Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 30 - Chapter 3

A Part-time Job and Wiretaps

Wednesday, April 13th

After the incident with Kotori and Kenji during lunch the other day, Nalfa would make an appearance from time to time. Her main goal was to record Koutarou and the Forthorthians, but she was also documenting daily student life at Harukaze High as something of a primer on Japanese culture. In that sense, Kotori was right. She was working much like a travel blogger, explaining bits and pieces of everyday Japanese life as she came to learn them herself.

Thud!

“Owww...”

And today, Nalfa just so happened to be focused on a particularly good shot. She was walking backward while filming, and thanks to her oblivious nature, ended up bumping into a utility pole and hit the back of her head. When Koutarou saw it, he ran over to her in a hurry.

“A-Are you okay? That sounded like it hurt...”

“I’m okay, Koutarou-sama. I’m a born ditz, so I walk into all kinds of stuff all the time. This is nothing; I’m totally used to it.”

“Hmm... Well, I guess if you can continue to film without even dropping the camera, you are probably fine.”

“Yup!”

No one really thought much of Nalfa filming things around school. Her classmates all figured that she was recording things to report to her friends and family back home, and they all thought Koutarou simply ended up being the focus of her filming because he was a friend.

“Theia-sama, please turn this way!”

“Sure— Wait, Nalfa, look out!”

“Master!”

“I’m on it!”

“Kyaaah!”

Screeeeech!

“Get outta the road, you stupid kid!”

“I-I’m so sorry!”

“You really need to watch where you’re going! You almost got yourself killed there!” scolded a worried Koutarou.

“I-I’m sorry for being so ditzy!” Nalfa apologized.

“Goodness.. We’re all going to die of heart attacks before she does,” sighed Theia.

And indeed, the only problem with Nalfa filming was that she would—quite literally—sometimes walk into danger. It kept her film subjects, Koutarou and the invaders, on constant edge. Things like her nearly getting hit by a car just now were an everyday occurrence. That was why Koutarou couldn’t help being a little harsh with her when it happened—it was really and truly troublesome.

“This is going to sound strange coming from me,” commented Yurika, “but I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so unreliable.”

“Me either,” agreed Sanae.

“At least this gives you some idea how we feel watching you, right, Yurika?” asked Maki.

“Wow... So this is how you guys felt, huh?”

“No, it’s how we feel, not how we felt.”

“What, really?!”

Even the clumsy, hard-luck Yurika could tell that Nalfa had it far worse than she did. Misfortune followed her around like a lost puppy, but Nalfa was just plain blind to her environment. And it made a critical difference. If a large hole suddenly appeared in front of them, for example, Yurika would at least try to get out of the way while Nalfa would walk right into it without ever being any the wiser. Danger didn’t need to come to her—she would inevitably find it.

“Harumi, I think I’ve figured out the reason she’s like this,” said Clan.

“Was there something in the documents?” asked Harumi.

“She’s actually the daughter of a rather rich family—the granddaughter of the current president of the esteemed Mastir Economist, to be exact.”

“Then you mean to say...”

“Yes. Before coming here, she was likely taken good care of—and kept safe—by everyone around her.”

“If I recall correctly, the others said something about her brother being a very keen reporter...”

“And she’s not anything like him, Sakuraba-senpai. In short, she’s sheltered. Just like Clan when we first met her.”

“Jeez, Veltlion, why do you always have to turn things around on me?! I mean, she is sheltered, but...”

Raised with all the privilege in the world, Nalfa had grown up the opposite of streetwise. If even Clan could recognize that, Koutarou figured her relatives and loved ones surely did. Maybe they’d even sent her to Earth for exactly that reason, hoping she would gain some worldliness.

But as Koutarou and the others fretted over Nalfa’s naivety, Kiriha’s mind was elsewhere. She was walking in the back of the group, pondering an extraordinary dilemma.

Something certainly felt strange on April 6th... To think this is what it was...

Kiriha pulled a letter from her bag—a letter that detailed the extraordinary dilemma on her mind. She trusted it implicitly, of course, because it was a letter she’d written to herself.

The letter had come yesterday. It was postmarked on the 6th, but had been scheduled to be delivered on the 12th. Considering the standard delay of the postal service, that likely meant that it had actually been put in the mail sometime on the 5th. Kiriha thought the letter was strange when she received it, especially since her own handwriting decorated the outside of the envelope. She knew immediately that it had to be something important, and moreover that it had to be time-sensitive if she’d wanted it delivered on a specific day. So despite the strange feeling that came over her holding the letter in her hands, she diligently opened it.

