Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 41 - Chapter SS2

Nalfa

Nalfa was dressed up as a witch to make a video about Halloween for the people back home in Forthorthe. It would be a part of the series she’d been producing since arriving on Earth.

“That really looks good on you, Nal-chan,” said Kotori.

“Don’t you think it’s too flashy?” Nalfa asked, looking down nervously at her black and orange dress.

Kotori shook her head with a smile. “That’s what makes it so great. Halloween is all about being flashy.”

“But why? Is there some reason behind it?”

“Halloween was originally a harvest festival, but since it falls at the end of the season when ancestral and evil spirits return, people started dressing up to prevent evil spirits from playing tricks on them.”

“I see... So it used to be a harvest festival,” Nalfa mused, smiling to herself.

Kotori gave her a curious look and turned the camera on her. “Do you have any fond memories of harvest festivals?” she asked.

“I used to go to them with my brother. We never dressed up, but it’s traditional for girls to play princess.”

“How come?”

“The story goes that, two thousand years ago when she was a princess, Empress Alaia snuck out to dance at the harvest festival with the Blue Knight. That’s where it comes from,” Nalfa explained. She waxed sentimental over the thought of the harvest festival not just because of nostalgia for her childhood days with her brother, but also because it reminded her of the legend of the Blue Knight.

“That was really Kou-niisan, right?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“Then let’s go!”

“Where?”

“To Kou-niisan, obviously! It would be a waste not to film you with him!”

“Kotori, we can’t just pull him into a video without asking!”

“Just go along with it! We’re gonna get record views with this one!”

“Kotori, please listen to meeeee!”

An excited Kotori proceeded to drag Nalfa over to room 106. The two apartments were connected by a hole in the wall, so they were there in no time. Nalfa was already standing in front of Koutarou before she could even process what was happening.

“Kou-niisan, Kou-niisan!” Kotori called out to him.

“Oh, hey. What’s up, Kin-chan? Why are you looking at me like that? And why’s Nalfa-san dressed up like that?”

“Is it true that you went to a harvest festival two thousand years ago?” Kotori asked without stopping to answer any of his questions.

“Ah, I get it. Halloween made you think of that, huh?” Koutarou replied. “Yeah, I did. It was in a town in the countryside, though, so it wasn’t all that big.”

“Apparently it’s become a harvest festival tradition to this day!” Kotori practically shouted.

“What?” Wide-eyed, Koutarou cocked his head to the side. He had no idea what Kotori was talking about.

“I’m saying that you sneaking out on a harvest festival date with the princess started something! Now the girls sneak out and pretend to be princesses!”

“So the whole world realized it was her? I guess there was no point in Her Majesty using a fake name...”

“No, people only found out after Empress Alaia’s passing. She wrote about it in her diary, so no one caught her. She revealed it herself,” Nalfa clarified.

“So in Forthorthe, you’re as iconic for harvest festivals as pumpkins are for Halloween here,” Kotori continued, still filming. She now had Koutarou and Nalfa in her witch costume in the viewfinder.

“I’m as iconic as pumpkins, huh?” said Koutarou. “I guess I like that more than being made out to be a hero.”

“You’re that too! You’re iconic because you’re a hero, Koutarou-sama!” Nalfa proclaimed.

“So, Mr. Jack-o’-Lantern, what do you think of Miss Witch here?”

“She looks good. Nalfa-san’s hair shines like a rainbow, so this mysterious vibe really suits her.”

“Isn’t that great, Nal-chan?”

“Th-Thank you very much...” Nalfa felt bashful, but she welcomed any compliment from Koutarou. She blushed and flashed a small smile.

At that, Kotori whispered into her ear, “Let’s go with a princess outfit next year!”

“Kotori, th-that’s... um...”

Nalfa was at a loss for words. Kotori had caught her completely off guard... but it was a desirable proposal. She couldn’t bring herself to agree readily, but she also couldn’t say no.

“What was that?” Koutarou asked, curious what they were whispering about.

“A secret! We won’t even tell you, Kou-niisan,” Kotori insisted.

“Girls sure have a lot of those,” Koutarou muttered.

Unlike the cheerful Kotori and nonchalant Koutarou, Nalfa was growing more and more flustered. She had to cast her eyes downward, for she couldn’t even look Koutarou in the face right now.