Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 2 - Chapter 2

A Day for the Invaders

Monday, April 27th

Over half a month had passed since the four invaders first forced their way into room 106. During that time, they had fought over the room primarily using card games, although they were mostly just trading points going back and forth. Koutarou still wasn’t convinced that games alone would be enough to solve his problems. He was using every cell in his not-so-clever head to come up with countermeasures, which was why he was visiting Kisshouharukaze High School’s cosplay club today. Of course, his goal was to deal with one of the invaders in particular.

“...So there you have it. She’s just cosplaying without any consideration for her environment or the people around her. That’s why I would like you to teach her the true meaning of cosplay.”

Koutarou was sitting at a conference table and talking to six girls. These six young ladies were the cosplay society’s club president and the other five members. Like the knitting society, they were considered a weak club.

Koutarou came to them to explain the situation he was in. He had an acquaintance who was a cosplayer, and this cosplayer was cosplaying regardless of the time, place, or occasion.

“This is a photo of the cosplayer in question.”

Once he’d given them a general idea of his predicament, Koutarou pulled out a photograph and put it on top of the table. The club president, who was sitting at the opposite of the end of the table, picked it up.

“I see... So this is the girl...”

It was a picture of Yurika in her magical girl outfit.

“What a cute girl. Is the outfit an original, I wonder?”

“The quality of her outfit seems to be pretty high.”

“Maybe it was custom made. Either way, it must have cost quite a bit...”

“Look at the staff! It’s really well done!”

“It seems she’s at least got the determination of a first-rate cosplayer.”

The members of the society all took peeks at the photograph and stated their impressions.

“If we just leave her like this, she will eventually cause problems for all of you as well. If she walks around here in this outfit, people will think she’s one of you.”

“You’re right. People would think that...”

The club president looked down as she replied to Koutarou. When she did, he noticed that her shoulders were trembling slightly.

Not good. Did I make her angry?

It was clear that Yurika would cause problems for the society sooner or later.

“What will you do?”

“President!”

The other members also noticed their president’s behavior and looked at her anxiously.

“So how about it? Will you do it?”

A single tear streamed down the president’s cheek and fell onto Yurika’s photograph, distorting the outline. Seeing that, Koutarou naturally assumed the negotiations had ended in failure.

“Heh... Heh heh... Heh heh heh heh...”

The president’s shoulders trembled more as she began laughing in what was a small voice at first, but gradually grew louder.

“Ahahahaha!”

There was a huge grin on her face as she finally looked up.

“How could this be?!”

“...?”

The president was crying as she laughed gleefully. Koutarou had no idea what was going on and wasn’t sure what to think of her reaction.

“President, what about his request?”

“Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! Today is a marvelous day!”

The president excitedly slammed her hands on the table and kicked her chair away as she stood up.

“So will we accept?!”

“Of course! This is love! A very deep love! Satomi-kun wouldn’t make such a request without a true understanding and deep love of cosplayers!”

“In that case, President...”

“You all understand, right?! If we don’t respond to Satomi-kun’s deep love, how can we call ourselves true cosplayers? Let’s combine our powers and turn this girl, Yurika-san, into a first-rate cosplayer!”

“Yes!”

“Coscluuub!”

“Fight!”

The five members responded to the president in chorus. The whole cosplay society was getting fired up.

“Umm...”

Initially taken aback by this unexpected development, Koutarou finally regained his composure.

“...So you’ll do it?”

“Ah, yes. E-Excuse us, Satomi-kun. We got a bit too excited...”

Upon realizing Koutarou’s reaction, the president’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

“I don’t know if it was just a fad, but a shadow has been cast on the cosplay boom lately... On top of that, we have to endure the prejudice and harassment of heartless onlookers. That’s why we were just so happy for a normal person like you to show that you understand...”

The president’s face was beet red, but the other members were in a similar state. Some were scratching their noses and others scratching their heads. They were each embarrassed in different ways, but they were all looking at Koutarou warmly.

I see. They’re enduring their own hardships...

Koutarou sympathized with the girls. When it came to being isolated, the knitting society and the cosclub were in similar situations.

“Thank you very much, everyone. I won’t forget this. If you ever have problems with something, please let me know.”

