Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 6 - Chapter 3

The Intentions Behind the Invasion

Sunday, December 13th

The morning of the performance was blessed with lovely weather, and with that, the anniversary celebration for Harukaze Kindergarten began. The events being held for it included class visits and a game tournament. The hero show was scheduled as something of a halftime show during the tournament, which meant that Koutarou and the others wouldn’t appear until that afternoon.

“Now then, everyone, it’s time for what you’ve been waiting for! Harukaze Man!”

Ruth’s voice sounded out from the speakers. But there was still no one standing up on top of the stage the youth department spent an entire night building.

“Let’s all call for him together! Haaaruuukaaazeee Maaan!” Ruth encouraged the children.

“Haaaruuukaaazeee Maaan!” they all cried in return.

The next moment, there were a couple of small explosions at the sides of the stage that filled it with smoke. When it cleared, there were now three people standing on stage: Koutarou, Theia, and Kiriha, all in costume.

Koutarou was wearing a suit of pitch black, spiked armor with a mantle. Theia was wearing a formal black dress with bat wings on her back. Kiriha wore a kimono similar to her usual outfit, but this one was embellished with flashy black roses on it, and her hairpiece was fashioned after the thorns of a rose. The three costumes were courtesy of the high school’s cosplay society, and they had each been designed with their respective villain in mind.

Theia stood in the center of the stage, her arms crossed and her head cockily thrown back. Koutarou and Kiriha stood on either side of her. The children of the kindergarten had been impatiently waiting for their hero, but these three mysterious people had appeared instead. Many of the children stared on with their tiny mouths gaping in awe. Theia smirked as she looked out over the children and waved around a long cane.

“Too bad, kids! Your beloved Harukaze Man isn’t coming! That’s because we, the Underground Empire, have defeated him!” she shouted loudly.

After hearing what Theia said, the children were shaken. Their hero had been defeated. That was impossible. They wanted to believe it was a lie, but right in front of them where their hero was supposed to be instead stood the evil trio. The children were stricken, and quite a few began crying.

However, one courageous boy stood up.

“That’s a lie! You’re lying!” With tears in his eyes, he pointed at Theia and shouted, “I won’t fall for a lie from some tiny little shrimp like you!”

“What did you just say, you brat?!”

Tiny shrimp. Hearing that phrase, Theia lost herself and got angry for real. Since she was self-conscious of her height and sex appeal, those words were humiliating to her, even if they were only coming from a kindergartener.

“Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?”

Theia’s hair wildly bounced back and forth as she stamped her foot and threatened the boy with a sharp glare. The boy who was the target of her aggression froze and gulped hard.

“This is bad, Koutarou! That’s not acting!” Sanae, who had memorized everyone’s lines, warned Koutarou.

“Hey, what are you doing, Theia? He’s just a kid. Calm down,” Koutarou whispered as he lightly pulled on her dress to get her attention.

“Shut up!”

But it was too late. Theia had really lost it. She ignored Koutarou and swatted his hand away. Her attention was entirely focused on the young boy in the crowd.

“I’ll show that rude little twerp—”

“When we get home, I’ll play games with you for as long as you want.”

Fortunately, Theia was much more receptive to Koutarou’s second attempt. Her temper tantrum ceased and she slowly turned towards him.

“Y-You better not be lying...”

“Of course not.”

Jeez, just how offended were you...?

Seeing the tears that had started to form in Theia’s eyes, Koutarou thought it would be best to do whatever she wanted to placate her.

“All right. But you’d better not go back on your word.”

Theia held her anger in and returned to normal. Sensing that, Kiriha ad-libbed a few lines to get the play back on track.

“Princess Devil, leave this to your faithful servants Black Rose and Baron Demon. We’ll show this kid that there are no heroes.”

“Very well. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Understood. Go, Baron Demon! Show these kids that Harukaze Man is no more!”

“Leave it to me, Princess Devil and Black Rose!”

Thanks to Kiriha’s quick wit, the quickly derailing show was now back on track. Koutarou let out a sigh of relief, then and jumped off the stage according to his stage directions and approached the seats reserved for the children’s guardians.

“You there! Come with me!”

He grabbed the arm of a girl who was sitting there and pulled her out of her seat. It was Harumi.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

She let out a terrified scream, but she couldn’t help the soft look of affection in her eyes as she watched Koutarou.

“Harumi-chan! Let go of my girlfriend, you villain!”

As Koutarou was dragging Harumi away, Kenji—pretending to be her boyfriend—jumped up from the seat next to hers and flew at Koutarou at just the right time. It was exactly like they’d practiced it.

“Pipe down!”

Koutarou threw out his heavily-armored arm, making a grand display of his mantle. When he did, Kenji was sent flying backwards and landed on his rear. Koutarou and Kenji’s coordination was perfect, and everything went just as smoothly as their rehearsal had.

“Kenji-kun!”

“Wahahaha! Too bad for you, youngster! I’m going to make this cute girl my wife!”

I’m going to make this cute girl my wife. Even though she knew it was just a line from the script, Harumi couldn’t stop herself from blushing. She became both embarrassed and happy. Her heart was throbbing.

“Argh, is there no justice in this world?!”

“That’s right! Justice died alongside Harukaze Man! Come, Jet Black King!”

“Neigh!”

Impersonating a black horse, Yurika came running in from the side of the stage while neighing. She was playing Baron Demon’s companion, Jet Black King, and she was doing it perfectly. To the kids there, she looked like a real horse.

“Today marks the beginning of the age of evil! Harukaze Man is a thing of the past!”

“Save meee, Kenji-kuuun!”

“Harumi-chaaan!”

“Jet Black King, to the wedding hall!”

“Neigh!”

“How cruel! What atrocious injustice! How could this happen?! Is Harukaze Man really gone?!”

Ruth’s voice echoed throughout the kindergarten. The children were sweating and waiting with bated breath for the conclusion. From here, the supposedly dead Harukaze Man would appear and vanquish Koutarou and the other bad guys. That was the plot of the show. However, for some reason, the hero that appeared wasn’t Harukaze Man.

“Let go of that woman, underground people!”

A powerful voice supported by a powerful diaphragm rang out from the back of the venue. It carried through the audience and reached Koutarou and the others on the stage.

Here comes Harukaze Man. Wait, what?

Realizing the voice had come from somewhere different than what they’d rehearsed, Koutarou was confused.

“Koutarou, something’s wrong. Look.”

“Uh...”

According to the manuscript, Harukaze Man was supposed to appear through the pyrotechnics in the center of the stage while Koutarou was kidnapping Harumi.

“As expected from the underground people. They certainly have unique outfits...”

“Do you have any good looking, manly leaders?!”

“It looks like there’s a young one, Nee-chan.”

“Is there anything good to eat around here?”

“Why don’t you get some of that candy they’re handing out over there?”

And what’s this? There’s five of them...

