Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 4 - Chapter 5

At the Dance Party

Sunday, November 1st

“Hmm, it seems your injuries have completely healed.”

“That’s what I keep telling you.”

“I can’t trust you.”

A week had passed since Koutarou had cut his forehead saving Theia. By now, the wound had completely closed and it was hardly noticeable.

“Besides, your face is yours, but at the same time, it’s not. Tomorrow is the big day, so it’s only natural that I’m worried about your face.”

“...You’re just worried about the Blue Knight, not me, aren’t you?”

“Is that so wrong?”

“No, I think that’s just like you, Tulip.”

“Heh!”

Theia let out a satisfied laugh and began walking next to Koutarou with light steps.

So the pleb’s all healed up, I see...

But in reality, to Theia, the line had become blurry between the two. Not even she herself was sure if she was truly worried about Koutarou or the Blue Knight.

“Anyway, with this, the cultural festival tomorrow should go smoothly.”

“Hey, Tulip, you should worry about yourself instead of the cultural festival. That Clan girl is targeting you, right?”

In the week following the incident with the light fixture, Theia had been put in several dangerous situations. All of them had been attacks disguised as accidents. Even more alarming was the fact that there seemed to be no evidence of the culprit left behind. The only reason Theia hadn’t been hurt yet was thanks her athletic abilities and the fact that she had Koutarou and the others watching out for her.

“What? Are you worried about me?”

“A little, yes. Seeing you get hurt or die would leave a behind a bad taste in my mouth. Besides, Ruth would cry.”

“But I won’t run and hide. It’s not my style.”

Koutarou was worried about further attacks, but Theia just smiled fearlessly.

“If you keep saying things like that, a light falling on top of you will be the least of your problems.”

“It’s all right. It’s not just bravado. As long as I’m aware that I’m going up against Clan, it’ll be fine.”

“What do you mean?”

Koutarou figured that Theia was simply being stubborn, but her reply surprised him.

“Clan has clearly studied me and my routines, but she won’t attack in a way that would leave any evidence behind or reveal her identity as the culprit.”

If something were to happen to Theia, there would definitely be an investigation to see if Clan was involved. Theia was on Earth for her trial, but Clan who was here without a reason to be was quite suspicious. If any evidence of her interference was discovered, she would lose her right to the throne. Theia was certain Clan would take that into account even as she tried to get in the way of Theia’s trial.

“Which means that as long as I act in a way that Clan hasn’t seen before, I’ll be safe.”

“Is that really how it works...?”

“Yes, it is. The reason it took her so long to make a move is because of her preliminary investigation and deliberate preparations. Think about it. It’s already been two months since she came to Earth.”

“Now that you mention it...”

The light bulb finally came on for Koutarou. It had already been two months since the Blue Knight detected the unidentified spaceship, so what had that ship been doing all this time? Surely Clan and her crew must have been scouting in order to attack Theia. Once he thought about it, it started to make sense.

Clan’s lack of firepower, her personality, and the underhanded ways Theia had been attacked... Connecting the dots, Koutarou agreed that Theia was most likely right in her assumptions.

“That’s why if I go to school together with you, nothing will happen. Up until now, that’s something I’ve never done.”

“But still...”

Koutarou was still uneasy, largely because he didn’t really know what kind of person Clan was. He didn’t know her personally, so he had no idea how she would attack Theia next.

The pleb is worried about me...

Ever since they met, Koutarou had rejected the idea of becoming Theia’s vassal. But now that Theia was in danger, he couldn’t help worrying.

He’s not worried about Princess Theiamillis, but rather me personally. He’s worried about Tulip, so to say...

Despite his denial of any sort of master/servant relationship, he was still concerned for her well-being. That was a first for Theia who had been born into royalty, but she didn’t dislike it.

“If you’re so worried, then why don’t you protect me?” Theia flashed a strangely happily smile. “Isn’t that your duty as a knight, Blue Knight-sama?”

“Don’t just treat me like the Blue Knight whenever it’s convenient for you...”

Unlike Theia who looked quite pleased, Koutarou slumped his shoulders and sighed.

“Is that so wrong?” she asked, her lips curling into a mischievous grin.

“No, I think that’s just like you, Tulip.”

“Heh!”

But the mischievous look on her face lasted only for a moment, quickly fading back into her cheerful smile.

“Work as hard as you can. Guarding a princess is a knight’s highest honor.”

“...”

Tulip...?

In that moment, her smile was so beautiful that Koutarou did indeed feel a strong desire to protect her.

On the eve of the last day before the cultural festival, there was a party. In order to be done in time for it, the drama club finished their final rehearsal earlier in the evening.

“Good work, everyone. Tomorrow’s the big day, so don’t party too hard tonight.”

As the drama club president declared the official end of rehearsal, a second wind seemed to sweep through the gym.

“All right! The cultural festival is finally starting!”

“Cosplay cafe! Cosplay cafe!”

“Oh, that reminds me. Apparently the choral club is doing a butler cafe.”

“Seriously?! But now that you mention it, they could just use the suits they wear during concerts.”

“I wanna go see the science club’s annual haunted house.”

With their long, hard practice finally over, everyone was excited for the evening’s party and tomorrow’s cultural festival.

“Phew, it’s finally over...”

Koutarou, who had been scolded by Theia up until the very last rehearsal, stretched his body after the club president dismissed them all for the evening. As he did, his stiff joints cracked. Although the armor fit him, it was still tight.

“Koutarou, use this.”

Kiriha, wearing her priestess costume, presented Koutarou with a towel.

“Thanks, Kiriha-san.”

“Let me get that for you,” offered Sanae.

Dressed in her fairy outfit, she flew over to Kiriha and took the towel. To a bystander, it would have looked like a towel was floating on its own, but Sanae skillfully avoided being seen by anyone as she carried the towel to Koutarou.

“Here you go, Koutarou.”

“Thank you, Sanae.”

“Heehee!”

As Koutarou took the towel from Sanae, he patted her on the head. When he did, the charm around her neck began swaying. It didn’t exactly go with her fairy outfit, but Sanae didn’t seem to mind.

“I’m starting to feel alive again. I can finally take a load off.”

“You sound like an old man...”

As Koutarou wiped his face with the towel, Kenji happened to pass by. He had already taken off his soldier’s outfit and changed into his school uniform.

“Hey, Mackenzie.”

“Kou, you’re the Blue Knight now, so can’t you at least act like it while you’re in costume?”

“Shut up! The club president said rehearsal’s over, so it’s over!”

“Sure, sure.”

Kenji shrugged and smiled wryly as Koutarou shouted at him. While looking at Koutarou, Kenji began examining his armor.

“But the armor suits you. You’re really starting to look like the Blue Knight.”

“I better. If I didn’t, all that time Tulip spent coaching me would have been for nothing.”

“From what I hear, she gave you a pretty hard time.”

“You bet she did. If I told you about it, we’d both be in tears by the end. But I managed to suffer through it. I don’t think anything can hold me back now.”

Koutarou remembered every painful exercise he’d been through in the past two weeks. Correcting his posture. Fixing the way he walked. His way with words. His manners. Even sword fighting had all been part of Theia’s unbelievably broad education for knights. And every time he made a mistake, a bamboo sword would come flying at him. Other than the bathroom, nowhere was safe.

“I-I’m sorry, Satomi-kun. It’s all because I’m so unreliable...”

Before he knew it, Harumi was standing next to Koutarou. Hearing him complain, she shrunk back and looked apologetic. She felt like it was her fault Koutarou had to go through all of that.

“It’s not your fault, Senpai. Besides, I was the one who recommended you for the role of the Silver Princess.”

“That might be true... But if I had just been able to keep it together, Matsudaira-san could have stayed the Blue Knight...”

“If Kou’s complaining about the training, I certainly wouldn’t have enjoyed it, so I don’t mind at all.”

Although Kenji was disappointed that he had to give up the role of the Blue Knight, he didn’t regret a thing after seeing how Koutarou looked after his training. He had no way of knowing that Theia most likely wouldn’t have gone to such lengths if he had stayed on as the Blue Knight. She only went overboard because she was dealing with Koutarou, but the only one who knew that was Theia herself.

