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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 4, Chapter 3: The Silver Princess
Volume 4, Chapter 3: The Silver Princess
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Thursday, October 1st
“Dammit, you bastards!”
“Fueeeeeh! Bastards!”
Koutarou and Yurika were sulking after the results had been announced.
“As if your crappy drama club could understand mine and Yurika's masterpieces!”
“It's just as Satomi-san said! As if you could understand!”
Their plays had been eliminated during the first selection phase.
Dissatisfied by that result, Koutarou and Yurika were in the middle of causing chaos.
“Eat up Yurika! I'll give you my precious cup noodles!”
“Is that really alright!? These are famous cup noodles that cost 300 yen each!”
“It's fine! You're the only one who can understand my masterpiece!”
“Satomi-saaaan!!”
Eventually, the two of them began slurping up cup noodles in the corner of the classroom.
That was when they finally quieted down.
“Kou and Yurika... they're both annoying...”
Looking at the two of them, Kenji let out a heavy sigh.
To him, it was obvious that Koutarou would fail.
“Don't say that, Mackenzie-kun. The two of them really tried their best.”
Koutarou's play was about hot blooded knitting battles.
The very narrow genre and overly unique setting made the judges give up after reaching the second page.
Yurika's scenario was about a magical girl, who nobody understood, and her unnoticed hard work.
Although the parts about the girl’s growth were considered good, the absurd setting of a magical girl backfired and the judges gave up on it after a reading a few pages as well.
“T-The salty flavor is too much!”
“Don't cry, Yurika! This loss will only make us stronger!
“Yes! Satomi-saaan!”
“Yurikaaa!”
After spending several days on writing together just to have their dreams crushed, the two of them now shared a strong bond.
“It's getting stuffy in here...”
“Ahahahaha.”
“You were close though, Kasagi-san. I heard you were almost chosen.”
“R-Really? Thank you, Mackenzie-kun.”
Shizuka had submitted Sanae's scenario in her name.
Sanae was literally Shizuka's ghost writer.
Sanae's age was thought to have been a disadvantage but, surprisingly, the script was well received and passed the first selection phase.
Sadly, it didn't pass the final selection, but the judges had hopes for the future.
“Good for you, Sanae-sama.”
“Ehehehe~~”
Thanks to that, Sanae was in high spirits.
When Ruth whispered to her, Sanae's expression brightened up even more.
“That said, both me and Kasagi-san lost, so we still feel mortified.”
Next to Shizuka was Kiriha, dropping her shoulders.
Her ever gentle smile was as enchanting as always.
“That's not true! Kurano-san!”
“Yeah! The Harukaze university's drama club wanted the play!”
Kiriha's nearby classmates tried to cheer her up. It was obvious that she was popular with her classmates, both men and women.
“That said, a loss is a loss. Maybe I should join Satomi-san for some noodles... Fufufu...”
Kiriha's play was remarkably well done.
She had a written a satire that received high praise from all of the judges.
However, the play was too well done to be used in the culture festival.
The level that play required was far higher than what the high school drama club had.
Because of that, Kiriha's submission didn't make it past the final selection.
However, the Kitsushouharukaze university's drama club heard rumors of the piece and were planning to use it for the next performance and they were currently working on preparations.
“It's because you misjudged the supply and demand.”
Theia boasted triumphantly.
“A car doesn't just need to be fast. You don't need a rampant race car to go shopping.”
“Shut up, Tulip!!”
Being ridiculed by Theia calling them rampant, Koutarou lashes out at her while still holding his cup noodles.
“I'm fine, but I won't let you insult Yurika at the same time!”
“Fueeeeeh! Thank you very much, Satomi-saaan, those words alone enough for me to survive!”
“What are you talking about Yurika, you're my only ally!”
“Ohohoho, you losers can you sit there and lick your wounds!”
“Don't get too full yourself, you pathetic princess!”
“Hohohoho♪”
Even though Koutarou yelled and called her pathetic, Theia showed no signs of caring.
Normally she would yell back at him, but today she was showing a confident smile instead.
That's because she knew Koutarou was only saying that because he was mortified.
The chosen scenario was a fantastic love story that Theia had written.
The title of her play was 'The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight'.
It was set in the middle ages in Europe, based on a conflict between the royal houses in Forthorthe.
The heroine, the Silver Princess, was in the center of the conflict, and the hero, the Blue Knight, had come to save her from her crisis.
It was an entertaining piece focused on romance and battles.
The story was a famous legend in the Forthorthe Galactic Empire, and Theia presented it with her own interpretation.
In other words, Theia's admiration of the Blue Knight directly influenced the story, but it was just the way the stage manager liked it.
The other club members also had a positive attitude towards the play.
On top of that, the skills required were just at the level of the high school drama club.
So Theia's story was chosen and would be acted out at the upcoming culture festival.
Part 2
Since they had now chosen their play, the drama club could now start with their preparations.
The culture festival in Kitsushouharukaze was always held for two days, starting on the third of November, the same date as the Culture Day[1].
And since it was the start of October, they had roughly a month to prepare.
Because of the lack of time remaining, the drama club was now running on full steam.
“Thanks for coming, Theiamillis-san, it really helps!