Inside the envelope was a folded and sealed letter with a small note. The handwriting on the note was also hers, but the message it contained was utterly bizarre. It said that, on the night of April 5th, her memories as well as the others’ had been altered somewhat. It stated that nothing was wrong, and the modification had been made explicitly for the purpose of them being able to relax and enjoy themselves for a time. Lastly, it explained that the folded and sealed letter contained information on what had actually happened and how to undo it should the need arise. That, however, was only to be done in the explicit case of an emergency. Otherwise, the letter was to be kept absolutely secret. It should only be a last resort in the most desperate of situations.

After thoroughly reading the note, Kiriha considered ignoring its instructions and opening the sealed letter anyway. That way, she would know what happened and could share the truth with the others should a situation ever arise where that was necessary. She would just have to keep it a secret in the meantime. But since Kiriha knew herself better than anyone, she’d had a special someone take precautions against exactly that. The end of the note contained a postscript in Koutarou’s handwriting.

P.S. - If you open up the sealed letter for any reason other than an emergency, Kiriha-san, I will confiscate your Kabutonga card and return your necklace.

That stopped Kiriha cold. Even if it was an empty threat, she couldn’t risk it. Koutarou had to have known the meaning of both of those items when he wrote that, so in other words, he was saying, “Don’t open this if you love me.” And Kiriha would never dare betray the trust her beloved put in her.

You really did put me in quite a spot... Really and truly...

Kiriha watched Koutarou walking along ahead of her with a half-loving and half-resentful gaze. Since she had been entrusted with the letter and instructions to keep the truth hidden from everyone, it now fell on her to resolve or explain away any discrepancies that might arise because of their altered memories. The oddities she’d noticed so far only affected her: she was missing ten pieces of stationery and matching envelopes from her desk, and there were logs indicating some spiritual energy sensors had been used—neither of which she remembered having anything to do with, but now that made sense. Neither was a particularly big deal, either... But when she thought about the number of other such inconsistencies that might crop up for all ten of them, her head started to hurt. She knew in her heart of hearts that the job of keeping all that under wraps had been left to her because she was the most trustworthy, but that alone wasn’t enough to make her feel better about it right now. She decided she’d get her revenge sometime by giving Koutarou a run for his money. He’d specifically written that postscript knowing how much she loved him, so she felt like she was perfectly within bounds to act on that love now. Getting his heart racing a little would be exactly what he deserved.

When Nalfa woke up in the morning, she would get ready for the day and then get her camera rolling first thing. She would record on her way to school, and sometimes even go chasing after things that caught her attention. Of course, there was only one thing demanding her attention right now—the Blue Knight Layous Veltlion, AKA Koutarou.

“Nalfa-san, look out!”

“What— Ack!”

Nalfa was completely lost in filming, so much so that she was about to fall right into a ditch. Seeing this, Koutarou leaped forward and grabbed her hand. She was so light that it took only the slightest tug from him to knock her off balance, and she fell tumbling towards him. She crashed right into him, but he caught her and helped steady her. He was more concerned about her being okay than he was about his own wellbeing.

“Phew... Thank god...”

It would be terrible if the transfer student got hurt, so it had become part of Koutarou’s daily routine to keep an eye on her while she was filming.

“I’m so sorry, Koutarou-sama.”

“Are you all right, Nalfa-san?”

“Yes, I’m quite happy.”

“Happy?”

“Every girl in Forthorthe dreams of being saved by the Blue Knight just like this.”

Since they were standing so close, Nalfa whispered that last part so no one else could hear it. The Blue Knight’s name wasn’t something she used lightly, but it brought a beaming smile to her lips now.

“Erk!”

Koutarou hurriedly let go of Nalfa... but not because she’d called him the Blue Knight. It was because he realized he had his arm around a girl he’d only met a few days ago.

“Aww, shucks...”

Nalfa’s beaming smile waned into a frown, but she quickly seemed to get over it and lifted her camera to begin filming again. She was dedicated, certainly—a model camerawoman always ready to get back behind the lens no matter what danger befell her.

“Be careful, you hear?”

“Yes, sir!”

Nalfa was oblivious, but she didn’t mean any harm. Koutarou knew she wasn’t causing trouble because she wanted to. Things just kind of snuck up on her, and he didn’t blame her for that. And nevertheless, she was determined to keep filming. At most, he was a little frustrated as he continued to watch over her.

“I’m worried...”

Koutarou’s unwitting mumbling reached the ears of his best friend walking next to him.

“Count your blessings, Kou. At least you have the leisure to be worried about someone else...”

Strangely enough, Kenji was alone today. He’d been walking with his little sister to school until recently, and Koutarou had a pretty good idea as to what had happened.

“Is Kin-chan still mad?”

“She’s angrier than she’s ever been. She’s treating me like I’m the scum of the earth.”

Kenji was still in the doghouse. Kotori had caught wind of all the rumors swirling around school about Kenji’s love life, and she’d marched all the way to classroom 3-A to confront Kenji about them the other day. Kenji, though only trying to defend himself, hadn’t given her a satisfactory answer, which had left the two of them in something of a rough patch.

