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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 3 - Chapter 2




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The Bathing Conspiracy

Monday, August 11th

Theia and Ruth had come to Earth on the large battleship they called the Blue Knight. This Blue Knight was built over the course of a few years as Theia’s personal ship in order to assist her in her trial. After reaching Earth, it had been in orbit ever since.

The ship was about a kilometer long, but it had one very obvious, distinct feature. The sky blue ship had the shape of a person. With that coloring and design, the name Blue Knight was truly fitting.

“H-Huge! It’s so big! You could fit a ton of room 106s in here! Tulip, how many tatami mats could fit in here?!”

“Pleb, is that the only thing you have to say? How about, ‘So this is the Blue Knight that Her Highness is always talking about!’ Or, ‘As expected from Her Highness, commanding such a fine ship!’”

Koutarou and the others were now on the bridge of that Blue Knight. They were wearing summer clothes and carrying travel bags. They were on their way to the hot spring inn.

“Satomi-sama, this bridge could fit about five hundred tatami mats!”

The bridge was positioned in the Blue Knight’s head. But since it was the head of a kilometer tall giant, it was surprisingly large.

“Ruth, there’s no need to tell them that! More importantly, why do you look so happy?”

“Five hundred?! Tulip, if you live in a place this big, why would you want room 106? That’s ridiculous!”

“I keep telling you it’s for the trial!”

Koutarou and Theia’s voices echoed in the large room. The bridge was about thirty meters in all directions and was made from a beautiful, white ceramic-like material. Inside of that large space was a seat for the operator, the navigator, and various other positions. It looked similar to the type of military command center that often appeared in movies.

“Damn it, if you’re a princess, then just settle for this huge house!”

“If you understand that I’m a princess, then watch your tongue and attitude!”

“No! I refuse!”

“Then I refuse too! I’ll stay in that room out of spite if I have too!”

Koutarou and Theia butted heads hard enough for it to make a noise as their foreheads collided. The situation seemed serious, but this was normal for Koutarou and Theia, so nobody really minded.

“Hmm, so this is what it’s like on the other side of that suspicious glowing wall.”

“I knew it was a transfer gate, but to think it’s in orbit...”

Koutarou and the others had come aboard the Blue Knight to go to the beach. Using the glowing blue wall that Theia and Ruth used to travel between room 106 and Blue Knight, they would get to the inn faster than any train or bus.

“Whaaat?! This is in space?!”

“If that’s true, then why aren’t we floating or swimming in the air?”

“That’s thanks to the artificial gravity. We’re using Blue Knight’s power to simulate directional gravity. We could disable it if you like.”

“We can do that some other time. I feel like my hair or clothes would just get messy.”

“I see. In that case, please make yourselves comfortable for a while. In the meantime, we’ll reset the gate,” said Ruth while working at the panel at the operator’s station.

The technology Theia and Ruth used to travel through the gate and to summon weapons were one and the same. Setting a gate and calling forth a weapon would theoretically take the same amount of time, but the safety protocols were much stricter for human transportation. A weapon could be recreated, but the same could not be said for a person.

Because of that, it took some time to open a new gate. But once it had been opened, it could be freely traveled through. That was how the gate technology worked.

“In just a little while, we’ll open a gate close to the inn.”

“Yes, good job.”

Theia thanked Ruth as she finished her preparations. Ruth smiled and sat down next to Theia.

Koutarou and the others were sitting at the seats intended for strategy meetings. It was normally where the commander, captain, and staff officers discussed tactics as they read star maps and enemy data, but now it just was a place for the girls to chat. It was all perfectly casual. Snacks covered the flat monitors that would have been displaying strategic data, and Kiriha’s haniwas were handing out the tea they had made. If the Forthorthe military elite had seen this sight, they might have cried.

“By the way, Theia-dono, I have a question,” Kiriha asked as she put down her manjū.

“What?”

“Is it really okay for a battleship—or, rather, this large structure made for combat—to be shaped like a person?”

Kiriha’s question was simple. The more complex of a shape such a huge machine had, the lower its structural integrity would be. Normally, the larger something was, the simpler its design would have to be. Nevertheless, Blue Knight was unmistakably modeled after a human figure. It seemed like a rather obvious weakness.

“Good question. And you’re absolutely correct. This shape is nothing but a weakness.”

“Then why?”

“Ruth.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Ruth took over for a more detailed explanation. Despite her appearance, Ruth was a military officer and knew more about the ship than Theia.

“The design is considered impractical. It barely has enough structural integrity to support the joints, and it is next to impossible to move during combat.”

“This ship is lacking in calcium!” Sanae slammed her hand on the table and shouted.

“Sanae-chan, I don’t think that’s the problem here...”

“However, our civilization succeeded in controlling gravity about 150 years ago. Thanks to that, the strength of the ship isn’t as important as the output of the generator.”

“I see. Using energy barriers and controlling the ship’s inertial mass, the shape of the ship doesn’t come into play too much. It’s not like the physical structure of the ship can block this level of weaponry anyways.”

Forthorthe’s scientific advances had reached the level of controlling the weight of objects. So when taking hits, the ship would get heavier, and when moving, it would get lighter. So as long as it had energy, the shape wasn’t much of a problem.

On top of that, Forthorthe’s weapons were so powerful, no normal armor could withstand them. No matter how strong the alloy, there was no way it would be able to block a high-powered beam cannon. Because of that, something other than the hull was required for defense.

So what was important wasn’t the configuration of the ship, but the amount of energy available. The generator output was the deciding factor in battle.

“So you make up for the calcium shortage with guts.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s quite right either...”

“That said, since this ship is human-shaped, the generator is slightly smaller. And the surface area is larger, making the force fields less effective. In that sense, compared to the other princesses, this ship could be called inferior.”

