Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 6 - Chapter 6

Roller Coaster

Monday, December 21st

With Kiriha apprehending Shijima Tayuma, his plan ended in complete failure. Karama and Korama’s recorded footage served as proof that backed up Kiriha’s testimony. Tayuma was now in custody awaiting investigation and trial.

And with his plan exposed to the world, Kiriha’s political rivals, the radical faction, temporarily withdrew from the limelight. With public opinion of the underground dwellers changing, there was little they could do now. Even if Kiriha were to somehow die, those of the radical faction would be primary suspects. They would have to ride out this storm before they could make any further moves. As a result, Kiriha’s life peacefully returned to normal.

After surviving the ordeal, she used her winter vacation to take Koutarou to the amusement park again to thank him.

“You don’t really need to thank me.”

However, to Koutarou, he hadn’t done anything that required thanks. He and Kiriha were friends. It was only obvious that he would help her out and defend her.

“Don’t say that. I love this place. There are lots of rides I haven’t tried yet.”

That said, expressing her gratitude was mostly an excuse. In reality, Koutarou coming along was just a bonus. What she really wanted to do was ride the roller coaster. She’d almost gotten a chance to before, but Tayuma showing up had gotten in the way. But Kiriha was determined to ride it today, and she’d been enthusiastic about it since morning.

“Well, in that case... it’s fine.”

“Good. I’ll be happy if you enjoy it with me.”

“You can count on me. Having fun is my specialty.”

The two of them were leisurely walking through the park in the direction of the roller coaster. However, just before they reached it, Koutarou stopped for some reason. Noticing that, Kiriha stopped too and turned to look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Over there,” Koutarou said with a nod of his head. “I was just noticing that they’re already working on fixing the hole.”

He was looking at the place where Tayuma had appeared with the subterranean submarine. It had left something of a crater in the park grounds, and there were several workers in the middle of filling and repairing it.

“Koutarou, having a big hole like that here would be a waste.”

“Well, as long as there are happy memories being made here, everything is fine, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And now I guess you want some happy memories on the roller coaster?”

“Of course.”

After giggling with each other, they began walking towards the roller coaster again.

Thanks to Yurika’s magic that day, the incident had ended quickly. Because of the ward she cast at the same time the Sun Rangers appeared, no one had seen the fighting and the incident was written off as a mysterious sinkhole.

Koutarou and Kiriha, of course, had no idea what Yurika had done either. Koutarou just thought they’d been lucky. Kiriha assumed that the surface government was carefully regulating information on the incident. And while their rationalizations were different, they were both just happy that the incident had been safely resolved.

“As long as happy memories are being made, huh? Koutarou, are you happy being here with me?”

Kiriha eyed Koutarou suspiciously as she walked next to him. They were closer than ever. So while he would normally panic in this kind of situation, today he instead smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. You’re not that bad the way you are now. And I don’t have to worry about anything weird since I now know what you’re really after.”

Up until recently, Koutarou had been uneasy because he didn’t fully understand Kiriha’s intentions. For example, when she had tried to seduce him, he didn’t know if she was kidding or if she was being serious. But things were different now. Knowing that Kiriha had someone she loved, it was obvious that she wasn’t seriously pursuing him. And he knew that she was loyal. In fact, it would be more trouble for Kiriha if Koutarou took her seduction seriously.

But with things the way they were now, Koutarou completely trusted in her. She might play mind games, but she didn’t play with people’s hearts. And knowing that, he was no longer anxious around her. Like he did with Kenji, he was able to just enjoy hanging out and playing around with Kiriha.

“It sounds like you’re calling me a capricious woman though.”

“If it sounds like it, then it’s probably the truth. But I like that kind of person.”

“Heh, then I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“Good. If you hadn’t already chosen a man, I think I would have made a move on you.”

“Quit your lying, Satomi Koutarou. That’s far too transparent.”

The pair headed towards the roller coaster while continuing to joke around. This was unprecedented territory in their relationship, but everything up until today had led to it.

A man she wants to be with, huh?