“Well, Kin-chan’s a serious girl. Good luck with that.”

As a naturally shy girl, Kotori was tenderhearted and idealistic. She romanticized people and held love on the highest of pedestals. She believed in the kind of pure, earnest love she’d read about in fairy tales... and hearing that her beloved brother was actually a playboy sent all her dreams crashing to the ground.

“Don’t be so cold, Kou! Your best friend’s in deep doodoo here! Can’t you do something?!”

“Sorry, man. I don’t think there’s much I can do to help you this time. I know you’re looking for a diamond in the rough, but Kin-chan’s never gonna believe you if you tell her that.”

Unlike Koutarou, Kenji had good looks, a charming personality, and was something of a social butterfly. Thanks to that, he’d always been popular with girls, including plenty that weren’t so nice. Kenji was relatively intuitive, however, and it usually didn’t take him long to see through a girlfriend who wasn’t really compatible with him. That was why most of his relationships were notoriously short-lived. In his own way, he was just as romantic as Kotori. He was just trying to find the right girl. And Koutarou knew that. But he also knew that Kotori would never hear Kenji out, much less believe him.

“Then you go talk to her! She’ll believe anything you say, Kou!”

“Yeah, sorry, this one’s not my battle. You dug your own hole, bro.”

Kenji wasn’t to blame for wanting to find the right girl for him, but he was certainly to blame for how he’d gone about doing that... for over two years. Trying to explain that away now would only sound like excuses. Koutarou would have loved to help Kenji. That is, if he thought it were even remotely possible.

“Then I’ll snitch to Kotori about you, too!”

“Who cares? I’m not in a single relationship that would anger Kin-chan.”

“That’s just unfair! You’re totally surrounded by girls too!”

“Turns out going after just anyone was a bad move, Mackenzie. Better just go ahead and get on your hands and knees and apologize.”

Koutarou earnestly thought that was the best advice he could give Kenji for now. There was no way he could talk his way out of this one with Kotori, so apologizing was his only real option. The pure-hearted Kotori would likely accept no less.

But that was when something quite unexpected happened.

“You’re terrible, Satomi-kun. You and I have an extraordinary relationship. A very deep one. I’m sure Kotori-san would be shocked to hear about it.”

Before Koutarou knew it, Kiriha had walked up beside him. She’d wrapped her arm around his and was leaning on him, looking up at him with doe eyes and rosy cheeks.

And what she’d said was the absolute truth. She—really, all of the Corona House girls—had an extraordinary and deep bond with Koutarou. Kotori would indeed be shocked to learn of it, but that was only natural considering the extreme nature of what they’d been through together. However, she presented this information completely out of context. And considering how she was behaving, it sounded like she meant something else entirely.

“Kou, you bastard! Here you are talking like some goody two-shoes, but you’re no better than I am!”

“Kiriha-san, what are you trying to do?!”

“But I was only telling the truth―”

“You’re doing this on purpose!”

“That’s it! I’m taking you down with me, Kou! Just you wait! Tomorrow, you’re going to meet an entirely different Kotori!”

Kiriha’s interference—her payback—ended up sending the situation rolling in an unexpected direction. If things kept up, it seemed like Koutarou would end up in the doghouse right alongside Kenji... but things didn’t quite unfold that way.

This was the first time that Kotori had ever visited Koutarou’s apartment, but she didn’t at all seem nervous. She’d been to Koutarou’s house plenty of times before he moved, and she’d even seen his room before. He was still using a lot of the same furniture and décor, so she felt right at home.

“I see you kept this shelf, though what’s on it has changed a little...”

“Yeah, things and priorities kinda change when you’re on your own.”

“Heehee, sure looks like it.”

“I-I’m honored to be here, Koutarou-sama...”

In stark contrast to Kotori, Nalfa was nearly trembling with excitement and nervousness. In her eyes, Koutarou was a legendary hero rather than a childhood friend. Filming him in public was one thing, but this was the first time she’d stepped into his private domain. It’d be impossible for her not to be nervous.

“You don’t have to worry,” said Theia. “A great number of people pass through this room. Just think of it as an extension of the embassy.”

“O-Okay...”

The other thing making Nalfa a bundle of nerves was Theia, who was sitting right next to Koutarou like it was her prerogative. Though she had her legs stretched out in a rather casual and inelegant fashion, she was without a doubt a princess of Forthorthe. Being in front of Koutarou was one thing, but to be faced with both the legendary knight and his princess at the same time... It was almost too much. Even if Nalfa came from a well-off family, she was still a commoner. She couldn’t help feeling like she was out of her league.

“Oh, that’s right. I heard that you were from Forthorthe too, Theia-san.”

“Indeed, I am. I came into contact with Koutarou while visiting here for private reasons, and we’ve been on good terms ever since.”

