C³ Vol 11 Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Spring Festival / Hence the Nonstop Cheering / "h.e.l.lo, future" Part 1

"What—What do you mean by that!?"

Fear's voice was trembling in shock. Satsuko's voice was very calm and sounded like she was simply reading out a report:

"It all began when news was received about a member of the auxiliaries obtaining a certain Wathe. That Wathe's official name and detailed powers are unknown but is rumored to possess a cursed ability similar to a 'victory contract.' By using that Wathe, they might be able to pick out Nirushaaki-senpai from among the students."

"'Victory contract' huh? What ability is that specifically?"

"Because Satsuko doesn't have the full details yet, this contains speculation—Anyway, it's a Wathe that allows one to know the losers' 'secrets' completely when the owner emerges victorious in a vote on some kind of conceptual domain. Probably meaning that it can read the losers' minds."

"A vote...?"

After hearing this word, Konoha frowned. This word also invaded Haruaki's mind. There was some kind of ominous premonition. It felt like the word was hanging around them somewhere.

Kirika clenched her fist and fired off a series of questions. Satsuko also answered her questions one by one.

"The definition of loser is?"

"Probably every human eligible to win."

"It's coercive? What a powerful ability."

"Which is why it requires the restrictive act of 'voting' as a medium. A very restrictive condition."

"What do you mean by conceptual domain?"

"Villages, cities, schools, organizations... In other words, a kind of public community. However, the Wathe's curse does have limits in power. It's said that a 'country' is too large in scope to take effect."

"Who obtained this Wathe?"

"It's «Neto the Avenger»'s auxiliary. The Draconians believe that the Dominion Lord was the one who issued the Wathe. Neto is a peculiar knight who deliberately suffers attacks from Wathe users then fights using the desire for vengeance arising from the pain. Because he is so peculiar, it's said that his auxiliary is equipped with many support abilities to facilitate handling peculiar situations. Examples include mind control, memory erasure and—

Satsuko took a deep breath and continued:

"Changing one's appearance, taking on another's ident.i.ty completely to infiltrate certain locations."

Ominous imaginings were starting to be pieced together. Ominous premonitions were gradually taking on a distinct and coherent form. The kind of imagining that felt like this very well could be true.

"Hold on... In other words, this is what's going on? The Knights Dominion was actually lying in asking us to hand her over in one week, so they don't really care—"

"Their true goal is to use that Wathe's cursed ability to locate Nirushaaki. Obtaining victory in a vote on a certain domain... Although it's absolutely ridiculous to explain in ordinary language by this point... Concretely, they have already sent someone in disguise to infiltrate the school, intending to emerge victorious in the school beauty pageant that's being held tomorrow!"

"Thinking back, during the flower viewing, the other side seemed to have encountered us by accident. If the deal they proposed was meant for buying time until the school beauty pageant... Everything makes sense."

"Satsuko will repeat, there's no concrete evidence. Satsuko just thinks that the possibility exists—But anyway, this is the situation."

"Even if you say it's just a possibility... If it turns out to be real, it'll be too late to do anything once it happens. We were planning to find a way to conclude the affair after defeating the Knights Dominion tomorrow night when they show up for the deal. But if the deal itself was simply a lie for buying time, they already have a real plan in progress and it succeeds—Then those guys aren't even going to visit our house. By that time, they would have dealt with the target already."

After Haruaki muttered quietly, Fear shook her silver head violently from side to side, adding more emphasis in her tone:

"I won't stand back and ignore this! I've already told her not to worry... We won't add to her troubles! I absolutely won't let them kill her—a girl who only wishes to become an ordinary high school student!"

"Yeah, but if it's true, the risk is too great. We have no choice but to a.s.sume it's true and take action."

"But before that, there is one more issue. Namely, how trustworthy is news coming from this person."

Konoha glanced towards Satsuko. Still trembling, Fourteen hid behind Satsuko. Satsuko smiled wryly while tilting her head.

"Satsuko can understand how you feel. It's only natural that you cannot believe words coming from someone like Satsuko... But at least, Satsuko can confirm that she really heard this information for real."

"Then let me ask you, where did the news come from?"

"These past few days, Satsuko and Fourt challenged another knight, using this as rehab and a chance to gather information. Even knights who are not part of this operation should know a little information, being in the same organization after all. This is information gathered by questioning that person!"

"In that case, the information you obtained is absolutely ridiculous in its incompleteness. If you sincerely wish to save your senior, you would have questioned more thoroughly."

Kirika narrowed her eyes and pressed on. Satsuko laughed "ehehe" and answered:

"You are right... But Satsuko could not help it. Because halfway through the questioning, that person died. Satsuko was thinking he shouldn't be that weak, but it was a slight oversight on Satsuko's part... Indeed, torture should be left to those who are used it! Like Fear-san!"

"! —Shut up! Enough, shut your d.a.m.n mouth. Don't say anymore!"

"Then that is what Satsuko will do for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask~"

Fear gave Satsuko one final glare then ignored her and turned back towards Haruaki and the rest of the group.

"a.s.suming this information is true, then what should we do to smash their plans?"

"The first method is to destroy that Wathe carrying the cursed ability of the 'victory contract.' In other words, finding the disguised auxiliary who invaded this school and catching her."

"This method... Honestly, it'll be very hard. Although the targets are limited to girls hoping to win the t.i.tle of Miss Taishyuu High, no matter what, it's too rushed with only one day remaining."

"But at least she'll be among the students who signed up, right?"

"True but there are dozens of contestants. Also, I remember that you can join at the last minute so it might be pointless to investigate the current contestants at this stage."

"If they replaced someone's ident.i.ty, friends might notice something strange, right? Is there any way to approach the matter from this direction?"

"That's very hard as well, right? If we need to investigate one by one, there's not enough time. Besides, if the enemy is not skilled enough to avoid detection, she wouldn't infiltrate the school in the first place. There are also plenty of ways, like choosing girls who had few friends to begin with..."

Kirika stopped in mid sentence. A certain face surfaced in Haruaki's mind. Very few friends, hence low risk. A face capable of winning the t.i.tle of Miss Taishyuu High. He thought of someone who greatly matched these requirements, but—

"No... No way at all."

"Yeah, it's not possible no matter what. Quality is more important than quant.i.ty. The way those two are intimately stuck to each other all the time, Sovereignty can't possibly not notice."

