Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 3 - Chapter 4

Sanae’s Crisis

Tuesday, August 12th

The next day, the weather was clear and Koutarou and the others went out to spend their second day at the beach.

“Yurika, what are you up to?”

“Shhh, shhh!”

Koutarou was on his way back to their umbrella after buying some yakisoba when he saw Yurika nervously observing her surroundings and hiding as she darted about. She normally looked suspicious, but this was even worse than usual.

“Are you pretending the enemy magical girls have come to attack?”

“That’s not it! I just don’t want the cosclub members to find me!”

Koutarou assumed this was all just a part of cosplaying, but Yurika only wanted to escape from the cosplay society. Her suspicious behavior was specifically to avoid them.

“Why?”

“The cosclub is trying to catch me so they can drag me to that Comiha event the day after tomorrow!”

“Why don’t you just go then?”

That way, room 106 would be more peaceful.

“I don’t want to.”

“But your friends will be there, right?”

“Nooo! Why do you keep teasing me like this, Satomi-san?!”

“Idiot, they’ll find you if you keep shouting.”

“R-Right...”

Yurika crept behind some rocks in order to keep hiding. Her plan was to stay hidden until the cosplay society gave up.

“Talk about being in denial...”

Watching Yurika leave, Koutarou opened the box of yakisoba he just bought. The fragrant smell of the fried noodles wafted up out of the thin plastic container.

“That’s more like it. I can’t go to the beach without getting some of this!”

Koutarou quickly took a bite of yakisoba, and the thick taste of the sauce spread throughout his mouth. The food from the beach houses was all seasoned rather strongly, assuming that most people would be numb to the taste of salt after swimming in the ocean.

“Do you want a taste too, Sanae?”

After tasting it, Koutarou stopped eating for a moment to tap his shoulder as an invitation for Sanae.

“...Don’t want any,” Sanae mumbled, staring at the sand. She didn’t even try to look at Koutarou.

So it didn’t work...

Koutarou was a little disappointed at her answer. In actuality, he had bought the yakisoba because he wanted to talk to Sanae.

Sanae had been acting strangely since the morning. She wasn’t doing much of anything other than moping about something with a gloomy look on her face. From time to time, she’d stare at Koutarou. When he noticed, she’d just look elsewhere.

Sanae was almost always energetic and smiling, so to have her depressed like this made the atmosphere around Koutarou and the others a little awkward. It was only thanks to the cosplay society, who didn’t know about Sanae, that the mood hadn’t gone totally sour.

“Just what exactly is wrong? You’ve been like this since this morning.”

“Just leave me alone... Why do you care about me? We’re enemies!” Sanae fussed as she sulkily looked away.

“Even if you say we’re enemies, when you’re acting like this—”

“I told you to leave me alone! Don’t bother with me! It was strange for us to get along in the first place since we’re enemies!” Sanae yelled at Koutarou with tears forming in her eyes.

Sanae, you...?

Koutarou was more shocked by her tears than her words. She was sad and angry, but her eyes were desperately pleading for something. Sadly, Koutarou couldn’t tell what that something was. He couldn’t imagine what was going inside of her head.

While Koutarou was unable to say anything, Sanae stood up and turned her back to him. Seeing that, Koutarou was finally able to squeeze out some words.

“W-Wait, Sanae, this conversation is not—”

“It’s over! If you won’t leave me alone, I’ll just go somewhere else!”

But in the end, Sanae wouldn’t listen to Koutarou and left. Being able to pass through people, Sanae quickly put a good distance between her and Koutarou.

“Just what is up with Sanae?”

With yakisoba still in hand, Koutarou let out a sigh. He couldn’t figure out what had gotten her so down. The only thing he could think of was their discussion last night. But even then, all they’d said was that they were enemies. The two of them having a truce didn’t exactly change that. They were both aware that they needed to chase out one another in the end, so he couldn’t imagine that that was what hurt her feelings.

“You didn’t make up, Satomi-kun?”

“Yeah, I failed, Landlord-san,” Koutarou said, looking up and nodding at Shizuka.

She was walking over with Theia and the others behind her. They were also worried about Sanae.

“What is Sanae so angry about?” Theia looked in the direction Sanae had gone and let out a small sigh.

“Sanae-sama looked less like she was angry and more like she was crying to me.”

“I thought so too. It would be best to do something fast, Koutarou.”

“That’s right. With Sanae like this, we can’t work anything out about room 106.”

“Yeah, I know, but I don’t know what to do...”

Like the girls, Koutarou was also staring in the direction Sanae had stormed off. He’d felt a little on edge ever since Sanae’s smile disappeared. He just wanted to do something about the situation, but not being able to come up with anything was frustrating him.

“Argh, I give up! Just thinking about it won’t get us anywhere!”

Koutarou, who wasn’t really one for thinking in the first place, simply gave up on it.

“Landlord-san, I’m going to go look for Sanae. I’ll see you later.”

Act before thinking—that was Koutarou’s motto.

“Okay, good luck, Satomi-kun.”

Koutarou left his things with the girls and went looking for Sanae.

Alone, Koutarou started by heading in the direction Sanae had gone. She’d left going down the coastline, so Koutarou made his way through the beach full of people. After walking for a while, the crowd of beachgoers gradually thinned. He’d reached a rocky part of the shore, which was a no swimming zone.

