Mayo Chiki!

Deretsuki-san, to your eternity.

“Now then, let’s start this conversation.”

After classes ended, we gathered on the rooftop of Rouran Academy’s first building, when Suzutsuki started with these words. The current members present were me, Konoe, Suzutsuki, and Nakuru. Naturally these names were all involved in the incident this morning. After classes ended, we decided to hold this conversation to come up with countermeasures.

“Uu…It’s all because of Nakuru that Onee-chan just…”

“Don’t try to carry the responsibility on your own. We participated in this right, Jirou?”

“Yeah.” I let out a sigh.

That’s right. Because of that incident where Schrö-senpai pretty much sent me flying into the classroom, it was decided that Konoe and I would be participating in the special event of the sports festival.

“It’s fine. We’ll surely come up with something.”

“Makes sense that you could say that. You’re the reason things ended up this way in the first place.”

“My, how harsh of you. It’s true that my negotiations led to this situation, but if your fight had continued, who knows what might have happened, right? You might have been hurt gravely.” Suzutsuki smiled gently.

Well, you’re not wrong. Rouran Academy might be a private school with somewhat lax rules and code, but a full-blown fistfight won’t be let off that easily. You might even get suspended in the worst case, so Suzutsuki’s decision to go for negotiations was indeed correct….But you know.

“Wouldn’t it be better to not participate in the special event?” Nakuru asked with a worried tone. “That one’s dangerous. Onee-chan is the type of person who definitely does not hold back in that kind of stuff…”

I mean, I fully understand how strong your older sis is just from today, but…”

Narumi Schrödinger is the top-ranking student in Rouran Academy’s handicrafts club, and its vice president. The secret of her strength is the unreasonable power and speed unbefitting of her age. I’ve been trained in martial arts and the like ever since I was a small brat, but I’ve never seen someone like that. If we’re going solely from fighting prowess and ability, she’s probably above Kureha…No, maybe even Mom.

She doesn’t rely on martial arts and other skills, but rather wins with raw strength. Her own abilities greatly overshadow any techniques. This shows even more in the fact that she won against Kureha. If Kureha can’t win, then I’m a lost cause.

“Onee-chan always picked fights with boys ever since she was young because they kept making fun of her as small.”

“I mean, you can’t blame them, looking at her body stature.”

“And in the end, she beat up all of them. Once she grows rampant, there’s no stopping her.”

“She sounds like some wild animal.”

Why would she be a member of the handicrafts club? Is it because that club is messed up to begin with? It is still shrouded in mystery, but with such a vice president, that club can’t be doing any orthodox work I bet.

“Nakuru-chan, we’re not having a battle, we’ll be participating in the special event at the sports festival. We can win just depending on the context, right?”

Hmm, that’s Subaru-sama for you. She brings a valid opinion to the table. This special event apparently is being held in the afternoon of the sports festival, but the average student doesn’t even know what it is about. According to an execution committee member, we’re supposed to wait for the day of to find out.

“Since this is about Onee-chan, it is very likely to be related to a fight.”

“She’s clearly got the upperhand, knowing what the contents are.”

“No, that will be fine. Onee-chan prefers to have a fair battle, so it should be a simple event with no backside to it. Or rather, she might just give herself a handicap to make it more exciting.”

“So it’ll still be some kind of different battle. Still, aren’t there other participants besides the two of us?”

Our school actually has a lot of martial arts related clubs. Karate, judo, wrestling, etc, so it wouldn’t be weird for them to participate.

“No problems there. Just as Onee-chan stated, she was having trouble finding participants.”

“Why?”

“From what I heard, the second potential participants learned of Onee-chan’s participation, they all jumped off.”

“Just how terrified are they of her? Oh yeah, what about Kureha?”

“Kureha-chan said she wouldn’t participate. She said ‘Without going to the room of spirit and time1, I won’t be able to win against the vice club prez’.”

“Please tell her not to suddenly start living in the 2D world!”

I feel like she might actually go there, which just terrifies me.

“Anyway, that means the only participants will be Narumi-senpai, Subaru, and Jirou-kun, right?”

“Well, no choice but to do it, I guess.”

“With your Terminator-like strength, Jirou-kun, you’ll surely make it.”

“Don’t suddenly turn me into a robot.”

I mean, my body might be a bit more sturdy than the average guy’s, but Terminator? Still, what a nostalgic word. A long time ago, Mom was called to the school by my homeroom teacher in grade school. Apparently my teacher didn’t like this spartan training I was going through at home. He screamed ‘Are you planning on turning your own son into a cyborg!?’ in the middle of the staff office. Following that, he asked me ‘Are you fine living your life like this!?’.

I mean, back in the day, Mom was the world champion of a certain fighting organization. Known by the world as the strongest woman, she was admired by many as an instructor, and I did too. Though, the young me wished that she would at least hold back a little. However, right as I was thinking that, Mom spoke up with an oddly serious expression.

