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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 6, Chapter 2: Muffler and Part-Time Job
Volume 6, Chapter 2: Muffler and Part-Time Job
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Thursday, December 10
That day, Koutarou was awakened by the familiar sound of a kitchen knife against a cutting board, and the fragrance of miso soup.
If I'm not mistaken, this is...
When Koutarou opened his eyes, a window was in front of him. He had grabbed hold of his pillow and rolled in front of the window.
“Kiriha-sama, it seems we've run out of natto.”
“I understand. I'll buy some later, on my way back.”
Koutarou could hear Ruth and Kiriha's voices coming from the kitchen, the kitchen knife and miso soup came from those two.
I see, it's Kiriha-san...
When he turned his head around, he could see the two girls. These past few days, Ruth had been preparing breakfast on her own. Kiriha had only been absent for a week, but he was for some reason relieved.
“By the way, I finished copying the notes you took while I was away. I'll return them to you later. Thank you.”
“There's no need for thanks, Kiriha-sama.”
Seems like that trouble is over...
Kiriha was just standing in the kitchen, but that's how Koutarou interpreted it. She was where she had always been, that alone was enough for him.
“Koutarou... breakfast already...?”
At that moment, Sanae appeared in front of Koutarou. She was still sleepy and rubbed her eyes.
“No, not yet. You can sleep a bit more.”
“Mm...”
Sanae spread her hands and sunk into Koutarou's body. However just before she completely vanished, she whispered.
“Koutarou...”
“Yeah?”
“Could you keep that mood up for a while? It feels so comfortable...”
“...Yeah, I'll try.”
“Mm...”
After that, Sanae sank into Koutarou's body, as if she was melting away.
I see, warm and comfortable...
When Sanae said that, Koutarou realized he was welcoming the normal Kiriha back.
Part 2
Yurika was surprisingly sensitive and had a hard time falling asleep. Having allowed a cockroach to invade the wardrobe had left her traumatized.
However once she had fallen asleep, she wouldn't wake up easily. She would keep on sleeping as everyone else headed for school.
She had a hard time falling asleep, and a hard time waking up.
To her roommates, she was the troublesome type.
“Zzzzz... Zzzzz... Zzzzz...”
“What to do...”
Koutarou showed a bitter expression as he confronted Yurika, sleeping with her mouth wide open. He was going to wake her up for breakfast, but no matter how much he shook or poked her, she showed no signs of waking up.
“Why don't you just leave her be? She's sleeping because she wants to.”
“No can do. She been late to school enough as it is. At this rate, she'll be have to repeat a year.”
Up until now Koutarou had ignored Yurika's tardiness, but after hearing from the teacher that she might be forced to repeat a year, he had made it a habit to wake her up before school.
“I guess it can't be helped... So how are you going to wake her up this time, Koutarou? Are you going to slap her again?”
“Hmm...”
Koutarou began thinking.
So far, he had literally slapped her awake, but Yurika had complained and forbade him from waking her up with violence. She cried, telling him that he'd need to marry her if her face ended up distorted, which caused Koutarou to back down.
“However, if hitting her is out the question, I have no way of waking her up.”
“I think so too.”
“Zzzzz... Zzzz... Zzzz...”
Unaware of Koutarou's plight, Yurika kept care freely sleeping while curled up. Then, Theia who was peeking inside the wardrobe next to Koutarou poked his face with a fan.
“Koutarou, at least now you understand just how hard it is for us to wake you up in the morning.”
“Shut up, Theia!! You have no problem stepping on me with your heels!!”
“Obviously! If I don't, you'd never wake up! Besides, a knight being woken up by a princess is unheard of! You'd be better of thanking me!!”
“Who are you calling a knight!?”
“With this loud of an argument next to someone, they'd normally wake up...”
“Haa~h, I-I can't eat anymore.... Zzzz... Zzzz...”
Yurika was unfazed, despite Koutarou and Theia's arguing. She kept sleeping with a happy look on her face.