At first, Koutarou had come to them as a countermeasure against the invaders, but before he knew it, his desire to use the cosclub had disappeared. Now he was glad he had decided to consult with them so early. It would have been too late once Yurika had already caused problems for them.

“In that case, can I ask something of you, Satomi-kun?”

“Of course. What can I do for you?”

“Well... could you stop by and play from time to time?”

The president pressed her hands together and smiled awkwardly.

“I don’t mind... but why?”

“W-Well, you see... Our club only has girls in it, right?”

The president indicated the club members on either side of her. There were six of them in total, all girls.

“That’s why there are times when we’d love to hear a boy’s thoughts on designs, but it’s hard to ask a normal boy... It’s easier to ask someone like you who doesn’t have any underlying prejudice...”

The president’s voice gradually grew quieter. By the end of her sentence, her voice had vanished altogether. She just looked at Koutarou with an uneasy glance.

“I understand. Since you listened to my request, I have no reason not to listen to yours. I would love to help out.”

Hearing her explanation, Koutarou nodded his head. Since he was asking them to help with Yurika, this seemed like a fair deal to him.

“Thank you, Satomi-kun!”

“Then let’s get to it right away, President!”

“Huh? Now?!”

“Of course, Satomi-kun! It won’t take long!”

With Koutarou’s consent, the girls jumped into action straight away. They ran around the room in a tizzy, grabbing outfits from their hangers. It looked like they were having a lot of fun.

Oh well...

Koutarou was again taken aback momentarily, but quickly collected himself and relaxed as he straightened his posture in the chair.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way now.”

“Thank you, Satomi-kun. Leave Yurika-san to us.”

“Please come visit again, Satomi-kuuun!”

“You’re not doing it right!”

“Oh yeah!”

“All together now!”

“Farewell, Master! We’ll be waiting for your return!” they all called.

“Ahaha, okay. See you later.”

Koutarou left the club room as he was seen off by the smiling cosplayers. The windowless hallway he entered was dim and chilly, the complete opposite of the cosplay society’s club room.

“Still, they sure are great. All cosplaying should be disciplined like that.”

The girls of the cosplay society would never cosplay somewhere without permission. They wouldn’t even walk around school in their costumes. Even when going to the bathroom, they made sure to change first.

“I absolutely agree.”

All of a sudden, Sanae spoke up. She had kept quiet during his meeting in order not to disturb Koutarou. Still floating in the air, she clung to Koutarou’s back and poked at his cheeks.

“But aren’t you a sly one? Trying to pawn off Yurika to the cosplay society like that...”

“That was my plan at first. But after talking to them, I was glad I did.”

“Give and take?”

“Something like that.”

“...Isn’t it just because you love those maid outfits?”

“It’s not! ...Well, I certainly don’t hate them.”

“If you say so... But with this, it looks like there’ll be one less rival, huh?”

“Heh heh heh, one down...”

Koutarou grinned and laughed. If Yurika joined the cosplay society, she would no longer need room 106 as a place to express herself. That was Koutarou’s goal, and having one less invader to deal with was worth celebrating.

“You really are sly, you know?”

“You think so?”

And so Koutarou’s negotiations with the cosplay society were concluded successfully. Koutarou and Sanae continued to chat as they left the club building. Once outside, they then headed back towards their classroom as their lunch break was about to end.

Even though Sanae was floating through the air in broad daylight, none of the students made a commotion. That was because only the residents of room 106 could see Sanae at school. The only exception was Shizuka, who could see Sanae while she was at Corona House or when she wasn’t concealing her presence.

But since she was hiding now, Kenji and Shizuka only greeted Koutarou.

“Welcome back, Satomi-kun.”

“Where’d you go, Kou?”

“I had an errand to take care of in the club building.”

“An errand?”

“Yeah, I went to one of the clubs and introduced Yurika to them.”

“Introduced Nijino-san? What kind of club was it?”

At the mention of Yurika’s name, Kenji perked up as he adjusted his glasses. Since she started sitting next to him, Kenji had a lot of interaction with her. He was the type that tended to take care of the people around him, so he couldn’t help himself. She was even more dangerous to leave on her own than Koutarou was.

“I can’t say. Not even to you. It has to do with her hobby.”

“Hmm... Well, that’s fine. More importantly, Kou, where did you meet those four?”