‘You’re wrong, Sensei! My goal is to make him a Terminator!’

Ahaha, that’s a world champion for you, she really knows how to throw a joke—is what I thought, but Mom’s face was dead serious. It appears as if I was already destined to be sent back into the past, and protect some American guy named Connor until the day my day would come. Despite being a child, I was terrified.

By the way, my homeroom teacher was fuming in anger at that response. Because of that, his blood pressure went crazy, and he collapsed. In the end, he was driven off in an ambulance. While listening to the distant sirens, Mom turned towards me, saying ‘Listen carefully, Kinjirou, you can’t grow up to become a man like that’, as she rubbed my head…Yeah, I get it. But, Mom, I don’t want to become a Terminator either. These were my thoughts when I was barely in my third year of grade school.

Anyway, back to the main topic. I don’t know what this special event is about, but I guess that everything’s fine as long as either Konoe or I win against Schrö-senpai. Thinking about it that way, I felt a small glimmer of hope in this disastrous situation. Konoe could even win against Kureha, so there’s a chance, and I’ve been training ever since this past April. I should at least be able to stand my ground a fair bit.

“Nakuru is sorry, Senpai, this happened because she forced you on a date with her.”

“Let’s stop with that. The guys from my class already questioned me about that.”

Right after Schrö-senpai left us alone, my classmates surrounded me like a swarm of hyenas. It took a lot of time to clear up that misunderstanding, let me tell you. Then again, the most terrifying one out of all was Subaru-sama. If only I could have resolved that misunderstanding that Schrö-senpai had…but from the looks of it, any persuasion or explanation won’t work with her.

That’s why…my only option is to win that event and come back alive. What was my punishment? Being a slave for a month? I seriously need to avoid getting in any kind of contract with that person.

“Don’t you worry. Whatever the initial reason may be, I started this whole incident. So, you don’t need to feel this guilty, okay?”

“Ah…Thank you very much, Senpai.”

Nakuru must have been happy to be cheered up like that, as she gave her gratitude in a bashful way. What, you’re acting like a normal girl now? You’re just a glasses junkie, so don’t be like that. But, I guess she is hung up on that whole incident with Schrö-senpai. I don’t think anybody can blame her just for having that kind of older sister. Not to mention that they seemed like they were on bad terms. As I have my own monster sibling, I perfectly understand what she’s going through. This is pure sympathy I feel right now.

But, I’m sure things will work out. After all, we have Subaru-sama on our side. No clue what this special event will be about, and even if we’re fighting against this school’s strongest Schrödinger-san, I don’t see us losing that easily with Subaru-sama on our side. It’s going to sound pathetic again, but I never once won against her in a battle after all. That’s why we should be able to make it through this. I believe.

“Should you really take this so easily, Jirou-kun?”

However, almost as if to ruin my positive mood, Suzutsuki called out to me with a grin.

“After all, now you’re indebted to me.”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Schrö-senpai’s target was you. Basically, I jumped into the fray to help you, and now you’re in my debt, right?”

“!?”

“Of course, simply renting you would be too boring.”

“Y-You wench!”

“You need to repay your debts. So, we’ll do this as an equivalent exchange. Ahh, I can’t wait. I wonder what I should make you do, Jirou-kun.” Suzutsuki-san smiled like she had just found a new toy to play with.

Aaaaaah, this damn sadist! To think she’d bring that up now. This is worse than being lured into some fraud.

“Ah, I know. How about this order?” Suzutsuki thought about it for a second, and spoke up. “How about, in my stead, I have you participate with Subaru in the three-legged race?”

“…! Y-Young lady!”

For some reason, Konoe was the first one to react. With that three-legged race, is she talking about that ridiculous three-legged bread-eating scavenger hunt race?

“What is this about!? I haven’t heard about this!”

“That’s true, I haven’t told you after all.”

“D-Don’t tell me, is that why you agreed to participate?”

“Ding dong. I tried my best to get you and Jirou-kun together for that, but now I finally found a chance.”

“Urk…But, participating in that event with Jirou is…”

“That’s right, you two will be participating in the three-legged race.”

“Ugh…”

“I’m sure your bodies will get exceptionally close.”

“Uuuu…” For some reason, Konoe started blushing furiously as she started groaning to herself.

Maybe she’s embarrassed to participate in this kind of event with a man? I mean, she might be cross-dressing, but she still is a girl. It sounds like a plausible reaction to have.

“Subaru-sama and Senpai are going to participate in the three-legged race!?”

There, one more stupid idiot reacted to these words. That docile attitude from hers just now had vanished elsewhere, and the usual glasses junkie had returned.

“To think those two would indulge in such an aggressive play! That’s not good! My glasses have started to quiver in excitement!”

