VOLUME 1
Season 2, Episode 4
Episode 4:
Cla.s.s whizzed by in a blur of colours and sounds. And then, it was lunch.
Shun"s mind constantly reflected upon that message.
Someone else out there knew about Rosalie. That message practically screamed at him to take precaution.
But, who could it be?
And how was he to know that they were talking about his Rosalie, who was only the heroine of Dragon Bless, the hottest RPG of all time?
Gasp! Do they perhaps know, why Rosalie came out to our world?
Shun was beyond curious.
Maybe, maybe, maybe, it was someone that was in some way interconnected with Rosalie from that strange world, who had also come out -
Once again, his mind drew a blank.
Sigh. As per usual, whenever he tried to "imagine" the impossible, his train of thought would come to an abrupt stop.
"You"re staring off into s.p.a.ce again."
They were headed off to lunch at the cafeteria, Uehara commenting placidly on Shun demeanour, or in this case, misdemeanour.
"Nah, it"s nothing."
–
Inconsequential topics littering the hallways, Shun and Uehara soon found themselves in front of the cafeteria.
A large signboard, where normally would have been empty s.p.a.ce, stood before them.
"Luncheon - learning the ways of peasant cuisine"
The whole cafeteria had been redecorated, and now resembled something out of a Viennese café catalogue. The situation was made even more unbelievable when Shun spotted girls from the Celeb Course sitting at each designated table, staring dumbfounded at the food in the plastic container before them. In all seriousness, it looked as if none of them had ever seen a donburi or udon dish in their lives.
"Dearest sister, whatever could this agemono[1], whose breading far exceeds its contents, even be?"
"I believe, Yumi, that these are known to peasants as kakiage."
"But how is it that breading is the only thing on it?"
Soft, polite exchanges as such could be heard throughout the entire floor. And above this, Nadeshiko presided in all her glory.
That being said, her gaze would occasionally wonder towards the doorway of the cafeteria, as if waiting or searching for someone.
Shun didn"t care who it was that she was searching for.
No, really, he didn"t. As long as he could get off scot free. That was all that mattered to him.
However, he sincerely doubted that that would ever happen. As soon as he poked his head through the door, she would find some way to call him out for sure.
And he was in no mood for any of her little games.
Well, guess there"s only one choice left.
"Sorry Uehara, I"ll have my lunch later."
"O-Oi!"
Turning his back on Uehara, Shun retraced his footsteps towards the bicycle shed, which was conveniently located at the other end of the school building.
Guess he"d get a start on fixing that bicycle first.
–
Shun fetched his trusty toolbox from a corner in the garage and pulled out his cla.s.smate"s bicycle.
It was time to get down to business.
Plopping himself down, Shun deftly removed the inner tube of the bicycle tyre. Then, pouring a packet of water onto it, he was able to clearly pinpoint the location of the leak.
Yup, a piece of worn sandpaper and rubber patch would do the trick.
Shun was no novice in this, having picked up the skill for repairing bicycles at an early age when he used to stay with his uncle, who just so happened to own a bicycle shop.
As such, he allowed his attention to wander while never ceasing his task at hand.
Just slightly across the open s.p.a.ce from the bicycle shed were a few of the students from the Celeb Course, stationed as guards in front of the Celeb Course school building. They were playing with Tome, a female Pomeranian mix, widely accepted and loved as the school"s very own pet.
Shun remembered being told that once upon a time, the land on which the Celeb Course building stood was simply acres of sprawling paddy fields.
Of course, all that became ancient history when Nadeshiko the tyrant entered the school. Upon her arrival, she ordered the fields to be filled up and her Celeb Course building to be built.
Sigh.
Sometimes Shun really did not understand why Nadeshiko would go so far as to enroll in a school just to build a special building all for herself.
To make matters worse, normal students weren"t even allowed into the Celeb Course school building. Only students from the Celeb Course could enter freely, while the remaining population of students had absolutely no contact whatsoever with the Celeb Course building.
It was as if the Celeb Course was an entirely different ent.i.ty, separate from the rest of the school. Why they even bothered to place it under the same school banner was a mystery entirely beyond Shun"s capacity of reason.
Lost in his musings, Shun failed to notice another presence in the bicycle shed until a shadow fell across the tyre.
Turning around, Shun came face to face with his worst nightmare.
Nadeshiko was standing at the entrance to the shed, staring at him in silence.
Strangely enough, she didn"t have her whole entourage with her.
Upon spotting Shun at the dim corner, Nadeshiko started, and then, placing her hands on her hips gave a very delicate, holier-than-thou snicker.
"You"d work so hard for a mere ￥200 worth of pocket money?"
"…How"d you know about that?"
An exaggerated sigh.
"When you"re sitting in as mighty a position as I, nothing goes unnoticed. Even trivial things as such."
"I see."
With no interest in continuing the conversation, Shun turned back to his work. Fixing the patch on exactly the right spot on the inner tube, he brought out a small hammer and began hammering the patch in rhythmically. When that was completed, Shun produced another packet of water and poured it onto the inner tube in order to test the secureness of the patch.
