Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 2 - Chapter 3

Practice and a Sense of Distance

Friday, May 1st

As the calendar flipped to May, many of Kisshouharukaze High School’s clubs started practicing for the obstacle marathon. Clubs were a big deal at Harukaze High to begin with, and their influence within the school was directly related to the size of the club. That was why events where clubs could directly compete against one another drew a lot of attention. As a result, there were already plenty of students in the schoolyard for various club training activities.

One of those clubs was the girls’ track and field team that Kiriha joined. They were in the middle of timing themselves at a five kilometer race in order to choose their representatives for the obstacle marathon.

“Hahh... Hahh... Hahh...”

Kiriha was running on the track with proper form and breathing. That beautiful form and her unwavering pace stood out even among the track and field team. She had run from the starting line to just before the goal without faltering. However, there were two girls in front of Kiriha which put her in third place. Kiriha had excellent technique, but her lack of training meant she was wanting in stamina and experience. Moreover, her womanly body wasn’t well suited for long distance races. All considered, she was putting up quite a fight.

“Kiri-chan, keep it up!”

“Hahh... Hahh... Hahh...”

Cheered on by one of the girls who had crossed the finished line before her, Kiriha ran through the goal, still in third place. Following Kiriha, the other team members crossed the finish line one after the other.

“You’re quite fast, Kurano-san. It’s hard to believe you’re a rookie first-year.”

“Mmhmm! Don’t compare my Kiri-chan to one of those average first-years.”

“Th-Thank you very much. Haa... Haa...”

As Kiriha tried to catch her breath, the two third-years who had finished before her approached.

“Why are you the one boasting?”

“Kiri-chan and I are bound together by fate! That’s all that matters.”

While Kiriha was still breathing heavily, the other two girls seemed to be perfectly fine. They were trained marathon runners, so five kilometers was nothing to them.

“But it’s unfair, Kiri-chan... You’re beautiful, you have big breasts, you’re smart, and you’re fast.”

“B-But I can’t quite compare to you two, Senpai.”

“Kyaaah! Even your personality is beautiful!”

“Kyah?!”

“Would you cut it out? We’re being serious here.”

“Sorryyy, Kiri-chan!”

“N-No, it’s nothing...”

The high-spirited third-year was Takahashi, and the serious one was Kawashima. Their names were written across the chests of their gym uniforms. Kawashima was also the girls’ track and field captain.

“But with this, we have our representatives for the obstacle marathon.”

“Me and Kiri-chan!”

“That’s right.”

“What? Me?”

Though things were proceeding as planned, Kiriha was still a little shocked. She thought she would have to talk her way into being chosen, so she was pleasantly surprised that things had worked out on their own.

“That’s right. We’ve traditionally chosen one candidate for their smarts and the other for their fitness.”

“Which means it’ll be you and me, Kiri-chan. There are times when it takes more than muscles to win, after all.”

“Don’t make it sound like you’re bragging about it. Jeez...”

Kawashima was amazed at Takahashi’s carefree attitude, but Kiriha was still thinking.

“By the way, Senpai, what kind of obstacles does the marathon have?”

“Kawa-chan, please explain.”

“Jeez, you’re always like that...”

Kawashima’s shoulders slumped when Takahashi gave up on explaining so easily. With a heavy sigh, Kawashima explained instead.

“You see, Kurano-san, there are ten ‘obstacles’ in total. In the past it’s been everything from a curry eating contest to reading kanji. You know, standard sports festival challenges. The hitch is that the obstacles change every year, so we don’t know exactly what they’ll be this year. That’s why—”

“An idiot like me can’t win on her own! If we have to read kanji or English for one of the challenges, I won’t stand a chance.”

“I told you not to brag about that.”

“Teehee, sorry!”

The club obstacle marathon was a five kilometer long course with ten obstacles along the way. The racers would hit an obstacle roughly every four or five hundred meters. The obstacles came in all manner of challenges. Some required physical strength, some required dexterity, and some required intellect. Things like shot put, spoon races, and quizzes were all popular choices.