“Don't worry. I'm really invested in this story. So I'll help with whatever I can to make the play a success.”
“My, you're already in the middle of casting. Wonderful! Let's work together to do this, Theiamillis-san!”
“You can leave everything to me! Let's make this the best play ever!”
The stage manager and Theia were in perfect synch, they had been working preparations since yesterday.
“Mackenzie, the stage settings guys don't have enough materials, so they want someone free to go buy some.”
“I got it. What do they need?”
“This is the list.”
“Hm, if this is all, girls would be enough. Kasagi-san, do you have a moment?”
“What is it, Mackenzie-kun?”
“Could you and Ruth-san go buy the things on this list?”
“That's fine. Is it urgent?”
“Kou, how about it?”
“It's urgent, Landlord-san.”
“Got it. Then we'll go right away.”
Theia wasn't the only one helping out.
Koutarou, Shizuka and those related to room 106 were helping out.
They had decided to help the drama club who were pressed for time and manpower.
“Ruth-san, could you help me shop?”
“Ah, yes! I'll be right with you, Shizuka-sama! Can I leave this to you, Kiriha-sama?”
“Yes, no problem, just leave it to me... I have the haniwas with me as well so I'll be fine.”
“Thank you. I'll hurry back. Well then, I'll be off.”
“See you later... Karama, Korama, you can stay in stealth. Please give me a hand.”
“Ho-! Got it, Ho-!”
“It's our turn to shine, Ho-!”
There weren't that many members in the drama club. It was a tiny club with only 8 members.
Because of that, there were a lot more people helping out other than Koutarou and the others.
Several smaller clubs like the broadcast club and wind instruments club gathered to help them.
Because of that, the drama club's club room was overflowing with vigor.
The casting was going well, and some people were already practicing their lines and picking out their outfits.
“Kurano-san!”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Could you help me convince this girl? Her role was decided a while ago but she keeps complaining...”
“Yurika?”
“I don't want to be a horse’s rear!! At least give me a role where you can see my face! At least make me a tree, please!”
However, the casting had come across a big problem.
They still couldn't decide who would play the story's heroine, the Silver Princess.
They had gone through several selections, but hadn't found anyone who fit the role.
“This is a problem, Theiamillis-san.”
“Yes... the Silver Princess is who this play is centered around after all...”
As progress on the play continued, the club president and Theia looked at each other and sighed at the same time.
The largest problem they were currently facing was that they had no one to play the heroine.
“We might need Kurano-san for this...”
“Kiriha, huh... having Ruth play the role instead would be closer to my image...”
“Ruth-san is perfect for the female knight, so I really don’t want to change her role.”
“I see... That is a problem...”
And as Theia and the club president tilted their heads, Koutarou came walking by carrying a piece of the stage.
“Tulip, what are you worrying about?”
“Ple―, ah, no, Koutarou.”
Theia corrected herself. She couldn't call Koutarou the way she normally did in front of the drama club members.
“I mentioned it before, right? The problem with the heroine.”
“Oh yeah, you said you still hadn't decided... What's wrong with the drama club's girls? They're pretty cute.”
Koutarou looked around the clubroom as he said that.
The girls he could see were all beautiful and looked like they would make good princesses.
However, Theia shook her head.
“It's not that simple. There's the image of who would fit the role.”
According to Theia's scenario, the Silver Princess had a delicate and fleeting atmosphere to her.
She was squaring off against a villain who was planning on taking over the country, so that image was important.
Unfortunately, neither anyone in the drama club or in room 106 gave that kind of impression.
For good or bad, they were all energetic girls.
“Image huh... Nobody really comes to mind...”
Koutarou couldn't really understand delicate stuff like that.
The only thing he understood was physical strength.
“If you're to be my vassal, I at least want you understand those kinds of subtleties.”
“Even if you say that... Hey, don't just make me your vassal!”
As Koutarou raised his voice, Yurika who was choosing her outfit interrupted their discussion.
“Here! Here here! I'll do it! I'll play the Silver Princess!”
Yurika was wearing brown tights, on top of that was the costume of a horse's rear.
While wearing that, she raised her hands into the air, waving and appealing to Koutarou and the others.
“I definitely don't want to be a horse's rear!”
“...”
Koutarou stared at Yurika without saying a word.
“W-What?”
As Yurika flinched from his stare, Koutarou turned around.
“...Tulip, I feel like I understand how important image is.”
“Right? This is an important part.”
A horse's rear rather than the Silver Princess; oddly enough, Koutarou felt that was a perfect fit for Yurika.
“What's that supposed to meaaan!?”
However, there was no way Yurika would accept that.
“You're being noisy...”
“Calm down, Yurika.”
“I won't calm down!”
“The Silver Princess is impossible for you, but I'll talk to Tulip so you won't have to be a horse's rear.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Believe in your comrade, Yurika.”
“I understand, Satomi-san.”
At first, Yurika looked at Koutarou with doubt, but as he continued talking her expression loosened up.
“That's the way it is, so please Tulip. Can't you do something?”
“I guess it can't be helped. I'll prepare a role where you can see her face.”
“Really!?”
“Isn't that great, Yurika?”
“Yes, I'll do my best!”