Throughout this, Nadeshiko watched Shun intently.
"What is it?"
"N-Nothing. I was just thinking, what paltry food you must survive on every day if this was all you had for your lunch money. Oh, and also, in case you were wondering, I"m just here for a walk. My girls from the Celeb Course took a shock today from the food in your cafeteria, and thus I decided it would be best for me to refrain from eating it. That being said, today"s luncheon was mainly for them to experience the peasant"s lunch for themselves, and I must agree that -"
Shun decided to cut her short before she talked his ears off.
"I see."
It was time to pack up and go.
"Please wait!"
A hand tugged at his sleeve.
"Since you insist upon it, I guess it would be alright for you to join us in the Celeb Course building cafeteria for lunch just this once."
"Excuse me?"
Blushing slightly, Nadeshiko turned away from him as she proceeded to supply an explanation.
"D-Do not misunderstand! This is just a coincidence. I am doing this for charity. All for charity. To better the world! Your pitiful countenance has moved my heart and I have decided to show you some mercy by letting you have a taste of something you otherwise would never be able to obtain after a lifetime of hard work. Do you know that even young heirs of the world"s largest conglomerates would find it difficult to be graced by my presence? Do you understand how amazing that is? Do you even know how fortunate you are?"
"… Thanks, but no thanks."
"The food will be prepared by chefs personally handpicked and trained by Michelin-three-star-rated chef Michel Troisgros. As such, only food of the highest quality will be served for our lunch."
Strange. Someone"s persistent.
But still, there was no way he would consent to have lunch with her. He"d much rather starve.
Then, just as he was about to change the topic and cut loose -
"Shun!"
Hmm… That sure sounds familiar.
Oh no. She couldn"t be -
Rounding the corner, her hands raised in greeting, was Rosalie.
Oh G.o.d.
s.h.i.t was about to get serious.
–
"Is she your friend?"
"U-Um…"
This was bad. Real bad. He"d better get her out of here before the rest find out, or else -
As Rosalie walked towards him he heard, from afar the sound of thundering footsteps.
It seems as though the whole student population had followed Rosalie out here.
Oh no. No. No. No. No. No.
"So this is where you were hiding, Shun."
Those piercing stares from behind were catching up, perforating Shun, sinking deep into his skin.
"Why"re you here?"
The first question that popped out of his mouth.
"Manami sent me here. I talked to various people in order to find out where you were."
Why was it that she never understood what he meant?!
"No, not that, I mean - "
He was interrupted by his cla.s.smates, who clearly were unable to suppress their curiosity any longer.
"Hey, Kanda, my friend, who"s this kid?"
"She from abroad? I totally dig! She"s so cute! And that cosplay!"
"That"s the one, ain"t it? The one from Dragon Bless - "
"… The Warrior Princess Rosalie."
No, not you too, Uehara.
"She"s really into it, huh? Looks exactly like the real Rosalie!"
"…? What are you saying? I am the real Rosalie!"
Oh no, gotta stop her now!
"Uwah -!!"
Caught like a deer in the headlights, Shun did the next best thing.
Slamming a hand on her mouth, he succeeded in effectively shutting her up.
Although, come to think of it, that may not have been the best idea. He could tell from the confused stares that his cla.s.smates, especially Uehara and Nadeshiko, had no idea what had gotten into him.
Someone decided to speak up.
"What"s wrong, man?!"
A pregnant pause. Sweat beaded on Shun"s forehead. The tension in the air was so thick that scissors could cut through it.
This was a very dangerous situation. Like walking on a tightrope, with thumbtacks attached.
"Haha - So, Rosa- no wait, so, why"re you here?"
You know what they say - when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
First, change topics and distract the crowd.
Rosalie, however, remained unfazed. With a smile and nod, as though she had been waiting for this very question, she held out her hands towards Shun.
There, clutched tightly by the knot on the top was a bento box, wrapped in the traditional j.a.panese style.
"I made a bento for you."
The pride from said accomplishment was all but written on her face.
"I made this for you"
Dead silence. Whispers died down as Shun remembered a scene from the morning.
"Something wonderful is going to happen today, so just look forward to it, okay, Shun?"
Argh!
That Manami -
How could he have been so stupid? He knew that she was going to try her hand at cooking, but he never would have expected her to show up here, and like this, of all places -
He"d give anything to be able to hand Manami a good shaking right about now.
And what was more, it seemed that Manami had taught Rosalie some very interesting new words to say to him when handing him the bento.
"How do you feel Shun? Have you fallen heads over heels in love with me yet?"
A slight blush dusted her cheeks. "Heads over heels", such an expired phrase could only have been Manami"s doing.
Around him, the crowd started to stir. Girls were cheering loudly as they watched the scene unfold while the boys were predictably jeering at him, probably envious that such a beautiful specimen as Rosalie could ever fall in love with someone like him.
"N-No! Wait!"