What further confused Koutarou was the number of supposed heroes that appeared. According to the script, there were only supposed to be two: the man acting as Harukaze Man, and Shizuka as Kisshou Lady. The supposedly defeated Harukaze Man borrowed Kisshou Lady’s power to revive, and they would arrive on stage together. But for some reason, now there were five heroes standing there. And what’s more, they were dressed in something more like police uniforms than hero costumes.

“...Satomi-kun, who are those people?” Harumi whispered to Koutarou, equally confused.

“Let me try asking,” Koutarou whispered back. He then turned to the newcomers and shouted, “Who goes there?!”

In the original scene, this was where Koutarou was supposed to ask for their identity.

“We have no name to give to the likes of you who would attack a kindergarten! Let’s go, everyone!”

“Yeah!”

However, the five declined to answer. Instead, they rushed towards the stage.

“Even though it’s our first battle, there’s no need to fear! Justice is on our side!”

“Senpai, I don’t really get it, but they seem to be heroes,” Koutarou said as he turned back to Harumi.

Based on their behavior, that was the conclusion Koutarou had come to. The way they were talking and acting certainly lined up with what you’d expect from a hero in a show like this.

“I wonder if it’s some kind of surprise...”

“Maybe there was some unexpected trouble and they had to call some stand-ins?”

Locked in an embrace, Koutarou and Harumi stared at each other. Normally they would be blushing, but in the midst of all the confusion, neither of them had taken the time to appreciate the position they were in.

“This isn’t in the script.”

“Hmm...”

When Koutarou looked around, he saw that both Theia and Kiriha were just as confused as he was. He then looked to Ruth. As the host, she should have been told what was going on beforehand, but she just looked back at Koutarou and shrugged her shoulders.

 So Ruth-san doesn’t know either? Yurika... obviously wouldn’t know. I guess the show must go on.

Koutarou ultimately decided to press on with the performance. He couldn’t imagine that heroes arriving at this point in the show was unintentional. As long as they had the villains and heroes on stage together now, the show could proceed mostly as planned. Whether this was supposed to be a surprise or it was a last-minute substitution, calling off the show now would only disappoint the children.

“All right, let’s continue, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“Okay.”

Koutarou nodded at Harumi, then winked at Theia and Kiriha. Understanding what he meant, they both nodded in return.

“Mackenzie.”

“I know. Leave it to me.”

Koutarou was about to signal Ruth and Kenji as well, but the two of them had already taken action.

“Justice hasn’t died! Look, everyone! Evil will never prosper!”

“With the absence of Harukaze Man, this mysterious group of five has appeared! Are they messengers of justice, or have they gotten ahead of themselves? For the time being, let’s all cheer for them!”

Kenji and Ruth rallied the spectating children. Thanks to them, the kids were able to overcome the shock of Harukaze Man’s defeat and cheer for the new heroes.

“You can do it!”

“Beat up those bad guys!”

“Leave it to us! Justice always wins!”

As the group of five ran through the center aisle to get to the stage, they were showered with cheers from both sides of the crowd. And as they approached, differentiating the five of them got easier.

“I’m all fired up!”

The one running in front was a short-haired young man. Based on his appearance, he seemed to be the athletic type like Koutarou.

“Let the games begin!”

Behind him was a shorter boy who looked even younger than Koutarou and the others. He had a round face and large glasses.

“Where are the handsome leaders?!”

The third was the only lady in the group. She gave off the impression of being a strong-willed woman with her long, black hair and thick eyebrows.

“This candy isn’t all that good.”

The fourth was much heftier than the others. As someone might guess from his appearance, he was a man of voracious appetite. Even as he ran, he was holding on to a bag of candy. It was the same kind that was being handed out to the children during the event.

“So this is a fight!”

The last one was a man with long hair and shades, but both his hairstyle and sunglasses seemed a little outdated. He looked like the overly-motivated teacher type that would appear in old shoujo manga.

“They all seem to be old-fashioned characters, but I guess that’s just about right for a hero show.”

“Did you say something, Satomi-kun?”

“It’s nothing, Senpai. Let’s get up on stage too. You got that, Yurika?”

“Okay.”

“Neigh!”

Koutarou, Harumi, and Yurika hurried back on to the stage from the crowd. If they weren’t there before the heroes made it, it could really throw off the dialogue.

“Hooo!”

The group of five cheered and climbed up to the stage in a theatrical fashion. Koutarou held Harumi in front of him like a human shield and taunted the arriving heroes.

“Wahahaha, it doesn’t matter how many of you there are! There’s nothing for us to fear now that Harukaze Man has been defeated!” he blustered.

“Noooooooo! Somebody save meeeee!” Harumi screamed out with perfect timing.

In reality, she personally didn’t want anyone to save her, but she wasn’t going to let her personal desires get in the way of her acting. Her desperate plea for help resounded throughout the venue.

“Curse you! Unhand that woman!”

“Very well. It’s not my first choice to use my future wife as a hostage anyway.”

Following the script, Koutarou put a shackle on Harumi’s ankle and bound her to a nearby pillar. Harumi then tugged on the chains repeatedly to show that she had no way of escaping.

“But it’s not as if I, Baron Demon, need hostages in the first place! I’m the one who defeated Harukaze Man!”

The overconfident enemy relinquishing his hostage was a necessary development for the heroes to turn things around.

I’ll leave the rest to you, heroes!

Now that the stage had ben set, all that was left was for the heroes to shine.

“Go, Baron Demon! Crush this impudent bunch!”

“Baron Demon, let us present their heads to Princess Devil!”

“Understood!”

Right on cue, Koutarou and Kiriha stepped forward while Theia stayed behind them and smiled arrogantly. The decisive battle was about to start.

“All right, everyone, let’s transform!”

“Yeah!”

The group of five seemed to know the drill as well and began their transformation scene.

“Oooh... So they’re going to transform here!” Sanae said, watching in admiration.

Unlike in a TV show, transforming live on stage was a difficult task. They either needed to use a smokescreen or make clever use of their set pieces in order to switch out the actors or have a quick costume change. It took quite a bit of coordination and several people to pull off. The youth department was understaffed for this show as it was, which is why Harukaze Man was supposed to appear on stage already transformed. Despite that, these five new heroes were going for a live transformation. Sanae really was impressed.

“Could it be real actors helping out?”

“That might be it.”

Also impressed, Koutarou and Kiriha stared at the group of five as they all raised their right hands.

“Traaansfooorm!”

They waved their right hands in the air while using their left hands to push a button on their belts. From that position, they moved both of their hands together in a large arc, finally ending up pointing to the right.

“Oh!”

It was a transformation pose so skillfully done that it amazed Koutarou. As someone who was considerably fond of transforming heroes, he had no complaints with their perfect posing.