“Besides, if I had to play the Blue Knight on the same level as our Silver Princess here, I’d need more time to get into the role. With the short amount of time we had, it was probably best to force Kou to get on this level.”

“...I can’t tell if you’re praising me or making fun of me.”

“Idiot, I’m praising you for once.”

“Heehee...”

Harumi giggled a little at Koutarou and Kenji’s back and forth.

Thank god...

Koutarou let out a sigh of relief after Harumi finally started to smile.

“What are you doing over here, Satomi Koutarou?”

“What?”

However, Koutarou’s relief was short-lived. After finishing her meeting with the club president, Theia came running and grabbed his arm.

“What do you mean, ‘what’? You’re staying behind for some special training!”

“Whaaaaat?!”

Theia tried to drag him towards the stage, but Koutarou resisted. He wanted to go to the party.

“W-Wait, Tulip! I’m going to the party! I’m going to have fun with everyoneee!”

“Not happening! If you have enough spare time to party, you have time to practice the ways of knighthood! You still have a long way to go before your public debut!”

“Noooo! I don’t want a debut!”

But Theia ignored his pleading and headed for the stage, forcibly dragging Koutarou along with her.

“Satomi-kun...”

“My condolences.”

Harumi watched on anxiously while Kenji cheerfully saw them off.

“Man... Theia sure is selfish.”

“There’s no need to make that kind of face, Sanae.”

Sanae, who was all ready to go play with Koutarou, was pouting. Kiriha smiled at her calmly.

“Koutarou might be protesting, but the truth is that he wants to train.”

“What do you mean?”

“Considering the difference in strength between Theia and Koutarou, there’s no way he would let her drag him along if he didn’t really want to go. He’s even wearing that contraption of a suit of armor. There’s no doubt he could get away if he wanted to.”

“...Oh.”

Realizing what Kiriha said was true, Sanae found herself frustrated with Koutarou.

Koutarou is always so reckless, but he’s weirdly kind sometimes... But he only needs to be nice to me!

But it wasn’t just frustration. Her feelings were complex. She knew better than anyone that this was one of Koutarou’s good points.

After Harumi had finished changing and was preparing to go home, Koutarou and Theia were still practicing on the stage.

“Pleb, your posture is slouching! Don’t just focus on your sword!”

“It’s not that easy to pull out a sword and keep a straight posture!”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses! If you have time to complain, fix your grip on the sword!”

Their energetic voices reached Harumi as she passed by outside of the gym.

“Satomi-kun is still at it...”

The sun was already dipping on the horizon, cloaking the area in twilight. Since the entrance to the gym was secluded, it was especially dark. Harumi stood there all alone in that lonely place. She could hear the commotion from the party in the schoolyard. There was someone talking over the loudspeaker, music, and the cheerful shouts of her classmates. She could hear it all clearly even from the gym.

“You bastard! Don’t get so full of yourself!”

“Watch your tongue! Is that how you speak to a princess?!”

But all Harumi was listening to was Koutarou and Theia. Nothing else registered.

“Just remember you’re gonna regret this when it’s all over, Princess Theiamillis!”

“I already forgot!”

“Curse you! Let’s take this outside!”

Satomi-kun... Theiamillis-san...

Harumi had stopped by to help Koutarou with his practice, but when she put her hand on the gym door to enter, her determination faltered. She was discouraged by the sound of Koutarou and Theia arguing.

“Calm down, pleb. Once the play is over tomorrow, I’ll make it up to you.”

“Now you said that! You better be good for your word!”

“Of course! I’m not that twisted. I’ll give you a reward worthy of your actions. I swear on my name.”

“All right, fine... So where were we?”

Koutarou and Theia’s practice was completely different from Koutarou and Harumi’s. The Koutarou with Theia now was energetic and speaking his mind without holding back. Compared to that, he seemed to be restraining himself when he was with Harumi.

Satomi-kun is treating Theiamillis-san like a good friend, but I’m... literally getting treated like a princess...

Harumi understood that Koutarou cherished her in a particular way. But when she saw Koutarou and Theia together, she felt like she was one or two steps behind. Even though they were both supposed to be Koutarou’s friends, it almost felt like she was getting some kind of lip service instead.

When we ran into each other on the beach, maybe the girl he was fighting with was Theiamillis-san...?

As she recalled their encounter on the seashore, she began feeling very uneasy. At the time, Koutarou was worried about a change in his relationship with someone. Harumi was beginning to wonder if that someone was Theia.

If that really is the case, I have no way of winning... Satomi-kun would never treat me like that...

Those thoughts were what kept her from mustering the courage to open the door.

“Wahahaha! Stand up straight there, Tulip. Y-You’re far too short to play the Silver Princess! Gyahahaha!”

“Sh-Shut up, pleb! How could you say that to a lady?! Where are your manners?!”

“S-Sorry, heh heh... Why don’t you try standing on this cardboard box instead? Hahahaha!”

“Damn you! I treat you nicely and this is how you repay me?! It looks like you need another lesson in manners!”

In the end, Harumi couldn’t open the door. She turned her back on the gym and headed for the schoolyard.

What do I have to do to get along with Satomi-kun like that?

But even after joining the party, that was the only thing on Harumi’s mind.

While Koutarou and Theia were still arguing in the gym, Ruth and Yurika returned to room 106.

“I’m back.”

“I’m baaack!”

The school party was still going strong, but Ruth left early to prepare dinner and Yurika came home to feed Hercules.

“Welcome home, Yurika-sama,”

“Welcome home, Ruth-san.”

The two girls greeted each other as they entered the empty room together.

“Ruth, where do I put the key?”

“Over here. I’ll hold on to it.”

Yurika handed over the key to the apartment. Ruth was the most responsible resident of room 106, so Koutarou entrusted her with the apartment’s budget and key.

“TV time!”

Yurika crossed the poorly lit room and headed straight for the TV. Ruth turned on the light for her and returned to the kitchen. As Yurika turned on the old tube TV, it emitted a unique high-pitched sound. As the TV could only receive analog transmissions, the image was blurry.

“Thank god, I made it...”

But Yurika didn’t seem to mind. She was glued to the fuzzy screen as an anime called Magical Girl Love Love Heart came on. Although watching it every week lowered her own credibility as a magical girl, Yurika showed no signs of caring.

“Oh, right, I still need to feed Hercules-chan. That’s why I came back to begin with.”

On the first commercial break, Yurika remembered her original objective. She tore herself away from the TV and approached the wardrobe. Just as Yurika put her hand on the sliding door, Ruth entered the room.

“Yurika-sama, would you like a cup of tea with me?”

“Oh, that sounds great! I’ll get out some snacks!”

Yurika brought out Hercules’s case, its food, and a bag of rice crackers with a reduced price sticker stuck to it. She carried them all to the tea table as Ruth came back into the room holding a tray with two tea cups and a teapot.

“Here, Ruth-san. Please use this cushion.”

“Thank you, Yurika-sama.”

The two girls sat down next to each other in front of the TV and each began doing their own thing. Yurika fed Hercules as Ruth filled the tea cups.

“A new series!”

The words from the TV caught Yurika’s attention. She put the lid on the beetle food container and looked up to watch.

“Thanks to all of our viewers’ support, a special program will finally be making its return!”

“Huh—”

The next instant, a large beetle appeared on the screen. It had the trademark horns, as well as a yellow shell with black spots. Although it had been made cuter for the anime, it was without a doubt the imposing figure of a Hercules beetle.

“Kabutonga, the King of Beetles: Second Impact! The fierce fighting beetles are finally making their comeback! Hercules! Atlas! Caucasus! And Japan’s all-time favorite, the Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle!”

Yurika slowly turned to look at Ruth with a terrified expression.

“Will power come out on top? Will technique? Just who will win?! And don’t miss a special legendary beetle entering the battle!”

With a smile frozen on her face, Ruth kept pouring tea into the cup which was now full and overflowing onto the table.

“Eek!”

Yurika sensed danger from her smile and cowered in fear.

“Kabutonga, the King of Beetles: Second Impact will air on this channel starting November 11th at 6:30 PM!”