“So what are you going to do, Koutarou.”
“Zzzz... Zzzz... I-I'm so full, it feels painful...”
“Painful, right... that's it!!”
Having come up with an idea, Koutarou reached his hand out towards Yurika.
“What are you going to do?”
“Just wait and see.”
Sanae looked on in confusion as Koutarou touched Yurika's face. Of course, just having her face touched didn't faze her either.
“You do this.”
“Ugh.”
Koutarou used his left hand to block her nose, and his right to close her mouth.
“Good plan! This might just work!”
“I don't think this is that much different from being stepped on by high heels though...”
“Mhm, mmmh, mhhmmmmm!”
Unable to breathe, Yurika began struggling for air. Her expression turned into one of pain, and her face was starting to turn blue. But even then, Yurika wasn't waking up.
“She's not waking up...”
“Wake up Yurika! You'll be late!”
“At this rate, she'll literally never wake up.”
After keeping that up for several tens of seconds-
“Hmmmh!?”
Yurika's eyes open wide, and at the same time her arms and legs began swinging.
“Mmmmmmm~mmmmm!! Mmmhhmhmm!!”
“Woah, don't swing your arms around like that, hurry and wake up Yurika, you'll be late!”
“Mmmmm!!”
“Koutarou. Could it be that she's already awake?”
“You think? Are you sure? If she was awake, she'd say something.”
“Let's keep it up a while longer, just in case.”
“Mmmmm!! Mhmmm~~mmmm!!”
After this event, choking was also banned when waking Yurika up.
Part 3
“Besides, Satomi-san, you have no sympathy!”
“I'm sorry. I didn't think you couldn't speak because your mouth was blocked.”
“Can't you please notice that right away!?”
Yurika slammed her fists down on her desk. Normally, she was timid and gentle, but with her life at stake she couldn't help but get worked up. Yurika's angry voice echoed out through the classroom, and a lot of their classmates wondered what was going on as they stared at Koutarou and Yurika.
“Then wake up more easily.”
“Can't you just find any other way!?”
“I can't, that's why I did that. Or would you rather be late?”
“Ugh.”
That's when Yurika's protests stopped. She wasn't sure if she'd rather be late or be unable to breathe.
“If you miss more classes, you might have to repeat a year, right?”
“Ughhh.”
T-That's unfair, Satomi-san is unfair!
Yurika understood that Koutarou was worried about her.
He couldn’t remember but, in the past, Koutarou had said he wanted to graduate alongside Yurika. He wasn't lying when he said that.
That's why she knew that Koutarou was without a doubt, worried about her. The only problem was that his methods were unreasonable.
“Satomi-san, no matter how worried about me you are, there are some things you just can't do! That was just too much!”
Recently, the feelings that Yurika threw at Koutarou had begun changing. In the past she would voice complaints and be selfish, but now there was a different feeling mixed in.
Satomi-san you really aren't being honest! Even though you're more kind than anyone else!
She was dissatisfied by Koutarou always hiding his true feelings.
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry.”
“I'm not saying you should apologize! I just want you to be more honest!”
Koutarou and Yurika's loud argument continued. Watching the two from afar, Kenji asked Shizuka who happened to be near him.
“Kasagi-san, what'd Kou do this time?”
“Well, you see. Satomi-kun and the others were worried about Yurika's tardiness, and Satomi-kun blocked her mouth and nose in order to wake her up...”
Shizuka neglected to mention that Koutarou and Yurika lived in the same apartment and bent the truth slightly.
Thinking about it, it's strange that nothing obscene has happened... Well, I guess that's just like Satomi-kun...
Shizuka looked at the two arguing and smiled.
“He really doesn't change, does he...”
Having understood the situation, Kenji recalled the school trip back in junior high school. There, Koutarou woke up in the middle of the night and played pranks on his classmates.
Apart from choking his classmates, he would draw on their faces or strip them. In the end he'd roll around the room, eventually causing a large-scale war.
“Then how am I supposed to wake you up?”
“Ugh.”