"Besides, let alone advantages, subst.i.tuting someone who's close to us would only result in drawbacks. They probably picked a student that's completely unrelated. In the end, Konoha-kun is right. Things would be better if we realized a week earlier, but by this point, trying to narrow down and catch the infiltrator is definitely challenging."

"So, we just need another way. Going at the root, how about getting the MissCon cancelled?"

"I see, want to try asking the superintendent?"

"As I recall, the school beauty pageant—or more accurately, the welcoming festival—is organized by the student council and club activities union rather than the school administration. Even if the superintendent exercised authority, it might not have an effect. Also, the shopping street is sponsoring this event, so that's tricky as well. Besides, just as everyone can see, preparations are underway in full swing and the atmosphere is roused to unprecedented levels. Exercising authority under these circ.u.mstances, making a one-sided request for the event to be cancelled, who knows if the student council will listen or not... It goes without saying that they will ignore the school and forcibly hold the event anyway, but in the worst case, there might even be rioting."

"Guumu~ But clearly without the voting of the school beauty pageant, that cursed tool's ability would not be able to activate in the first place...! d.a.m.n it, then what other ways—"

At this moment, Haruaki noticed Konoha and Kirika exchanging glances secretly. It felt like they were confirming "what to do?" with each other on something that only they had noticed, a slightly awkward expression on their face.

But in the next instant, the group felt someone behind them and looked up in surprise. Standing before their eyes was—

"Oh my oh my, please allow me to say in fear and trepidation, is everyone skipping cla.s.s here? That's not very appropriate~"

It was Isuzu. She was dressed as a shrine maiden as usual, smiling with tender gentleness, holding Fourteen's broom in her hand. Luckily not a teacher—Haruaki breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"Ah~ ...Hmm, this is the continuation of that letter. I hope you can turn a blind eye to our skipping cla.s.s. So why are you here?"

"The janitor's job is to clean everywhere in the school~ Just now, Isuzu happened to hear voices and came for a look. Oh, thank you very much just now~ This broom is really good, it feels great~"

Smiling, Isuzu waved her hand. Hiding behind Satsuko, Fourteen kept trembling nonstop.

"Hiu... D-Don't look at me...! No more... No more, too embarra.s.sing, I can't stand this, no more...!"

"Oh my, Isuzu isn't going to do anything, you know~ As fellow tools with cleaning properties, I feel a sense of camaraderie with you. Let's continue to train and hone ourselves together as we pursue the treacherous road of cleaning."

After saying these incomprehensible things, Isuzu suddenly stopped moving.

Then—Ring. They seemed to hear a bell ring. Isuzu frowned with extreme puzzlement.

"Oh dear... How should I say this, truly..."

Kirika narrowed her eyes slightly and asked:

"...Did you see something?"

"Yes. How should I say this? It's just an image flashing whoosh across my mind. It's basically everyone dressed up extremely adorably, standing on a stage somewhere—"

"Okay, stop, that's it. I basically understand."

Kirika sighed deeply. Konoha sighed in the same manner.

"I knew it. That's the only remaining method. Absolutely ridiculous."

"This cannot be helped. Yes, this cannot be helped..."

At this moment, Fear finally seemed to realize. She looked up forcefully.

"I know. Winning first place in a vote is the condition required to activate that cursed tool from the Knights Dominion. Conversely, the ability can be stopped by preventing the enemy who infiltrated the school as a student from winning the top spot. In other words—"

Fear gulped hard then continued:

"As long as we enter the school beauty pageant and one of us wins, it's fine...!"

Haruaki comprehended. Indeed, this was perhaps the last remaining option. Perhaps it was the only action they could take for the sake of protecting "her" who wanted to become an ordinary high school student.

But there was one thing that Haruaki could not comprehend.

Namely, he could not understand why in the next instant, Fear, Konoha and Kirika suddenly exchanged glances as though restraining one another, then finally, with eyes that could not be more serious, they all stared at him intently.

Part 2

(I absolutely can't lose...!)

Fear's mind was occupied by these words, nothing else, swirling nonstop inside her skull.

It was currently English cla.s.s during second period, but of course, Fear was not paying attention. She was already capable of reading, writing, listening and speaking fluently in English. Furthermore, the newly hired English teacher, Sagisaki-sensei, looked like a very timid gla.s.ses-wearing teacher and was probably not going to express disapproval regarding Fear's learning att.i.tude. What if she did? Then Fear was going to make her regret being born in this world with gla.s.ses just like that infuriating Cow t.i.ts.

Fear pondered, allowing the easily understood English p.r.o.nunciations to pa.s.s through her mind without registering. She already knew the reason, of course. In order to prevent the auxiliary infiltrating the school from using that cursed tool, all they needed to do was have someone else win the contest.

One of their group. First place was called first place only because only one person could achieve it. However—

(That's right, I absolutely can't lose...!)

No matter who the opponents were. Of course, that included Cow t.i.ts. Regrettably, Kirika was included as well.

In other words—She did not want to lose.

For what reason? Why? Who knows!? Fear muttered with displeasure in her mind. She had a feeling that she had been thinking about something during the flower viewing. When seeing Kirika take a grain of rice off Haruaki's face, she seemed to have pondered something. But this was definitely unrelated to that completely.

(No matter what, of course it's because getting first place feels great. Much better than second or third place.)

It's because of that! Fear decided on the reason. Indeed, rather than leaving it as fine for someone among her friends to take first place, she had to win first place. Without such determination, how could she possibly defeat the enemy? This was an operation where failure was absolutely forbidden.

There was no doubt concerning the legitimacy of her winning first place. Next, she had to consider her compet.i.tors.

Konoha. Fear had personally experienced a long time ago the formidable destructive power of that creature of hers that ought to be named the double meat beast. Based on the current situation, that gentle, polite, lovely and delicate appearance on first glance would confer a strong advantage, right?

Kirika. Rational and calm. Although inferior to Konoha's in size, her weapons were just right in size and shape. Kirika probably would not put them on public display, but sometimes there was greater allure in concealment by stimulating imagination. Having smart wits was also another of her weapons. What kind of battle plan was she going to come up with? Completely impossible to predict. Too scary.

