Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 4 - Chapter 3

The Silver Princess

Thursday, October 1st

“Damn it, you bastards!”

“Waaah! Bastards!”

Koutarou and Yurika were sulking after the results had been announced.

“As if your crappy drama club could understand my and Yurika’s masterpieces!”

“Satomi-san is right! As if you could understand!”

Their manuscripts had been eliminated during the first selection phase. Dissatisfied by that result, Koutarou and Yurika were in the middle of causing a stink.

“Eat up, Yurika! I’ll give you my treasured noodle cups!”

“Is that really okay?! These are the good kind that cost 300 yen each!”

“It’s fine! You’re the only one who could understand my masterpiece! Let’s comfort ourselves with food together!”

“Satomi-saaaaan!”

And so the two of them began slurping their cup noodles in the corner of the classroom. Only then did things finally quiet down.

“Both Kou and Nijino-san are being really irritating...”

Looking at the two of them, Kenji let out a heavy sigh. To him, it was obvious that Koutarou would fail.

“Don’t say that, Mackenzie-kun. The two of them really tried their best.”

Koutarou’s manuscript was about hot-blooded knitting battles. The very niche genre and overly unique setting made the judges give up on it after reaching just the second page. Yurika’s manuscript was about a magical girl that nobody understood and whose hard work went unnoticed. Although the parts about the main character’s growth were considered good, the unbelievable setup of a story about a magical girl ultimately backfired and the judges rejected the manuscript only a few pages in.

“Th-The salty flavor stings...”

“Don’t cry, Yurika! This loss will only make us stronger!”

“Yes! Satomi-saaan!”

“Yurikaaa!”

After spending several days writing together and then having their dreams crushed together, the two of them now shared a strong bond.

“It’s getting stuffy in here...”

“Ahahahaha!”

“You were close though, Kasagi-san. I heard you were almost chosen.”

“R-Really? Thank you, Mackenzie-kun.”

Shizuka had submitted Sanae’s manuscript in her name. Sanae was literally Shizuka’s ghostwriter. Sanae’s age was a perceived disadvantage, but surprisingly, her manuscript was well received and passed the first selection phase. Unfortunately, however, it didn’t pass the final selection, but the judges had hopes for it in the future.

“Good for you, Sanae-sama.”

“Heeheehee!”

Thanks to that, Sanae was in high spirits. Ruth whispering to her only brightened her expression even more.

“That said, both Kasagi-san and I lost. I’m quite mortified.”

Next to Shizuka was Kiriha, slumping her shoulders. At school she wore the mask of an honor student, and her gentle smile was as enchanting as always.

“Don’t worry, Kurano-san!”

“Yeah! I heard Harukaze University’s drama club picked up your manuscript!”

Kiriha’s nearby classmates tried to cheer her up. She was popular with her peers, both boys and girls alike.

“But a loss is a loss. Maybe I should join Satomi-san for some instant noodles. Heehee...”

Kiriha’s manuscript was remarkably well done. She had a written a comedy that satirized the inquisitorial system, and all of the drama club had praised it highly. However, when it came to using it for a cultural festival, its sophisticated perfection was actually a drawback. The caliber of production that her manuscript required was far higher than what the high school drama club had at their disposal.

Because of that, Kiriha’s manuscript didn’t make it past the final selection. However, the Kisshouharukaze University drama club caught wind of the manuscript and was planning to use it for their next performance. They were already even working on preparations for it.

“It’s because you all misjudged the market,” Theia boasted triumphantly. “A car doesn’t just need to be fast. You wouldn’t want a race car or a runaway car to go shopping.”

“Shut up, Tulip!”

Feeling ridiculed by Theia calling his work a runaway car, Koutarou lashed out at her while still holding his noodle cup.

“I don’t care, but I won’t let you insult Yurika like that!”

“Waaaaah! Thank you very much, Satomi-saaan! Your words are enough for me to stay strong!”

“What are you talking about, Yurika? You’re my only ally!”

“Ohohoho! You losers can you sit there and lick your wounds together!”

“Don’t get too full of yourself, you pathetic princess!”

“Hohohoho!”

Even though Koutarou yelled and called her pathetic, Theia showed no sign of caring. Normally she would yell back, but today her confident smile was impervious. That’s because she knew Koutarou was only railing at her out of humiliation. The chosen manuscript was a fantastic love story, penned by none other than Theia herself.

The title of her manuscript was “The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight.” It was set in the Middle Ages in Europe, but it was based on a conflict between the royal houses of Forthorthe. The heroine, the Silver Princess, was at the center of said conflict. And it was the hero, the Blue Knight, that came to her aid. It was an entertaining tale of romance and battles.

The story was a famous legend in the Forthorthian Empire, but Theia presented it with her own spin on it. Really, Theia’s admiration of the Blue Knight directly influenced her writing, but it was just the way the stage director liked it. The other club members were also impressed with it. And on top of that, the skills it would require to pull off were just at the level of the high school drama club. It was everything they were looking for, and so Theia’s play was chosen to be performed at the upcoming cultural festival.

Now that they’d secured a manuscript, the drama club started with their preparations for the production. The Kisshouharukaze cultural festival was always held for two days, concluding on the third of November, concurrent with Culture Day1. And since it was now the start of October, they only had roughly a month to prepare. With such a short deadline, the drama club was now running at full steam.

