Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 1 - Chapter 5

Commence Invasion ♡

Tuesday, April 7th

Tuesday, April 7th. The clock ticked passed 7:30 AM.

“In the end, she never came out...”

“Well, I doubt she’ll come out if you leave her alone with me.”

Koutarou looked up from putting on his shoes, pausing to glance back at the inner room. Yurika hadn’t come out of the wardrobe once, despite repeated attempts to persuade her. She was scared and stubborn, and had flat out refused to budge. As the sun rose, Koutarou was willing to put his strange home problems on hold so he could go to school.

“She’ll probably come out when she gets hungry.”

“I hope so. But we’re not getting anywhere at this rate.”

“You’re right about that.”

Having finished putting on his shoes, Koutarou smiled and stood up. Sanae, who had been looking down at him, now had to look up.

“Try to come home as fast as you can, okay?”

“Yeah. I don’t have work today, so I’ll be home earlier than yesterday.”

“Okay. Bye-bye.”

I’m being seen off...

“Yeah, see you later.”

And saying goodbye...

The two exchanged farewells despite fighting over control of the room. However, for some reason, it didn’t feel unnatural to either one of them. As Koutarou left the apartment, he spotted Kenji leaving his bike at the bike stall.

“Sup, Mackenzie?”

“Good morning, Kou.”

After locking up his bike, Kenji walked over to Koutarou, who was in the middle of a yawn.

“Huaaahh...!”

“What? Not get enough sleep last night either?”

“Something like that. It was just hard to sleep.”

“The ghost again?”

“That was part of it.”

That was when Koutarou felt a minor shake.

“Huh?”

At first he thought it was because he was moving, but even after he stopped walking, he could still feel the shaking.

“What’s wrong?”

“Isn’t the ground shaking?”

“Hmm? Oh, you’re right. It is shaking a little.”

“An earthquake?”

“Most likely. It’s probably not construction at this hour.”

The boys looked down as they talked, but the shaking stopped after a few seconds.

“Looks like it’s over.”

“Well, that’s all there was to that, I guess.”

“Good morning, Satomi-kun, Mackenzie-kun!” Shizuka’s voice joined in from above them.

The boys looked up from the ground to see Shizuka. She was on the second floor of Corona House, in the middle of locking up her apartment.

“Good morning, Landlord-san.”

“Good morning, Kasagi-san.”

“Lovely weather today, isn’t it?”

Shizuka came down the stairs as they greeted her.

“I’m sorry. Did I keep you waiting?”

“Not at all, Landlord-san.”

“I just got here too.”

Today would be their first full day of classes at school. The three of them just happened to end up in the same class, so they decided to all walk to school together.

“Oh good, then let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

“You got it. Still, Kou, you’re being awfully formal with Kasagi-san.”

“You’re right, Mackenzie-kun. He insisted that I call him Satomi-kun, but he’s still calling me Landlord-san and speaking in such a stiff tone.”

“It’s normal to hold your landlord in high regards.”

“He was raised like that, so he’s always like this with anyone in authority.”

“Oh my... Teehee!”

And so the three of them headed to school together. 

Including the entrance ceremony, it was only the second day of school, so the classroom was still rather quiet. There was some talking here and there, but it was mostly students who had come from the same middle school. Overall, the class was practically silent. It would take a few more days before the new classmates got to know one another.

“Satomi-kun!”

But Shizuka’s voice rang out clearly in the quiet classroom. She was holding a small box and ran up to Koutarou and Kenji.

“What’s the matter, Landlord-san?”

“Teehee, please don’t call me Landlord-san at school, Satomi-kun. Oh, right! Here, this is for you.”

“What is this?”

Koutarou took the small box Shizuka handed him.

“In middle school, I had a classmate who knew a lot about this kind of stuff. After I explained the situation to her, she gave me these.”

Koutarou peeked inside the box to see notes, ropes, decorated sticks, and the like.

“Tools for exorcism, huh?”

Kenji, whose desk happened to be in front of Koutarou’s, snuck a peek too and piped up before Shizuka could.

“Tools for exorcism?”

Koutarou didn’t quite follow.

“Yeah. Look at this. It has ‘evil spirits begone’ written on it, right?”

“You’re right.”

“Still, there’re tools from all kinds of religions here. Shinto, Buddhist, Christian, Islamic... Wow, there’s even voodoo stuff in here. It’s stuff from all over the world.”

“Why would you give this to me, Landlord-san?”

“Because you said the ghost appeared in your room. I thought this might help.”

“Ah...”

That was when Koutarou finally remembered that he was fighting with Sanae for control of the room.

That’s right, we’re fighting over the apartment.

With Yurika showing up, there hadn’t been any time to fight yesterday.

“By the way, Kasagi-san, wouldn’t all of this be expensive?”

“Well, Mackenzie-kun, these were close to their expiration dates, so I got them for free.”

“Expiration dates? On exorcism tools?!”

Hearing those bewildering words from Shizuka’s mouth, Kenji’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

“Apparently. But since these are so close to expiring, I was told they should be used as soon as possible.”

“To think the progress of civilization would even affect these kinds of things...”

Kenji picked up a suspicious looking charm decorated with a dried reptile, and stared at the label attached to it. It read, “Expiration date: six months from the date of manufacture. For date of manufacture, please consult the packaging.”

“We’re all done for...”

That was Kenji’s honest impression.

“This’ll help a lot, Landlord-san.”

“I do hope it’ll be useful.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll put it all to good use.”

“Good luck, Kou. I’m rooting for you.”

“You should help me out.”

“No way. You know I hate that kind of stuff.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Kenji hated all things occult. Despite being knowledgeable, he was more scared of it than Koutarou. According to Kenji, he said his knowledge on the subject was what made him hate it so much.

“All right, with this, I’ll...”

That was when Koutarou realized it wasn’t just a ghost he needed to chase out of his room. There was also the self-proclaimed princess of love and courage, Magical Girl Rainbow Yurika—the girl who was way too into her cosplay hobby.

“Hey, Mackenzie.”

“I won’t help you no matter how many times you ask.”

“No, not that. There’s something I want you to tell me.”

“Hmm? What?”

Seeing Kenji nod, Koutarou held up the box.

“You’re supposed to exorcise ghosts with this stuff, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“So what do you use to exorcise a cosplayer?”

Koutarou was dead serious.

“Are you stupid?! There’s nothing for that!”

“Don’t say that. I’m being serious here.”

Yesterday morning, his only problem had been a ghost. But today, there was a cosplayer added into the mix. This was an important question to Koutarou.

“Good grief, cosplayers are just normal people. Don’t be stupid!”

“Then you can just use force?”

“Do whatever you want!”