Since generator output mattered the most, bigger was better. But Blue Knight’s shape meant it had a smaller generator compared to other ships of the same size.

“That said, I can’t just go for efficiency and fly a perfectly spherical ship.”

Theia looked displeased. She was slightly irritated that her ideal shape didn’t produce her ideal strength.

Trying to optimize the shape of the ship to fit as large of a generator as possible, the ship would naturally become spherical. That would also minimize its surface area, making it more suited for defense as well.

But Theia didn’t want to fly in something like that.

“So this is an issue of aesthetics.”

“That’s right. But it leaves quite an impression when appealing to the citizens at ceremonies.”

“Really? I think a round spaceship would be cute.”

Yurika spun a fruit-flavored piece of candy as she added her two cents. But hearing that, Theia raised her eyebrows.

“Yurika, don’t lump me in with some hobbyist like you! I don’t want an unsightly battleship like that! All the other princesses would laugh at me!”

“B-But, but... Wouldn’t a round spaceship be better than losing?”

“Don’t compare me to a loser like yourself! Besides, the Blue Knight is protecting this ship. I won’t lose no matter who I fight!”

“...L-Loser? Aww...”

Shocked by the weight behind that word, Yurika lost her strength and collapsed onto the table.

“I already know that. I already...”

Yurika herself vaguely understood that she emitted a loser vibe. But life after fully admitting that would just be too much for her to handle. Her tears overflowed without stopping.

“I’m no Yurika, but I think a round spaceship would suit you too, Tulip.”

Koutarou left Yurika to her crying, and nodded repeatedly as he folded his arms emphatically.

“Shut it, pleb! Do you want to be thrown out of the airlock?”

“I think it would take the edge off though...”

“Are you trying to be clever and pick a fight with me?!”

“Your Highness, please calm down!”

Ruth desperately held back Theia, who looked like she was about to jump on Koutarou and bite him. But his next words made Theia lose it.

“Besides, they say it’s best not to give children pointy toys. It’s dangerous if they swallow them.”

“I’ll kill you! Sit down right there, pleb! I’ll beat you to death!”

“Waaah! She’s coming!”

Koutarou had assumed it would be safe since Ruth was restraining her, but unexpectedly, Theia came flying towards him. Theia jumped up on the desk and swooped down on Koutarou like a bird of prey.

“Dieeeee!”

“Your Highness, calm down!”

“Koutarou, no! Don’t come over here! If you’re fighting, do it over there!”

“I don’t have any choice! Special Attack: Yurika Shield!”

“Kyaaaaah!”

Wham!

“Ah, sorry...”

“Y-You’re terrible... Ugh...”

“Nijino-san! Nijino-san, are you okay?!”

“I-I’m not...”

“I won’t forget your sacrifice, Yurika.”

“...Hey, Koutarou, you do some really awful things from time to time. Well, I guess it was okay since it was just Yurika.”

“You think so?”

“Mmm, this dorayaki is delicious. Yurika, would you like a bite?”

“I think anything I eat right now would only taste like blood.”

The bridge was in chaos. It would take a while longer before they realized the gate was ready for use.

The inn Koutarou and the others were staying at was an old establishment, built a long time ago. But ever since the bubble economy, their customers had been stolen by a nearby resort hotel and the inn was in a state of stagnation. The two ghost hunters were taking advantage of that. They promised the inn a large reward in exchange for cooperating with them.

Today they were dressed as employees and stood by the entrance in lieu of real employees. They welcomed Koutarou and the others with oddly happy smiles and fiddling fingers when they arrived.

“Greetings. You’ve must’ve had quite a trip.”

“Welcome.”

The tall, thin man and the short, fat man were both quite shady, but an outing like this was so unusual for Koutarou and the others that they didn’t seem to notice at all.

“We have reservations under the name Satomi.”

“We’ll be in your care for a while.”

As Koutarou and Shizuka went up to the receptionist’s desk and greeted them, the ghost hunters got to work.

“Very good. Now then, would the representative please fill in this hotel register...”

“Okay.”

“The remaining guests please follow me. I’ll show you to your room.”

“Okaaay.”

It almost seemed like they had ardently studied the employee manual. While they were working, there was nothing unnatural about them. Koutarou and the others were shown to their room in short order.

“They’re falling for it! They’re falling for it!”

“Just as we planned. Let’s do this, Hachi!”

“Yes!”

After leading the guests to their room, the two ghost hunters grinned at each other. Up until now, everything had gone according to plan. And if everything continued going this well, they would soon find themselves with a large fortune.

“That 300 million yen will be ours. Let’s do this, Hachi!”

“Yeah!”

Their eyes were sparkling with greed and hope for the future.

Unaware of their plans, Koutarou and the others were confounded by their room.

“S-Small...”

“Koutarou, are we really staying here?”

“That was the idea, but...”

“I think my room is larger than this...”

“Shizuka, it only looks small because of the furniture.”

“I’ve finished measuring, ho! Its size is no different from room 106! Ho!”

“No, it’s smaller.”

“Your Highness?”

“Yurika’s not in her wardrobe now.”

“Subtracting that, this room is five and a half tatami mats large, ho!”

“I don’t want to stay in the wardrobe after coming all this way!”

Koutarou and the others were puzzled by the room’s small size. When measured, it was exactly the same size as the inner room of room 106. But with seven people, their luggage, and two haniwas, it felt extremely small. Having just come from Blue Knight’s spacious bridge didn’t help either.

“Isn’t this a bit cut-rate for a grand prize?”

“The second prize LCD TV was probably worth more than this.”

“They did say the inn was ‘rustic.’”