“Sheesh...”

Koutarou took a breath of fresh air after getting away from the crowd. The footing on the rocky beach was worse, but the lack of people alone made it easier to walk.

“Satomi-kun!” someone called out to him.

As he looked towards the direction of the voice, he saw a familiar parasol up on a breakwater. Harumi was waving to him.

“Sakuraba-senpai!”

Koutarou waved back to Harumi and climbed up to her.

“Hello, Satomi-kun.”

Harumi greeted Koutarou with a smile, seeing how out of breath he was after scaling the breakwater. She was wearing a light blue summer dress different from the one she had on yesterday. The only part of her outfit that was the same was her parasol.

“H-Hello, Sakuraba-senpai. I know this a bit sudden, but Sa—”

“I know this is a bit sudden, but Sanae is missing. Have you seen her?” is what Koutarou was about to say, but he stopped himself short. Harumi couldn’t see Sanae, so asking would only confuse her. For some reason, only people who were connected to room 106 could see Sanae.

“Satomi-kun?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just wondering what you’re doing in such a lonely place, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“Actually, my family villa is nearby.”

Harumi didn’t seem to think anything of Koutarou changing his question partway through. She just smiled and pointed towards the mountain road behind her lined with several large houses, one of which belonged to her family.

“I see.”

“And what about you, Satomi-kun? Why are you in such a lonely place?”

“Well, that’s...”

Koutarou hesitated whether or not he should tell her, but he soon decided to come clean. Excluding the part about Sanae being a ghost, there wasn’t any reason not to tell her.

“Actually, I had a fight with one of my friends I came to the beach with.”

“Oh dear...” Harumi’s eyes opened wide in surprise and she immediately looked concerned.

“That friend ran off somewhere, so I’m currently looking for her.”

“I see...” Harumi cast a sad look downward. Sensing Koutarou’s feelings, she was worried even for a perfect stranger. “Satomi-kun, if you don’t mind, could you tell me why you got into a fight? I might be able to help out somehow.”

“Sakuraba-senpai...”

Koutarou welcomed Harumi’s offer. He felt like she would have an answer for his conundrum.

“Well, I actually don’t know,” he admitted.

“You don’t know?”

“I have an idea, but I have no way of knowing if it’s really the reason...”

“And what’s that?”

“When I told the truth and acknowledged that we don’t get along, it seemed to hurt her.”

Koutarou said “we don’t get along” instead of “we’re enemies” to make it easier for Harumi to follow.

“The truth...”

“But that’s just what our relationship is like. We’ve even argued about it before, so I don’t really think that’s why she’s upset now.”

From day one, Koutarou and Sanae had butted heads as enemies. While they may have entered a truce along the way, the circumstances ultimately hadn’t changed. They still insulted each other and threatened to throw each other out. Koutarou didn’t see why that would suddenly hurt Sanae’s feelings.

“I see... But she might still be hurt.”

Harumi didn’t see it his way. She came to a different conclusion after hearing Koutarou’s explanation.

“You think so?”

“Yes. Probably...” Harumi flashed a faint smile and began explaining like a mother admonishing her child. “We’re club mates, right?”

“Yes, you’re always helping me out a lot.”

“But I could also say it like this...” Harumi paused and looked directly into Koutarou’s eyes. “We’re complete strangers that just happen to be in the same club.”

Her words sounded terribly cold to Koutarou. He hated hearing her say that.

“That’s...”

“The truth, in a way.”

Harumi tilted her head and smiled again as the warmth returned to her voice.

“If you had said that when we first met, I wouldn’t have thought much of it.”

Still smiling, she put her hands over her chest, almost like she was checking her own heartbeat.

“But right now, I would be very sad if you said something like that. It would make me sad, even though it might be the truth.”

“...”

Even if it might be true...

Those words really sunk in for Koutarou.

“What about you, Satomi-kun?”

“...Yeah. I was a little shocked when you said it just now.”

Koutarou nodded at Harumi’s words. He knew she was right.

“Then I think it’s the same for your friend too.”

Harumi looked out over the sea. Her eyes were gentle, but sad. It was like she was trying to ease the pains of someone who was hurting even now.

“‘I know it’s the truth. At first I really felt that way, but as time passed, those feelings changed. I just hate thinking about it that way. There must be another way. I want there to be.’ Don’t you think that’s what she might be feeling?”

“She’s...”

It was something Koutarou hadn’t even considered. He had no reason to think something was changing with Sanae.

“But if you were brutally honest, Satomi-kun, that’s like calling us complete strangers.”

“Ah...”

Koutarou suddenly remembered what Sanae had said.

“I told you to leave me alone! Don’t bother with me! It was strange for us to get along in the first place since we’re enemies!”

Did Sanae not want us to be enemies? And I still said we were? Is that why she got upset and left?

“I’m sure it was hard to hear. I also want Satomi-kun to think of me as a friend. I don’t want to hear you say we’re just complete strangers...”

“So that’s why...!”

It sounded like Harumi was describing Sanae perfectly. Koutarou knew she had to be right.

