you know!? How could they kidnap her!?”
“A lot of strange ghosts ganged up on her, and then they captured her with the insect nets! That rope is probably not normal!”
“But why target Sanae!? Who are those guys!?”
“They said they were ghost hunters! And that they would sell off Sanae-chan!”
“Sell off Sanae-chan!?”
At that moment, Koutarou remembered the perverts’ two previous surprise attacks.
“He's right, young man! We're only trying to capture that small girl from before so we can sell her off!”
“Please believe us! We have no interest in normal girls!”
“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 two of them had repeatedly tried explaining themselves like that.
However Koutarou and the others completely misinterpreted that and treated them like perverts, but in reality, that was not what they were.
“Damnit! They meant it in that way!?”
However it wasn't Koutarou and the others’ fault.
Who would even believe there were people making a living off of selling ghosts?
It was the same reasoning behind not believing Yurika.
“You're not lying, are you, Yurika!?”
So even though he partially believed her, he couldn't keep himself from confirming it with Yurika.
Koutarou couldn't simply outright believe that ghost hunters were real.
Even though he had been living with a ghost for a while, that fact didn't change.
“Of course! You already don't believe I'm a magical girl, there's no way I would ruin my credibility even further by lying!”
But hearing Yurika's answer, Koutarou readily agreed.
“There's no way I would ruin my credibility even further by lying!”
Those words were overwhelmingly persuasive.
“...You're right. Sorry for doubting you, Yurika.”
Koutarou deeply bowed at Yurika.
He had a serious look in his eyes, and was apologizing from the bottom of his heart.
“That's fine but for some reason I'm getting really irritated!”
That was because Koutarou believed in ghost hunters but not that Yurika was a magical girl.
It meant that the more serious Koutarou was apologizing, the less he believed that she was a magical girl.
“I can understand why Sanae-chan is always so angry!! Ahhhhh, geez!!”
Yurika let out a furious voice.
His reaction irritated Yurika to no end.
“So Yurika, do you have any clue to where they headed?”
“Huh!? … N-No, I don't. I only know that she was carried away by the crowd of ghosts. After that, I was tied up and carried away.”
Yurika was still bound and rolling around on the ground.
“A crowd of ghosts...? That's it! Yurika, you're certain that they were with a lot of ghosts, right?”
“Yes, do you have any good ideas?”
“Probably! I'll be going now, Yurika! Thanks for telling me!”
Saying that, Koutarou stood up.
“Ah, wait, Satomi-san!?”
“See you later! I'm going to save Sanae!”
Koutarou began running.
His goal was of course to save Sanae who had been kidnapped.
If he didn't he couldn't talk to her.
Just hang in there Sanae, I'm coming to save you!
As Sanae was being kidnapped her words didn't reach Koutarou.
However, thanks to Yurika, Sanae's words properly reached him.
“Wait! Don't just save Sanae-chan, save me too! Please save me! I'll definitely be useful!”
“Don't force yourself! You hate ghosts, right? Your feelings and information are enough! Thank you, Yurika! I'll definitely repay the favor later!”
Koutarou left after giving Yurika a gentle look.
He was truly grateful, despite being Yurika being a cosplayer, Koutarou was grateful for her courage to offer her help.
Which was why he didn't want to involve her.
“You're wrong! That's not what I mean! Repay the favor now! Please don't leave me, Satomi-saaan!!”
Yurika's lone shouts echoed in the deserted rocky area.
“Yuuurika-chaaan♪ Have you finished talking to Satomi-kun I wonder♪”
“Noooooooooo!”
Thanks to Yurika, Sanae's voiced reached Koutarou, however Yurika's own voice didn't reach him this time either.
Running into his room in the inn, Koutarou started searching through his own bag.
Since it was already evening, Theia, Kiriha, Shizuka and Ruth had already returned to the room.
But Koutarou didn't even look at them.
Part 5
“I know I put it in just in case! It should be...”
Finding Koutarou's appearance strange, the girls looked at each other.
And as a representative, Shizuka opened her mouth.
“Satomi-kun, what's wrong? Were you able to talk to Sanae-chan?”
“Well you see, Landlord-san, Sanae-chan was taken away by those perverts!”
Koutarou answered while still searching in his bag.
“Eh!?”
“What!?”
“By those people!?”
“Is that true, Koutarou!?”
The girls opened their eyes wide in surprise.
They surrounded Koutarou and demanded an explanation.
“Yeah, there's no mistaking it! Yurika saw them kidnap Sanae! They are ghost hunters or something! Those perverts were after Sanae from the start!