In contrast to Yurika’s mounting tension, the narrator’s voice was deep and reassuring. But alas, it did nothing to comfort Yurika as it boomed out of the TV speakers.

“Hmm, I see... So Hercules-chan... is a beetle...”

“Eeeeek!”

S-Satomi-san, help! Save me! Hurry back home. Come save me! I-I don’t want to face this all alone!

Yurika screamed internally, but she found herself unable to do so out loud.

“Beetle... Heh heh, I see. So that’s a beetle... Ahahaha...”

Ruth let go of the teapot, practically dropping it onto the table, yet it mysteriously landed perfectly.

“R-Ruth-san... L-Let’s take a second and calm down. Please?”

“I am calm... Oh, I am quite calm...”

Ruth spoke in a cold, quiet voice and extended her right hand in front of her. As she did, a blue light began to glow on her bracelet and a long rod of some kind appeared in her hand as it was beamed in from the Blue Knight. It was a big, green plastic fly swatter.

“It’s just...”

Ruth’s eyes lit up with rage.

“Eeeeek!”

“In the name of my proud family of knights, the Pardomshihas, I cannot allow the existence of beetles!”

Ruth had finally discovered that Hercules was a beetle. This was the moment Yurika had feared.

“You will rue the fate that allowed our paths to cross, Hercules-chan!”

Ruth swung the fly swatter down with all of her might.

“Suffer my wrath!”

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

It closed in on the plastic case at an alarming rate.

“Nooooo! Hercules-chaaaaan!”

But Ruth’s fly swatter cut through the air and smashed into the tea table. Yurika had managed to push the breeding case out of the way just in the nick of time. Thanks to her, Hercules-chan survived by the skin of his teeth.

“Haaahh... Ahh... Hahh... Th-That was close...”

“Yurika-sama, you shouldn’t have done that.”

“R-Ruth-san!”

“You cannot take pity on these foul creatures. I need to exterminate them all or I’ll go insane.”

“Y-You can’t!”

Yurika shook her head and stood up while defensively holding the case.

“If Hercules-chan dies, the vice president’s little brother will be sad.”

“But I will be sad as long as that beetle lives.”

Ruth took aim at the plastic case in Yurika’s arms.

“Ahahahaha! Satomi-sama desires me, not some beetle!”

The trauma Ruth suffered that night at the beach was deep-seated. As a woman, she simply couldn’t accept that Koutarou liked beetles more than her. It was enough to drive her to this madness. She had lost all self-control.

“Ruth-san, you’re scaring me.”

“Suffer my wrath!”

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

The fly swatter came crashing down once more, but Yurika quickly moved out of the way.

“We’re running away, Hercules-chan!”

Yurika dashed out of the inner room and headed for the front door. The vice president would take Hercules back after the cultural festival, so Yurika couldn’t let it get flattened just two days before.

“Please wait, Yurika-sama! I have no intention of fighting with you!”

“It’s not me I’m worried about! It’s Hercules-chan!”

“It’s okay! I’ll personally see to it that Hercules-chan has a proper burial!”

“That’s not okay!”

Yurika bolted out of room 106 without looking back. She had gotten attached to Hercules after taking care of him for two months, and she wasn’t going to let Ruth take him away from her at the very end.

Although Koutarou and Theia’s practice had started off with a ruckus, it turned serious as the evening went on. The party in the schoolyard was also dwindling and things were calming down, so the only voices that could be heard in the gym now belonged to Koutarou and Theia.

“You jest, Princess.”

“It is no jest. While it might just be a village harvest festival, a dance is a dance. As a girl of age, I too am interested.”

Koutarou was acting as the Blue Knight and Theia was acting as the Silver Princess. Having spent two weeks practicing together, Koutarou and Theia had a good rapport. Thanks to all of his training, Koutarou was acting like a proper knight. And because of Theia’s deep emotional connection to the Silver Princess, her acting was comparable to Harumi’s.

“But it is too dangerous for you to go alone.”

“That’s why I am asking a knight such as yourself to be my escort, Lord Veltlion.”

As expected from a princess, I guess...

Koutarou thought highly of Theia’s acting after practicing with her. Unlike Harumi, Theia wasn’t able to portray the fragile Silver Princess as well since her energetic, dominating personality got in the way. But when it came to acting like a princess, Theia’s mannerisms were far superior. The lines sounded natural coming from her lips.

Really, Theia was better when it came to playing the Silver Princess, while Harumi was better when it came to playing Alaia as a person. That was how Koutarou felt.

“I am but a mere local knight. I am hardly worthy of the honor.”

“Even though I may look like this, I grew up roaming the fields and mountains of northern Mastir. I am quite qualified to be called a peasant girl.”

Well done on working this hard. You’ve become quite like the Blue Knight...

Theia also thought highly of Koutarou’s acting. He still had a long way to go as a knight and an actor, but considering what he’d accomplished in two weeks, his progress was worthy of praise.

Besides...

Theia recalled the day the light came crashing down on her, the way Koutarou looked as he protected her, his figure clad in blue armor, and his voice when he called her princess. Thinking about it all, something deep inside her screamed out again that the person before her really was the Blue Knight. It was enough to alleviate any frustration at Koutarou’s acting ability. She wasn’t really as bothered as she made it seem like.

After finishing their practice, there was a pregnant pause. Koutarou’s expression turned serious. Whenever they had finished their training sessions these past two weeks, Theia would always take the time to point out minor flaws.

“Hmm, well, this is good enough.”

“Huh?”

But contrary to Koutarou’s expectations, Theia didn’t say anything else. She simply smiled and stayed quiet.

“A-Are you sure?”

“I have a few complaints, but nothing that could be fixed before the play tomorrow. I’ll let you off the hook this time.”

“Yahooo! I-It’s finally over!” Koutarou raised his voice and cheered.

He had finally completed his two week long private lesson. It had been a long, painful journey, but it was finally over.

“Calm down, will you? How many times have I told you to mind your manners in that outfit?”

“S-Sorry.”

“...Well, it’s all right. I understand how you feel.”

Theia furrowed her brow and was about to start complaining, but a smile crept across her lips instead. She was also satisfied she had finished her job.

“Now all that’s left is to wait for tomorrow’s play. It went by so quickly...”

“It felt like an eternity to me.”

Koutarou smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

“Heh, you weakling.”

“Shut up.”

Both Koutarou and Theia dialed down their usual antics. They each looked quite satisfied with what they had accomplished. Really, it was thanks to the partnership they had forged over the past two weeks.

“Hmm? This is...”

But once their practice was over, silence returned to the gym. Theia was then able to hear what was going on outside.

“What?”

“The music...”

It was a slow ballad. Koutarou noticed it too and nodded.

“Yeah, they must have started dancing at the party.”

“Dancing?”

“Yeah. It’s an annual tradition for the ballroom dance club. Of course, nobody really knows how to dance, so they just sort of wing it.”

If it wasn’t for his extra practice with Theia, Koutarou would be out there dancing too.

“Dancing, huh? Now that I think about it, I haven’t danced in a while...”

Theia lightly held the hems of her skirt and began tapping her toes along with the music. When Theia was living on Forthorthe, she would regularly go to balls. Although she was unable to let her guard down even there, balls were one of the few things she didn’t hate.

Tulip?

Seeing Theia look so nostalgic, both happy and sad, Koutarou heard a little voice calling to him from within. It was telling him not to walk away from her.

Man... I thought I was finally through with this painful practice...

But he couldn’t keep himself from saying...

“Teach me, Tulip.”

...Despite knowing that it would lead to his practice being extended.

“What?”

Theia stopped tapping her foot and looked up. She hadn’t expected Koutarou to say such a thing, so she didn’t know how to respond.

“Dancing. You taught me manners, but you didn’t teach me dancing. Knowing how to do that is important for a noble, right?”

“Ah...”

Theia’s eyes opened wide and she soon began blushing. She had realized why Koutarou said that.

“N-Now that you mention it, it’s true I haven’t taught you dancing yet...”

Is this for my sake...? Really...?