The obstacles functionally served as handicaps depending on how quickly—or slowly—a participant could complete them. Just being a fast runner wasn’t enough to win, which was what made this race difficult. The clubs all had various strategies for the event, from sending out a well-balanced team, to sending out their fleetest competitors to make up for their lack of brains. The strategy the girls’ track and field team used was to send their fastest member with their smartest member as a pair.

“I see. That makes sense.”

“Let’s give it our all, Kiri-chan!”

“Of course. I look forward to running with you, Takahashi-senpai.”

“Great! Just leave it to me.”

Kiriha smiled brightly. She was quite satisfied with this outcome.

Everything is going just as I’d hoped.

Takahashi was the fastest one on the team and she was also quite small. She was a perfect match for the kind of partner that Kiriha had in mind.

All that’s left is...

Kiriha gave an inconspicuous hand signal.

“Ho! Did you call for us, Ane-san? Ho!”

“What is it? Ho!”

The two haniwas, Karama and Korama, responded immediately. They were using an advanced built-in stealth system to stay hidden as they followed Kiriha.

“I’ve been chosen as a representative according to plan. I want you two to focus on gathering information as we discussed.”

“Understood! Ho!”

“Right away! Ho!”

“Take note of anyone in the courtyard who’s more fit than I am. And don’t forget to record data on their physique as well.”

“Ho! Leave it to us, ho!”

“Ane-san can practice at ease, ho!”

“Good. And after you’ve done that, I want you to prepare some funds. We still have the gold I was planning on handing over to Koutarou, right?”

“Ho, ho! Understood, ho!”

“Roger that, ho! We’ll bring it over, ho!”

Kiriha grinned as she felt the presence of the two haniwas departing.

“If you think I’ll just play by the rules, you’re mistaken, Theia-dono...”

Kiriha flashed a fearless smile. She was confident that she wouldn’t lose to Theia.

“What are you doing, Kiri-chan? Practice is starting.”

“Sorry, I’ll be right there!”

Kiriha put on her honors student act again and ran over to her club mates.

Meanwhile, Theia was also fanning the flames of her rivalry with Kiriha as she was steadily preparing for the sports festival. Having assumed complete control of the cheerleading squad, she was shouting at them again today.

“Maggots, what is your specialty?”

“Unity! Cheering! Victory!”

“Who is your master?”

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

“I can’t hear you!”

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

As they answered to Theia, the cheerleading squad was running in formation around the school building. Theia was in the back, waving around a bamboo sword and pushing them forward.

“Would you die for my sake?”

“As you wish, my princess!”

“Shed your blood for me! Devote your lives to victory for the royal families!”

“All in! All in! All in!”

The sight of powerful men dressed in jet black uniforms being ordered around by a young girl in her gym clothes was quite surreal, but they were all dead serious about it. Also, anyone who objected to Theia had already been purged.

“Good! Now sing, you maggots! After me!”

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

“One, two, three, go! We’re the wonderful cheerleading squad!”

“We’re the wonderful cheerleading squad!”

Theia’s high-pitched, clear singing voice rang out, followed by the low, manly voices of the cheerleaders. Their voices were carried by the wind over the entire schoolyard. She continued to lead them in song.

“Believe in your comrades and protect the princess!”

“Believe in your comrades and protect the princess!”

“It’s pretty great!”

“It’s pretty great!”

“It’s pretty great!”

“It’s pretty great!”

“We’ll work until we retire!”

“We’ll work until we retire!”

Just as Theia and the reformed cheerleading squad had finished the first of their songs, Theia’s bracelet emitted a beeping sound. It was an incoming call from Ruth.

“Oh, it’s Ruth. But we just got to the good part... Okay, you people keep on running!”

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

Theia shouted after the boys as they continued to run. They cheered loudly in response, but they didn’t so much as break formation once out from under the immediate control of their diminutive leader. Theia watched as they disappeared around the corner of the school building, then ordered her bracelet to accept the call from Ruth with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Blue Knight, open communications with Ruth.”

“As you wish, my princess.”

“Ruth, it’s me.”

“Your Highness!”

“What is it? Did something happen?”

The urgency in Ruth’s voice overrode her normally gentle tone. Realizing that this was serious, Theia’s annoyed expression disappeared.

“I have discovered two unidentified flying objects above Kisshouharukaze High School.”