Yurika cheerfully smiled. That said, in her costume, it looked quite humorous.
“...The role of the cruel and terrible Bandit A is open, but do you want it, Yurika?”
“Wouldn't that cause more of a problem with the image than anything?”
“That's fine! I'll take it! In order to respond to your expectations, I'll do my best to be evil.”
“Yurika, you should worry about your own image...”
And like that, the self-proclaimed magical girl of love and courage took on the role of the cruel and terrible Bandit A.
“That solves that problem, but what should we do about the Silver Princess...”
After saying that, the club president who had kept quiet until now went deep into thought.
Theia soon followed suit.
“So Tulip, what kind of role is the Silver Princess?”
“Although she has a delicate appearance, she is a proper person. Despite her suffering, she makes her return as emperor.”
“A delicate but proper girl...?”
Actually, Koutarou had an idea for someone who would fit the role.
“Maybe...”
“Satomi-kun, do you have someone in mind?!”
Sensing that Koutarou was on to something, the club president's eyes lit up.
“Yes, actually my―”
And as Koutarou was about to give the name of that person, the door to the clubroom opened and a girl peeked in.
“Excuse me... Ah, Satomi-kun! Thank god, you're here!”
She peeked inside with a worried expression, but once she saw Koutarou, she smiled and entered the clubroom.
“I got some free time so I wondered if I could help― What's wrong, Satomi-kun?”
Koutarou quietly looked at her with a surprised expression which confused her a little.
“Is there something wrong with me?”
She embarrassingly looked at herself. She held the hems of her skirt and moved them around in order to find something strange with her outfit.
“President-san!”
Koutarou's eye lit up and he turned towards the club president.
And the girl nodded at Koutarou.
“This is the girl! This girl will be perfect! She fits perfectly with the image!”
“E-Eh!? What do you mean by fitting the image!?”
The person who had entered the club room was the name of the person Koutarou was about to say.
“You, would you like to become a princess!?”
“Eh?”
That person was none other than Sakuraba Harumi.
She was a fleeting and delicate, but proper girl.
The legend about the Blue Knight was split into two halves.
The first half was mostly about the Silver Princess losing her position due to a coup d'état and fleeing to the famous knight family, Pardomshiha, while the Blue Knight protects her.
The second half was about the Silver Princess taking back her country after fleeing to the Pardomshiha family.
She borrowed the Blue Knight's power to bring together the rebel armies to create an army to defeat the court magician manipulating the coup d'état army and the cardinal.
Because of the romance developing between the Silver Princess and the Blue Knight during the first half during their escape, it greatly appealed to the women of Forthorthe.
And because of the action in the second half, such as the large scale war and the Blue Knight's intense fight against a dragon, this tended to be the focus whenever it was turned into a movie.
Theia's scenario, 'The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight', was based on the first half.
The story began with the Silver Princess and her little sister, the Golden Princess, meeting the Blue Knight.
And it ended with the Pardomshiha territory in sight and the Blue Knight going to battle on his own.
Both were famous scene popular with the women of Forthorthe.
“U-Uhm... 'Reios-sama, going to battle on your own is unreasonable! You have fought enough! Please forget about us and run somewhere safe!”
Harumi's voice filled the courtyard dyed by the evening sun.
What she just said was one of the princess's lines in 'The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight'.
She was in the middle of practicing in the empty courtyard.
On that day when she had gone to the clubroom to help out Koutarou, she had been unable to decline the president's request and ended up taking the role as the Silver Princess.
But this was the first time she had acted.
Uneasy, she had spent the last few days practicing on her own.
“Hmm...The feelings Alaia, the Silver Princess, is experiencing right now... I can't quite...”
However, regardless of how much she practiced on her own she couldn't feel any progress.
Harumi believed this was a wonderful play, but she didn't quite understand the Silver Princess's feelings.
She wasn't a citizen of Forthorthe that had heard the story been told countless times, nor did she have any strong emotions towards the Blue Knight.
Harumi didn't understand what feelings the Silver Princess held towards the Blue Knight.
Although she could vaguely imagine, that wasn't enough if she was going to act.
“This is a problem...”
Blue Knight, Reios Fatra Bertorion.
Silver Princess, Alaia Kua Forthorthe.
In the end, to Harumi, both of them were strangers she knew nothing of.
“Hmm...”
And as Harumi shut her book, another person's voice echoed through the courtyard.
“Senpai!”
She knew right away who that voice belonged to.
“Satomi-kun!?”
The voice belonged to Koutarou.
As Harumi looked towards the direction of the voice, she saw Koutarou jumping out from the fire exit.
Koutarou smiled when she looked at him and ran straight to her.
“Ha... Ha... Hah... H-How's it going, Senpai? Fuh... Hah...”
Having ran towards Harumi at full speed, Koutarou called out to her between heavy breaths.
Seeing that, all the confusion built up inside of Harumi seemed to vanish.
Satomi-kun is almost like a child...
Instead, her confusion was replaced with joy, and she showed a wide smile as she answered his question.
“Fufufu, actually, I'm a little troubled. I can't imagine how the Silver Princess must have felt...”
“I thought so.”
Catching his breath, Koutarou nodded at Harumi's words.