“I’m starting to understand why this inn is so close to shutting down.”

“I’m not even sure why we’re here anymore.”

Everyone’s dissatisfaction began showing. They had all thought they’d have more space to stretch out, but instead they were forced into a room that was even smaller than what they were used to. It was only natural for them to feel that way.

“I’m truly sorry, everyone. This is all because I invited you... If I had known it was this small, I would have just come with Her Highness...”

Ruth felt responsible for the disappointment. She was the one who had won the lottery and invited them here. Her shoulders slumped and she lowered her head with a contrite look on her face.

“I-It’s not your fault, Ruth-san! If we hadn’t come, the room would still be just as small, and we wouldn’t be able to play at the beach. So we’re really happy. Right, Tulip?!”

“Th-That’s right, Ruth! It’s not like it’s any more inconvenient, and being close to the beach, this place is great!”

Koutarou and Theia, who normally just fought, came together to cheer up Ruth.

“...Is that true?”

“O-Of course! Right, Tulip? I can’t wait to hit the water!”

“Y-Yeah! I’ll even teach you how to swim elegantly!”

“Then all is well.”

 

    

 

Ruth’s expression brightened up. Seeing that, Koutarou and Theia were about to breathe a sigh of relief when Sanae interrupted them by saying something strange.

“But Koutarou, this room already has a guest.”

“A guest?”

Koutarou cocked his head to the side. It didn’t look like the inn had made a mistake and double-booked the room to him. But if that was the case, they would need to change rooms. He pressed Sanae for more details.

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm, the spiritual energy is too weak for even me to tell clearly, but I can see traces of a wrung neck, so it’s probably the ghost of someone who was murdered or killed themselves.”

Sanae furrowed her brow as she stared up into the ceiling, sort of like a shortsighted person trying to read something far away.

“Gh-Gh-Ghost?!”

Sanae’s explanation had a profound effect on Yurika. Gripped by fear, she dropped her luggage and ran towards the wardrobe.

“Noooooooo! Not ghosts!”

Yurika tossed the futons out of the wardrobe and jumped inside. She then slammed the sliding door shut with all of her might.

“Jeez, Yurika, calm down! It’s presence is so weak that it can’t even make a sound.”

“Nooooo! I hate just knowing that there’s a ghost here!”

“But I’m always around.”

“That’s just because I forgot you’re a ghost! Noooooooo!”

Sanae’s coaxing failed. Yurika was still trembling with fear inside the wardrobe.

“It’s no use. She must be really scared.”

As Shizuka tried to slide open the door, Yurika used all of her strength to hold it back. Shizuka was stronger than Yurika so she knew she could force the door open, but that would probably break it.

“Yurika-sama...”

Feeling responsible now too, Ruth looked gloomy all over again. Noticing that, Koutarou hurriedly took her hand.

“Well then, let’s go swimming!”

“S-Satomi-sama?!”

“He’s right, he’s right! That’s why we came here to begin with!”

Theia took Ruth’s other hand.

“Satomi-sama, Your Highness... What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“I just felt like seeing you in your swimsuit! I bet you’ll look cute!”

“She’s not on my level, but Ruth is quite cute! Standing next to each other, we become even more picturesque!”

Koutarou and Theia tried to forcibly drag Ruth to the beach before she let herself get waylaid with anything else.

“I’m fine with not seeing Tulip’s swimsuit.”

“I’ll kill you, pleb. Now is not the time, but I’ll be sure to kill you later! Don’t forget!”

“I already did!”

“Hey!”

“Y-Your Highness? Satomi-sama?”

Their bizarre argument continued as they worked together to carry away poor, puzzled Ruth.

“Ah, wait up, Koutarou! I’m coming too!”

“Uh, hey, guys... What about Nijino-san?”

Sanae quickly followed after Koutarou, but Shizuka still didn’t know what to do about Yurika in the wardrobe.

“It’s fine. She’ll come out once she calms down. She’s not a child.”

“But...”

“Don’t worry. I’ll leave Karama and Korama here.”

“In that case, I’ll leave her to you, Karama-chan, Korama-chan.”

“Ho!”

“Leave it to us, ho!”

Kiriha alleviated Shizuka’s concern. She was also a healthy girl in her teens, and she wanted to play on the beach as well. With Karama and Korama keeping watch, they wouldn’t irresponsibly leave Yurika on her own.

“Well then, Nijino-san we’re heading to—”

“D-D-Don’t leave me aloneeeee! I don’t want to be all alone in a room with a ghost!”

But the moment Shizuka made up her mind to head to the beach, Yurika jumped out of the wardrobe. She looked around the room, still shaking with fear.

“Satomi-san, wait! Satomi-san!”

She grabbed her beach things and hurriedly chased after Koutarou and the others.

“Um... Well...”

Suddenly finding herself left behind, Shizuka scratched her cheek. Even she couldn’t help being amazed at Yurika’s hopelessness.

“Shizuka, let’s go too.”

“Yeah.”

Shizuka smiled at Kiriha, who was just as amazed, and the two girls followed after the others.

The first thing Koutarou did when he reached the beach was wipe the sweat off his forehead. It was now officially summer vacation, and the season was in full swing. The scorching summer sun was sweltering and the hot sand burned Koutarou’s feet.

“Hot, hot, hot...”

Koutarou was preparing for their beach day by himself. He spread out a sheet and set up an umbrella while tiptoeing on the searing sand. Unlike the girls, Koutarou was done changing in a flash, so he had come out before them to get things ready.

“All right, this should be good.”

“Oh, if it isn’t Satomi-kun!”

Once Koutarou had finished setting up, he heard voices calling for him.

“Huh? Where? Ah, you’re right!”

“Hello, Koutarou-kun!”