Kenji looked perturbed as he pushed up his glasses.

“Hmm...”

As Koutarou crossed his arms and began thinking, Shizuka, who had been watching them, started laughing.

“Heeheehee! You two really do get along well.”

“Only because we’ve known each other for so long.”

“Don’t sound so disgusted by it, Mackenzie!”

“Teehee. But the truth is that you don’t hate it at all, right, Mackenzie-kun?”

“No, I definitely hate it.”

“Oh, you’re not being honest, Mackenzie-kun!”

“Landlord-san, this guy’s always trying to act tough.”

“Kou! Are you picking a fight with me?!”

“Ahahahahaha!”

Shizuka’s happy laughter filled the classroom. But even while listening to it, Koutarou was thinking about something completely different.

Do I really want to drive away Sanae?

It was a sudden and completely unexpected hesitation.

Once school was over and he finished up with classroom cleaning duty, Koutarou headed for the club building. There was a club or society assigned to each and every room. In fact, you could say it was an apartment building for the school’s clubs.

“Well, it’s technically treated as a society, so...”

The room Koutarou was headed for was in the south wing of the second floor. That was where the societies had been gathered.

The area around the entrance to the building was busy since all of the sports clubs had their rooms there. However, as he walked further inside, there was little traffic and barely any noise. Koutarou’s footsteps could be heard from down the hallway.

“Here it is.”

Koutarou stopped in front of the room at the very back of the building. The knitting society. This was the society Koutarou had decided to join on the day the exam results were announced.

Koutarou knocked on the door.

“Hello?”

The door was made from resin with an aluminum frame, so the sound carried through the entire hallway.

“...C-Coming!” A slightly panicked voice replied.

Shortly after that, the lock was undone and a girl popped her face out.

“Who is— Oh!”

The girl looked skeptical at first, but she relaxed after seeing Koutarou.

“Hello, Senpai.”

“Welcome, Satomi-kun.”

It was Sakuraba Harumi, the president of the knitting society and the only member apart from Koutarou.

To a complete beginner like Koutarou, even the most basic knitting technique was hard work. It involved using your fingers to wind yarn around the knitting needle in order to make loose knots. It was easy once you got the hang of it, but it was rather troublesome for Koutarou who was clumsy and bad at remembering things like this.

“Senpai, what do I do here again?”

“You pull to the right, and then loop it around here.”

“Oh, right.”

Koutarou would stop from time to time to look at how Harumi was doing before continuing. Despite his shaky technique and almost stabbing himself with the oversize needle a couple of times, Koutarou was actually knitting.

“There’s no need to rush, Satomi-kun. You can do it slowly. Let’s just focus on practice for today.”

“Y-Yes. I’m sorry I’m clumsy.”

“Everyone’s like that at first. I don’t mind.”

Harumi looked happy as she watched over Koutarou. She was normally shy and withdrawn, but she was able to come out of her shell a little while doing something she liked.

“Was it the same for you too, Senpai?”

“Yes. I’ve even stabbed my finger with the knitting needle before.”

Harumi’s eyes partially closed as she reveled in nostalgia, but Koutarou wasn’t looking at her in that moment. If he had been, he probably wouldn’t have been able to get her smile out of his head for the rest of the day.

“Do this like this, and... Haha, I feel more motivated after hearing that even you’ve failed, Senpai.”

“Putting it like that sounds kind of mean. Heehee, but still, you haven’t stabbed your finger yet, so you might be better than I was back then.”

“Ahaha, I’ll do my best.”

Even while laughing, Koutarou was diligently moving the knitting needles without looking away from his hands.

It sure is strange to think that someone like Satomi-kun would be this motivated to knit...

Harumi, who was sitting next to Koutarou and watching over his progress, couldn’t help but feel it was odd. While Harumi herself enjoyed knitting, she knew that most people didn’t. She was under the impression that athletic types like Koutarou wouldn’t have any interest in it whatsoever.

That’s why she thought Koutarou had only joined the knitting society to keep it from being disbanded, or worse. Although she scorned the thought, it was possible he had the same ulterior motives as the boy on recruitment day.

“Senpai, when I pull the loops, is it all right to put some force into it?”

“Oh, y-yes, that’s fine. But don’t pull it so hard that the sides become uneven. It’ll turn out poorly.”

“I see. Got it.”

“Good.”

Why does he work so hard...?

However, the reality was far from what she feared. Koutarou was earnestly toiling away, seriously trying to learn knitting. It was all just a bit mysterious to Harumi.

“Um, Satomi-kun.”

“Yes, what is it?”

As Harumi said his name, Koutarou stopped moving his knitting needles and looked up at her. Meeting his gaze, Harumi’s normally shy and withdrawn personality started to show itself ever so slightly.

“Do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Of course not. Ask me anything.”

“I-In that case...” Harumi steeled herself, took a deep gulp, and threw her question at Koutarou. “Satomi-kun, why did you decide to pick up knitting?”

“Why?” Koutarou wasn’t sure what to say at first, so he just flashed an embarrassed smile and put his hand on his head. “It doesn’t suit me at all, right? Hahaha...”

Koutarou was fully aware of how he must look to others.

“Th-That’s not true! I was just wondering if this was boring for a boy...”

Hearing Koutarou’s laughter, Harumi’s face turned red and she looked down. Looking at her like that, Koutarou decided to tell her a little bit about his circumstances. Harumi would surely understand. He also felt that it was only fair that she should know since she was teaching him.

“I’ll tell you because you don’t look like the gossiping type.”

“Satomi-kun...?”

Harumi looked back up to see Koutarou with a much more serious expression than she had expected.

“The truth is that I have a half-knit sweater at home.”

“A sweater? I see...”

When Koutarou said that, Harumi recalled what he had said when they first met.

“Would it be possible for even a complete amateur to knit a sweater?”

That was what Koutarou had asked her that day.

“I want to finish it with my own hands one day. Hahaha, but who knows how long it’ll take before someone as clumsy as I am can do it?”

That sweater must hold memories of someone important to him.

That’s what Harumi felt as she looked at Koutarou’s smile. His embarrassed smile was oddly gentle.

That’s why he’s working so hard. He wants to finish that sweater. I see, so that’s what it was...

Upon learning his reason, Harumi was both relieved and truly happy.

“I understand, Satomi-kun. I’ll make sure you’re able to finish that sweater.”

“Really?!”

“Of course!”

Harumi was overjoyed that Koutarou was taking knitting seriously and, most of all, that she had found a true companion.

“Let’s do our best together, Satomi-kun!”

“Yeah!”

Koutarou’s lack of skill was just a minor setback. That didn’t matter to Harumi at all.

But I wonder who started that sweater...

