Translator: Reflet
「Nevertheless」
They were heading to the cafeteria.
Not heeding the gazes gathering from the students, Kohaku stuck closely to Taiyou.
He had his arms linked with the Eternal Little, Loli Baba inside the schoolhouse.
Gazes were a.s.sembling around them for those two overlapping reasons.
「I antic.i.p.ated that Leticia and Youran would infiltrate the academy in some way, but I really didn"t see you coming as well」
「Kukuku」
Kohaku purred, answering.
「One year ago, an eighty three year-old woman been chosen for the bench at a high school softball tournament. Not as a relative, but this woman of many years nevertheless wanted to study more than anything, becoming quite the fine high school girl commuting to high school via correspondence system. As per her social status, she been chosen for the bench as the club manager, and with delicate judgement fulfilled her candidacy. When I heard that, I also sought to be a high school girl」
「And what"s the real story?」
「I wanted to be Husband"s cla.s.smate, woof」
When he asked her, Kohaku answered in the tone of a happy dog, holding on tightly to his arms, behaving like a spoiled child.
The female students pa.s.sing by made a start, but he decided to pretend to not notice.
「Welp, I was wondering if that was not the case」
「You be the same way, Husband」
「Huh？」
Kohaku had returned to her normal tone after behaving like a dog momentarily.
Taiyou inclined his head, inquiring.
Kohaku asked him.
「You say that you be expecting those two to come to the school, but in what way？」
「……I antic.i.p.ated them to both be transfer students」
Taiyou answered with a questionable face.
Taiyou had been able to foretell about half of the events that occured in the morning ruckus.
Leticia, who had moved to Oriyakata Town so as to prepare her new home next to Taiyou Castle.
In order to create the kind of envrionment that Leticia could spend a pleasant life in, Youran had requested Taiyou to be the student council president.
If he were to think of the flow of events and their relationship, Taiyou had antic.i.p.ated that both of them would be transferring to the academy.
Not just Leticia, but also Youran through one way or the other. He had seen her following.
Only half of his predictions had turned out to be true.
Youran and Leticia did both make it to the school, but neither of them had come as students. One was a chairwoman, and the other was an instructor.
He was right on about them coming, but their roles were an utter anomaly.
「Well, both of them be the same age range as Husband. It be reasonable to expect that much」
「……That"s gotta be a breach of the rules. Like h.e.l.l I could predict that」
「I say ye have a point there」
「More like two points」
「Then we had best combine those into one big point, eh?」
「Let"s do that」
Taiyou briefly gave a puff of laughter.
「But well…Though they may have the upper hand now, I can"t just let them always have it」
Taiyou declared as he looked completely forward.
「Certainly, yer dignity seems like it not be safe」
「I could care less about that」
He slowly shook his head.
「All dignity is is pride. I could care less about that」
「Then what be important to ye？」
「I don"t think you"ve been watching, but the moment that Youran came up on stage, Leticia was surprised enough to die」
「Which means that the other side be losing their own points, eh」
Kohaku was implicitly asking him what he was getting at.
「I don"t really get it, but I can feel a battle of willpower between those two. The two of them are best friends after all, so I don"t mind them doing that outside of the academy, but when they make this place a stage for their battle of willpower, I fear that if something happens then you guys"ll get wrapped into it」
「Hm」
「Those two are best friends, no mistaking it. I still can"t feel any evil intent between them today. Which is exactly why it"s a drag」
「With there being no malice, they be late to notice. So in the end, things be more likely to take a turn for the worst」
「Exactly」
Taiyou nodded.
Just as Kohaku had said, he was only worrying about that.
His way of thinking was that there was no more troublesome thing than trouble without malice or harmful intent.
「It be best to make the two of them yours as quickly as possible, Husband」
「Right」
Nodding, he walked alongside Kohaku.
After a bit, he realized what Kohaku was saying.
「Kohaku-san? Right now, did you just say to make them……」
「Does Husband not wish to do do？ Make the fifth that la.s.s」
「……Did you know about this？」
「Aye, vaguely」
「Was I…easy to read？」
「Although the first person to realize it been Aoba」
「Aoba？」
Taiyou was surprised, wondering why Aoba"s name would come up here.
As they were doing this and that, the two of them made it to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was lively. The place that could fit one hundred was almost full, and it looked as if there were not free seats.
When they were standing at the entrance, searching around to see if any seats were open…
「Yo, well if it isn"t the rare combination」
He turned around to whoever talked to him from behind.
「Youran!?」
Taiyou was astonished.
Youran was behind him.
Unlike in the morning, she was in her twintailed-uniform from when she was attending there.
The way spoke was also from that time, so she looked no different from the average student.
There was also the fact that being next to the Eternal Little《a young girl at first sight》, Kohaku, made her stand out comparatively less.
「Whatcha doing here？」
「Innit a cafeteria? I just came to eat here for lunch」
「Here？」
「Yup」
「That"s a shock……I so thought that you"d be eating something way better」
「Well see」
Still preserving her smile, Youran looked at Taiyou with contrasting unamused eyes.
「I don"t like your so-called『better things』. Whenever I eat those sorts of things I have to have at least two people test it for poison, so I can"t even eat anything that"s heated up」
「Wow, foretasters? But why two at the very least？」
「Well, one of them might very well have an immunity to poison. So do you really think I"d be able to tell if that person was a traitor or not？」
「……That sucks」
Taiyou spoke from the bottom of his heart.
「Welp, I"m used to it」
Youran spoke while grinning.
As they were standing while talking, there was an open table near them seating four, so Taiyou sat there.
「What"re you gonna eat？」
「Since there"s no one to taste it for poision, preferably something that"s warm」
「Then I"d say ramen. You good with ramen？」
「Fine by me」
「And Kohaku-san？」
「I be wanting the same as Husband」
「Got it」
Taiyou nodded, leaving the two at their seats as he proceeded to first go to the meal ticket vending machine, buying three ramen meal tickets there.
「……Ahhh」
The moment he began leaving the vending machines, something flashed in his head.
It was the kind of flash that a human from another generation might have in a robot anime.
He bought another ticket of the same type, bringing a total of four tickets to the counter, handing them to the older woman.
After waiting there for a bit, he set the four finished ramen bowls skillfully on the tray (they were light, but he had difficulty with the balance), and returned to their table.
「Yep, figured」
Just as he had antic.i.p.ated, in addition to Kohaku and Youran, Leticia was there as well.