Theia calmed her shaken heart and looked up at Koutarou. As she did, she saw the exact expression she was hoping for. He was gently smiling back at her, and it was that smile that turned Theia’s doubts into convictions.

Fool... Learn your place. You’re being too ambitious...

Despite Theia’s internal thoughts, her blushing wasn’t stopping. Her right hand that had begun moving on its own wasn’t stopping either.

“I am but a mere local knight. I am hardly worthy of the honor.”

Koutarou recited one of his lines from the script and reached his hand out to Theia. She smiled and replied with a line of her own.

“Even though I may look like this, I grew up roaming the fields and mountains of northern Mastir. I am quite qualified to be called a peasant girl.”

They held hands and began moving in time with the music.

When Sanae, Kiriha, and Shizuka arrived at the gym, Koutarou and Theia were in the middle of their dance lesson. The girls didn’t want to interrupt, so they watched on from a corner near the entrance.

“Don’t step on my feet! If you keep stepping on them in that armor, they’ll be crushed!”

“S-Sorry, it’s more complicated to move my legs than I thought.”

“At this rate, you’re going to give me complicated fractures in my legs!”

“Oh, that’s a good one...”

“Stop saying stupid things and learn the steps already!”

Despite Koutarou and Theia being on the other side of the gym, their energetic voices reached all the way to the corner where the three girls were watching.

“Really?” Looking at the two, Sanae let out a heavy sigh. “I figured they must be getting bored with all this practice, but it looks like they’re having fun. It seems like I was worried over nothing.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting them to be dancing though.”

Shizuka agreed with Sanae. To her, it looked like they were having fun despite their arguing.

“Karama, Korama.”

But Kiriha wasn’t sharing in the fun. She hadn’t enjoyed the party and she wasn’t worried about Koutarou and Theia’s training. She had a serious look on her face like something was very, very wrong.

“Yes! Ho!”

“We’re here! Ho!”

The two haniwas appeared at Kiriha’s call.

“Did someone enter or leave the gym while I was gone?”

“No! Ho!”

“Harumi-chan stopped by, but she left without entering! Ho!”

“I see. Good. Continue keeping guard.”

“Roger that! Ho!”

“Let’s go, Karama! Ho!”

Kiriha had ordered her haniwas to watch over the gym. She was still troubled by someone targeting Theia.

“Kiriha, aren’t you worrying too much? She wouldn’t attack during a silly event like the cultural festival.”

“I hope not...”

“Are you talking about Theia-san’s rival?”

“That’s right. Theia-dono has already been attacked several times, so I’m a bit anxious.”

Kiriha had been staying vigilant, but she couldn’t seem to catch the trail of Theia’s enemy or find any evidence that might be useful.

“Fighting between families, huh? To think that would really happen so close to me...”

“It still doesn’t feel like it, but Theia really is an important princess, huh?”

The three girls looked back at the stage. Koutarou and Theia’s dance lesson was still going, the two of them bickering as they danced. Considering the circumstances, they certainly weren’t acting like they felt like they were in any danger.

Is she confident because she knows her opponent, or is she acting that way because of Koutarou?

“Hhnngh! Everyone, p-please save meeee!” Yurika cried out, making a grand entrance to the gym.

She was tightly holding the beetle case as she approached Kiriha and the others.

“Hercules-chan! Hercules-chan will...!”

“Yurika?! What happened?!”

All three girls were surprised by her appearance, so she did the best she could to explain through her tears.

“A-Actually, Ruth-san found out that Hercules-chan is a beetle!”

They all knew about the Hercules situation, not to mention how much Ruth hated beetles. That was enough to get a rough idea of what had happened, but they each had a different reaction.

“Y-You idiot! What were you thinking?!” Sanae scolded Yurika.

Sanae had tears in her eyes as well. Since she loved animals, she was worried for Hercules.

“Oh my. You were so close, too...”

Shizuka was worried about both Yurika and Hercules as well, but nowhere near as much as Sanae. Shizuka was more concerned for Hercules’s original owner, the cosclub vice president’s little brother.

“I see...”

But Kiriha smiled happily. She had been so worried about Theia being attacked that this minor problem put her mind at ease.

“I couldn’t help it! It was unavoidable! We were watching TV and a commercial for a new beetle show came on! If you have any complaints, call up whoever decided to make an anime about beetles!”

“Idiot! This is all because you were watching anime!”

The anime promo commercial only came on because Yurika was watching anime. If she hadn’t been watching her magical girl show in the first place, this tragedy could have been avoided.

“Eeek! I-I’m sorry!”

“M-More importantly, what’s going on?! Where’s Ruth?!”

“W-Well, Ruth-san lost it. She said she was going to make Hercules suffer her wrath, and then she came chasing after me!”

Ever since she dashed out of room 106, Yurika hadn’t stopped running. Although she wasn’t in very good shape, Hercules’s life was at stake. She had run all the way to school without stopping once. And her hard work had paid off. She was able to lose Ruth along the way.

“Please hide me! Pleaaase!”

“Okay. If Ruth-san shows up, I’ll send her elsewhere.”

“Th-Thank youuu!”

Hercules would be going home in two days. Counting the party tonight, Kisshouharukaze High School’s cultural festival ran for three days. Yurika was planning on protecting Hercules by hiding out here at school until it was all over.

Suddenly, a haniwa appeared at the entrance of the gym.

“Nee-san, Ruth-chan is closing in! Ho!”

“O-Oh, I see...”

“Yurika, don’t space out! Go hide somewhere!”

“O-Okaaay!”

Yurika forced her exhausted body to run into the gym’s equipment room on the left side of the stage. Since the equipment room had another door that led to the stage, it was where most of the set pieces for tomorrow’s play were being stored. It was the perfect place to hide. And not a moment too soon. Just as Yurika shut the door, Ruth appeared in the gym.

“Hahh... Aah... Hahh...”

Like Yurika, Ruth was exhausted. Even though they were a good distance away, Sanae and the others could hear her panting. But she didn’t even take the time to catch her breath. She stomped into the gym and looked around, holding a large fly swatter.

“R-Ruth-san, you’re here too?”

“Hey, Ruth, what’s with that outfit?”

Shizuka and Sanae called out to her.

“Hngh... Hahh... Hngh...”

But Ruth didn’t even react to their voices. She just kept moving, still breathing roughly.

“Eek!”

“S-Scary!”

The surreal sight of a teenager wearing an apron and stomping around with an oversized fly swatter in her hand and a crazed look in her eye was enough to make Sanae and Shizuka recoil.

“She’s completely lost it. She’s not herself at all. It’s like she doesn’t even hear us.”

“What are we even supposed to do with her like this?!”

“I-It’s over... I’m sorry, Yurika-san and Hercules-chan...”

Sanae and Shizuka had already abandoned the idea of reasoning with Ruth. Seeing the way she was acting at the moment, neither of them had any confidence that they would be able to talk her down. It was only a matter of time before Yurika and Hercules fell prey to Ruth. However, that was when something unexpected happened.

“...?!”

For some reason, Ruth stopped moving. It happened just as she looked up at the stage in her search for Yurika and Hercules.

“Y-Your... Highness...? Satomi... sama...?”

On top of the stage were Theia and Koutarou, holding hands and happily dancing. Theia was a good dancer, but with an amateur partner like Koutarou, their dancing looked awkward. And whenever Koutarou made a mistake, Theia would scold him. It was a childish comedy of errors, hardly worthy of praise.

“Her Highness is... dancing so happily...”

But that didn’t matter to Ruth. She knew that Theia was enjoying this awkward dance from the bottom of her heart. Having grown up together, the two of them were like sisters and Ruth understood Theia better than anyone else. Theia might have liked attending balls, but Ruth had never seen her enjoy herself this much at one. Even though the dance hall was shabby, the band wasn’t playing in sync, and her partner had two left feet, Theia’s smile was dazzling. To Ruth, that was an amazing spectacle.

“...H-Huh? Why am I here? What?!”

It was that spectacle that brought Ruth back to her senses.

“And why am I holding a fly swatter?”

Having regained her sanity, Ruth had no memory of anything that happened after she went berserk. It was her subconscious’ way of protecting her from those painful memories.

