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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 6, Chapter 3: The Intentions Behind the Invasion
Volume 6, Chapter 3: The Intentions Behind the Invasion
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Sunday, December 13
The Sunday weather this morning was clear, and the anniversary event at Harukaze pre-school had started.
The events scheduled during the anniversary included class visits and a game tournament. During the tournament, they would be holding a hero show as entertainment. Therefore, Koutarou and the others wouldn't appear until the afternoon.
“Now then everyone, it's time for what you've been waiting for, Harukaze-man!”
Ruth's voice sounded out from the speakers. But there was still no one standing on top of the stage the youth department spent an entire night building.
“Let's all call for him together! Haaaruuukaaazeeemaaan!”
“Haaaruuukaaazeeemaaan!!”
Guided by Ruth, the children called out for Harukaze-man.
The next moment, small explosions occurred on each side of the stage, filling it with smoke. Once the smoke cleared, there were three people standing on top of the stage. Those were Koutarou, Theia and Kiriha; the three of them wearing strange outfits.
Koutarou was wearing a pitch black, spiky armor. Theia was wearing a black formal dress with bat wings on her back. Kiriha wore a kimono similar to what she always wore, except it had flashy black roses on it and her hair ornament imitated the thorns of a rose.
All of the outfits were from the high school's cosplay society, and they had been designed with the villains in mind.
Theia stood in the center of the stage, crossing her arms and cockily throwing her head back, while Koutarou and Kiriha stood on each side of her.
The children of the pre-school had been impatiently waiting for their hero, but what had appeared instead were those three mysterious people. The children stared at amazement with their jaws wide open.
Theia grinned as she looked over the children and waved around a long cane while shouting in a loud voice.
“That's too bad, kids! Your beloved Harukaze-man won't be coming! That's because we, the Earth Empire, defeated him!”
After hearing Theia's loud voice, the children were shaken.
Their hero had been defeated.
To them, that was unheard of. They wanted to believe it was a lie, but in front of them where their hero was supposed to be were the evil trio. Because of that, the children panicked, and quite a few began crying.
“You're lying! That's definitely a lie!”
However, one courageous boy stood up. With tears in his eyes, he pointed at Theia and shouted.
“I won't fall for a lie from some tiny little shrimp like you!”
“What did you just say, you bastard!!”
Tiny shrimp.
Hearing that phrase, Theia lost sight of herself and got angry for real. Since she minded her height and sex appeal, even if the opponent was a preschooler, those words were humiliating to her.
“Do you know who you're saying those words to!?”
Theia shook her hair violently and threatened the boy with an aggressive glare. The boy, who was the target of her aggressive attitude, froze and swallowed his saliva.
“This is bad, Koutarou, that's not acting!”
“...What are you doing, it's just a kid...”
Having been warned by Sanae, who had memorized everyone's lines, Koutarou lightly pulled on Theia's dress while whispered to her.
“...Calm down, Theia.”
“Shut up!”
However, having completely lost it, she ignored Koutarou and swatted his hand away. Her attention was now focused on the young boy.
“I'll show that impolite little brat―”
“...Once we get back, I'll play games with you for as many hours you want.”
Fortunately, Theia reacted to Koutarou's second attempt, and stopped moving. She then slowly turned towards him.
“...Y-You better not be lying.”
“Of course not.”
Just how mortified were you...
Tears had begun forming in Theia's eyes. Seeing that, Koutarou deeply felt that it would be best to do as she wanted.
“I understand. You better not go back on your word.”
Theia held her anger in and returned to normal. Sensing that, Kiriha added in an ad-libbed dialog to adjust the play.
“Princess Devil, leave this to I, Black Rose, and Baron Demon. We'll show this kid that there is no hero.”
“Very well, I'll leave it to you.”
“Understood. Go, Baron Demon! Make these kids understand that Harukaze-man has lost!”
“Leave it to me, Princess Devil, Black Rose-sama!”
Thanks to Kiriha's quick wit, the show that was about to derail returned to normal. Koutarou let out a sigh of relief and jumped off the stage in accordance to the script, and approached the seats reserved for the children's guardians.
“You there, come with me!”
He grabbed onto Harumi's arm, who was sitting there, and pulled her off her seat.
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
Harumi let out a terrified scream, but she looked at Koutarou with joy in her eyes.
“Harumi-chan!? Let go of my girlfriend you bastard!!”
As he pulled Harumi away, Kenji who was sitting next to her came flying at Koutarou. At the exact timing they had practiced several times-
“Pipe down!”
Koutarou threw his large mantle around. When he did, Kenji was sent flying and landed on his rear. Koutarou and Kenji's coordination was perfect; they moved just as they had done during rehearsal.
“Kenji-kun!?”
“Wahahaha, too bad youngster! This cute girl will become my wife!”
Even though she knew that was just a line in the manuscript, Harumi couldn't stop herself from blushing. She was embarrassed but happy; her heart was pounding loudly in her chest.
“Damnit, is there no justice in this world!?”
“That's too bad, justice died alongside Harukaze-man!! Come, Jet Black King!!”
“*Neigh*!”
While impersonating a black horse, Yurika came running in from the side-stage while neighing. This horse was the Baron Demon's partner, Jet Black King. Yurika's acting was perfect, and to the kids she looked like a real horse.
“From today on, the age of evil will begin! Harukaze-man is a man of the past!”
“Save meee~, Kenji-kuuu~n!!”
“Harumi-chaaa~n!!”
“Jet Black King, to the wedding hall!”
“*Neigh*!”
“How cruel! This atrocious injustice! Can this really be allowed!? Did justice, did Harukaze-man really die!?”
Ruth's voice echoed throughout the preschool, the children were sweating and holding their breaths.
From here on, Harukaze-man who supposedly died would appear and defeat Koutarou and the others. That was the plot of this show.
However, for some reason, the hero that appeared wasn't Harukaze-man.
“Let go of that woman, underground people!”
That voice rang out from behind the auditorium. It was a powerful voice supported by well-trained abs. It carried through the audience and reached Koutarou and the others on the stage.
Here he comes, Harukaze-man. ―Wait, what?
Since the voice had come from a different place, Koutarou was confused.
“Koutarou, something's wrong, look.”
“Ah...”
According to the manuscript, Harukaze-man was supposed to appear alongside fireworks while Koutarou was abducting Harumi.
“As expected from the underground people, you have quite the unique outfits...”
“Do you have any good looking, manly executives!?”
“It looks like there's a young one, nee-chan.”
“Is there anything delicious around?”
“Why don't you get some of that candy they're handing out over there?”
And what's this? There's five of them...