“Calm down, glasses junkie, a three-legged race is a healthy sport.”

“…!?”

“Even if you look at me in shock like that…”

“But, your hands will be connected, right!?”

“Why would they!?”

“No no, Nakuru says hands, but more accurately, it’s your fingers.”

“Fingers?”

“We’re connecting your small fingers with the red thread of fate!”

“I’ve never heard of such a romantic sport, you know!?”

“As for the cheers, we’ll go with ‘B! L! B! BL!’ okay?”

“I’m definitely not matching up my breathing to that!”

“You don’t need to! Nakuru prefers rough breathing!”

“Like hell we’d make it to the goal like that!”

Though you’d probably reach a different kind of goal line. Listening to our conversation, Konoe started blushing for some reason, muttering a faint ‘R-Red thread…’ a bit further away from us. What kind of reaction is that? Seeing the usual cold and sour Subaru-sama show such an expression is a very fresh sight and ultra cute, we really don’t have the time for that right now.

“Suzutsuki, a moment.”

I forcefully grabbed Suzutsuki’s arm, and pulled her into the corner of the rooftop. At this distance, I won’t have to worry about Nakuru hearing us. It’d be bad if she learned of my gynophobia after all.

“What’s wrong, Jirou-kun?”

“Don’t play dumb. Why do Konoe and I have to participate in that three-legged race?”

“Would you have preferred a more abnormal order?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Let’s tie your legs together with barbed wire instead.”

“That hurts just by imagining it!”

“If you make it through these trials, you’ll surely develop an inseparable bond.”

“As well as severe pain and trauma!”

“Isn’t that what youth is all about?”

“Don’t try to cover up your nonsense by sounding cool!”

Youth and pain go hand in hand…No, who cares about that. I can’t be going along with her nonsense all the damn time.

“Is this to fix my gynophobia after all?”

A three-legged race with Konoe can only have one implication. She’s trying to get me to get used to a girl’s skin and touch, thus trying to improve my phobia. It’s a bit of a forceful approach, but I get where she’s coming from.

“…That’s right, that’s one of the reasons, yes.”

However, to my surprise, Suzutsuki averted her gaze after muttering some very profound words. The heck is up with that? I figured she was trying to get a bit of fun out of this, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. That’s not like her, normally she’d always be looking forward to this sort of stuff.

“……”

Maybe…she’s worrying about something?

“…Hey, Jirou-kun?” With an oddly serious expression, Suzutsuki called out my name. “Would you mind listening to grumbling for a moment?”

“Grumbling?”

“Yes, it’s mindless grumbling. You see, I’ve been having a bit of trouble recently.”

“………”

At first, I thought she was making up nonsense again, but that’s not what it felt like. If this was still her acting after all that, she could probably win the Academy Award no problem. However, I’m certain these are her honest feelings.

“However, I can’t tell you about what exactly is troubling me.”

“Then how am I supposed to hear out your complaining?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just talking with you is pretty much me complaining.”

“…Sorry, could you explain it in more simple terms for me?”

“To put it frankly, I think I just wanted people to know that ‘Hey, I am having a bit of trouble right now’, you see.”

“What an objective self-analysis, alright.”

However, I feel like I understand what she’s talking about. Basically, Suzutsuki is dealing with something that she can’t tell others, not to mention all on her own. She just wanted someone else to know of this fact, which is why she told me this.

“Why not just be honest about your problem, so that it makes things easier for you?”

“That’s not an option. I can’t do that.”

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“Then why not talk to Konoe instead?”

“That’s also out. Or rather, I don’t want her to know about my troubles. Naturally, you can’t tell her either.” She declared with a forceful tone.

…I don’t get it. What am I supposed to do?

“……”

No, should I really be doing anything at all?

‘Would you mind listening to grumbling for a moment?’

That’s what she said. That’s all she could say. So then…just accepting the fact that she’s agonizing over something, just listening to this very fact should be enough for her. If that allows her to at least feel a bit more relief?

“……!”

Don’t joke with me. What good would that do? That’d just mean Suzutsuki is talking to some doll. I’m just listening, not helping her at all.

“……”

Is there something I can do? Think about it. There must be something. If I can’t do anything here, I wouldn’t be any better than some half-baked bartender only listening to someone’s worries.

“…Hey, Suzutsuki.” After a bit of thinking, I spoke up. “I know I shouldn’t be saying this, as I don’t even know what you’re going through, but…Just do what you believe in.”

“…Eh?” Suzutsuki looked at me in shock.

“Just take the path you decided on. I have no idea what you’re being troubled with. But, just worrying about it won’t do you any good, right. There’s no place to run away, so it’d be best to fight whatever is putting this stress on you.”