Then there was the enemy, never seen before, infiltrating the school for the purpose of winning this school beauty pageant. The enemy's appearance was completely unknown but supposing that the operation was indeed underway as thought, surely she must be confident of victory. Surely she was certain of winning with a probability greater than half—

Surrounded by formidable foes. Fear decided she must think of a solution. Before she knew it, cla.s.s was over, hence she left the noisy cla.s.sroom and casually paced about in the corridor to organize her thoughts. At this moment—

"Dear heavens! Although this is simply the washroom route, a chance encounter has filled it with an explosive aura of romance! Fear-senpai! If you don't mind, let's listen to the dripping sounds of streams together!"

Fear chanced upon the tall first-year student who was always full of energy. Fear's brain circuits instantly connected. This girl had called Fear very cute. Of course, I know I'm very cute but I've almost never announced the fact loudly with unabashed confidence. In other words, this girl is the expert who understood my cuteness best. In that case—

Fear tiptoed while she walked. Putting her hands on Yume's shoulders, she asked with incomparably serious eyes:

"You—Are you able to draw out even more of my charm?"

Yume's face was dominated by surprise for only an instant, but immediately, she answered vigorously with a salute and said: "Of course, captain!"

After cla.s.ses on Sat.u.r.day, or in other words, after school, Fear and Yume decided to use the chemistry cla.s.sroom (it happened to be unlocked) as their strategy meeting room to bring their heads together, skipping lunch in the process.

"Due to some things happening, I've decided to enter the school beauty pageant. In order not to alarm the enemy... Correction, in order to produce more of an impact as a pleasant surprise, I still haven't signed up yet. I intend to leave it to the last minute tomorrow."

"Humuhumuhu~! Senpai, you're finally willing to get serious!? I will support you with everything I've got!"

"Just now, I already asked briefly about the rundown of the beauty pageant. They said that the contest will allot a bit of time for each contestant to freely display their charm. The quality of the performance will greatly affect voting results. What do you think I should do?"

"Well... If it's someone in a club, they will probably wear their club uniform and perform club activities, right? Such as crouching starts for track and field etc."

Sitting facing each other on a large table, they tilted their heads together. Then Yume suddenly looked up.

"Fear-senpai, please smile. Confirm confirm!"

"Hmm? I don't get it but like this?"

Fear tried curling the corners of her lips, resulting in Yume showing an ecstatic expression, resting her face on her hands.

"Ahhh... I knew it, so explosively cute that it's like you're not from this world! Oh my, this is already good enough! Everyone's heart will be stolen by you, sure win!"

"That's not gonna happen no matter how I think about it, think more seriously, okay... Eh?"

"Wow! What are you two doing here...?"

A boy was standing at the entrance of the chemistry cla.s.sroom. He seemed vaguely familiar or maybe not. After asking, they found out he was a member of the chemistry club. The room was unlocked just now due to club activities. In order to verify Yume's claims, Fear smiled tenderly again and said:

"I'm sorry but we're currently having a meeting. Please lend this place to us for now. Don't disturb us. Why don't you go for lunch first?"

Even Fear felt that this command was very unreasonable but inexplicably, it worked. The male student nodded repeatedly and turned around.

"...Hmm, perhaps a smile really is enough. No no no, carelessness must be avoided, I still have to think up a performance to secure first place."

"Yeah~ The more weapons the better!"

It was thinking time again. Fear took out the Rubik's cube to play, swiveling it and making clicking sounds. Seeing that, Yume also took out a Rubik's cube from her schoolbag and started turning it as well after laughing "ehehe." The duet of clicking noises sounded like elegant echoes, resounding in the cla.s.sroom that was filled with pungent chemical odors.

"Ah! I've got it, what about using this?"

"This?"

"The Rubik's cube! I've seen it before on television. Some people can solve all the faces rapidly to make the colors uniform. It should be okay even if you don't reach that level, but just by spending a couple minutes to solve every face, perhaps that's enough to advertise your wisdom and skilled hands, Fear-senpai, to further emphasize your cuteness!"

"Hmm, if I can manage that, this is a possibility. But I don't know how to solve it and there's not much time left till tomorrow."

"Maybe it'll turn out to be surprisingly easy after you try it yourself. I don't know the method either, so it's time to borrow the wisdom of others—The Search! Oh, got it!"

Yume handed the cellphone over. On the screen was displayed a webpage t.i.tled "Even a monkey can do it! How to solve a Rubik's cube!" The required task was divided into a number of steps with diagrams attached to explain.

"Looks like it's really quite a pain... But indeed, perhaps it's possible just by memorizing it and practicing to get accustomed. Okay—No matter what, it's better than doing nothing. I'll try it!"

"Great! But staring at a cellphone screen for a long time, it's too small and not very convenient, so let me write things down on a piece of paper. Wait for me, lemme find a pen and paper."

Yume searched her schoolbag to find stationery and a notebook. Fear watched her while feeling strongly how grateful she was to have a comrade like Yume. Clearly she only asked her out of the blue yet Yume was helping out so seriously. How fortunate. How fortunate it was to have a junior who loved and admired her so much.

But at this time, suddenly—A voice of doubt spoke out somewhere in her mind. After getting duped by the Knights Dominion, her skepticism had grown sensitive. Was this purely good fortune?

The first-year student who happened to like her, appearing here by coincidence. Was this too much of a coincidence? Supposing it was not by chance, then what? What if she had lied to get close to Fear for some purpose. If someone like that was present in the school, then there were only two possibilities.

"Hey Yume, you're standing on my side, right?"

"Of course! Uh~ So, I'll write down the steps on this piece of paper right away~"

Fear held up one hand to stop Yume's movements. Yume looked up in puzzlement.

"In that case, I want to do something first before that. You may find it annoying and I actually don't wanna do this, but... In the end, after noticing it, I must confirm. So, Yume—"

With seriousness coming straight from her heart, Fear stared directly into Yume's eyes and said curtly:

"Strip."

Haruaki was wandering in school after cla.s.ses were over. Although it was after school, since it was currently Sat.u.r.day afternoon and the welcoming festival was tomorrow, there were still many students remaining in school. Kirika and Konoha had already gone home while Fear could not be contacted. Haruaki was currently searching for her after she rushed out of the cla.s.sroom as soon as cla.s.s was over.

(Clearly the cellphone should come in handy at a time like this, but she's not picking up calls or replying to texts.)

