Leviathan of the Covenant

Volume 4, Chapter 1 - For that Inevitable Day in the Future Part 3

"A-Amenbo akai na aiueo! Kitsutsuki kotsu kotsu kare keya ki! Tote tote tatta to tobitatta! Namekuji noro noro naninuneno!"

This was happening an hour prior to Haruga Haruomi and Juujouji Orihime arriving at the classroom.

Today, Asya—namely, Anastasya Rubashvili—was dedicating herself to vocal exercises again. This was a basic lesson familiar to people in theater troupes and drama clubs.

Naturally, a certain person remained standing on the side with arms crossed—

"Enunciate your words more... Sigh, but let's conclude here this morning."

With an estimated bodyweight of 140kg, President M commented gravely.

She was dressed in a plain white t-shirt with a white toga like those of ancient Roman sages. This type of ancient attire could only be seen nowadays in movies about gladiators or bath houses set in that particular era.

Producing an effect akin to cosplay, President M had ample presence today too.

Inside the forest on campus, the two of them were having a one-to-one special training session.

"After calisthenics and vocal exercises, read out the script as usual. Ready to begin?"

"Affirmative... But President, why do I have to take lessons related to acting?"

Asya replied decisively but suddenly tilted her head.

"Isn't there a saying that 'women are naturals as actresses'? Even without learning acting skills deliberately, I already have the good looks to become a movie star. Aren't I plenty talented already? Ehe."

"What shameless bragging coming from someone who completely lacks the skills to make effective use of this talent."

"No way! President, aren't you the one who kept praising my acting skills during these five days of special training!?"

Asya reacted to the accusation indignantly but President M shook her head.

"That is because so far, I only selected characters and scripts to accommodate your qualities. Tarzan the King of the Jungle, Gladiator Spartacus, A Princess of Mars, and Lobo the Wolf King all fall in this category."

"Eh? Really!?"

Asya reacted in surprise, unaware that the president had considerations on such a level.

"President, I thought you picked these extreme scripts only because you wanted to test if my acting skills could overcome barriers of gender, profession and even species!"

"Well, some of the roles were definitely more suited to you than I imagined, however..."

President M reached for the trunk case on the ground.

It opened with a click to show dozens of scripts inside. President M, whose gender and true identity were indeterminate, served simultaneously as the leader of five different cultural clubs, the UFO Research Club, the Literature Club, the Mass Media Research Club, the Science Insider Club and the Drama Club.

This pile of scripts were brought from the Drama Club's room.

Today, President M's selection was Romeo and Juliet.

"Honing your acting skills will improve your feminine charm—The plan is finally entering the second stage. Let this classic be our challenge today."

"Sir, yes sir!"

"...May I make one correction? Strictly speaking, shouldn't you be answering 'yes ma'am' at this time?"

Sir was a respectful form of addressing a man in English while ma'am was the female equivalent. To answer a female superior affirmatively, "yes ma'am" would be the proper choice, of course. However, Asya argued, "but saying it this way is easier to understand for people who aren't military enthusiasts. Besides, speaking of your gender, President, whether you're actually male or female..."

"I am the mother! Having said I'm the mother for all of you, of course I am the mother!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

While chatting, Asya also started to memorize the script. Observing quietly from the side, President M suddenly changed the subject and said, "By the way, you lot apparently survived many trials."

"Did Mutou-san tell you, President?"

"I heard a bit from her, but it is mainly my personal intuition. While I was sleeping during the camp at school last time, something big apparently happened in school."

"Hmm, actually, it was just a battle to be relished..."

Last month, a dragon king—Princess Yukikaze—attacked and targeted Haruga Haruomi.

The battlefield where the gang intercepted the white dragon king was precisely this Kogetsu Academy.

The shockwave and fiery explosion at the time had caused massive damage to much of the Sumida ward, the school included. Although unconscious at the time, President M had been right in the heart of it.

The president's frightening aspects were not limited to her shocking appearance or personality.

Apart from lucidity in thought, she also had a keen intuition like a possessed spirit medium. It was only foreseeable that she would realize the truth about Asya and the others.

But being a broad-minded person, President M was never prone to acting rashly. This fact was very reassuring.

I might as well rope the president into SAURU to have her(?) research weird techniques... While Asya was pondering this seriously, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

While reading the script, she suddenly noticed points of weirdness.

"This Romeo and Juliet, don't you find it strange?"

"Oh really?"

"Romeo is seventeen but Juliet is only thirteen? The two of them fell in love at first sight, betrothed themselves to each other that very night and decided to elope. After that, Juliet feigned her death, Romeo commits suicide in despair by poison and she follows him in death after waking up..."

"Nothing strange, is there? This story has been like that since four centuries ago."

"Isn't this tragedy avoidable if both of them had been slightly more careful? The circumstances leading to elopement were also very reckless. To be honest, both of them feel quite deplorable to me..."

"Such harsh criticism would be far too unromantic."

"Isn't this similar to that? Instances of fixed form beauty like how you can untie a sash automatically by having a lady-in-waiting spin around in period dramas. But once you notice details like that, it's very hard to immerse yourself in the show. Can we switch to a different script?"

"You're too much of a nitpicker," President M grumbled in a huff.

"Speaking of characters appearing in love stories, they have to be a little foolish at least—rather, I should say it's easier to move the plot if they're more simpleminded and flustered. This is what is called the principle of 'love is blind.' Isn't it quite similar to the messiness of love in the real world?"

"Oh come on, this is the first step towards my becoming an award-winning actress after all. Can't you give me a bit of preferential treatment?"