“What a coincidence, Satomi-kun! You came here to play too?”

Immediately after that, a group of girls in swimsuits ran up to him. There were six of them in total. It was the cosplay society.

“Hi, everyone. That’s right. My friend actually won a stay at a nearby inn, so we came here to play.”

“Ooohh... It’s like we are bound by the red string of fate, isn’t it, Satomi-kun?”

“Ahahaha, that’d be nice.”

“I wouldn’t mind you as my boyfriend, Koutarou-kun.”

“Me too, me too!”

“I’m a bit worried that having a cosplayer for a girlfriend would get expensive.”

“Ugh, as expected from Koutarou-kun! You’re right on point.”

“Satomi-kun lives on his own, after all.”

“Once I get richer, if you still feel that way, then please ask again.”

“A boy who keeps you waiting won’t be very popular, you know...”

“Yes, I know.”

Koutarou and the cosclub members laughed.

“By the way, why is the cosplay society here? Did you also come here to play?”

After joking around for a while, Koutarou asked what was on his mind.

The president answered as their representative, “Half of it’s a club activity and the other half is play. Actually, Comiha is just three days from now.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, you did say something about that last month.”

The cosclub members were already working on their costumes for the event last month. At some point, they’d called Koutarou in to give his opinions on their outfits. That was why even Koutarou—whose head was only full of baseball—knew about it.

“We’re staying at a hotel that’s close to the event area, and enjoying ourselves at the beach while we’re here.”

“I see. That’s a good plan.”

“Right? Besides, we can meet Sakuraba-san here.”

“Sakuraba-senpai, you say?”

It was an unexpected development in the conversation. Sakuraba Harumi was the president of the knitting society that Koutarou had joined at the beginning of the school year. He tilted his head with a confused look on his face as the cosclub’s president continued to explain.

“Actually, Sakuraba-san’s family has a villa nearby. I was chatting with her last month about summer vacation. She said she’d be spending it here, so we thought we might do the same.”

“I see. Thank you for always keeping an eye out for Sakuraba-senpai.”

Koutarou politely bowed to the cosclub members.

“How nice... I want to be treated that preciously by an underclassman too.”

“Let’s put our hopes on Yurika-chan.”

“There’s not much hope there...”

Ever since Harumi and Yurika won the sports festival, the cosclub members had been seeing Harumi regularly. It was mostly because she was friends with Koutarou and Yurika, but the cosclub had also noticed that she was usually alone. Because of that, they would often strike up conversations with Harumi when they found her by herself.

“When I met her earlier, she said she’d come around later.”

“Thank you for taking care of both Yurika and Senpai.”

“You bet. Sakuraba-san is cute. Hopefully we can get her to join the cosclub!”

“Ahahaha, you’ve got it all planned out.”

“The cosclub and knitting society are both small, right? We need to take the opportunities we’re given.”

“So when that time comes, does that mean you’ll join us too?”

“Sounds like you have it all planned out too, Satomi-kun.”

Koutarou continued joking around with the cosclub girls.

“By the way, president, should we move over here? If we’re playing, then the more, the merrier.”

“That’s true. Good idea, vice president.”

“You’re too kind”

The president nodded at the vice president, and then turned back to Koutarou.

“Well then, Satomi-kun, we’ll be taking our leave for a while. We need to go get our things.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

“All right, everyone, let’s go!”

“Okaaay!”

Like that, the cosclub members left just as energetically as they had arrived.

A few minutes after Koutarou and the cosclub parted ways, the girls from Corona House arrived at the beach.

“Wow... What’s with these girls?”

“Models or something?”

“Maybe there’s some kind of event or a photo shoot.”

“Whoa, that girl’s breasts are huge.”

“That short girl is really pretty...”

All of the men on the beach were staring, and most of the women were glaring.

“Hey, Koutarou, sorry for the wait!”

“Satomi-kun, you’ve already finished setting up? Thank you!”

“Mhm, well done for a pleb.”

“S-Sorry for keeping you waiting, S-Satomi-sama...”

“Calm down, will you, Ruth?”

“Satomi-san, you wouldn’t happen to know where my underwear went, would you?!”

When it came to looks, they were all beautiful, so it was only natural that they attracted so much attention. But apart from Ruth, nobody paid any mind to it. None of the other girls were the type to by bothered by that sort of thing. Ruth was the only one who worried about the looks she was getting as she nervously walked across the beach.

“What do you think, Koutarou? Have you fallen for Sanae-chan’s overwhelming cuteness?”

“Anyways, Kurano-san, your breasts are so big... They look like they’re about to burst out of your swimsuit. I’m so jealous...”

“Shizuka, having large breasts isn’t that great. Finding clothes that fit can be difficult, and I get a lot of unwanted attention.”

“Now that you mention it, everyone is looking this way.”

“That’s because they’re attracted to our grace. Quite excellent.”

“S-Satomi-sama, help me! A-All the people are looking over here!”

As Ruth tried to run away from everyone’s stares, the remaining five girls approached Koutarou to show off their swimsuits. Ruth aside, the girls all had various reasons for wanting Koutarou to be impressed.

“How about it? Aren’t you happy, Satomi-kun? You’re the envy of the entire beach, and you have six cute girls all for yourself! ...Wait, huh?”

But their hopes were so easily foiled. While all of the men around were staring at them, Koutarou was looking elsewhere.

“I see. If your family has such a large villa, you must be an upper class lady, Senpai.”

“A lady? S-Satomi-kun, that’s...”

“If you have a villa larger than the house I used to live in, you’d normally be called a lady. Besides, you’re dressed for the part.”

“Th-That’s b-because...!”