“I can't hit you, I can't choke you, all that's left is pour a bucket of ice cold water over you.”
“Wouldn't boiling water work? Kiriha and Ruth boil water when they're making breakfast anyways, we could just use that.”
“At least let it be ice cold water! Anything but boiling water!”
“You sure are picky, geez...”
Koutarou looked at Yurika with an unpleasant expression, she had begun crying.
“Satomi-kun, Nijino-san.”
Putting down the cell phone in her pocket, Kiriha approached the two.
“There's something I'd like to ask you to do.”
“I don't mind.”
“W-What is it?”
Seeing his chance, Koutarou jumped at Kiriha's offer. Meanwhile, Yurika rubbed her eyes to hide her tears from Kiriha.
“Actually, on Sunday, two days from now I was wondering if you could help me with a part-time job.”
“A part-time job?”
Kiriha's offer was, unexpectedly, a part-time job.
The youth department of the neighborhood association were planning a hero show, starring the local heroes Harukaze-man and Kishou-lady. The show was one of the events they were holding for the anniversary of the Harukaze preschool. However, lots of people were required for them to hold a hero show. There were lots of things to do, such as creating the stage, outfits and props, managers and more. Because of that, the youth department alone weren't enough, so they were looking for volunteers.
That led them to Kiriha, who had been actively helping the community as of late. The youth department ended up asking Kiriha for help. They had heard that Kiriha had participated in a play during the culture festival so to them, she was a godsend. And since Kiriha wanted to integrate into the society, she happily accepted their offer.
However, since there were only two days, Kiriha couldn't gather enough of the underground people stationed on the surface, and asked Koutarou and the others for help.
“So you're telling us to appear at a hero show?”
“Yes. I've asked my acquaintances, but most of them have no stage experience... In that respect, you and the others have some experience from the culture festival...”
Kiriha had an apologetic look on her face. She felt sorry for springing something so sudden on them.
“I see. Yurika in particular acts like she's living inside of a hero show; she's perfect for the job.”
Shizuka agreed and nodded repeatedly.
Before Koutarou had realized, the usual group had gathered around him.
On top of Sanae, Yurika and Kiriha, Theia, Ruth, Shizuka and Kenji appeared. They all listened to what Kiriha had to say.
“Alright, I understand! Kiriha, just leave it to us!”
Theia's eyes lit up and she pounded her chest. Although it might have been a hero show for kids, a play is a play. It was the perfect chance for her to train Koutarou some more.
“I and Koutarou will leave those children speechless with our magnificent acting!”
“J-Just wait a moment, Theia, you're joining in too!?”
“Rejoice, Koutarou. We'll be having some special training tonight!”
Theia's eyes sparkled as she looked at Koutarou. Seeing that, he remembered his hardships from the culture festival.
“Special training!? Do I have to relive that nightmare again!?”
He would wake up to Theia's face every morning. With only the toilet as his sanctuary, his life was controlled entirely by Theia. Not allowed to even rest for a moment, he would spend the entire day being hounded by Theia's shouts, until he passed his limits and passed out. Theia stayed with him from the moment he awoke to the moment he passed out. Theia's special training was so harsh, it made even the athletic Koutarou think of it as a nightmare come true.
“There's no need to worry, Koutarou.”
Theia had an angelic smile. It was a kind smile that enveloped the frightful Koutarou. However, that smile only lasted for a moment. It then changed to that of a demon.
“Even if you're a gentle soul or evil incarnate, I will personally train you! You'll blow away everyone at that stage, two days from now!”
“I don't want to! I'll be blown away before then!”
“There's no need to be scared...”
With her eyes sparkling Theia approached Koutarou, step by step. Her fingers were wiggling, planning on grabbing a hold of Koutarou.
“I'm not helping with the show!”
“I won't let you refuse!”
Koutarou shook his head, but Theia refused to let him back down.
“I don't want to! I'll be knitting instead!”
“I just said I won't let you refuse!”
