The meaning behind the ‘Priestess of Ominous Clouds’ t.i.tle will be explained in later chapters. It’s why I kept it literal instead of finding something easier on the tongue. AHHHH these precious kids Q^Q…
I Play the Role of a Villain
– Villain and School Life [Part 2]
Like this, I"ve been inordinately enjoying school life as I protect Yui-chan.
It"s the day of the inter-cla.s.s ball game tournament.
"Let"s win this! Or at least, beat Year 1 Cla.s.s 2!"
"YEAH!"
Irrespective of gender, the cla.s.s comes together and forms a circle.
After everyone showed their fighting spirit, they head towards their individual battlefronts, donning matching t-shirts.
Imma get lotsa points with my tall height!
"Oi, Tomonaga!"
"Nn, what"s up?"
The boy who shouted out first when we formed the ring just now, calls out to me.
As his name suggests, he"s a fox phantom[1].
Short and glossy orange hair with amber eyes, he’s one of the prominent capturable targets.
"Hey, you better win, got it?"
"Eh!? Me!?"
Yui-chan gets fl.u.s.tered when I suddenly mention her.
In this school where large numbers of phantoms are mixed in, there"s no way a normal human can ace in athletics.
"Geez, what are you planning to have Naba do?"
"Hey, Chako!"
"Yep."
Kuo Kousuke knows that Yui-chan is the『Priestess of Ominous Clouds』.
On top of that, he’s a precious existence that protects Yui-chan from the schemes of both phantoms and onmyouji.
"… Hmm. If it seems like we"re gonna lose――do it."
"No, I won"t do it, okay!? I definitely won"t!"
Yui-chan goes "I won"t, I won"t!" as she looks at us, her eyes full of disapproval.
I think it"s a good idea though~?
"Listen well, Naba. We must beat Cla.s.s 2 at all costs."
"That"s right. It"s extremely important!"
Yui-chan and Kuo Kousuke poke fun at each other.
Their blondish hair shines, so much so that it appears dazzling to me.
Kuo Kousuke"s older brother, Kuo Teppei, is in-charge of our neighbouring Year 1 Cla.s.s 2.
The ball game tournament this time will likely become a place for them to compete too.
"At any rate, let’s beat em" all, regardless of grade. I’d like the basketball team that Tomonaga’s in to earn points too."
"Roger, captain."
Having said so, Kuo-chan runs to the area which is his own battlefront.
Towards his back, Yui-chan goes "Do your best!", giving her support.
The results.
The girls" basketball team Yui-chan and I are in, got second place.
Kuo-kun goes "Get first place!!" in anger, but well, I think it"s a pretty harmless rank.
In other words, you won"t receive points if you don"t obtain a rank above the middle one.
The boys" soccer team Kuo-kun"s in got third. The boys" basketball team got fifth and is beyond the bounds of point allotment.
A girls" relay race despite this being a ball game tournament. It"s one where phantoms aren"t allowed to partic.i.p.ate.
A match where normal humans run normally, something inconceivably peaceful for this school. Along with basketball, Yui-chan"s partic.i.p.ating in this.
"Dammit, only 6 points, huh….."
"There, there. I think we persisted pretty well for a first-year cla.s.s."
All the matches are over and the scores are being tallied.
With regards to Kuo-kun, he’d hoped to obtain more points and, had things gone well, was probably aiming to stand on the winners’ podium.
However, while I think we persisted pretty well for a first-year cla.s.s, it seems the winners" podium is still out-of-reach.
"For me, rather than the winners" podium, I think Yui-chan"s relay race was more meaningful. It was therapeutic~."
"Sheesh, stop it… don"t say anymore…"
It seems to have become dark history for Yui-chan.
She frowns, as though saying that she doesn"t want to remember it.
"True that. Wasn"t it good that it was human-like?"
"Un. It was cute…"
The two of us phantoms laugh heartwarmingly.
Seeing that, Yui-chan gives a sigh.
"Kuo-kun, forget it already…"
The languid evening hours.
The cla.s.sroom is dyed by the rays of the setting sun.
All of a sudden, Kuo-kun’s face clouds over as though he realises something.
“Y’know, I"m not really fond of being called『Kuo-kun』."
"Well, there"s another『Kuo』here after all."
He laughs with a complicated look.
His orange hair sways fluidly and his amber eyes shines, reflecting the evening sun.
"Call me by my given name."
Aah.
It"s an event.
"Given name? Kousuke-kun?"
"Aah, that"s much better."
That mischievous-looking face becomes wreathed in smiles[2].
Seeing that face, Yui-chan blushes faintly.
How cuteー.
The two exude a picturesque atmosphere.
I want to quietly withdraw and be absorbed in watching over them.
But I can"t just watch the two of them like this.
I recall Tomotaka-sama"s words.
『If the strong phantoms in school try to lay their hands on the Priestess of Ominous Clouds… do you understand?』
Yes.
I understand.
"Y"know, I"m saying this to you too, Tomonaga."
"Chako!"
With her cheeks still red, Yui-chan looks at me reproachfully.
"I"ll call you Kousuke-chan then."
“There, there. Ah, also, I don’t like the surname『Tomonaga』either, so I’d like you to call me by my given name."
"Un."
For an instant, Kousuke-chan"s eyes open wide. He then murmurs my name in an embarra.s.sed manner.
"… Chako."
"N-nothing, that was just a run-through."
"My~look~, this kid is embarra.s.sed~."
Teasing Kousuke-chan whose face turns red, I sn.i.g.g.e.r.
Yui-chan, too, laughs along in a troubled manner.
The kind and cute Yui-chan.
However, I can"t support a romance involving a phantom.
I beg you, Yui-chan.
Please don"t choose Kousuke-chan.
x(
x
[1] The kanji for his surname is 九尾, which literally translates to "nine tails" and can alternatively be read as "kyūbi". Nine-tailed fox.
[2] From what I understand of the original j.a.panese term, it"s a smile that "crumples" the face, causing wrinkles… it doesn"t look as awful as my description sounds, really. Something like this.