Koutarou was looking at Sakuraba Harumi, who was wearing a summer dress and carrying a parasol. She really did look like high society. And despite the heat, she he had a cool presence about her.


“You look great. It’s very ladylike, hahaha!”

“Goodness... Satomi-kun, you tease...”

Despite her cool aura, her cheeks were heating up.

“C-Curse you, Koutarou. You’re completely ignoring us?!”

“Sakuraba-senpai! What are you doing here?”

“Not you again, Sakuraba Harumi!”

“If I recall, that girl is Satomi-kun’s club—”

“Sakuraba Harumi. She’s in class 2-A and she’s the president of the knitting society. Aside from his childhood friend, Matsudaira Kenji, she is the closest person to Koutarou.”

This unexpected development left the five girls extremely unhappy with Koutarou. While it was completely unjust resentment considering the situation, they didn’t care.

“Satomi-sama, please don’t look away! Save me!”

But poor Ruth was still just trying to escape being stared at.

“Stupid Koutarou! You blockhead! Give us back all the time we spent in a tizzy over this!”

“Uwah! Wh-What?!”

“Satomi-kun?!”

Sanae rushed Koutarou and knocked him down into the sand. And before Koutarou could even feel the scorching hot sand burning him, Sanae and Theia pounced.

“Bury him! Bury him up to his head! This disloyal swine should just drown in the tide!”

“I won’t ask you to get excited anymore! Just freaking look at me! At least give us the standard fanfare! Just smile and say something like ‘your new swimsuit is really cute’!”

“Ahhh! Wh-Whyyy?!”

Taken by surprise, Koutarou was pinned down by Theia as Sanae began piling sand on him.

“A-As if Tulip alone could hold me down!”

“Ah, ah... Wah!”

Since Theia was small, Koutarou just tried to forcibly stand up while she was still on top of him.

“I won’t let you do that, Satomi-kun!”

“Landlord-san?!”

“Sanae-chan, I’ll help out too!”

“Yurika, you go dig the hole! You’re good at that kind of thing, right?”

“Waaaah, I really don’t want to!”

“I will help too. Karama, Korama, begin digging.”

“Understood, ho!”

“Leave it to us, ho! Digging is our specialty!”

But as the other girls joined in, Koutarou found himself at a disadvantage.

“You’ll learn what happens when you hurt a maiden’s pride!”

 

    

 

“Ouch! Owowowow! L-Landlord-san, don’t look so happy while you’re putting me in a joint lock!”

While humming, Shizuka grabbed Koutarou’s legs and held him in place using several grappling techniques.

“Well done, Shizuka! You have my praise!”

“Maybe I’ll get a bit more into it. Hup!”

The truth was that Shizuka wasn’t actually that angry at Koutarou. She mostly joined in because it looked like fun. Since they came here to play, she wanted to enjoy herself to her fullest before going home.

“Owowowow, too much! That’s going too far!”

Koutarou desperately struggled as he tried to escape, but he didn’t stand a chance against Shizuka. And while Theia and Shizuka held him down, the other girls dug a large hole.

“S-Satomi-kun is being buried... Wh-What should I do?”

“Excuse me, Your Highness, it might be best not to get too rough...”

Harumi and Ruth tried to stop the others, but Harumi was largely in shock at the sudden commotion. In reality, Ruth was the only one doing anything to help Koutarou.

“Ruth-san! S-Save me, Ruth-san!”

Right now, she was his only hope. He urgently called to her for help.

“Satomi-sama, just hold on a little longer! I’ll be right—”

“Ruth! What did you come here for?!”

But as Theia scolded her, she froze and stopped moving. Theia was going on the offensive and seized the initiative against faint-hearted Ruth.

“W-Well...”

“Remember what you’re wearing! What were you thinking when you picked that out? And what did you feel when you put it on today? And despite all that, you still want to forgive this stupid vassal?!”

“What I’m wearing...”

Hearing Theia’s words, Ruth gulped. She looked at Theia’s swimsuit and then her own. Although they weren’t very expensive ones, they were cute swimsuits that fit them well. They were the swimsuits that Koutarou had bought for them.

“He didn’t need to praise me! All he had to do was take a peek! But no! What did this stupid vassal do?!”

What Ruth had felt when she bought the swimsuit and all the days she’d spent waiting to wear it came rushing back. Strongest of all, she recalled the feeling of putting it on today.

“I won’t forgive him! My pride as a woman won’t forgive him! What about you, Ruth?!”

“I...”

And remembering all those feelings, she then remembered that Koutarou hadn’t looked at her or Theia. He was talking to another woman without even glancing at them. Since Koutarou had bought the swimsuits, he could have at least showed some interest.

I...!

Suddenly, something inside of Ruth snapped.

“...Let’s bury him, Your Highness. Thoroughly. No, just burying him would be too lax. To make sure he never crawls out, let’s bind his arms and legs!”

Ruth was looking at Koutarou with a fire in her eyes. It was almost as if Theia’s anger had been transferred to her.

“Well said, Ruth! I’ll leave it to you!”

“As you wish, my princess!”

Ruth joyfully joined in on burying Koutarou. She quickly bound his limbs with rope and robbed him of his freedom. She showed no hesitation or mercy.

“Waaaaah! Even you too, Ruth-san?! Did I do something to offend you?!”

“Sometimes not doing anything is a crime in and of itself! There’s a limit to how nice you can be!”

“Wh-Whyyyyy?!”

Koutarou did his best to break free, but he was no match against the united front of all six girls. Thusly, Koutarou soon found himself buried on the beach.

The waves that came all the way up to Koutarou’s head eventually slid back out to sea. Because the tide was coming in, the waves got closer to him every time they rolled up.

With his body under the sand, the only thing Koutarou could move was his head. All he could do was crane his neck away from the approaching waves.