“Then what should I do, Senpai?! What do I have to say to get her to forgive me?!”

There was no longer any room for doubt. He was convinced that was why Sanae was so crestfallen, so he sought an answer from Harumi. He believed she would point him the right direction.

“...I’m sure you already know the answer, Satomi-kun.”

Harumi smiled again. It was a warm smile that made Koutarou feel compassionate.

“Satomi-kun, you don’t feel the same as you did before either, right?”

“Me...?”

When they first met, Koutarou only thought of Sanae as an enemy. She was an evil spirit in his room. But over the months, those feelings had gradually subsided.

The truth hasn’t changed. We are still enemies, but that’s not all. If it was, we wouldn’t have a truce. She wouldn’t possess me either. And because I didn’t understand that, she...

“I got it! Thank you very much, Sakuraba-senpai! I’m going now!”

“All right. I’ll be praying for you two to make up.”

Having found his answer, Koutarou took off running. He didn’t even look back at Harumi who was watching over him. Having decided on his next goal, he ran straight for it. That kind of straightforward determination was one of Koutarou’s good parts.

“Satomi-kun...”

But there was a sad look in Harumi’s eyes as she watched him go. They were not the eyes of someone watching their underclassman running off to make up with a friend. When she could no longer see Koutarou, she let out a sigh.

“Think of me as a friend, huh...?”

Harumi did want Koutarou to think of her as a friend. That was undeniable. She had felt that way for a while now.

“But...”

But right now, that wasn’t all. There was something else... At least, she wanted there to be. Before she knew it, that was the truth of how she felt.

“I’m... a coward... and a liar...”

She was unable to be honest like she had told Koutarou to be. And that fact was sad and painful for her.

As Koutarou left Harumi, Sanae was sitting alone. She was at a small cliff a bit further into the rocky area where Koutarou was. Even though it wasn’t a tall cliff, it offered a great view of the ocean.

“Stupid Koutarou... You don’t even know how I feel...”

But Sanae, who was sitting alone and holding her knees, wasn’t looking at that beautiful sight. And neither the seagulls’ cries nor the waves crashing into the cliff reached her ears.

“But, why do I feel so lonely and sad...?”

Sanae was too preoccupied thinking about her relationship with Koutarou. They were enemies. She had reaffirmed that after her argument with Koutarou, but for some reason, she felt a deep sadness over it.

“Even though I wanted to chase him out when we first met...”

Even though they were supposed to be enemies, before she knew it, thinking that way was painful. She couldn’t believe that she was starting to feel that way.

The obvious fact that they were enemies didn’t feel so obvious to her anymore. She was confused by her change of heart. And in the midst of being overwhelmed by her emotions, she had taken it out on Koutarou and run away from him. She knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. It was natural for Koutarou to think of her as an annoyance and an evil spirit. She had brought that on herself. But even though she understood that, she couldn’t hold back her feelings.

“I should just return to the way I was before I met Koutarou. He’s... an enemy after all...”

Crushed under the weight of her loneliness, Sanae looked incredibly small as she sat there holding her knees. She let out another heavy sigh. She had lost count of how many times she had sighed since she came here, but no matter how many times she did, she couldn’t sigh away these feelings.

But Sanae wasn’t the only one sighing. So was Nijino Yurika, who had been hiding for a while not too far away from where Sanae was.

“My pursuers are... gone? Thank god, I finally got away!”

Unlike Sanae’s, Yurika’s sigh was one of relief. Yurika had come this way in order to escape the cosplay society. If they caught her, she would be forced to go to the event on the day after tomorrow. She felt truly relieved at her apparent stroke of luck.

“I definitely don’t want to take part in that event. If I do something like that, Satomi-san will— Huh? Isn’t that Sanae-chan?”

That was when Yurika spotted Sanae sitting at the cliff.

“What is she doing in a place like this?”

Having desperately been running around since this morning, Yurika was oblivious to Koutarou and Sanae’s delicate situation. Seeing Sanae all alone confused her. In her head, it was only normal for Sanae to be with Koutarou.

“All right, let’s investigate.”

Yurika didn’t really have anything else to do, and she didn’t want to go back and be caught by the cosplay society. And although she was bad with ghosts, she had recently gotten used to Sanae. She didn’t have much of a reason to avoid her anymore. And so Yurika stepped onto the rocks and approached Sanae.

“Huh?”

But as she walked over, Yurika noticed somebody else closing in on Sanae.

“N-Not good! It might be my pursuers!”

Yurika’s first reaction was fear that the cosplay society members had tracked her down, so she turned and jumped behind a nearby rock.

“Aniki, this is the perfect opportunity! W-We’re so close to being rich!”

“Calm down, Hachi. Great opportunity requires great care.”

“That’s Aniki for you! I can always count on you!”

“I just might be a little too cool.”

But Yurika had no need to worry. The people approaching Sanae were the two ghost hunters. After failing three times, they had waited for Sanae to be alone. Now they were finally making their move.

“Our target is alone, and we’re well prepared. If we fail now, we’ll be a laughingstock. I’m counting on you, Hachi!”

“Got it!”

While they waited for Sanae to be alone, they had fully prepared themselves. Their equipment and plans were flawless this time. They were sure things would go their way.

