Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?

Volume 19, Chapter 9: Over the Rainbow

Part 1

Wednesday, September 22

Marina knew it was a dream. However it was simply too happy of a dream, so she pretended she didn't notice. It was a dream of the far away past where she spent every day happily with her lover, Kai.

“Hey, Kai. Let's go somewhere on the next vacation. Like Japan for example”

”Sightseeing in Japan is troublesome. The procedure is complicated”

”Don't you have any admirable thoughts like improving your lover's mood before the marriage?”

“... Are high-level techniques like that going to be demanded from me?”

“Only once”

”Okay, okay, I'll see what I can do”

Their work for today wasn't scheduled until afternoon, so they were peacefully spending time in the bed. The sun's light was pouring through the curtains and gently lit up the two smiling at each other. It was a pleasant, peaceful morning.

“Ah, you've got some split hair”

”Because you're always putting so much stress on me”

“Geez, stupid”

”Ow”

It wasn't anything special. It was just a very normal morning. So was yesterday, and the day before that. That's why she believed tomorrow and the day after would be the same. However, she was wrong. Marina now knew just how valuable that normal morning was.

“... Why are you crying?”

That's why the dream starting diverging from the past. Marina hadn't cried her in the past. She had believed this morning was only natural.

“I spent such wonderful days... when I thought of that, my tears won't stop”

Overflowing with emotions, Marina admitted that this was a dream. She couldn't play it off anymore.

“I know how you feel. Ever since then, there hasn't been a day I felt like that. That's why I came to visit you”

”... Kai? A-Are you...”

The words Kai spoke pointed to a certain truth. Shaken up, Marina timidly tried to confirm it.

“Hm?”

”... the real, Kai...?”

“What else could I be?”

“That's not what I mean... are you a product of my dream or not”

”I wonder, I don't know either. But I believe I'm the real me”

Assuming that this wasn't a normal dream, but that Kai's soul had entered her dream was the most happy interpretation.

“Then... why didn't you visit me until today?”

”I wanted to, but you were so focused on reviving me that you could never hear me”

It wasn't like Kai was trying to bully her. Even though he called out to Marina, his voice didn't reach her heart.

“Then, for all this time?”

”Yeah. I've been by your side all this time. It was frustrating not being able to do anything”

”Then I was doing something useless?”

“I guess. I was with you all the time after all”

”But...”

Marina became aghast. Marina had wanted to revive Kai so that they could spend time like this again. However, that desire had been too strong, and pushed Kai away.

“But for some reason, I was able to talk to you today. I'm sure your feelings changed after the battle”

Her complete defeat and loss of Kai's remains most likely created a change in Marina's feelings. At least that's what Kai believed, though he couldn't bring himself to say it.

“That might, be true...”

Marina had a hunch as well. The dark something in her chest had completely come off. That black thing had always rushed her, but now that sensation had vanished.

“If you get it, then hurry up and wake up”

”Eh?”

”There are people worried about you. Don't you remember? Two of your allies came to save you”

When Kai mentioned that, the faces of two people popped into Marina's head. Her memories after becoming a monster was vague, but she felt like she had seen their faces during the battle.

“Crimson and Green are? There's no way they would!”

”Why do you think that?”

”Why wouldn't I? We're Darkness Rainbow you know!? There's no way anyone there would be worried for someone else!!”

Darkness Rainbow wanted to freely use magic for their own desires. They didn't interfere with the others. They fought against common foes. To them, allies were something you used for oyur own purposes.

“Are you going to close off your ears and heart like that again? Just like you did with me?”

”...”

“Why don't you wake up and meet them. Look at them, listen to them and talk to them. Why don't you confirm if they really came to save you for their own sake”

”Kai... okay. I'll try”

”Good girl”

Kai patted Marina on her head. The sensation felt the same as in the past. Suppressing her urge to cry, Marina smiled at Kai.

“Kai”

“Hm?”

“Will I see you again?”

”That depends on your sex appeal”

”... Then I'll keep you here, with sex appeal”

“Don't use any more strange spells, okay?”

”Yes, I've learned my lesson...”

Marina wiped away her tears. She didn't break down crying, but she couldn't keep her tears back. Kai noticed that as well, but pretended that he didn't.

“See you, Marina”

”Yeah. See you, Kai...”

Their separation was a simple one. While there might have been tears, the two were smiling. Their separation was just a temporary one. The two of them believed so.

Part 2

When Purple woke up, she was in an unfamiliar room of a small hut. Humble furniture and a humble bed. It was more plain than the safe house she had used during her missions. Purple simply laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. She had the feeling she had seen an important dream, but she couldn't clearly remember it. She also felt like there was something she had to do. And because she couldn't remember that either, she continued staring at the ceiling.

After some time passed, Purple could hear voices from the neighboring room. There were two voices. Both women.

“... I wonder if that Purple is okay”

”She was absorbed by the gates of hell after all”

She had heard both of them before. They belonged to Crimson and Green. Her allies in Darkness Rainbow. Purple listened to the two, still lying down in the bed.