“Thanks for coming, Theiamillis-san. It’s a big help!”

“Don’t worry. I’m really invested in this story. I’ll help with whatever I can to make the play a success.”

“My, you’re already getting into your role. Wonderful! Let’s work together to do this, Theiamillis-san!”

“You can leave everything to me! Let’s make this the best play ever!”

The stage director and Theia were in perfect synch after working on preparations together since yesterday.

“Mackenzie, the stage prop guys don’t have enough materials. They want someone to go buy more.”

“Sure. What do they need?”

“This is the list.”

“Hmm, if this is all, the girls should be able to do it. Kasagi-san, do you have a moment?”

“What is it, Mackenzie-kun?”

“Could you and Ruth-san go buy the things on this list?”

“I don’t mind. Is it urgent?”

“Is it, Kou?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty urgent, Landlord-san.”

“Okay. Then we’ll go right away.”

Theia wasn’t the only one helping out. Koutarou, Shizuka, and the girls of room 106 were all lending a hand. They had decided to pitch in because the drama club was pressed for both time and manpower.

“Ruth-san! Could you help me shop?”

“Yes, of course! I’ll be right with you, Shizuka-sama! Can I leave this to you then, Kiriha-sama?”

“Not a problem. I’ll take care of it. I have the haniwas with me as well, so I’ll be fine here on my own.”

“Thank you. We’ll return as quickly as possible. Well then, I’ll be off.”

“See you later. Karama, Korama, you can stay in stealth, so give me a hand.”

“Ho! Got it, ho!”

“It’s our time to shine, ho!”

The drama club wasn’t very big to begin with. It was a modest club with only eight members. Because of that, more than just Koutarou and the others had volunteered. Several other smaller clubs like the broadcast club and wind instruments club had gathered to help. And thanks to that, the drama club’s club room was abuzz with energy. The casting had gone well so far, and part of the cast was already practicing their lines and picking out their costumes.

“Kurano-san!”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Could you help me convince this girl? Her role was decided a while ago, but she keeps complaining...”

“Yurika?”

“I don’t want to be a horse’s rear! At least give me a role where you can see my face! At least make me a tree, please!”

But despite everything going smoothly so far, the casting process had come to a grinding halt. They still couldn’t decide who should play the heroine, the Silver Princess. They had gone through several auditions, but hadn’t found anyone who fit the role.

“This is a problem, Theiamillis-san.”

“Yes. The Silver Princess is the star of the play after all.”

Watching the other preparations for the play progressing, the club president serving as stage director and Theia sighed at the same time. Their biggest problem right now was that they had no one to play the leading lady.

“It looks like we might have to go with Kurano-san.”

“Kiriha, huh? If we have to do that, we might as well go with Ruth. She’s much closer to what I had in mind.”

“Ruth-san is perfect for the accompanying female knight, so I don’t really want to change her role.”

“Hmm, I see. That is a problem.”

And as Theia and the club president were scratching their heads, Koutarou walked by carrying a piece of a stage prop.

“What’s up with that worried face, Tulip?”

“Ple— No, I mean Koutarou.”

Theia corrected herself. She couldn’t address Koutarou the way she normally did in front of the drama club members.

“I mentioned it before, right? The problem with the heroine.”

“Oh yeah, you said it still wasn’t decided... What’s wrong with the drama club girls? They’re pretty cute.”

Koutarou glanced around the club room. The girls he could see were all beautiful and looked like they would make good princesses. But Theia shook her head.

“It’s not that simple. There’s a specific image for the role.”

According to Theia’s manuscript, the Silver Princess had a delicate, ephemeral aura about her. She was squaring off against a villain who was planning on taking over the country, so that image was important. Unfortunately, no one from the drama club or from room 106 gave off that kind of impression. For better or worse, they were all energetic girls.

“Image, huh? Nobody really comes to mind.”

Koutarou couldn’t really understand subtleties like that. Being so focused on athletics, things of that nature were mostly lost on him.

“If you’re to be my vassal, I at least want you to understand such nuance...”

“I mean, even if you say that... Hey, wait, don’t just try and casually make me your vassal!”

As Koutarou raised his voice, Yurika, who was in the middle of having her outfit chosen, interrupted their discussion.

“Me, me, me! I’ll do it! I’ll play the Silver Princess!”

Yurika was wearing brown tights underneath her costume as the horse’s rear. But the outfit didn’t stop her. She raised her hands into the air, waving and calling to Koutarou and Theia.

“I definitely don’t want my only appearance to be as a horse’s rear!”

“...”

Koutarou stared at Yurika without saying a word.

“Wh-What?”

As Yurika flinched from his stare, Koutarou turned around.

“Tulip, I suddenly feel like I understand how important image is.”

“Right? It’s absolutely critical.”

A horse’s rear rather than the Silver Princess, oddly enough, Koutarou felt was a perfect fit for Yurika.

“What’s that supposed to meaaan?!”

However, there was no way Yurika could accept that. She approached the two of them to object.

“You’re being noisy...”

“Calm down, Yurika.”

“I won’t calm down!”

“The Silver Princess is out of your league, but I’ll talk to Tulip so you won’t have to be a horse’s rear.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. Believe in your comrade, Yurika.”

“I will, Satomi-san.”