“Get in position, Hachi!”

“Roger!”

They pounced on Sanae.

Sanae only realized the trouble she was in when something white obscured her vision.

“Wh-What is this?!”

White smoke surrounded Sanae.

It was from a smoke bomb the ghost hunters had made. They had used branches stolen off of sacred trees to make a smoke bomb capable of creating a smokescreen that could blind ghosts.

“Wh-What is going on?!” Sanae screamed between coughs.

Thanks to the sea breeze, the smokescreen didn’t last long. But by the time Sanae could see again, the ghost hunters were already in the middle of their next attack.

“Even after death, I can’t escape the shackles of the free economy...”

“What are you gonna do? Money with the lingering aura of people’s obsessions is just too good to give up.”

“Aww yeah. I’m gonna give it my all. I want to fill my belly with something good.”

“I ate a dollar bill the other day and it was incredibly delicious. I wonder if I can get my salary in dollar bills.”

While Sanae was blinded by the smokescreen, she had been swarmed by ghosts.

“Wh-Who are these guys?!”

More than twenty ghosts had her completely surrounded. They appeared to be of all different ages and walks of life. It was as if a random crowd of people had turned into ghosts.

“Go, evil spirits! Earn your salary!”

They were actually low paid evil spirits the ghost hunters had called in to help capture Sanae. The ghosts were their last trump card.

“No, the truest delicacies are bills from a hyperinflated currency. They’re worth next to nothing, but the energy residue left on them is incredible.”

“Whoa, just hearing that makes me drool...”

“Once you’ve tasted those, you’ll never want to touch the bills of an economically stable country again.”

“Really? I think there are unique lingering obsessions in a stable country, like failing at the stock market or supporting a women. That’s the way I like it.”

“Such developed tastes... Hearing you describe them makes want some too...”

“Quit talking and go!”

“Okaaay!”

While Sanae was still bewildered over the situation she was in, the ghosts attacked from all sides.

“Kyaaah! Nooooo! Idiots! Perverts! Creeps! Where do you think you’re touching?!”

“...I feel like I’m doing something really bad.”

“Aren’t we actually doing something bad?”

“Well, she is just a little girl.”

“There’s no need to worry. We’re evil spirits after all.”

“Yeah.”

Completely surrounded with nowhere to run, Sanae was easily caught by the evil spirits. They grabbed her hands and legs and kept her from moving. And with Sanae immobilized, the ghost hunters approached with their bug nets.

“Looks like it went well, Aniki!”

“When we get serious, something like this is no match for us!”

Their fourth attempt was going all according to plan.

But there was someone who had witnessed Sanae’s ordeal. That was Yurika, who had mistaken the ghost hunters for her own pursuers.

“S-Sanae-chan is...?!”

After hearing the commotion and deciding it couldn’t be the cosclub, Yurika peeked out from the rock she was hiding behind. She could hardly believe what she saw on top of the cliff.

“L-Let me go! I said let me go!”

A swarm of ghosts surrounded Sanae and held her against her will. She desperately struggled to break free, but the ghosts were too strong and she had no chance.

“It’s over! You’re gonna get caught by us and then sold off!”

“What do you mean sold off?!”

“I’ve never seen a stable ghost with this much spiritual energy. Someone like you’s gonna fetch a high price from a connoisseur!”

“Aren’t you two just perverts?!”

“What are you saying after all this?!”

“We’re ghost hunters! Bounty hunters that specialize in capturing ghosts!”

Ghost hunters?! No way! That sounds like something right out of an anime. There’s no way that—

At first, Yurika couldn’t believe what she’d heard, but a sudden realization stopped her in her tracks.

It wouldn’t be that strange for them to exist. Besides, magical girls exist, so it’s really not that weird. And besides, unlike Satomi-kun, I believe people!

Yurika changed her mind mostly out of spite for Koutarou.

“B-B-But what should I do?! I need to save Sanae-chan! But there are so many ghosts! I-I-I-I don’t know what to do!”

While she believed them, Yurika had no idea how to handle the situation. She wanted to save Sanae, but she was petrified of ghosts. Just looking at them, she began trembling and her feet refused to move.

“B-But if I just leave them, Sanae-chan will...!”

“Kyaaaaah!”

As Yurika was thinking of her next move, Sanae was captured in one of their bug nets.

“Nooooo! Save me! Somebody!”

“It’s no use. Nobody is coming to save you.”

“Your friends are off playing around. And there’s no way someone who could actually hear your voice would be nearby. Just give up.”

“No way! I don’t want to be sold off!”

However, Sanae’s cries for help finally made Yurika make her decision.

“I-I’ll go save her! I’m afraid of ghosts, but being scared won’t help! Sakuraba-senpai would definitely go save her!”

Yurika mustered all of her courage. It was meeting Harumi that gave her strength in times like this. Even now, what she said during the obstacle marathon stuck with her.

I can’t lose to myself! I want to be stronger, like Sakuraba-senpai!

Responding to the courage that Yurika summoned, her body began to move again. She forced her stiff body forward using pure willpower.

“All right, I can do this!”

Eventually the trembling stopped and she could move freely.

I’ll call for Angel Halo and transform and save Yurika-chan!