“If anything, she might stay like this...”

”Stop it, don't say something like that. Just imagining Purple sleeping forever sends chills down my spine”

”I wouldn't want to fight her either, it doesn't suit us, does it”

”I just can't get into it if Purple is not taking charge with her cool expression”

”That's right, Crimson, did you know? Purple doesn't like Krka fruit”

”Really!? Is there anyone who doesn't like that!?”

”That's why she's not acting cool from start to end. She lets her guard down from time to time”

“Alright, I'll look for something like that too”

The two were casually chatting. It was a conversation that really didn't matter. Purple's name had come up in the discussion but in the end, it really wasn't all that meaningful. Though she could understand that they were worried about her.

“Oh yeah, it's almost time for dinner”

“You're already hungry? Fufu, I'll get to making it”

”That's right, I'm going out for a bit”

”Why? It's already starting to get dark”

“I was thinking of going to get some Krka fruit. It's growing around here isn't it?”

”I give up... do you want to get Purple angry on purpose?”

It wasn't a conversation with meaning. There was no meaning to even talk. However, for some reason, Purple wanted to join in. She wanted to try spending time, just talking with someone about nothing. She couldn't help but feel that this was what she had to do.

So, Purple left her bed, opened the door and headed to the neighboring room. Crimson and Green were waiting for her there. However, maybe that wasn't all. Maybe, what she had lost so many years ago, was waiting for her there too.

Part 3

After the battle at Sariachal, Crimson proposed a deal with Koutarou and the others. The deal was that in exchange for the code that controlled the automated weapons, they would let Crimson and the others go. Because Clan had been unable to finish her hacking before the castle collapsed, this was a very welcome proposal.

Koutarou and the others accepted the deal and let Crimson and the others go. They then used the code they got to stop all of Darkness Rainbow's automated weapons. With that, Darkness Rainbow's main force was forced to surrender because of the massive loss in combat potential, and the war was stopped just before it could gain momentum.

Darkness Rainbow's forces agreed to disarm, and they were currently waiting on their punishment. However, the six leaders', Maya's and Elexis' whereabouts were unknown. Now that Darkness Rainbow's military was being disarmed, it was hard to imagine the leaders or Maya and Elexis making any major move in Folsaria or Earth. Based on those circumstances, Koutarou and the others were worried that they might be headed to Forthorthe.

There were primarily two reasons as to why the leaders of Darkness Rainbow might head to the Forthorthe Galactic Empire.

The first was their excellence of soldiers. The people of Forthorthe only thought of magicians as fiction. Of course, they wouldn't think of girls carrying around canes as a threat. They could boldly enter various places and perform various duties. Whether that be sabotage or gathering information, they would be a big threat to the national defense. There would be many who would pay a fortune for their services. Though Elexis would surely be their primary employer.

The second was so that they could gather strength again. Rainbow Heart's hands didn't reach as far as Forthorthe. So it should be easy for them to gather strength under Elexis' protection, and eventually they would return to Folsaria with an army and seize political power. The original plan had been to travel to Forthorthe after gaining rule of Folsaria, but that order would be reversed. Looking at the bigger picture, there was hardly any difference from the change in order.

Koutarou had banished Maxfern and Grevanas from Forthorthe to different worlds, and as a result the People of the Earth and the magical kingdom of Folsaria had been born. And now, Elexis was about to return to Forthorthe with Maxfern's inheritance of spiritual energy technology, and Grevanas' inheritance of magic. In other words, those banished by Koutarou were about to return to Forthorthe and become a threat once more. Of course, Koutarou had no intentions of overlooking that. He believed that he would need to travel to Forthorthe in the near future.

Part 4

Ever since the battle in Folsaria, Koutarou would often be deep in thoughts with a serious expression on his face. The girls of room 106 noticed that and brought it up from time to time when Koutarou wasn't around. But what they were discussing wasn't about what Koutarou was worried over. They already had a rough understanding of that. What the girls were worried about was that the expression Koutarou made when deep in thought was clearly quite different from that of a usual boy his age.

“Maki-chan, Satomi-san is making a cool expression again”

“That's no good... that's not like Satomi-kun at all”

Once the cosclub activities were over for the day and Yurika and Maki had returned to room 106, Koutarou was leaning against a wall, seriously contemplating something. As a result, he didn't notice that the had returned. His current expression gave off the impression of someone with an adamant will and excellent judgment. It was the same expression as during a battle, in other words, it was the expression of the legendary hero, the Blue Knight.

There had been a time when the girls thought of that expression as wonderful. However, by now, they couldn't really enjoy it. As time passed, they learned that Koutarou was a boy who fighting didn't suit.

“Let's rush in, Maki-chan!”

“... Yurika, you've changed a little lately”

“Eh? What has?”

”Fufufu, I was thinking how you're starting to look more like your master. Well, more importantly, let's rush in!”