By that point though, no one was even listening to Shun.
"Do you think she"s handing him a homemade bento crammed full of love?"
"So, does that means they"re lovers?"
"-We"re not lovers."
Rosalie intervened, firmly denying the statement.
Shun had a horrible feeling of déjà vu.
Gotta stop her, gotta stop her, gotta stop her - !!!
"We are betrothed. I am Shun"s bride."
Too late.
Seemingly unaware of the damage dealt, Rosalie continued.
"In other words, yes, how would you put it? I think the right term should be "Bento Made By A Loving Wife"."
The finishing blow.
Everyone held their breaths. The bicycle shed had become a vacuum.
Stiff and unmoving, his cla.s.smates stood, watching him and Rosalie.
It was the calm before the storm.
And then, all h.e.l.l broke loose. Shun didn"t even know how to contain it.
–
"Only the students of this school are allowed in here. This has been an iron-clad rule in our school, enforced for generations. Please leave."
A voice broke through the surrounding chaos.
Nadeshiko, calm and cold as ever, stalked fiercely towards Rosalie. Shards of ice seemed to glitter around her as she prepared for a faceoff with Rosalie.
Shun had never seen the tyrant as displeased before.
"I have no idea who you are, but as you have stepped foot into this land you shall hereby be judged in accordance with our rules. In other words, my rules. I shall deal out the punishment as I see fit."
Nadeshiko raised her right leg, heading into battle position.
"This is your punishment!"
With movements quicker than the speed of light, Nadeshiko howled out a battle cry as she angled her kick towards Rosalie"s face.
Shun closed his eyes, preparing for the resounding slap of foot-face contact.
It never came.
Moments later, he opened his eyes to a magnificent scene.
Rosalie had caught hold of Nadeshiko"s leg in a death grip, her movements fluid and easy as though she was simply dusting off her shoulder.
Nadeshiko looked deranged in all her rage.
His cla.s.smates were all wearing similar expressions of shock and amazement.
No one had ever stopped the tyrant"s kick before. No one.
Ever the cautious fighter, Nadeshiko immediately withdrew her foot, returning back to her neutral stance.
She was glaring openly at Rosalie now, her fighting spirit practically pouring out of every pore in her body.
Rosalie, on the other hand, had already taken her eyes off of Nadeshiko.
Something else had happened along to grab her attention.
Tome, the dog, had come strolling in.
Her dear pink tongue lolling out of her mouth, Tome walked over, her large round eyes staring pleadingly towards Rosalie - as if asking her to stop the fight and play together nicely with everyone.
Such a kind little animal. She probably saw the fight from where she stood, playing with the guards in front of the Celeb Course school building. Being the homely, happy, peaceful animal that she was, she then came ambling over to stand by Rosalie, in order to stop the fight.
Rosalie, eyes bright with unshed tears, stood trembling before Tome.
And then.
Blood. So much blood, came gushing out from her nose.
–
"Kyaaaaaa-!!!"
Nadeshiko unleashed a horrified scream, blood splattering all over her immaculate outfit.
Everyone was thrown for a loop at this sudden bloodbath.
Tome, being at the center of the fray, was particularly terrified. Letting out a howl, she ran as fast as her feet could carry her, away from the bleeding Rosalie.
"Come here little girl, come here!"
Rosalie, so enamored by the sight of the little dog, either did not notice she was bleeding, or didn"t care. She chased after Tome, clearly unwilling to let the little dog out of her sight.
She was a fast runner too.
No wonder Tome was scared s.h.i.tless.
"T-This is so… humiliating!"
Having regained enough sense to string a sentence together, Nadeshiko tried to salvage her pride.
"I challenge you! Let us have a compet.i.tion to see who the best is."
Unfortunately though, Rosalie only had eyes and ears for Tome.
Running around in circles, she chased, hot at her heels, determined to catch her.
Shun really had to hand it to the little dog for not having given in yet.
Nadeshiko groaned in exasperation, and glancing over at Shun, steeled herself for a final shot.
"We will start as soon as the ring has been set up. I swear that I will clear my name and regain my pride before the eyes of everyone in this school."
And with that, her head held high, Nadeshiko stalked away.
–
"With the way things are going, afternoon lessons are going to be cancelled, don"t you think?"
Shun nearly jumped out of his skin when out of nowhere a soft voice whispered beside his ear.
Reflexively spinning around, Shun was greeted by a pair of cat ears.
It was the student council president, Sora, her grinning face pushed close to his own.
When did she -?
"Kanda-san, would you please come with me for a minute? There is something I wish to talk to you about."
"Something you want to talk to me about?"
Sora nodded her head politely. Then, in a casual undertone, she added, "It is "after school" right now, isn"t it?"
What was she talking about?
Wait a second… That sounds familiar…
It couldn"t be -
"Oh, in case you were wondering. Yes, this is indeed about Rosalie-san."
A small smile played on Sora"s lips.
[1] Agemono - a category of deep fried dishes in j.a.panese cuisine.