“For private reasons? Then... were you also taking care of personal business when we first met?”

“Something like that, yes. Koutarou’s been looking after me for quite some time now.”

Kotori had met Theia and Ruth before. She was surprised to hear that they were aliens, but between her budding friendship with them and the fact that Koutarou was clearly friends with them, she wasn’t nervous to be around them at all. Things might be a little different if she knew Theia was a princess, however.

“Please have some tea, Kotori-sama, Nalfa-sama.”

“Thank you very much, Ruth-san.”

“I-I’m honored.”

“What’s the matter, Nalfa-chan? You look like you’re feeling down.”

Because Theia’s position was still being kept a secret, Kotori had no idea what had Nalfa so on edge. Under any other circumstance, she would avidly be recording everything she saw through her viewfinder, but right now she was just meekly looking around. That got Kotori curious.

“Oh, well, um... This is the first time I’ve ever been in boy’s room, so...”

“You don’t have to worry about Kou-niisan. He’s as upright as I am.”

“I know, but... Actually, more importantly, wasn’t there something you were going to ask about?”

“Oh, right!”

Fortunately for Nalfa, Kotori had come over to Koutarou’s place for a specific reason. There was something she wanted to consult him about. Upon recalling this, she quickly set the matter with Nalfa aside and got to the point of their visit.

“Kou-niisan, if you don’t mind, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“No need to be so formal. What’s up?”

“It’s about my brother.”

Kotori wanted to talk about Kenji. With her shy personality, she had very few people she could go to for heart-to-hearts outside of her family. And considering the subject at hand, it wasn’t something she wanted to talk to her family about. That was why she’d come to Koutarou. They were childhood friends, and she knew he would take her seriously.

“Oh, that...”

Koutarou couldn’t help the bitter smile that rose up on his lips. He knew exactly what this was and exactly where it was going. Kenji would have to honestly apologize for his ways, end of story. Koutarou two years ago probably would have put that on the table immediately and called it a day. But after coming to understand the creatures known as women, he knew it would be better to at least listen to what Kotori had to say.

“Okay, hit me.”

“Thank you... Kou-niisan, just where did my brother go astray? He used to be so gentlemanly and chivalrous...”

Kotori had always been proud to have an older brother like Kenji. He was smart and kind, and was good both at sports and in school. He looked out for others and was always level-headed. He was even good looking. In her eyes, he was like some anime or manga protagonist come to life. But, somehow, immediately after starting high school, he’d turned into some womanizing scumbag. It was a heartbreaking development.

“He’s still gentlemanly and chivalrous.”

“A real gentleman wouldn’t go through girlfriends like that!”

“Now, now... Calm down, Kin-chan.”

Koutarou, smiling wryly, put his hands on the excited Kotori’s shoulders and kept her from leaning too far forward. It was rare for her to get this worked up over something, but that was just a sign of how serious this was to her.

“But I can’t calm down! I can’t stand the idea that I have some rogue ladykiller for a brother...”

“Same.”

“Theia!”

“Sorry. It just slipped.”

“Kin-chan, Mackenzie’s smart, right?”

“Well, yes...”

“He can’t help seeing girls for who they are—for better or worse. It just takes a little time to get to know someone.”

“That’s...”

That was something Kotori hadn’t considered. All she knew was that Kenji had been going from girl to girl one after the other. She hadn’t exactly stopped to think about why. She’d automatically assumed that he was the problem, not the girls he was dating.

“And he’s popular, you know? Unlike a completely average guy like me, girls flock to him. Unfortunately, those girls don’t always have the best intentions.”

“But that doesn’t make it okay for him to go after every girl he sees!”

“Well, this is where you guys have two different takes on the matter. Fundamentally, you’re on the same page, and that’s what I want you to know. But what you do with that knowledge is up to you.”

There, Kotori fell silent and began thinking about what Koutarou said. He saw this from a completely different perspective, and it was hard for her to get her head around at first. Her heart was still a mess. And seeing her like that, Koutarou realized that it would still take some time before she could forgive Kenji.

“Then... have you ever had a girlfriend, Kou-niisan?”

Unable to find her own answer, Kotori turned to Koutarou. She thought of him as her second brother, so his input and perspective were valuable to her.

“No, but I do have several girls in my life that I cherish dearly.”

At that, Theia and Ruth both looked over at Koutarou. They were quite interested in what he would say next.

“So... what are you going to do?”

“I can’t say yet, but I want to do whatever it takes to make sure they’re all happy in the future.”

Upon hearing that, Theia and Ruth went back to what they were doing. Ruth poured up some fresh tea, and she and Theia drank it in silence. It was quite good, and she saw no need whatsoever to intervene.

“Those girls... They love me for who I am, good and bad. You know how important that is, don’t you, Kin-chan?”

“Yes, I do.”