At first Yurika looked at Koutarou skeptically, but her expression loosened up as he reassured her. After shedding bitter tears of defeat together, the two of them had gotten a little closer.

“That’s how it is. So please, Tulip, can’t you do something?”

“I guess I have no choice. I’ll find you a role where your face shows.”

“R-Really?!”

“Isn’t that great, Yurika?”

“Yes, I’ll do my best!”

Yurika cheerfully smiled. That said, it was quite comical in her current outfit.

“The role of the cruel and terrible Bandit A is open. But do you want a role like that, Yurika?”

“How is that any better as far as image is concerned?”

“That’s fine! I’ll take it! I’ll do my best to be evil so I won’t let you down!”

“Yurika, you should worry about your image too...”

Yurika seemed unusually motivated. And just like that, the self-proclaimed magical girl of love and courage took on the role of the cruel and terrible Bandit A.

“That solves Bandit A, but there’s still the Silver Princess...”

Observing this development, the stage director went into deep thought and crossed her arms. Theia followed suit.

“So, Tulip, what kind of role is the Silver Princess?”

“Although she has delicate, ephemeral appearance, she is a reliable person deep down. Despite her suffering, she makes a glorious return as empress.”

“A delicate but reliable girl...?”

Koutarou suddenly had an idea for someone who might fit the role.

“Maybe...”

“Satomi-kun, do you have someone in mind?!”

Sensing that Koutarou was onto something, the stage director’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, actually, my—”

As Koutarou was about to share who it was, the door to the club room opened and a girl peeked in.

“Excuse me... Ah, Satomi-kun! Thank goodness you’re here!”

The girl peeked in with a worried expression, but once she spotted Koutarou, she smiled and entered the club room.

“I had some free time so I was wondering if I could help— What’s wrong, Satomi-kun?”

Koutarou quietly staring at her with a surprised expression confused her a little.

“Is there something wrong with me?”

She embarrassedly looked down at herself. She checked the hem of her skirt and looked around to see if anything was strange with her outfit.

“President-san!”

Koutarou’s eyes lit up. He turned to the stage director, who then nodded back at him.

“This is the girl! This girl will be perfect! She fits the image perfectly!”

“H-Huh?! What do you mean by fitting the image?!”

The person who had entered the club room was exactly the person Koutarou was about to name.

“You there, would you like to become a princess?!”

“Huh?”

It was none other than Sakuraba Harumi, an ephemerally delicate, but reliable girl.

The legend of the Blue Knight was mainly split into two halves. The first was mostly about the Silver Princess losing her position in a coup d’état and fleeing to the territory of a famous family of knights, the Pardomshihas, all while the Blue Knight protects her. The second half was about the Silver Princess taking back her country afterward. She used the Blue Knight’s power to raise a new imperial army and rebel against the coup d’état forces in order to defeat the court magician and cardinal who were behind it all.

Because of the relationship that developed between the Silver Princess and the Blue Knight in their escape during the first half, the story had a lot of romantic appeal to the women of Forthorthe. And because of the large-scale war and the Blue Knight’s intense fight against a dragon, plenty of movies had been made covering the epic events of the second half.

Theia’s manuscript, “The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight,” was based on the first half. The story began with the Silver Princess and her little sister, the Golden Princess, meeting the Blue Knight. The play then concluded with the Pardomshiha territory in sight and the Blue Knight going off to battle on his own. Both were famous scenes popular with the women of Forthorthe.

“U-Um... ‘Layous-sama, going to battle on your own is unreasonable! You have fought enough! Please forget about us and retreat somewhere safe!’”

Harumi’s voice filled the empty courtyard illuminated by the evening sun. She was reciting the princess’ lines from “The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight” while there was no one else around.

On the day she had gone to the club room to help out Koutarou, she had been unable to decline the stage director’s request and ended up taking on the role of the Silver Princess. But this was the first time she had ever tried acting. Uneasy about this situation she’d found herself in, she had spent the last few days practicing on her own.

“Hmm... I can’t quite understand what Alaia, the Silver Princess, is going through...”

But no matter how much she practiced on her own, she didn’t feel like she was making any progress. Harumi thought that it was a wonderful manuscript, but she couldn’t relate to the Silver Princess’s feelings. She wasn’t a citizen of Forthorthe that had heard the story told countless times, nor did she have a strong attachment to the Blue Knight like Theia did. She’d never had her life threatened, nor had she ever seen someone off to battle. Harumi just didn’t understand the feelings the Silver Princess harbored for the Blue Knight. Although she could vaguely imagine them, it wasn’t enough to convincingly play the part of the princess.

“What should I do...?”

The Blue Knight, Layous Fatra Veltlion, and the Silver Princess, Alaia Kua Forthorthe. In the end, both of them were strangers to Harumi.

“Hmm...”

As Harumi closed her script and furrowed her brow, she heard someone’s voice echo through the courtyard.

“Senpai!”

It was a low and powerful voice, the complete opposite of Harumi’s. She knew who it belonged to right away.

“Satomi-kun?!”

It was Koutarou. As Harumi looked in the direction of the voice, she saw him jumping out from the fire exit. As they looked at each other, Koutarou smiled and ran straight for her.

“Hahh... Hahh... Hahh... H-How’s it going, Senpai? Hahh... Hahh...”

Running towards Harumi at full speed, Koutarou called out to her between heavy breaths. Seeing him like that, all the confusion pent up inside of Harumi seemed to vanish.