There was still a small, lingering doubt, but Harumi was quick to forget it.

It doesn’t matter! Let’s do our best, Satomi-kun!

She was satisfied just to have found a friend. To her, it was something truly worth celebrating.

“I do this here, and...”

Koutarou was reviewing what he had learned from Harumi while walking home. The sight of a boy strolling through the town while moving his hands suspiciously as the sun went down was surreal. However, Koutarou was serious. He moved his empty hands and continued his imaginary exercise.

“Hmm?”

As Koutarou returned to Corona House, he could hear a scraping sound coming from the garden.

“I wonder what that is...”

As Koutarou passed the concrete fence to the property, he spied Shizuka in her school uniform with an apron over top of it. She was also holding a large bamboo broom, apparently in the middle of cleaning up the garden.

“Welcome back, Satomi-kun.”

“Hello, Landlord-san.”

Shizuka stopped what she was doing and smiled.

“Taking care of the garden?”

“Yes.”

There was a pile of uprooted weeds at Shizuka’s feet. She had pulled them out and was currently gathering them with the broom.

“I want to keep this place as beautiful as possible.”

Shizuka smiled and wistfully looked up at the apartment building dyed red by the sunset. Corona House was beautiful. While the design was old-fashioned, the twenty-five year old building itself showed no signs of its age. That was all thanks to Shizuka, who never neglected its maintenance.

“Landlord-san, you said that Corona House was a keepsake left behind by your parents, didn’t you?”

Koutarou looked up at Corona House together with Shizuka.

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s why I want it to stay like this for as long as possible, even though I’m sure that it will be demolished one day...”

“Then I’ll make sure I do my part while I live here.”

Koutarou understood how Shizuka felt. It was very similar to how he felt about finishing the sweater.

“Thank you, Satomi-kun.”

“Well, I do have to act cool from time to time.”

“And it would have been quite moving, if only you hadn’t said that. Ahaha.”

“Wahahaha.”

As the two laughed, a small, blue light flew through the red sky.

“Ah, a shooting star...”

“You’re right.”

The blue light was a shooting star with a long tail. The two of them just happened to be looking up as it passed by over Corona House.

“...I hope that Satomi-kun doesn’t lose to the ghost.”

Shizuka put her hands together and made a wish on the star. As Shizuka finished her wish, the shooting star disappeared.

“I won’t lose to a ghost. Besides, I’ve gotten a bunch of exorcism tools from you.”

“It’s just in case, Satomi-kun. Teehee.”

“You don’t believe in me at all, do you...?”

“I do believe in you.”

“It sure doesn’t sound like it.”

“My, my! Hahaha!”

“Wahahaha!”

But they were only able to carry on with each other so cheerfully because they were both blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

Standing in front of the door to room 106 and reaching into his pocket for his key, Koutarou heard voices coming from inside.

“N-Noooooooo! Please don’t come any closer!”

“Heh heh heh. It’s okay, isn’t it?”

“I can’t stand ghosts!”

“Come on! What’s the matter, Magical Girl Rainbow Yurika?”

The voices belonged to a frightened Yurika and a gleeful Sanae.

“...What are those two doing now?”

Upon hearing them, Koutarou remembered that he’d left the door unlocked. He then put the key back into his pocket and opened the door.

“P-Please save meeeee!”

“Oh?”

As he did, Yurika came flying out from the inner room. She immediately ran behind Koutarou and began trembling.

“Gh-Ghost-san, i-if you’re going to possess someone, p-possess him instead!”

“Hey, didn’t you introduce yourself as the magical girl of love and courage?”

Koutarou was honestly astounded.

Well, I guess she is just a cosplayer...

As that thought ran through Koutarou’s mind, the other person in the room appeared.

“Welcome home.”

“Thanks.”

Koutarou replied to Sanae as he stepped inside and removed his shoes. The trembling Yurika followed him in.

“Sanae, don’t bully her too much. She’s got nothing to do with this, you know?”

“B-But I do!”

“I know she’s not involved, but I’m not gonna let her throw some cosplay party here!”

“I’m not throwing a party! The evil magical girls... The enemy is coming!”

“...I guess the party is soon?”

“See? I’m doing us both a favor.”

“Please listen to meeeee! I’m begging youuuuu!”

“Sure, sure.”

“We know, we know. Danger is approaching, right?”

“It must be nice to get to play around all the time...”

“It sure must be...”

“Aaaaaahhh! You’re not listening at all!”

Entering the inner room, Koutarou threw his bag into the corner of the room and turned to Sanae.

“Sanae, let’s put this girl aside for now.”

“Yeah, got it.”

“Please don’t put me aside! I’m telling you that this is important!”

“For starters, let’s settle things between you and me.”

“Oh...” Sanae’s expression turned from a smile to a frown. “...Yeah. I have to throw you out of here too.”

“Except since I’m not leaving, I have to exorcise you.”

“That’s right. That’s what this was about.”

Just yesterday, that was the only thing that had been on their minds. But for some reason, those feelings had faded quite a bit since then.

“Please listen to me!”

“Could you just be quiet? I don’t have time to play with you right now.”

“Sorry, I’ll deal with you later.”

“Nooooo! I don’t want to be dealt with by a ghost!”

“...Do you want me to listen or not?”

“Hey, Koutarou.”

Sanae spoke in a soft, hushed voice. Since she was normally full of energy, it attracted Koutarou’s attention more than normal.

“Yeah?”

“Do you hate me?”

“Huh?”

“If you—”

But just as Sanae was about to ask something...

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

Yurika screamed as the tatami mat closest to the entrance of the inner room was sent flying. Naturally, as Yurika was standing on it, she went flying with it and landed face first on the other side of the room.

“Why is it always meeeee?!”

She then rolled...

“Bwah!”

...And she kept rolling until she slammed into the wall and stopped moving.

“What?! What just happened?!”

“Koutarou! Below the tatami mat! Somebody’s coming out!”

“What?!”

Koutarou, who had chased after the flying tatami mat with his eyes, looked back and saw a person crawling up from where the mat had been. In the floor boards underneath the mat, there was a round hole that was just large enough for a person to fit through.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. My apologies for surprising you.”

And now there was a girl crawling out of the hole. She appeared to be Koutarou’s age or slightly older. She was tall, with a proper and formal appearance. Her long, narrow eyes made her look rather composed.

“My name is Kiriha. I am a descendant of the People of the Earth, born to the Kurano clan that presides over oracles and curses.”

However, the strangest thing of all was the way she was dressed. She was wearing unusually old-fashioned clothing, complete with lots of adornments. It looked like an outfit the Ainu of old would wear, or something that might belong to a shrine maiden in ancient Japan.

“Kiriha?”