“Yurika did? Are you sure she's not pretending again?”
With Yurika as the source, Kiriha said so without holding back.
Yurika had no credibility.
“It didn't seem like it, and there's no reason for her to lie when she already has next to no credibility, right? If she wanted to fool us she would have made something better up.”
“...That is completely correct. No matter how much of an idiot she is, she wouldn't do something that would hurt her standing even more.”
“Your highness, that's a bit too...”
And since she had next to no credibility, everyone readily nodded their heads.
Even Ruth who had tried covering for Yurika felt something like that.
“Found it! As long as I have this!”
At that point, Koutarou found the item he was looking for in his bag.
It was a paper bag from a famous department store.
He strongly held onto the paper bag and stood up.
And the girls who were looking at him leaned back.
Before the girls could regain their balance, Koutarou ran towards the room's exit.
“I'm going to take back Sanae!”
And before the girls could reply, he had already left the room.
“Ah, wait up, Satomi-kun!”
“Ruth, we're going too.”
“As you wish, my princess.”
“Karama, Korama, follow me.”
“I've been waiting for this Ho-!”
“Let's go save Sanae-chan Ho-!”
The girls ran out of the room slightly behind Koutarou.
The contents of the paper bag Koutarou had taken with him contained some of the religious tools Shizuka had given him during the first days of school.
Koutarou brought charms and the like in case of an emergency.
This is probably part of why Sanae was so hurt...
Koutarou thought to himself as he shoved his hand into the bag.
Deep inside, he believed that Sanae wasn't dangerous enough to justify bringing religious tools with him.
If he did, he wouldn't have let her possess him daily.
He had brought the religious tools with him just because she was an enemy.
After hearing Harumi's explanation, Koutarou understood it as well.
Sanae must have hated just seeing this bag.
“But now I'm glad I brought this with me!”
Koutarou pulled out one of the religious tools from the bag.
It was a tool that looked like an old fashioned radio wrapped in cheap looking plastic.
And 'Ghost detection kit – For those looking 2006' was written on the plastic wrapping.
“I'll be able to find Sanae with this!”
This 'For those looking 2006' was a ghost detection kit manufactured three years ago.
Although it was an old model near its expiration date that Shizuka had gotten from her friend, it was a product that held a big share in the occult industry.
By the way, the manufacturer also manufactured the insect nets the two men were using.
Koutarou was planning on using 'For those looking 2006' to find Sanae.
However, this tool couldn't distinguish between ghosts.
Because of Yurika's information that the two men had a crowd of ghosts with them, Koutarou was going to track down the crowd, and in the process find Sanae.
“...Let's see, Please light up the incense and put it in the upper center of the machine. This incense serves as an antenna. Please make sure you use the attached incense.”
Koutarou read the instruction manual for 'For those looking 2006' and prepared it for use.
As could be expected from a product that held a large share of the market, even a beginner like Koutarou had an easy time finishing the preparations.
All that's left is pressing the start button.
“Alright...”
Koutarou swallowed his saliva.
If this failed he would lose his only lead.
Koutarou began getting more and more nervous.
And he carefully moved his finger closer to the start button.
“Please work...”
As Koutarou reached towards the button he braced himself, prayed and pushed the button.
The next moment the machine made a loud noise.
“Ahh!?”
The 'For those looking 2006' created a small explosion in Koutarou's hands.
“*cough* *cough* It exploded!? *cough* *cough*”
Breathing in the smoke from the explosion, Koutarou had a coughing fit.
Fortunately, the explosion wasn't particularly big and Koutarou wasn't injured.
However the 'For those looking 2006' was charred and partially destroyed.
“B-But why did it explode!?”
Koutarou took several deep breaths and voiced his doubts.
He wasn't expecting an answer to that question but by chance he happened to get an answer.
“It seems the spiritual energy oscillator malfunctioned Ho!”
“The delicate oscillator couldn't handle the spiritual energy after deteriorating with age Ho!”
“...It's because you forcibly tried to use it despite its age, Koutarou.”
“Kiriha-san...”
The ones who gave Koutarou an answer was Kiriha and her two haniwas.
She picked up the 'For those looking 2006' and approached him with a smile.
“I'm sorry, Satomi-kun. It's all because I gave you old tools closing in on their expiration date...”
Behind Kiriha was Shizuka.
She looked at the 'For those looking 2006' and Koutarou and made an apologetic expression.
“Even Landlord-san...”
Why are the two of them...?
Koutarou didn't understand the reason behind why Kiriha and Shizuka had come, and looked at them with a blank look on his face.