“I was pouring some tea for Yurika-sama and then... Huh?”

“She’s back to normal?! All right!”

“Thank god! Are you okay, Ruth-san?”

“H-Huh...? Shizuka-sama, what are you talking about? Did something happen?”

Without any idea what was going on, Ruth looked around in confusion.

“Oh, um, well, Ruth-san...”

“Hmm...”

Since Shizuka was unable to finish her sentence, Ruth tried to remember what had happened on her own. She went through the events in her head.

U-Um... I was pouring tea for Yurika-sama, and then I have this feeling that something big happened...

“Nothing happened, Ruth. Don’t think too much about it. We just stopped by to see how Koutarou and Theia’s practice was going,” said Kiriha as if nothing was wrong. She didn’t want her to remember anything.

“Satomi-sama and Her Highness’s practice...?”

Because of Kiriha’s words, Ruth’s eyes were drawn back up to the two of them on top of the stage.

“W-Watch it! You’re being too forceful.”

“Easier said than done. It’s hard to adjust my strength.”

“Ugh, just take it off!”

“Waah, stop! Don’t take it off!”

And before she knew it, all Ruth could think of was how much fun Koutarou and Theia seemed to be having on the stage.

“Your Highness... Satomi-sama...”

I’m so spellbound watching them like this, of course I would forget about everything else...

Ruth gave up on trying to remember and just contentedly watched the stage. She no longer cared about why she was holding a fly swatter.

“Heehee... Your Highness, Satomi-sama, your dance is quite wonderful.”

Right now, the only things on her mind were her beloved princess and the Blue Knight that was making her beloved princess smile. Seeing that, Sanae, Shizuka, and Kiriha all let out a sigh of relief.

“Pheeew! I was a little worried for a minute there...”

“Yurika made the right choice coming here.”

“She probably came for Satomi Koutarou since she had no one else to go to, but it seems to have worked for the best.”

The girls sighed again as they looked towards the equipment room where Yurika was hiding. After seeing the normally calm Ruth in such a rampage, the three of them were a bit shaken up.

“Sanae-chan, when you get the chance, could you go tell Nijino-san that everything turned out okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll sneak away when Ruth isn’t looking and let her know.”

Everything seemed to be okay now. Ruth was herself again and she hadn’t noticed the three of them whispering. Yurika and Hercules would live to see another day.

But they were only able to relax for a moment. The haniwas who were keeping watch outside suddenly flew into the gym.

“Ane-go! Emergency alert, ho!”

“A space distortion has been detected inside the gym, ho!”

“Based on the size, it seems like somebody has infiltrated the gym, ho!”

“Karama-chan, Korama-chan! What do you mean by infiltrate?!”

“Sorry, ho! That is all we can tell with our sensors, ho!”

Kiriha left the haniwas to Sanae and spun around towards the stage. Koutarou and Theia were still dancing, and Ruth was standing next to Kiriha, still watching the stage.

That means...!

The only ones with the ability to distort space were Theia and Ruth. And if neither of them had done anything, there was only one other possibility.

“Theia-dono! Koutarou! The enemy is attacking!”

All signs pointed to the unidentified spaceship that was detected two months ago. This must be the work of its crew, declared enemies of Theia.

“Kiriha-san?! You’re all here?!”

Koutarou was more surprised by the presence of Kiriha and the others than the enemy. He’d been so focused on dancing that he hadn’t noticed them enter. He was so taken aback that he blanked out instead of taking action.

“The enemy?! I see! So Clan is here!”

In contrast, Theia’s reaction was quick. She was a talented dancer and didn’t have to concentrate on it like Koutarou did, so she had noticed Kiriha and the others a while ago. Because of that, she was able to swiftly react to Kiriha’s warning.

“To think she’s attacking now! Did I misjudge her?!”

When Theia looked around, she saw a figure standing to the right of the stage.

“Yes, that’s correct, Theiamillis-san!” said a sneering, shrill voice.

And when Koutarou looked in the direction the jarring voice came from, he saw a lone girl. She had light blue hair and was wearing a black and white dress. On her face were antique-style glasses. It was the girl Koutarou had seen during rehearsal once.

“Clan, I never expected you to come at me with a head-on attack!”

This girl is Clan?!

Koutarou was stunned by Theia’s words partly because this was his first time encountering royalty other than Theia, but more importantly, because he had seen her before.

“That’s why I keep telling you that you’re simple-minded, Theiamillis-san!”

Clan pointed the weapon in her hands towards Theia.

That’s...!

The moment she saw Clan’s weapon, Theia had a moment of revelation.

“I see! So that’s how it is!”

Clan was wielding a handheld beam weapon of her own design. Since Clan was a renowned scientist, that wasn’t the part that surprised Theia. The part that baffled her was that Clan’s weapon appeared to be made of parts and materials from Earth. Its shape was bulky and angular in stark contrast to the sleek, curvy designs of Forthorthe.

I’ve been had! She didn’t attack for two months because she was making this weapon! Her sabotage was just a front to throw me off her trail!

Theia had previously been convinced that Clan would avoid a direct attack because it would leave behind incriminating evidence. If she used the Hazy Moon’s artillery, there were be a record of it in the ship’s logs. And even if she made her own weapon to attack, the parts could still be traced back to Forthorthe.

But what would happen if she used parts found on Earth to make a weapon? Would Forthorthe be able to gather enough evidence to indict Clan on this small planet on the outskirts of known space that they had no diplomatic relationships with?

The answer was no. It would be next to impossible. And if Clan disposed of her weapon, the evidence would disappear along with it. A weapon to attack Theia that could vanish without a trace... That was Clan’s plan.

“Heh heh, it’s too late to do anything about it now!”

The beam weapon in Clan’s hands started to emit an ominous sound.

“But this wasn’t easy. The technology on this planet is so backwards that it took me two months to build this. And to think it will all be over in a single shot... What a waste.”

Clan aimed the muzzle at Theia and flashed a cold smile. It radiated the confidence of someone who was certain they had won.

Something’s wrong... Why is this Clan girl so confident?

Listening to Theia and Clan, Koutarou felt something was off. There was a slight incongruity between what Clan was saying and how she was acting.

If what Clan is saying is true, why was she here that day? What was she doing?

While Clan was claiming she was going to kill Theia with the weapon she’d made on Earth, Koutarou had seen her in the gym just a few days ago. Her story seemed to check out since she came to sabotage the light, but if that was the case, why would she return to the scene of the crime like this? Moreover, why do it while Koutarou, Kiriha, and the others were all right here?

“How clever of you! In that case, I’ll just have to shoot you down!”

Before Koutarou could reach a conclusion, Theia held her bracelet up to her mouth. The bracelet decorated with a blue jewel was a voice-activated remote control for the Blue Knight.

“Heh heh heh...”

As Theia prepared to issue her command, the corners of Clan’s mouth curled up ever so slightly.

She’s laughing?! That must mean—

When he saw that unnerving smile, Koutarou made up his mind. Not a moment later, Theia’s voice rang out from the top of the stage.

“Blue Knight! Prepare the Anti-Personnel Pulse Laser and—”

The way Koutarou figured it, Clan had come to the school that day to set a trap. That was when he saw her for the first time. She must have deliberately damaged the light to make it fall over. It was her insurance in case she was spotted.

And with Clan laughing now, that could only mean—

“Stop it, Tulip!”

Koutarou trusted his instincts and grabbed Theia’s hand before pulling as hard as he could.

“P-Pleb?! Don’t get in my way!”

Theia tried to shake him off. She was completely focused on Clan. The black holes were already appearing, meaning there wasn’t much time before the weapons would be ready to fire. Seeing that, Koutarou panicked and shouted.

“Theia!”

He had only called out her name.

“K-Koutarou...”

But that was enough to shift Theia’s attention away from Clan.

“She wants you to use your weapons!”

“But Clan is...!”

However, Theia still fully intended to attack Clan. It was partly because of her personality, but it was also because she wanted to protect Koutarou. If Clan fired her beam weapon, Koutarou standing right next to Theia would also be in the crosshairs.