“What’s up with this one...?!”

Koutarou, Sanae, Yurika, and now Kiriha. With that, there were now four people gathered in room 106.

Why are people gathering in this room...?

Koutarou was less concerned about Kiriha’s appearance, and more concerned with the increasing population of his apartment.

Koutarou, Sanae, and Kiriha sat around the tea table set up in the middle of room. Yurika was still lying by the wall next to the window, unconscious and unmoving.

“Allow me to introduce myself once more. My name is Kurano Kiriha. As Kurano is the name of my clan, I’d prefer it if you called me Kiriha.”

“I’m Satomi Koutarou.”

“I’m Sanae.”

“Koutarou and Sanae is it. Although this will only be until I am done with my business here, it is nice to meet you.”

Confirming their names, Kiriha politely bowed.

“How courteous.”

“N-Nice to meet you.”

Urged on by Kiriha’s mannerly greeting, Koutarou and Sanae returned the bow.

“First off, I would like to apologize. I am deeply sorry for appearing in such a way. However, as I didn’t want to raise any commotion, I had no choice but to do so.”

“N-No, it’s all right. Please raise your head, Kiriha-san.”

As Kiriha continued to bow politely, Koutarou started to feel like he should be the one apologizing.

“I am grateful for your generosity. Thank you, Koutarou.”

As Kiriha looked up, she had a smile on her lips. Her sincere attitude and amiable demeanor suppressed Koutarou’s wariness.

Her clothes are strange and she’s being a bit formal, but it seems like I can hold a proper conversation with her...

As his encounters with Yurika and Sanae had been nothing short of chaotic, Kiriha had so far left a very favorable impression on Koutarou.

“Well, Kiriha-san, what kind of business do you have here? And why did you come from below—”

“Hey, Koutarou!”

“Whoa! Wh-What is it, Sanae?”

Sanae suddenly stuck her dejected face in between the two of them and interrupted Koutarou mid-sentence.

“Your attitude with her is completely different than how you deal with me or Yurika!”

“Of course it is. The situation is totally different here.”

“Aha! I can see right through you.”

“Wh-Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s because of those huge boobs, isn’t it?! You pervert!”

“What? Kiriha-san’s breasts are large?!”

“If you didn’t notice, you don’t have to look now!”

An English-Japanese dictionary sent flying by Sanae’s Poltergeist powers hit Koutarou in the head.

“...D-Don’t be so unreasonable.”

“This is how we usually act!”

“Then don’t get angry if I don’t hear you out!”

“Grrrrr! I still feel like it’s unfair. Hmph! I don’t care anymore!”

As Koutarou rebuffed Sanae, she looked away with a frown on her face.

“...May I continue?”

Kiriha had blankly watched the back and forth between Koutarou and Sanae with wide eyes, but when it appeared that they were done talking, she cleared her throat and straightened her posture.

“I-I’m sorry, Kiriha-san.”

“There is no need to be. I am the one being unreasonable, appearing at such a strange time and from such a strange place.”

“I appreciate you saying that. But, Kiriha-san, let me ask again: What reason do you have for coming here? And why did you come from under the floor?”

“In order for me to explain that, I’ll need to start by clarifying who I am.” Kiriha looked directly at Koutarou and began her explanation. “As you might guess from the name, the People of the Earth—my people—are people of this planet.”

“Okay... But aren’t we all?”

Koutarou didn’t understand what Kiriha was getting at and looked at her with a perplexed expression. Of course human beings came from Earth

“I did not mean that we are from this planet. I meant that we live inside of it.”

“What?! Are you saying your people live underground?”

“That’s right. To make it easier for you to understand, calling us underground dwellers would be quite accurate. We live completely self-sufficiently under the surface of the earth.”

“You can’t be...?!”

“U-Underground dwellers?!”

Sanae was just as taken aback as Koutarou. She turned back to stare at Kiriha.

“What would someone like that want with us?!”

Sanae slammed her hands down on the table and leaned forward towards Kiriha.

“Calm down, Sanae. It’s still cramped in here because of all the luggage, so don’t move too much and make it worse.”

“Ah, s-sorry.”

Getting scolded by Koutarou, Sanae obediently sat back down.

“Actually, my goal for coming here has nothing to do with you, but rather this building.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our tribe was originally native to the mountains of this region. However, as your ancestors started using metal in large quantities, they chased us out of the mountains so they could begin mining. We then had no choice but to live underground then.”

“So that’s when you became underground dwellers?”

“That seems to be the case. Apparently, those who initially went underground intended to return to the surface soon enough, but living underground was unexpectedly comfortable. About half of the people that took shelter underground decided to stay there. Those people would be my direct ancestors.”

“Hmm...”

Kiriha’s words were convincing considering she had literally come from underground. The hole in the floor seemed to be a passage that led further and further down.

“Recently, we made a historical discovery.”

“A historical discovery? What was that?”

“A single book was discovered by chance. It contained a piece of information we have been looking for for many years. Specifically, the location of the altar where the souls of our ancestors are enshrined.”

“So you came to the surface to search for that altar?”

Kiriha responded to Koutarou’s question with a nod.

“That’s right. However, as the location was precisely recorded, we already know where it is. There is not much searching to be done.”

“Then your business is almost complete already?”

“Good for you, Kiriha-san.”

“It’s not that easy.”

Kiriha sadly turned her gaze downward and shook her head.

“We would love nothing more than to rebuild the altar. However, its location is a problem.”

“Its location...?”

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Sanae grimaced.

“In fact, our altar would be the center of this very room.”

What came out of Kiriha’s mouth was exactly what Sanae had been afraid of.

“Which means, Kiriha-san...”

“That’s right, Koutarou. Could you please relinquish this room to us? It is most important for the altar to be in this exact location.”

“I knew it!”

Sanae stood up in a hurry.

“Of course I won’t give it to you! I won’t let you build some weird altar here!” she cried.

She had no intention of letting anyone do anything of the sort.

“I won’t forcibly evict you. Our tribe has its pride and traditions. We won’t just force our problems on you. We have prepared the necessary compensation for you to obtain another home... Karama, Korama, bring that over.”

“Got it! Ho!”

“Understood, Ane-san! Ho!”

Two small figures appeared from the hole.

“Wh-What are those?!”

“H-Haniwa5?”

“Ho!”

“Ho, ho!”

There were two haniwas, each about thirty centimeters tall. They both had smooth surfaces and adorable faces. They were working together to carry a golden, glimmering lump of metal.

“Hey!”

“Ho!”

“Hey!”

“Ho!”

Letting out strange cheers, they brought the lump of metal to the stunned Koutarou and Sanae.

“Sooooo cuuuuute!”

“Wh-What are they?!”