When they reached the roller coaster, Koutarou stopped moving once more. He turned the thought over in his mind again, then looked towards the sign posted in front of the gate to the ride: “You must be at least 140 centimeters to ride this attraction.” Koutarou then glanced up at the cars running along the rails.

Hmm, something just feels wrong...

Something wasn’t quite clicking for Koutarou as he imagined himself and Kiriha riding the roller coaster together.

“Kiriha-san.”

So he stopped Kiriha as she was about to cross the entrance to the ride.

“Yes?”

Kiriha quickly turned around. Her eyes were sparkling with childlike enchantment and excitement.

“Let’s not ride this.”

“...Koutarou?”

Kiriha’s expression clouded over instantly. After how much she was looking forward to this, she was visibly disappointed.

“Why would you back out now that we’ve come this far?”

“Hmm... How should I put it...?”

Saying “it doesn’t feel right” wouldn’t cut it. Koutarou racked his brain trying to think of a way to explain what he was feeling to Kiriha.

“I really think you should ride it with your first love.”

“...Koutarou...”

Kiriha’s eyes opened wide in surprise as she suddenly became aware of her own feelings.

Am I confusing Koutarou with him...?

Until Koutarou said something, Kiriha had felt like she was about to ride the roller coaster with her first love. This was the first she’d realized that she was confusing the two boys. Taken aback by it all, Kiriha looked up at the roller coaster. She couldn’t help thinking the complexly intertwining rails were much like her own feelings right now.

“That way’d definitely be for the best, no matter how things turn out. Since you’ve waited this long, there’s no need to compromise now.”

Koutarou walked up beside Kiriha and looked up at the roller coaster with her. But unlike Kiriha, he had no hesitation whatsoever.

“I’ll help you look for him, so let’s find him for you.”

“Yes... Thank you, Koutarou.”

Looking at Koutarou’s smiling face, Kiriha became aware of another possibility.

No... It might not be that I’m confusing Koutarou with him, but rather that I...

However, Kiriha couldn’t reach a conclusion just yet. To her, both possibilities seemed simultaneously correct and wrong. Her feelings at the moment were very vague. However, there was one thing she did know for certain.

“What if, even then, we can’t find him?”

Kiriha wanted to ride the roller coaster with Koutarou too. She wanted some memorable experiences with her newfound friend. That’s why she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

“Then ride with me. I’m actually pretty interested in roller coasters too.”

“All right. Then I’ll endure for today.”

Satisfied with Koutarou’s answer, Kiriha agreed to his terms.

Regardless of who I ride this with in the future, I just hope my feelings will be clear by that time...

Kiriha didn’t know what would happen in the future, but she grew strangely cheerful at her prospects.

“What to ride next then...”

Abandoning the roller coaster for now, Kiriha walked around the amusement park looking around for the next attraction to catch her eye. Attractions she’d been on before, attractions she hadn’t been on, and attraction’s she had been on but wanted to get on again. There were seemingly endless options.

Oh yeah, there was something I had to say...

Watching Kiriha scope out the area, Koutarou remembered that there was something he needed to tell her. It was something he had been thinking about since he saw her fight Tayuma.

“Hey, Kiriha-san.”

“Yes?”

When Koutarou called out to Kiriha, she continued moving around the area while looking back at him. She walked circles around him almost as if Koutarou himself was one of the attractions she was eying.

“There’s something I want to apologize for.”

“Apologize for? What?”

Kiriha now looked at Koutarou with confusion. She couldn’t remember him having done anything that he needed to apologize to her for. Running down the list, she could come up with several things she could apologize for, but nothing the other way around.

“When we first met, I said some horrible things to you, didn’t I?”

Koutarou wanted to apologize for the way he treated her when they met. Having no way of knowing her intentions, he’d called her an idiot among other things. But now that he knew better—knew her and her intentions better—he realized that what he had said back then had probably hurt her.

“Of course you did. I’m an invader after all.”

Kiriha smiled as if to say that there was no need to apologize. Since she wanted Koutarou to resist, she was prepared for the consequences.