What confused Koutarou even more was the number of supposed heroes that appeared. According to the plan, only two were supposed to confront them onstage: the man from the youth department acting as Harukaze-man, and Shizuka acting as Kishou-lady. The supposedly defeated Harukaze-man borrowed Kishou-lady’s power to revive. However, what had appeared weren't two people, but five. Not to mention, what they were wearing weren't hero outfits, but uniforms similar to a police officer’s.
“...Satomi-kun, who are those people?”
Harumi was confused as well and whispered her doubts to Koutarou.
“Let me try asking.”
Koutarou whispered back, and then shouted out.
“Who goes there!?”
In the original scene, this was where Koutarou was supposed to ask for their identity.
“We have no name to give for the likes that would attack a preschool! Let's go everyone!”
“Yeah!”
However, the five declined to answer and rushed toward the stage.
“Even though it's our first battle, there's no need to fear! Justice lies with us!”
“Senpai, I don't really get it, but they seem to be heroes.”
Based on their behavior, Koutarou concluded that the five were heroes. Their lines and actions lined up perfectly with how heroes behaved.
“I wonder, is this some kind of surprise?”
“Or maybe there was some trouble, and they called in for substitutes?”
Koutarou and Harumi embraced and stared at each other. Normally they would be blushing, but in this situation they didn’t even mind it.
“This is not in script.”
“Hmm...”
When Koutarou looked up at the stage, he saw that both Theia and Kiriha were just as confused as he was. He then looked at the host Ruth, who should have been told beforehand, but she looked at Koutarou and shrugged her shoulders.
Ruth-san doesn't know either. Yurika... obviously wouldn't know... Well, should we continue?
In the end, Koutarou decided to proceed with the show.
He couldn't imagine the heroes arriving with this timing being unrelated, and if heroes and villains were gathered, there should be no problems continuing the show. Whether it was a surprise or trouble, carelessly cancelling the show would only disappoint the children.
“Alright, let's continue, Sakuraba-senpai.”
“Yes.”
Koutarou nodded at Harumi and winked at Theia and Kiriha on top of the stage. Understanding his intentions, the two of them nodded.
“Mackenzie.”
“I know, leave it to me.”
Koutarou was about to signal Ruth and Kenji as well, but the two of them had already taken action.
“Justice hasn't died! Look everyone, evil will never prosper!”
“With the absence of Harukaze-man, this mysterious group of five have appeared! Are they messengers of justice, or have they only gotten ahead of themselves!? Either way, let's all cheer for them!!”
Kenji and Ruth fired up the spectating children. As they did, the children overcame the shock of Harukaze-man being defeated and cheered at the new heroes.
“You can do it!”
“Beat up those bad guys!”
“Leave it to us, justice always wins!”
As the group of five ran through the center of the auditorium, they were showered with cheers left and right.
As they got closer, differentiating their figures became easier.
“I'm all fired up!!”
The person running at the front was a short-haired young man. Based on his appearance, he looked like an athletic type, similar to Koutarou.
“Let the games begin!!”
Behind him was a short boy. He might have been even younger than Koutarou and the others. His round face and large glasses gave him the impression of a young boy.
“Where are the handsome executives!?”
The third was the only woman in the group. She gave off the impression of having a strong will with her long black hair and thick eyebrows.
“This candy isn't all that good.”
The fourth was a fat man. Not unlike his appearance, he was a man with a vigorous appetite. Even now he was holding onto a bag of candy. It was the candy that was being handed out to the children during this event.
“So this is a fight!”
The last one was a man with long hair and shades. However, his hairstyle and shades seem to have come from the past. He looked like an overly motivated teacher that would appear a long time ago in shoujo mangas.
“...They all seem to be old fashioned characters, but I guess that's just right for a hero show.”
“Did you say something, Satomi-kun?”
“No, senpai, let's get up on the stage too. You too, Yurika.”
“Okay.”
“*Neigh*”
Koutarou and the others hurried back onto the stage. If they weren't on the stage before the group of five got there, it could become a problem during the dialog.
“Hooo!”
The group of five climbed up the stage in a theatrical fashion. Koutarou used Harumi as a shield and shouted clearly at the group.
“Wahahaha, it doesn't matter how many of you there are! There's nothing for us to fear now that Harukaze-man has been defeated!”
“Noooooo, somebody save meeee!”
Harumi screamed out with perfect timing. She didn't really want someone to save her. But personal desires and stage acting were different.
“Curse you, let go of that woman!”
“Very well. I would rather not use my wife as shield either.”
Koutarou followed the script and chained Harumi's legs and bound her to a nearby pillar. Harumi then tugged on the chains repeatedly to show that she had no way of escaping.
“More importantly, I have no need for hostages! I defeated Harukaze-man with ability alone!”
The overconfident enemy relinquishes his hostage; it was the necessary element required for the heroes to turn things around.
I'll leave the rest to you, heroes.
The preparations had all been made. All that was left was for the heroes to shine.
“Go, Baron Demon! Crush this impudent bunch!”
“Baron Demon, let us present their heads to Princess Devil!”
“Yes my liege!”
In accordance to Theia and Kiriha's signaling, Koutarou and Kiriha stepped up while Theia stayed behind and smiled confidently. The decisive battle was about to start.
“Alright everyone, let's transform!”
“Yeah!”
The group of five seemed to know the drill as well and began their transformation sequence.
“Hmm... so they're going to transform here...”
Sanae's words of admiration reached Koutarou's ears.
Unlike in a TV show, transforming live on a stage was difficult; they would need to use a smoke screen, or cleverly use their set pieces for the actors to get changed. It also took quite a bit of coordination and people to pull it off. In reality (that is, in this Harukaze-man show), there weren't enough people to do so, and Harukaze-man would appear on stage, already transformed. Despite that, this group was going to transform on stage. This impressed Sanae.
“Maybe the ones helping out are real actors...”
“That might be it.”
Similarly impressed themselves, Koutarou and Kiriha stared at the group of five raising their right hands in the air.
“Trans-form!”
They brandished their right hands in the air while using their left hands to push a button on their belt. From there they moved both their hands together, drawing a large arc and finally ending their motion, pointing to the right.
“Oh!?”
It was a transformation pose so skillfully done that it amazed Koutarou. Even though he was considerably fond of transforming heroes, he had nothing to complain about after seeing that perfect pose.
The group’s bodies were covered by white smoke. Inside the smoke, their unique silhouettes could be seen moving. Once the smoke cleared, the five warriors wearing round helmets appeared. It looked like their outfits were completely different from before. It wasn't just some clever change, but as if they had changed outfits. It was a splendid transformation for a hero show.