Satomi-kun is almost like a child...

Instead, her confusion was replaced with joy and her lips turned up into a bright smile as she answered him.

“Heehee. Actually, I’m a little troubled. I just can’t imagine how the Silver Princess must have felt...”

“I was worried about that.”

Having caught his breath, Koutarou nodded at Harumi’s words.

“You were? What do you mean?”

“Actually, the drama club president said that you were struggling with getting into your role, so I came to help,” Koutarou said, showing her the script in his hand.

“The president said that? I see...”

Because she was having trouble getting into character, Harumi had contacted the president several times. The president had then relayed that to Koutarou, which is why he came to see Harumi now.

Satomi-kun came to help me, knowing I was having trouble...

Realizing what had happened delighted Harumi. She was happy that Koutarou had come to save her in a pinch.

“Senpai, in the end it all comes down to practice! I used to have trouble finding a good batting form, so I just kept swinging the bat until I was satisfied. You’ll have to forgive the baseball comparison, but you just need to keep at it until it’s all muscle memory!”

“Satomi-kun...”

Looking into Koutarou’s eyes beaming with his willingness to help, Harumi felt like everything would work out. Her worries from just a moment ago had now completely vanished.

“Thank you, Satomi-kun. Then shall we practice together?”

“Yeah, you can count on me.”

How strange... Satomi-kun only came to help me, but...

Harumi found her change in feelings odd, yet she couldn’t help but smile.

“So what role did you end up getting, Satomi-kun?”

“I’m Soldier A. There is a scene where I talk to the Silver Princess, so let’s start from there.”

“Okay.”

Koutarou and Harumi stood face to face as they flipped through the pages of their scripts. The evening sun shone on them as it sunk low, casting long shadows on the floor.

Soldier A and the Silver Princess’s exchange was in the middle of the play, when a disguised Silver Princess and her party try to pass through a checkpoint. In reality, Soldier A was a popular character in Forthorthe. Although the name wouldn’t hint it, he was loved by the citizens of Forthorthe for his loyalty.

“Let’s see... Here it is. ‘Hey, you! That girl over there! Nobody may pass through here without permission!’”

Koutarou had practiced his lines before, but he faltered as he spoke them now. Although he had said he wanted to help Harumi with her practice, the truth was that he needed practice too.

“Let’s just run through the lines from here until the end of the scene. There’s no need to start acting right away.”

“All right.”

Koutarou and Harumi nodded at each other and began reading their scripts. Reciting their lines and reviewing the stage directions, they worked their way through the scene.

“Hey, you! That girl over there! Nobody may pass through here without permission!”

The scene began with a line from Koutarou’s Soldier A as the Silver Princess and her party are fleeing from the coup d’état forces. As the Silver Princess tries to pass through a checkpoint, she gets stopped by Soldier A who considers her suspicious.

“I have a sign of permission in this bag. Please take a look.”

However, having escaped with nothing but the clothes on her back, the Silver Princess didn’t have any kind of documentation. She had already prepared herself for what would come next.

“Show me. Hmm? Quit messing around! There’s nothing in this bag!”

“...Please, let me pass...”

“You’re not going anywhere! You’re under— No, wait, that crest is...!”

But finally, Soldier A recognizes the crest of her royal family on the Silver Princess’s bag.

“...”

“I see. So that’s how it is...”

Once he realizes what is going on, Soldier A decides to let the Silver Princess through, knowing what might happen to him.

“I’m sorry, young girl. It was my mistake. You most certainly have permission.”

“No, I’m the one who should be apologizing...”

“Now hurry and go. There are people waiting behind you.”

“Thank you... so very much...”

The scene ends with the Silver Princess and her party safely passing through the barrier. While there are many theories on what happened to Soldier A afterwards, the story of this brave, loyal soldier was still being told. As Koutarou and Harumi finish reading the scene, Koutarou began laughing.

“Ahahaha! I’m no good at all.”

Koutarou had stumbled over all of his lines.

“Heehee, it’s like that for everyone at the start.”

“Compared to me, you did great, Senpai.”

Harumi’s intonation made her lines easy on the ears and she put her heart into it. Koutarou didn’t feel like she was having problems getting into her role with that kind of performance.

“Now that you mention it... it did go rather smoothly.”

That’s strange. Just a minute ago, I couldn’t understand the Silver Princess’s feelings...

Harumi was perplexed. Once she started practicing again, the Silver Princess’s lines seemed to flow naturally. Even though nothing had changed, she had begun understanding the Silver Princess.

Now I might be able to do the scene with the Blue Knight better than before...

As expected, Harumi’s biggest problem was her conversations with the Blue Knight.

“Satomi-kun, can we do another scene while I’m still on a roll?”

“I don’t mind. Which one?”

“It’s at the end of the script... um, where the Blue Knight is going off to fight on his own...”

Harumi had the page marked and could find it right away, while Koutarou hurriedly began flipping through the pages to find the scene.

“Okay, found it.”

At the climax of the play when the party is about to reach Pardomshiha territory, the Silver Princess and the others get surrounded by the coup d’état forces. In the scene Harumi was talking about, the Blue Knight steels his resolve and decides to go into battle alone in order to protect the princesses.

“I’ve been practicing this scene for a while but it doesn’t feel right. I’d like to try it while you’re helping me, Satomi-kun.”