Essentially, school rules clearly dictated that cellphones must be switched off during cla.s.s time. Haruaki had no idea if Fear had followed the school rules obediently, forgotten them, or simply never noticed in the first place.

If she had already gone home, it would be fine. Or if she was in school preparing for tomorrow, that would be fine too, but the thought of Fear currently doing who knows what at who knows where filled Haruaki with unease to some extent. At this moment, he heard from a cla.s.smate (even though they rarely conversed) some worthwhile news. The chemistry cla.s.sroom had apparently been taken over at the moment. The male cla.s.smate belonged to the chemistry club.

"What on earth is that girl doing...?"

Whether going home first or returning together, she ought to inform him first. Haruaki made his way to the chemistry cla.s.sroom.

Next, just as he reached out and was about to open the chemistry cla.s.sroom's main door—

"Ah~ Ah~! Th-This is too embarra.s.sing~..."

"Just bear it briefly. If you cooperate obediently, this will be over quickly."

"E-Even if you... say that, Senpai... I-I don't swing that way... I just love your cuteness platonically huwawawa! I'd rather you not examine that spot! Your breath... Your breath is touching it!"

"Next is this side. There, then—Oh right. If possible, I hope you'll open it yourself—"

Haruaki was frozen on the spot. What was going on? What exactly was going on inside this cla.s.sroom?

"Next.. I will climb up there. Here I go."

"Climb up here~? No way, I somehow have this explosively intense premonition that Fear-senpai's weight will cause something to awaken!"

"S-Sniff... Hmm~? Inhale~... Exhale~..."

"Are you smelling me, Senpai!? What's awakening could very well turn out to be something very peculiar! Ahya~!"

What was going on inside was definitely not for eyes to witness. Absolutely no mistake about that.

But... Was it really okay to turn around and head home? Was it really okay to abandon Yume to her fate?

No, there were times when a man had no choice but to act. That was now. Definitely now!

Haruaki committed his resolve to do what he must do, meanwhile preparing himself for all sorts of disasters to befall him henceforth. Then with a feeling of courageous self-sacrifice, he transmitted his willpower to his stiff hand, mustering all his strength to open the cla.s.sroom door.

"Th-That's enough! Fear!"

The scene inside the cla.s.sroom pretty much matched what he predicted. It was also a prediction that he had hoped was wrong.

Yume was currently lying on a large table in the chemistry cla.s.sroom. As much as Haruaki tried his best not to look, he still saw it accidentally—in contrast her usual image, standing tall and imposing, her skin was pale, smooth and delicate, her cheeks were blushing red, her eyes were slightly tearful, and her breathing was rapid. The curves of her perfectly sized b.r.e.a.s.t.s, neither too large or too small, as well as the lines of her smooth and tender thighs were offering tantalizing glimpses—The only reason Haruaki did not see everything was due to Fear currently lying on top of her. Although Fear was in uniform, her skirt had hiked up so it was not appropriate to stare at her appearance either.

Fear had her dainty face near Yume's neck, sniffing hard repeatedly. Then she got up in a panic.

"Sh-Shameless brat? You really are too shameless! I'll curse you, I'll curse you to death! Get out!"

"Owah!?"

After delivering a flurry of violent blows, Fear proceeded to push Haruaki's back, shoving him out into the corridor. Behind him, he only heard Fear speaking towards the cla.s.sroom:

"Okay, Yume, sorry about that! I've already finished confirming, you can put on your clothes now!"

"Huff... Huff... I might very well have seen a world I was not supposed to see..."

Next came the sound of the cla.s.sroom door being shut. Now, Haruaki was finally able to look back at Fear.

"Confirm... What were you doing just now?"

"Because it bothered me. Then I'll give the conclusion directly. There's neither any weird tattoo on that girl's body nor any smell of a curse. I can't be a hundred percent certain on the latter... But if a tool with disguising abilities was used, I should be able to smell something, having sniffed so thoroughly already. So there shouldn't be a problem."

I see—Haruaki figured it out after hearing her explanation. Just now, Fear was simultaneously confirming two things at once. The presence of a Draconian tattoo somewhere on the body. The auxiliary from the Knights Dominion who had infiltrated the school by using a cursed tool to disguise herself. Fear was confirming if Yume might be one of the two.

"As much as I don't want to suspect her... But this was just in case. I had no choice."

"Yeah, I understand now."

"You're able to understand? So next... Despite knowing from the noises that something that cannot be seen was going on in the cla.s.sroom, you barged in directly without knocking. Could you explain to me why that happened?"

"As much as I don't want to suspect you... But this was also just in case. I had no choice either."

"Argh, unforgivable!"

"If the same excuse works for you, why can't it work for me!? You're being too unreasonable!"

Haruaki was not at fault. If he really were at fault, then both sides were at fault. He had deliberately quoted the same answer but the hidden message failed to reach her. For the next long while, Haruaki suffered repeated karate chops to the top of his head as punishment from Fear, exactly the kind of disaster for which he had braced himself in preparation earlier.

Part 3

The steam was causing Kirika to narrow her eyes while she brought the hot caffelatte to her lips. The taste of richly fragrant Italian concentrated coffee and the gentle sweetness of milk were perfectly blended together, sliding down her throat.

"Phew~" Kirika could not help but exhale a breath that sounded like a sigh.

It would not be an exaggeration to call her own apartment's living room the most relaxing place on earth for her. The gentle rays of the sun on Sat.u.r.day afternoon were streaming in through the slightly ajar window, mixed with a gentle, playful breeze blowing at the strands of her hair, bringing a pleasant coolness. The chirping of unknown birds could be heard vaguely in the distance, serving as background music for this quiet afternoon.

(Ahhh...)

Kirika returned the steaming cup to the table then stopped s.p.a.cing out towards the balcony and turned her gaze back into the room. An excessively quiet Sat.u.r.day afternoon. Was having such a happy time really appropriate? Kirika smiled lightly then at the same time—

Her escape from reality reached a limit.

Slam! Kirika suddenly clutched her head and b.u.mped her elbows against the table.

(W-W-W-W-What to do? What to do? What should I what should I do!? School beauty pageant? Absolutely ridiculous! What to do? But there's no choice but to go through with it. If all of us partic.i.p.ate, the chances of winning will be higher indeed, so I can't back out now. But I'll need to do something while he's watching? No, this is precisely a rare opportunity for me to exhibit myself before him. But what should I do? Absolutely ridiculous. What to do what to do what to do...!?)