There was a sudden burst of white smoke that concealed the five heroes. Through it, only their unique silhouettes could be seen moving. And once the wind carried away the smoke, five warriors wearing round helmets appeared. Their outfits were completely different than before. It wasn’t just some clever superficial change. It looked like they’d actually changed costumes. It was a splendid transformation for a hero show. There was just one problem.

“Red Shine!”

“Red Shine!”

“Red Shine!”

“Red Shine!”

“Red Shine!”

“And together, we’re the Sun Rangers of the Sun Squad!”

For some reason, the group of five heroes now posing with background music and pyrotechnics were all wearing the same color.

“Wherever there is love, there is justice! In this world—”

“Quit messing around!”

The moment he saw the transformed heroes, Koutarou abandoned the script and dashed forward. His face was red with rage, and he smacked the Red Shine standing in the center right on the head.

“Wh-What are you doing, Baron Demon-san?!”

“I don’t care! How can you do everything so well and then screw it up at the very end?!”

“J-Just wait a moment, Baron-san! What are you so angry about?!”

“No way! Seriously, what’s going on here?! Do we have five more Yurikas on our hands?!”

“What are you saying, Satomi-san?!”

Of course, Koutarou was angry about their costumes. It was an unwritten rule, or really just common sense for a kids’ show, that each costume should be a different color. And for all five of them to show up wearing red was in such flagrant disregard for the true spirit of a hero show that Koutarou was enraged. It was an especially infuriating surprise after their transformation scene was so well done.

“Why would you ruin all of our hard work like that?! Are you amateurs?!”

“S-Sorry, Baron-san! I’m not really sure why you’re so angry! This is our first time, you know!”

“As if I’d forgive you for just that!”

“Oh no, this isn’t good! All five Sun Rangers are wearing red costumes!” Ruth announced to the crowd, still trying to do her job as the host.

“That’s it, Kenichi!” the female Red Shine whispered to the leader Red Shine. “Baron-san is angry about these suits!”

“I see!”

Thanks to Ruth’s narration, they finally understood why Koutarou had gotten mad. The kids in the audience felt the same way and were now watching the Sun Rangers rather skeptically.

“Sensei, why are those Sun Rangers all red?”

“Which one is which?”

“Maybe there’s only one real one and the rest are fakes?”

“It’s just the worst when you end up wearing the same thing as someone else.”

There was a growing criticism rumbling in the crowd, and the Sun Rangers were quickly losing their support.

“What do we do, Koutarou? The show’s turning into a mess.”

“How should I know? If you have any complaints, let these idiots have it!”

Koutarou was still incensed. Having grown up a fan of hero shows on TV, he couldn’t forgive them for cutting corners(?) on such a critical part of the show. He knew some sacrifices had to be made to pull off a live performance, but the hero costumes certainly shouldn’t be one of them. He couldn’t accept five red Sun Rangers.

“...Despite everything you say, you’re quite picky when it comes to cosplay, Satomi-san...”

Yurika gave Koutarou a dirty look from inside the paper mâché horse, but it was short-lived and soon faded into a smile.

“It looks like Satomi-san might cosplay together with us if it’s from a hero show. I have to tell everyone in the cosclub!”

Yurika’s relationship with the cosclub had been improving recently. In order to graduate from high school, she had to keep her identity as a magical girl hidden. And after the initial trauma of it all, it wasn’t like she hated cosplaying, so she’d finally started to warm up to the idea of it.

“It looks like we should be tempting him with an ancient hero!”

Despite everyone around her being confused, Yurika was having fun now.

“Get lost! I can’t fight with failures like you!”

“Whaaat?! Y-You won’t even fight us?!”

Koutarou’s harsh words shook the five Sun Rangers.

“I don’t even want to talk to you! Scram!”

Shaking with anger, Koutarou turned a cold shoulder on the heroes as he scolded them. When he turned away, the leader Red Shine desperately tried to stop him.

“P-Please wait, Baron-san! We only formed a year ago, and this is our first sortie! If there’s anything wrong, we’ll work hard to fix it!”

“Then go home and fix your suits! Only the leader should be red! I have my pride as a villain, you know! I’m not going to stoop to fighting some loser group like you!”

“But we can’t fix our suits right now!”

With the drama unfolding on stage, a few giggles could be heard in the audience. It soon caught on and the whole crowd erupted into laughter.

“Sun Rangers, hurry up and change! With the wedding looming, Baron Demon is getting impatient!”

Sensing the change in the crowd, Ruth decided to try and play the whole thing off comically. Her quick thinking helped get the crowd fired up again.

“Everyone! Let’s cheer for the Sun Rangers! It’s only a matter of time before Baron Demon loses his temper completely!”

“You can do it, Sun Rangers!”

“Hurry up and change!”

“I don’t know which one’s the old man with sunglasses anymore, but you can do it, old man!”

“Can it, kid! Who are you calling an old man?! I’m only twenty!”

A Red Shine reminiscent of the long-haired man in shades started shouting at a child who began crying loudly in response.

“Waaaaah! M-Meanie Sun Rangers!”

“Oh, that’s not good, Sun Rangers! A hero can’t argue with a child!”

“You idiot!”

Koutarou swung his fist at the tall Red Shine who made the child cry.

“You guys don’t understand anything! You’re scum worse than third-rate heroes! How dare you make a kid cry?! You’re ruining their dreams! You don’t have the right to call yourselves heroes!”

Koutarou reached his limit with the heroes that were ignoring every convention of heroism. It was a nostalgic sore spot for him. Recalling his own childhood admiration for heroes, he couldn’t forgive the Sun Rangers for their completely lacking hero act.

“Baron-san, please wait!”

“Jeez, it’s all your fault he got so angry again, old man.”

“I’m not an old man, Koutaro!”

“Wonderful, Baron Demon-sama! Just wonderful!”

“It looks like Megu-chan’s illness is kicking in again, you guys.”

Seeing the Sun Rangers struggling so hard, Yurika slowly began to feel a sense of closeness with them.

I wonder what this feeling is...

After being yelled at by Koutarou and making kids cry, the Sun Rangers no longer had any heroic dignity left to speak of. Yurika related with the disheartened aura they were now projecting, but since she’d been growing more positive as of late, she didn’t realize it was because that’s what it felt like to be a loser.

“Children in the crowd, answer me this! Are these the heroes you wanted?! Or is there someone else?!”

Koutarou’s mantle fluttered behind him as he turned and shouted to the children in the audience.

“Is this all that justice has to offer?! Tell me, children! Who should I be fighting?!”

A small child stood up in answer to Koutarou.

“Harukaze Maaan! Help us, Harukaze Maaan!”

In spite of his small size, the young child shouted with all his might. The other children took heart at his courage and began to cheer too.

“Harukaze Man!”

“Hurry up and save that lady! Please, Harukaze Man!”

“The Sun Rangers are no good, Harukaze Man!”

Their cries flooded the venue, and as if their prayers were answered, fireworks exploded on the stage. Two silhouettes appeared through the white smoke and struck poses to introduce themselves.