“Sure. I can do that.”

Although Koutarou remained ignorant when it came to romance, he still understood it was an important scene. If the Blue Knight was the star of the next scene, the Silver Princess was definitely the star of this one.

“Could you do the Blue Knight’s lines, Satomi-kun?”

“The Blue Knight’s?”

I should just do it the same way Mackenzie did during practice.

Koutarou recalled the figure of Kenji rehearsing. He had landed the part of the Blue Knight. After getting a grasp of the Blue Knight’s image, Koutarou nodded at Harumi.

“Got it. Let’s get started right away then. Practice is all about quantity.”

“Yes.”

The two nodded and faced each other, scripts in hand. The evening sun’s red light shone down on Koutarou, illuminating him like he was on fire.

Ah...

Harumi stared at Koutarou.

“...Princess Alaia, it seems this is as far as I can go with you.”

“Layous-sama!”

I’m sure it must have been like this...

The Blue Knight in the script addressed the Silver Princess in the evening sun as well. Koutarou was wearing his uniform rather than armor and he was wielding a script rather than a sword, but it felt quite different from when Harumi had practiced on her own. She finally felt like she might have a handle on what the Silver Princess was feeling in that moment.

And she was attracted to this person...

At this point in the story, the Silver Princess had already begun falling for the Blue Knight. And if it wasn’t for the coup d’état, the Silver Princess never would have met the local knight. It was a miraculous encounter only made possible by hardship.

“Your Highness, please run away with your little sister. I’ll take on as many enemies as I can. Please use that opportunity to get as far away as possible.”

“No, I can’t leave you behind, Layous-sama! You’re the only reason we were able to make it this far!”

Now that I think about it, I guess you could say I met Koutarou during hard times as well...

The knitting society was on the verge of collapsing. There were no new members to recruit to keep it alive, and the only person who was interested in joining was a boy who just wanted to go out with Harumi. Koutarou had come to Harumi’s rescue as that boy was harassing her. After that, he joined the knitting society and even took club activities seriously. To Harumi, her meeting Koutarou was also a miracle in a time of need.

The Silver Princess’s feelings might not be so different from my own...

As Harumi began thinking of it that way, her image of herself began overlapping with the Silver Princess, the same way Koutarou’s did with the Blue Knight.

“It was all thanks to the citizens of this country that you got this far. If it wasn’t for them, we never would have made it here.”

“That’s not true, Layous-sama!”

Even if she was a princess, she wouldn’t think that differently from normal people like us. She fell in love with someone and wanted that person to love her back. But she couldn’t say it out loud...

Harumi now started to see herself as the Silver Princess. Like Harumi, she loved somebody but couldn’t say it. She was a delicate and cowardly princess.

“And they all did it because of their love for you, Your Highness. So please, for the citizens and for yourself, please run away, Princess Alaia.”

“Please wait, Layous-sama!”

That’s not true, Layous-sama! You’re the one who’s sustained me! It’s because you were at my side!

Eventually Harumi’s feelings began melding with the Silver Princess’s. She wasn’t sure how she could have missed it before. Right now, she was painfully aware of how the Silver Princess in the script must have felt.

“Layous-sama, going to battle on your own is unreasonable! You have fought enough! Please forget about us and retreat somewhere safe!”

Satomi-kun is going away... He’s leaving me behind...!

Suddenly, tears began welling in Harumi’s eyes. With all the tears in her way, she couldn’t read the script in her hands. Yet she didn’t mess up her lines. Right now, she didn’t need a script.

Being as serious as she was, Harumi had already read through the play several times, repeating her lines over and over again. She had them all memorized now. The only thing she had been missing was the emotion behind the Silver Princess. And now that Harumi had that too, she spoke her lines as if they were her own words.

“I want you to live!”

Right now, Harumi couldn’t distinguish who was in front of her, nor who the feelings that were overflowing from her heart really belonged to. But nonetheless, she poured her heart out to Koutarou.

“That was amazing, Sakuraba-senpai...”

Even after they were finished practicing, Koutarou was still in awe. Harumi’s tone of voice, her desperate expressions, and her tears all overwhelmed him. It was enough to make him feel embarrassed for simply reading his lines from the script.

“Th-Thank you, Satomi-kun...”

Harumi was also surprised at herself. She was embarrassedly wiping her tears away, still confused by the change that had come over her.

“I’m a little surprised as well. I couldn’t even understand the Silver Princess’s feelings just a moment ago. I wonder why this happened all of a sudden...”

Harumi couldn’t tell Koutarou that it was because she felt her emotions overlapping with Alaia’s. That would be the same as confessing to him. All she could do was blush and give him a vague answer.

“Sakuraba-senpai, maybe you have a knack for this.”

“Th-That’s not true, Satomi-kun! E-Even now, I just want to run and hide!”

Harumi was shy and was uncomfortable with standing in front of a lot of people. Her timidity had just backfired when she was unable to refuse the club president insisting she take the role. Harumi never would have even dreamed about getting up on stage.

“There’s no need to be so modest, Sakuraba-san.”

That was when the drama club president suddenly appeared.

“You’re here, President-san?”

As Koutarou called out to her, she put on a satisfied smile and approached the two of them.