Theia's powerful will overpowered and erased Koutarou's protests. Her wiggling fingers finally grabbed a hold of him.
“I won't let you go until you've spilled your last drop of blood! I won't accept any protests!! You won't have a day of rest until you step onto the stage as the Blue Knight once more!!”
“Nooooooooo!!”
Forthorthe Galactic Empire's seventh princess, Theiamillis Gre Forthorthe was laughing in a manner befitting of royalty fit to rule over countless stars. Everyone there was overwhelmed by her majestic presence.
“...If she could just be honest with herself, it would be much easier though...”
However, Ruth who had grown up alongside Theia was, for some reason, looking at the two with a cheerful smile.
Part 4
As Koutarou pushed the button two, three times, a red flame rose inside the old oil kerosene heater.
This aged heater had been used for several years in the knitting society, and compared to the more modern versions, it had terrible performance. But it was more than enough for a small society consisting of only two people. Since it was starting to get colder, it was a necessity to continue club activities.
Koutarou turned a dial on the heater to adjust the output. As he did, the flame’s color changed from red to blue, and the amount of smoke reduced drastically. After making sure that it was enough, he returned to his seat.
“Thank you, Satomi-kun.”
“It sure is cold today.”
“It really is. Recently the mornings have gotten a lot colder too.”
Koutarou and Harumi smiled at each other. The two were sitting close together in front of the heater. In the cold, their fingers would become less flexible, so the two of them naturally got closer in order to heat up in front of the heater.
“You sound like an old lady, senpai.”
“Satomi-kun, geez...”
Harumi moved her knitting needles and happily smiled. Although she was uncomfortable around men, if it was Koutarou, she had no problems being this close to him. Harumi wasn't just close to him in person, but she also felt like they had gotten closer, relationship wise.
“Besides, we're knitting after all.”
“That's true, there's nothing youthful about this. Fufufu.”
The two of them showed each other their knittings and laughed. With the cold of December, the surrounding cultural clubs had calmed down, and the two's laughter echoed throughout the club building.
Having finished laughing, Harumi started at Koutarou's hands.
“Now that I think about it, that muffler has gotten quite a bit longer.”
Koutarou was hard at work, knitting a muffler. At first he had just been knitting it for practice, but once it reached a certain length, Harumi suggested he should make it into muffler.
“This is all thanks to you.”
“Would you mind showing it to me?”
“I don't mind.”
Koutarou stopped moving his knitting needles and presented her with a bag containing most of the muffler.
“It might be a bit too long for a person to use.”
Harumi pulled out the muffler from the bag and spread it out on a desk. As she said, the muffler was considerably long. He had been working on it since spring, and it was now reaching ten meters.
“That's because most of it is so poorly made.”
However, the quality of the muffler varied. Since he was continuing from his practice work, the first part of it had been made from all kinds of knitting techniques. Koutarou's crafting skills had been quite poor in the beginning, making the muffler stand out in a negative way.
“Only the last part of it could be used as a muffler.”
That said, having been knitting for eight months, even the clumsy Koutarou had begun improving, and the last meter was quite beautifully made.
“Oh, that's not true.”
Koutarou didn't think highly of the craftsmanship of his muffler, but Harumi thought otherwise.
“I love this first part.”
Harumi smiled as she gently patted the first part of the muffler.
“This part shows, more than anything, just how hard you've worked.”
The first part was from when Koutarou had just begun knitting. He moved the knitting needles in an awkward fashion and desperately tried to knit. Harumi who had been watching him from the side, couldn't imagine that part of the muffler being worthless. Instead, she felt the opposite; that first part held the most value.
“You're the only one who would say that, Sakuraba-senpai.”
“Fufu, when it comes to effort, I think that's true in most cases.”
That's right, I'm the only one who understands the value of this muffler. This muffler holds mine and Satomi-kun's memories...
The reason Harumi valued the muffler so highly was because of the several month’s worth of memories that had been imprinted in it.
Just by looking at a specific part of the muffler, she could remember what happened at that time.