“Courage! The power of hope within you!”

“Love! The indestructible heart that supports courage!”

“We are soldiers of courage and love!”

The breeze carried away the remaining smoke, fully revealing the two figures.

“Harukaze Man!”

“Kisshou Lady!”

“Evil will never prosper while we still stand!”

Two heroes, a man and a woman, appeared in suits that were quite obviously handmade. The costumes put together by the youth department were of visibly lower quality than those of the Sun Rangers.

“Harukaze Maaan! Harukaze Maaan!”

Nevertheless, the children cheered for them at the top of their lungs. They were screaming several times louder than when the Sun Rangers had appeared. Even they knew there was more to a true hero than just a costume.

“It looks like you’ve been having your way, Baron Demon!”

“Wahahaha! Have you come to get done in again, Harukaze Man?!”

And with arrival of a true hero, evil could shine. Koutarou composed himself and got back to the script.

“I have returned from hell to defeat you! This time, you’ll be going there!”

“Wahahaha! Telling a demon to go to hell is a funny joke! It seems that you’ve at least gotten funnier after reviving, Harukaze Man!”

Now that Harukaze Man and Kisshou Lady had arrived, the show could go on as planned. By the end, it was a complete success.

“Thank you, Harukaze Man! Kisshou Lady!”

Carried away by her parents, the last child waved her hand as she left. Shizuka and the man playing Harukaze Man waved back and saw the child off.

“Well, this was a huge success thanks to all of you, Kiriha-san, Koutarou-kun.”

Once the children were all gone, the neighborhood association member in charge of the show walked over to Koutarou and the others. Most of them had taken off their costumes and makeup by now, so they had stayed backstage until the coast was clear.

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure what would happen when Harukaze Man couldn’t show up on time, but you managed to keep things going. You were a huge help.”

“What took so long anyway?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing, but the suits being handmade worked against us. When it was almost our time to come out, we realized one of them was torn.”

The man who played Harukaze Man slumped his shoulders. He then removed his chest piece and showed the back of his suit to Koutarou. The hole had been taped up and covered with the armor—a desperate solution to say the least. They’d caught it just before they went on stage, which was what had delayed their appearance.

“I see,” said Kiriha, who was standing next to Koutarou and saw the tear too. She smiled and nodded, then said, “But really, it wasn’t us. It was all thanks to the substitutes you sent out.”

“Yeah. Those Sun Rangers were a big help.”

Koutarou nodded in agreement with Kiriha. The only reason they’d been able to buy enough time for Harukaze Man to appear was thanks to the Sun Rangers. In the end, Koutarou and the others were amateurs, and they weren’t confident that they would have been able to fill that much time on their own.

“Huh?” The man playing Harukaze Man looked dumbfounded.

“Weren’t the Sun Rangers your friends?”

“What?”

“We were certain you got some of your friends to come help.”

“Didn’t the neighborhood association recruit them?”

Koutarou and the rep from the neighborhood association each seemed to think the other was responsible for calling in the Sun Rangers. Koutarou and the others assumed that the neighborhood association had prepared stand-ins in case of an emergency, but the neighborhood association assumed that Koutarou and the others had asked more of their friends to help out. It left everyone wondering where they had really come from.

“What does this mean?”

“Your Highness, wouldn’t it be best if we asked them directly?”

“That’s true.”

Koutarou and the others went looking for the Sun Rangers, but they were nowhere to be found on set.

“Mackenzie, do you know where they went?”

Once Harukaze Man appeared, Kenji’s character had practically nothing to do, so Koutarou was hoping he might have seen where the Sun Rangers had gone. However, Kenji just shook his head.

“The last time I saw them, they were sneaking off the stage so they wouldn’t get in the way of the fight with Harukaze Man and Kisshou Lady. I don’t know where they went after that.”

After his role was finished, Kenji had enjoyed the hero show alongside the children.

“What about you, Sakuraba-senpai?”

“I don’t know either. Sorry.”

Harumi shook her head too while blushing slightly. She was staring at Koutarou for the entire fight scene, so she hadn’t paid any attention to the Sun Rangers.

“Just who were those people?”

Kiriha finally asked what everyone was wondering, but it left them all scratching their heads.

Meanwhile, the Sun Rangers in question were in the middle of an evaluation meeting. They were trying to sort out the problems they’d encountered during their mission.

“First off, I believe the biggest failure this time was blindly trusting a kindergartener.”

An old man with a white beard and lab coat wrote what he had just said on a whiteboard. The whiteboard had been borrowed and brought into the small office for their meeting, which the old man seemed to be leading. There were five other people present, each sitting at a desk and watching the old man at the whiteboard with a serious expression on their face. These were, of course, the Sun Rangers.

“As a result, we ended up intruding on a hero show that had nothing to do with the underground people.”

The old man circled the words “hero show” with a red marker.

That’s right. As hard as it might be to believe, the Sun Rangers were real heroes whose actual mission was to fight against the underground dwellers. The Sun Squad was established as a first line of defense against unknown foreign threats, and with the appearance of the mysterious underground dwellers, they finally had their chance to step out from the shadows and into the spotlight.

The Sun Rangers were led by an old man known as Professor Roppongi. Although the Sun Rangers were an elite, secret government task force, they were under civilian control on principle.

“But professor, the detector showed a reaction indicating underground people.”

The shortest out of the five rangers showed a device something like a handheld game system to the old man. The boy’s name was Koutaro, and he was the youngest member of the team.

“About that... This detector doesn’t indicate underground people, but rather the technology they use. It would be rare, but that does mean there’s a chance it might react to something completely unrelated.”

“Which means that not only did we blindly trust a kindergartener, but the detector was also, unfortunately, wrong?”

A second member continued where Koutaro left off. His name was Kenichi, and his short haircut and sharp eyes made him look like a healthy young man. He was also the first Red Shine that Koutarou had hit.

“Precisely. It looks like we’d better reconsider the accuracy of our intel and our detector.” Roppongi nodded at Kenichi as he messed with the detector. “However, regarding the detector, it must be said that its utility has been proven in other districts. Even though there’s a chance for a false positive, we should continue using it.”

In truth, there were squads other than the just the Sun Rangers established to deal with unknown foreign threats. The Sun Rangers just happened to be in charge of this region, but there were several more squads stationed all over the country. They’d all had success with the detector, which in turn helped them suppress attacks from the underground people in their early stages. Currently, the only reported malfunctions and false readings had come from the Sun Rangers.

“Professor, can’t we solve both of those problems with the same method?”

“What do you mean, Hayato-kun?”

The man that Roppongi addressed, Hayato, was a tall guy with long hair and sunglasses. As one might guess from the fact that he was wearing glasses despite being in a dimly lit room, he was a bit of a narcissist.

Hayato smirked and spread out his arms as he answered Roppongi’s question, “Instead of taking a child’s word for it or trusting in the detector, we should confirm things ourselves.”