Kotori nodded firmly. She knew what Koutarou’s family situation was like. Kenji had talked with her about it several times. She was glad to hear that he’d finally found a way to let love into his heart.

“Sorry, that’s probably not going to be of much use to you.”

“No, it’s a big help.”

“Really? I’m glad.”

Koutarou’s answer hadn’t been what Kotori was looking for, but it did point her in the right direction. The happiness of the people you love... She would try thinking over her dilemma with Kenji one more time using that as her compass.

After consulting with Koutarou, Kotori left room 106 to ponder things over. Nalfa remained behind, however. There was something she too wanted to talk with Koutarou about. She was worried about her friend, of course, but it would be more convenient if Kotori weren’t here for this.

“Actually, Koutarou-sama, I sent the footage I took during the entrance ceremony back home and had my brother upload it to the pan-galactic network, and... Well, it’s become quite popular.”

After Kotori left, Nalfa pulled out her camera. She’d respectfully put it away while Kotori was having her heart-to-heart with Koutarou.

“Oh? What was it?”

“It was just some simple footage of life in Japan, and um... you and Princess Theia playing that ‘look over there’ game.”

Nalfa had edited the footage together into a series of short videos and uploaded them to the net as “Nalfa Laren’s Japan Chronicles.” Technically, her brother had been the one to upload them for her, but there were three in total. One was a video introducing Japan at large, the second a video introducing Kisshouharukaze High School, and the third was the video of Koutarou and Theia playing.

Since this was Forthorthe’s first real peak into the homeland of the Blue Knight, they’d racked up an insane amount of views within minutes of being uploaded. They went viral almost instantly. The most popular of the videos was the one of Koutarou and Theia playing, which documented their chemistry together. People went nuts for it. Theia and Koutarou’s noble princess-and-knight relationship became widely known throughout Forthorthe during the civil war, so people were absolutely smitten to see how cute they were with each other behind closed doors. There was keyboard smashing all throughout the nation, demanding more candid footage of the golden princess and the Blue Knight. Servers were crashing left and right between all the page refreshes and the comments.

And so, in short, Nalfa’s debut as a filmmaker was a smash success.

“That’s amazing. You’re probably as famous as your brother now.”

“I’d expect at least that much with Koutarou and me as your subjects.”

“Heehee, I think that’s got a lot to do with it. All the attention is on Your Excellency and Your Highness, after all. Not me.”

It probably wouldn’t have mattered who filmed it. That was just how much attention the couple—the Blue Knight in particular—attracted. Everyone wanted to see more of him and this strange world he was from. And if the princess was there, all the better. Essentially, the timely release and the content of Nalfa’s videos was what had made them so popular, not her skills as a filmmaker.

“But I’m going to make sure that they’ll be singing my praise someday!”

“That’s the spirit! You may continue to film every day, then!”

“But... Try and be careful when you do, okay?”

“Yes, I’ll do my best!”

Nalfa couldn’t celebrate her success just yet. She knew that people were watching her videos for who was in them rather than who had filmed them. That’s what she suspected, and her brother had cautioned her as much. But rather than getting a big head over it, Nalfa was more motivated than ever. She wanted people to praise her for her talents and be known as far and wide as her brother. This was only the first step. Until her skills were where they needed to be, she’d have to settle for being quick enough to pick the right subject. It was a fine start.

Nalfa decided to go home just after 5PM. There was about an hour of daylight left, and she was planning on returning to the dorm before sundown.

“Thank you for having me today,” said Nalfa.

“Take care on your way home,” replied Koutarou.

“Be well... No, I should say see you tomorrow,” added Theia.

“Thank you very much. I’m looking forward to it,” said Nalfa.

“Nalfa-chan, I’ll walk you as far as the school.”

“Yurika, where are you going?”

“To my part-time job.”

“Oh, the one you mentioned getting the other day?”

“Yes. It’s about time for me to get going, so I figured I could walk with Nalfa-chan.”

Yurika was essentially offering to be her escort. The black suits with the Sun Rangers were on constant detail, but having Yurika with her was just an extra dose of reassurance. Yurika was Yurika, but she was also an archwizard of Rainbow Heart. It certainly made Koutarou feel better.

“Okay. I’m counting on you, Yurika.”

“Okay! Let’s go, Nalfa-chan.”

“Thank you kindly!”

And so the two girls left room 106 together. Nalfa was headed for the newly-built dormitory on campus, and Yurika’s destination was a warehouse on the outskirts of the city not too far beyond the school. They walked there via the usual route, which felt somewhat funny with their shadows trailing in the opposite direction from normal.

“Um, Yurika-san...”

“Yeah?”

“You’re a part of Koutarou-sama’s band of knights too, right?”

“That’s right. Though it’s kind of like a temporary assignment...”