“What four?”

“Don’t try to play dumb. I’m talking about Nijino-san, Kurano-san, Ruth-san, and Theia-san.”

“Oh, you mean them.”

Koutarou really wasn’t trying to play dumb. Including Ruth, there were five invaders, so the mention of “four” just didn’t click for him. But since Kenji didn’t know about Sanae, it was a simple misunderstanding.

“You were acquainted before they transferred here, right?”

“Yeah, I met them while I was out shopping once.”

“Shopping...?”

Kenji cocked his head to the side. He spent a lot of time with Koutarou, but he didn’t have any recollection of meeting those four girls while they were out shopping. Something seemed fishy to Kenji about Koutarou’s answer.

“When was this sho—”

“A-Anyways, those four girls sure stand out, don’t they, Mackenzie-kun?”

“Huh? Yeah, they do. I guess you could stay they’re rich in variety...”

Having sensed where the conversation was heading, Shizuka, who knew the truth, diverted Kenji’s attention elsewhere. He didn’t have the will to pursue it any further, so he went along with the change of topic without objection.

“Phew...”

That was close. Thank you, Landlord-san.

With Kenji now focused on Shizuka, Koutarou let out a sigh of relief. When his eyes met hers, they smiled at each other. At the moment, Shizuka was one of Koutarou’s few allies. She would give him a hand every now and then.

“Mackenzie-kun, which one of them is your type?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, I’m kind of interested.”

“For Mackenzie, it’s that girl in the drama club, right? You even joined the drama club to chase after her.”

“You’re wrong. A friend of mine asked me to join to even their numbers.”

Kenji let out an exasperated sigh at Koutarou’s jab. This wasn’t the first time it had come up.

“Then tell me, Mackenzie-kun! My friends are always asking what kind of girls you’re interested in!”

“Hmm... Out of those four...”

Kenji looked over at the four girls. Koutarou naturally looked over as well. Apart from Sanae, the invaders were all sitting together and chatting with several other students. The girls stuck out when they first arrived at school, but now they had blended in and were a part of the class.

“Are you dating someone, Kurano-san?”

“Would you leave it alone? That’s all you boys care about...”

“Aren’t you curious too?”

“Th-That’s...”

“Heehee, I don’t mind. I’m not currently seeing anyone.”

“All right! Me! Me! I’ll volunteer!”

“You idiot...”

“However, there is someone I have chosen.”

“Really? Who?!”

“Ahaha, that’s a secret.”

Kiriha was known as the class honor student. At school, she changed her tone and behavior. She was active and had a quick mind, but she was also kind to everyone. Because of that, she always had people around her. Most of the students gathered around the invaders now were Kiriha’s friends and acquaintances. She put on quite the act, but for Koutarou who knew the real Kiriha, he couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for his oblivious classmates.

“Ah, there’s only five minutes left! I still have six problems left! I won’t make it! Um... Ah...! Waaaaah!”

“Yurika-san, do you want me to show you my homework again?”

“Is that okay?!”

“If you buy me juice.”

“...That’s fine. I’ll solve them myself. Waaah...”

Compared to Kiriha, Yurika was known as a lost cause. She was always restless and acted suspiciously. She failed a lot, and was often late. Forgetting her homework was an everyday occurrence. Even now, she was desperately toiling away to get her math homework done. She also often hung out with Kiriha, which only made her hopelessness stand out even more. Yurika, however, hadn’t realized that at all.

“I’m not fond of rock.”

“Then what do you listen to, Theia-chan?”

“Normally classical music, although I’m interested in enka. Last year’s big hit ‘The Festival’s Flame Drum’ utterly impressed me.”

“That was a huge hit in the enka world, wasn’t it?”

“So cool... As expected from a princess.”

The most conspicuous of the four was Theia. Unlike Kiriha, Theia was simply being herself. That said, she had changed her backstory from that of an alien princess to an international student from Europe. She announced herself as a princess from a country that still had a monarchy.

Her manner of speaking and origin were strange, but everything she said was still plausible. Surprisingly, she also was well-versed in popular artists and comedians. The truth was that her translation device was capable of supplementing on such topics, so she wasn’t having much trouble adjusting. Thanks to that, the class simply accepted her as high society.