Yurika imagined what would happen next as she reached out with her right hand to summon her staff.

“Come! Angel—”

“Found you, Yurika-chan!”

“President, we found her! Yurika-chan is over here!”

However, an unexpected obstruction appeared. The cosplay society that had been chasing her had finally tracked her down.

“Capture her!”

As the cosclub president gave the orders, the five other members jumped at Yurika all at once.

“O-Oh no! N-Not at an important time like this!”

Yurika tried to brace herself, but it was already too late. She was deprived of her freedom just like Sanae had been.

“All right, let’s bring her back to the hotel. We’re going to match our outfits!”

“Bringing a spare outfit turned out to be the right call, president!”

“There’s no harm in being prepared!”

“Wait, wait, Sanae-chan is... Sanae-chan is getting abducted!”

“Sanae-chan?”

Yurika’s desperate pleading didn’t fall on deaf ears. The cosclub looked around for the girl Yurika had called “Sanae-chan,” but all they could see were two suspicious men holding bug nets by a cliff. They couldn’t see the evil spirits next to them, or Sanae who was caught in the net.

“There’s nobody here.”

“There is! Can’t you see the men have captured a girl on the edge of the cliff?!”

“Huh? There’s only two men over there. Are you sure you weren’t just seeing things?”

“Wait a second! Everybody, look! Those are the perverts from yesterday!”

“Eww, creeps. Let’s go, everyone. We don’t want anything to do with them. And make sure you bring Yurika with us!”

“Okaaay!”

Following the president’s orders, the cosclub members swiftly bound Yurika with a rope.

“Please wait. If we don’t save Sanae-chan, something horrible will happen!”

“But Sanae-chan’s not here.”

Despite Yurika’s desperate pleas this time, the cosclub members weren’t listening. And when they finished tying her up, they put a gag on her.

“Hmm, mmmh! Hmmh!”

At that point, there was no longer anything Yurika could do. She was hung from a long stick and carried away looking like an animal being carried off by cavemen.

“Hmmhhmm!”

“Just hang in there, Yurika-chan. We’ll undo the rope and get you into your outfit soon.”

“Hmmmmm! Mmmhmm!”

And with Yurika dragged away, Sanae was left all alone.

“Let me out of here!”

Sanae had been moved from the net into a mysterious, transparent container. It was cylindrical, about fifty centimeters in diameter and two meters tall, and made from something like glass. However, the container was sturdy and didn’t budge despite Sanae beating on it. On top of that, she couldn’t pass through it. It was actually a tool that came together with the bug net. It was specifically a container used to transport captured ghosts.

“Just give it up already. You’ve been caught.”

“You’re on your way to be sold off.”

“I don’t want that! I don’t want to go anywhere! Koutarou! Koutarou!”

Just when things seemed at their worst, it was Koutarou’s name that left Sanae’s mouth. Sanae kept beating the container from the inside, calling out for Koutarou.

“Save me, Koutarou!”

But he never heard her anguished cries.

As Sanae was being carried away, Koutarou was just closing in on the site. If he had only been a bit faster, he would have heard Sanae’s screams as she was being taken away. Alas, they missed each other by a narrow margin. But that didn’t mean all hope was lost.

“Oh, if it isn’t Satomi-kun! What a strange place to meet.”

“If it isn’t the cosclub! Why are you all the way out here?”

As Koutarou was headed towards the direction where Sanae had been kidnapped, he crossed paths with the cosplay society who were on their way back.

“Look, look, Koutarou-kun! We caught our prey!”

“Hm! Mhhm, hmmmhh!”

“Y-Yurika?!”

Their “prey” was none other than Yurika. She was being carried along a long stick, like she was about to be roasted. Koutarou was at a loss for words for a moment because it just seemed so... Yurika.

I see, Yurika was caught at last... Rest in peace...

Remembering that she was being chased by the cosplay society, he put his hands together for her mentally.

“Hmm, mhhm! Hm, mhmmm!”

But Yurika suddenly started struggling. She was screaming something as she violently wiggled.

“Kyaah, Yurika-chan! It’s dangerous if you struggle like that!”

“Stay still, Yurika-chan!”

Yurika’s writhing staggered the cosclub members carrying the stick. She kept wriggling, despite them telling her not to struggle. If anything, she only wriggled even more.

“Mhh, hmmmm, mhhh!”

Yurika implored Koutarou as best she could with her eyes as it looked like she was going to bite her gag in half.

“Mhm, mhmmmm! Hmmmm!”

“Yurika?”

Is she trying to say something?

Sensing something was odd, Koutarou looked into her eyes. They weren’t the eyes of somebody holding a grudge, and they weren’t the eyes of somebody calling for help. It was like she was trying to beg him to do something.

What’s up with Yurika? She’s not acting like herself...

Since Yurika was behaving so strangely, Koutarou wanted to talk to her. There was also something he wanted to ask her.

“Excuse me, but could I talk to Yurika alone for a minute?”

“Hmmm!”

Yurika’s eyes sparkled at Koutarou’s words. She emphatically nodded her head towards Koutarou.

As I thought, something happened...

Seeing her act like that, Koutarou had a bad feeling.

“Just the two of you? Is it complicated?”