With nothing else to do, the two began chatting along the way. Nalfa was quite curious about Yurika, who was one of Koutarou’s companions. She’d only seen bits and pieces of her in press footage from Forthorthe, so this was a great opportunity to get the real scoop.

“So are you strong too, Yurika-san?”

“Um...”

Yurika quickly began filtering through possible answers, what she could say and what she shouldn’t. She pondered it carefully and chose her words accordingly.

“I’m not as strong as everyone else, but I wouldn’t lose to a normal person.”

“What’s your specialty? Do you fight with guns? Or maybe with a sword and shield like a knight?”

“I, uh... I’m good with acid and poison.”

Since she couldn’t freely say that she was skilled with magic, Yurika answered to the best of her ability.

“That’s quite a surprise. I never would have guessed just looking at you, Yurika-san.”

Of course, Nalfa had no idea that Yurika was talking about spells. She figured that Yurika was specialized in chemical and biological weapons, which would have all kinds of applications in modern warfare. Her keen journalist of a brother likely would have felt something was off, but Nalfa was only a budding filmmaker. She didn’t doubt Yurika in the slightest.

“I know, right?! Frankly, I don’t even like it, but Satomi-san and the others keep telling me to put the guys on the other side of the wall to sleep and things like that. I’d much rather be fighting in a cuter way!”

“Well, it’s rare for people to actually be good at the things they want to do.”

“But you’re good at what you want to do, right, Nalfa-chan?”

“Not really. After all, Koutarou-sama is always getting angry with me.”

“So things aren’t going my way... or yours, huh?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Yurika and Nalfa continued chatting away as they made their way towards the school. Since it was a private conversation, Nalfa wasn’t recording with her camera, but she was still having fun. The two hapless girls had a lot in common and got along quite well.

Yurika’s part-time job was at a small warehouse at the edge of town. The trading firm next door was her employer proper, but the actual jobsite would be the warehouse. She was responsible for bringing packages in and out of the facility, watching over it to make sure no unauthorized people entered, and basic cleaning. On occasion, she’d also be called over to the trading firm headquarters for cleaning and other odd jobs as the ad had promised.

“Yuria-chan, could I get some tea?”

“Will three cups be enough?”

“That’d be great.”

“Coming right up!”

At work, Yurika went by the alias “Towano Yuria.” It was a fake name Rainbow Heart had given her to use when she needed it. Worried that such a well-paying job would be suspicious, she hadn’t wanted to give her employer any real information about herself. She was also using magic to disguise and protect herself. She didn’t want to take any chances.

“Here’s your tea!”

“Thank you, Yuria-chan.”

“Oh, Yuria-chan, can you organize the warehouse when you’re free? Some new goods will be coming in tonight.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

Fortunately, it turned out to be a proper job. The pay and work were exactly as advertised. The older men at the workplace were all kind of scary-looking and intimidating, but they weren’t causing any trouble. And thankfully, because Yurika had matured over the past two years and actually come to learn her way around basic chores, she managed to get by without making any major blunders or embarrassing herself. In short, things were going swimmingly. She was even starting to think she could dismiss her spells soon.

“Now for cleaning...”

Yurika casually made her way over to the warehouse. The trading firm wasn’t all that big, and their warehouse reflected that. She needed to get it organized quickly, or else there wouldn’t be anywhere to put the next load. Sometimes more than one shipment even came on the same day.

“This one rattles, so it goes in the back.”

Yurika loaded the cardboard boxes by the metallic shutter onto her hand truck and wheeled them to the back of the warehouse. All told, there were three kinds of boxes: boxes that sounded like they had hard things rubbing against each other inside of them, heavy boxes that felt like they were chock-full of powder, and boxes that gave off a metallic rattling, which were incidentally also heavy. With only those three clearly distinct types, not even Yurika could get them mixed up. She was even doing a good job, quite unlike the time she’d been tasked with loading goods onto Blue Knight. Overall, it seemed like she’d found the perfect job for her.

“This is great. Yeah, being able to do a hard day’s work and earn a boatload of cash for it is pretty great.”

Aside from some initial screw-ups on her first day, it had been smooth sailing. Yurika felt like she was making real progress, and she was quite satisfied with this arrangement. Particularly the pay. She’d be getting yet another envelope stuffed with 20,000 yen inside of it when she headed home tonight too. She was actually starting to wish it wasn’t just a short-term job.

The Sun Rangers noticed something was off early the next morning. An unidentified signal, clearly not from any of Nalfa’s belongings, was being broadcast from inside her room.

“We intercepted the signal,” explained Kenichi, “and it appears to be a bug.”

“And that’s why you called us, huh?” replied Koutarou.

The back of the dorm office was one of the Sun Ranger’s secret bases. They’d set up there so they could keep close tabs on the dorm where Nalfa would be staying. Right now, it was also where the Sun Rangers and Koutarou were meeting. He’d brought Kiriha, Ruth, Maki, and Clan with him—all the girls that specialized in information gathering and intelligence.

