Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru

The morning of the next day.

After meeting with Masuzu, I went to to the clubroom to get changed. Then, I waited for the appointed time to come. The plan was for Chiwa, who was stationed at the school gates, to give me a phone call.

"It suits you, Eita."

"Don"t lie to me!"

I protested at Masuzu who had a narrow smile.

"You must like it a lot yourself, hm? You threw away your manga and light novels, but the precious thing you ended up keeping was this."

"I don"t treasure this at all! I only sold those because they were books. There was no way I could sell this."

"Then you could have just thrown it away."

"But then I would have been found out by the neighbors!"

This was a big thing to me. How could I let my disgraces be spread about?"

"Oh yeah, is it really okay that we didn"t tell Fuyuumi about this? Wouldn"t it be better to just let her know?"

"If we told her about this, that illogically soft girl would definitely not allow it."

"......I guess that"s true."

Just then my cellphone rang. Chiwa was calling.

"Himecchi"s coming! Get ready!"

"Understood." After that brief reply, I hung up the phone.

"We"ve already gotten this far, so I just need to resolve myself."

"Right. Leave the funeral arrangements to me."

To be honest, I wasn"t really looking forward to it, and I had more-or-less resigned myself to fate.

I slapped myself on the face several times to muster up my enthusiasm, and strode out the clubroom. I ran through the hallway, enduring the astonished glances of students who had already arrived at school. Then I pa.s.sed through the main entrance and walked towards the school gates. It would have been troublesome if I ran into a disciplinary committee member or a teacher, but it looked like the ｢low probability route｣ that Masuzu planned for me was accurate.

Good, from here on was my territory.

I took care not to let the students going to school notice me as I crouched in the bushes next to the school gate. I only let my head peep out to survey the situation around me.

Today, the same two disciplinary committee members were on duty at the school gates carrying out the ｢Good Morning Initiative｣ as they examined the clothing attire of students who pa.s.sed by. For the most part, our school was very peaceful and we didn"t have any extreme delinquents who severely broke the rules. At most, girls that were wearing too much makeup were stopped, but that was it. That"s why I could understand how hyper-dimensional Hime was yesterday.

Right now, I was about to enter this hyper-dimension (ANOTHER DIMENSION).

"Hey you again, stop right there!"

A voice that seemed to cut straight through the morning clamor reverberated in front of the school gates. That was the ponytail disciplinary committee member.

I tried my best to stretch my neck in the direction of the voices from underneath the shadow of the thicket, just enough to see Hime walking forward while carrying a fishing rod with her left arm bandaged. Today she was already wearing a dark black cloak, which waved freely in the wind. Where did she buy that? It was the kind of dream item that I would have been overjoyed to have in middle school.

Hime tried to walk past the disciplinary committee members without stopping, but she was grabbed by the shoulders and obstructed as she tried to go through the gates.

"Yesterday we warned you, but you haven"t learned your lesson yet? This is a serious challenge against the disciplinary committee of our school. Do you have any idea what you"re doing?"

Ponytail-senpai had a ferocious glare on her face, and Hime looked a little fearful.

However, she immediately recovered her poker face:

"That"s a stupid question. My actions have been completely and implicitly recorded. The G.o.ds are in the heavens. It"s nothing to have the whole earth at peace."

"Fine, then you"re going to the disciplinary committee room—"

d.a.m.n, I better stop them fast!

I was about to charge forward, but suddenly another voice spoke up at the school gates.

"Wait a second, Himecchi!"

The students who were watching the uproar had formed a circle, but Fuyuumi Ai parted the crowd in half and strode forward from the empty street.

She was wearing a pure-white kimono, a tiny triangular towel, and even tabi[1] on her feet.

This was the so-called, historical ｢funeral clothes｣ which the Date clan wore to calm down Toyotomi Hideyoshi"s anger. [2]

The future candidate for disciplinary committee president was wearing attire that unquestionably violated the school rules, and the sight of this silenced even the noisy crowd that stood around at the school gates. Ponytail-senpai and even Hime was dumbstruck as they watched Fuyuumi walk in.