“Unidentified flying objects?”

“Yes. They’re hiding using thermo-optic electromagnetic camouflage, so it took a while before I discovered them. But they seem to be on standby about a hundred meters in the air, gathering information from the schoolyard.”

“Gathering information...? Do you have any idea who it is?”

“If a presumption will suffice.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“When Blue Knight’s main computer analyzed the slight energy leaking from their camouflage, it calculated that there was a 63 percent chance that it’s those two haniwas.”

“The haniwas, huh? I don’t know what she’s investigating, but it seems Kiriha is planning on doing something at the sports festival...”

At first Theia was in a bad mood because her practice had been interrupted, but upon learning that her rival was taking action, she looked up to the sky with a dauntless smile. It was the grin of a ferocious animal.

“I won’t just let Kiriha do as she pleases. Blue Knight, jam the area above the schoolyard. Send out an unmanned attack craft and destroy the flying objects when you find them.”

“As you wish, my princess.”

“Your Highness, fighting with Kiriha-sama goes against the convention!”

Ruth was talking about the Corona Convention that Theia and the others had signed. One of its articles clearly stated that fighting outside of room 106 was forbidden. While Ruth was worried about Shizuka intervening, Theia’s smile didn’t waver.

“Heh heh heh. If they really belong to Kiriha, that would be true.”

“Your Highness?”

“However, they’re unidentified flying objects. It’s not certain that they belong to Kiriha. Just taking care of some peeper doesn’t count as fighting with Kiriha.”

“Are you trying to feign ignorance?”

“The other 37 percent saved me, Kurano Kiriha! Wahahaha!”

Theia was using the uncertainty regarding the flying objects to her advantage. If she was going up against Kiriha, it would be a violation of the Corona Convention, but she was still allowed to attack anyone else. She was going to claim that she had thought it was some peeper rather than Kiriha’s haniwas.

“Please stop, Your Highness! If you do something like that, who knows what will—”

“It seems you’re planning something, but it stops here, Kurano Kiriha! I won’t let you have your way!”

Ruth’s plea fell on deaf ears. Theia roared with excitement as she stared up at the sky where an unmanned attack craft came out from a black disk.

Theia’s attack vessel was about a meter long and had the shape of a stocky airplane. It seemed to be a mix between a fighter jet and a commercial aircraft. However, the unmanned attack vessel was much faster than one would imagine from its bulky frame. It was able to continuously dodge the electric attacks from Korama.

“It’s fast! Ho!”

With Korama caught off guard, the attack craft opened the ports for its laser. Seeing this, Karama rushed to get between Korama and the vessel. The attack craft fired off its laser attack, but it was blocked by Karama’s yellow spiritual energy barrier.

“Are you okay, Brother?!”

“Karama! You saved me, ho!”

“Be careful, ho! Don’t put yourself in a position where it can go all out! Ho!”

The attack craft had only been attacking with its laser since it couldn’t use missiles, live rounds, or anything else that would leave evidence behind. And since it couldn’t cause damage to the surrounding area, it wasn’t firing its lasers at full power and would only fire them when it was when parallel to the ground or while climbing.

If Theia hadn’t specifically given the craft those orders, the haniwas would’ve had a much harder time blocking its attacks.

“We can’t lose to some soulless machine! Ho!”

“Let’s show it our guts! Ho!”

The haniwas used their combined electricity and fire to fight the attack craft. The battle above Harukaze High was about to reach its climax. 

However none of the students were aware of the battle raging on above them. The only ones looking at the sky were the two involved: Kiriha and Theia. The others students were all focused on the commotion unfolding in the schoolyard.

“Nooooo, I won’t strip! I definitely won’t strip!”

“It’ll be all right. Just relax.”

“Yurika-san, there’s nowhere left to run, so why don’t you just give up?”

The center of the hubbub was a girl in her uniform on the verge of tears being chased by six girls in colorful outfits.

“It’s our first time practicing after getting permission to wear these outfits, so you can’t be the only one in your school uniform, Yurika-san.”

“No thank you! I won’t wear that outfit! I might as well be naked! Besides, I don’t remember joining the cosclub!”