“So what are you going to do now, Koutarou? Are you still going to look for Sanae?”
“Finding ghosts with our technology is impossible. We need to find a different method.”
“Even Tulip and Ruth-san!?”
Koutarou's eyes opened wide in surprise.
“Don't worry. Just leave it to me.”
“Kurano-san, do you have an idea?”
“W-Wait, are all of you going to help me!?”
Koutarou was confused.
He was surprised by the fact that they were planning on finding Sanae.
“That's right, Satomi-kun. Sanae-chan is almost like your little sister, so of course we need to save her.”
“Fufufu. Since you've lost your only lead, it’s a good chance to earn a favor or two. How could I do anything but exploit this chance?”
“You will eventually become my vassal. You don't have the freedom of simply jumping into danger. If you die, my future will be lost.”
“I just... if you wish for it, I'll help as much as I can, Satomi-sama... T-That's right, I have to repay you for the swimsuit! It's for the swimsuit!”
The four of them all had their different reasons, but they were all planning on saving Sanae.
“Thanks. Please help me everyone!”
Normally, Koutarou might have refused but now he obediently accepted their offer.
But in this situation, Koutarou had no choice to.
“Leave it to me, Satomi-kun! I won't forgive those perverts specializing in ghosts!”
Shizuka gestured rolling up her sleeves.
She looked she was raring to go.
“Promise me this, Koutarou. That once we get back, you'll buy me a swimsuit too.”
Kiriha showed a mischievous expression.
However, Koutarou noticed that she had a look of gentleness in her eyes.
“Kukuku, just you see pleb. They'll regret making me an enemy! And you'll learn just how impressive I am!”
Theia put on a smile fitting of a carnivorous beast.
But Koutarou knew that Theia wasn't as much of a tyrant as she made herself out to be.
She was at the very least worried about Sanae.
“Leave it to me, Satomi-sama! I'll help you as much as I can!”
Koutarou didn't find it strange that Ruth wanted to help, but in reality she also had a different reason for helping.
“Well, Kiriha-san, you sounded like you had an idea...”
Koutarou said that in a hurry, he didn't have the time to thank them.
“Yes. Karama, Korama, I'll leave it to you.”
As Kiriha nodded , the two haniwas came up to Koutarou.
“Koutarou, we'll scan that broken down machine and mimic it Ho!”
“You can do that!?”
“Leave it to us Ho! Compared to us, that machine is far simpler so mimicking the spiritual energy circuits is easy Ho!”
“Then please do!”
“Roger Ho!”
“Beginning scan Ho!”
Obliging Koutarou's request, the two haniwas stare down the 'For those looking 2006' in Kiriha's hands.
Their normally hollow eyes shot out a red light.
They were guide lights for the scanning.
Combining modern science with spiritual energy, the two haniwas began working using their unique theory.
Koutarou had always felt they were suspicious but this time he couldn't help but trust in them.
“Scan completed Ho-!”
“We've completed preparations Ho-!”
Shortly afterwards they turned back towards Koutarou.
The red light coming out of their eyes had vanished and were back to their normal selves.
“Koutarou, should we amplify the function Ho?”
“Amplify?”
“It's easy to mimic Ho. So tracing the circuits we can power it up Ho! We're excellent Ho-!”
“It's estimated that we can amplify the function by 168% Ho!”
“Then please do it! I want to find Sanae as quickly as possible!”
“Then let's begin Ho! I'll be the detector Ho!”
“Then I'll do the amplifying Ho! Activating synchronous mode to link up Ho!”
The two haniwas began moving, by becoming one they could function as a single machine.
“Setting the amplification rate to 168% Ho!”
“Beginning emulation Ho! Activating the detector circuits!”
And the two haniwas begin replicating the function of the 'For those looking 2006'.
Because of that an explosion amplified by 168% happened.
It was a splendid reproduction.
“Are you complete idiots!? You don't need to replicate that much!”
Covered in an explosion again, Koutarou was scorched and charred in various places.
However, Koutarou's anger burned more intensely than the fires of the explosion.
“Sorry Ho! We forgot to mend the malfunctioning parts Ho!”
“We didn't mean any harm Ho! We'll redo it Ho!”
And like that, although slightly delayed, Koutarou and the others began moving to save Sanae.
Translator's Notes and References
1. ↑ A type of japanese noodles
2. ↑ Essentially by obsessions they mean the negative feelings that previous owner of the (in this case) bill held. It seems that the evil spirits think of bills filled with obsessions as a snack.