“Hmm, so do you make Theia-chan’s bentou too, Ruth-san?”

“Yes, but I’m still studying native cuisine here.”

“That’s nice. I wish I could cook...”

“You’re envious, aren’t you? Ruth is a childhood friend I can boast about. Isn’t that right, Ruth?”

“Yes.”

Compared to how unique the other girls were, Ruth lacked impact. She never spoke out of line and, apart from her fitness, she had no noteworthy flaws. She always blended in with the background, gently smiling next to Theia. Even so, there were plenty of people who were attracted to her modest personality, so she was secretly quite popular. Although she didn’t stand out among the four, she still attracted attention.

“Hmm...”

“Don’t act like you have to think about it, Mackenzie. Out of those four, you’d pick Yurika.”

As Kenji was deep in thought, Koutarou called him out with a grin.

“Don’t put words in my mouth.”

“No, I know I’m right. You’ve always been like that. You have a thing for girls who can’t do anything on their own.”

“Ahaha, is that so, Mackenzie-kun?”

“It’s not, Kasagi-san. Kou’s just spouting crap.”

Kenji was quick to deny Koutarou’s accusation.

“Then who is it?”

“...”

But when Koutarou pursued the question even further, Kenji fell silent. The truth was that Yurika was his type out of the four.

“See? It is Yurika.”

“But it’s not like that! It’s just a coincidence!”

“Now that you mention it, Satomi-kun is pretty helpless too. That’s really what you fall for, isn’t it?”

“Please don’t say something so terrifying, Kasagi-san.”

“Don’t blush now.”

“You just shut up, Kou! It’s really not like that, Kasagi-san...”

After scolding Koutarou, Kenji desperately tried to explain himself to Shizuka. At that point, Sanae, who had been floating in the air nearby, started hanging off of Koutarou’s back.

“Hey, Koutarou, what about you?”

“Hmm?”

“Which of us is your type?”

Sanae hung on to Koutarou and whispered into his ear. Koutarou whispered back to her.

“...You don’t even need to ask.”

“You mean it’s me?! I’m always with you, after all! The innocent, energetic, brave, beautiful ghost, Sanae-chan!”

Sanae’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as she leaned in more. However, Koutarou emphatically shook his head.

“No way. It’s Ruth-san. Out of the five of you, it’s not even a contest.”

To Koutarou who struggled day in and day out, the clear choice to him was the only girl he didn’t have to fight—Ruth.

“Don’t even joke about that! I’m obviously the cutest!”

“Gweh...”

Sanae strengthened the grip around Koutarou’s neck and choked him.

“I’m always right next to you! Can’t you say something like in those romantic comedies? How about that your heart is always throbbing near me and that you think I’m cute?!”

“N-No, I don’t really feel anything...”

“I’m even rooting for you in the sports festival! I’ve had it!”

In her excitement, Sanae tightened her grip on Koutarou even more.

“I-In the end you just want to chase me out of the room too...” Koutarou coughed.

“I don’t care! It’s still unfair!”

With the pressure around his neck, Koutarou felt like he was about to pass out. But to the others it looked like Koutarou was just sitting there normally, so nobody noticed anything. Really, it wasn’t just the four invaders; Koutarou and Sanae’s odd relationship was already a normal part of the class as well.

After school, Kiriha went to the club building on her own.

“In order to participate in the obstacle marathon for clubs, I’ll need to join a club, but...”

Her goal was of course the sports festival next month. The specific event they were going to enter was known as the obstacle marathon for clubs. As the name suggested, representatives from a club would pair up to take part in the race. Because of that, the invaders each needed to join a club and be chosen as one of the representatives.

“Which club should I join...?”

Kiriha stopped in front of the club building and looked at the club directory. As she stared at the list, Kiriha was plotting out her strategies for the race.

Since it’s an event that requires us to work in pairs, I’ll need a capable partner in case I get into trouble. Specifically, the foremost requirement is fast legs. Since it is a marathon, picking an athletic club is self-evident. Relying on the legs of a liberal arts club member would be foolish. And since it’s an obstacle course, having a small body would be favorable. Speaking of fast runners with slight builds, the first thing that comes to mind is...

Having gathered her thoughts, a single club stood out to Kiriha: the girls’ track and field team. When her eyes happened across it on the board, her lips curled into a smile.