Those seven girls were Nijino Yurika and the six members of the cosplay society. It was tradition for club members to wear their specific uniform for the obstacle marathon. For the cosplay society, that would naturally be a cosplay outfit, but as that technically wasn’t a uniform, they had had to ask for special permission. And today was a special occasion. It was the first day they were able to train in their cosplays.

“Be reasonable, Yurika-san. But if you really don’t like it, you can use your own costume.”

“But that’s just my uniform. It’s not really cosplay...”

“Really? What cosplay cafe’s uniform is it? The tailoring was really well done.”

“Yeah, it’s not polyester or nylon, either. I’m so jealous!”

“I keep telling you! You’re wrong about that!”

The cosclub was trying to get Yurika into her outfit. It was a custom-made cosplay the girls had put together just for her. However, Yurika was running away because she refused to wear it. Unfortunately for her, her lack of stamina meant she couldn’t get away from them.

“P-Please let me go! I’m not like that!”

Too tired to run anymore, Yurika was cornered by the schoolyard fence. The six girls circled Yurika as she looked around for an escape path. It was no use.

“Wh-Why does this always happen to me?! I’m not a cosplayer! I’m trying my best and yet no one listens to a word I say!”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry about a thing, Yurika-chan. Just open your mind and leave the rest to us.”

“N-Noooooooo!”

“Get her!”

Sadly, it was true nobody listened to Yurika. Not even in this situation. When the cosclub president gave the order, the five other members grabbed Yurika at the same time.

“L-Let go!”

“Not gonna happen.”

“We finally caught you. There’s no way we’ll let go!”

The outfits she was forced to wear were often quite extreme, and even though she’d given it her all, she couldn’t outrun having to wear them again today either.

“Bring her to the locker room and get her changed right away!”

“Understood, President!”

“I’m telling you I don’t want tooooo!”

“Yurika-chan has long legs, so I think this Chinese dress with a high slit would be good.”

“No, it’s too hard to give up the magical girl vibe. Especially when we think about what she wants.”

“W-Wait just a minuteee!”

Four of the club members carried Yurika away. The club president and vice president trailed behind them.

“Hmm... Magical girl... Chinese dress...” the president mumbled to herself pensively.

“Is something the matter, president?” the vice president asked her, a little worried.

“Well I was just wondering what we could make Yurika-san wear to make Satomi-kun happy.”

The president blushed and squirmed. Perhaps it was her flashy princess costume, but she seemed to be a bit over the top today.

“It’s love!”

When the president mentioned Satomi-kun, the vice president’s eyes began to sparkle. As she was wearing a flashy prince costume, she too seemed to be a little dramatic.

“It’s because of the love he’s shown!”

“You’re right. From now on we shouldn’t just cosplay based on what we want. We should also take the opinions of the general populace into consideration. We might find more people who understand us like Satomi-kun.”

“Then should we go with the basics?”

“Yes... All right, it’s decided! Put Yurika-san in a maid outfit!”

“Okaaay.”

“Noooooooo!”

Yurika began struggling frantically, but she didn’t have the strength to shake off four girls. Try as she might, all she could manage was wriggling and flailing. She was no match for them. The cosclub was in high spirits after capturing Yurika.

“Hmm? Are you training too?”

That was when Koutarou and Harumi passed by. They were in their gym clothes and were planning on practicing for the marathon.

“Oh, it’s Satomi-kun!”

“Yoo-hoo, Koutarou-kun!”

The cosclub girls each smiled and greeted Koutarou as they passed. Normally, they would have surrounded him, but today they were focused on Yurika.

“Heehee, we’re on our way to get Yurika changed. We’ll start practicing after that!”

“I see. Thanks for your hard work.”

“Praise us more, Satomi-kun!”

“Ahahaha!”

“H-Help me, Satomi-san! I’ll be stripped and forced to put on strange outfits!”

In stark contrast to the pleasantries between Koutarou and the cosclub, Yurika pleaded for help after being driven to her wit’s end. Koutarou was a little taken aback by it all, but he was distracted by the approach of the smiling club president to think too much of it

“Jeez, Yurika-san, you don’t have to be that embarrassed just because Satomi-kun is here.”