“Theia! I need you to trust me now! I’m your knight, aren’t I?!”

Koutarou?!

The instant she heard Koutarou’s voice, Theia relaxed the tension in her body. As she did, she was pulled aside and embraced by Koutarou. He leaned over her to protect her.

The next moment, there was an explosion. Specifically, the space-time holes above her shoulders had blown up. The black disks that usually summoned weapons issued forth small explosions. While the bursts weren’t that large, if Theia had been right underneath them, she would have been seriously hurt. But because Koutarou shielded her, the explosion was blocked by his armor.

“Tch, damn fake Blue Knight! You’re getting in the way!”

Seeing that the explosion had been mitigated, Clan clicked her tongue. She was getting angry that Koutarou had ruined her plan.

The explosion had been caused by one of Clan’s inventions: an interference device designed to cause an explosion whenever Theia or Ruth tried to summon a weapon through their space-time holes. Just as Koutarou suspected, she had come here to set it up when he spotted her the first time during rehearsal.

Clan was counting on using her device to make Theia blow herself up. Knowing Theia’s personality, Clan knew that the moment she showed off her weapon, Theia would fall for the trap on her own. That way Clan wouldn’t personally have to dirty her own hands and there was a high chance the incident be classified as an accident. That was why Clan had to make her move here, in the gym, even after potentially being seen.

“There is no way I’ll forgive some barbarian from a backwater planet for interfering with my plans!”

But her supposedly perfect plan had been thwarted by some random Earthling. It was enough to make Clan lose her cool.

“A-Are you okay, Theia...?”

After getting the wind knocked out of him by the explosion, Koutarou loosened his grip on Theia. As he did, she turned to look at him.

“I’m okay! You protected me! There’s no need to worry. Only my hair is a little scorched.”

Theia touched her beautiful blonde hair, the ends of which had been singed.

There’s blood...

Koutarou noticed a cut on Theia’s hand as she stroked her hair. Seeing the blood pouring out from the wound, Koutarou began to boil with rage. It was the same kind of rage that filled him when Sanae was in danger at the beach.

“Koutarou, are you okay?!”

“Ho! We came to help you, Koutarou! Ho!”

“With us here, you have nothing to fear, ho!”

Sanae appeared with the two haniwas. Being more mobile than the others, they were the first ones to reach Koutarou and Theia. Realizing they were there to help, Koutarou let go of Theia and stood up.

“...You guys protect the princess.”

“Huh?”

“Wh-What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Koutarou turned his back to the confused Theia and Sanae.

“It means just what I said. Right now, Theia has no way of protecting herself. So I’m counting on you!”

If Theia tried to summon her weapons, there might be another explosion. Koutarou didn’t know if Clan’s trap could cause multiple explosions, but he had no intention of finding out.

“W-Wait, Koutarou! Going to battle on your own is unreasonable! I will—”

Theia hurriedly stood up to go after him.

“Your Highness, please trust in me and wait. War is a knight’s duty. Not even a princess should violate that sanctuary.”

Theia stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing the Blue Knight’s words coming out of Koutarou’s mouth.

“B-But—”

Theia tried to object just as the Silver Princess had. It was a line from the play, but she hadn’t done that intentionally. She just wanted to stop her knight.

“If you don’t believe in me, then just who will believe in my victory?”

Koutarou put his hand on the hilt of the sword hanging from his waist and pulled it out in a dignified manner. It was the motion that he had practiced countless times with Theia.

“I am your knight.”

So this is how the Blue Knight must have felt...

In that moment, Koutarou finally understood what must have been going through the Blue Knight’s head as he left for battle. While Koutarou had had difficulty getting into character, right now he related to the Blue Knight perfectly.

“B-Blue Knight-sama...?”

Theia was about to stand up, but when Koutarou turned his back to her to go, she fell to her knees again.

Theia understood that Koutarou wasn’t a real knight and that he was quoting lines from the script, but oddly enough, she still couldn’t defy him.

My... knight...

Those words from Koutarou quashed any desire Theia had to argue and replaced it with anticipation. But there was almost no hope of Koutarou winning.

That’s right. He’s my knight... If I don’t believe in him, who will?!

And so Theia put all of her trust in him anyway.

Seeing Koutarou draw his sword and step forward, Clan laughed loudly.

“Ohohohoho! You sure know how to make me laugh! To think a fake Blue Knight with replica armor would dare fight me! You don’t even have the magical gauntlet or Signaltin!”

There were four magical treasures that appeared in the legend of the Blue Knight: armor that could block all attacks, boots that allowed free flight, magical gloves infused with flames that could scorch a thousand enemies, and the holy sword Signaltin that had the power to shape the future, given to the Blue Knight by the Silver Princess.

But of course, Koutarou didn’t have any of those. Everything he was wearing was a replica. His armor was mechanical and his sword didn’t have any holy powers. The armor he was wearing was barely capable of flight and though it would protect against some attacks, it was no legendary artifact.

“For a fake princess like you, this is more than enough!”

However, Koutarou didn’t even flinch. He simply responded to Clan in a dignified manner.

“A fake princess?!”

“That’s right! Someone who can only think of holding other people back can’t be a real princess!”

As he looked at Clan, Koutarou remembered how he’d meet Theia. Partly because she was an alien, Theia had been the same way at first. But she had changed since then. She was still selfish, but she no longer tried to put others down. She was doing her best to win in a dignified manner befitting of a princess. She had matured after coming to Earth.

“And to think you want to hurt my princess! You’re the one who knows how to make me laugh!”

“Wha?!” Clan was nearly speechless. “Feh! Y-You impudent...”

However, her dumfounded expression soon turned to one of anger. Koutarou’s words infuriated her, but most of all she couldn’t forgive herself for being flustered in the heat of the moment.

“How dare you speak that way to someone like me, a daughter of the noble Schweiger family!”

“If the only thing noble is your name, the Schweiger family is in a state of disgrace.”

“Ugh! I definitely won’t forgive you! I’ll reduce you to mere atoms!”

Now Clan’s rage was all focused on Koutarou. Sensing that, he tightened his grip on his sword and pumped himself up.

Everything’s gone according to plan so far. Now for the hard part...

Angering your opponent and making them focus on you was an old fighting trick. Once Koutarou got the impression that Clan was similar to Theia, he figured that provoking her might work, but the outcome had exceeded his expectations. Clan was furious because she felt like she was being compared to Theia. Koutarou being dressed as the Blue Knight only made it worse.

Based on the circumstances, she won’t use any flashy attacks like Theia did. Which means that what I need to look out for is that cannon...

Clan should know that giving in to her anger and resorting to using the weapons on her battleship would be the end of her. With that in mind, Koutarou was focused on the weapon currently in her hands.

“It’s best to assume I’ll be out if that hits me. In that case...!”

Koutarou held his sword with both hands and charged at Clan. At a distance, Clan had an advantage with a ranged weapon. If he didn’t close in and prevent her from using the beam cannon, she would keep the upper hand.

“So you’re coming at me?! But do you really think you can hurt me with that dull blade?!”

However, despite his charge, Clan remained confident. She simply held her beam cannon steady and remained motionless.

“I’ve got youuu!”

Not missing his chance, Koutarou swung his sword. Although it was a replica, the power of the armor was amplifying his strength. The blow had quite a bit of force behind it.

But the sword never reached Clan. It was deflected by semi-transparent hexagons like the ones Theia and Ruth used for shields.

“So that’s your game!”

It was a barrier that distorted space as a way of protecting the user. Koutarou knew just how powerful its defensive capabilities were. Moreover, this barrier was one Clan had made for herself. A haphazard attack would never get through defenses like that.

“Heh heh heh, but you’ve realized it too late— Wait, what is this?!”

The sword had been stopped by the barrier, but Clan’s confident and cocky expression changed into one of surprise.

“That’s impossible! This can’t be!”

Clan hurriedly jumped back.

“What?!”

This time, Koutarou was the surprised one. Clan, who should have had the upper hand, was retreating. It was something he hadn’t expected from her.

“Satomi-kun, continue attacking! I don’t know why, but the attacks seem to be working!” Shizuka shouted to Koutarou.