“There’s no cause for alarm. These two are my servants. They are similar to the mechanical dolls your people use.”

“Ho! I’m Karama, ho!”

“Hello, ho! I’m Korama!”

After setting down the metal lump in front of Koutarou, the two haniwas waved and greeted Koutarou and Sanae.

“To think these are robots...”

“Hello there, Karama-chan and Korama-chan!”

Both Koutarou and Sanae were quite surprised. If Kiriha was telling the truth, the two haniwas were robots... but nothing about them seemed mechanical. Even though their bodies looked like pottery, their limbs moved freely. In contrast to their adorable appearance, they were apparently the byproduct of some extremely advanced science. Sanae, however, couldn’t see past their cuteness.

“Mackenzie would fanboy over something like this.”

“Koutarou, Sanae. That lump of metal is solid gold. Some platinum was mixed in during the casting process, though that shouldn’t lower its value. We offer you this as compensation if you are willing to leave this place.”

“Th-This is incredible, Kiriha-san!”

Koutarou was shocked to learn that the lump of metal in front of him was actually gold. Gold was worth a few thousand yen per gram, and this must have been at least ten kilos of it. In total, the hunk of metal before him was worth millions upon millions of yen. It was a staggering sum for just moving out of an apartment.

“That is just how serious we are. If this causes you any inconvenience, we can exchange it to Japanese yen. How about it? Will you surrender this room to us?”

“I’ve never seen such a big gold ingot... Wait, what am I doing? No way! Of course I won’t! This is my home after all! Koutarou, you say something too!”

“Hmmm...”

Sanae flat out refused, but Koutarou had his arms crossed and was in deep thought.

“Hey! What are you thinking for?!”

“Well, after hearing her circumstances, I was thinking that maybe I should cooperate with her.”

“Koutarou! Are you sure?!”

Kiriha’s expression lit up when she heard Koutarou’s response. She stood up, causing all the adornments attached to her clothes to jingle. Like the lump of metal, they were also made out of gold.

“So now you’ve lost sight of yourself—not just because of her boobs, but because of money too?!”

“You’re wrong! I can’t accept this kind of money! ...Well, if I move, I would need some cash. It would be pointless if I couldn’t afford living on my own after moving, after all.”

“And you deserve to be compensated accordingly,” assured Kiriha.

“When I told you to get out, you refused! Why are you listening to a woman with big boobs? Are big boobs that great?!”

“Don’t make it sound like I’m some terrible person! It’s perfectly reasonable for me to think about cooperating with a perfectly reasonable person!”

“What are you trying to say?!”

Koutarou was genuinely starting to feel like it would be all right to cooperate with Kiriha. She had been very polite and had clearly explained herself. What’s more, she’d even offered him extremely generous compensation for moving. But on top of everything else, her reasons for wanting the room were completely rational. Reconstructing an altar like that, after all, was something similar to a grave. Koutarou had no reason to refuse someone who wanted to honor their ancestors.

“Sanae, I know you want to stay in this room, but can’t you compromise somehow? An altar wouldn’t be an inconvenience even if you stayed here, right?”

“Th-That’s... Well, I guess it wouldn’t, but...”

Sanae peeked at Kiriha’s face. She had no reason to hate Kiriha apart from her large breasts. In fact, those were the only two reasons she was unhappy about Koutarou’s apparent persuasion.

“So be more considerate. It’s not like she’s going to hold a cosplay party like Yurika.”

“...Okay. I can deal with it.”

Finally, Sanae gave in as well.

“Oh?! So you’ll agree?! Koutarou, Sanae!”

Kiriha’s expression grew even brighter.

“Yes.”

“I don’t really like it, but I don’t have a choice. It is what it is.”

Sanae had decided that she could live with an altar.

“Thank you! Both of you! With this, we’ll be able to move on to the second phase right away!”

“Phase two?”

“What’s that?”

Koutarou and Sanae tilted their heads in confusion after hearing Kiriha’s words.

“The surface invasion plan. Once we activate the altar, we’ll be able to effectively gather spiritual energy! And with that, we’ll be able to mass produce spiritual weapons like Karama and Korama.”

“Wh-Whaaaaat?!”

“A... A surface invasion?!”

“Of course, you don’t have to worry. You two will be treated as guests, so there is nothing to fear.”

Kiriha had interpreted Koutarou’s and Sanae’s surprise as worry for what would happen to them. Of course, that wasn’t the case.

“Wait, what?! Hold on just a minute! You want to rebuild the altar where you ancestors have been enshrined so you can invade the surface?”

“That’s right. What’s wrong all of a sudden, Koutarou?”

Kiriha blinked repeatedly in confusion at Koutarou’s unexpected reaction.

“No way, no how! I take it all back! I’ll never hand the room over to you!”

“Well said, Koutarou!”

“Koutarou! Why?! You were being so cooperative just a moment ago!”

“I flat out refuse! I can’t shoulder the burden of cooperating with a surface invasion!”

Just looking at Karama and Korama was enough for someone—even as ignorant of science as Koutarou was—to understand what a civilization with such advanced technology could do on the surface. He didn’t even want to imagine what would happen.

“I thought that we could reach an understanding, but to hear you just casually say something so ridiculous...”

“...I see. If you’re set in your ways, then I have another plan.”

“What? Are you going to resort to using force?!”

“Well, who knows?”

Kiriha didn’t so much as flinch at Koutarou’s angry glare. Instead, her lips formed a suspicious smile.

“Koutarou, the salt is in the red bottle on the shelf, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought so.”

Koutarou was cutting up cabbage for dinner. Next to him was Kiriha, wearing an apron and skillfully shaking a frying pan while adding in salt.

“Koutarou, do you prefer your food to be heavily salted or just lightly?”

“Heavily, I guess.”

“Heavily salted things are bad for your health. Let’s start gradually decreasing the amount starting today. You live on your own, so you have to take care of yourself.”

Kiriha smiled placidly while stirring the frying pan. She was in the middle stir-frying vegetables. The cabbage Koutarou was cutting up would soon be added into the mix as well. Kiriha had washed the rice a little while ago, so the rice cooker was going in the inner room too. Koutarou’s dinner for today was rice and stir-fried vegetables with some meat mixed in.

“Koutarou, is the cabbage done?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“In that case, put it in here.”

Kiriha turned down the flame and beckoned Koutarou over. Carrying the bowl with the cabbage in it, he approached the gas stove.

“I didn’t think you could cook, Koutarou.”

“My old man couldn’t do anything on his own so...”

Koutarou tossed the cabbage into the frying pan. It sizzled with a loud hiss as the moisture from the cabbage hit the hot oil. The unique sound made Koutarou a little nostalgic.