The girls’ track and field team, huh? Not bad. Now all that remains is to see if I’ll be chosen as one of the representatives. I’ll try to talk my way into it, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll just head to a different club. I still have time left...

“Karama, Korama, you’re here, aren’t you?”

“We’re here! Ho!”

“Of course! Ho!”

Kiriha appeared to be the only one standing there, but the voices of her haniwa servants rang out from somewhere. They had been secretly following Kiriha around using their built-in cloaking devices.

“Record all the conversations where I’m headed. I need to analyze everyone’s character and their relationships, so record as much as you can.”

“Understood! Ho!”

“We’ll do our best! Ho!”

Kiriha was planning on forcing her way into the girls’ track and field team like she had done with Koutarou and room 106. She would examine the club members and skillfully manipulate them into selecting her as a representative for the obstacle marathon.

“All right.”

Kiriha nodded to the haniwas and headed for the door to the club building.

“Nooooo! I won’t join the cosplay club! I keep telling you I’m not a cosplayer!”

“She’s struggling more than I thought she would.”

“Don’t mind that. Just bring her in. Remember this is for our beloved Satomi-kun’s sake.”

“Roger!”

“Noooooooo!”

Kiriha entered crossed paths with a strangely noisy group as she entered, although she paid them no mind. She was exclusively focused on getting the girls’ track and field team to nominate her for the race.

“Heh, I wonder how the others will manage...”

Kiriha smiled confidently as she and the two haniwas made their way to the track and field club room.

But Kiriha wasn’t the only invader at work. As she was meeting with the track and field team, Theia was also trying to join a certain club.

“So she’s joining the girls’ track and field team?”

“Yes. I have confirmed that she has entered their club room.”

“Good work, Ruth. Keep up the observation.”

“Understood.”

With a beep, Ruth’s voice cut out over Theia’s bracelet. The device on her right wrist had several functions aside from summoning weapons. Communications being one of them, she was able to freely talk with Ruth through her own bracelet. After hearing Ruth’s report, Theia ended the call and put both of her hands on her hips.

“Heh heh heh, so Kiriha is joining the girl’s track and field team. That would be the typical way to go about this. However...!”

There was a glint in Theia’s eyes as she looked up at the building in front of her. It looked rather large that way, but in reality it was simply because of her small stature. The building itself wasn’t really all that big.

“A competition is all about organizational strength and combined force! I’ll just leave the physical labor to the men! You chose the wrong club, underground dweller! Hahaha!”

The building in front of her was also a club building, but it was different from the common club building. It was a prefabricated hut that the boys’ cheerleading squad used. Because they made a lot of noise when they practiced, they were put in a separate building.

“What I seek is complete unity and utter loyalty! I’ll have you lay down your lives for my sake, boys’ cheerleading squad!”

“Go! Go! Ha-ru-ka-ze!”

“Go, go, Harukaze! Go, go, Harukaze!”

As Theia laughed loudly, the boys’ booming voices and an intense drumbeat reverberated from the prefab structure forcefully enough to shake the ground.

“Good, very good! Enthusiasm befitting my troops! Prepare yourselves!”

“Go, go, Harukaze! Go, go, Harukaze!”

Voices thundered and drums roared. They were so fierce that it seemed like they had enough power to blow away Theia’s tiny body. But that did not intimidate her. She walked right up to the door with a determined look and knocked.

“Greetings!”

“Who’s there? We’re busy practicing. If you have any business with us, come back later.”

Shortly after Theia knocked, the door opened and a boy with a rough looking face appeared. The uniform he was wearing was in a more traditional style than the normal Harukaze High uniform. The hems of his coat and pants were longer and they had lots of embroidery. Around his left arm was an armband that read “boss.” This was this club’s leader.

But the most noteworthy thing about him was his gargantuan figure. He looked like he would get caught in the doorframe. Compared to Theia, he looked like a giant.

“That won’t happen. From today on, I will be this club’s ruler.”

But even then, Theia’s smile never wavered. Her confident grin was quite fitting for such a ruler. She pointed directly in the giant’s face.

“Hand over rulership of the cheerleading squad to me immediately. All of the members are to obey my every command!”