“Yes. Nalfa-san will be leaving for school soon. And when she does, we would like to investigate her room, but we figured that it would be safer to do so with your help.”

“A wise decision,” said Clan, nodding as she adjusted her glasses. “We don’t yet know which faction is responsible for the wiretap.”

Listening devices were problematic by nature. All removing them would do was prevent eavesdropping. It wouldn’t tell Koutarou and the others who had set them up or what they wanted, and that would make it impossible to prevent further incidents. They’d be in even more trouble if it wasn’t a standard wiretap, too. If it were magical, spiritual, or Forthorthian, that would mean the culprits were even more advanced than Koutarou and the others had thought, which would mean having to take additional precautions in the future. And that was why the Sun Rangers had wasted no time calling for backup.

“Kiriha-san, what do you think we should start by doing?” Koutarou asked.

“Let’s investigate Nalfa’s room like Kenichi-dono suggested. The top priority is ascertaining what level of technology we’re dealing with. We shouldn’t be trying to remove it just yet.”

The Sun Rangers had intercepted a signal, but that didn’t necessarily mean the device wasn’t magical, for example. The signal could be an auxiliary component, or even just a red herring. Kiriha thought they needed to stay on their toes and conduct a thorough investigation.

“Wait, you don’t think we should get rid of it if we find it?”

“Satomi-kun, if I might put my dark past to use here,” interjected Maki, “listening devices can be as useful as they are hurtful. If the wiretap stays in place, whoever installed it will believe it’s gone undiscovered, giving us an opportunity to use that to our advantage.”

“That’s right,” added Kiriha. “It would make it quite easy to pass along fake information, for example.”

“I see. So you’re planning on misleading the enemy down the line, Kiriha-sama?”

“That’s right. With Clan-dono’s help, it should be simple.”

“So you want me to cut into the signal?”

“If possible.”

Removing the wiretap alone wouldn’t fix the problem. Someone could simply try and spy on the room another way. So instead, some deception was in order. The ideal scenario would be to create an entirely fake audio to feed the device. That way, Nalfa’s privacy would be protected and the enemy would think everything was working as normal. But even if that was too much to ask for, they could use the wiretap to feed the enemy false intelligence and flush them out. They could always remove the wiretap later.

“So where do we start?” asked Koutarou.

“This is where we shine, ho! We’ll work together with Clan-chan, ho!”

“It’s finally time for the mana sensor that we developed with Maki-chan to see the light of day, ho!”

The haniwas on top of Koutarou’s head put on something reminisce of ski goggles. Inside of them were crystals that vibrated when they encountered mana, and by monitoring that vibration with precise lasers, it was possible to detect even miniscule amounts of mana. It wasn’t as accurate as Maki’s mana sense, but it was certainly good enough for a preliminary investigation. The haniwas could already detect electromagnetism and spiritual energy on their own. They had plenty of defensive capabilities, and Clan for backup, too. That’s why they were being sent in to clear the room first.

“That’s fine and all... but why have you two taken to using my head as a nest lately?”

“Just for a change of pace, ho! To get some new headspace, ho, ho!”

“We’re one with you, Big Brother! Ho!”

“I don’t get it at all, but we’re counting on you guys.”

“Leave it to us, ho!”

“We’re off, ho!”

The haniwas floated in front of Koutarou and proudly saluted. It was hard to get a read on their expressions, but Koutarou thought they seemed especially motivated. It wasn’t like anything had happened between them, but he decided not to complain about them riding on his head.

The haniwas had superior cloaking abilities in stealth mode, which had two classes. The first made them invisible and nullified the electromagnetic radiation and heat they emitted. The second concealed their spiritual energy on top of that.

“Class II Stealth Mode activated, ho!”

“All operations normal, ho! No interference to report with the mana sensor, ho!”

The two haniwas activated their higher-class stealth function and crept closer to Nalfa’s room. Flight pumped out a considerable amount of spiritual energy, so they couldn’t use it in Class II stealth and were currently earthbound. To make up for that, they bounced along as quietly as they could.

“We’ve made it to her door, ho!”

“We can’t sense anything like an active sensor yet, ho!”

The haniwas hadn’t detected any wiretaps or cameras on their way over from the stairwell. The brand new dormitory at Kisshouharukaze High School was built all according to the standard conventions of Earthling construction. It wasn’t particularly remarkable, and looked much like any other dorm building would. The hallways would be high-traffic areas once more students were living there, so anything like a bug or camera would likely be noticed. The culprits had probably bypassed such communal areas altogether, which was why the haniwas hadn’t found anything so far.

“That’s convenient. Pardomshiha, please move the unmanned fighters up to the front door.”

“As you wish.”