How long has it been since I stood with someone in the kitchen like this?

Koutarou was remembering being in the kitchen with his mother. She always smiled gently, much like how Kiriha was now.

“Koutarou, next time you cut up the cabbage, you should make it thinner. It’ll be hard for you to eat it like this, right?”

“...Yeah.”

With the image of his mother still in his head, Kiriha’s smile had a profound impact on him. He obediently nodded his head.

“Okay, Koutarou, prepare the plates. It’ll be ready soon.”

“Okay.”

Koutarou nodded once more and reached for the shelf.

The sizzling of the frying pan and the clinking of tableware filled the room. The sound continued for a while longer before Kiriha turned off the gas stove. She then casually called out to Koutarou with a smile.

“Koutarou, are the plates ready?”

“They’re ready.”

“Is the rice cooked?”

“In another two minutes.”

“I see. Koutarou, would you surrender this room?”

“Su—”

Asking in such a casual way, Koutarou almost nodded and agreed instinctively.

“Whoa, that was close! Of course I won’t!”

“I see. That’s a shame.”

She mentioned taking over the room so nonchalantly that it was like it was completely normal. Because she skillfully timed her questions, Koutarou had accidentally almost agreed several times already.

“I... I won’t fall for that kind of trick.”

“You’re quite a tough opponent, Koutarou.”

Although Kiriha had failed several times, she didn’t seem to mind.

“Heh, it looks like this may be a drawn-out war.”

It seemed that Kiriha was ready for a long battle.

“What are you trying to do?”

Koutarou was perplexed by her strange attacks. She wasn’t being unreasonable like Sanae, or repeating the same nonsense like Yurika. Her method of trying to get into Koutarou’s head and naturally push him to cooperate was more troublesome than both Sanae and Yurika.

“I told you. We have our pride and traditions. Using force goes against both of those.”

“Then why don’t you just give up on the surface invasion altogether?”

“We’re just taking back what is rightfully ours. Like I said, we have our pride and traditions. We want to regain our territory, but we don’t hold a grudge against the people here. We know how painful it is to have something taken from you, so we won’t outright attack the people here. Our enemy is something much bigger.”

“S-So what, do you think I’ll just agree to it?”

The most troublesome thing of all was that Kiriha’s actions were very justifiable. It would have been much easier to resist if she were just a villain who tried to use force.

“I’ll make you agree. We have plenty of time.”

Kiriha pushed her well-endowed chest up against Koutarou and looked up at him provocatively.

“Wh-Wha?!”

Koutarou instinctively jumped back from her alluring gaze and the feeling of her large, soft breasts. His heart was pounding.

“We have endured over a thousand years underground.”

“S-So what?”

“Heehee, it means that we have waited for a thousand years. But how long can you hold out? Half a year? Maybe a year? I will do whatever it takes to make you nod your head.”

Kiriha nonchalantly blew a kiss at Koutarou.

“Ugh...”

Kurano Kiriha, the mysterious girl who had appeared from underground...

She’s going to be tough...!

At the current moment, she was Koutarou’s most dangerous enemy.

“What’s with that? She’s just showing off her big boobs! And you, Koutarou! Why are you blushing at such an obvious ploy?”

Sanae, who had peeked into the hallway to observe the situation, was furious. She also wanted to chase out Koutarou, but she had a strong, jealous dislike for Kiriha’s methods.

“If you surrender the room over something like that, I will never forgive you!”

In fact, Sanae was so focused on getting Koutarou to resist Kiriha that she’d already lost sight of her own objective.

“U-Um, excuse me...” a voice suddenly called out to Sanae.

“What?!”

“Eeeeek! I-I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! It was my fault!” The meek voice belonged to Yurika, who had just woken up. She was frightened by Sanae’s aggressive attitude and began crying. “It was just on impulse! I just wanted to know what was happening!”

“...Oh yeah, you’re here too.”

“Noooooooo! My very existence has been forgotten!”

“We’re in the middle of something important, so just stop crying... Jeez...”

Sanae, who was floating in the air, landed in front of Yurika and did her frustrated best to explain the situation.

“That woman came out from under the floor, but she’s trying to take over this room while leaving me out of it. She said something about making it a base for the underground people’s surface invasion.”

“U-Underground people? Really?!”

“You don’t have to be so surprised about people living underground. She’s much more proper than a weirdo like you.”

“You’re wrong! That’s prejudice! Why won’t you guys believe me, even though you believe in underground people invading the surface?”

“Try putting a hand on your chest and asking yourself that again.”

“Chest...? Do you mean her breasts are the reason?”

After looking down at herself, Yurika looked over at Kiriha and Sanae, then smiled in relief. She was happy she wasn’t in last place.

“...Bring up boobs again and you won’t be around to see the sun rise tomorrow.” Sanae growled.

“Kyaaaaah! I-I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault!”

Hearing Sanae’s threat, the frightened Yurika dove into the wardrobe and slammed the sliding door shut.

“Jeez, everything’s becoming such a mess...”

At first, Sanae thought all she had to do was chase out Koutarou. But the situation had gradually developed in unexpected directions.

“Anyways, Koutarou, if you fall for that woman’s tricks, you’ll regret it!”

Unexpected feelings began budding in her petite bosom. Still unaware of them herself, Sanae grit her teeth as she glared at Koutarou and Kiriha.

Having finished laying out the dishes, Koutarou’s stomach growled.

“Dinner at last...”

It was only natural for his stomach to growl, considering it was now after 10 PM.

“I’m sorry, Koutarou. It’s all because of me.”

One of the reasons the dinner was late, Kiriha, sat down to the right of Koutarou.

“If that’s what you think, get out.”

“I can’t do that... By the way, Koutarou, why share the meal with me?”

In front of Kiriha was a setting of stir-fried vegetables, meat, rice, and miso soup—just like in front of Koutarou.

“I don’t like owing favors. I especially can’t afford to be careless around you.”

“My, my, how harsh. It looks like I’ll have to start breaking you down from there.”

Koutarou shared dinner with Kiriha because she had helped make it.

“That woman only helped you so she could take the room from you, y’know? You don’t owe her anything for that. If anything, it’s the opposite.”

Sanae sat across from Koutarou with a frown on her face. She didn’t like the sight of Koutarou and Kiriha getting along.

“That’s not true. I only wish to deepen our friendshi—”

“Hmph, we’ll see about that!” Sanae barked, cutting her off.

Being a ghost, Sanae sat at the table without anything to eat.

“Anyways, I think it’s better than instant noodles,” Yurika said as she poured hot water from the kettle into her instant noodles. With the high cost of living, even bargain sales on instant noodles still cost 98 yen. The pitiful sight of Yurika huddled over her dinner was enough to move one to tears.