I was too.

Having missed my timing to enter the stage, I disgracefully retreated back into the bushes.

—What in the world are you thinking? Ai?

"W-What are you doing? Why are even you dressed up, too?"

"This isn"t a violation of school rules! This is formal attire for offering an apology."

Fuyuumi came to Hime"s side and spoke to the speechless ponytail-senpai.

"Apology? Why you?"

"Himechi is my important friend and my disciple. The disciple"s mistake is also the master"s mistake, so I"ve come to make an apology!"

"M-Master?"

Fuyuumi kneeled beside a fl.u.s.tered Hime.

With five fingers on the ground, everyone could tell that this was the prostrate posture for making an apology.

"Come with me, Himecchi. Let"s apologize to senpai together! Then, promise with me that you"ll never do a thing like this again!"

"I…… can"t do it."

"Why?! Didn"t I tell you yesterday that dressing up like this won"t make you popular?!"

"No, I"m not doing this to become popular."

"Then why is it? Explain it to me!"

Hime tightly clutched her cape that was fluttering in the air as she spoke,

"Because I want to turn into a liar."

"Huh?"

"I, want to turn into a liar. I want to deceive everyone, deceive the world, and become a true liar. This way—I can carry out a ma.s.sacre (genocide).

"......?"

Fuyuumi and the two disciplinary committee members tilted their heads from confusion?

Even the bustling crowd looked at each other and whispered in dismay. It looked like there wasn"t a single person who understood Hime"s words.

Of course, I didn"t understand her at all.

But there was one thing I did know: if Hime went out of control, it was up to us to take responsibility for it.

In short, the scene had calmed down now, so it was the perfect opportunity.

I took a firm breath and resolved myself. Then, I charged out towards the school gates.

I shouted with all the cool-ness in my heart

"DIVE! ANOTHER DIMENSION! [3]

No! It"s no good, Himeka. Sei. Heavensrain!"

The moment I shouted, everyone gathered at the school gates simultaneously turned their attention onto me. I confirmed that everyone was staring with wide eyes and open mouths.

Yes, this is exactly what"s expected!

That"s because I was dressed exactly the same as Hime—no, mine was a chuunibyou that was even more extreme than Hime"s.

Directly over my bare chest, I was wearing a out-of-season black overcoat. My pants were black jeans.

I was carrying a ma.s.sive sword comparable to the size of Hime"s fishing rod on my back. I made this, ｢Wyvern-Slayer｣ (DRAUPNIR), from a cloth"s drying pole that I sawed up, tied together with rope, and spray-painted with black paint.

I wore cotton gloves with the fingers cut off on both my hands, on which I had written ｢Death｣ and ｢Kill｣ with red marker.

With the exception of my white gloves, I was head-to-foot in black. This was my aesthetic taste. In middle school, I thought this was super cool, and to be honest I still felt that way, though only a little.

"What are you doing Ta-kun? Are you an idiot?"

Fuyuumi"s cold giggle pierced into my back. d.a.m.n, this girl didn"t understand chuunibyou, and I certainly didn"t want to be told off by a girl who was wearing burial clothes for atonement.

I pretended I didn"t hear Fuyuumi as I gazed at Hime.

"Don"t become engrossed in the power of killing and games! I should have told you this before in our past lives. But right now you"ve become drunk on the force known as power! How are you different from the Wyverns, then? Evil forces will continuously draw from your mood, and you"ll become depraved!"

Yes—

Even though I"ve been free of this for a year, I could still say something smoothly like this.

Although this was lamentable, it looked like the chuunibyou had penetrated the depths of my heart to the level of my soul.

"—I"m already aware of that."

Finally recovering from the attack, Hime responded with her usual apathetic voice.

Even though. I know this. I"m very clear about it.

Faking this expressionless face, Hime tilted her nose upwards!

"Honestly, you on the other hand, how long do you intend to pretend to be the ｢Holy Dragon Knight of Dawn｣? You"re just villager A-ta. If a powerless person like you wears that kind of equipment, you"ll be engulfed by ｢Dragonic Aura｣ to the point your existence will be wiped off the Akashic Records. You should remove that get-up right away and turn it over to me."