“Yes. Sakuraba-san said she was having trouble getting into her role, so I came to see how she was doing, but it seems like there was no reason to be worried. That was an incredible practice run. It didn’t even seem like acting at all.”

The drama club president was happy to have found an unpolished gem in Harumi. She excitedly grabbed both of her hands.

“Please keep it up, Sakuraba-san! If you can act like that in every scene, this play will be a huge hit!”

“Th-That’s not true. I still have a long way to go...”

Harumi blushed and looked down at receiving such unexpected praise.

“I told you, didn’t I? You really are amazing, Sakuraba-senpai. You’re a real rich lady after all!”

“S-Satomi-kun!”

Harumi wasn’t used to being complimented to her face, and getting praised for her acting just now felt like being praised for her feelings for Koutarou. To her, it was extraordinarily embarrassing. She couldn’t bring herself to look up.

“Satomi-kun, I’m counting on you to keep helping out Sakuraba-san like this.”

“Leave it to me! I, Satomi Koutarou, will turn her into a splendid princess.”

“S-Satomi-kun...”

So instead of Harumi, Koutarou was the one proudly boasting.

Stepping out from the kitchen, Kiriha was carrying a plate of cut up cucumbers. Entering the inner room, she looked around. After making sure that Ruth wasn’t there, she called out to Yurika.

“Yurika, I have some cucumber left over from breakfast. Do you need it?”

“Oh, yes! It’s Hercules-chan’s favorite!”

Before too long, everyone had begun using the nickname Yurika had given the Hercules beetle: Hercules-chan.

Yurika took the plate from Kiriha, approached the wardrobe, and slid open the door. Inside was Hercules in his plastic case. Since Ruth’s irrational hatred of beetles hadn’t improved any, they were still keeping him hidden.

“Here’s some food, Hercules-chan.”

As Yurika put the cucumber slices into the box, the Hercules beetle shook his large body and began moving. Understanding that food had been dropped into the case, he slowly but surely moved towards the cucumber.

“Now that I think about it, do you have enough food for Hercules-chan, Yurika?”

“It’s not a problem, Sanae-chan.”

“If you’re running low, I can buy some on my way home from my part-time job.”

“I bought some yesterday, so it’s fine.”

“Oh, well in that case...”

“Thank you, Satomi-san and Sanae-chan.”

Koutarou who loved beetles, and Sanae who loved all living creatures were both cooperative when it came to Hercules. Yurika was sleeping in the inner room after Hercules had taken the wardrobe from her. And now that the three of them were living together, they all started getting along a little better. Before she knew it, Yurika’s quality of life began improving.

“Your jacket, Koutarou.”

“Yeah, thanks, Kiriha-san.”

Kiriha helped Koutarou put on his jacket. With the change of the seasons, it started getting colder in the evenings when Koutarou was coming home from work.

“You look like a married couple like that...”

Yurika watched longingly as Kiriha helped Koutarou.

“His heart has been completely invaded. Koutarou really is an idiot! I’m the only one he should be trusting!”

Unlike Yurika, Sanae was irritated. She couldn’t stand Koutarou and Kiriha getting along, but she was more worried about him than she was jealous. And she was close enough with Koutarou now to be vocal about it.

“If I don’t do something, Koutarou will give in to Kiriha or Theia over something stupid!”

“Sanae-chan?”

Pumping herself up, Sanae left Yurika behind and headed for Koutarou’s cellphone charging at the outlet on the wall. Using her Poltergeist power, she floated it towards him.

“Koutarou! You’re forgetting your cellphone!”

Sanae then clung to Koutarou’s back in her usual fashion, and despite being unhappy just a few moments ago, she now gave him a big grin.

“Ah, thanks, Sanae.”

“Yeah!”

Koutarou took the phone floating in front of him, put it into his pocket, and thanked Sanae. That was when he spotted her cheerful smile.

Praise me even more, you jerk!

That was what her smile seemed to be saying to Koutarou. He reached his hand over towards her.

“Heehee...”

“Good girl, good girl.”

As Koutarou patted Sanae’s head, her smile grew bigger and she put more strength into her arms wrapped around his neck.

“Sanae-chan was talking about invasions and winning and losing... but in reality, she just wants Satomi-san to dote on her.”

At least, that’s what it looked like to Yurika.

Reaching the base of the hill where Kisshouharukaze High School stood, plenty of students in uniform could be seen despite it being Sunday. There were a good number of clubs that held activities even on the weekend.

“Good morning, Satomi-kun!”

“Hey, first-year brat, once you’re done with your job, you should come show your face!”

The gathering students included some members from the drama club. After greeting Koutarou, they hurried up the slope to the school.

“Good morning! I’ll stop by on my way home!”

But the club members didn’t turn around to listen to Koutarou’s reply. Instead, they just kept hurrying up the hill and vanished around a corner. Seeing them off, Koutarou and Sanae started laughing.

“It looks like they’re late to a meeting.”

“Looks like it. Tulip and Ruth-san did leave pretty early this morning.”

Theia and Ruth hadn’t been to room 106 much since they had made plans with the drama club. Mostly, Koutarou and the others would join up with them after each of them had taken care of business for the day. However, Theia who had written the play was enthusiastically participating with the drama club full-time. And of course, Ruth tagged along with her.

“They’ll probably get yelled at by Theia.”

“Probably.”