“You did? What do you mean?”
“Actually, the drama club's president said that you were struggling with getting into your role, so I came to help.”
Saying that, Koutarou showed the manuscript in his hand to Harumi.
“I see... that president said that...”
Having trouble getting into her role, Harumi had contacted the president several times.
The president had then relayed that to Koutarou, causing him to show up here.
Satomi-kun came to help me, knowing I was having trouble...
Finding out the circumstances pleased Harumi. She was happy that Koutarou had come to save her from her pinch.
“Senpai, in the end it all comes to practice! In the past I had trouble finding a good batting form, so until I was satisfied I just kept swinging the bat. Sorry for using athletic examples but you just need to keep at it until your body learns!”
“Satomi-kun...”
Looking at Koutarou's eyes showing his will to help, Harumi felt like everything would work out.
Despite having been worried if she would learn how to act in time, she had now completely forgotten about that.
“Thank you, Satomi-kun. Then, shall we practice together?”
“Yes, leave it to me.”
That's strange... Satomi-kun only came to help me but...
Harumi found her change in feelings odd, and couldn't help but smile.
Part 3
“So what role did you end up getting, Satomi-kun?”
“I'm Soldier A. There is a scene where I talk to the Silver Princess, so let's start from there.”
“Okay.”
Koutarou and Harumi stood face to face as they flipped the pages.
The evening sun lit them up, casting long shadows on the floor.
Soldier A and the Silver Princess exchanging words happened in the middle of the story, when a disguised Silver Princess and her party passed through a checkpoint.
In reality, Soldier A was a popular character in Forthorthe.
Although the name wouldn't hint it, he was loved by the citizens of Forthorthe as a loyal subject.
“Let's see... This is it. 'Hey you! That girl over there! Nobody may pass through here without permission!'”
Koutarou had put in a lot of practice, but he faltered as he spoke his line.
Although he had said he wanted to help Harumi with her practice, he himself was still in need of practice.
“Let's look over the lines from there up until the end. There's no need to start acting right away.”
“Alright.”
Koutarou and Harumi nod at each other and began reading their manuscripts.
While reading their lines and stage directions, they worked their way through the scene.
“Hey you! That girl over there! Nobody may pass through here without permission!”
The scene began with a line from Koutarou's Soldier A as the Silver Princess and her party were running away from the coup d'état army.
And as the Silver Princess tried to pass through the checkpoint, she was stopped by Soldier A, who considered her suspicious.
“I have a sign of permission in this bag. Please take a look.”
However, having run away with nothing but the clothes on her back, the Silver Princess didn't have any permission.
She had already prepared herself for what came next.
“Show me... Hm? Quit messing around! There's no permission in this bag!”
“...Please, let me pass...”
“You're not going anywhere! You're under― Wait, that crest is!?”
However, at that point, Soldier A noticed the crest of the royal family carved into the Silver Princess's belongings.
“...”
“I see, so that's how it is...”
Sensing the circumstances, Soldier A decides to let the Silver Princess pass, knowing what could happen to him.
“I'm sorry, young girl. It was my mistake. You most certainly have permission.”
“No, I'm the one who's sorry...”
“Now hurry and pass, there are people waiting behind you.”
“Thank you... very much...”
And the scene ends with the Silver Princess safely passing through the checkpoint.
While there are many theories on what happened to Soldier A afterwards, the story of this brave and proud soldier was still being told.
As Koutarou and Harumi finish reading their lines, Koutarou began laughing.
“Ahahaha, I'm no good at all.”
Koutarou faltered at all of his lines.
“Fufufu, it's like that for everyone at the start.”
“Compared to me, you did great, Senpai.”
Harumi's intonation made it easy on the ears and she put her feelings behind her lines.
So Koutarou didn't feel like Harumi was having problems with getting into her role.
“Now that you mention it... it did go kind of smooth...”
That's strange, just a minute ago I couldn't understand the Silver Princess's feelings...
Harumi was perplexed.
Once she started practicing again, the Silver Princess's lines flowed into her head.
Even though nothing had changed, she had begun understanding how the Silver Princess felt.
In this case, I might be able to do the scene with the Blue Knight better than before...
Harumi was worried about her dialogue with the Blue Knight.
“Satomi-kun, can we do another scene while I'm still on a roll?”
“I don't mind, which one?”
“It's at the end of the play... uhm, where the Blue Knight is going off to fight on his own...”
“Ah, I got it, it's this one.”
Harumi had the page marked but Koutarou frantically began flipping through the pages to find the scene.
It was at the end of the story, it was just a little further to Pardomshiha's territory but the Silver Princess and the others had been surrounded by the coup d'état army.
The scene was when the Blue Knight had decided to go to battle alone in order to protect the princesses.
“I've been practicing this scene for a while but I can't do it very well... so I want to try it while you're helping me, Satomi-kun.”
“I understand.”
Although Koutarou remained ignorant when it came to romance, he still understood it was an important scene.
If the scene after this was showing off the Blue Knight, this scene was showing off the Silver Princess.
“Could you do the Blue Knight's lines, Satomi-kun?”
“The Blue Knight's...?”
I should just do it the same way Mackenzie did during practice...