"....Hehehe…."

"What"s so funny?"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

I laughed so loud that even students who had been holding their breath and listening from the distance could hear me.

You"ve taken the bait, Hime!

Yes, yes. If you had chuunibyou, that was certainly what you liked! There"s no way you couldn"t have taken the bait.

"That"s why I said you"re naive, ｢Holy Dragon Princess of Dawn Hime｣. You"ve been confused and mistaken the material world (USHER) for the spiritual world (ASTRAL), haven"t you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I"ve already achieved complete fusion with the ｢Holy Dragon Knight of Dawn｣! In this material world, there weren"t any appropriate vessels, so there was no way he could appear in this universe. That"s why he used my body and was reborn—no, he was newly born! I"m no longer ｢Villager A｣. As a brave hero, this original ｢A｣ has been replaced—｢Holy Dragon Knight of Dawn - A (ACE)｣!

…...There!

But I never expected Hime"s brows to furrow into a ｢八｣

"......I"ve alway felt that setting was implausible…..."

"S-Shut up! Don"t talk about settings!"

"This ACE stuff isn"t cool."

"No way! It"s definitely really cool!"

While I was retorting, Hime suddenly returned to her original state.

d.a.m.n. Though what she said did have some sense to it. Since I only made it up last night on the spot, this setting in itself wasn"t very consolidated. At the peak of my power, I was able to create a magnificent, luxurious, and epic setting in just one night. If only I had just thought of a dazzling name that sounded cooler than ACE!

"Ei-kun, continue! Continue!"

Probably because she noticed me pause, Chiwa"s soft voice from the bustling crowd helped lift me up. Thanks to her, I came back to my senses.

"—Alright, since that"s the case, then I"ll use this Wyvern-Slaying Sword to prove it to you."

I took out my black painted sword (drying pole) and set my stance, the sharp end of the blade pointed towards Hime.

"Saying anything more is useless! I"ll use Raijin Killer to discuss my justice!"

Hime again raised her nose and similarly prepared her sword (fishing rod).

"I"m coming! Die!"

"Take this! GENOCIDE!"

Our swords collided simultaneously. Perhaps because I used too much force, Hime stumbled back a few steps. No good. I should probably hold back a little bit.

Incidentally, I glanced around us and saw that the bustling crowd had increased quite significantly in size. This wasn"t just people from our school. Even pa.s.sersbys on the road had stopped to watch our battle with interest.

……Not good.

I felt a dull ache, and it really did hurt.

The warrior"s spirit—that was the hot blood that was currently raging!

"There seems to be a bit of hesitation in your swordsmanship, Holy Dragon Princess of Dawn Hime!"

"Same with you. You"re not as nimble as you were in your past life, Holy Dragon Knight of Dawn - A!"

I was completely drunk with the sound of fencing that reverberated on this early morning air.

Because even during the period I had actively had chuunibyou, something like this had never happened before—I had never had a comrade in chuunibyou.

Hime definitely felt in a similar way I did. She was gasping for breath, dripping with sweat, and continuously brandishing that fishing pole just like a child.

However, that happy moment didn"t last.

The morning bell rang through the school grounds.

Also, the sound of this bell was also the signal we had predetermined to be the ｢ending point｣.

"Okay cut, that"s enough for today, that"s enough for today."

Masuzu cleverly stepped forward from the school building as she loudly announced, ｢That"s enough for today｣.

"So we"ll wrap up around here—! That"s enough for today—!"

Chiwa, who had been closely watching us, similarly began to shout this.

"Chiwa? Natsukawa-san? What"s going on?"

"I"m sorry Fuyuumi-san, we didn"t have time to tell you—actually, this was a rehearsal for our performance act."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

Breaking off Fuyuumi who was in a daze, Masuzu faced the bustling crowd of people and announced,

"We apologize for causing such a commotion so early in the morning. We"d like to thank everyone for helping ｢The Society for Bringing Out Your Maiden Self｣ conduct our rehearsal for our act at the school anniversary festival.