However, there was one big problem with their transformation.
“Red Shine.”
“Red Shine.”
“Red Shine.”
“Red Shine.”
“Red Shine.”
“All together we are The Sun Squad, Sun Rangers!”
For some reason, the group of five posing with background music and fireworks were all red.
“Wherever there is love, there is justice! In this world―”
“Quit messing around!!”
The moment he saw them, Koutarou ignored the show and dashed forward. His face was dyed red by rage and he smacked the head of the Red Shine standing in the center.
“W-What are you doing, Baron Demon-san!?”
“I don't care! How can you do everything so well and then trip up at the very end!?”
“J-Just wait a moment, Baron-san, what are you so angry about!?”
“As if I'd wait!! Is that it!? Are you the same as Yurika!?”
“What do you mean by the same as me!?”
Koutarou was, of course, angry about the group’s costumes. It was an unspoken rule, or common sense that for a kids’ show, the costumes should differ by color. Because of that, Koutarou couldn't hide his intense rage when the group of five had ignored that rule, even more so when everything leading up to the transformation had been so well done.
“Why would you ruin all of our hard work like that!! Are you amateurs!?”
“S-Sorry, Baron-san, I can't quite understand why you're so angry, this is our first time!!”
“As if I could forgive you because of that!!”
“Oh no, this is not good! All five Sun Rangers are wearing red costumes!”
“That's it, Kenichi! Baron-san is angry about these suits!”
“I see!”
Hearing Ruth's narrative, the feminine Red Shine whispered to the center Red Shine. He finally understood the reason behind Koutarou's anger.
The kids in the audience felt the same way and gave the Sun Rangers a sceptic look.
“Sensei, why are those Sun Rangers all red?”
“Which one is which?”
“Maybe there's only one real and the rest are fakes?”
“It's just the worst when you wear the same as someone else.”
All of the voices raised negatives points, and the Sun Rangers were losing their support.
“What do we do, Koutarou? The show’s turning into a mess.”
“I don't know. If you want to complain, do it to those idiots!”
Koutarou's rage continued. Having grown up watching hero shows on TV, he couldn't forgive them for cutting corners(?). Although he knew that doing a show live on a stage required you to cut some corners, this was one part you should never miss out on. He couldn't accept the all-red Sun Rangers.
“...Despite everything you say, you're quite picky when it comes to cosplay, Satomi-san...”
Yurika gave Koutarou a cold glance from inside the papier-mâché horse, Jet Black King. However that was just for a moment; she soon began smiling.
“But, but, it looks like Satomi-san might cosplay together with us if it's from hero shows. I have to tell everyone in the cosclub♪”
Yurika and the cosplay society's relation had been improving recently.
In order to graduate from high school, she had to hide her identity as a magical girl and once she calmed down and thought about it, it wasn't like she hated what they were doing. Because of that, Yurika had begun changing her mind about cosplaying.
“It looks like we should be tempting him with an ancient hero role♪”
Despite everyone around her being confused, Yurika was having fun.
“Get lost! I can't fight with failures like you!”
“Eeeeh!? Y-You won't fight us!?”
Koutarou's harsh words shook the five Sun Rangers.
“I don't even want to talk to you! Go away!”
Shaking with anger, Koutarou turned around after saying that. As he did, the middle Red Shine desperately tried to stop him.
“P-Please wait, Baron-san! We only formed a year ago and this is our first sortie! If there's anything wrong, we'll work hard to fix it!”
“Then go home and fix your suits! Red is the color of the leader! We have our pride as villains. We won't fight a failure squad like you!”
“But, we can't fix our suits right now!”
Amidst the confusion on the stage, small laughter could be heard. The laughs spread throughout the crowd and soon everyone was laughing.
“Sun Rangers, hurry and change! With the wedding looming, Baron Demon is very impatient!”
Sensing the change in the crowd, Ruth decided to push through the situation as if it was a comedy. She strung words together in rapid succession and fired up the crowd.
“Everyone! Let's cheer for the Sun Rangers! It's only a matter of time before the Baron Demon loses his temper completely!”
“You can do it, Sun Rangers!”
“Hurry up and change!”
“I don't know which one's the old man with sunglasses, but you can do it, old man!”
“Shut up, who are you calling an old man!? I'm still only 20!”
A Red Shine reminiscent of the long haired man in shades shouted at the kids. As he did, the child began crying out loudly.
“Waaaaaah, the Sun Rangers... The Sun Rangers...!!”
“Oh, that's not good, Sun Rangers. You can't fight with a child!”
“You idiot!!”
Koutarou swung his fist towards the tall Red Shine who made a child cry.
“You guys don't understand anything! You're scum, below even third-rate heroes! Why would you make children cry!? Are you trying to destroy their dreams!? You don't have the right to call yourselves heroes!”
Koutarou had reached his limit. He recalled his own childhood and his admiration for heroes, so he couldn't forgive the Sun Rangers who didn't act like heroes at all.
“Baron-san, please wait!!”
“Geez, it's all your fault he got so angry again old man.”
“I'm not an old man, Kotarou.”
“...Wonderful, Baron Demon-sama, wonderful!!”
“It looks like Megu-chan's sickness has started again, everyone.”
Seeing the Sun Rangers struggling so hard, Yurika began feeling a sense of closeness for some reason.
I wonder what this feeling is...
Having been yelled at by Koutarou for making kids cry, the Sun Rangers no longer looked anything like heroes, and the negative aura around them called out to Yurika. However, having become more positive as of late, Yurika didn't notice that was the spirit of a loser.
“Children in the crowd, answer me this!! Are these the heroes you wanted!? Or is it someone else!?”
Koutarou's mantle fluttered and he shouted out to the children in the audience.
“Is this all that justice has to offer!? Tell me, children!! Who should I be fighting!?”
Then a small child stood up to answer Koutarou's question.
“Harukaze-maaa~n!! Help us, Harukaze-maaa~n!!”
Despite the child’s small size, his shout was full of courage, and it encouraged the other children in the preschool to join in.
“Harukaze-man!!”
“Hurry up and save that lady, please, Harukaze-man!!”
“The Sun Rangers are no good, Harukaze-man!!”
The children screamed in succession, and filled the stage.
And that's when it happened.
Fireworks exploded on the stage, and inside the smoke, two silhouettes appeared. They posed inside the smoke and introduced themselves loudly.
“Courage! That is the power of hope within a person!”
“Love! That is an indestructible heart that supports courage!”
“We are soldiers of courage and love!”
A gust of wind blew away the smoke surrounding the two silhouettes.
“Harukaze-man!”