“……”

“No other choice but to wing it, don’t you think? You can only move forward. That’s the same case for everyone, sometimes you can only put trust in yourself and walk the path you set your eyes on.” I knew I was saying fishy stuff just to satisfy the mood.

Maybe there might have been a better way to cheer her up for all I know. Sadly, this is the best I could do. However…if my words at least gave her a small push in her time of worry, then…

“…Thank you, Jirou-kun.” Suzutsuki showed an angelic smile. “Thanks to you, I feel like I found my own determination.”

“…Glad to hear that.” I suddenly felt embarrassed, and averted my gaze from her.

Well, you know…Her smile is just too cute. If only she wasn’t a devil on the inside, she’d be perfect.

“Hey, Jirou-kun. There’s one thing I want to tell you with my pure honesty.”

“Eh?”

“Yes, let me be straight with you.” Suzutsuki kept showing her angelic smile, and she continued. “I’ll always be bullying you from now on and in the future.” She blurted out words that sounded like a devil’s.

“……Huh?”

“Did you not hear me? I, Suzutsuki Kanade, will forever and ever bully you, Jirou-kun.”

“U-Um…why?”

“Because that was what I was worrying about.”

“Are you kidding me!?”

How can you worry about that!? Why am I being bullied in the first place?!

“Ahh, I’m glad. Thanks to you, all my worries are gone now.”

“Stop stop stop! Don’t act so relieved now! Going down that path is definitely problematic!”

“Didn’t you say I should do what I believe in?”

“I didn’t expect you to worry about something so evil! Also, were you really worrying about bullying me or not!?” As I was baffled, Suzutsuki continued with a somewhat relaxed voice.

“The Deretsuki-san you knew is dead.”

“!?”

I-Impossible! How do you know about my nickname for that! I only kept this name inside of me, so why!

“What are you so surprised about? You were screaming that in your sleep, remember.”

“…In my sleep?”

“Remember when I had you drink sleep medicine and brought you to the inn?”

“That trip during summer break?”

“Yes. While you were sleeping, you were saying stuff like that.” The girl let out a sigh. “Something like ‘No joke! Deretsuki-san is no joke!’.”

“!?”

“Also, ‘I can’t live without Deretsuki-san anymore!’.”

“………”

“In the end, you grew quiet after screaming ‘Deretsuki-san stole something very important of mineeeee!’, but I didn’t quite understand that.”

“Gyaaaaaaah!?”

Waaaaaaah what nonsense am I saying!? If I was in Suzutsuki’s position, I probably would have reported myself.

“By the way, Subaru was sleeping back then, so I’m the only one who heard that. I had no idea you were calling me like that.”

“Stop! Don’t rub more salt into my wounds!”

“Rest assured, Deretsuki-san has died. From now on—a new era will begin.”

“A-A new era?”

When I returned a question, Suzutsuki showed a devious smile.

“I call it—Yamitsuki2-san.”

“Yamitsuki-san!?”

“A Suzutsuki Kanade who has fallen into the darkness. That’s why Yamitsuki-san. Cool, right?”

“How!? Also, fallen into the darkness?!”

“I fell to the dark side. So, I’ll continue to bully you forever and ever.”

“Scary! You’re just a bully now!”

“Don’t worry about it, bullying just means I’ll make sure to tease you even more than before.”

“Bad touch, bad touch! Rethink that decision! Even I might come to hate you for that, you know!?”

I want the periodic Deretsuki-san back! I wouldn’t mind a bit of Deretsuki-san teasing, you know!?

“…Right. You really should just come to hate me like that.”

“Eh?”

W-What’s up with that? Why does she have such a grave expression now?

“…Hey, Jirou-kun.” Suzutsuku called out to me with a gloomy tone. “You better keep your promise, okay?”

“Promise?”

“That’s right. The promise of you to participate in the three-legged race with Subaru. If you were to break this promise…I’m sure I won’t be able to stop at simple bullying.” She showed a beautiful smile that for some reason looked like she was wearing a mask, and declared these words at a distance where our lips would almost touch.

“W-What exactly are you thinking of, for example?”

“For starters, maybe confinement?”

“Confinement!?”

“Followed by brainwashing.”

“Mind control!?”

“Of course? I’ll turn you into my own personal puppy.”

“……”

“Now, that’ll be all for now. Let’s hurry on back to Subaru and Nakuru-chan, and come up with countermeasures against Narumi-senpai.”

Like nothing had happened, Suzutsuki went back to her usual expression, and made her way to Nakuru and Konoe. And then, after she walked a bit ahead, she turned around towards me one last time—

“Do your best, Jirou-kun. I’m sure that I’ll continue to bully you throughout the sports festival.”

“………”

Yamitsuki-san has awakened. These words filled my head, and I realized that this sports festival would become much more chaotic than ever before.

1 A Dragonball reference. This room lets you spend a year in a single day.

2 Yami = Dark

Deretsuki-san, to your eternity.