Koutarou recalled the figure of Kenji practicing; Kenji was going to be doing the role of the Blue Knight.
Koutarou nodded at Harumi after getting a grasp of the Blue Knight's image.
“Got it. Let's get started right away then. Practice is all about quantity.”
“Okay. Let's.”
The two nodded and faced each other, manuscripts in hand.
The evening sun's red light lit up Koutarou.
Ah...
Harumi stared at that sight.
“...Your highness Alaia, it seems this as far as I can go with you.”
“Reios-sama!?”
I'm sure it must have been like this...
In the scenario, the Blue Knight was facing the Silver Princess, while the evening sun's red light lit him up as well.
Koutarou wasn't wearing armor but a uniform, and he wasn't wielding a sword but a manuscript, but it felt quite different from when Harumi had practiced on her own.
Thanks to that, she felt like she understood the Silver Princess' feelings a little better.
And she is attracted to this person...
At this point, the Silver Princess had already begun feeling something for the Blue Knight.
If it wasn't for the coup d'état the Silver Princess would never have met this local knight.
It was a miraculous meeting that occurred during her hardships.
“Your highness, please run away with your little sister. I'll take on as many enemies as I can. During that time, please get as far away as possible.”
“No, I can't leave you behind, Reios-sama! You're the only reason we were able to come this far!”
Now that I think about it, I guess you could say I met Koutarou during hardships as well...
The knitting society was on the verge of collapsing.
Nobody was interested in joining the knitting society for the sake of knitting, and the only one interested in joining wanted to go out with Harumi.
And Koutarou had come to Harumi's rescue as the man was harassing her.
After that, Koutarou had joined the knitting society, and was working hard on improving.
So, to Harumi, her meeting with Koutarou was like a miracle during the hardships.
I and the Silver Princess's feelings might not be all that different...
As she began thinking of it in that way, the Silver Princess's and her own image, and the Blue Knight's and Koutarou's image began overlapping.
“It was all thanks to the citizens of this country that you got this far. If it wasn't for them we would never have gotten here.”
“That's not true, Reios-sama!”
Even if she is a princess, she's not that different from me. She loves somebody and wants that somebody to love her back. But, she can't say it out loud...
To Harumi, her own image had completely overlapped with the Silver Princess's.
Like Harumi, she loved somebody but couldn't say it.
She was a delicate but cowardly princess.
“They all did it because they love you, your highness. So please, for the sake of all the citizens, and for your own sake, please run away, princess Alaia.”
“Please wait, Reios-sama!”
That's not true, Reios-sama! The Silver Princess didn't fall because you were next to her!
Eventually Harumi and the Silver Princess's feelings began merging.
Just a while ago, she couldn't even understand the Silver Princess's feelings.
But now, she was painfully aware of how the Silver Princess must have felt.
“Reios-sama, going to battle on your own is unreasonable! You have fought enough! Please forget about us and run somewhere safe!”
Satomi-kun is going away... he's leaving me behind...!
Suddenly, tears began streaming down from Harumi's cheeks.
Even though she shouldn't be able to see the manuscript with all the tears in the way, Harumi didn't mess up her lines.
Right now, she didn't need a manuscript.
She had already read the manuscript and repeated her lines countless of times.
She already knew it by heart.
The only thing she had been missing was the Silver Princess's feelings.
Understanding those feelings, Harumi spoke her lines as though they were her own words.
“I want you to live!”
Right now, Harumi couldn't distinguish who was in front of her, nor who the feelings that overflowing from her heart belonged to.
And while unable to distinguish that, Harumi threw the feelings inside of her at Koutarou.
“That's amazing, Sakuraba-senpai...”
After their practice ended, Koutarou was still surprised.
Her words, desperate expressions and tears had overwhelmed him.
It was enough to make Koutarou feel embarrassed for simply reading his lines from his manuscript.
“T-Thank you, Satomi-kun...”
Harumi herself was also surprised.
She was currently embarrassingly wiping her tears away, puzzled at her own change.
“I'm confused as well. I couldn't even understand the Silver Princess's feelings just a moment ago. I wonder why this happened all of a sudden...”
Harumi couldn't tell Koutarou that it was because her feelings overlapped with Alaia's.
That would be the same as confessing to him.
All she could do was vaguely respond while blushing.
“Sakuraba-senpai, maybe you have a knack for this?”
“T-That's not true, Satomi-kun! E-Even now I want to run away!”
Harumi was shy and was uncomfortable standing in front of a lot of people. She had simply been unable to refuse when the club president offered her the role.
Normally, Harumi could never even imagine standing on the stage.
“...There's no need to be so modest, Sakuraba-san.”
At that moment, the drama club's president appeared.
“President-san, you were here?”
As Koutarou called out to her, she put on a satisfied smile and approached the two.
“Yes. Sakuraba-san said she was having trouble getting into her role, so I came to see how she was doing, but it seems like they were completely groundless fears. That practice was truly amazing. It didn't look like acting at all.”
The drama club president was happy, having found an unpolished gem.
And she excitedly grabbed both of Harumi's hands.
“Please carry on like that, Sakuraba-san! If you can act like that in every scene, this play is sure to be a huge hit!”