Kirika shook her head violently, twisting awkwardly in her seat, covering her face with her hands, kicking nonstop with her legs like a child. Sighing loudly, she giggled to herself for some reason and smacked her head against the table.

The vestiges of rationality, lingering in her mind, slowly allowed her brain to cool down and her thoughts gradually grew lucid.

It was better to do this, she wanted to do this, and she must do this—Hence, she will partic.i.p.ate.

Ultimately, her decision was made a long time ago already.

Entering the school beauty pageant, winning first place. Before his eyes, defeating those girls who stood as formidable rivals. Miss Taishyuu High. Perhaps this could allow him to notice she was a "good woman." Ahhh, she understood very well. She knew that she was actually neither cute nor beautiful, but even so—

Having decided to enter, she must approach the battlefield by devoting all her strength. Refusing cowardice and underhandedness, she had no other path but this to walk.

(So... How should I fight...?)

Kirika pondered. What she needed to do before tomorrow. The plan. Presentation time. In front of all the students in the school. To be as cute and pretty as possible. Were there any hints? Kirika wondered about his past comments regarding clothing that suited her well. But due to «Gimestorante's Love», of course she could not wear anything too revealing. Him, him, him. When his heart raced in reaction to her, were other people going to feel the same about her?

Kirika suddenly got up from the table. She bit her lip and swallowed. Her face was stiff and pallid from tension and worry.

Even so, there was not a shred of hesitation in Kirika's face.

Having committed her resolve, she clenched her fist tightly while whispering:

"As reluctant as I am to use this... I have no choice but to move forward. I'll use that...!"

Konoha's twin braids swayed as she walked on the way home from school, rushing into the Dan-no-ura directly without changing out of her uniform. Soon after, a small hand reached out from inside the shop to post a notice on the front door, reading "Temporarily Closed for Today."

Several minutes later, in the living s.p.a.ce on the second floor of the Dan-no-ura, roughly the size of six tatami mats—

"So in any case, this is the situation!"

"This is definitely no time to be working... Things have become unexpectedly interesting! Of course, Kono-san, I will gladly a.s.sist you! Oh my, I definitely can't ignore such a fun activity!"

After explaining to Kuroe the whole story, Konoha had enlisted her a.s.sistance. Supposing Fear had likewise visited to seek help, Kuroe would probably help her as well. But Konoha decided to put that aside for now. Getting bothered over it would not help anything.

"School beauty... School beauty huh... Kono-san, you possess such powerful weapons. The key is how to make use of them."

"I-Is that so? For no particular reason, I don't want to lose to anyone this time... No, naturally, it's because that Nirushaaki undercla.s.sman will be in great danger if we don't win first place. Apart from that, I have no other motives. So—Provided it's for winning, I am willing to accept any suggestion. Please feel free to speak your ideas."

Konoha was half buried under a kotatsu[1] while speaking seriously. Losing was unacceptable. Losing this battle was absolutely unacceptable. Whether the outcome was heaven or h.e.l.l—in other words, whether he was going to stop seeing her as family like an older sister, to start noticing her charm as a member of the opposite s.e.x, or if she was going to be utterly defeated, deemed a loser in beauty as proven by the objective standards of the community? She absolutely did not want h.e.l.l. Heaven would be best.

Especially right now, after that girl had started taking a stance to attack, she further refused to lose...!

Kuroe suddenly narrowed her eyes and asked:

"Are you intending to use that weapon?"

Konoha narrowed her eyes in turn and replied:

"If necessary."

"How far will you go?"

"Only as far as necessary."

"Your weapon is too powerful. I worry that it'll become overkill."

"Still better than not enough."

"I see." Kuroe nodded. Despite clearly not wearing gla.s.ses, she performed a gla.s.ses lifting motion.

"Since you have such powerful resolve, I will bring out everything I've got to help you win first place, Kono-san. Do know that my crash course is very harsh, forsooth!"

"...Forsooth?"

"Your answer?"

"Y-Yes, coach!"

Although in a state of confusion, Konoha still answered loudly and clearly with her back straight. Kuroe nodded with satisfaction.

"Oh, but I guess I'd better contact the laundry shopkeeper. After all, it's tomorrow and preparations might take some time. So, during this time, I will start with basic knowledge to train you well, Kono-san—"

Gufufu—Emitting bone-chilling, evil laughter, Kuroe made a phone call to someone while exuding a dangerous aura from all over her body. What result would be brought by Kuroe's heavy-handed a.s.sistance? No one could know. Was this really okay? A voice whispered somewhere in Konoha's mind.

Perhaps this is too impetuous—But Konoha disagreed.

At most, maybe just a little.

Part 4

A day pa.s.sed within the blink of an eye. Sunday officially arrived. It was the day of the welcoming festival.

Last night, Fear had stayed cooped up in her room apart from having dinner and taking a bath. Finally returning home in the morning, Konoha had apparently spent the entire night with Kuroe at the Dan-no-ura. Hence, Haruaki did not quite know what the two of them had been doing. Only on the way to school—Fear was the same as usual while Konoha was carrying a large bag of something on her back—Haruaki could see exhaustion, nervousness and some sense of accomplishment. The two of them looked like they probably had some degree of confidence in victory.

Along the way to school, they met Kirika. Her expression was very similar to Fear and Konoha's but with some additional feelings that they lacked. Resignation and enlightenment. Haruaki could not tell if she was confident of victory.

Although it was Sunday, the welcoming festival was considered an official school event, hence attendance was still taken during morning homeroom. But after that, it was free time. In other words, they were free to do whatever they wanted until the school beauty pageant in the afternoon. Once the beauty pageant ended, the welcoming festival would come to a close and the students were going to disperse. In other words, only the school beauty pageant at the end was compulsory for all students as part of the finale event.

"...Let's have a look around? But if any of you want to do any last minute tuning, it's fine too."

"Struggling would be futile at this point. I'm also curious about what activities are held during the welcoming festival, so let's go."

Konoha and Kirika also expressed agreement. Hence, Haruaki's group began to stroll through the festival. Stalls were lined up in the courtyard and front yard, giving off the aroma of flour and grilled meat. Naturally, these things served as the materials to heal Fear's fatigue while at the same time serving to lighten the weight of Haruaki's wallet. But just as Fear was blissfully eating a skewer of grilled chicken while walking, she suddenly spotted the swimming club's crepe stand ahead. This resulted in a group of girls dressed in spotted ap.r.o.ns rapidly approaching and saying: "She's appeared! The savior to bring in new club members! You must be willing to help us again!" Fear frantically fled, so the overall change in fatigue level might have summed up to zero in the end.