“Now then, let’s start this conversation.”

After classes ended, we gathered on the rooftop of Rouran Academy’s first building, when Suzutsuki started with these words. The current members present were me, Konoe, Suzutsuki, and Nakuru. Naturally these names were all involved in the incident this morning. After classes ended, we decided to hold this conversation to come up with countermeasures.

“Uu…It’s all because of Nakuru that Onee-chan just…”

“Don’t try to carry the responsibility on your own. We participated in this right, Jirou?”

“Yeah.” I let out a sigh.

That’s right. Because of that incident where Schrö-senpai pretty much sent me flying into the classroom, it was decided that Konoe and I would be participating in the special event of the sports festival.

“It’s fine. We’ll surely come up with something.”

“Makes sense that you could say that. You’re the reason things ended up this way in the first place.”

“My, how harsh of you. It’s true that my negotiations led to this situation, but if your fight had continued, who knows what might have happened, right? You might have been hurt gravely.” Suzutsuki smiled gently.

Well, you’re not wrong. Rouran Academy might be a private school with somewhat lax rules and code, but a full-blown fistfight won’t be let off that easily. You might even get suspended in the worst case, so Suzutsuki’s decision to go for negotiations was indeed correct….But you know.

“Wouldn’t it be better to not participate in the special event?” Nakuru asked with a worried tone. “That one’s dangerous. Onee-chan is the type of person who definitely does not hold back in that kind of stuff…”

I mean, I fully understand how strong your older sis is just from today, but…”

Narumi Schrödinger is the top-ranking student in Rouran Academy’s handicrafts club, and its vice president. The secret of her strength is the unreasonable power and speed unbefitting of her age. I’ve been trained in martial arts and the like ever since I was a small brat, but I’ve never seen someone like that. If we’re going solely from fighting prowess and ability, she’s probably above Kureha…No, maybe even Mom.

She doesn’t rely on martial arts and other skills, but rather wins with raw strength. Her own abilities greatly overshadow any techniques. This shows even more in the fact that she won against Kureha. If Kureha can’t win, then I’m a lost cause.

“Onee-chan always picked fights with boys ever since she was young because they kept making fun of her as small.”

“I mean, you can’t blame them, looking at her body stature.”

“And in the end, she beat up all of them. Once she grows rampant, there’s no stopping her.”

“She sounds like some wild animal.”

Why would she be a member of the handicrafts club? Is it because that club is messed up to begin with? It is still shrouded in mystery, but with such a vice president, that club can’t be doing any orthodox work I bet.

“Nakuru-chan, we’re not having a battle, we’ll be participating in the special event at the sports festival. We can win just depending on the context, right?”

Hmm, that’s Subaru-sama for you. She brings a valid opinion to the table. This special event apparently is being held in the afternoon of the sports festival, but the average student doesn’t even know what it is about. According to an execution committee member, we’re supposed to wait for the day of to find out.

“Since this is about Onee-chan, it is very likely to be related to a fight.”

“She’s clearly got the upperhand, knowing what the contents are.”

“No, that will be fine. Onee-chan prefers to have a fair battle, so it should be a simple event with no backside to it. Or rather, she might just give herself a handicap to make it more exciting.”

“So it’ll still be some kind of different battle. Still, aren’t there other participants besides the two of us?”

Our school actually has a lot of martial arts related clubs. Karate, judo, wrestling, etc, so it wouldn’t be weird for them to participate.

“No problems there. Just as Onee-chan stated, she was having trouble finding participants.”

“Why?”

“From what I heard, the second potential participants learned of Onee-chan’s participation, they all jumped off.”

“Just how terrified are they of her? Oh yeah, what about Kureha?”

“Kureha-chan said she wouldn’t participate. She said ‘Without going to the room of spirit and time1, I won’t be able to win against the vice club prez’.”

“Please tell her not to suddenly start living in the 2D world!”

I feel like she might actually go there, which just terrifies me.

“Anyway, that means the only participants will be Narumi-senpai, Subaru, and Jirou-kun, right?”

“Well, no choice but to do it, I guess.”

“With your Terminator-like strength, Jirou-kun, you’ll surely make it.”

“Don’t suddenly turn me into a robot.”

I mean, my body might be a bit more sturdy than the average guy’s, but Terminator? Still, what a nostalgic word. A long time ago, Mom was called to the school by my homeroom teacher in grade school. Apparently my teacher didn’t like this spartan training I was going through at home. He screamed ‘Are you planning on turning your own son into a cyborg!?’ in the middle of the staff office. Following that, he asked me ‘Are you fine living your life like this!?’.

I mean, back in the day, Mom was the world champion of a certain fighting organization. Known by the world as the strongest woman, she was admired by many as an instructor, and I did too. Though, the young me wished that she would at least hold back a little. However, right as I was thinking that, Mom spoke up with an oddly serious expression.