“I see. That’s a reasonable opinion. Very well. In the future, let’s double and triple check our results to be certain.”

The group of five nodded at Roppongi’s words. Seeing that, Roppongi erased what he’d written on the whiteboard. He was planning on moving on to the next topic.

“Now then, as for our next subject...”

“Baron Demon-sama! It’s about Baron Demon-sama, right?!”

Interrupting Professor Roppongi was the only woman in the room. Her name was Megumi. She was in her late teens. Her long, black hair and thick eyebrows gave off quite an impression. She looked quite willful even at first glance, but right now she wasn’t exercising even the slightest bit of that willpower. Her eyes were sparkling, her fingers were entwined, and her hands were clasped.

“W-Well, yes, but...”

“Ahh, I want to see him again! I want him to scold me with that manly voice of his!”

“M-Megumi-kun?”

Roppongi was a little bewildered by Megumi staring off into space so excitedly. In order to explain, the last of the five rangers finally spoke up.

“Professor, it’s Megu-chan’s illness again. It seems like that villain at the show was just her type.”

And with the last word, the man put another curry-flavored chip in his mouth. This was Daisaku, the largest member of the Sun Rangers. That said, since he was always eating, his body had mostly grown in width rather than height.

“Call it what you want. I’ll have you know that despite Baron-sama’s cool appearance, he had a fire burning inside of him! And even though he was a villain, he was refreshingly reasonable!”

As Megumi sighed and stared off into a daydream again, she fondly recalled her meeting with Baron Demon. She remembered his intense anger as he hit one of the Red Shines and when he severely scolded another one of them for making a child cry. That said, she was remembering these events much more romantically than how they’d really gone down. But she couldn’t help it. The image she’d burned into her memory of Baron Demon was quite different than the real thing. She remembered him with sparkling white teeth and a background of roses blooming behind him.

“...Honestly, I can’t keep up with Megumi when she’s like this.”

“Same here. But, fortunately, she’s not the only woman on this planet.”

“Thank god...”

Kenichi and Hayato were of the same opinion on the matter. They both judged Megumi as they looked at her from across the room and nodded at each other.

“Can’t we just leave Nee-chan to Daisaku-oniichan?”

Koutaro pointed at Daisaku, who was in the middle of handing a handkerchief to Megumi.

“Aaah... I want to get carried away in a bride kidnapping!”

“Megu-chan, your nose is bleeding.”

“Thank you, Daisaku-kun.”

Megumi took the handkerchief from Daisaku and blew her nose. She had gotten overly excited and ended up with nosebleed.

“Do you love Baron-san that much, Megu-chan?”

“Of course! There aren’t many good men like that, I’ll have you know!”

After blowing her nose, Megumi began explaining all the good points to Baron Demon. Daisaku smiled and listened to her without any complaints.

“Daisaku really is good at taking care of others...”

“Yeah, well, you know what they say about nice guys and finishing last.”

Kenichi and Hayato looked at Daisaku with pity in their eyes. He was earnestly listening to Megumi. This pleased Megumi, and her expression brightened up as she continued talking.

“I actually think those two would get along well together.”

“Really...?”

Koutaro believed that Megumi and Daisuke would make a good couple, but unfortunately enough, nobody else agreed with him.

The next topic Roppongi wrote on the whiteboard was only indirectly about Baron Demon. The Sun Rangers were painfully aware now that what they’d walked in on was just a show. What Roppongi wanted to address after the fact were problems that Baron Demon had pointed out.

“Holding back on the costs and rushing the completion of the suits for fear that the underground people would show up soon was a mistake.”

His hand moved as he talked, writing “the problem regarding the coloring of the suits” on the board. This was the initial problem that had gotten Baron Demon so angry. The Sun Rangers of the Sun Squad had battle suits made with the most cutting edge technology available. Just by wearing them, their strength was increased fivefold. They could run as fast as any beast and their defenses rivaled steel armor. It was a new era of personal equipment superior to all kinds of bulletproof vests.

However, because of its performance, they weren’t exactly cheap or easy to produce. The Sun Rangers had only just received theirs before their first mission. They hadn’t had time to customize them yet, so they’d each gone out with the default red suit. That was the real reason there were five Red Shines, and they’d only realized the error of their ways once Baron Demon had pointed it out.

“Thinking about it, with everyone wearing the same color, it’s hard to even tell your allies apart,” said Kenichi. He waited for the professor to finish writing before he spoke up, but he’d been thinking rather seriously about the problem.

“That’s true. Everyone looks the same that way. If, for example, someone got into trouble, it would be hard to tell who needed help at first glance,” Hayato said, nodding in agreement with Kenichi.

Since they were government issue, all five suits had the same design. And because they were intended for combat, each ranger was required to wear a helmet that covered their face for protection. That made it even harder to tell each other apart when they were geared up.

The only one they could differentiate at first glance was Daisaku thanks to his large frame. Kenichi and Hayato had similar builds, so it was easy to confuse them, and Koutaro and Megumi were almost the same height. There was a possibility that not being able to tell each other apart during an important battle could become a big problem.

“Why didn’t you notice something like that right away?!” Megumi demanded with a raised eyebrow and a raised voice. Now that she was done daydreaming, she was back to her normal self.

“You didn’t notice either, Nee-chan.”

“Megu-chan, you were only able to see Baron-san so angry because we were all wearing red.”

“Hmm, yeah, that’s true...”

However, thanks to Daisaku, Megumi’s stern expression was replaced with a smile.

“Aaah, Baron-samaaa!”

Her anger spent, Megumi withdrew into her own private dream world again.

“Well, Megumi-kun aside, is anyone against coloring the suits to tell them apart?”

“It should be fine. Baron-san and the kids said it would be easier to follow that way too.”

“That’s true. Thinking of our future, it would be great to have the children cheering for us.”

Countries with powerful police forces were always trying to improve the image of their officers. If they could make a good impression with the kids, it would go a long way for public approval. If children even aspired to join the profession, it was surely a sign that their goals to protect the public and maintain peace really resonated with the populace. And while the Sun Rangers weren’t police officers, they worked off a similar mentality.

“But professor, if we can’t tell each other apart, the same is true for the underground people, right? Isn’t it dangerous to distinguish ourselves?”

“Hmm, that is a potential problem. You’re clever, Koutaro,” said Kenichi, a little impressed.

“Heh heh,” Koutaro giggled proudly.

If they could be differentiated by color, their enemies could theoretically devise countermeasures against them individually. Being able to tell the rangers apart was an advantage for both friend and foe alike.

“Then why don’t we change colors from time to time? That way, it won’t matter what kind of plans they come up with.”

However, Hayato easily solved that problem. By swapping colors if necessary, they wouldn’t have to worry about the enemy recording data about them individually. It was a simple but effective strategy.

“Yes, let’s go with that, Hayato-kun. It’s a good method that makes sure only we can seize the advantage.”