Inside the school building, the cla.s.srooms were a.s.signed and lent to clubs and other groups who had applied for them. The judo club's ground skills ma.s.sage, the tennis club's cafe, the track and field club's haunted house... Although they had nothing to do with regular club activities, at least they served to promote the clubs' names among the first-year students' awareness. In contrast, the cultural-oriented clubs were all holding exhibitions or making a display of their everyday results, trying to make themselves appealing in a more modest manner.

Activities were being held by sports clubs in the sports ground and the gym throughout the schedule. The kendo club's red-white compet.i.tion, the cheerleading club's glamorous cheerleading performance, and in contrast, the cheering club's cheering performance that was dominated by the smell of sweat. The volleyball club was holding a challenge where partic.i.p.ants had to use a serve to strike an empty can at the corner of the court. Meanwhile, there were also projects where visiting first-year students could partic.i.p.ate and win food coupons as presents after reaching a certain number of points. There was no lack of variety.

The school was filled with hustle and bustle. Students were shouting to publicize their clubs' appeal and welcome new members. Others were walking around with their heads held high, dressed in club uniforms, totally unrelated mascot costumes, or sandwiched between advertising panels.

Watching this chaotic scenery from afar, Fear suddenly stopped walking and murmured:

"That girl—she's probably somewhere in there too."

Without any thinking required, Haruaki's group knew whom Fear was referring to. A certain person wishing to become an ordinary high school student. A certain person they had yet to meet so far. A certain someone they wanted to protect.

Konoha and Kirika smiled gently.

"Yes. Right now, she is probably touring around with friends."

"Perhaps frantically refusing the forceful invitations of various clubs."

"Fufu. But one thing I can be certain is—"

Fear opened her brand new cellphone to check the time.

"Maybe there's no way for us to see her, but she can surely see us. Hey—I didn't even realize it's noon already, time for lunch."

The bell rang and the public announcement system reminded all students to gather with their valuables. This announcement was like a warning bell since there was still a long period of preparation time before the actual start of the event. The students did not make haste particularly, either extinguishing the fires at cooking stalls or changing their clothing before heading over to the gym in twos and threes.

The students sat down side by side as though in a full school a.s.sembly. The gym was extremely densely packed.

Haruaki turned his head quietly. A member of the executive committee was moving the large notice board seen yesterday to the side of the stage. Three girls were walking towards the executive committee member: one with silver hair, one with braids and gla.s.ses, and the last one had a ponytail. Puffing her chest out arrogantly, Fear declared something on the trio's behalf. The executive committee member nodded profusely after making a surprised look, then directed his teammates to create name plates for the new contestants—

Haruaki proceeded to hear nearby students whispering to one another.

"Those three are entering too!? So surprising...! Should I tell the betting pool to update?"

"Say, who should I pick? Those three are all champion cla.s.s. But I guess I'll vote for Cubrick-san. She's really so cute. Pet.i.te, pale white skin and lovely glittering hair."

"I come from a certain planet. Don't ask me which one, it's totally obvious!"

"...I really want to enjoy a cla.s.s rep's scolding. Can you guys understand this n.o.ble wish of mine...?"

Listening to the conversations of unfamiliar students, Haruaki felt strangely uncomfortable. He watched Fear, Konoha and Kirika head over to the side of the stage under the executive committee member's instructions. Just at this moment—

"Do you get it now? In others' eyes, Haru, the girls around you enjoy substantial popularity. I think you should feel more grateful about that. Of course, that includes me as well."

Haruaki turned his head. One could almost hear a creaking sound. This was neither imagination nor hallucination. He forcefully suppressed the urge to scream.

"Hey Kuroe, this has really become your bad habit...!"

"Of course I have to visit if there's a festival. Also as Kono-san's strategist, I must see the results!"

Unlike the cultural festival, the welcoming festival was not opened to the public, but having said that, Kuroe could not be stopped either. At least I hope the teachers don't find out... Just as Haruaki thought that, Kuroe suddenly pulled his hand forcefully and walked. Along the way, they met the familiar Taizou and Kuroe said to him in a lively tone of voice: "Haru is going to help out. "Please let them know when they're doing roll call~" Taizou showed a face of shock for an instant after seeing Kuroe, but only in times like these was he quick on the uptake, making a thumbs up gesture.

"H-Help out? But the beauty pageant is all girls, right? There's nothing I can help out with..."

"Kono-san has already told me the contest rules. Some of the clubs have relatively low numbers even after including boys and girls, so boys are also allowed to help~ But of course, the changing room is a separate matter."

Pulling Haruaki, Kuroe approached the stage step by step. In order to surround the stage's side entrance, a fairly wide s.p.a.ce had been created using part.i.tioning screens. Kuroe did not stop walking and invaded the s.p.a.ce directly.

"h.e.l.lo everyone~"

"Nwoh! Kuroe! And... the shameless brat... What are you doing here!?"

"I'm here to help Kono-san while Haru apparently wants a spot in the special seating area to have a good look at everyone, all beautifully dressed up~"

"Uh, not really, I'm actually fine with sitting anywhere, she's the one who dragged me here..."

Saying that, Haruaki took a discreet glance around his surroundings. Just as Kuroe said, he quickly spotted signs of other male students to his instant relief. Probably the president of something like the geographical science club, a male student was zealously instructing the acting skills of a girl who was carrying a globe under her arm. There were several foldable chairs and long tables at the scene. If anything, this could be considered a secondary standby area where boys were allowed to enter. The main standby area, where girls changed and boys were forbidden, was located on the side of the stage that could only be reached by pa.s.sing through here first.

"Special seating area huh... After all, it's a rare chance and I feel like both wanting and not wanting him to watch from close range..."

"Agreed. No, but this is only a trivial matter in the grand scheme of things. Don't think and discard all hesitation...!"

Konoha and Kirika looked especially strange. In comparison, Fear seemed the same as usual.

"Hmm, after all, the population density is very high outside, they're packed like sardines. It's not like I can't understand the wish to seek refuge here. Besides, there are others who already came here first for shelter."