Looking at the very first part made her remember her meeting with Koutarou and when he was just starting out in the knitting society. She remembered that she was so happy having found a companion.
When she touched the next part, she remembered the sports festival. She had participated alongside Koutarou, and actually won.
The next part was during the summer vacation. She recalled having met Koutarou at the sea by accident. At that point, Harumi had begun developing feelings for Koutarou.
At the next part, Koutarou's skills had increased, and he had tried out various techniques. By then the culture festival was close and they had stood on top of the stage together. That was when Harumi became certain of how much Koutarou meant to her. Just a few days ago, she had Yurika help and went out to play with Koutarou.
To Harumi, this muffler was proof of her time with Koutarou.
“Mackenzie keeps telling me this is disgraceful for a man.”
“Well, it is true most normal men can't quite understand.”
Koutarou dropped his shoulders mortifyingly and Harumi began giggling.
“...Does that mean I'm not a normal man?”
“No, that's not what I meant, really...”
I understand, Satomi-kun...
While finding it humorous that Koutarou's best friend couldn't understand him, Harumi took pride in that only she knew the true value of his muffler.
“In that case, I'll harass Mackenzie by giving him this first part as a Christmas present.”
“Y-You can't, Satomi-kun! That would be such a waste!”
Koutarou and Harumi's laughter rang out from the knitting society's club room. The distance between them had shortened by the length of the muffler.
Part 5
After having laughed for a while, Koutarou began moving his knitting needles once more, Harumi also began working on her own knitting. However, the two of them continued talking.
“And then, Yurika started crying.”
“Nijino-san wanted to play a different role during the play after all.”
Back then in spring, Koutarou couldn't knit and talk at the same time. However after a couple of months, thanks to his skills improving, he became able to talk during his club activities. At the same time, Harumi had gotten used to being alone with Koutarou and often spoke as well.
“That said, she was really good as a horse...”
“Fufufu, not having her desires and talents line up is quite unfortunate of her.”
They were now talking about the part-time job offer that Kiriha had brought up. Yurika was their common friend, so talking about her naturally carried on to the part-time job.
In the end, those related to room 106 and Kenji ended up participating in the hero show. Since the youth department were obsessed about the star of the show, Harukaze-man, they had hired a professional to act as him. Koutarou and the others would be filling in the other roles.
Kiriha, who had brought up the offer, would be playing the evil executive, Black Rose. Because of her tall stature and good looks, she was thought to be perfect for the role.
Koutarou would be playing her subordinate, Baron Demon. He was a charismatic, invincible man committing cruelties with all of his might alongside his partner, Jet Black King. With the only men being Koutarou and Kenji, Koutarou was chosen for the baron role because of his larger body.
And in charge of his partner in crime, Jet Black King, was Yurika. Her acting of a horse's rear was already at the level of a master. She appealed to get a different role but since there was no one else for the role, she ended up getting it. Her acting during the Blue Knight's play was being praised, but Yurika was crying.
Theia would be playing the role of Princess Devil. She was the mastermind behind Baron Demon and the personification of evil, plotting world domination. Since the Baron Demon swore his loyalty to her, Koutarou protested this casting. He wanted Shizuka and Theia to trade roles, but since it would hard to replace Shizuka, his request was denied.
Shizuka was in charge of Harukaze-man's partner, Kishou-lady. Since she had experience with martial arts, she had been chosen as the most suitable for that role. Because of that, she couldn't be switched out, and Theia ended up playing Devil Princess. Koutarou cried.
Ruth would be playing a random civilian. At first glance, it looked to be an easy role, but since she had to let out a powerful scream with the appearance of Baron Demon, and then give the crowd an accurate line to fire up the crowd for Harukaze-man's appearance, it turned out to be quite the technical role. Since the role required carefulness and politeness, Ruth was picked.
Kenji would be playing the host. The reason he was picked for this was because his gentle figure would be better received amongst the children and mothers, and his opinion that Koutarou would never be able to play a host. Adapting to the circumstances and firing up the crowd was something Kenji was good at. Koutarou complained about this as well, but nobody listened.