“...How did it turn out like this?”

Koutarou couldn’t figure out why he had been buried no matter how many times he went over what had happened in his head. To him, he had just gone to talk to Harumi like normal after he had finished setting things up on the beach.

“Or did I do something before that...?”

Koutarou was at a loss. Unused to women, he couldn’t understand their feelings. Even though they weren’t in love, their maiden hearts wanted Koutarou to show some interest.

“...I don’t get it...”

As Koutarou furrowed his brow for the umpteenth time, a shadow was cast on him.

“Satomi-kun.”

“Sakuraba-senpai!”

The shadow was thanks to Harumi’s parasol. She had approached Koutarou without him noticing to shield him from the sunlight.

“Good timing, Senpai! Please help me!”

“Hmm... What should I do?”

Harumi squatted down next to Koutarou and smiled.

“Don’t tease me! Please help me instead!”

“But if I help you out, you’ll just run off somewhere... If you’d talk with me for a while longer, I wouldn’t mind freeing you.”

“Senpai, you’re a bigger tease than normal.”

“Heehee, maybe it’s because we’re at a seaside resort, but I’m in high spirits.”

“Well, that much is obvious.”

Perhaps it was the summer sun, but Harumi’s smile looked brighter than ever.

Her friendship with Yurika might have been a good thing after all.

Koutarou thought Harumi’s current behavior was a good thing, but there were those who took their friendly chatting as a bad sign.

“C-Curse you, Sakuraba Harumi! Just how much of a heroine are you? And what is Koutarou thinking, falling for that woman’s obvious tricks?!”

“Your Highness, what should we do?”

“Just burying him was too naive! The pleb needs a harsher punishment!”

Theia, Ruth, and Sanae were clearly enraged.

“Then what do we do next?”

Shizuka, on the other hand, was just enjoying herself. She was feeling a sense of freedom after coming to the beach.

“...Let’s split a watermelon,” said Kiriha.

Not being able to tell if she was kidding or not was simply part of Kiriha’s personality. She was just being her usual self, and showed the girls a large watermelon she was carrying.

“Ah, that sounds like fun!”

“I wonder what will split first: the melon or Koutarou’s head?” Kiriha said, smiling and pulling out a wooden sword.

“Let’s do it!”

“I don’t know what we’re doing, but let’s go for it!”

“L-Let’s not. I feel sorry for Sakuraba-senpai...”

Yurika tried to stop the others. After Koutarou had been buried and Harumi had walked over, Yurika had kept quiet so as not to bother them.

“Nobody asked for your opinion!”

“Eeeeek! Run away! Sakuraba-senpai, run away!”

But in the end, it was Yurika who ran. She succumbed to Theia’s menacing and withdrew. Not taking a stand was just like our Magical Girl Rainbow Yurika. Meanwhile, Koutarou and Harumi were still happily chatting, completely unaware of the plot unfolding against Koutarou.

“Satomi-kun, you’re covered in sweat. It really must be hot in the sand, right?”

“Ah, it’s fine. Don’t dirty your handkerchief on me.”

Harumi pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and gently wiped the sweat from Koutarou’s forehead.

“There we go. You’re all clean now.”

“Senpai...”

“Heehee, it’s almost like I’ve become your mom, Satomi-kun.”

Koutarou was bothered by the fact that her sweet-smelling handkerchief was now covered in his sweat, but Harumi didn’t mind at all.

“Sakuraba-senpai, let’s all split a watermelon together! We’ll make a game out of it!”

Theia approached, holding a melon almost half as big as she was.

“Y-You want to split a watermelon?”

Surprised by the sudden voice calling out to her, Harumi stumbled for words. She was normally bad with strangers, and she had completely dropped her guard while she was alone with Koutarou. That left her a little more staggered than usual.

“Yes, Sakuraba-senpai! Let’s make some wonderful summer memories together!”

“S-Sure.”

Harumi instinctively nodded.

“Who’s there? Is it Tulip?”

Unable to turn his body, Koutarou couldn’t see Theia. He had no choice but to guess based on the voice, and because Theia wasn’t speaking in her usual manner, he wasn’t sure.

“...That’s right. It’s me, pleb.”

Theia plonked the watermelon down right next to his head. When she did, Koutarou got a good feel for the size and weight of it based on the thud it made. The watermelon was at least three times the size of Koutarou’s head. Theia’s face poked out from behind it.

She brought her mouth close to Koutarou’s ear and whispered, “Heh heh, I’ll have you make some memories with us too.”

“What are you trying to pull, Tulip?!”

“Oh, nothing. We’re just going to split a watermelon wide open. Chop, chop! Heh heh heh...”

Making sure Harumi wasn’t looking, Theia snickered as she taunted Koutarou. Her smile was darker than ever before.

As Koutarou was getting dragged into the girls’ scheme, a little ways away, another scheme was unfolding.

“Aniki, it seems like they’re gonna crack a watermelon.”

“Good. Right now all of their attention will be focused on that. Now’s our chance to capture the target.”

“Are we doing it?”

“Of course we are. If we don’t, we’ll be homeless.”

“We did use the last of our money after all.”

The schemers were none other than the two ghost hunters. They were stalking Koutarou and the others through their binoculars from some nearby rocks.

“If we manage to sell off that ghost, we’ll be rich.”

“We’ll be able to buy a TV and bike.”

“That’s right. Follow me, Hachi.”

“What are we doing?”

“It’ll be a detour, but we’ll approach them from the water. That way they won’t see us coming. And even if they do, we can just hide our equipment under the surface of the water and they won’t suspect a thing.”

“That’s Aniki for you! Even though ghost hunters do righteous work, you always make it seem like we’re doing something really bad!”