“T-That's not true, I still have a long way to go...”
Harumi blushed and turned her face down after receiving some unexpected praise.
“I told you, right? Sakuraba-senpai is amazing. She is a well-bred lady after all.”
“S-Satomi-kun!”
Harumi wasn't used to being complimented, and receiving praise for her acting just now was almost the same as praising her emotions towards Koutarou.
To her, that was extraordinarily embarrassing and she was unable to look up.
“Satomi-kun, I'm counting on you to keep backing up Sakuraba-san like this.”
“Leave this to me, Satomi Koutarou. I'll turn her into a splendid princess.”
“...S-Satomi-kun...”
So instead of Harumi, Koutarou was the one who boasted proudly.
Part 4
Kiriha came out of the kitchen carrying a plate, on top of it were cut cucumbers.
Entering the inner room, she looked around, and after making sure that Ruth wasn't in the room, she called out to Yurika.
“Yurika, I have some cucumber left after breakfast, do you need them?”
“Ah, I do! They're Hercules-chan's favorite!”
Hercules-chan; before they knew it, that was the nickname all the residents of room 106 had begun calling the Hercules beetle.
Yurika took the plate from Kiriha and approached the wardrobe, sliding open the door.
Inside was Hercules, in his breeding case.
Ruth's irrational hate for beetles hadn't gotten any better so they had kept it hidden since yesterday.
“Here's some food, Hercules-chan.”
As Yurika put in the cucumber into the breeding case, the Hercules beetle shook its large body and began moving.
Understanding food had been dropped into the case, he slowly but surely moved towards the cucumber.
“Now that I think about it, do you have enough food for Hercules-chan, Yurika?”
“No problems, Sanae-chan.”
“If you're running low, I can buy some after coming back from my part-time job.”
“I bought some yesterday, so it's fine.”
“Oh, well in that case.”
“Thank you, Satomi-san, Sanae-chan.”
Koutarou, who loved beetles, and Sanae, who loved all living creatures, were cooperative when it came to Hercules.
Yurika was sitting and sleeping in the inner room since Hercules had taken the wardrobe from her.
That said, after living together, they started getting along better.
And before she knew it, Yurika's quality began improving.
“Your jacket, Koutarou.”
“Yeah, thank you, Kiriha-san.”
With the help of Kiriha, Koutarou put on his jacket.
With the coming of autumn, it had gotten colder during the evening when Koutarou was coming back home from his part-time job.
“...It's just like you're married...”
Looking at Kiriha helping Koutarou get changed, Yurika looked on, somehow yearning.
“His heart has been completely invaded. Koutarou really is an idiot! I'm the only one he should believe in!”
Unlike Yurika, Sanae was getting irritated.
She couldn't accept Koutarou and Kiriha getting along.
But she was more worried than envious.
Sanae completely trusted Koutarou.
“If I don't do something, Koutarou will lose to Kiriha or Theia in some stupid way!”
“Sanae-chan?”
Pumping herself up, Sanae left Yurika behind and headed for the outlet in the wall.
Sanae approached Koutarou's cell phone and used her poltergeist to float it towards him.
“Koutarou! You're forgetting your cellphone!”
Sanae then clung onto Koutarou's back like always, and despite being dissatisfied just a few moments ago, she was now showing a cheerful smile.
“Ah, Thanks, Sanae.”
“Yeah!”
Koutarou took the cellphone floating in front of him and put it into his pocket.
After thanking Sanae, he saw her cheerful smile.
Praise me even more, you bastard!
To Koutarou, it seemed like that's what her smile was saying, so he reached his hand towards Sanae's head.
“Hehehe.”
“Well done, well done.”
As Koutarou patted Sanae's head, her smile grew bigger and she put more strength into her arms around his neck.
“...Sanae-chan was talking about invasion and winning and losing... but in reality she just wants to depend on Koutarou...”
That's what it looked like to Yurika who was watching over the two.
Part 5
Reaching the base of the small mountain where Kitsushouharukaze high school was built, plenty of students could be seen heading towards the school, despite it being a Sunday.
There were plenty of clubs holding club activities even on Sundays.
“Good morning Satomi-kun!”
“Hey, first-year brat, once you're done with your job, you should at least drop by!”
Amongst them were some members from the drama club.
After greeting Koutarou, they hurried up the slope to the school.
“Good morning! I'll stop by on my way home!”
The club members didn't turn around after hearing Koutarou's answer, but instead just hurried up the slope and vanished around a corner.
Seeing them off, Koutarou and Sanae started laughing.
“It looks like they're late for a meeting.”
“Looks like it. Tulip and Ruth-san left early in the morning after all.”
Theia and Ruth hadn't been in room 106 since they had made plans with the drama club.
Koutarou and the others would join up with them after finishing up their businesses.
However, Theia who had written the play was pumped up and was participating full time.
Of course, Ruth tagged along with her.
“They'll probably be yelled at by Theia.”
“Probably.”
Koutarou slowly walked up the slope. He was on his way to his archeological digging part-time job, but unlike the drama club members, he was in no rush since he still had plenty of time to spare.
“It's getting colder and colder.”
“Since the cultural festival is getting closer, it means November is getting closer as well after all.”