“Is Yurika always like that?”

“Yes, she’s quite the shy one.”

The president smiled as if nothing was wrong. Koutarou was actually becoming more worried about the cosplay club than he was about Yurika.

“I’m sorry. It seems I’ve caused you a good deal of trouble.”

“It’s okay. It’s for none other than our dear Satomi-kun, after all. Just wait! You’ll be shocked after Yurika’s transformation.”

The president gave Koutarou a wink and followed after the other club members.

“N-No, wait! Save meeeeee, Satomi-saaaaan!”

Of course, they were taking Yurika with them. She called out for help, but Koutarou showed no sign of giving in as the cosplay society dragged her away.

“Jeez, she’s really giving them a hard time. She’s shy about the strangest things...”

Koutarou let out a small sigh. Harumi, who had observed the entire encounter, tugged on Koutarou’s sleeve.

“Satomi-kun, that girl was asking for help. Was it all right to just leave her like that?”

“Yeah, she was just trying to hide her embarrassment.”

“She was?”

Harumi was surprised by Koutarou’s answer.

“She loves cosplay, but she can’t bring herself to admit it. They’re just helping her with her hobby.”

“I see...”

Harumi nodded as she turned to look at Yurika.

Hiding your embarrassment... That’s right. I was the same.

Harumi knew what that was like. She was quite shaken up when Koutarou first joined the knitting society and she learned that he was serious about learning to knit.

It can be embarrassing, but finding people that share your hobby is a wonderful thing...

Harumi flashed a small smile as she continued to watch the cosplay club walk away.

“It is quite a unique hobby...” she muttered as she watched them enter the club building.

Harumi understood Yurika’s feelings, but not her hobby. Koutarou looked at Harumi and shrugged.

“I don’t really get it either.”

“I’m a little glad to hear that...”

Harumi’s smile grew. She was genuinely relieved.

“I don’t have any extreme hobbies like that.”

“Heehee, I was actually a little worried. What would I do if Satomi-kun said he’d like me to wear outfits like that?”

“What would you do if I said that?”

“I would be troubled.”

“Ahahaha, don’t worry. I won’t ask for something like that.”

Koutarou laughed out loud and looked over the schoolyard. He could see plenty of other students practicing for the sports festival.

We’ll have to work hard. Yurika and the others are training too...

“Shall we go, Senpai? We have to practice as well.”

“...B-But if it’s just the two of us, I wouldn’t mind wearing it...”

Koutarou had only suggested practicing for the race, but for some reason, Harumi was blushing and mumbling to herself.

“Is something wrong?”

“I-It’s nothing! Nothing at all!”

When Koutarou looked at her, Harumi’s face turned even redder and she waved her hands emphatically. As if trying to escape, she turned and made for the schoolyard at a good clip.

“L-Let’s get to practicing...”

“Okay...”

I wonder what happened...

Koutarou felt like something was wrong as he chased after Harumi, who was surprisingly taking the lead for once.

Koutarou sat down with his legs spread out and leaned forward until he was almost touching the ground. Harumi, who was sitting next to him, looked on in amazement. She was stretching as well, but she couldn’t even bend half as far as Koutarou could.

“Satomi-kun, you’re so flexible.”

“That’s because I played baseball in middle school.”

“Baseball?”

Harumi tilted her head in confusion. Baseball and flexibility didn’t quite click in her mind. Koutarou sat back up and explained.

“I was always the catcher. Did you know that you can’t play as a catcher if you’re not flexible?”

Koutarou assumed a catcher’s stance and went through some of the motions. Reaching after a careless pitch, blocking the home base, a quick toss to second base... A catcher used their entire body and was constantly moving up and down. After seeing Koutarou demonstrate, Harumi nodded.

“So baseball has some aspects that are similar to rhythmic gymnastics?”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard someone say that.”

“Personally, I’m not very active, so I’m rather stiff.”

“Just give it a try.”

“This is about all I can do. Hnnn...”

Harumi made an adorable noise as she leaned her body forward and stretched out her arms as far as she could. However, true to her word, she couldn’t make it past a forty-five degree angle.

“Is that as far as you can go?”

“Yes.”