“Kishou-lady!”
“Evil will never prosper while we still stand!!”
Two heroes, a man and a woman, appeared, wearing suits that were quite obviously handmade. The suits they were wearing had been made by the youth department and were of lower quality when compared to the Sun Rangers' suits.
“Harukaze-maaa~n!! Harukaze-maaa~n!”
However, the children cheered for them, screaming at the top of their lungs. Their cheers were several times louder than when the Sun Rangers had appeared. For a true hero, looks were not a problem.
“It looks like you've been having your way, Baron Demon!”
“Wahahaha, did you come to get done in again, Harukaze-man!?”
And with a true hero, evil could shine. Koutarou returned to his role and turned towards the new heroes.
“I have returned from hell to defeat you! This time you'll be going there!”
“Wahahaha, telling a demon to go to hell is a fun joke! It seems that you still have a way with words after reviving, Harukaze-man!”
With the appearance of Harukaze-man and Kishou-lady, the show returned to normal. And it ended as a complete success.
Part 2
“Thank you, Harukaze-man, Kishou-lady!”
Carried away by their parents, the last child waved his hand and left the stage. The man playing Harukaze-man, and Shizuka playing Kishou-lady waved and saw the child off.
“Well, this was a big success thanks to you, Kiriha-san, Koutarou-kun.”
Once the children had left, the neighborhood association member in charge of the show called out to them. Koutarou and the others had taken off the outfits and removed their make-up, but it wasn't a topic that could be brought up in front of the children.
“I wasn't sure what would happen when Harukaze-man couldn't show up, but you managed to keep it up really well, you were a huge help.”
“Why did it take so long until you showed up?”
“It's a bit embarrassing but, it's almost like the suit was cursed. When we were just about to appear, we noticed that the suit had torn.”
The man playing Harukaze-man dropped his shoulders. He then pulled off the chest piece and showed the backside of it to Koutarou. It had been taped back together, a desperate solution to say the least. Just before they were about to appear on stage, they noticed the tear, rendering Harukaze-man and Kishou-lady unable to appear just yet.
“I see.”
Kiriha who had looked at the tear alongside Koutarou, smiled and nodded.
“But that wasn't thanks to us, but rather thanks to the substitutes you sent up.”
“Yeah. Those Sun Rangers really helped out...”
Koutarou nodded to Kiriha's words. They had only been able to buy enough time for Harukaze-man to appear thanks to the Sun Rangers. In the end, Koutarou and the others were amateurs, and they wouldn't have been able to buy so much time on their own.
“Huh?”
The man playing Harukaze-man looked dumbfounded.
“Weren't those Sun Rangers your friends?”
“Eh?”
“We were certain that you had called your friends over to help.”
“Didn't the neighborhood association prepare them?”
Koutarou and the neighborhood association had a difference in recognition regarding the Sun Rangers.
Koutarou and the others had assumed that the neighborhood association had prepared substitutes in the case that something happened. Meanwhile, the neighborhood association assumed that Koutarou and the others had asked their friends to help them.
They were convinced that the other party had prepared the Sun Rangers.
“What does this mean?”
“Your highness, wouldn't it be best if we asked them directly?”
“That's true.”
Koutarou and the others went looking for the Sun Rangers, but they couldn't find the group in question.
“Mackenzie, do you know where they went?”
Once Harukaze-man appeared, Kenji's role had nothing to do. So Koutarou asked Kenji if he had seen where the Sun Rangers had gone.
“The last time I saw them, they were sneaking off the stage so they wouldn't get in the way of Harukaze-man and Kishou-lady's fight. I don't know where they went after that.”
However, Kenji shook his head. After his role was finished, he enjoyed the hero show alongside the children.
“What about you, Sakuraba-senpai?”
“I don't know either. Sorry.”
Harumi shook her head while blushing slightly. She had been staring at Koutarou fighting, so it didn’t even register to her that the Sun Rangers had left.
“Just who were those people?”
Everyone began scratching their heads as Kiriha asked that. They were all equally confused.
Meanwhile, the Sun Rangers in question were in the middle of an evaluation meeting. They were sorting out the problems they encountered during this sortie.
“First off, I believe the biggest failure this time was completely trusting a preschooler.”
The old man with a white beard and lab coat wrote what he had just said on a whiteboard. The whiteboard had been borrowed from somewhere and put in the small office, where inside were the old man and a group of five. That group was of course the Sun Rangers. They were sitting down by their desks and were looking at the whiteboard and old man with serious faces.
“As a result, we ended up intruding on a hero show that had nothing to do with the underground people.”
The old man encircled the words 'hero show' with a red pen.
That's right. It might be hard to believe, but these Sun Rangers were true heroes, intended to fight against the underground people.
The Sun Squad, Sun Rangers had been established as a precaution for unknown foreign threats, but with the appearance of the threat known as the underground people, they stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight.
By the way, this professor was known as Roppongi. Although the Sun Rangers were a secret battle squad, he had been designated as their commander because of a principle demanding civilian control.
“But professor, the detector showed an underground people reaction.”
The shortest amongst the five showed a device similar to a handheld game to the old man. This member’s name was Kotarou. He was the youngest of the group.
“About that, this detector doesn't work on underground people, but the technology they use. Because of that, there is a rare chance that it can detect something completely unrelated to them.”
“Which means that we blindly trusted in a preschooler and the detector was, unfortunately, wrong?”
Another member continued where Kotarou left off. His name was Kenichi, his short haircut and sharp glance gave off the impression of a healthy young man. He was also the first Red Shine that Koutarou hit.
“Precisely. It looks like we better reconsider the accuracy of our information and of our detector.”
Roppongi nodded at Kenichi while touching the detector.
“However, regarding the detector, its utility has been proven in other districts. Even though there's a chance for a mistaken reading, we should continue using it.”
In truth, there were more squads other than the Sun Rangers that were established to deal with unknown foreign threats. They were the ones in charge of this region, but there were several other squads placed all over the country.
In the other regions, the detector was producing results and they had been able to suppress attacks from the underground people. However, they hadn't reported any mistaken readings, and the only ones currently with this problem was the Sun Rangers.
“Professor, can't we solve both of those problems with the same method?”
“What do you mean, Hayato-kun?”
The man that Roppongi called out to, Hayato, was a tall young man with long hair and shades. As one could guess based on the fact that he was wearing glasses despite being in a dimly lit room, he was a bit of a narcissist.
He smiled slightly and spread out his arms as he answered Roppongi's question.
“...Instead of believing blindly in a child’s words or in the detector’s result, we confirm their identity using a different method.”