“...Do you want some too?”

“Huh?!”

It was even enough to make Koutarou feel a little more merciful.

“A-Are you sure?!”

“Y-Yurika! The water! The water is spilling!”

“Kyaaaaah! I’m sorry! I’m so sorryyyyy!”

Distracted by Koutarou’s offer, Yurika had let hot water overflow from her noodle cup. She put the kettle down on the tea table and hurriedly began wiping up the hot water with a dishcloth.

“...You sure are hopeless...”

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I’m sorry for being clumsy and stupid!”

“That doesn’t matter... But what are you going to do about dinner? Will you eat too?”

“You’ll still share with me even after what I just did?!”

The half-crying Yurika’s expression brightened and her hands moved at top speed to finish wiping up the water.

“Yeah, you can have some.”

“Thank you very much!”

“Don’t thank me. Just leave after you’ve eaten.”

Hearing that, Yurika’s smile vanished and her hands froze.

“I-I can’t leave, so I’ll just have my noodles...”

With a heavy sigh, Yurika’s shoulders drooped in disappointment. However, she continued staring at the meal in front of Koutarou like a hungry child.

“...Looks like she’s regretting her decision.”

“You don’t have to hold out. Go ahead and eat your fill, and then get out.”

“Ah, aaaaahhh!” Yurika gulped hard. “Y-You can’t, Yurika! You can’t lose to this temptation! Yurika, fight!”

Yurika desperately tried to persuade herself, but the smell of the delicious looking food continued to tempt her. Having only known the taste of the artificial seasoning of instant noodles recently, the temptation was unbearable. And so she continued staring at Koutarou’s food, almost to the point of drooling.

“Just make it easy on yourself, Yurika. You only have to leave this apartment.”

“Ah, aaaahhh! The rice and the miso soup are calling me! H-How cruel! This torture is just too much!”

Yurika’s stomach growled loudly. Her body seemed to have already given in to the temptation.

“Dinner, huh...?” Sanae, who had been watching the back and forth between Koutarou and Yurika, now looked at the food. “I haven’t eaten in years...”

“What’s wrong, Sanae?”

Koutarou noticed that something was off with Sanae, but she didn’t answer him right away. She only opened her mouth several seconds later.

“Hey, Koutarou, Yurika... Either one of you is fine, but...”

“What?”

“Y-Yes? What is it?”

Koutarou answered nonchalantly while Yurika answered nervously.

“Would you let me possess you?”

Sanae’s next words were unexpected.

“Possess?”

But the most unexpected part to Koutarou was how serious she seemed. That’s why he asked Sanae to explain herself.

“N-Noooooooo!” However, Yurika didn’t share Koutarou’s feelings in the slightest. “I don’t want to be possessed by a ghost! If you’re going to possess someone, please possess Satomi-san!”

Leaving her instant noodles behind, Yurika dove into the wardrobe and slammed the sliding door shut.

“Well, you know, I’m a ghost, right?”

“Yeah.”

Neither Koutarou nor Sanae had expected anything from Yurika, so they carried on like nothing had happened.

“That’s why even if I try, I can’t eat anything, right?”

“Well, I guess offerings might be the best you could do.”

“But if I possess someone, I can taste what that person eats.”

“Sanae, that method works better between people whose auras have similar wavelengths. Wouldn’t it be better to possess me or Yurika instead?”

Kiriha had been listening in and decided to interrupt.

“That’s true, but you saw how Yurika is. And I refuse to do it with you, Kiriha!”

“Why?”

“If I become indebted to someone like you, I know I’ll regret it!”

“Well, well. Aren’t I hated?” Kiriha drooped her shoulders and smiled wryly.

“That’s how it is, so... Please, Koutarou!”

“What’s in it for me if I do? Besides, I don’t want to get killed when you possess me.”

“Please! I won’t kill you! I just want to be able to taste food again!”

“...Really?”

“Yeah!” Sanae looked up and intently nodded. “Okay, well, I think it might make your shoulders a little stiff too.”

“Stiff shoulders? Now that you mention it, people possessed by ghosts do tend to say that, don’t they?”

“Oh, and if you let me possess you during dinner, I wouldn’t mind a truce! It’s a good deal, right?! If your shoulders get stiff, I’ll even give you a massage!”

“A truce, huh...?”

That was an attractive proposition to Koutarou, as it meant that he would only need to chase out two people for the time being. It would also mean that the most aggressive of them all, Sanae, would stay calm for now.

And all I have to do is put up with stiff shoulders... All right.

“Okay. I’ll accept those conditions.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah. Come on, I’m ready.” Koutarou tapped on his shoulders.

“Yay!” Sanae’s expression eased up as she jumped straight at Koutarou.

“Whoa!”

“Thanks, Koutarou!”

Even if she calls herself a ghost, she’s almost like a kid. Well, I guess she is a kid...

That was how Koutarou felt as he looked at Sanae.

Shortly after, the wardrobe door slid open and Yurika appeared with a red face as she silently returned to the tea table.

“...”

Though she had come out because she sensed that the matter had been settled, she was ashamed of her own behavior.

“So do I just eat like normal, Sanae?”

“Oh, yeah. Just wait a minute! I’ll possess you now!”

But as usual, neither Koutarou nor Sanae paid any attention to Yurika. Kiriha also only looked at the two of them, not giving so much as a glance in Yurika’s direction. Normally, she would have complained and told them not to ignore her, but this time she was actually grateful.

“Hup!”

Sanae moved around behind Koutarou and clung to him with her arms wrapped around his neck.

“Go ahead, Koutarou.”

“Is this what it looks like when you possess someone? It’s quite different from what I imagined.”

Koutarou could feel Sanae’s small body against his back. She was warm, and he could feel her breath on his ear. She was weak to things like charms, she could pass through walls, and she had her Poltergeist Attack. There was no doubt that she was a ghost, but Koutarou was having a harder and harder time thinking of her as one.

“Yeah! Eat up, Koutarou!”

Unaware of Koutarou’s feelings, Sanae was in a cheerful mood.

“All right. Thank you for the food.”

“You’re welcome. Well, I guess that’s not something I should say.”

“Hahaha, what does it matter?”

With Sanae on his back, Koutarou began eating.

I wonder why...?

Strangely, he didn’t feel anything negative.

“Ah, Koutarou, this is delicious!”

“I am honored by your praise.”

“Kiriha-san made that one.”

“Hmm... For someone with such strange clothes, your cooking is pretty normal. But the taste is a bit too strong.”

“You think so?”

“See, Koutarou? Even Sanae agrees. We’ll start weakening the flavor starting tomorrow.”

“Ugh...”