“Well, yes. It’s a very private conversation about a friend.”

Koutarou didn’t just want to hear her story, but he also wanted to ask her about Sanae’s whereabouts. But having the cosplay society around for that would complicate things, so he decided not to tell them the entire truth.

“Hmm! Mhh!”

Sensing Koutarou’s intentions, Yurika nodded and played along. Seeing that, the president accepted Koutarou’s request.

“I understand. But you can’t let her run, okay? We finally caught her after all this.”

“I understand.”

“Everyone, put down Yurika for a minute.”

“Okaaay!”

The cosclub members lowered Yurika to the ground, leaving her alone with Koutarou. Once the other girls were far enough away, Koutarou squatted down next to Yurika and put his hand on the gag.

“I’m taking it off, okay?”

“Hm!”

Koutarou untangled the knots, and Yurika opened her mouth wide as if she was going to bite down on his hands after he undid the gag.

“S-S-Satomi-san! Kidnapped Satomi-san and the evil spirit Sanae-chans were a lot of perverts!”

...But what came out of her mouth was a mess, and Koutarou had no idea what she was trying to say.

“Calm down. Talk like a normal person.”

“There’s no time to calm down!”

“Just take a deep breath.”

“O-Okaaay!”

Listening to Koutarou, Yurika took a deep breath and calmed down a little.

“So what happened?”

“Satomi-san, the perverts from yesterday took Sanae-chan!”

“Wh-What?! Seriously?!”

“Yes! It seems like their real goal was Sanae-chan!”

“But she was captured even though she can pass through walls?! She’s a ghost, and how?! Kidnapped?! How did Sanae?!”

This time it was Koutarou’s turn to make no sense. Right after setting out to look for Sanae out of guilt for hurting her, he learned that she had been taken away by perverts. He was now as dumbstruck as Yurika had been.

“Please calm down, Satomi-san! I can’t understand you!”

“S-Sorry...”

Koutarou took several deep breaths and tried again.

“But Sanae is a ghost! How was she captured?! She can pass through walls, remember?! How could they kidnap her?!”

“A lot of strange ghosts ganged up on her, and then they caught her in a bug net! I’m sure it was no normal net!”

“But why target Sanae? Who are those guys?!”

“They said they were ghost hunters! They said they were going to sell Sanae-chan!”

“Sell Sanae-chan?!”

At that moment, Koutarou remembered their two previous surprise attacks.

“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!”

“Th-This is just a misunderstanding! We’re not into peeping! We have no interest in your normal bodies!”

“That’s right!! We only want to catch and lock up that small girl over there so we can have a good time!”

The two of them had repeatedly tried explaining themselves like that, but Koutarou and the others had misinterpreted their excuses and treated them like perverts. In reality, that wasn’t quite the case.

“Damn it! So that’s what they meant!”

But it certainly wasn’t Koutarou and the others’ fault. Who would even believe there were people making a living off of selling ghosts? That was almost as ridiculous as the things Yurika said.

“You’re not lying are you, Yurika?”

Even only partially believing her now, he had to make sure. Koutarou wasn’t so gullible that he’d believe in ghost hunters just because someone said they exist. The fact that he’d been living with a ghost for a while now didn’t change that.

“Of course! You already don’t believe that I’m a magical girl! There’s no way I’d ruin my credibility even more by lying!”

But hearing Yurika’s answer, Koutarou readily agreed. “There’s no way I’d ruin my credibility even more by lying!” Those words were surprisingly persuasive.

“You’re right. Sorry for doubting you, Yurika.”

Koutarou bowed his head to Yurika in a sincere apology. It was the first time Yurika had ever seen Koutarou so serious.

“That’s fine, but for some reason I’m getting really irritated!”

That was because Koutarou could accept that ghost hunters were real, but not magical girls. It was like the more seriously he apologized now, the less it meant he actually believed in magical girls.

“I can understand why Sanae-chan is always so angry! Ahhhhh, jeez!” Yurika grumbled out of sheer fury. Koutarou’s reaction irritated her to no end.

“So Yurika, do you have any clue where they headed?”

“Huh? ...N-No, I don’t. I only know that she was carried away by the crowd of ghosts. After that, I was tied up and carried away too.”

Yurika was still bound and rolling around on the ground.

“A crowd of ghosts...? That’s it! Yurika, you’re certain that they were with a lot of ghosts, right?”

“Yes! Do you have any good ideas?”

“Probably! I’ll be going now, Yurika! Thanks for telling me!” Koutarou said as he stood up.

“Ah, wait, Satomi-san!”

“See you later! I’m going to go save Sanae!”

Koutarou started running. His goal was of course saving the kidnapped Sanae. If he didn’t save her, he wouldn’t be able to apologize.

Just hang in there, Sanae! I’m coming to save you!

When Sanae was being kidnapped, her words hadn’t reached Koutarou. But now thanks to Yurika, he knew just the same.

“Wait! Don’t just save Sanae-chan! Save me too! Please save me! I’ll definitely be useful!”

“Don’t force yourself. You hate ghosts, right? It’s the thought that counts. Your information was helpful too. Really, thank you, Yurika! I’ll definitely repay the favor later!”