“That might be true, but I’m still sorry, Kiriha-san.”

But even then, Koutarou apologized. When he did, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The apology wasn’t just for Kiriha’s sake. It was for him too.

“When you put it like that, it sounds like you want to be invaded by me.”

Kiriha smiled mischievously. Koutarou had been so harsh with Kiriha because he wanted to prevent an invasion. By apologizing, it was almost like telling her he was okay with it. Both the invasion of room 106 and the surface.

However, Koutarou remained calm, even after seeing the way she was smiling. He had absolute faith in Kiriha.

“Feel free to invade if you want. The surface, or my room.”

“Wha...”

“If you seriously want to, that is.”

Hearing Koutarou’s response, Kiriha realized how happy she was.

So you won’t mind if I invade... Koutarou...

It was almost too much. Deep joy filled her heart to the point it felt like it would burst at any moment. She was so happy that Koutarou had accepted her as a true friend. That was the kind of connection she’d been looking for when she came to the surface. It was what she’d truly wished for. And Koutarou was able to affirm all of that for her with such a simple answer. The intense joy she felt now was so overwhelming that the normally calm Kiriha was only barely able to hold back her tears.

“Koutarou, in reality, you don’t want me to find him, right?”

Kiriha wiped the corners of her eyes. Even with her strong will, she had been unable to keep herself from tearing up.

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

Koutarou hadn’t noticed her tears since she was still smiling brightly.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Kiriha grabbed Koutarou’s hand. He looked at her in confusion, but she pulled him along as she started walking. If she had continued facing him, she would probably have cried.

“Let’s go, Koutarou!”

“Yeah.”

Kiriha was heading for attractions she had never ridden with anyone before to make memories with the first real friend she’d ever made on the surface.

As the end of the year approached, even though the days were warm, the evenings turned cold in a hurry. So to Koutarou who had gotten another part-time job over winter vacation, they were the worst.

“How about a cake for Christmas? At Harukaze Bakery, we’re accepting orders for Christmas cakes!”

Koutarou’s new part-time was dressing as Santa Claus to hand out flyers. Since the bakery at the shopping street by the station was selling Christmas cakes, they’d hired Koutarou to advertise. Today was December 22nd, and Christmas Eve was right around the corner. The last Christmas cakes would have to be sold today or tomorrow, and the most critical time for street advertising was when people where out shopping or heading home. It was quite cold, but he had to work hard.

“How about a cake for Christmas? At Harukaze Bakery, we’re accepting orders for Christmas cakes!”

Koutarou called out to passersby all throughout the shopping street as he distributed flyers.

There were a lot of ends to make meet at the end of the year, and Koutarou’s part-time job excavating the ruins wasn’t quite enough to cover it all. Because of Yurika, food expenses for the apartment had risen, and because Theia was playing video games so much, the electricity bill had gone up too. Not to mention that as it got colder, the heating bill was increasing. It was all putting a strain on Koutarou’s budget.

He knew he could ask his father for help if he really needed to, but in order to prove his own independence as a man, he wanted to solve his own problems.

“How about a cake for Christmas? At Harukaze Bakery, we’re accepting orders for Christmas cakes!”

But even with so many people on the street, everyone looked busy, and only a few people showed interest in Koutarou’s flyers. He politely handed one to anyone who would accept. But even out of the people who took one, only a few would actually buy a cake. Still, it was important to treat everyone as a potential customer. After Koutarou had been struggling for a while, he unexpectedly heard a girl’s voice calling out to him.

“Good evening, Santa.”

“Oh? Sakuraba-senpai?”

The girl greeting him was indeed Harumi. When he turned in the direction of her voice, he saw Harumi smiling in spite of the cold winds whipping through the shopping street. That smile felt like the spring sun to him. It was a welcome sight that helped him forget about the cold for a while.

“Heehee, I think I’ve been a good girl this year, so may I have a flyer?”

Still smiling, Harumi was holding out her hands as if she was asking for a present.