‘You’re wrong, Sensei! My goal is to make him a Terminator!’

Ahaha, that’s a world champion for you, she really knows how to throw a joke—is what I thought, but Mom’s face was dead serious. It appears as if I was already destined to be sent back into the past, and protect some American guy named Connor until the day my day would come. Despite being a child, I was terrified.

By the way, my homeroom teacher was fuming in anger at that response. Because of that, his blood pressure went crazy, and he collapsed. In the end, he was driven off in an ambulance. While listening to the distant sirens, Mom turned towards me, saying ‘Listen carefully, Kinjirou, you can’t grow up to become a man like that’, as she rubbed my head…Yeah, I get it. But, Mom, I don’t want to become a Terminator either. These were my thoughts when I was barely in my third year of grade school.

Anyway, back to the main topic. I don’t know what this special event is about, but I guess that everything’s fine as long as either Konoe or I win against Schrö-senpai. Thinking about it that way, I felt a small glimmer of hope in this disastrous situation. Konoe could even win against Kureha, so there’s a chance, and I’ve been training ever since this past April. I should at least be able to stand my ground a fair bit.

“Nakuru is sorry, Senpai, this happened because she forced you on a date with her.”

“Let’s stop with that. The guys from my class already questioned me about that.”

Right after Schrö-senpai left us alone, my classmates surrounded me like a swarm of hyenas. It took a lot of time to clear up that misunderstanding, let me tell you. Then again, the most terrifying one out of all was Subaru-sama. If only I could have resolved that misunderstanding that Schrö-senpai had…but from the looks of it, any persuasion or explanation won’t work with her.

That’s why…my only option is to win that event and come back alive. What was my punishment? Being a slave for a month? I seriously need to avoid getting in any kind of contract with that person.

“Don’t you worry. Whatever the initial reason may be, I started this whole incident. So, you don’t need to feel this guilty, okay?”

“Ah…Thank you very much, Senpai.”

Nakuru must have been happy to be cheered up like that, as she gave her gratitude in a bashful way. What, you’re acting like a normal girl now? You’re just a glasses junkie, so don’t be like that. But, I guess she is hung up on that whole incident with Schrö-senpai. I don’t think anybody can blame her just for having that kind of older sister. Not to mention that they seemed like they were on bad terms. As I have my own monster sibling, I perfectly understand what she’s going through. This is pure sympathy I feel right now.

But, I’m sure things will work out. After all, we have Subaru-sama on our side. No clue what this special event will be about, and even if we’re fighting against this school’s strongest Schrödinger-san, I don’t see us losing that easily with Subaru-sama on our side. It’s going to sound pathetic again, but I never once won against her in a battle after all. That’s why we should be able to make it through this. I believe.

“Should you really take this so easily, Jirou-kun?”

However, almost as if to ruin my positive mood, Suzutsuki called out to me with a grin.

“After all, now you’re indebted to me.”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Schrö-senpai’s target was you. Basically, I jumped into the fray to help you, and now you’re in my debt, right?”

“!?”

“Of course, simply renting you would be too boring.”

“Y-You wench!”

“You need to repay your debts. So, we’ll do this as an equivalent exchange. Ahh, I can’t wait. I wonder what I should make you do, Jirou-kun.” Suzutsuki-san smiled like she had just found a new toy to play with.

Aaaaaah, this damn sadist! To think she’d bring that up now. This is worse than being lured into some fraud.

“Ah, I know. How about this order?” Suzutsuki thought about it for a second, and spoke up. “How about, in my stead, I have you participate with Subaru in the three-legged race?”

“…! Y-Young lady!”

For some reason, Konoe was the first one to react. With that three-legged race, is she talking about that ridiculous three-legged bread-eating scavenger hunt race?

“What is this about!? I haven’t heard about this!”

“That’s true, I haven’t told you after all.”

“D-Don’t tell me, is that why you agreed to participate?”

“Ding dong. I tried my best to get you and Jirou-kun together for that, but now I finally found a chance.”

“Urk…But, participating in that event with Jirou is…”

“That’s right, you two will be participating in the three-legged race.”

“Ugh…”

“I’m sure your bodies will get exceptionally close.”

“Uuuu…” For some reason, Konoe started blushing furiously as she started groaning to herself.

Maybe she’s embarrassed to participate in this kind of event with a man? I mean, she might be cross-dressing, but she still is a girl. It sounds like a plausible reaction to have.

“Subaru-sama and Senpai are going to participate in the three-legged race!?”

There, one more stupid idiot reacted to these words. That docile attitude from hers just now had vanished elsewhere, and the usual glasses junkie had returned.

“To think those two would indulge in such an aggressive play! That’s not good! My glasses have started to quiver in excitement!”