Koutarou slowly walked up the slope. He was on his way to his part-time job excavating the ruins, but unlike the drama club members, he was in no rush since he still had plenty of time to spare.

“It’s starting to get cold,” Sanae commented.

“The cultural festival getting closer means that November is too,” Koutarou replied.

The cultural festival was going to be held on November 2nd and 3rd, alongside Culture Day. Since they were now in the middle of October, the mornings were getting colder too.

“Hmm... Now that I think about it, Sanae, can you feel the cold?”

Sanae mentioning the temperature confused Koutarou.

“I can’t, but I can feel it through you.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

Similar to Sanae “eating,” she could feel heat and cold when she was holding on to Koutarou. And since she had been doing that for a while now, she could feel the change in seasons too.

“Besides, you’ve been nice lately, so I can tell what you feel.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Before, even if I was clinging on to you, I couldn’t smell the air. But lately, I can even do that. It must be because you’re opening up to me now.”

Koutarou thought that might be the case as well. Ever since that day on summer break, Koutarou had stopped thinking of Sanae as a nuisance. Right now, he thought of her as a friend or maybe even a little sister.

But...

“Isn’t it just because you’re possessing me more often?”

Koutarou wasn’t mature enough to simply admit his change in feelings. Mortified at Sanae seeing through him, Koutarou stubbornly tried to hide his feelings.

“Why can’t you just be honest and say ‘I love you, Sanae-chan’?!”

“Guah!”

Now angry, Sanae began choking Koutarou. Since she already had her arms around his neck, Koutarou had no way of preventing her attack.

“If you love me, just say so! Whisper ‘I love you’ in a sweet voice! Gently embrace me!”

“I-It hurts...”

Sanae practically had the chokehold of a professional wrestler, and Koutarou was about to lose consciousness.

“...Huh?”

However, just before Koutarou passed out, Sanae loosened her grip.

“Ugh! Ahh... Hahh...”

With the pressure suddenly released, Koutarou was finally able to breathe again. He gasped for air, but then Sanae whispered into his ear.

“Koutarou, they’re playing baseball up ahead.”

“Hmm?”

Having caught his breath, Koutarou looked up and heard something familiar. It was the distinct sound of a bat hitting a ball. On top of that, he could also hear the voices of cheering and people running around. It was just as Sanae had said—people playing baseball.

“The baseball club should be in the middle of a big tournament right now, so they’re getting practice in whenever they don’t have a match.”

“I see...”

Koutarou began climbing the hill again, still shouldering Sanae who had finally calmed down. It didn’t take long to reach the point where the line of trees was replaced by stone walls and fences. On the other side of them was Harukaze High school grounds where the students clad in baseball uniforms were busily running around.

“It really is the baseball club.”

“This is their time to shine...”

Koutarou watched on as he passed by. His pace slowed down some as he got lost in thought.

Baseball, huh?

Koutarou had no problems with the knitting society. The club activities were fun and he was getting along well with Harumi, but he still loved baseball. He’d played it all the way through middle school and he loved the exercise and physical activity. He missed it and still had some regrets over not joining the baseball club in high school.

“Hey, Koutarou.”

After passing by half of the school yard and losing sight of the baseball club, Sanae whispered to Koutarou.

“Hmm?”

Koutarou looked over at Sanae. He had no interest in the soccer club practicing.

“Let’s do it. Baseball, I mean. You might start out as an underling, but it’s best to do what you really want!”

“Sanae...”

Sanae’s words surprised Koutarou, but she kept pushing him.

“I’ll help out more with the housework and stuff! That way, I’m sure you can play baseball!”

“...Thank you, Sanae”

Sanae’s kind words warmed up Koutarou and he patted her on the head. What she said truly made him happy.

“But it’s fine. I’m not going to play baseball, so you don’t have to worry about it,” Koutarou declared as he shook his head and patted Sanae’s more.

“Why not?! You love baseball, don’t you?!”

“Yeah.”

“Then just play it!”

“Baseball takes money. It’s not that easy to work part-time and play baseball seriously at the same time. Since it’s a team sport, it’s not something you can do at your own pace like knitting.”

“Koutarou...”

“But thanks, Sanae. I’m happy you feel that way.”

Koutarou continued patting Sanae’s head as he smiled.

“But...”

Even though Koutarou was smiling, Sanae still looked gloomy. She frustratedly bit her lip.

If I wasn’t a ghost... I could work or do something... and then...

It was the first time Sanae had regretted that she was a ghost since she met Koutarou.

“Oh?” Koutarou abruptly stopped and pointed in front of him. “Isn’t that Tulip?”

“Huh?”

Sanae looked in the direction Koutarou indicated and could see a golden head of hair. It looked like she had fallen over by the school gate. But oddly enough, there was a large bag over where her body should have been. Because of that, the only thing visible was her head.

“What is she doing...?”

“Wh-Who knows?”

Spotting Theia in such a strange predicament made Sanae completely forget about her complicated emotions for the time being.

“Hey, Tulip, what are you doing down there?”

Koutarou called out to Theia as he rushed over to her. Sanae was still hanging on to him, so she was dragged along for the ride.

“...Hmm?”

Hearing Koutarou’s voice, Theia moved her head to look up at him.

“Is this some new kind of game?”

“O-Of course not! Hurry up and help me!”

Looks like she’s okay...