“Shut it, Hachi! I’m still a hero of justice! I’m not in the wrong! This is just what poverty does to people!”

They gathered up their suspicious tools and machines, and jumped into the sea. Their goal was to capture Sanae, who was currently distracted by the watermelon.

“Hyah!”

Swinging down the wooden sword with all of her might, Harumi felt like she hit something different this time. Her first three strikes had all bounced off of something hard, but this time she hit something soft and the tip of the sword felt like it sank in. Moreover, she couldn’t hear Koutarou screaming anymore.

“You did it, Sakuraba-senpai!”

Instead, Yurika was shouting. Hearing that, Harumi quickly took off her blindfold.

“Satomi-kun! Satomi-kun! Are you okay?!”

Harumi had hit Koutarou’s head three times before she managed to split the watermelon. Koutarou said not to mind him, but there was no way she could do that. As soon as Harumi took off her blindfold, she began looking for Koutarou.

“Oh, this is delicious.”

But as if to brush off her fears, Koutarou was busy eating the watermelon now split in half in front of him. He was so absorbed in eating the watermelon that he didn’t even notice how worried Harumi was.

“Th-Thank god...”

Theia or Sanae probably would have been angry, but not Harumi. Seeing him happily eating the watermelon, she let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the spot.

“Do you wa... om nom... some... nom nom... too, Senpai?”

“I-I’ll have some after I’ve calmed down.”

Harumi was genuine relieved, but she wasn’t sure she could eat right away.

“Tch, she already did it...”

“Nyahaha, Harumi was too weak to split Koutarou’s head in two.”

Theia and Sanae were displeased. Having finished eating part of the watermelon, Koutarou started complaining to them.

“It’s over, so let me out of here already.”

But they both shook their heads at Koutarou’s request.

“I refuse.”

“Now it’s Shizuka’s turn.”

“Wh-What?!”

Koutarou’s eyes shot wide open when he heard her name. If Shizuka, who was well known for her combat abilities, swung that wooden sword, Koutarou wasn’t sure what would happen to his head.

“Chessttooo!2”

To make matters worse was, Shizuka was all fired up. She was repeatedly swinging the wooden sword towards the sea. Her strength and speed were abnormal. It was plain to see that Koutarou was in danger.

“S-Satomi-kun, I’ll save you right now!”

Even Harumi could tell. She began digging to save Koutarou, but she didn’t get very far before someone stopped her.

“Sakuraba-senpai, this way please! You’ll get in the way for the next watermelon splitting.”

“Kyaah?! But Satomi-kun is still...!”

“It’s fine, Sakuraba-senpai. Please just leave Satomi-san to us.”

“Even you too, Nijino-san?!”

Theia and Yurika dragged Harumi away with sweet talk. Yurika wasn’t cooperating just because she was scared of Theia. She also wanted to let Harumi get away.

But as if to replace Theia and Yurika, Kiriha came to recover the split watermelon while Ruth placed a new one.

“This is bad! I need to do something!”

Panicking, Koutarou tried to get himself out of the sand. Thankfully, Harumi had dug out enough for him to get his arm free.

“All right!”

“Too bad!”

“Please just wait there, Satomi-sama.”

“Waaaaah!”

But Sanae and Ruth just buried him again.

“Stop it already, Sanae!”

“No way, no how!”

“And why are you so angry, Ruth-san?!”

“Are you telling me I have to spell it out for you? Don’t make me laugh! That sort of betrayal is punishable by death!”

“Just give up, Koutarou.”

“Betrayal? What betrayal?!”

Sanae and Ruth reburied Koutarou, Theia and Yurika dragged Harumi away, Shizuka was enjoying her practice swings, and Kiriha watched on with a smile as she took a bite of watermelon. Everybody was so focused on what they were doing that they were all oblivious to their surroundings. They were enjoying themselves to their fullest at the beach.

“Now, Hachi!”

“All right!”

And that was when the ghost hunters put their plan into action.

Rising up from the sea, they approached Koutarou and the rest. They both had a big bug net in each hand. They were actually tools used for capturing ghosts, but they looked and worked like any old net. With four nets between them, they dashed towards Sanae.

“Hmm?”

Koutarou, freshly buried in the sand again, was the first to notice them. But he never would have imagined that they were planning on capturing Sanae with their bug nets, so at first he just stared at them thinking that there sure were some real weirdos in the world.

“Just wait! We’ll catch you right now, our cute little kitten!”

“Money! We’ll make a video and rake in the cash! Money, money, money! We’ll sell her off and rake in even more!”

But as they got closer and Koutarou heard the strange things they were saying, he starting getting worried. His worries only increased as he noticed their excitement, bloodshot eyes, and heavy breathing.

“Hey, everyone, someone’s coming from behind you. Calm down a little.”

Nobody except Koutarou had noticed them. He attempted to alert everyone else, but the only one who believed him was Harumi. She looked behind her at his behest.

“Ah...”

As she did, she too saw the suspicious looking pair. When she did, Harumi stiffened up. They looked like perverts—just the kind of people Harumi was terrible at dealing with.

“I won’t fall for that trick!”

“You’re too simple, pleb! If you’re going to lie, at least make up something more believable!”

“We should punish him.”

But Sanae, Theia, and Ruth assumed Koutarou was just trying to escape and didn’t believe him at all. The only one among them to turn around was Yurika. She had noticed how Harumi reacted.

“I wonder who they could be...”

But the simple-minded Yurika didn’t think the approaching ghost hunters were any danger.

“Watch out, Koutarou!”

“Everyone! Someone’s coming your way!”

Kiriha and Shizuka, who were a little ways off, realized the two men were closing in on Koutarou and the others. But since they were completely caught off guard, the best they could do was shout out to the others.