The crowd was synchronized as they all went ｢Huh?｣ with astonished faces.

However, the one who was most astonished was Hime. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at Masuzu"s and my face in alternation.

"In other words, this was just practice for the ｢Maiden"s Club｣?"

Masuzu nodded in response to Ponytail-senpai"s question.

"Actually, we were having a lot of trouble trying to decide what to perform for the school anniversary, so we decided to try all sorts of different things. We"re going to pick the most popular parts. Akishino-san"s peculiar behavior from yesterday and today, along with Fuyuumi-san"s burial outfit, are all part of it—isn"t that right, Harusaki-san?"

"Mhmmmm, um, Absolutelyyy~"

Compared with Masuzu"s flawless acting, Chiwa still seemed like she was reading from a script. Whatever, there"s not much we could do about it.

"B-But, I didn"t hear a thing about it—"

"In short, that"s the story! Sorry for causing such a disturbance!"

We even managed to get Fuyuumi, who was venting with discontent, to reluctantly bow her head. Then, we all apologized to to the two disciplinary committee members. I"m sorry, Ai-chan. I"ll explain to you later.

The entire crowd seemed to lose interest, and they commented as they walked towards the main entrance: ｢Come on? It was fake.｣ ｢I thought they were actually fighting—.｣

It looked like this ｢play｣ wasn"t received that well. Chiwa"s ｢Fighting Comedy Sketch｣ from last semester had a much better evaluation.

"Well, if it was just practice for the school anniversary, then fine, there"s nothing we can do about it…"

Ponytail-senpai looked at each of us in turn, and the anger on her face subsided.

"However, I hope you will put forward an application the next time you make such a large-scale activity. I"ll report this to the head of the committee, do you understand?"

"I guess there"s nothing we can do about it."

Masuzu shrugged when senpai"s gaze came to her.

Although we"d probably get a scolding no matter what, as long as we had the school anniversary as an excuse, we probably wouldn"t get any disciplinary action as severe as a suspension. The most important thing was to let the disciplinary committee understand that this wasn"t Hime"s responsibility by herself. Rather, it was was ｢Jien-Otsu"s｣ conduct all together.

Masuzu had thought of this ｢battle plan｣, and it seemed like there would be a minimum consequences for us.

After the crowd and the disciplinary committee members left, only we from the ｢Maiden"s Club｣ were left in front of the school entrance.

"Alright, we should get going too."

The moment I put my hand on the blankly staring Hime"s shoulder, she violently shook her head.

"Eita, why did you do something like that?"

"You"re asking me why? Of course it"s because of you—"

"Don"t stick your nose in other people"s business. I intended to be punished by the world in the first place."

This subtle chuunibyou wording was just like a line one could often find from an anime.

However, this wasn"t the kind of language from the performance from earlier. Just one glance at Hime"s expression, and I knew it. She no longer had an energetic expression that she wore while fighting. Now, you could say it was a gloomy or sorrowful look.

"What do you mean by being punished?"

Hime did not answer Masuzu"s question.

She picked up the fishing rod again and started walking towards the school building with heavy steps. Even the impressive-looking cape that flapped in the wind looked crestfallen.

"Honestly, it makes no sense! What"s going on?"

The sleeves of her burial clothes swaying, Fuyuumi"s shout sounded like she was about to cry.

I also felt similarly.

The chuunibyou that was displayed earlier was linked by feelings. Hime was able to communicate through her soul, but I didn"t understand her feelings. I just couldn"t understand.

This made me incredibly anxious.

Akishino Himeka - LV. 45

Special Skill: Gamer

SP Counter:

Dimension-ignore Rewrite

One-hit Division

Abilities:

Shoot 160 - Ability 140 - Evasion 185

Brawl 150 - Defense 170 - Accuracy 165

Trump Card BONUS:

At 130 Power and above, carry out ｢Hara.s.sment｣ every round.

Spirit Commands:

Interaction (10) - Friendship (40) - Antic.i.p.ation (50)

Hard Work (10) - Movement (40) - Courage (70)