“I see, that's a reasonable opinion. Very well. In the future, let’s double and triple check our results to be certain.”
The group of five nodded at Roppongi's words. Seeing that, Roppongi erased the words he had written on the whiteboard. He was planning on moving onto the next topic.
“Now then, as for the next topic―”
“Baron Demon-sama!! It's about Baron Demon-sama, right!?”
The only woman in the room interrupted Roppongi. Her name was Megumi. She was a girl in her late teens. Megumi stood out with her long black hair, thick eyebrows and gave off the impression of having a strong will. However, right now she was showing none of that strong will. She twined her fingers as she clasped her hands while her eyes sparkled.
“T-That's true but...”
“Ahh, I want to meet that person again! I want him to scold me!”
“M-Megumi-kun?”
As Roppongi was confused by Megumi staring at the nothing while getting excited, the last of the five that had been quiet up until now spoke up.
“Professor, it's Megu-chan's sickness again. It seems like that villain at that show was just her type...”
After finishing his explanation he put a curry chip in his mouth. His name was Daisaku. He was the largest member of the Sun Rangers. That said, since he was always eating something, his body hadn't grown in height, but rather in width.
“Even if you say that, despite Baron-sama's cool appearance, he had a fire burning inside of him, and even though he was a villain he was refreshingly reasonable!”
Megumi recalled her meeting with Baron Demon. She recalled his intense anger while hitting the Red Shine and when he severely scolded the Red Shine that made a child cry.
The memories were beautified, and an image completely different from the original Baron Demon was burned into her memory. What appeared in her mind was a scene where lots of roses bloomed behind the Baron, while he smiled at her with his shiny teeth.
“...Honestly, I can't keep up with Megumi when she's like this.”
“Same here. But fortunately, she's not the only woman on this planet.”
“That's true. Thank god...”
Kenichi and Hayato shared the same opinion. They looked at Megumi with cold glances and nodded at each other.
“Can't we just leave nee-chan to Daisaku-oniichan?”
Kotarou pointed to Daisaku, who was in the middle of handing a handkerchief to Megumi.
“Aaa~h, I wish I was abducted and forced into marriage!!”
“Megu-chan, your nose is bleeding.”
“Thank you, Daisaku-kun.”
Megumi received the handkerchief from Daisaku and blew her nose. She had gotten too excited and gotten a nose bleed.
“Do you love Baron-san that much, Megu-chan?”
“Of course! There are not that many good men like that left!”
Megumi began explaining all the good parts about Baron Demon while blowing her nose while Daisaku just smiled and listened to her, not voicing any complaints.
“Daisaku is good at taking care of others...”
“He's the type of person that would lose out on being too good.”
Kenichi and Hayato looked at Daisaku with pity in their eyes. He continued to earnestly listen to Megumi. Pleased by that fact, Megumi's expression brightened up and she continued talking.
“Unexpectedly enough, I think those two would get along well together.”
“Do you think so...?”
Kotarou believed that Megumi and Daisuke would make for a good combination, but unfortunately enough, nobody else agreed with him.
The next topic Roppongi wrote on the whiteboard wasn't directly about Baron Demon. The Sun Rangers were painfully aware that it was just a show. So Roppongi was bringing up the problems that Baron Demon had pointed out.
“Holding back on the costs and getting restless regarding the underground people's appearance and hurrying up the completion of the suits was a mistake.”
“The problem regarding the coloring of the suits.”
The next topic Roppongi had brought up was the problem that had gotten Baron Demon so angry: the color of the group’s suits.
The Sun Squad, Sun Rangers' battle suits had been made by gathering the most cutting edge technology available. Just by wearing it, the user’s strength was increased fivefold. They would able to run as fast as a beast, and its durability equaled to that of steel. It was a new era of personal equipment superior to all kinds of bulletproof vests.
However, because of its performance, it took quite a bit of time and money to create. The suits had only reached the Sun Rangers just before their first sortie. Because of that, they didn't have enough time to color them, so they had to depart while all of the suits were red.
Those were the circumstances behind all five of them being Red Shine. When Baron Demon pointed it out, the problem came to light.
“Thinking about it, with everyone wearing the same thing, it becomes hard telling everyone apart.”
After the professor had put his pen down, Kenichi, who had been seriously thinking about the problem, voiced his opinion. Hayato nodded, showing that he agreed with Kenichi.
“That's true, everyone looks the same. If for example, someone got into trouble, it would be hard to tell who needed help at first glance.”
Since they were government issued outfits, all five suits had the same design. And because of the suits functions, they were required to wear full face helmets. Because of that, the five would be unable to tell each other apart when wearing their suits.
The only one they could tell from first glance was Daisaku's with his large body. Kenichi and Hayato had a similar build, so it was hard to tell them apart, and Kotarou and Megumi were almost the same height.
There was a possibility that not being able to tell each other apart during an important battle could become a big problem.
“Why can't you notice something like that from the start!?”
Finished with her fantasies, Megumi returned to her normal self. She raised her thick eyebrows and voice.
“You didn't notice either, nee-chan.”
“Megu-chan, you were only able to meet Baron-san because we were all wearing red.”
“Ah yes, that's true♪”
However, thanks to Daisaku, Megumi's expression changed.
“Aaa~hn, Baron-samaaa~...”
Her anger disappeared and she vanished into her own private world.
“...Well, leaving Megumi-kun aside. Would anyone be against coloring the suits to tell them apart?”
“It should be fine. Baron-san and the children said it would be better and easier to understand too.”
“That's true. Thinking of the future, it would be easier if the children cheered for us.”
Countries with powerful police forces were all trying to improve the image of their officers. If the occupation was always amongst the top jobs that kids want to become someday, it would be easier for them to move about. It meant that their desire to protect the peace would be respected. Although they weren't police officers, the same could be said for the Sun Rangers.
“But professor, if we can't tell each other apart, the same is true for the underground people, right? Wouldn't it be dangerous to change the colors?”
“I see, that's a possible problem. You're clever, Kotarou.”
“Hehe.”
Kenichi was impressed by Kotarou, and Kotarou laughed proudly.
If everyone could be differentiated by color, there could be counter measures put into action to deal with them. Differentiating the colors to be able to identify one another would work as an advantage for the enemy as well.
“How about this? We change the color from time to time. That way, it wouldn't matter how many plans they made.”
However, Hayato easily solved that problem. By changing their colors when necessary, they wouldn't have to worry about the enemy taking data about them. It was a simple but effective strategy.
“Yes, let's go with that, Hayato-kun. It's a good method where only we would gain an advantage.”
And just like that, it was decided that the Sun Rangers would be colored differently.