Fear's gaze swirled in a circle then turned to the side.

"Why must I get all sweaty for the sake of such an inane activity? I am simply exercising a natural privilege that goes without saying. Come, Sovereignty."

"Uh... Do your best, everyone! Although I can't do anything, I'll cheer for you all!"

"Hear that? Seriously, her cheering is so wonderful that it would be a shame to waste on you people. This child's cheering will a.s.sist you more perfectly than anything else. In other words, I am the a.s.sistant's a.s.sistant who is helping her. I believe that my presence here is far more legitimate than the depraved voyeuristic human over there. You probably came here only because you derive arousal from the mere act of approaching the girls' changing area. May I trouble you to instantly switch places with the volleyb.a.l.l.s hanging on the roof over there, to be forgotten until transformed into a dessicated human by the sun, human?"

Shiraho was sitting at a table, resting her jaw against her hand in boredom. On the other hand, Sovereignty was dressed as a maid as usual. To be honest, these two's presence was totally irrelevant. Furthermore, they were not the only two who responded to Fear's question.

"Uh~ That's right, this is what's going on. Like Shiraho-san, I'm the a.s.sistant to her role as a.s.sistant. And this girl here is... The bonus accessory that comes with the a.s.sistant's a.s.sistant...?"

"I am truly here only for a.s.sisting Fear-senpai! As her strategist, I am the a.s.sistant who'll help bring out her explosively peerless talents! Of course, I believe that Fear-senpai will win for sure and I'll put all my effort into cheering for you!"

"Please allow me to say in fear and trepidation, calling me an accessory is so mean~ Isuzu will cheer for everyone as well~"

Present were also Chihaya, Yume and the shrine maiden Isuzu. Haruaki had already heard about Yume becoming Fear's strategist, but Chihaya's reason for being here... Presumably seeking refuge, of the slacking off variety. Haruaki strongly suspected her delinquent senior as a source of bad influence. As a janitor, it was also very strange for Isuzu to be here. When her gaze met with Haruaki's, she even smiled profoundly at him. This was very mysterious too.

At this time, the bell rang in the gym again to signal the time for roll call.

"Okay, it's almost time to begin—an open battle for victory, fair and square! Same for you, Himenon! Don't look for excuses and say that people nominated you against your will. Now that you've entered, you have to aim for the top spot!"

"Ah, sure... Can't be helped, I will do my best. I won't lose to your Fear-senpai, Yumecchi!"

Yume was currently talking to a first-year girl, apparently acquainted with each other. Since the school beauty contest was basically used by clubs intending to recruit new members, most of the partic.i.p.ants were uppercla.s.smen although first-years were not barred from entering either. Probably like what Yume mentioned, that girl only entered at the urging of her friends. Naturally, the girl possessed a cute face that made it perfectly understandable why her cla.s.smates would urge her to partic.i.p.ate. Perhaps entering under similar conditions, there were a number of first-year girls as well.

"Yume is right... It's about to begin."

Fear murmured while looking around the standby area. Her expression was fully serious. No, calling it serious was not enough. She was glaring offensively at everyone around her as though her enemies were standing right before her eyes.

"If the news brought by those two Draconians is true, the enemy infiltrating the school is right here, but it's still unknown how she intends to secure victory."

"The deadline for signing up... extends all the way to the end of the contestants' personal performances, until the speech time begins. So it's still possible to enter although it would be excessively conspicuous. Hence, it's more likely that the enemy is already among these people here."

Kirika and Konoha were also whispering quietly. Just as Kirika pointed out, the MissCon rundown first gave each contestant a time for a personal performance to exhibit their appeal, then once everyone was done, all the contestants went on stage together then gave speeches in turn to express a few remarks. Kuroe began to murmur discreetly in Haruaki's ear.

"Haru, the enemy probably won't slip up, but this is our job. Observe very carefully and don't miss anything suspicious."

"Got it." Haruaki nodded nervously. What he was able to do—Kuroe was right, that would be to find the enemy that was (possibly) hidden in this group of girls.

Furthermore—He had to watch Fear and the girls battle to the very end.

In any case, he must not turn his gaze away.

Whether this was unbelievably easy or harder than one could imagine, that remained to be seen.

Part 5

"Ah, sure... Can't be helped, I will do my best. I won't lose to your Fear-senpai, Yumecchi!"

Kagidou Himeno—Laurica "Trash" Shoegazer delivered her line with perfect acting skills. However, perfection was only limited to the surface. Her mind was currently filled with a chaotic vortex of thoughts.

Can't be helped? No, this was her mission. The path for her to approach that person.

Won't lose? No, she must win. Otherwise, «Battle Demon» Nirushaaki could not be drawn out. Otherwise, the Wathe handed to her by the Dominion Lord for this mission—«Râmnicuešč Village Rulebook»—could not activate.

This Wathe was the old and worn book currently kept in her schoolbag. She had heard of its origins. A certain village chief in Eastern Europe had suspected his wife of infidelity. As his suspicions ate at him repeatedly, he finally went mad. Clearly he was the village chief, clearly the greatest person in the village, so why did his wife betray him? Who was it? During this time, his term concluded and the election for the next term began. Superficially, he played the part of an outstanding village chief, maintaining a harmonious family, and was hence re-elected. Then having gone mad, he decided to write, in fresh blood on the covenant where the village rules were recorded, the words "the winner of the election has the right to know all the villagers' secrets." Thus after his re-election, he began tracing all of his wife's movements and investigated the secrets of everyone who came into contact with her. After finding all the villagers' secrets, he reached an inevitable conclusion regarding what course of action he ought to take.

Those who had touched his wife, those who had spoken to his wife, those who had made eye contact with his wife, those who had breathed the same air as his wife—In order to prevent them from contacting his wife ever again, he sentenced them all to the punishment of blood and burial.

As a result, this set of village rules was cursed. Although the Knights Dominion destroyed Wathes as their main goal, temporary reprieve was sometimes granted to Wathes with unique properties like this one. Another reason why this Wathe was kept instead of destroyed was due to the peculiarity of its cursed ability and activation conditions. The user who obtained victory in a vote within a certain domain would be able to learn the losers' secrets.