If the hallway was safe, the small unmanned fighters could be moved closer without risk, and Ruth swiftly repositioned them according to Clan’s instructions. Their goal, of course, was to gather additional data.

“We’ll be fine on our own, ho!”

“You can send those back, ho!”

“Heh, don’t be like that. We humans are cowardly creatures.”

“If Ane-san wants them here, then I do too, ho!”

“We’ll get along nice with the other robots, ho!”

When the unmanned fighters got close, their cameras spotted the haniwas. The haniwas were atop an empty cardboard box they’d brought with them. Korama was on Karama’s shoulders, slowly opening the door to the room with a spare key.

Ka-chak!

The haniwas were being careful to be quiet, but there was no helping the sound the lock made when it was undone. Both haniwas froze nervously in a cold sweat on the spot when they heard it. It would be a good half a minute or so before they finally dared to move again.

“We’re now infiltrating Nalfa-chan’s room, ho!”

“It feels like we’re the bad guys, ho!”

Korama carefully twisted the doorknob while Karama gently pushed on the door. They were working together to keep noise to a minimum, and made their way silently inside like experienced cat burglars. They propped the door open with a rubber stop, and slowly proceeded further in.

“As expected, it doesn’t look like there’s a device observing the door, ho!”

“It doesn’t look like there’s a point in going that far, ho!”

The haniwas kept a vigilant eye out as they climbed up the single step at the entrance and entered the dorm room proper. They scanned it with their sensors, looking for any signals other than what the Sun Rangers had detected, be it mana, spiritual energy, or gravitational waves. They were looking for anything that might be used for communication, so lasers and other methods were included in their search too.

“There are two hidden cameras and two wiretaps, all four of which seem to be transmitting via electromagnetic radiation, ho!”

“There are no signs of mana, spiritual energy, or gravitational waves, ho! The sound and laser sensors haven’t found anything either, ho!”

“Phew... It seems like it’s just your standard Earthling technology, then.”

Clan let out a small sigh of relief. Fortunately enough, nothing in the room was that remarkable. There was no sign that their enemies had any special technology at their disposal, which meant that Koutarou and the others had been overly cautious.

“That said, this is a problem in itself. I know it’s just four devices, but when did they manage to sneak even those in? It was only decided that Nalfa-san would be living here after the entrance ceremony...” remarked Kenichi with a deeply furrowed brow.

The dormitory’s security was top notch. They’d detected the wiretaps the moment they started transmitting, and they had their own cameras set up around the building. It was hard to believe that someone had gotten past all those and managed to sneak into Nalfa’s room.

“The difficulty of infiltrating the dorm and the level of technology used here don’t match up. That must mean these devices weren’t installed recently. They were probably put here during construction,” said Kiriha.

Her thought was simple. The listening devices and cameras in question were installed before security was put in place, and had only recently been activated. In other words, the culprit hadn’t managed to slip past the building’s security at all. They’d made their move before it was ever in place, which was why they hadn’t needed any special technology.

“Kenichi-dono, like you said it was only decided that Nalfa would live here after the entrance ceremony, so rather than waiting to come after one room specifically, it’s safe to assume they preemptively installed devices in every room.”

“Ah, so that must be why there’s only four devices here!”

“That’s right. Without knowing where they really needed to focus, they had to spread their resources thin.”

Nalfa had personally chosen her room after the entrance ceremony, so there was no conceivable way that anyone had predicted where she’d be staying. It was far more logical to assume that the culprits had simply cast a wide net to cover all their bases.

“Kenichi-dono, either someone from the construction company that built the dormitory is colluding with a spy, or we’re faced with the possibility that the construction company itself was responsible. I’d also like you to go through the surveillance cameras on campus. They might have caught whoever activated the devices in Nalfa’s room.”

“That’s Black Rose-san for you! I’ll get on it right away!”

Even if there were only four devices in each room, it would have taken a considerable amount of time to install them all in every room. The construction site for the dorm had been heavily restricted, so there was only a short list of people who’d had access to it. Moreover, the devices in Nalfa’s room had been activated sometime last night. Even if it was done wirelessly, whoever was responsible for doing it still would’ve had to confirm which room she was in. That meant chances were high someone was nearby when they did it, and might have been caught on camera. Between those two leads, Koutarou and the others would hopefully be able to narrow down their suspect pool.

“Too bad for our villains. Any naivety will leave them fully prey to Kii’s sharp mind,” smirked Clan.

“...”

“What’s with that face, Veltlion? I bet you’re thinking of teasing me and comparing me to some villain, aren’t you?!”

“Why, Your Highness simply looks lovely today. I, your humble subject, was merely admiring you.”

“I won’t fall for that kind of sweet talk! I know what you were really thinking!”

The Sun Rangers were able to identify the culprit a few hours after that using the methods Kiriha had suggested. The information they obtained would be delivered to Koutarou and the others shortly after school.