The culture festival was going to be held on November 2nd and November 3rd.
And since they were now in the middle of October, the mornings had gotten colder.
“Hm? Now that I think about it, Sanae, can you feel the cold?”
Sanae mentioning the temperature confused Koutarou.
“I can't. But I can feel it through you.”
“Ah, so that's how.”
Similar to when eating, when Sanae was clinging onto Koutarou, she could feel heat and cold.
And since Sanae was clinging onto Koutarou now, she could feel the change in the seasons.
“Besides, you've been nice lately, Koutarou, so I know just how you feel.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“Before, even if I was clinging onto you, I couldn't get a feel for the atmosphere. But, lately I can feel that too. It must be because you trust me now.”
Koutarou felt that might be the case as well.
Ever since that summer day, Koutarou had stopped thinking of Sanae as a nuisance.
Right now, he considered her as a friend, or maybe even a little sister.
But...
“...Isn't it just because you're possessing me more often?”
Koutarou wasn't mature enough to simply admit that.
Mortified by having been seen through by Sanae, Koutarou inadvertently hid his feelings.
“Why can't you just honestly say 'I love you, Sanae-chan!'”
“Guah.”
Angry, Sanae began choking Koutarou.
Since she already had her arms around his neck, Koutarou had no way of preventing her.
“If you love me, just say so! Whisper 'I love you' in a sweet voice! Gently embrace me!!”
“I-It's painful...”
Sanae was almost the level of a professional wrestler and Koutarou was about to lose his consciousness.
“...Huh?”
However, just before Koutarou was about to pass out, Sanae loosened her grip.
“Huh, Haaah, Ahh...”
Koutarou was finally able to breathe again and he hurriedly began taking deep breaths.
After doing that a couple of times, Sanae whispered into his ear.
“Koutarou, they're playing baseball over there.”
”Hm?”
Catching his breath, Koutarou looked up A familiar sound could be heard.
It was the sound of a bat hitting a ball.
On top of that, he could also hear the voices of cheering and people running around.
It was as Sanae had said, people playing baseball.
“...The baseball club are in a big tournament right now, so whenever they don't have a match they make sure they move their bodies.”
“Hmm...”
Koutarou began climbing up the slope again while shouldering Sanae who had finally calmed down.
After walking for a short while, the line of trees were replaced by stone walls and fences.
On the other side of the fence were Harukaze's school grounds, and on it, there were students clad in baseball uniforms busily running.
“It really is the baseball club.”
“This is their time to shine...”
Koutarou looked at the baseball club practicing as he continued walking.
His place slowed down slightly, that was because of his desire.
Baseball huh...
Koutarou had no problems with the knitting society, the club activities were fun and he was getting along well with Harumi.
However, Koutarou loved baseball, he'd been playing up to middle school and he loved exercising.
So there was still some regret over not joining the baseball club.
“Hey, Koutarou.”
Passing by half of the school grounds and losing sight of the baseball club, Sanae whispered to Koutarou.
“Hm?”
Koutarou turned back towards Sanae. He had no interest in the soccer club's practice.
“Let's do it. Baseball I mean. You might start out as an underling, but it's best to do what you want!”
“Sanae...”
Sanae's words surprised Koutarou, but she kept pressing on.
“I'll help you with the housework and stuff! So I'm sure you can play baseball!”
“...Thank you, Sanae.”
Sanae's kind words warmed up Koutarou and he patted her on the head.
He was really happy Sanae had said that.
“But, it's fine. I won't play baseball. You don't need to worry about it.”
Koutarou shook his head while patting Sanae's head.
“Why!? You love baseball, right!?”
“Yeah.”
“Then just play it!!”
“Playing Baseball requires some money. That said, the world's not easy enough that you'd be able to work part-time and play baseball at the same time. You can't do it at your own pace like with knitting since it's a team sport.”
“Koutarou...”
“But thanks, Sanae. I'll just accept your feelings.”
Koutarou continued patting Sanae's head as he smiled.
“No.”
However, Sanae's expression was still gloomy.
And she mortifyingly bit her lip.
If I wasn't a ghost... I could work or do something... and then...
That was the first time Sanae had ever regretted she was a ghost since she met Koutarou.
“Oh?”
Koutarou stopped and pointed in front of him.
“Could that be Tulip?”
“Eh?”
As Sanae looked in the direction Koutarou had pointed, she could see golden locks of hair.
It seemed like she had fallen over by the school gates.
However, oddly enough there was a large bag where her body was supposed to be.
Thanks to that, the only thing visible was her head.
“What is she doing...?”
“W-Who knows...”
Sanae had completely forgotten about her complex feelings after seeing Theia in that strange state.
“Hey, Tulip, what are you doing over there?”
Koutarou called out to Theia and ran up to her.
And since Sanae was still hanging on to him, she was dragged along.
“...Hm?”
Hearing Koutarou's voice, Theia moved her head to look up at him.
“Is that some new kind of game?”
“O-Of course not! Hurry up and help me!”
Looks like she's okay...
Based on Theia's tone of voice, Koutarou determined that she was fine and slowed down a little.
He had been a little worried.
“...Turtle?”
“Tulip, what did you have to do to end up like that?”