“Now then, all that's left is to discuss who gets what color.”
The only problem left was the coloring itself: who would get what color?
“If I'm not mistaken, Baron-san said that red is the leader’s color.”
“Which means that I'm red.”
“Wait, Hayato, I should be red.”
Kenichi and Hayato's opinions began clashing. Both of them wanted to be the leader, Kenichi, because he was hot-blooded and it was in his nature to lead, and Hayato, because it was cool.
“What are you saying!? It's important to remain calm during a fight, Kenichi, and that's impossible for a hot-blooded idiot like yourself!”
“And you're calm!? Now I want to know what you're saying!! Did you forget that during that show you made a child cry and made Baron-san angry!?”
That said, neither of them had any characteristics of a leader. They kept on arguing, never reaching an agreement.
“I didn't forget! That's why I won't make the same mistake again! I'll show you that I'd be a splendid leader that even Baron-san would recognize!”
“I wouldn't even make that mistake to begin with! You're a narcissist! All you can think about is yourself!”
“Haaah...”
As Kenichi and Hayato continued arguing, Kotarou let out a small sigh. Normally Kenichi and Hayato got along well, but once they didn't see eye to eye to something, they would never agree with each other. And with the position as leader at stake, Kotarou couldn't imagine either of them backing down anytime soon. So Kotarou looked for help from the one with most common sense, Megumi.
“Megumi-neechan, say something to stop them.”
“The forbidden love between a heroine of justice and an executive of evil! Good, so very good! And in the end, having been woken up by the power of love, Baron-sama would become an ally of justice!”
“Megu-chan, you're drooling.”
“And then, Baron-sama would say 'Megumi, you're so cute'. Kyaaa~!”
However, betraying his expectations, Kotarou wasn't able to get any help from Megumi.
“Megu-chan, you're a girl, so you should at least worry about your appearance a little.”
“...This is useless.”
“What to do...”
At this point, Kotarou and Roppongi felt that Daisaku would be good enough as a leader.
Part 3
Once they had finished cleaning up, Sanae and Yurika dashed out from the preschool.
“Come on, Yurika, hurry, hurry! If we don't hurry, Magical Girl Love Love Heart is going to start without us!”
“Even if you tell me to hurry, I'm not that good at running.”
If they rushed home now, they would be able to see an anime that started at six in the evening. However, since Yurika wasn't a fast runner, they weren't certain if they would make it in time for the opening theme.
“If you want I can possess you and force you to run faster.”
“N-Noooooo! Anything but that!!”
“...So you CAN run faster if you get motivated.”
However, for some reason, Yurika's running speed increased dramatically and shortly thereafter, Koutarou, who was seeing them off, lost sight of them.
“I just hope Yurika doesn't get hit by a car on her way home...”
Seeing Yurika's overly desperate expression as she turned a corner, Koutarou felt a little worried.
“Koutarou.”
“Satomi-sama, good work today.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Theia and Ruth approach him. The two of them noticed that Sanae and Yurika were gone and looked around the area.
“Satomi-sama, I can't seem to find Sanae-sama and Yurika-sama anywhere.”
“Those two already went home. They said something about watching an anime.”
“...I see, so those two aren't here.”
Theia glanced over at the direction to Corona House before turning towards Koutarou.
Koutarou is alone...
Recently, either Sanae or Yurika had always been at Koutarou's side. Sanae had been like that for a while, but now Yurika had gotten a lot closer to Koutarou as well. Yurika's feelings seemed to have changed, and Theia had been wondering about the sudden change of heart.
Because of those circumstances, it was rare to see Koutarou alone.
“...Once we get home you'll be playing games with me for hours.”
Theia recalled the words Koutarou had said during the show. As she did, she began losing her composure.
I-If things go well, Koutarou and I would be playing g-games all alone...
Theia had been envious of Sanae and Yurika who had gotten a lot closer to Koutarou, so she had no intention of letting this chance slip by. In this situation without Sanae or Yurika, she would be alone with Koutarou. Just the thought of it made her heart pound wildly.
But w-what should I say in this situation? How could I express my feelings without inviting a misunderstanding!?
However, Theia hadn't fully understood her romantic feelings for Koutarou yet, and was uncertain on what she should do. She was only vaguely thinking about how to get along with him. Thinking that it was all for the trial, she was getting in the way of her own feelings. Because her goal was so vague, her methods were equally so.
Your highness...
Noticing that Theia was panicking and desperately thinking of what to do, Ruth revealed a small smile and decided to lend a helping hand.
“Maybe you should play games onboard the Blue Knight, your highness?”
“Eh?”
Theia, who had been deep in thought, opened her eyes wide. Surprised by the sudden voice, she had completely failed to hear what Ruth had said. Seeing that, Ruth's smile grew larger.
“Since Sanae-sama and Yurika-sama are using the TV, you wouldn’t be able to play games on it, so you should just play games in your room onboard the Blue Knight instead.”
Since Sanae and Yurika were occupying the TV in room 106, if they wanted to play video games, they had no choice but to do so in Theia's room onboard the Blue Knight. However, Theia didn't understand why Ruth had brought that up.
“Y-Yes...”
Despite her hesitation, pushed on by Ruth's smile, Theia nodded.
Ruth?
Noticing Theia's glance, Ruth nodded back and looked at Koutarou for a brief moment. Theia followed suit and looked at Koutarou.
“Alright. When I've finished buying food, I'll come over.”
Having heard their discussion, Koutarou thought for a moment before responding. If he was going to be playing games with Theia, and she was aboard the Blue Knight, then he had no choice but to go there as well. Besides, having trained onboard for the show, he had been on the ship countless times, so he didn't really have any reluctance about going there.
“Ah...”
Theia then finally noticed Ruth's intentions. When she hurried to look towards her, she found Ruth smiling gently at her.
As is expected of Satomi-sama. He makes sure to keep his promises...
Ruth thanked Koutarou repeatedly on the inside. If she put it like that, Koutarou was sure to come onboard the Blue Knight. That's what Ruth believed, but she was very happy that he had responded to her expectations. Ruth was from the famous family of knights, Pardomshiha, so she valued promises and oaths above all else. And her love for her precious princess was bursting through her smile.
If he goes along with her highness, I'm sure he'll be able to protect her...
Looking at Koutarou as a knight, he still had a long way to go. He hadn't finished learning all the proper manners or techniques. However, when it came to promises and oaths, Koutarou valued those more than any knight Ruth had seen.