Based on Theia’s tone of voice, Koutarou determined that she was fine. The sight of her like this had worried him a little at first, so he took a moment to calm down.

“...A turtle?”

“Tulip, how in the world did you end up like this?”

Finally reaching Theia’s side, Koutarou and Sanae stared at her. She had fallen on her stomach with a large bag on top of her back. The bag alone was enough to cover up Theia’s small body. The only things sticking out from under the bag were her head and limbs. She really did look like some kind of turtle.

“That doesn’t matter! Just hurry up and help me!”

“No way. I’ll only help if you tell me how you got yourself into this hilarious position.”

Koutarou was fascinated and stared at Theia with an excited look.

“I refuse! As if a princess of Forthorthe would go out of her way to purposely shame herself!”

Of course, Theia didn’t give Koutarou the answer he wanted. Her face turned red and she looked away from him. Seeing that, Koutarou turned his back on Theia.

“Then wait for someone else to pass by, Tulip.”

“No, wait! I’d rather tell you the truth than let a civilian see me in such a disgraceful state!”

As Theia called out to Koutarou in a panic, he turned around with a smile and squatted down in front of her.

“Then you should have just done so in the first place.”

“You were going help her either way, so why not just help in the first place?”

“Don’t you want to know what happened to Tulip too?”

“Well, that’s true”

“So what happened, Tulip?” Koutarou asked with a grin.

Seeing that, she turned her face away again before replying,

“I was helping move materials for the play... Since there’s just cloth inside, I thought even I could carry it, but as you can see, I fell! That’s all!”

Theia began her explanation in a whisper but her voice gradually grew louder. By the end, she was yelling.

“Go ahead and laugh! I know you—”

However, before Theia could finish, she turned back towards Koutarou and realized he wasn’t there anymore.

“H-Huh? Pleb...?”

Surprised at Koutarou’s sudden disappearance, Theia looked around. She quickly saw that he had circled around to her side and was touching the large bag on top of her.

“Sanae, help me out.”

“Okay, should I just push here?”

“Please do.”

“Pleb...? Wh-What are you...?”

Theia couldn’t comprehend what Koutarou was doing. She just stared at him.

“What do you mean? I’m helping you. Obviously,” Koutarou responded with an astounded expression.

“N-No, I understand that, but weren’t you going to laugh at me?”

That was the real reason for Theia’s confusion. Based on their conversation, she was sure Koutarou was just chomping at the bit for a reason to laugh at her. But he hadn’t so much as cracked a smile. Instead, he was diligently trying to help her.

“That’s what I was planning on doing, but I changed my mind after hearing your story.”

Koutarou let out a sigh. He was feeling bad for teasing her.

“I figured you were trying to do something stupid again, but it turns out you were trying to help everyone out. There’s no reason to laugh, is there?”

Being forced to admit that much, Koutarou scratched his head and self-consciously turned away from Theia.

“Ah, uh... yeah...”

Theia didn’t mind that at all. Really, his words shocked her.

The pleb isn’t laughing at my failure...?

Theia was certain that Koutarou would laugh at her, so she was perplexed by this reaction.

“Sanae, let’s do this.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“Push!”

“Hyah!”

But in her puzzlement, Koutarou and Sanae worked together to get the bag off of her back. Finally free, Theia used her hands to push herself up. Rather than standing up, however, she just sat on the concrete with a blank expression on her face.

As she sat there in her stupor, a hand was held out to her. She followed the hand to its source and found herself staring at Koutarou’s face. While she was staring at him like a deer in headlights, he smiled.

“Are you hurt anywhere, Your Highness?”

It was one of the Blue Knight’s lines from Theia’s manuscript. After practicing with Harumi several times, Koutarou knew most of the Blue Knight’s lines.

“N-No... I’m fine...”

Hearing Koutarou recite the Blue Knight’s line, Theia was unable to look away from his face. Staring at him, she hesitatingly grabbed his hand. When she did, he firmly took her hand in return and pulled her up.

“Please forgive my rudeness, Princess Theiamillis.”

“You should just honestly apologize for teasing her...”

Sanae was stunned by Koutarou’s behavior and let out an exaggerated sigh as she lightly kicked him.

“You idiot! As if I could do something that embarrassing!”

“You really can’t be honest, can you? Jeez...”

Koutarou wanted to apologize to Theia, but he was too mortified to do it in his own words, so he’d borrowed the Blue Knight’s instead. That was his way of hiding his embarrassment. However, his cover-up had some unexpected results. The cheesy line had a great effect on Theia.

“B-Blue Knight-sama...”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Tulip? You’re making a weird face.”

Theia was still standing there, looking up at Koutarou. Confused, he looked down at her in return.

“A-Ah! I-I’m fine, Blue— I mean, I-I’m fine, p-pleb!”

“You’re acting strange. Did you hit your head?”

Suspecting that Theia might have been hurt, Koutarou stared her down.

“I-I’m fine, r-really!”

Theia then turned her back to Koutarou, her face now beet red.

“Are you sure? Don’t push yourself. You had something pretty heavy on top of you...”

“I keep telling you I’m fine!” Theia yelled back at Koutarou, still turned away from him.

C-Calm down, Theiamillis. That is not Blue Knight-sama. It’s Koutarou... I mean the pleb! What are you so shaken up for?! This is nothing! Nothing!

However, her shouting seemed to be directed at herself rather than Koutarou.