Koutarou and Sanae rushed up to Theia and stared at her.
She had fallen on her stomach and a large bag was on top of her back.
The bag alone was enough to cover up Theia's small body.
The only thing that came out from under the bag was her head and limbs.
She looked similar to a turtle.
“That doesn't matter, just hurry up and help me!!”
“No way. I'll help you after you tell me what funny thing happened.”
Koutarou was fascinated and stared at Theia with an excited look.
“I refuse! As if a princess of Forthorthe would go out of her way to purposely reveal her shame!”
Of course, Theia didn't answer straight away.
Her face turned red and she looked away from Koutarou.
Seeing that, Koutarou turned his back on Theia.
“Then wait for someone else to pass by, Tulip.”
“Ah, wait! I'd rather tell you the truth than show this disgraceful state to a civilian!”
“Then you should have just done so to begin with.”
As Theia panicking, called out to Koutarou, he turned around with a smile and squatted down in front of her.
“You'll help her either way, why not obediently help right away...”
“Don't you want to know what happened to Tulip too?”
“Well that's true.”
“So, what happened?”
Koutarou put on a grin and asked Theia.
Seeing that, Theia turned her face again.
“I was helping moving materials for the set... Since there's just cloth inside I thought even I could carry it but I fell down! That's all!”
Theia began explaining with a whisper but her voice gradually grew louder and in the end was she yelling.
“Go ahead and laugh! I know you want to―”
However, before Theia spat out her last words, she turned around, but she couldn't see Koutarou.
“H-Huh? Pleb...?”
Theia began looking around her for Koutarou.
When she did, she quickly found him again.
Koutarou had circled around to her side and was touching the large bag.
“Sanae, help me out.”
“Okay, should I just push here?”
“Please do.”
“Pleb...? W-What are you...?”
Theia couldn't comprehend what Koutarou was doing and she just stared at him.
“What do you mean? I'm helping you, obviously.”
Koutarou responded with an astounded look.
“N-No, I understand that but, didn't you want to laugh at me?”
That was the reason Theia was confused.
It was obvious that Koutarou had wanted to laugh at her after hearing what had happened.
However, there was no sign of him laughing. Instead, he was moving the large bag with a serious look on his face.
“That's what I was planning on doing, but after hearing your story I changed my mind.”
Koutarou let out a sigh.
He was feeling bad for what he had done.
“I figured you were trying to do something again. But it turned out you were doing it for everyone's sake. There's no reason to laugh, is there?”
Having said that much, Koutarou scratched his head and embarrassingly turned away from Theia.
“Ah, Uh... Yeah...”
Theia didn't mind that at all, instead she was thinking of what he had said.
The pleb isn't laughing at my failures...?
Theia was certain that Koutarou would laugh at her, so she was perplexed by his reaction.
“Sanae, let's do this.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Push!”
“Ei!”
While Theia was still puzzled, Koutarou and Sanae worked together to get the bag off her back.
Finally free, Theia could get up.
However, instead of getting up, Theia just stayed lying down on the concrete with a blank expression on her face.
A hand was held out in front of Theia.
She glanced at the hand and looked up to see Koutarou smiling.
While Theia was staring at him with a blank expression, Koutarou smiled and opened his mouth.
“...Are you hurt anywhere, your highness?”
That was one of the Blue Knight's lines from Theia's scenario.
Having trained with Harumi several times, Koutarou remembered most of the Blue Knight's lines.
“Ah... Yes...”
After the Blue Knight's line left his mouth, Theia was unable to look away from his face.
Theia stared at Koutarou's face and hesitantly grabbed his hand.
When she did, Koutarou pulled her up, and he opened his mouth once again.
“Please forgive my rudeness, your highness Theiamillis.”
“...You should just honestly apologize for teasing her...”
Sanae was amazed by Koutarou and let out an exaggerated sigh.
“You idiot, like I could do something that embarrassing!”
“You really can't be honest, can you? Geez...”
Koutarou wanted to apologize to Theia, but he was too embarrassed to do so in his own words, so he had borrowed the Blue Knight's words instead.
That was his way of hiding his embarrassment.
However, his cover up brought some unexpected results.
Koutarou's cheap lines had a great effect on Theia.
“B-Blue Knight-sama...?”
“Hm? What's wrong, Tulip? You're making a strange expression.”
Theia was still looking up at Koutarou.
Finding it strange, he stared at her face.
“A-Ah! I-I'm fine, Blue― I mean, I-I'm fine, p-pleb!”
“You're acting strange. Did you hit something?”
Koutarou suspected Theia might have been hurt since she wasn't acting like herself.
“I-I'm fine, I'm really fine!”
Theia then turned her back on Koutarou, her face now beet red.
“Are you sure? Don't force yourself, you had something pretty heavy weighing you down.”
“I keep telling you, I'm fine!”
Theia shouted back with her back still turned towards Koutarou.
Calm down, Theiamillis. This is not Blue Knight-sama, it's Koutarou... I mean, the pleb! Why are you so shaken up for! It's fine. It's fine!
However, her shouting seemed to have been directed towards herself, rather than Koutarou.
Translator's Notes and References
1. ↑ A national holiday in Japan