She had seen the tip of the sword bury itself in the barrier. Clan had seen the same thing and retreated.

“So that’s it!”

Listening to Shizuka’s advice, Koutarou chased after Clan. While the stage was quite large, it didn’t feel like it to Koutarou who could run considerably faster than normal thanks to the armor. He quickly closed the distance between himself and Clan.

“Quit running around!”

Clan tried to take aim at Koutarou, but the bulky, improvised beam cannon was too large for Clan to lock on to Koutarou at his speed.

“Haaaaaaaah!”

Koutarou’s sword clashed with the barrier once again.

It’s true! This sword can cut through the barrier!

This time, Koutarou saw it too. The tip of the sword had penetrated the barrier.

“A-Again?! What’s with that sword?! Does it have the power of the real Signaltin despite being a replica?!”

Clan couldn’t hide her surprise. The sword had pierced through the barrier more deeply than the first time.

That’s not possible! This Neanderthal on this backwater planet is only equipped with Blue Knight replicas, but he’s cornering me!

“K-Koutarou...?” murmured Theia. Watching over the fight, she was even more surprised than Clan.

What is that light coming from the sword? It isn’t equipped with that kind of power...

The sword that Koutarou was wielding had started emitting a faint white light.

“Kyaaah! Th-The barrier’s converter won’t last at this rate!”

“Haaaaaaaah!”

“I-I’m being beaten this easily?!”

The light emitted from the sword grew stronger each time Koutarou swung it. It was now so bright that it was plain to see. And as the light grew stronger, the sword was able to cut through more of Clan’s barrier.

“Is that the same light as before...?”

Looking at the sword’s glow, Sanae instinctively touched the charm hanging around her neck. Right now it was just a plain charm, but once in the past it had glowed with the same light as the sword was now.

“Could it be...? Are you truly... the Blue Knight’s...”

Next to Sanae was Theia, who was currently at a loss for words. The blue armor and shining sword... Koutarou was almost like the real Blue Knight. Theia couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

“D-Damn you! Damn fake Blue Knight! I’ll just have to...”

Clan aimed her beam cannon.

If it’s come to this, I’ll just let you have the barrier! And when you take it down, I’ll hit you with my beam!

Clan stopped trying to dodge Koutarou’s attacks. Instead, she was waiting to counterattack when he destroyed the barrier. The barrier might get destroyed in a single hit, but she should be able to take Koutarou down the same way.

“Come get me, fake Blue Knight!”

“That’s just what I was going to do!”

Koutarou charged at Clan again without realizing what she was up to.

“She’s taunting you, Koutarou! Don’t rush in recklessly!”

Theia, however, knew better and tried to warn Koutarou. Unfortunately, it was already too late. There was no stopping him now. But someone else had heard Theia’s warning.

“Leave it to me, Theia!”

“Sanae?!”

It was Sanae. She made a beeline for Clan with both arms outstretched and shouted, “Special Attack: Sanae-chan Tulip, part two!”

In a flash, Sanae flipped up Clan’s dress and wrapped it around her upper body just like she had once done to Theia.

“Wh-What?! What is happening?!”

Taken by surprise, Clan was stunned and remained motionless.

“Oh, so this girl has a cat...” Shizuka commented, observing the design on Clan’s underwear.

“Shizuka-sama! Now is not the time for that!”

“I-I’m sorry, Ruth-san. But what can I do against an opponent who has a barrier like that?”

While Shizuka might have been invincible when it came to martial arts, she was weak against an opponent in a wide open space who was hiding behind a barrier. She knew better and was watching from the sidelines with Theia and Ruth who couldn’t use their weapons right now.

“Well done, Sanae!”

And as Clan froze up, Koutarou attacked.

“Hiyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Combining his momentum with the strength he got from the armor and the sword shining with white light, Koutarou unleashed a powerful attack on Clan. Her barrier was only able to withstand the attack for an instant. The barrier’s energy converter let out a whistling scream, and the barrier generation device attached to Clan’s back blew up. And once the sword broke through the barrier, it went straight for Clan.

“Impossible! There’s no way I could lose! I don’t believe it!”

If she had been able to see, Clan would have been the victor, but Sanae functionally blinding her had left her completely helpless. She had no means to defend against Koutarou’s strike, which struck the barrel of the beam cannon. Unlike the barrier, the cannon wasn’t built for defense and was easily cut in half.

The next moment, there was a small explosion at the base of the beam cannon. The hems of Clan’s skirt were torn apart by the burst, freeing her from Sanae’s restraint.

“T-To think that I, the Moon of the Schweiger family, would lose to a mere Neanderthal...”

Having fallen over, Clan clenched her jaw as she pushed herself up. She’d had absolute belief in her plan. She was sure she could get Theia to use her weapons by revealing an Earth-made beam cannon. Even if Theia didn’t fall for it, Clan could have defeated her using the beam cannon. At least, that’s how it was supposed to go. But with the appearance of a lone man who wasn’t even worthy of being taking into account, her plan had fallen completely apart.

“Just give up, Clan or whatever. You’ve lost.”

Koutarou pointed his sword at Clan and recommended that she surrender.

“This is all your fault, you fake Blue Knight! I should have disposed of you first! It won’t matter if I use the Hazy Moon’s weapons if I’m only getting rid of you!”

Unlike Theia and Ruth, Clan wouldn’t be held responsible for her crimes if she were to attack Koutarou, a citizen of an undeveloped region of space. If she killed Koutarou before Theia could make him a citizen of Forthorthe, Theia wouldn’t be able to do anything. It was out of Forthorthian jurisdiction.

“I may have failed to kill Theiamillis-san, but you...! I definitely will kill you myself! The fact that I was forced to crawl on the ground is completely unacceptable!”

However, Clan didn’t surrender. Instead, she glared at Koutarou with a hateful disdain.

“Y-You still want to go at it?!”

“Koutarou! Restrain Clan right away! She’s planning on attacking you with the Hazy Moon’s weapons!”

“Wh-What?!”

While Koutarou was surprised by what Theia had said, Clan saw her chance and escaped out of his reach. She then laughed at Theia.

“Ooohohohoho! It’s too late now, Theiamillis-san! You just sit there and watch this fake Blue Knight get obliterated!”

“Run away, Koutarou! Don’t die for my sake!”

“E-Even if I wanted to, where exactly am I supposed to run from that?!”

Clan brought a bracelet, very similar to Theia’s, to her face and loudly declared, “It’s too late! Hazy Moon! Use the Disintegrator to reduce that fake Blue Knight to atoms!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

A hole, the same kind that Theia used, opened up above Clan’s right shoulder. The next moment, the muzzle of a large weapon was poking though it.

“I win, fake Blue Knight! You can regret going up against the second princess of Forthorthe on the other side!”

Clan boasted victoriously. Like she said, at this rate, Koutarou would be annihilated by Clan’s attack.

“Waaaaah! I-It’s all over!”

Koutarou panicked and started running all over the place. There was no longer anything he could do.

“Oh, we’ll see about that...”

Kiriha, who hadn’t been spotted since the fight first broke out, suddenly appeared at the other side of the stage.

“Hmph, you just don’t know when you’ve lost! What could you possibly do to overcome this situation?!”

“The people of this planet have an interesting proverb.”

Clan was overly excited, but Kiriha appeared to be overly calm. Despite both being intelligent, they were behaving in completely opposite manners.

“A proverb?!”

“Indeed.”

Kiriha nodded and raised what she was holding above her head.

“It is the deceitful man who oft falls into the snares of deceit.”

“Th-That’s the device I set up!”

Indeed, what Kiriha was holding was the space distortion jammer that Clan had used against Theia just moments ago. It was still active and was now pointed at Clan.

“You were close, Moon of Schweiger or whatever.”

And since the weapon Clan had summoned was large, the explosion was several times bigger than it had been for Theia.

Once the smoke from the explosion cleared, Clan was nowhere to be seen. The only thing left behind were fragments of her hand-held cannon.

“So she escaped after all... Her tactics might be second-rate, but she is a first-rate escape artist.”

“Theia-dono, are you sure we shouldn’t be chasing after her?”