Even if a knight's sword was to break, it wouldn't matter as long as the oath sworn upon it hadn't. That was a proverb from Forthorthe. Ruth believed that the saying didn't just apply to swords, but to people as well. Even if the person wasn't very knightly, it didn't matter as long as the oath or promise was real. A person could just be trained to become a knight later, but an oath or promise couldn't be trained.
Satomi-sama, please accept her highness...
Ruth's wish wasn't just for Theia's sake, but also for her own.
“In that case, I'm going to go on back now.”
“Theia, you really do love games.”
“Not 'you'! It's Princess Theiamillis!”
“Yes, yes, dear Princess Theiamillis.
The image of Koutarou and Theia sitting next to each other playing games appeared in Ruth's mind. At times they would swear at one another, and at other times they would get in the way of the other by messing with their controller. Ruth wished that she had a place next to them.
Kiriha and Harumi arrived next to Koutarou a few minutes after Theia and Ruth had returned to the Blue Knight.
“Oh? Where's landlord-san?”
Since Koutarou was planning on going home together with Kiriha and Shizuka, he looked around the area for her. Seeing that, Harumi explained the circumstances to Koutarou.
“Satomi-kun, it seems like Kasagi-san was offered another part-time job.”
“A part-time job?”
At that moment, Koutarou spotted Shizuka in the preschool’s office. She was talking with a person from the youth department and a man he hadn't seen before. That man was the one that had offered Shizuka a new part-time job.
“It seems like a pro was watching today's show.”
Kiriha replaced Harumi and explained in more detail.
Today's show was very enjoyable, even in the eyes of a professional. What impressed the professional the most was Shizuka's movements as Kishou-lady. Knowing martial arts, Shizuka pulled off some very intense moves, despite her feminine looks. Thus, she had been offered to try a part-time job, which also served as her audition.
“Hmm, that's amazing, landlord-san...”
“If everything goes well, she'll be an action star.”
After hearing the circumstances, Koutarou was impressed. Harumi shadow punched twice before smiling at Koutarou.
“Action is probably impossible for you, senpai.”
“I have a knight to defend me, so I don't need to fight.”
“Leave it to me, princess Alaia.”
“Fufufu.”
“Anyways, that's why Kasagi-san told us to go on without her.”
“I see. I guess it can't be helped.”
As he laughed together with Harumi, Koutarou looked towards the office once more after listening to Kiriha.
He didn't need a lot of imagination to guess that it would take some time before they're done, if they were talking about a part-time job. That said, since he had to stop by the mall on his way home, he couldn't just sit here and wait.
“Alright. Senpai, Kiriha-san, let's go home.”
“Okay.”
“Yes.”
Koutarou and the others left the preschool and headed home.
“Well, Satomi-kun, Kurano-san, I'll be taking my leave here.”
Just before the mall, Harumi separated with Koutarou and Kiriha. Her home was in a different direction, so this was as far as she could go.
“Okay, I'll see you tomorrow at school.”
“Goodbye, Sakuraba-senpai.”
“Goodbye, you two.”
Harumi smiled at the two and walked down a different street. Koutarou and Kiriha saw her off, after she waved at them once more and turned around a corner, they began walking again.
“Kiriha-san, what should we buy today?”
“Eggs, natto that's on sale, transparent garbage bags and some vegetables.”
Once it was just the two of them, Kiriha began acting like normal. Seeing that, Koutarou felt slightly relieved. It just didn't feel right to him when she acted like someone else and pretended to be an honors student.
Kiriha was normally more formal and strict. When she was acting like an honors student, she was a whole lot friendlier. But even so, Koutarou preferred Kiriha this way. He felt more warmth from her that way. Because of that, Koutarou unconsciously spoke a lot more to Kiriha when she was acting like herself. The same was true this time; he got quite a bit talkative.
“That's right, vegetables. Yurika's skin has been getting rough lately, so let's feed her lots of vegetables.”
“That's because she eats a lot of instant noodles.”
“I know. And when there's meat on the table, she only eats that.”
“Fufufu, then let's try a trick to make sure she eats her vegetables.”
The same was true for Kiriha. Once Harumi had left, her expressions became more natural and rich. There were only a few people on the surface she could talk to without hiding her true self. You could say it was only the residents of room 106. She couldn't show weakness to her subordinates, and she couldn't be honest with the surface dwellers. Oddly enough, she might only have been able to show her true self to Koutarou and the others because they were her “rivals.”
“Onee-chan!”
And there was one more that Kiriha could show her true self to. That was the children. They were one of the few that Kiriha could show her true face to, thanks to their innocence.
“Today's Harukaze-man was amazing!!”
“Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.”
“Yeah!”
Kiriha squatted and patted the girl running towards her on the head. She was the greengrocer[1] working in this mall's only child. Her father was part of the youth department and had met Kiriha through volunteer work. She was also one of the children at the preschool they had performed at today.
“I kept it a secret from everybody! That Kiriha-oneechan is part of the evil secret society!”
“Fufufu, if you tell anyone the truth I'll eat you up.”
“Ahaha, you're so funny!”
The girl and Kiriha talked cheerfully. Seeing that, Koutarou's doubts grew even bigger.
Did this person really come here to invade the surface?
However, the next moment, the girl looked at Koutarou.
“Hey, hey, onee-chan, who is he?”
Because of that, Koutarou stopped his train of thought and squatted down next to Kiriha and smiled at the girl.
“Now, who might I be?”
“Onee-chan's boyfriend?”
“Do I look like it?”
“You don't!!”
The girl smiled and declared that, then she began laughing. Meanwhile, Kiriha glanced over at Koutarou and made a mischievous smile.
“However, he really is my boyfriend.”
Kiriha grabbed Koutarou's arm and rested her head on his shoulder. As she did, the smell of fresh flowers tickled Koutarou's nose. It was a distinct smell of the scented oil Kiriha used on her hair.
“Really!?”
The girl, though young, was still a girl and the mere mention of the word boyfriend made her eyes sparkle. And Koutarou, who had caught on from Kiriha's smile, calmly nodded at the girl.
“It's true. Amazing, isn't it?”
“Yeah! Onee-chan’s compromising is amazing!”
“Compromising!?”
As Koutarou was stunned, the girl nodded.
“Onee-chan is this beautiful, so why did you compromise with this uncool onii-chan!? Is this volunteer work too!?”
“You've got a good head on you...”
Koutarou smiled wryly from the girl’s harsh appraisal and patted her on the head. Kiriha, who evidently looked happy, cleared her throat.
“Fufu, it's neither compromising or volunteering. Once you become an adult you'll understand.”
“You sure are an adult, onee-chan.”
“At least somewhat more than you.”
Kiriha patted the girl with a smile as she stood up. Since Kiriha was still holding onto Koutarou's arm, he naturally got up as well.