“What?! Are you challenging us?! You think you could do anything against the glory of our squad with that tiny body of yours?!”

“That’s the spirit! However, current boss, I won’t let you off so easily! I’ll properly discipline you and make you regret calling your new master tiny!”

“Rubbish! Don’t get ahead of yourself, shrimp! Men, to arms! Don’t hold back, even if she’s a tiny girl! She insulted our squad!”

Rallying to their boss, the whole squad streamed out of the club room. Each and every member that swarmed around Theia was huge. They towered over her so staggeringly that it literally looked like she disappeared in the crowd.

“Very good! That’s the behavior I expect from my vassals!”

“Cut the crap!”

“Don’t think you’ll make it out of this alive!”

The squad members flew into a fit of rage and threatened Theia. It was almost like a pack of fierce animals hunting a rabbit.

“Of course I will! That’s simply the nature of victory! Behold the seventh princess of the Holy Forthorthe Galactic Empire, Theiamillis Gre Forthorthe!

As it turns out, the fiercest animal among them was the tiny rabbit herself.

Roughly an hour later, Theia’s figure could be seen through the window of the prefabricated hut. She calmly sat upon an elegant wooden chair in the back of the building. She now had the boss’ armband around her left arm. There was also a flag bearing the same crest as her bracelet hanging behind her. What had originally belonged to Kisshouharukaze High School was now property of the Forthorthe Empire.

The cheerleading squad assembled before Theia. Strangely enough, they all were all injured to one extent or another. Bruises and sprains aside, some had burns, some blue bruises, and some even had scorched hair. Yet these iron-willed men were not the type to complain. They all stood up straight with their chests sticking out. The sight of ten boys in black uniforms lined up in military fashion left quite an impression. The only exception was the boy who had been the boss an hour ago. He had been roughed up and was now lying in the corner of the room.

“Nooooo! I don’t want to wear that and take part in the sports festival! Please forgive meeeee!”

“Just give up, Yurika-chan.”

Voices could be heard from outside, but the men inside didn’t pay any attention. The same was true for Theia. She flashed a satisfied smile as she observed the squad members fall in line.

She stood up, put her hands on her hips, and declared in a dignified manner, “Listen up. Starting today, the cheerleading squad will be reborn! You won’t be cheering from something as vague as a school anymore. From this point on, you are the royal cheerleading squad, and you will only cheer for me! This is the first time in the long history of the Forthorthe Empire that royalty has ever had a direct cheering squadron! I want you to be fully aware of that significance and pour your heart and soul into your work!”

“Hail to the princess! Hail to the princess!”

The ten men roared in response to Theia’s declaration. Their powerful voices, cultivated by daily training, shook the building. However, what they did could no longer be called cheering. It was more a raw demonstration of loyalty to Theia.

“Boast and praise my noble name! Defeat is not permitted in Forthorthe! Don’t forget Forthorthe is synonymous with victory!”

“Victory for Her Highness Theiamillis! Glory to the royal families of Forthorthe!”

Theia had seized the cheerleading squad through military force. Kiriha’s way of gradually taking control didn’t suit Theia.

As Theia took over the cheerleading squad, she radically changed its nature. It was molded into a force that existed solely for her sake. She was going to take on the sports festival with this reformed squad.

“Fight the enemies of the royal families! Bleed for my sake! Complete discipline, trust in your companions, and—most importantly—utter loyalty to me will lead us to victory!”

“Hail to the princess! Hail to the princess!”

“Ahahaha! What will you do, pleb, now that I have obtained an invincible army?!”

The excited Theia was thinking of Koutarou.

Just you watch, pleb. I’ll show you how powerful loyalty and unity can be!

She hadn’t fully realized that part of her reason for staging a coup of the cheerleading squad was to get back at Koutarou for refusing to swear his loyalty to her.

While Theia was busy seizing control of the cheerleading squad, Koutarou was in the middle of his own club activities and was blissfully unaware of Theia’s and Kiriha’s tactics. In fact, he had completely forgotten about his normally chaotic life. When he was knitting with Harumi after school, he felt a strange sense of peaceful satisfaction similar to when he was sleeping.

“Satomi-kun, you’ve gotten better.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Your stitches no longer show any hesitation.”