Despite what Yurika said, Koutarou just smiled at her and ran off. He was truly grateful for her courageous offer to help, despite being just a cosplayer. That was why he didn’t want to get her involved.

“You’ve got the wrong idea! That’s not what I meant! Repay the favor now! Please don’t leave me, Satomi-saaan!”

Yurika’s forlorn cry echoed in the deserted rocky area.

“Yuuurika-chaaan! Are you done talking to Satomi-kun now?”

“Nooooooooooo!”

This time, it was Yurika’s voice that would never reach Koutarou.

Dashing into the room at the inn, Koutarou began rummaging through his bag. Since it was evening now, Theia, Kiriha, Shizuka, and Ruth had already returned to the room. But Koutarou didn’t even look at them.

“I know I packed it just in case! It should be...”

Finding Koutaoru’s behavior strange, the girls looked at each other.

“Satomi-kun, what’s wrong? Did you get to talk to Sanae-chan?” Shizuka asked on everyone’s behalf.

“Listen, Landlord-san, Sanae-chan was taken away by those perverts!” Koutarou answered while still searching through his bag.

“Huh?!”

“What?!”

“Those guys?!”

“Is that true, Koutarou?!”

The girls were all shocked. They hurriedly surrounded Koutarou and demanded an explanation.

“Yeah, there’s no doubt about it! Yurika saw them kidnap Sanae! Said they were ghost hunters or something! Those perverts were after Sanae from the start!”

“Yurika did? Are you sure she’s not playing around again?”

Learning that the information came from Yurika, Kiriha voiced her concerns. Yurika had no credibility.

“It didn’t seem like it. And there’s no reason for her to lie when she already has next to no credibility, right? If she wanted to fool us, she would have made up something better.”

“You’re absolutely right. No matter how much of an idiot she is, she wouldn’t do something that would hurt her standing even more.”

“Your Highness, that’s saying a little too much...”

It was because she had zero credibility that they all believed her now. Even Ruth, who had tried standing up for Yurika, felt something similar.

“Found it! As long as I have this...!”

That was when Koutarou found what he was looking for in his bag. It was a paper bag from a famous department store. He grabbed the bag and stood up quickly. As he did, the girls, who were all leaned in looking at what he was doing, jumped back a little. And before they knew what was happening, Koutarou was darting for the door.

“I’m going to take back Sanae!”

Without giving them even a moment to reply, he was gone.

“Ah, wait up, Satomi-kun!”

“Ruth, we’re going too.”

“As you wish, my princess.”

“Karama, Korama, follow me.”

“We’ve been waiting for this! Ho!”

“Let’s go save Sanae-chan! Ho!”

Shortly after Koutarou, the girls ran out of the room as well.

Inside the paper bag that Koutarou had taken with him were some of the exorcism tools Shizuka had given him during the first week of school. Koutarou had brought the charms and things with him in the case of an emergency.

This is probably part of why Sanae was so hurt...

Koutarou thought about the bag he was holding as he stuck his hand in it. Deep down inside, he believed that Sanae wasn’t dangerous enough to justify bringing exorcism tools with him. If he thought that, he wouldn’t let her possess him daily. Even so, he still brought the tools with him... just because she was an enemy. But after everything Harumi said, Koutarou understood that Sanae must have hated seeing that bag.

“But now I’m glad I brought this with me!”

Koutarou pulled one of the exorcism tools out from the bag. It looked like an old-fashioned radio wrapped in cheap plastic. Written on the plastic wrapping were the words “Ghost detection kit—For those looking, 2006.”

“I’ll be able to find Sanae with this!”

This “For those looking, 2006” was a ghost detection kit manufactured three years ago. Although it was an old model near its expiration date that Shizuka had gotten from a friend, it was still something the occult industry put a lot of stock in. In fact, it was manufactured by the same company that made the nets the two ghost hunters were using.

Koutarou was planning on using “For those looking, 2006” to find Sanae. The tool couldn’t distinguish between ghosts, but thanks to Yurika’s information, Koutarou knew that the two men had a crowd of ghosts with them. He was going to use this to track down a large group of ghosts, and in the process find Sanae.

“Let’s see... ‘Please light the attached incense and place it in the upper center of the machine. This incense serves as an antenna. Please make sure that you use the attached incense.’”

Koutarou read the instruction manual for the device and prepared it for use. As expected from a popular product among fans, even a beginner like Koutarou had an easy time setting it up. All that was left was to press the start button.

“All right...”

Koutarou gulped. If this failed, he would lose his only lead. He began getting more and more nervous as he carefully moved his finger closer to the start button.

“Please work...”

Koutarou braced himself and pushed the button while practically praying. The button easily went down, and then the machine made a loud noise.

“Wha?!”

“For those looking, 2006” created a small explosion in Koutarou’s hands that blasted his entire upper body.

“Hackk, hackk... I-It exploded?! Hackk, hackk...”

Inhaling the smoke sent Koutarou into a coughing fit. Fortunately, the explosion wasn’t particularly big and Koutarou wasn’t injured. However, “For those looking, 2006” was charred and partially destroyed.

“B-But why did it explode?!”

Koutarou took several deep breaths and voiced his frustration. Of course, he wasn’t expecting a real answer, but as it happened, that’s exactly what he got.