"Seriously... Then how about this one?"

President M handed over another script and Asya began to browse through it.

"Oh... The stage is set in a certain country inside a school that combines middle and high school together. The main heroine is a second-year student in the middle school division. Introvert that she is, a certain incident allowed her to start getting to know an upperclassman in the high school division. As they grew closer and closer, they began to feel an attraction for each other..."

There was a plot summary included with the beginning part, so Asya read on.

"However, a shocking truth was soon uncovered—The two of them were actually siblings separated since birth. After learning that this was a taboo romance, the brother and sister decide to sever their feelings for each other. However, the flames of love not only failed to be extinguished but the two of them finally developed a forbidden relationship—'I don't care about anything as long as I can be with Onii-chan'... Damn it!"

Asya was so emotional that she threw the script against the ground. President M frowned matter-of-factly.

"Hey you, what on earth is going on?"

"S-Sorry. This story is causing indescribable stress on my heart and soul, so I accidentally... Can I have another change of script?"

Asya used to roam battlefields as Europe's Shootdown Ace.

This powerful witch and seasoned veteran now had her mind stuck in numerous delusions.

'Haruomi-senpai, we are actually siblings.'

'From now on, can you love me as a real little sister...?'

'No, we're blood siblings, how can it turn into this kind of relationship!?'

'B-But truth be told, I also feel... towards you, Senpai—no, Onii-chan—!'

'Even if it's Onii-chan, as long as there's love, there will be no prob—'

To break out of all kinds of silly delusions, Asya shook her head violently and screamed "ngahhhhhhh!" Panting heavily, she whispered, "...H-Hazumi isn't this type of character and there's no reason for her to make a mad dash down the road of forbidden love with that idiot Haruomi. Although I know that very well, this script is still too harmful for my mental health, that's why I want another script!"

"You're surprisingly fragile on the mental side. Nothing less expected from a useless girl who is a complete novice in the ways of love."

"Gah—"

"How about this? Just for reference, what kind of story would fit your tastes?"

"Hmm... I guess it has to be the kind of love story involving fashionable and stylish metropolitan romance, full of realism targeted for adults. I believe I'm a very good fit for this kind of story."

"Impossible. You're still dreaming even while uttering delusions with your eyes open, so please accept reality."

"H-How do you know unless we try!?"

"If you say so, then try we shall."

President M went through her trunk case again. Hence, the third script made an appearance.

"This is probably the script that fits your demands best."

"Mm-hmm... Uh, the beginning part is already concerning."

Asya pointed at where in the script she had an issue with.

"Two career women in the forties, drinking red wine at a Spanish bar—Such a lame scene appearing so suddenly..."

"Really? Two independent and self-determined women drinking wine while talking about love matters, isn't that a great scene?"

"More accurately, it seems more like they're binge drinking while complaining about their lack of luck in love. Not only that, speaking of these two women's prospective partners—"

Kazumi (age 39, single), an office worker who sees her purpose in life as paying for male company at host clubs.

Her best friend, Kyouko (age 40, single), who bought her apartment on a thirty-year loan and shares it with her sponger boyfriend who spends all his time at pachinko arcades and refuses to work.

Flipping through the pages noisily and reading on, Asya found additional points of contention.

"In addition, the third main character—Kentarou (age 35, divorced once)—is a criminal who spent every day at cabaret clubs, thus spending thirty million of his workplace's funds!? This is totally lame!"

"Fufufufu. Now here is the essence of today's lesson."

President M smiled suspiciously.

"Why don't you try acting out a character from this script, any character of your choosing. From that, you shall learn the spirit of self-sacrificing for love, even to the point of self-destruction!"

"A-And the purpose is!?"

"Although I've given you many lessons to boost your feminine charm and romance standard score... But to be honest, this education project is still twenty years from completion."

"That long!? I'll be an old lady by then!"

"That's why I tried to think in reverse. How about putting on hold your training to become an orthodox beauty, instead making your goal to become a girl with a love dependency constitution who pursues romance with reckless abandon? Something of that sort."

"Love dependency constitution!"

"Indeed. This lesson should be able to teach you what you lack most. On the battlefield of love, 'charging forward without thinking' is the most important!"

"E-Even though you already said it out personally."

"Listening alone isn't enough. Only by learning through inference, like carving this concept deeply into your soul, will it work. If your pathetic personality could be cured by listening to a few lectures, you would have become an otome game heroine with one or two handsome men captured a long time ago."

"You're extremely right..."

"Back to the subject, which character do you intend to choose? In your case, I recommend the clothing store owner, Kyouko, who supports that human scum of a sponger. Don't you feel that it suits you quite well—"

"At least recommend a teenager role!"

Asya grumbled, almost about to break into tears.

"Then Juliet! I'll take Juliet, okay? I won't call her a slightly deplorable girl anymore!"

"Be my guest. Well then, begin the script reading."

"...Oh~ Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo~!?"

"No good. Completely no good. You have totally failed to express the feelings of having fallen deeply in love. I shall let it slide for now, so continue."

"S-Swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable~"

Morning in a mixed forest, the drama lesson continued today as well. By the time President M announced the end of the training session, it was already after the warning bell five minutes before homeroom was heard.

Early July had arrived.

Tokyo New Town was under occupation for almost a month.

After that, Princess Yukikaze had not made any new moves. Everyone was able to maintain peaceful lives for now.

This applied to Asya and President M, as well as Haruga Haruomi and Juujouji Orihime alike. All of them were savoring this serenity and peace without exception.