“Hahaha, I’ve just used the same method since I started. I guess even someone as clumsy as me is bound to get better that way.”

Koutarou hadn’t realized what he’d accomplished until Harumi mentioned it. But she was right. Even though he claimed it was muscle memory, his hands moved with a certain confidence now.

It’s gradually gotten longer...

Koutarou paused to inspect his progress for the day. What he was knitting was already over thirty centimeters long. If he kept up at this rate, he’d have completed a muffler shortly.

This part here is pretty poorly done...

His stitches at the start were a mess. They were puckered here or there and the finish was uneven, but the quality of the knitting gradually increased every ten centimeters or so. He was still no match for Harumi, but there was a big difference in his work from when he’d first started.

Now that I look at it, I really have gotten better.

When it came to knitting, hard work paid off with visible results. Koutarou could see for himself how much he’d improved.

“...You really are seriously knitting, Satomi-kun.”

“Huh?”

When Koutarou looked up, Harumi’s gentle eyes were looking over his work.

“Looking at your knitting, I can tell.”

Harumi reached over and softly stroked Koutarou’s knitting as if she were petting a puppy.

“You must really love knitting, Senpai.”

“Oh...”

Harumi was gentle even as she touched the knitting with the tips of her fingers. Seeing that, Koutarou could tell just how much she adored it. But when he pointed that out, Harumi slightly blushed and looked down.

“Yes, I love it. That’s why... um... it makes me really happy to see you being so serious about it...”

“In that case, I better live up to your expectations.”

Koutarou smiled at Harumi and began moving his knitting needles again. Lately, he’d started to enjoy knitting, but he did even more so now that he was aware he was actually improving.

“N-No, there’s no need to be in such a hurry... Let’s talk some mo—”

“Hmm?”

“Oh, n-nothing! Nothing at all!”

When Koutarou looked back up at Harumi, her face was bright red and she was knitting away furiously. Her stitches were much rougher than normal and Koutarou couldn’t see any of her usual thoroughness in her work.

I wonder what’s up...

Koutarou tilted his head to the side and observed Harumi, who was acting rather unlike herself. But Koutarou staring at her only made Harumi’s face turn even redder and her hands move even faster.

“Please stop taking my clothes off! I change clothes myself!”

“It’ll be all right. Just relax.”

“Stop fooling around and take this seriously. This is so we can get the measurements for the outfit she’ll be wearing for the obstacle marathon at the sports festival.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t want tooooo!”

Ah, I completely forgot!

Hearing the voices from outside reminded Koutarou of something.

“By the way, Senpai, I have something I’d like to ask you.”

“Y-Yes?”

Harumi sat up straight as if she had been startled. While Koutarou found it strange, he continued talking.

“Would you mind participating with me in the upcoming obstacle marathon for clubs?”

“In the obstacle marathon...?”

As she repeated his words, she seemed to return to her normal self. Shortly thereafter, she furrowed her brow and looked a little wistful.

“But I’m not good with sports, so... I’ll probably just get in your way.”

“That’s fine. It doesn’t matter.” Koutarou shook his head. “Actually, I made a bet with some friends over the race. The first one to reach the goal gets to order the others around. But since it requires groups of two, I can’t just enter it on my own.”

“With your friends...?”

“Besides, even though you work in pairs, they only take the best time of the two. So even if you retire right after the race starts, I won’t mind. All I need is for you to participate.”

The obstacle marathon for clubs required two representatives from every participating club, but only one of them actually had to cross the finish line. Koutarou wouldn’t be able to enter the race on his own, but he could run it on his own as long as Harumi entered with him.

“Now that you mention it, I do remember that in the rules... I understand. If that’s how it is, I’ll gladly accompany you.”

“Thank you very much, Senpai.”

“Don’t mention it.”

In the end, Harumi accepted Koutarou’s request with a smile. Harumi had only hesitated because she didn’t want to hold Koutarou back. But if that wasn’t a problem, she had no qualms about entering.

Koutarou and Sanae didn’t leave Harukaze High until 4:30 PM.

“The knitting society sure is a bore...”

“Just leave it be.”

The hour was still relatively early for concluding club activities, but Harumi had an appointment at the hospital today. Whenever she did, the knitting society would either adjourn early or just postpone their club activities.