And so it was decided that the Sun Rangers would color their suits differently.

“Now then, all that’s left is deciding who gets what color.”

The only problem left was the coloring itself.

“If I’m not mistaken, Baron-san said that the leader is supposed to be red.”

“Okay, so I get red.”

“Wait, Hayato. I should be red.”

Kenichi and Hayato butted heads over who would be the leader. Kenichi wanted it because he was the hot-blooded leader type, and Hayato want it because it was cool. Neither one of them was willing to let go of the title.

“What are you saying? It’s important to remain calm during a fight, Kenichi. That’s practically impossible for a hot-headed idiot like you!”

“Look who’s talking! You think you’re all cool and calm? Did you forget that you made a child cry during the show and made Baron-san angry?!”

That said, the truth was that neither of them had any discernable leadership potential. Regardless, however, they continued to debate the matter without ever reaching a conclusion.

“I didn’t forget! That’s why I won’t make the same mistake again! I’ll show you that I’d make a splendid leader that even Baron-san would recognize!”

“I never would’ve made that mistake to begin with! You’re a narcissist! All you can think about is yourself!”

“Hahh...”

As Kenichi and Hayato continued arguing, Koutaro let out a small sigh. Normally Kenichi and Hayato got along well, but once they didn’t see eye to eye to something, they would never agree. And with the position of leader at stake, Koutaro couldn’t imagine either of them backing down any time soon. Koutaro looked looked to the one with the most common sense for help: Megumi.

“Megumi-neechan, say something to stop them.”

“The forbidden romance between a heroine of justice and a leader of evil! It’s perfect! Just sublime! And in the end, after he’s awoken to the power of love, Baron-sama becomes an ally of justice!”

“Megu-chan, you’re drooling.”

“And then Baron-sama will say, ‘Megumi, you’re so cute!’ Kyaaah!”

However, despite what Koutaro had hoped, he wasn’t able to get any help from Megumi.

“Megu-chan, you’re a lady, so you should at least be a little concerned about your appearance.”

“...This is hopeless.”

“What to do...?”

At that point, Koutaro and Roppongi felt that Daisaku would be good enough as a leader.

Once they had finished cleaning up after the show, Sanae and Yurika dashed out of the kindergarten.

“Come on, Yurika! Hurry, hurry! If we don’t book it, Magical Girl Love Love Heart is going to start without us!”

“I know, I know! But this is as fast as I can run!”

They were in a hurry to get home to watch an anime that started at six in the evening. However, since Yurika wasn’t a strong runner, they weren’t certain if they would make it in time for the opening theme.

“If you want, I can possess you and force you to run faster.”

“N-Noooooo! Anything but that!”

“...So you can run faster with the right motivation!”

And yet despite what she’d said, Yurika suddenly took off at an unprecedented speed. The two girls soon left Koutarou, who was seeing them off, in the dust.

“I just hope Yurika doesn’t get hit by a car on her way home...”

Yurika’s tunnel vision was rather obvious, and Koutarou couldn’t help worrying about her as he watched her turn the last corner and lost sight of her.

“Koutarou.”

“Satomi-sama, good work today.”

“Yeah, you too.”

That was when Theia and Ruth approached. Noticing that Sanae and Yurika were already gone, the two girls looked around a little for them.

“Satomi-sama, I can’t seem to find Sanae-sama and Yurika-sama anywhere.”

“They already went home. Something about an anime.”

“...I see. So they’re not here...”

Theia cast a glance in the direction of Corona House before turning towards Koutarou.

Koutarou is alone...

Recently, either Sanae or Yurika was always at Koutarou’s side. Sanae had been like that for a while, but now Yurika had gotten a lot closer with Koutarou as well. Theia didn’t know exactly why, but it seemed Yurika’s feelings for him were changing. But between the two of them, it was rare to see Koutarou alone these days.

“When we get home, I’ll play games with you for as long as you want.”

Theia recalled what Koutarou had promised her during the show. She started to lose her composure thinking about it.

I-If things go well, Koutarou and I could be playing g-games all alone...

Theia was envious of Sanae and Yurika who were a lot closer to Koutarou than she was, so she had no intention of letting this kind of chance slip past her. Right now, there was no Sanae and no Yurika. It was just her and Koutarou. There mere thought of it made her heart pound wildly.

But wh-what should I say in this situation? How can I express my feelings without inviting a misunderstanding?

However, Theia herself didn’t fully understand her romantic feelings for Koutarou, and was thusly uncertain how she should act on them. She only had a vague idea about wanting to get along with him. Claiming that her relationship with him was all for the sake of her trial was starting to get in the way of her true feelings. And without a clear goal, there was no way to come up with a clear plan of action.

Your Highness...

Seeing Theia struggle, Ruth flashed a small smile and decided to lend a helping hand.

“Maybe you should try playing games aboard Blue Knight, Your Highness.”

“Huh?”

Theia’s eyes suddenly snapped wide open. Startled out of deep though, she had completely missed what Ruth had said. Seeing Theia’s reaction, Ruth’s smile only grew larger.

“Sanae-sama and Yurika-sama are using the TV at home, so you can’t play video games in the apartment right now. Instead, you should play games in your room aboard Blue Knight.”

It was true. With Sanae and Yurika occupying the TV in room 106, they had no choice but to visit Theia’s ship if they wanted to play games together. Theia just couldn’t process why Ruth had suggested it.

“Y-Yes...”

Despite her hesitation, Theia nodded, encouraged by Ruth’s smile.

Ruth?

Seeing the question in Theia’s eyes, Ruth nodded to her and then quickly glanced at Koutarou. Theia followed Ruth’s eyes.

“All right. Then I’ll come over once I’ve finished buying food for dinner.”

After listening to their conversation and thinking it over for a moment, Koutarou agreed. If he had to play games with Theia and she was aboard her ship, he didn’t really have a choice about going. He’d been there countless times for Theia’s special training in preparation for the school play and the hero show, so he wasn’t especially resistant about visiting.

“Ah...”

Theia finally realized what Ruth had been getting at all along. She quickly turned to look at her, and was met with the sight of Ruth’s gentle smile.

As expected of Satomi-sama. He always keeps his promises.

Ruth silently thanked Koutarou in her thoughts over and over again. Ruth was quite sure Koutarou would agree to come aboard once she put it the way she did, but she was still thrilled that things had worked out. Ruth was from a famous family of knights, the Pardomshihas, and was raised to value an oath upheld over all other things. She was elated as it was, but getting to see the radiant smile of her princess was the most joyous reward of all.

If he stays by Her Highness’s side, I’m sure he’ll be able to protect her...

Looking at Koutarou as a knight, he still had a long way to go. He hadn’t learned manners or etiquette yet. However, when it came to his behavior, Koutarou was a man of his word. More so than any knight Ruth had ever met.