“Ah, y-yes!”

Because of that, whenever the girls found Koutarou making a serious expression, they would get in the way of his thinking. This time was the same and Yurika and Maki rushed up to Koutarou and began using various wrestling moves on him.

“Satomi-kun!”

”Satomi-san!”

”Wah, w-what now!?”

“Satomi-kun, let me practice my headlock on you please!”

”Alright, then I will practice my figure-four leglock. Ei!”

Pretend wrestling was starting to become a daily occurrence in room 106, and the girls were all starting to become quite proficient. Even the non athletic Yurika had gotten good at a couple of moves. Because of that, Yurika and Maki were able to put Koutarou in their various locks without much resistance. Their surprise attack had been a big success.

“Ow ow ow, I give, I give up!”

Koutarou gave up without a fight. When he did, the two easily let go and smiled at him. Seeing their smiles, Koutarou let out a sigh of relief.

“... Geez... everyone's gotten really into pro wrestling lately..”

Because Koutarou didn't know the girls' circumstances, that's what it looked like to him. He hadn't expected that they were acting like this because he had a serious expression on his face from time to time. Seeing Koutarou like that, the two girls looked at each other and decided to reveal the reason.

“That's because you've been looking so serious lately, Satomi-san”

”Everyone is trying out their wrestling moves on you because they want you to return to usual, Satomi-kun”

“I am?”

Koutarou looked at the two with wide eyes.

“Yes. You do it a lot as well, remember”

”Well, yeah, I might...”

Koutarou could accept Yurika's point. Whenever Yurika looked sad, Koutarou would hit her or try out various wrestling moves on her. Because the frequency was so high around this time, Koutarou felt that it was strange.

“I'll be more careful not to worry you guys. At this rate, my body won't last”

”I think that's for the best. Everyone looks like they're ready to move on to the next stage”

”Next stage?”

”They agree that wrestling moves are putting a physical burden on your body, so they're thinking of changing it to kisses”

”Kisses!?”

Koutarou let out a hysteric voice in his surprise. That would certainly reduce his physical burden, but it would greatly increase his mental burden. Koutarou believed kisses were dangerous to him.

“You idiot! Save those for more important times!! Don't waste them trying to change my expression!!”

”I still think this expression is better than the expression you had just now”

”If you don't like it, make sure to be careful”

”Okay, okay... Geez, when it comes to you guys...”

If he was this surprised just by hearing about it, what would happen when they really did kiss him. Koutarou promised himself to be a lot more careful. All he had to do was keep the girls from worrying.

“But... thank you, you two. For worrying about me”

After calming down, he realized that he had to thank Yurika and Maki. Because they had used wrestling moves on him, he had worried them. The two looked at each other once more, lightly held hands and showed bright smiles. With Koutarou returning to his usual expression, they had won.

“Don't forget, Satomi-kun. Just like how you don't want us to show magical girl-like expressions, we don't want you to show a blue knight-like expression...”

“I think it's unfair that Satomi-san gets to say it and we don't”

”... Yeah, you're right”

The girls could feel what Koutarou felt every day. The same was probably true between the girls as well. There was no way that it was okay for Koutarou to be running around with a serious expression on his face. This time, Yurika and Maki were right.

I really am blessed with good friends...

Though he didn't say it out loud, that was always on Koutarou's mind. He also wanted to treasure those girls. And treasuring someone was not a one-sided relationship. Koutarou reminded himself of that.

Seeing Koutarou's expression at that time, the two put a little more strength in their held hands. That alone was enough for the two to understand each other's feelings.

“Satomi-kun, could you lower your head a little?”

“Why?”

“Just do it, Satomi-san. Hurry”

“Okay...”

Koutarou listened to their demands and lowered his head a little. He figured he might have had bed hair or maybe there was something in it.

However, it seemed to be neither, as the two girls pressed their lips against his cheeks.

“Y-Y-Y-You idiots!! What are you doing!? I told you to save those for important times!!”

Koutarou jumped away from them and began scolding the two in a fluster. It wasn't like he hated them. Nor was it unpleasant. If anything, he was incredibly happy, but he didn't want either of them to have any regrets. He didn't want them to regret their actions later on.

“Satomi-san, now is one of those important times”

”You don't mind if it's at an important time, do you?”

They had been involved in a major battle, but everyone had come home safe. However, Koutarou was still showing an expression as if he was still fighting. His mind still hadn't come home. But after some wrestling techniques he returned to normal. Not everything was finally back to normal. There was nothing more important than that.

“... U-Uuuhh...”

Koutarou still wasn't done scolding them, but words just wouldn't come out. The reason was that Yurika and Maki were right. Koutarou agreed that right now was an important time as well.

“Ah, Satomi-san is blushing”

”That's a much better expression than before. Fufufu”

Despite Koutarou's suffering, Yurika and Maki were laughing with cheerful expressions, still holding hands. Because they knew that his worries now were slightly different from before.