“Well then.”
“Are you shopping, onee-chan?”
The girl scratched her head. Kiriha nodded at the girl and pointed towards the mall with her free hand.
“Yes. We need to buy ingredients for dinner.”
“Hmm. Then come buy something at us! We'll give you a bargain!”
“That's what I planned on doing.”
“Alright! Then hurry up you two! Our limited time sale is about to start!”
“You really have a good head on you...”
The girl then pulled on Koutarou and Kiriha's hands, leading them into the mall.
Part 4
As of late, it had been Kiriha and Ruth's job to do the shopping, so it had been a while since Koutarou last went shopping with Kiriha.
“Oh, Kiriha-chan, you brought your boyfriend with you this time!?”
“Kiriha-san, we just stocked some nice tea. If you don't mind samples, take some with you.”
“Today's hero show was great!”
“Don't look at her like that dear! Sorry about that, Kiriha-san.”
“That's right! Let those young ones that came with you on the volunteer work know that I’m looking forward to working with them again!”
As Koutarou walked alongside Kiriha, various people called out to her. When he had gone with her shopping in the past, he hadn't seen these kinds of reactions.
“Thank you very much.”
Kiriha bowed politely to each and everyone. It looked to Koutarou like Kiriha welcomed this change as well.
Hmm...
Koutarou watched over her, with a mysterious feeling brewing inside.
The people calling out to her were proof that she was blending in well on the surface. Thanks to her participation in the area, she became more and more needed. If things continued like this, Kiriha might someday reveal her true intentions to them.
Kiriha had called it her method of invasion. However, Koutarou tried nothing to stop her invasion. No, more importantly, he was doubting whether or not this was even an invasion.
Does she really intend to invade the surface?
Koutarou's doubts resurfaced.
It only looked to him like Kiriha was peacefully emigrating to the surface. For that reason, Kiriha legally obtained a dwelling, bonded with the locals and formed harmonious relationships with others.
However, when they had first met, she neglected to mention that and instead hinted about an invasion through force; that she would secure their shrine and mass produce weapons like her haniwas. That's why Koutarou had objected to begin with. If she had told him this is what she was planning from the start, he might even have cooperated with her.
And I'm not even sure if she actually wants that shrine or not...
The biggest doubt in Koutarou's mind was that Kiriha hadn't seized room 106 yet.
Kiriha was smart enough to easily outwit Koutarou. There probably weren't any girls as clever as her around. If that girl put her mind to it, she should be able to wrap up the fighting for room 106 in an instant. It was probably easy for her to roll over Koutarou, Sanae and Yurika, and since Theia was simplistic in her approach, there were plenty of ways to take advantage of her. Whether if she would fight fair and square or scheme her way through it, Koutarou felt it odd for her not to have been victorious yet.
Kiriha was for some reason not taking it seriously. In fact, she would even help Koutarou and the others. That was the case when Sanae had been captured by the ghost hunters or when Theia had been attacked by Clan. Kiriha had said that she knew the pain of having something stolen from you, but not only did she assist her enemies, she even went out of her way to help them.
“I was just about to throw away the unsold stuff. Feel free to take it with you.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Rather than throwing it away, I'd prefer it if a beautiful girl like yourself ate it! See you later, miss!”
“Koutarou, I got some takoyaki. But we still haven't had dinner, so could you eat half of it?”
“Yeah, thank you, Kiriha-san.”
Kiriha smiled and presented the paper plate full of takoyaki she had just gotten to Koutarou. He accepted it and thought to himself.
She really doesn't have any intentions of invading the surface...
What made Koutarou doubt more than anything was her smile. He couldn't imagine the smile she was showing the children and the people working at the mall as being fake. So he couldn't see Kiriha attack them with weapons.
“...Hey, Kiriha-san.”
“Yes, Koutarou?”
Koutarou decided to ask her. If he seriously asked her, she would definitely answer. During these eight months, Koutarou's trust in Kiriha had grown enough for him to believe that.
“There's something that's been bothering me, do you mind if I ask?”
Kiriha, who was walking next to Koutarou, stuffed her mouth with takoyaki. When she looked up at Koutarou, her smile was abruptly erased.
“...That depends on what, but I'll answer as much as I can.”
Since she was sensitive to other people's feelings, she noticed that Koutarou was about to ask something serious.
“I see. Then I'll ask but...”
Koutarou showed a serious expression.
“...You never really intended to invade the surface from the beginning, right?”
“Kou―”
Surprised, Kiriha wasn't even able to say Koutarou's name. Her eyes were then stood wide open for a while before she slowly began smiling.
“...That's quite the thing to say all of a sudden, Koutarou. To say that I don't wish to invade the surface...”
As Kiriha said that, she reached into her pocket with her white, supple hand.
“You don't really wish for it, right?”
“What makes you think that?”
Kiriha pulled her hand out from her pocket, holding a small card. The card was aged and torn; it was a metallic card that looked like it was an extra that came with candy.
If I'm not mistaken, that's the card I saw at the beach...
Koutarou responded to Kiriha's question while staring at the card she had pulled out.
“You're far too nice to invade us.”
Kiriha was nice. She was nice to anyone. She would try to hide it using words, but in the end she wouldn't hurt others.
“...!?”
Kiriha was speechless. And after glancing at the card in her hand she stared at Koutarou.
“...What makes you think that I'm not just acting that way to earn your trust?”
Kiriha then laughed. However, Koutarou could see the feelings he had never seen before deep inside of her eyes. He couldn't imagine what kind of feelings those eyes held, but he answered her question without hesitation.
“I feel like I've been fooled by those words several times before. You would say that from time to time to scare me off. I'm an idiot, so I kept falling for it.”
Koutarou smiled wryly.
“...Could it be that it would be bad for you to earn my trust?”
Koutarou didn't have any reason to believe what he had said. He wasn't that clever. Instead, those words came from his intuition. But it was an intuition based on his observations of Kiriha these past eight months. Koutarou believed in his own intuition.
“...”
Kiriha's expression vanished and she didn't answer Koutarou's words. While silent, she stared at her card for a while. Koutarou didn't try forcing an answer out of her either. The two of them then continued walking silently.
“Koutarou.”
Once they passed by the arcade and the stars above them had appeared. She finally opened her mouth.
“What?”
“Can I have some of your time the next time you're free?”
Countless stars twinkled in the beautiful winter sky.
“...There's a place I'd like to show you.”
Lit up by those stars, Kiriha's smile shone.
Translator's Notes and References
1. ↑ Someone who makes a living selling vegetables and fruits