To break a sword is nothing compared to breaking the oath sworn upon it. It was a well known knight’s proverb from Forthorthe, but Ruth believed it applied to far more than just swords. Even a low-born, common man could be knightly in his honesty and sincerity. Anyone could be trained to become a knight, but honor was another matter altogether.

Satomi-sama, please accept Her Highness...

Ruth’s wish wasn’t just for Theia’s sake, but also for her own.

“In that case, I’m going to go on back now.”

“You really do love games, don’t you, Theia?”

“That’s Princess Theiamillis to you!”

“Yeah, yeah, my dear Princess Theiamillis.”

The image of Koutarou and Theia sitting next to each other playing games popped into Ruth’s mind. At times they would swear at one another, and sometimes they would try and cheat by messing with each other’s controllers. Ruth only wished that she had a place next to them.

Kiriha and Harumi walked over to Koutarou a few minutes after Theia and Ruth had returned to Blue Knight.

“Oh? Where’s Landlord-san?”

Since Koutarou was planning on going home together with Kiriha and Shizuka, he was curious where she might be if Kiriha had shown up without her.

“Satomi-kun, it seems Kasagi-san was offered another part-time job,” explained Harumi.

“A part-time job?”

Koutarou finally spotted Shizuka in the kindergarten’s main office. She was talking with a person from the youth department and a man he hadn’t seen before. He was apparently the one that had offered Shizuka the job.

“It seems that a pro was watching today’s show,” Kiriha said, and from there took over for Harumi and explained in more detail.

Today’s show was enjoyable, even in the eyes of a professional. What impressed him the most was Shizuka’s work as Kisshou Lady. Knowing martial arts, Shizuka was able to pull off some pretty intense fighting choreography, despite her girly looks. Because of that, she was offered a part in another show that would serve as an audition of sorts.

“Wow, that’s amazing, Landlord-san.”

“If everything goes well, she’ll be an action star.”

After hearing what had happened, Koutarou was impressed. Harumi threw a few shadow-boxing punches and smiled at him.

“Fighting probably isn’t up your alley, Senpai.”

“I have a knight to defend me, so I don’t need to fight.”

“Leave it to me, Princess Alaia.”

“Teehee...”

“Anyway, that’s why Kasagi-san told us to go on without her.”

“I guess we don’t have a choice then.”

Koutarou giggled a little more with Harumi and then turned to look back towards the office. It didn’t take a whole lot of brainpower to imagine what they were discussing might take a while. Since he needed to stop by the shopping street on the way home, he also knew he couldn’t wait around for her to finish up.

“All right, let’s go home, Senpai, Kiriha-san.”

“Okay.”

“Yes.”

And so the three of them left the kindergarten.

“Well, Satomi-kun, Kurano-san, I live over there, so this is where we part ways.”

Just before the shopping street, Harumi bid farewell to Koutarou and Kiriha. She lived in a different neighborhood, so this was as far as they could go together.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”

“Goodbye, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“Goodbye, you two!”

Harumi smiled at them and turned to walk down a different street. Koutarou and Kiriha stopped to see her off. After she waved at them one last time and turned the corner, they began walking again.

“Kiriha-san, what were we going to buy today?”

“Eggs, natto that’s on sale, transparent garbage bags, and vegetables.”

Once it was just the two of them, Kiriha began acting like her usual self. Seeing that, Koutarou felt slightly relieved. Kiriha’s honor student act didn’t quite sit well with him.

Kiriha was normally formal and strict, but she went out of her way to be friendly at school and around other people. Even so, Koutarou preferred the usual Kiriha. He felt more warmth from her that way. He didn’t realize it, but Koutarou had an easier time talking to Kiriha when she was just being herself. And so at times like this when they were alone, he inadvertently became a lot more talkative.

“That’s right, vegetables. Yurika’s skin has been getting rough lately, so let’s feed her lots of vegetables.”

“It’s because she eats all those instant noodles.”

“I know. But when there’s meat on the table, that’s all she eats.”

“Heehee, then let’s try to change things up to make sure she gets her vegetables.”

The same was actually true for Kiriha too. Once Harumi was gone, her face became much more expressive. There were only a few people on the surface she could talk to without hiding her true self, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was limited to the residents of room 106. She couldn’t show any weakness to her subordinates, and she couldn’t express her true feelings to the surface dwellers. In a strange way, she might only have been able to reveal her true self to Koutarou and the others exactly because they were her rivals.

“Onee-chan!”

But there was an exception. Kiriha had no problem revealing herself to the children. Perhaps because of their youth and innocence, she felt no need to hide anything from them. She was honestly herself with them too.

“Today’s Harukaze Man show was amazing!”

“Thank you. I’m glad you liked it.”

“Yeah!”

Kiriha squatted down and patted the head of the young girl that had run up to her. She was the only child of the man and woman that ran the produce stand at the shopping street. Her father was part of the youth department, and she had met Kiriha through her volunteer work. She was also one of the kindergarteners at the school where they performed today.

“I kept it a secret from everybody! That Kiriha-oneechan is part of the evil secret society!”

“Heehee, if you tell anyone the truth, I’ll eat you up!”

“Ahaha, you’re so funny!”

The young girl and Kiriha cheerfully chatted together. Watching her like that, Koutarou’s doubts about Kiriha grew.

Did she really come here to invade the surface?

But Koutarou suddenly found his eyes locked with the young girl’s.

“Hey, Onee-chan, who is he?”

At the young girl’s question, Koutarou abandoned his train of thought, squatted down next to Kiriha, and smiled at the girl.

“Now who might I be?”

“Onee-chan’s boyfriend?”

“Do I look like it?”

“You don’t!” the girl declared with a smile before bursting into laughter.

Meanwhile, Kiriha glanced over at Koutarou and flashed a mischievous grin.

“He really is my boyfriend though.”

Kiriha grabbed Koutarou’s arm and rested her head on his shoulder. As she did, the smell of fresh flowers tickled Koutarou’s nose. It was the distinct aroma of the scented oil Kiriha used on her hair.

“Really?!”

The young girl, however, was indeed both young and a girl. The mere mention of the word “boyfriend” made her eyes sparkle. Koutarou, who had caught on from Kiriha’s smile, winked at the girl.

“It’s true. Lucky me, huh?”

“Yeah! Onee-chan’s compromising skills are amazing!”

“Compromising?!”

The girl nodded emphatically at the stunned Koutarou.

“Onee-chan is so beautiful, why should she settle for such an uncool guy? Is this volunteer work too?”

“Sharp kid...”

Koutarou smiled bitterly at the girl’s harsh appraisal and patted her on the head again. Kiriha, looking quite pleased, cleared her throat.

“Heehee. You see, it’s neither compromising, settling, nor volunteering. Once you become an adult, you’ll understand.”

“You’re so grown up, Onee-chan!”

“Just a little bit more than you.”

Kiriha patted the girl’s head with a smile as she stood up. Still holding on to Koutarou’s arm, she pulled him up with her.