“...All right. Do you mind if I help, Senpai? I can push you.”

“What?!”

Quick to action, Koutarou had already moved behind Harumi. He hadn’t noticed her hesitation at all.

“It’s fine, um, you don’t have to...”

“It’ll be fine. It won’t hurt that much.”

Oblivious to her apparent distress, Koutarou put his hands on her back.

“...”

When he did, Harumi, who had been wriggling in panic, froze on the spot. Her face turned as red as a tomato.

“I’m going to push now.”

“O-O-O-Okay!”

Harumi was completely bewildered. She was so used to being alone that she felt tense just being this close to someone. And on top of that, a man was now touching her. This kind of stimulation was too much for a late bloomer like Harumi. Her tension skyrocketed.

Why am I this nervous? But...

What confused Harumi the most was that, as tense as she was, she didn’t feel anything unpleasant when Koutarou touched her. Normally, physical contact with a boy frightened her. But there was no fear in her heart as Koutarou’s large hands pushed gently on her back. Instead, she felt a sense of security and warmth.

“...I get it. You’re not dating, but you’re interested in him, right?”

Ah...

Harumi recalled what the young girl at the hospital had said to her.

W-We’re not dating, but I’m... interested...

Contemplating those words, Harumi became even more tense and her body stiffened.

“Ahaha, you really are stiff, Senpai. It seems this is your limit.”

However, Koutarou just laughed, cheerfully unaware of her complex feelings.

As they moved on to running, Harumi’s poor stamina stood out more than her stiff body. She was giving it her all, but her weak constitution, lack of exercise, and low lung capacity meant she couldn’t even run half as fast as Koutarou. She fell behind him right from the start. Koutarou clocked two or more laps around the four hundred meter track for every lap Harumi ran. She was far behind on laps, and Koutarou closed in on Harumi as he was about to pass her again.

“Koutarou, are you really gonna be okay with this girl?”

It was only natural for Sanae to feel uneasy.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll just work hard for the both of us.”

“You know you’re gonna lose, right?”

Sanae looked worried as she flew next to Koutarou. She’d been going around the track with him like that for a while. Since Sanae had bet on Koutarou, her rights to the room depended on how well the knitting society did in the race. She needed them to win.

“We’ll win. Or rather, I want Senpai to win.”

“Why?”

“It’s difficult to explain, but if I had to try, I guess it’s as thanks.”

At first Koutarou had just wanted Harumi to participate, but now he wanted her to be able to stand on the podium. He felt helping her get there was his duty after seeing her training so hard despite her condition.

“Hmm... Well, either way, just win.”

“Leave it to me.”

Sanae didn’t know what Koutarou was thinking, but she could tell how sincere he was. She decided not to question him any further.

“Huh?”

That was when Koutarou suddenly stopped running.

“What’s wrong?”

In response, Sanae came to a halt as well. Several students ran past them after they stopped.

“Nothing. I just felt like someone was watching us again.”

Standing still on the track, Koutarou looked around, but he couldn’t see the cause.

“Is that why?”

“Hmm?”

Koutarou looked in the direction Sanae was pointing and spotted Theia, Ruth, and Kiriha. They seemed to be in the middle of a break as they were wiping off sweat with their towels and drinking out of their water bottles. When the three of them noticed that Koutarou was looking at them, Ruth lightly bowed, Kiriha smiled, and Theia sulkily turned her face away.

“I see, so it was just them...”

Satisfied, Koutarou relaxed his shoulders.

“I’ll go scout them out for a bit.”

“Yeah, do that.”

Seemingly bored with going around the track, or perhaps enticed by what fun the other girls might be having, Sanae left Koutarou behind and flew towards the other three. Harumi then came running up behind him, as if to replace Sanae.

“Hahh, hahh, hahh... S-Satomi-kun, were you talking to somebody?” she asked Koutarou in a ragged voice between pauses.

It seemed like she had overheard part of his conversation with Sanae.

“Uh, n-no... I was talking to myself. I was thinking of strategies for the sports festival.”

“Hahh, hahh... S-Sorry. I’m not very athletic... I’m just holding you back, aren’t I?”