“What?”

“Someone? Who?”

“Did something happen?”

With that, Theia, Sanae, and Ruth finally turned around.

“I’ve got youuuuu!”

“Come on, my angel!”

But by then, the ghost hunters were wildly swinging their bug nets with all of their might.

“Kyaaaaah!”

Noticing the net coming straight down on top of her, Sanae swiftly vanished into the sand below. Thanks to her regular fights with Koutarou, she was used to surprise attacks.

“Kyaah!”

“Wh-What is this?!”

Since Sanae avoided the net, Harumi and Ruth were hit instead. Unable to dodge the attack, the nets covered their heads.

“I felt that one hit! I did it, Hachi! Catching one girl is nothing to me!”

“I caught her too! Now we can do whatever we want!”

The ghost hunters were rejoicing. The only thing on their minds now was the luxurious life ahead of them after selling Sanae. They would get so much of the sake they loved that they could fill a bathtub with it. They’d get a new TV and a bike, too. Their future was bright... or so they thought.

“Hey, Hachi, what do you mean you got her too?”

“Aniki, I’m the one who caught her.”

That was when they both realized they had caught one ghost(?) each, even though there had only been a single ghost.

“Hmm? What does this mean?”

“Aniki, this ghost looks like a human to me.”

“Same here. Hachi, we missed the target!”

“Oh no! We caught the wrong ones!”

By the time they realized their mistake, it was already too late. Sanae was long gone.

“N-Nooooo! Please save me, Satomi-kuuun!”

“P-Perverts!”

And worst of all, the girls they had caught began screaming. The suspicious duo who had come out of the sea had caught two girls sitting on the sand with nets. Their eyes were bloodshot, they were breathing heavily, and they were soaking wet. They were the very definition of perverts.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Hearing Ruth and Harumi screaming, Koutarou forced his way up out of the sand. Koutarou’s limbs had been bound with rope, but he was able to tear it right off in the heat of the moment. It was the kind of superhuman strength that occurred in life and death situations.

“Senpai and Ruth-san are in trouble!”

Breaking free from the sand, Koutarou glared at the ghost hunters with eyes radiating rage. The two immediately let go of their nets and began making excuses.

“W-Wait up, young man! We’re not after these girls!”

“Th-That’s right! We’re after a different one! That small one over there!”

“He’s right, young man! We’re only trying to capture that small girl over there so we can do whatever we please with her before selling her off!”

“Please believe us! We have no interest in normal girls!”

But their excuses only fueled Koutarou’s anger.

“S-So you’re not just perverts, but you also only target little girls like Theia?!”

Koutarou didn’t realize they were talking about Sanae. He had no reason to think they could even see her. And it wasn’t just Koutarou. It didn’t occur to anyone else either.

“So they’re targeting m-me? As I thought, even blending in with the common rabble, my noble aura still makes me stand out!”

They were all sure that this was about Theia. Surely these two unforgivable perverts were planning on kidnapping a young girl and doing terrible things to her.

“Curse you, you perverts! I don’t give a damn who you’re targeting! We have our hands filled with Yurika as the resident pervert already!”

“S-Satomi-san, at least call me a cosplayer! Calling me a pervert is just too cruel!”

Koutarou blurting out his true feelings put streams of tears in Yurika’s eyes.

“I see... So to Satomi-san, I’m just a pervert...”

Taking an unexpected critical hit, Yurika collapsed and cried.

“I’m starting to hate everything... Maybe I should visit home for once...”

“Calm down, young man! It’s for the good of society! It’s how we make a living!”

“He’s right! We have no ulterior motives!”

“You make a living on it?! You’re hardened criminals! On top of that, you dare make Sakuraba-senpai and Ruth-san cry?! I’ll turn you into chum and throw you back in the sea!”

Enraged, Koutarou closed the distance to the ghost hunters. At the same time, the ghost hunters started backing off. But before long they were unable to back up any further.

“Where do you two think you’re going?!”

“Ack! F-From behind as well?!”

Shizuka was flanking them with the wooden sword in hand. There was a vein practically popping out of her forehead, and her eyes were black with hatred.

“Not good! We’re making a break for it, Hachi!”

“W-We can’t! Aniki, we’re completely surrounded!”

Apart from Yurika, who had broken down crying, and the defenseless Harumi and Ruth, the remaining members of the group had circled the ghost hunters. Koutarou clenched his fists, Shizuka tightened her grip on the wooden sword, Theia summoned a beam cannon from Blue Knight, and Kiriha ordered her two haniwas to attack. Lastly, Sanae appeared from under the sand, levitating and taking aim with a nearby rock and watermelon.

“What’s wrong, Satomi-kun? What happened?”

That was when more of Koutarou’s allies appeared. It was the six members of the cosplay society. Planning to meet up with Koutarou and the others, they came carrying their luggage.

“Actually, some perverts showed up! It’s dangerous, so keep your distance!”

“Perverts?!”

“They do make an appearance from time to time”

“Unforgivable!”

“Every woman’s nightmare!”

Upon hearing the situation, the girls helped surround the ghost hunters. They were all armed with full water bottles, and they were each prepared to throw them if it came down to that.

“They’re perverts.”

“Seriously?”

“Well, those girls are cute...”

“I seriously can’t believe it...”

By now other people on the beach had noticed and were coming over to help too. It was no longer possible for the ghost hunters to get away.

“I-It’s no use...”

“It’s all over...”

With how things were going, the two gave up on trying to talk themselves out of it or resist. And just like Yurika, they began crying.

“By the way, we were just splitting watermelons. Would you like to join in?”

Shizuka’s chilling smile became an unforgettable summer memory for the two ghost hunters.



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