“Now then...”

“Are you shopping, Onee-chan?”

The young girl scratched her head. Kiriha nodded at her and pointed towards the shopping street with her free hand.

“Yes. We need to buy some ingredients for dinner.”

“Hey, then come buy something from us! We’ll give you a deal!”

“I was planning on doing just that.”

“All right! Then hurry up, you two! It’s almost time for the evening sale to start!”

“Really sharp kid...”

The young girl pulled on Koutarou and Kiriha’s hands, leading them into the shopping street. 

As of late, it had been Kiriha and Ruth’s job to do the shopping, so it had been a while since Koutarou last went shopping with Kiriha.

“Oh, Kiriha-chan! Brought your boyfriend with you this time, I see!”

“Kiriha-san, we just stocked some nice tea. If you don’t mind samples, take some with you.”

“Today’s hero show was great!”

“Don’t look at her like that, dear! Sorry about that, Kiriha-san.”

“That’s right! Let those young ones that came with you to volunteer know that I’m looking forward to working with them again!”

As Koutarou walked along with Kiriha, various shop owners and patrons were greeting her. The last time he went shopping with her, he didn’t remember it being like that.

“Thank you very much,” she said and bowed politely to each one of them.

It looked to Koutarou like Kiriha had welcomed this change.

Hmm...

Koutarou watched over her with a mysterious feeling brewing inside of him. These people being happy to see her was proof that she was blending in well on the surface. Thanks to her volunteer work around the city, she was becoming something of a regular fixture in people’s lives. If things continued as they seemed to, Kiriha might someday reveal her true intentions to them as well.

Kiriha called this her preferred method of invasion. At first, Koutarou was stumped about how to go about stopping an invasion like this, but now he truly wondered if it counted as an invasion at all.

Does she really intend to invade the surface?

Koutarou’s doubts resurfaced. It only looked to him like Kiriha was peacefully emigrating to the surface. She’d legally obtained a dwelling, bonded with the locals, and formed genuine relationships. Yet when they’d first met, Kiriha was pretty specific about hinting at a hostile takeover by the People of the Earth. She said she wanted to secure their shrine to mass-produce spiritual weapons like her haniwas. That was the whole reason Koutarou objected in the first place. If she’d told him this was what she was planning from the start, he might have cooperated with her.

I’m not even sure if she actually wants that shrine or not...

Koutarou’s biggest doubt concerned why Kiriha hadn’t seized room 106 yet. Kiriha was smart enough to easily outwit Koutarou. There weren’t many girls her age that clever, if there were any at all. If she put her mind to it, she would probably be able to wrap up the fight for room 106 in an instant. It would be easy for her to steamroll Koutarou, Sanae, and Yurika. And when it came to Theia, her approach to everything was so simplistic that there were plenty of ways to take advantage of her. Whether she was scheming or fighting fair and square, Koutarou thought it was odd that she hadn’t already come out victorious.

Yet for some reason, Kiriha wasn’t getting serious about it. In fact, she even helped Koutarou and the others from time to time. She was there to lend a hand when Sanae was captured by ghost hunters and when Theia was attacked by Clan. Kiriha claimed that she knew the pain of losing something important, but she was more than just sympathetic with her enemies. She straight up went out of her way to help them.

“I was just about to throw away the unsold stuff. Feel free to take it with you.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Rather than throwing it away, I’d be happy if a beautiful girl like yourself ate it! See you later, miss!”

“Koutarou, I got some takoyaki. But we still haven’t had dinner, so could you eat half of it?”

“Yeah, thank you, Kiriha-san.”

Kiriha smiled and presented the styrofoam plate full of takoyaki she’d just gotten to Koutarou. He accepted it from her, but he kept turning the same thought over in his head.

She really doesn’t have any intentions of invading the surface, does she?

What shook Koutarou more than anything was Kiriha’s smile. He just couldn’t believe the smile on her face when she was talking to the children or the people at the shopping street was anything other than genuine. And he certainly couldn’t imagine Kiriha raising a weapon against any of them.

“Hey, Kiriha-san...”

“Yes, Koutarou?”

Koutarou finally decided to talk to her about it. If he asked her seriously, she would definitely answer. Over the past eight months, Koutarou had grown to trust Kiriha enough to believe that.

“Do you mind if I ask you about something that’s been bothering me?”

Kiriha, who was walking next to Koutarou, was stuffing her mouth with takoyaki. When she looked up at Koutarou, her smile suddenly seemed to vanish.

“That depends on what it is, but I’ll answer as best I can.”

As sensitive as she was to other people’s feelings, Kiriha already realized that Koutarou had something important on his mind.

“All right,” Koutarou said with a serious expression on his face. “You never really intended to invade the surface, did you?”

“Kou—”

Kiriha was so surprised that she couldn’t even finish saying his name out loud. Her eyes shot wide open and remained that way for some time before she slowly began smiling again.

“That’s quite something to ask all of a sudden, Koutarou. To say that I don’t wish to invade the surface...”

As Kiriha spoke, she reached into her pocket with her pale, supple hand.

“Well, you don’t, do you?”

“What makes you think that?”

When Kiriha pulled her hand back out of her pocket, she was holding a small card. It was faded with age, but there was still a hint of a metallic sheen to it that made it look like the kind of promo that would come with a package of candy.

That’s the card I saw her with at the beach, isn’t it?

“You’re far too gentle to do something like invade,” he answered as he stared at what she was holding in her hand.

Kiriha was gentle. She was gentle with everyone. She would try to deny it, but in the end, she just wasn’t the type to hurt others.

“...?!”

Kiriha was speechless for a moment. And after glancing at the card in her hand, she stared at Koutarou.

“What makes you think that I’m not just acting that way to earn your trust?”

Kiriha smiled, but Koutarou could see emotion in her eyes that he never had before. He couldn’t imagine what feelings she might be hiding behind those eyes, but he answered her question without hesitation.

“I feel like I get fooled by words like that all this time. You say things like that from time to time to scare me. And because I’m an idiot, I kept falling for it.” Koutarou smiled wryly. “...Could it be that it would be bad for you if I really started to trust you?”

Koutarou didn’t have any particular reason to believe that was the reason. He wasn’t clever enough to hash it out for himself. It was more of a gut feeling. Something of a hunch from having gotten to know Kiriha over the past eight months. But Koutarou had faith in his intuition.

“...”

Kiriha looked at him blankly and didn’t answer right away. She stayed silent and looked down her card. Koutarou wasn’t going to try forcing an answer out of her, so the two of them continued walking silently along like that for some time.

“Koutarou.”

Only after they passed the arcade and the sun went down did Kiriha finally open her mouth again.

“Yeah?”

“Can I have some of your time next weekend?”

Countless stars twinkled in the beautiful winter sky.

“There’s somewhere I’d like to show you.”

Lit up by the stars above, Kiriha’s smile shone too.