“But is it really okay to partner up with that weak looking girl? If you have to retire too, we’ll get last place, you know...”

“But it’s all good if I win. Heh heh, fortunately for you, I’ve always been the star of the sports festival.”

“I’m starting to get uneasy all of a sudden...”

The two were joking around as they headed for the school’s front gate. Other people couldn’t see Sanae, so Koutarou would stay silent in crowded places. That held true even now. Passing through the gate, he didn’t say a word back to Sanae. Sanae understood and didn’t really seem to mind, but they began talking again once they had gotten through the crowd.

“...Don’t play around, Koutarou. We’re in the same boat this time.”

“Just leave it to me.”

“I’m starting to get really worried...”

“Just wait and see. I’m going to start practicing tomorrow. I’m gonna blow you away, Sanae.”

“I sure hope so.”

“...”

At that point Koutarou stopped talking again, but it wasn’t because there were people nearby. Koutarou was just normally walking along the fence around the school. When Sanae followed his line of sight, she realized that he was staring into the schoolyard.

“What are you looking at?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing much.”

Koutarou was watching the baseball club practicing. The field was equipped with stadium lighting, so they’d keep going well after the sun went down. Their practice had only just begun.

“The baseball club, huh? You were in the baseball club too, weren’t you?”

“Hmm? Yeah. I was until I graduated middle school.”

“You have lots of stuff like that at home.”

Sanae remembered the day she had met Koutarou. Back then, there were baseballs, bats, and gloves lying around. Koutarou had even chased her around with a bat.

“But now I’m loyal to the knitting society.”

“That’s because that girl is your type.”

“More so than you guys.”

“What’s with that?! You don’t have to be like that!”

Sanae puffed out her cheeks and pouted in response to Koutarou’s retort. He smirked as he looked at her, but just as he was about to say something, he quickly turned to look behind him.

“Huh?”

“What? What’s wrong?”

Sanae was taken aback by Koutarou’s unexpected behavior and her puffed-up cheeks returned to their normal size.

“I just had a feeling someone was watching...”

“There’s nobody here.”

“Must’ve just been my imagination.”

“Well, aren’t you self-conscious? That’s not good, you know. They say that’s the first stage of becoming a narcissist.”

“Don’t lump me in with Mackenzie.”

“Huh? Glasses-kun is a narcissist?”

“Yeah. So much so that he joined the drama club.”

“Hmm... So he’s just like he looks then.”

“Right?”

For better or worse, Sanae had forgotten the dissatisfaction she had felt earlier—although neither of them were aware of that as their now peaceful conversation continued.

“Anyway, I can’t imagine anyone would enjoy watching me...” Koutarou said, shaking off the strange feeling from before.

“I’m not so sure...”

“Hmm? What was that?”

“Nothiiing! Stop imagining things and just keep walking.”

“Fine, fine.”

After they passed through several intersections, a shadow came staggering out from a nearby alley.

“S-Satomi-saaan!”

The figure approaching them was none other than Yurika.

“Yurika?!”

“What happened to you?!”

Yurika’s appearance was strange. She looked haggard and her cheeks were wet with tears. Moreover, her clothes were in complete disarray. Her scarf was crooked, her buttons were buttoned incorrectly, and her undergarments were peeping through. She was a absolute mess.

“Help me please, Satomi-san! Some strange club is chasing me around and bothering me!”

Yurika grabbed on to Koutarou and looked up at him with tears in her eyes, pleading for help.

“They stripped me, measured me, and made me wear weird outfits! I can’t take it anymoreeeee!”

“Th-That sounds terrible...”

“I... I guess the clubs are getting desperate... Ha, hahaha...”

The club chasing after Yurika was of course the cosplay society that Koutarou had enlisted. However, neither Koutarou nor Sanae could just tell her that, so they played it off with smiles and dry laughter.

“They said that they’ll measure my underwear size tomorrow! I don’t want to show my everything to anyone except to the person I loveeeee!”

“Aha... Ahahaha...”

“Nyaha... Hahahaha...”

Yurika was hysterical as Koutarou and Sanae frantically tried to play dumb.

So it was her earlier...

With the appearance of Yurika, Koutarou finally realized what he’d felt outside the school gate. However, unlike Koutarou, Yurika had no idea what was going on.