“Calm down, glasses junkie, a three-legged race is a healthy sport.”

“…!?”

“Even if you look at me in shock like that…”

“But, your hands will be connected, right!?”

“Why would they!?”

“No no, Nakuru says hands, but more accurately, it’s your fingers.”

“Fingers?”

“We’re connecting your small fingers with the red thread of fate!”

“I’ve never heard of such a romantic sport, you know!?”

“As for the cheers, we’ll go with ‘B! L! B! BL!’ okay?”

“I’m definitely not matching up my breathing to that!”

“You don’t need to! Nakuru prefers rough breathing!”

“Like hell we’d make it to the goal like that!”

Though you’d probably reach a different kind of goal line. Listening to our conversation, Konoe started blushing for some reason, muttering a faint ‘R-Red thread…’ a bit further away from us. What kind of reaction is that? Seeing the usual cold and sour Subaru-sama show such an expression is a very fresh sight and ultra cute, we really don’t have the time for that right now.

“Suzutsuki, a moment.”

I forcefully grabbed Suzutsuki’s arm, and pulled her into the corner of the rooftop. At this distance, I won’t have to worry about Nakuru hearing us. It’d be bad if she learned of my gynophobia after all.

“What’s wrong, Jirou-kun?”

“Don’t play dumb. Why do Konoe and I have to participate in that three-legged race?”

“Would you have preferred a more abnormal order?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Let’s tie your legs together with barbed wire instead.”

“That hurts just by imagining it!”

“If you make it through these trials, you’ll surely develop an inseparable bond.”

“As well as severe pain and trauma!”

“Isn’t that what youth is all about?”

“Don’t try to cover up your nonsense by sounding cool!”

Youth and pain go hand in hand…No, who cares about that. I can’t be going along with her nonsense all the damn time.

“Is this to fix my gynophobia after all?”

A three-legged race with Konoe can only have one implication. She’s trying to get me to get used to a girl’s skin and touch, thus trying to improve my phobia. It’s a bit of a forceful approach, but I get where she’s coming from.

“…That’s right, that’s one of the reasons, yes.”

However, to my surprise, Suzutsuki averted her gaze after muttering some very profound words. The heck is up with that? I figured she was trying to get a bit of fun out of this, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. That’s not like her, normally she’d always be looking forward to this sort of stuff.

“……”

Maybe…she’s worrying about something?

“…Hey, Jirou-kun?” With an oddly serious expression, Suzutsuki called out my name. “Would you mind listening to grumbling for a moment?”

“Grumbling?”

“Yes, it’s mindless grumbling. You see, I’ve been having a bit of trouble recently.”

“………”

At first, I thought she was making up nonsense again, but that’s not what it felt like. If this was still her acting after all that, she could probably win the Academy Award no problem. However, I’m certain these are her honest feelings.

“However, I can’t tell you about what exactly is troubling me.”

“Then how am I supposed to hear out your complaining?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just talking with you is pretty much me complaining.”

“…Sorry, could you explain it in more simple terms for me?”

“To put it frankly, I think I just wanted people to know that ‘Hey, I am having a bit of trouble right now’, you see.”

“What an objective self-analysis, alright.”

However, I feel like I understand what she’s talking about. Basically, Suzutsuki is dealing with something that she can’t tell others, not to mention all on her own. She just wanted someone else to know of this fact, which is why she told me this.

“Why not just be honest about your problem, so that it makes things easier for you?”

“That’s not an option. I can’t do that.”

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“Then why not talk to Konoe instead?”

“That’s also out. Or rather, I don’t want her to know about my troubles. Naturally, you can’t tell her either.” She declared with a forceful tone.

…I don’t get it. What am I supposed to do?

“……”

No, should I really be doing anything at all?

‘Would you mind listening to grumbling for a moment?’

That’s what she said. That’s all she could say. So then…just accepting the fact that she’s agonizing over something, just listening to this very fact should be enough for her. If that allows her to at least feel a bit more relief?

“……!”

Don’t joke with me. What good would that do? That’d just mean Suzutsuki is talking to some doll. I’m just listening, not helping her at all.

“……”

Is there something I can do? Think about it. There must be something. If I can’t do anything here, I wouldn’t be any better than some half-baked bartender only listening to someone’s worries.

“…Hey, Suzutsuki.” After a bit of thinking, I spoke up. “I know I shouldn’t be saying this, as I don’t even know what you’re going through, but…Just do what you believe in.”

“…Eh?” Suzutsuki looked at me in shock.

“Just take the path you decided on. I have no idea what you’re being troubled with. But, just worrying about it won’t do you any good, right. There’s no place to run away, so it’d be best to fight whatever is putting this stress on you.”