As a ghost, Sanae would be in charge of special effects and helping Koutarou with his lines. Since nobody could see or hear her, she was perfect as a prompter. And she was the perfect partner for Koutarou who had a hard time remembering his lines.
“So what role did you get, Satomi-kun? The lead again?”
“No, this time I'm a villain. I'm playing a heartless villain called Baron Demon.”
Koutarou pulled out a manuscript from his bag and flipped through the pages.
“Satomi-kun as a heartless villain...”
Harumi tilted her head. In her mind, she couldn't see Koutarou as a villain. He was a bit mischievous, but she couldn't connect Koutarou and misdeeds. Because of that, she got interested in the hero show.
“I'm free on Sunday, so maybe I should go look.”
“You're welcome. Everyone’s―”
Koutarou was about to welcome her, but halfway through he noticed something, and revealed a mischievous smile.
“That's right, Sakuraba-senpai, why don't you participate in the hero show too?”
“Me!?”
Harumi was shocked by the unexpected proposal.
“Yes. We actually have too few people, and the script apparently needs to be rewritten. But if you join in, we should have enough.”
In the original version, there was one more character. The civilian that Ruth was playing had a boyfriend. Because they were lacking people, Kenji had to act as the host, leaving the boyfriend role empty. Because of that, the script was being changed slightly.
However, if Harumi were to join in, there would be no need to adjust the script. Harumi and Kenji would be the civilian couple, and Ruth would become the host. By doing that, they could use the original version.
“E-Even if you say that... just springing that so suddenly on me is troubling.”
Harumi, who was normally shy, was perplexed by the sudden offer to appear on stage. During the culture festival she had only managed because she was acting with Koutarou.
“You'll be fine. We all just heard about it today too. And if I'm not mistaken, your role wasn't that hard, Sakuraba-senpai.”
Leaving Harumi's perplexed expression aside, Koutarou cheerfully flipped through the manuscript.
In the original version, the civilian woman's main job was just to let out a scream as she was abducted. It wasn't that complex of a role. However, without the boyfriend, all of the lines spoken between them had to be done by the woman, increasing the difficulty of the role. Because of that, Koutarou wasn't all that worried.
“B-But... I don't know if I could do it...”
However, Harumi couldn't imagine being abducted and screaming. Because of that she was worried she might end up unable to say any of her lines on stage.
“What is this popular actress saying?”
Koutarou laughed at the hesitating Harumi.
After the culture festival, Harumi's reputation skyrocketed. She was thought of as cute, but after her masterful acting on top of the stage she was now becoming a celebrity at Kitsushouharukaze High School. Since she wasn't that fond of getting attention, her life was becoming a little harder.
Koutarou who played the lead alongside Harumi was obscured by her fame, and so his life continued on as normal.
“At the start you flirt with Mackenzie, after that you'll be abducted by me. You only need to scream from time to time.”
“Screaming after being abducted by Satomi-kun...”
After hearing that Koutarou would abduct her, Harumi began fantasizing.
“Gahahahaha, what a good woman. I'll make you my wife!”
“Nooooooooo! Someone save meeee!”
Wearing a pitch black, spiky outfit, Koutarou would abduct her while laughing out loud.
That sounds a bit fun...
Having hesitated up until now, Harumi began thinking it would be fun after that fantasy. If it was by Koutarou, she didn't mind being abducted. Besides, she would often read books to the children at the hospital, so performing a hero show at the preschool would fulfill her desires.
“If that's all, then I should be able to...”
“Really? Please help us out!”
As Harumi agreed, Koutarou jumped out his chair in excitement. He then pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and called Kiriha. He was going to report that Harumi was going to be helping out right away.
“A hero show, huh... fufufu...”
While staring at Koutarou who began talking on his phone, Harumi smiled.
Just a while ago she was hesitant about what to do, but now she was looking forward to the hero show, two days from now.