Harumi’s face clouded over at Koutarou’s words. She was hard to understand because she was breathing so heavily, but it was clear she was trying to apologize.

“Not at all, Senpai. You just worry about getting in there and trying to have some fun along the way. They say it’s not the destination, but the journey there, right?”

“Hahh, hahh... That’s right!”

Koutarou’s encouragement put a smile on Harumi’s face.

“You’re finally getting into to it, so it’d be a waste to not enjoy it. Besides, I said you could retire anytime, remember?”

“Even so... I... I don’t want to get in your way...”

Still panting, Harumi gave him a self-conscious smile. Seeing that stoked Koutarou’s desire to get her on the podium. Fortunately, the obstacle marathon for clubs was a team event, so only one member really needed to cross the finish line. Harumi could go at her own pace while Koutarou was fighting for a podium finish.

I’ll definitely help her win!

Before he knew it, that had become more important to him than his match with the invaders.

“What’s with that woman?”

As Koutarou began running with Harumi again, Theia frustratedly bit her lip. Seeing Koutarou slow down to match his speed with Harumi and Harumi smiling at Koutarou really bothered her.

“She is the president of Koutarou’s club. That’s Sakuraba Harumi from class 2-A.”

Kiriha, who was standing next to Theia, explained who Harumi was. She had already investigated everyone around Koutarou for herself.

That girl will probably get in the way of getting Koutarou to hand over the room... What to do...?

Kiriha had been particularly interested in Harumi too. Based on Koutarou’s behavior, some of the reason her use of sex appeal wasn’t working on Koutarou was undoubtedly Harumi’s influence. Indirectly, she was also the reason why Kiriha had changed her methods and was fighting fairly now.

“In other words, that Harumi girl is Koutarou’s princess,” Sanae chimed in with a teasing expression as she flew up to Theia and the others.

Her words were more aggressive than normal, probably spurred on by a sense of competitiveness over the sports festival. She was really just trying to put some pressure on them.

“What?! Are you saying Koutarou has sworn his loyalty to that woman?!”

“Yes, well... something like that.”

“How could this be?!”

Sanae’s claim enraged Theia. Satisfied that things were going according to plan, Sanae smiled on the inside. Theia raged on, seemingly unaware of what Sanae was scheming.

“In what way is that woman better than me?! The fool! He’s sworn loyalty to the wrong person!”

Theia couldn’t stand it. The boy that was supposed to swear unending loyalty to her had instead gone and pledged himself to some random country girl—one with no affluence or power to speak of. It was a devastating blow to Theia’s pride. She had absolute confidence in herself. She had faith in her capabilities, in her position as seventh princess, and even in her mental strength. Theia believed she was superior to Harumi in every way. And yet despite that, Koutarou had chosen the weak Harumi over her. He didn’t even treat her with respect. She just couldn’t accept any of that.

“It’s got nothing to do with reason.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Nothing to do with reason?!

Those words upset Theia even more.

Surely even that pleb can recognize the insurmountable gap between me and that girl, yet he still favors her?

“Impossible! Simply impossible!”

Theia couldn’t accept it, much less handle it. It took wisdom, power, and courage to stand above others. The royal families of Forthorthe had prospered for over a millennia by that creed. That was why, as the seventh princess, Theia couldn’t accept it... no matter what.

Ruth smiled at Theia.

“Your Highness, I’m not following your reasoning either.”

Ruth put her hands to her chest and smiled gently. She had always looked over Theia as an older sister with that smile. Wisdom, power, and courage were irrelevant.

“Ruth is special! The Pardomshiha family has served the royal families since before the founding of Forthorthe!”

“Your Highness...”

Hearing Theia’s response, Ruth was both happy and sad at the same time. Theia didn’t fully understand Ruth’s feelings. Ruth would have sworn her loyalty to her even if she hadn’t been born into the Pardomshiha family. However, admitting Ruth had sworn loyalty to her because she wanted to would mean she was forced to reckon with the fact that Koutarou was the same. He hadn’t sworn himself to her because he didn’t want to. The young and prideful Theia just couldn’t do that.

“Curse you, pleb. You’re always finding some way to provoke me!”

Theia continued to bite her lip as she glared at Koutarou and Harumi.