“It’s fine. Her specialty is fleeing. Chasing after would be a waste of time.”

Theia shrugged at Kiriha, who was examining the remains of the explosion with her. She tossed aside a fragment of the weapon she had picked up, which then slid across the stage floor and stopped when it crashed into Koutarou.

“I... I thought I was a goner...”

Koutarou was lying on the stage with his arms and legs stretched out. He’d been moving nonstop since the rehearsal and he’d finally run out of energy

“From what? Exhaustion or Clan?”

“B-Both...”

It’s just one thing after another today...

After everything that had happened today, Koutarou just wanted to go home and go to sleep.

“Wait, I’ll get the armor off for you.”

Normally Theia would scoff at Koutarou in this state, but this time she was gentle with him.

You did well today, Koutarou...

Even the relentless Theia could only find words of appreciation for Koutarou right now. She approached him with a rare, calm smile.

“Tulip, sorry to interrupt when you’re in such a good mood, but...”

As Theia came closer, Koutarou looked at her with a very serious expression.

“What?”

“It broke.”

“Huh?”

“I said it broke.”

As Theia crouched down next to him, Koutarou showed her the replica sword. The blade had snapped off about ten centimeters from the handle.

“I think it happened when I swung it with all my might that last time. It was already broken when I noticed. Sorry.”

That was apparently the reason Koutarou looked so serious. He knew that Theia treasured anything and everything related to the Blue Knight, so he was afraid that she would yell at him again. The sword was a particularly important symbol to a knight. Koutarou could vividly imagine Theia scolding him already.

“I see. So it broke...”

“Oh?”

However, contrary to what he expected, Theia wasn’t angry. When he looked at her, visibly confused, she laughed at him.

“What’s with that startled look on your face? Heh heh...”

“What is that supposed to mean? Aren’t you angry? You’re always going on about how a sword is the soul of a knight...”

“You fool! Are you telling me you never understood what I was talking about?!”

Aghast, Theia raised her eyebrows. But she wasn’t angry because the sword was broken. Rather, she was angry because Koutarou hadn’t understood what she’d been trying to tell him all along.

“The sword is a knight’s soul because of the vow placed on it! What can’t be broken is that vow, not the sword itself!”

Theia excitedly swung the broken sword around as she yelled at Koutarou.

“And so this sword remains unbroken! Why can’t you understand such a simple thing?!”

“The knight’s code and all that stuff is beyond me!”

As Koutarou whined, Theia fell silent for a moment. She stared at Koutarou’s face begrudgingly before finally speaking up in a quiet voice.

“...That settles it. You’re going to keep training to become a proper knight.”

Although she was speaking quietly, her anger was more intense than ever.

“Whaaat?! Y-You mean it’s not over?!”

“As if I would let you off that easily! If I just let you parade around as such an unprincipled knight, it would bring shame upon the Mastir family! At the very least, we’ll keep training until your public debut!”

“I don’t want tooooo! G-Give me a break!”

The rehearsals were done and the fight with Clan had ended in victory. However, it looked like Koutarou’s knight training was far from over.

As Koutarou and the others collected themselves, Clan began to take action in the equipment room. Everyone thought she had vanished, but she was just hiding nearby.

“Theiamillis-san and that fake Blue Knight.... Y-You’re making a huge mistake if you think I’ll retreat because of something like this!”

Clan had managed to drag her wounded body towards the stage. While she looked like she was in terrible shape, her eyes were burning with rage.

“I can’t accept this! There’s no way I could lose! There’s no way that I lost to Theiamillis-san and that fake Blue Knight! There’s no way I can accept that!”

Sheer willpower and fury were all that was keeping Clan conscious. She just couldn’t believe that she had lost to Theia. Otherwise, she would have passed out long ago.

“Heh... Heh heh... ‘It is the deceitful man who oft falls into the snares of deceit,’ was it? In that case, you will be the one who falls into the final snare!”

Clan put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a small box with a button on it.

“I didn’t want to use this while it was still under research ... But now that it’s come to this, I have no choice. Heh heh heh...”

It was a new type of bomb Clan had developed that used space-time technology. Its destructive power far outstripped that of conventional bombs, and on top of that it was capable of destroying everything within a specified range.

“G-Goodbye, Theiamillis-san. May you—”

However, Clan was unable to push that button. The moment she was about to, something fell right on top of her, causing her to lose her consciousness after all. And just like that, Clan’s final attack had failed too. The fact that she had passed out with a satisfied smile on her face was her only saving grace.

Roughly twenty minutes had passed since Yurika hid herself in the equipment room. Although she could hear some kind of commotion outside, she prioritized her own crisis.

“...I-I can’t hold on... I’m falling, I’m falling!”

Yurika had been fighting against her exhaustion for a while now. When she first ran into the equipment room, she figured that she would be found right away if she hid carelessly. It was in that rare moment that she used her brain to think. The idea she came up with was to hide in the gap left by the air duct that trailed along the wall and ceiling.

It was a great hiding spot, but since the air duct was diagonal, Yurika needed to use some strength to support herself in order to hide there. If she just managed to hide long enough for Ruth to pass by, she could reposition and hide somewhere else in the room for as long as she needed. A little preparation and perseverance would ensure her safety indefinitely. It was pretty brilliant for Yurika.

“I can’t... It’s too much... I-I’m slipping!”

But no matter how long she waited, Ruth never showed up. Still, she knew she couldn’t come down until Ruth had checked the equipment room and moved on. And so Yurika simply waited.

At times a rat would run over her face or a spider would crawl around on her hand, but Yurika withstood those trials and waited for over twenty minutes. That was when the door to the equipment room finally opened and a lone girl appeared. Convinced it was Ruth, Yurika used the last of her strength to hang on to the air duct for all she was worth.

“I didn’t want to use this while it was still under research ... But now that it’s come to this, I have no choice. Heh heh heh...”

“Huh?”

But it turned out that it wasn’t Ruth at all. When Yurika realized that, the disappointment was so great that the tension that was keeping her wedged in the air duct disappeared.

“H-Hercules-chan, Hercules-chan! Lend me your strength!”

Without anything else to rely on, Yurika’s limbs were at their limits. She didn’t even have enough strength to let go with one hand so she could use magic. Of course, when she asked Hercules for help, she got no response.

“I can’t hold on! I’m sorry, Hercules-chan! I’m so sorry!”

Yurika finally fell. All she could do was carefully hold on to Hercules’s case so that it wouldn’t break.

But the floor in the equipment room was a lot softer than Yurika had imagined.

“H-Huh?”

She had braced herself for a strong impact, but when that didn’t happen, she slowly opened her eyes.

“Th-Thank god. Hercules-chan is okay...”

The first thing that came into view as she opened her eyes was the plastic case with Hercules in it. Fortunately it looked like it had survived the impact and it didn’t seem to be cracked anywhere. Hercules, still inside, was scurrying around energetically.

“Hahh...”

Yurika let out a sigh of relief after seeing that Hercules was okay, but once she calmed down, she noticed that she was sitting on top of something.

“U-Um...”

She was scared she might have broken a set piece or the likes again.

“Huh?!”

However, what Yurika was sitting on wasn’t a set piece. It was a girl in a black and white dress. Once she realized she was sitting on top of a person, Yurika hurriedly jumped off.

“Kyah! N-Nooo—”

Yurika was about to scream, but she quickly covered her own mouth. If she screamed now, Ruth might appear. And even if she didn’t, she could still be in danger.

“Wh-Wh-What should I do?! I-I can’t just leave her like this, but I can’t call anyone either!”

Still holding on to Hercules’s case, Yurika ran around in circles. After doing that for a while, she made a decision and stopped scrambling.

“A-All right, let’s just pretend this didn’t happen...”

Since she was worried that someone might find out that she had hurt someone, she decided to clean up after herself using magic.

“This is for Hercules-chan! That’s right! I’m protecting Hercules-chan’s owner’s dreams! This is the duty of a magical girl!”

And so the magical girl of love and courage, Rainbow Yurika, made her appearance.

“Come, Angel Halo!”

Without anyone realizing it, she had defeated Clan and saved lives.