The user was Laurica. The vote was this school beauty pageant. Once she won, in that very instant, all the secrets of the losers—every girl who was eligible to partic.i.p.ate—were supposed to flow into her mind. Among them, surely the word "Draconian" must appear. Someone surely possessed this secret.

(I... am only standing here in order to win...!)

She had made full preparations beforehand to guide things towards this end result.

She had searched for a candidate like Kagidou Himeno who not only possessed a high level of beauty but also social relationships that would not arouse suspicions even after Laurica used «Rawhide FCD» to become her. After investigating Kagidou Himeno's voice, manner of speaking, personality, interests and detailed habits, Laurica memorized all of it and copied them exactly.

Then using Kagidou Himeno's ident.i.ty, she improved her standing among first-year students whom she could make contact with in a natural manner. Due to the apparent scarcity of first-years entering the school beauty pageant, to avoid attracting too much attention, she also manipulated social relationships indirectly to make a few first-years partic.i.p.ate and serve as distractions.

In the end, she surmised that one of the reasons why she was selected specially for this mission was due to the "trash" she possessed—this particular Wathe bearing both advantages and drawbacks. In that sense, she was very fortunate. For the sake of her future, she decided to grit her teeth and endure, because there was finally value in owning this one Wathe, rotten, evil and disgusting.

This Wathe was neither the tranquilizing needle «Swine-Hugging Love» that that only worked on animals apart from humans, nor the «Gruppen Healing Cloth» that could heal incised wounds by causing fractures somewhere on the body in exchange, nor the «Fork of Epicure» that made all kinds of bizarre meat taste delicious whether it was human flesh or rotting meat regardless, but conversely made all other food tasteless, nor «Bartolomey Oblivion» that could erase memories from thirty minutes ago at most. Rather, it was Countess Gritze's specially prepared aphrodisiac, the «Perfume of Mating Season».

This was a perfume that was able to raise affection levels in the opposite s.e.x. Laurica had used it a number of times before to complete missions requiring seduction. The problem was that the perfume was consumed every time, thus resulting in a limit on the number of uses. Due to the vastness of the gym s.p.a.ce, affecting everyone with the perfume would probably require using all of the perfume. However, once this mission succeeded, she should be able to open up the path towards becoming a proper knight, so Laurica believed it was worth the costs.

By using that perfume, which would be diluted to some extent due to the vast s.p.a.ce, virtually all the male students present should be charmed enough to write down her name on the ballot paper. In conjunction with the social relationships she had cultivated in a down-to-earth manner, the majority of first-year girls would also vote for her.

After such meticulous preparations, there was no reason for failure at all. Definitely, absolutely, a.s.suredly—None.

However—

(Fear-in-Cube, Demon Blade Muramasa, Yamimagari Pakuaki's sister, I never expected them to partic.i.p.ate as well...)

Had the goal been discovered? Did those girls enter the contest because they learned about the Wathe, «Râmnicuešč Village Rulebook»? This possibility seemed quite likely. Although they probably did not know everything, at least they already caught on to the fact that winning the school beauty pageant would make it possible to learn Nirushaaki's true ident.i.ty. Those girls intended to take first place for themselves in order to prevent this from happening.

But calm down—Laurica whispered to herself.

Do you have any reason for losing? Impossible.

The perfume's power could be considered a trump card. Some variation was inevitable, but combining all the boys with the first-year girls, the votes should pretty much tally more than half. It might be possible for the opposing side to discover her during the instant when she used the perfume Wathe, but so long as she evaded capture, there would be no problem. Laurica was going to delay until the last second to use it, then hide somewhere and wait for the voting to finish.

She had neither any reason to meet defeat nor any intention to lose. In other words, she was not going to lose.

Carefully without letting anyone see her, Laurica clenched her fist.

Accompanied by pain in her lower abdomen, Laurica recalled the face of her idol while vowing firmly in her mind.

(Lilyhowell-sama... Please believe in me and wait patiently. I will definitely win!)

But no, this was too difficult.

After serious consideration, Lilyhowell Kilmister reached a conclusion. She believed that Laurica was facing too high a risk. Regardless of Laurica's capability. Lilyhowell disliked uncertainty. Suppose something unexpected caused the plan to fail, then the situation might be unsalvageable.

But confirming once again would not be meaningless.

"Is this the truth?"

'—If you have any doubts, just go there and see for yourself. You can also phone the one who infiltrated the school.'

"I am not doubting but confirming. Fear-in-Cube's faction has noticed and entered the contest. Is that correct?"

'Correct.'

The owner of the voice on the telephone—the "collaborator" in this operation—did not show any signs of hesitation. Although produced through a voice changer, the mechanical voice did not seem to be lying.

Lilyhowell was using the speaker phone to allow others nearby to hear the person's voice. Neto was occupying the sofa selfishly, laughing loudly:

"Heehaha! People have appeared to get in our way!? Yeah, I never believed that such a boring plan could have gone smoothly from start to finish!"

"This is merely a possible hindrance and does not equate to failure yet."

"But that means failure is possible later, right? Heehaw!"

He was right. That was the same conclusion Lilyhowell had reached after much consideration.

"—Indeed. Perhaps victory cannot be a.s.sured. But we of the 87th Knight Squad «Lilyhowell Neto» have no need of any victory except a.s.sured victory."

"After all, everything is pointless if we fail. Heehaha!"

'...Do you have any solution?'

Lilyhowell did not trust the other side even as a collaborator. Having confirmed a number of times, for the moment she could conclude that the other side "possessed information of a highly trustworthy nature and that there should not be any risk in making use of that information at the current stage." Regarding the collaborator, all they knew was that this person bore a grudge against Nirushaaki just like the Knights Dominion. Hence, Lilyhowell's answer was naturally—

"Yes. As much as I am reluctant to employ it. However, I cannot tell you what it is."

"Is that so?'

The collaborator gave up on the answer so readily that Lilyhowell suddenly felt suspicious. Perhaps this person already knew what they were planning to do. Nevertheless, what needed to be done could not be changed.

"Have you said everything? In that case, we must begin the operation at once. Thank you for the information you provided."

'Same here. Well then—I look forward to your success. May Nirushaaki get what she deserves.'

The line was cut with a beep. Lilyhowell put down the home telephone's handset and sighed. After hearing that name from the handset, Neto's face suddenly lost all expression and started exuding the sharp and cruel aura as the avenger. But this time, it only manifested outwardly for an instant.

"So not funny at all...