“It seems the spiritual energy oscillator malfunctioned, ho!”

“The delicate oscillator couldn’t handle the spiritual energy after all this time, ho!”

“It’s because you tried to use it despite its age, Koutarou.”

“Kiriha-san...”

The answers came from Kiriha and her two haniwas. She picked up the “For those looking, 2006” device and approached him with a smile.

“I’m sorry, Satomi-kun. This is all because I gave you old tools closing in on their expiration date...”

Behind Kiriha was Shizuka. She glanced back and forth between “For those looking, 2006” and Koutarou, looking quite apologetic.

“You too, Landlord-san?”

Why are the two of them here?

Koutarou didn’t understand the reason why Kiriha and Shizuka had come, and just stared at them blankly.

“So what are you going to do now, Koutarou? Weren’t you going to use that to look for Sanae?”

“Finding ghosts with our technology is impossible. We need to find a different method.”

“Even Tulip and Ruth-san?” Koutarou’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

“Don’t worry. Just leave it to me.”

“Kurano-san, do you have an idea?”

“W-Wait, are all of you here to help?”

Koutarou was confused. He was surprised that even Theia and Ruth had appeared, but even more so that they were going to help find Sanae.

“That’s right, Satomi-kun. Sanae-chan is almost like your little sister, so of course we need to save her.”

“Heh heh. Since you’ve lost your only lead, it’s a good chance to earn a favor or two. Why wouldn’t I exploit this chance?”

“You will eventually become my vassal. I can’t let you simply jump into danger. Letting you die would squander my reputation.”

“I just... If you’d like, I’ll help as much as you want, Satomi-sama... Th-That’s right! I have to repay you for the swimsuit! It’s for the swimsuit!”

The four girls each had their reasons, but they were all planning on saving Sanae.

“Thanks. Please help me, everyone!”

Normally, Koutarou might have refused, but now he was glad to accept their aid. In this situation, he had no other choice.

“Leave it to me, Satomi-kun! I won’t forgive those ghost-stalking perverts!”

Shizuka gestured rolling up her sleeves. She looked like she was raring to go.

“Promise me this, Koutarou—that once we get back, you’ll buy me a swimsuit too.”

Kiriha smiled mischievously. Even so, Koutarou saw the gentle look in her eyes.

“Heh heh heh, just you watch, pleb. They’ll regret making an enemy of me! Behold my greatness!”

Theia flashed a ferocious smile befitting a carnivorous beast. Koutarou knew that Theia wasn’t as much of a tyrant as she made herself out to be, but at the very least, she was worried about Sanae.

“Please leave it to me, Satomi-sama! I’ll help you as much as I can!”

Koutarou didn’t find it strange that earnest Ruth wanted to help, but in reality, she had a different reason for helping. Koutarou not realizing that was both a stroke of luck and misfortune.

“Well, Kiriha-san, you sounded like you had an idea...” Koutarou said, moving on quickly. He didn’t have time to thank them.

“Indeed. Karama, Korama, I’ll leave it to you.”

As Kiriha nodded, the two haniwas came up to Koutarou.

“Koutarou, we’ll scan that broken down machine and mimic it! Ho!”

“You can do that?!”

“Leave it to us, ho! Compared to us, that machine is quite simple! Mimicking its spiritual energy circuits is easy! Ho!”

“Then please do!”

“Roger, ho!”

“Beginning scan, ho!”

Obliging Koutarou’s request, the two haniwas stared down “For those looking, 2006” in Kiriha’s hands. Their normally hollow eyes shot out red lights. They were guide lights for scanning. The haniwas were a combination of modern science and spiritual energy. Koutarou had always felt they were suspicious, but this time he was really counting on them.

“Scan completed! Ho!”

“Preparations complete! Ho!”

It wasn’t long before they turned back towards Koutarou. The red light coming out of their eyes had vanished and were back to their normal selves. But having analyzed the machine, they were even a little more advanced now.

“Koutarou, ho! Should we amplify the function? Ho!”

“Amplify?”

“It’s easy to mimic, ho! We can use our reserve strength to power it up, ho! We’re that good, ho!”

“It’s estimated that we can amplify the function by 168 percent! Ho!”

“Then please do it! I want to find Sanae as quickly as possible!”

“Then let’s begin, ho! I’ll be the detector, ho!”

“Then I’ll do the amplifying, ho! Using synchronous mode to system link! Ho!”

Living up to the name of synchronous mode, the two haniwas moved as one. Working together like that, they could function as a single machine.

“Setting the amplification rate to 168 percent, ho!”

“Beginning emulation, ho! Activating normal operation of detector circuits! Ho!”

The two haniwas began replicating the function of “For those looking, 2006.” And so the explosion was amplified by 168 percent as well. It was a splendid reproduction.

“Are you complete idiots?! You don’t need to replicate that much!”

Getting caught up in an explosion again, Koutarou was scorched and charred in various places. However, Koutarou’s anger burned more intensely than the fires of the explosion.

“Sorry! Ho! We forgot to mend the malfunctioning parts, ho!”

“We didn’t mean any harm! Ho! We’ll redo it! Ho!”

And thus, although slightly delayed, Koutarou and the others set off to save Sanae.