Kiriha joined in as well, and they happily continued eating together.

“...That looks delicious.” Yurika looked on in regret. “Compared to that, my instant noodles...”

Yurika felt a sad emptiness as she peeled open the lid to her cup of instant noodles and the fragrance of artificial seasoning wafted up.

“Ah...”

Disappointed by the smell, Yurika’s hand twitched and she only tore the lid halfway off. She tried to remove the rest, but couldn’t manage to get the whole thing off. It only made her cup of instant noodles look even sadder.

“Today has just been terrible...”

As Yurika spoke, she snapped apart her disposable chopsticks in an uneven fashion, giving them different shapes.

“Koutarou! Miso soup! Miso soup!”

“I got it. Just calm down a little.”

“Be careful, Koutarou. It’s hot.”

Looking on at the three of them eating dinner so happily, Yurika reached into her instant noodles with her odd chopsticks.

“Why is it always me?” While grieving, Yurika slurped up her cup of noodles alone. “They’re even soggy...”

Today’s 98 yen instant noodles tasted saltier than usual.

“Well then, now that we’ve eaten, let’s get back to business.”

“Business?”

Kiriha asked Koutarou what he meant as she poured some tea.

“We’re talking about throwing you out.” Sanae chimed in.

Even after eating, she was still clinging on to Koutarou. With her chin resting over his shoulder, she grinned at Kiriha.

“Sanae, you want to keep living here, so you’re chasing everyone else out, right?” Koutarou asked.

“Yeah. Well, you and I have a truce at the moment.”

“All right. And Kiriha-san, you want this room so you can rebuild an altar.”

“That’s right.”

“And Yurika, you want to hold a cosplay party here with your friends.”

“You’re wrong!”

“Lastly, I live here, so I don’t want to move out. I can’t get a place like this anywhere else for just 5,000 yen. Besides, if I just hand this room over, there would be a lot of trouble.”

If Koutarou moved out, rumors of there being a ghost would spread even further. Even worse, a surface invasion would begin or a cosplay party would be held.

As Shizuka’s friend, Koutarou wanted to prevent that from happening. He understood why the place was so precious to her.

“Please listen to me! There really is danger approaching!”

“And not everyone wants to fight it out directly... even though I could hold my own in a fist fight.”

“It’s not my intention to harm anyone.”

“Yeah, and we have a truce.”

“I’m not going to hold a cosplay party!”

“And none of us have any intention of backing down.”

“Of course not.”

“This is my home!”

“It’s dangerous! Everyone, please get out of here as fast as possible!”

“That said, Koutarou, we need to settle this in some way. The prolonged negotiations with you aside, there are another two people here. At this rate, progress will come to a halt altogether. It’s clear the discussion isn’t getting us anywhere. That’s why we’ll need to resolve this swiftly with a method that everyone can agree on.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But what should that method be?” Koutarou agreed with Kiriha and looked around.

If only Mackenzie were here at a time like this...

Thinking wasn’t one of Koutarou’s strong suits. In a situation like this, he’d love nothing more than to borrow Kenji’s brain. That said, he couldn’t just call the cops. If he brought up a ghost, the underground people, and cosplayers, they’d be more likely to take him to a mental institution. Koutarou couldn’t rely on outside help.

“Please listen! I can’t accept this! Why am I the only one you won’t believe?! The magical power that’s gathering here is dangerous!”

“Does anyone have a good idea? We need a method everyone can agree on.”

“That’s a tough one...”

“Hmm, a fair method, huh? Hey, Koutarou, how about this? We play some kind of game, and if you lose, you leave.”

“Like I said, I can’t accept this! Please listen to meeeee!”

“Deciding things fairly with a game is a good idea. There are many historical examples of competing over territory using games,” Kiriha agreed.

“Wait up! I don’t want something this important to be decided by a game!”

Kiriha was on board with Sanae’s idea, but the same could not be said about Koutarou. He knew that Kiriha was smart. And that he wasn’t.

“So Koutarou, would you rather have us all fight it out? Or continue with an endless discussion?”

“A fight... A discussion...”

After looking at Sanae and Kiriha, Koutarou gave up the idea of a fight. And after looking at Yurika, he gave up on a discussion.

“Guh, it looks like there’s no other way.”

Despite having fought on the day they met, Koutarou didn’t want to hit Sanae now. Because of that, the exorcism tools he had gotten from Shizuka were still sitting in his bag. And while Kiriha was saying preposterous things, he felt the same about her. Finally, Koutarou simply didn’t think reasoning and discussion would work on Yurika.

“A game, huh? A game...”

Though Koutarou’s shoulders had drooped in discouragement, he soon shook his head to snap out of it and looked at Sanae.

“All right, Sanae. Say we decide to play a game. What would it be?”

“How about an easy one like rock-paper-scissors?”

Sanae put up a finger and slightly tilted her head. However, Kiriha shook her head at Sanae’s suggestion.

“Rock-paper-scissors wouldn’t be good. It’s too simple and it relies too much on luck. In order to convince everyone, it needs to be something that focuses on our skills.”

“That said, we can’t just use shougi or chess, right? There are pros and cons to everything.”

“I haven’t played either.”

“So a game that even a beginner could play that has an element of luck, but where player ability would ultimately come out on top in repeated plays... It might be a classic, but how about card games?”

“Card games?”

“Well, it doesn’t just have to be card games.”

“I’m fine with that. I played a lot with papa and mama.”

“Fine, just fine... Call it cosplay or whatever you like. Anything is fine as long as you get out of this room.”

Koutarou looked at the three girls and nodded.

“All right, it seems like everyone agrees, so let’s go with that. My lifestyle is on the line here. I want to finish this ridiculousness as soon as possible.”

Koutarou couldn’t hit Sanae, who was clinging to his back and smiling. That said, he didn’t have the confidence that he could last forever against Kiriha’s plans. Nor could he think of a way to convince Yurika to get out. This was a last resort to Koutarou.

“No objections. So Koutarou, what kind of card games will we play?”

“Well...”

“Koutarou, how about all four of us take turns picking games? That way it’s more fair.”

“In that case, we’ll need to have points for the placings.”

“Indeed. We’ll need at least enough points for everyone to get a turn.”

“Waaaaah... In the end, nobody would even listen to my opinion...”

“Hey, Koutarou, since we have a truce, we should work together. It’ll be easier that way, and you and I can just work things out afterward.”

“You’re on. If we just play normally, we’ll probably lose to Kiriha-san.”

“Kiriha-san, those two are teaming up.”

“That’s the kind of thing that happens in territory disputes. Heh, looks like I can’t underestimate them. How about we work together to defeat them?”

“Y-Yes, please!”

Thus the games to determine the owner of room 106 began.