“……”

“No other choice but to wing it, don’t you think? You can only move forward. That’s the same case for everyone, sometimes you can only put trust in yourself and walk the path you set your eyes on.” I knew I was saying fishy stuff just to satisfy the mood.

Maybe there might have been a better way to cheer her up for all I know. Sadly, this is the best I could do. However…if my words at least gave her a small push in her time of worry, then…

“…Thank you, Jirou-kun.” Suzutsuki showed an angelic smile. “Thanks to you, I feel like I found my own determination.”

“…Glad to hear that.” I suddenly felt embarrassed, and averted my gaze from her.

Well, you know…Her smile is just too cute. If only she wasn’t a devil on the inside, she’d be perfect.

“Hey, Jirou-kun. There’s one thing I want to tell you with my pure honesty.”

“Eh?”

“Yes, let me be straight with you.” Suzutsuki kept showing her angelic smile, and she continued. “I’ll always be bullying you from now on and in the future.” She blurted out words that sounded like a devil’s.

“……Huh?”

“Did you not hear me? I, Suzutsuki Kanade, will forever and ever bully you, Jirou-kun.”

“U-Um…why?”

“Because that was what I was worrying about.”

“Are you kidding me!?”

How can you worry about that!? Why am I being bullied in the first place?!

“Ahh, I’m glad. Thanks to you, all my worries are gone now.”

“Stop stop stop! Don’t act so relieved now! Going down that path is definitely problematic!”

“Didn’t you say I should do what I believe in?”

“I didn’t expect you to worry about something so evil! Also, were you really worrying about bullying me or not!?” As I was baffled, Suzutsuki continued with a somewhat relaxed voice.

“The Deretsuki-san you knew is dead.”

“!?”

I-Impossible! How do you know about my nickname for that! I only kept this name inside of me, so why!

“What are you so surprised about? You were screaming that in your sleep, remember.”

“…In my sleep?”

“Remember when I had you drink sleep medicine and brought you to the inn?”

“That trip during summer break?”

“Yes. While you were sleeping, you were saying stuff like that.” The girl let out a sigh. “Something like ‘No joke! Deretsuki-san is no joke!’.”

“!?”

“Also, ‘I can’t live without Deretsuki-san anymore!’.”

“………”

“In the end, you grew quiet after screaming ‘Deretsuki-san stole something very important of mineeeee!’, but I didn’t quite understand that.”

“Gyaaaaaaah!?”

Waaaaaaah what nonsense am I saying!? If I was in Suzutsuki’s position, I probably would have reported myself.

“By the way, Subaru was sleeping back then, so I’m the only one who heard that. I had no idea you were calling me like that.”

“Stop! Don’t rub more salt into my wounds!”

“Rest assured, Deretsuki-san has died. From now on—a new era will begin.”

“A-A new era?”

When I returned a question, Suzutsuki showed a devious smile.

“I call it—Yamitsuki2-san.”

“Yamitsuki-san!?”

“A Suzutsuki Kanade who has fallen into the darkness. That’s why Yamitsuki-san. Cool, right?”

“How!? Also, fallen into the darkness?!”

“I fell to the dark side. So, I’ll continue to bully you forever and ever.”

“Scary! You’re just a bully now!”

“Don’t worry about it, bullying just means I’ll make sure to tease you even more than before.”

“Bad touch, bad touch! Rethink that decision! Even I might come to hate you for that, you know!?”

I want the periodic Deretsuki-san back! I wouldn’t mind a bit of Deretsuki-san teasing, you know!?

“…Right. You really should just come to hate me like that.”

“Eh?”

W-What’s up with that? Why does she have such a grave expression now?

“…Hey, Jirou-kun.” Suzutsuku called out to me with a gloomy tone. “You better keep your promise, okay?”

“Promise?”

“That’s right. The promise of you to participate in the three-legged race with Subaru. If you were to break this promise…I’m sure I won’t be able to stop at simple bullying.” She showed a beautiful smile that for some reason looked like she was wearing a mask, and declared these words at a distance where our lips would almost touch.

“W-What exactly are you thinking of, for example?”

“For starters, maybe confinement?”

“Confinement!?”

“Followed by brainwashing.”

“Mind control!?”

“Of course? I’ll turn you into my own personal puppy.”

“……”

“Now, that’ll be all for now. Let’s hurry on back to Subaru and Nakuru-chan, and come up with countermeasures against Narumi-senpai.”

Like nothing had happened, Suzutsuki went back to her usual expression, and made her way to Nakuru and Konoe. And then, after she walked a bit ahead, she turned around towards me one last time—

“Do your best, Jirou-kun. I’m sure that I’ll continue to bully you throughout the sports festival.”

“………”

Yamitsuki-san has awakened. These words filled my head, and I realized that this sports festival would become much more chaotic than ever before.

1 A Dragonball reference. This room lets you spend a year in a single day.

2 Yami = Dark