Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

Join the Evil God Army on discord!
https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

---

Sorry about the translation slow-down again. I suddenly got called into a casual job with only 2 days notice, which I’ll be working until Christmas. I don’t spend that long each day on it but it forces me to wake up before 4AM meaning that I’m tired for the rest of the day which in turn makes it rather difficult for the right words to come to me when translating. I have trouble falling asleep early, you see.

That’s more or less what’s causing the slow-down – actually slow translating.

---

After entering high school the Emperor became even more popular. I could see in their eyes that the oneesamas in the 2nd and 3rd years seemed especially serious about catching him.
So far they’d always seen him as a middle school kid, but then now he was a high schooler just like them. Not only that but his appearance was mature so he didn’t look younger than them, and most importantly he was the heir to the Kaburagi group. You would be pretty serious considering all that.
Outside of close friends though, Kaburagi himself has been silent as usual. Thanks to that nobody noticed his faults. Silence truly is golden.
Hm. Is it my imagination that a lot of girls are wearing Yurie-sama’s haircut?

Anyway, about Emperor. One day dear Emperor was seated in the salon, partaking in a crème chiboust.

I always start gaining weight the moment I eat anything sweet so why is it that boys never gain weight despite gobbling everything down. So jealous.
Thinking about it, rumour has it that the Emperor goes horseback riding as a hobby. Maybe it really is all the exercise. He turned down the Horse-riding Club, but I bet he would have joined had it been a polo club, right? After all, he’s the Emperor of Cavalry Battles. Upfftpftt.

Maybe I should try swimming or something. But for some reason I have trouble staying underwater. Even though I’ll try my bestttt to dive downwards, I immediately start floating upwards. What the heck is that. Would it help if I went and took lessons?

While I was thinking about stupid things, a 3rd year boy came up to me.

“Reika-san, is anything bothering you? You seemed to be deeply considering something.”

Deeply considering? Uh, I thinking about how I wanted a crème chiboust too, and that I should hurry home so I can needle felt…

“No, nothing of import. I was simply pondering the theme for my next flower arrangement.”

“Ahh, that’s your hobby isn’t it. Should I find the chance I’d definitely want to have a look.”

“Goodness, my creations are certainly not good enough to be shown.”

Hmmmm. All these guys have been randomly approaching me since I’ve entered high school. And I keep getting party invitations too. I’ve been trying to turn those down though.
I mean, I’m interested in romance but guys who come after me all calculating and stuff are a bit…
After that I continued discussing flower arrangement with the few other people who came along.

*

*

Today was the first time Sakura-chan had come to my house.
She’s an ojousama from Yurinomiya Girls School, so Okaasama quite liked her. After seeing Oniisama off to work, I lead Sakura-chan to my room.

“Wow, as expected of the Kisshouin family. Even in Yurinomiya there aren’t many girls with such big houses. And I met the heir too. Maybe I should brag to my seniors or something.”

The very moment she stepped through the door she stopped bothering with the pretenses.
I put down some chilled tea on the table, as well as the luxury fruit jelly that Sakura-chan brought as a gift.

“About Oniisama?”

“Is there any other heir? Amongst older girls he’s like the prime pick right now, you know?”

“Hmmm. Is that so.”

Gosh, I’d hate that. What if Oniisama married a gold digger. I want him to be happy.
Ah, but well, I doubt Oniisama would get caught by such a person anyway.

“Wow, this Kiwi jelly’s pretty good.”

“You really do like sweet things, don’t you Reika.”

“Uu. I’ve actually been wondering about my weight again recently… Am I still in the clear?”

“Have you been continuing yoga?”

“Mmm, just the Mountain Pose and the Corpse Pose though.”

“That’s basically just standing and lying.”

But it’s ’cause it gets so boring doing it by yourself in your room. Guess it isn’t really interesting outside of a classroom.

“Do you do anything active, Sakura-chan?”

“I’ve been doing Nichibu dancing ever since primary school.”

Ooh! A perfect fit for the Japanese-style bishoujo!

“I’ve been thinking about picking up swimming lessons.”

“…I can already see you skipping the moment winter comes along.”

Oh my gosh! I can see it too!

“Ummmmm, have you entered any clubs?”

“The Wind Instruments Club. I wanted to try the cello, and yeah.”

“Huhh. The Wind Instruments Club.”

“And you, Reika?”

“I wanted to enter the Handicrafts Club, but…”

“Handicrafts… It doesn’t really suit you, does it.”

“You think so too? All the club members seem scared of me for some reason so I’ve been worried that joining would bother them…”

“Well, at a glance you seem like the perfect ojousama and all. And you’ve got authority too. …Oh, what if you brought them some homemade sweets? It’d totally destroy your image and then they’d feel closer to you.”

Handmade sweets? I can see that happening.

“Thanks, Sakura-chan! I’ll try making some now!”

“Eh- …Serious?”

Now what should I make.

When Oniisama got home and I asked him what sweets I should make for school he told me not to give my handmade stuff to new people.

“To begin with, why this all of a sudden?”

“I want to enter the Handicrafts Club but I don’t feel very welcome so…”

“Handicrafts, huh. Speaking of which you’ve been making something or other with the stabby needle, haven’t you. That’s what you want to do in your club?”

“Mmm, well, at the club they’ve been knitting dolls. I’ve tried learning through books at home but it hasn’t been going well. And then at some point I got distracted by needle felting and…”

“Why not just be honest and tell them that you’d like it if they taught you to knit?”

“But would they…?”

“It’ll be fine.”

Oniisama patted me on the head. Wow, this brings me back. How come when Oniisama says it’ll be fine I really start to feel that way. What a mystery.
Alright! I’ll try just that then!

*

The next time the Handicrafts Club had their activities I visited by myself to avoid needlessly scaring them.
Although their faces seemed to be saying, ‘She’s here again!?‘

“Umm, to be frank there is something I would you to teach me. Would that be acceptable?”

“What is it?” asked the club president.

I took out my ball of yarn and the book on knitting dolls.

“The truth is I have been trying to knit. It has not been going terribly well, however. I thought that perhaps I could enter the Handicrafts Club and have somebody instruct me, but…”

“Knitting? You, Kisshouin-san?”

The club president seemed awfully surprised.

“What are you trying to knit?”

“This.”

I pointed it out in the book.

“Aah, there’s actually a simple trick to this. …I could teach you if you’re okay with me.”

“Truly!?”

Yay! I should have just asked to begin with!
With Club President’s help, I immediately started knitting away at the brown wool.
Since I was a beginner, and the doll was going to be rather big, it seemed like it would take quite a few trips.

Over the days I visited, the other club members opened up and started giving me all sorts of advice.
Lately they don’t even look scared when I come anymore. I’m super happy.
We talk about silly things too, and it’s just a relaxing time in general.

But to this day, they still haven’t given me a club entry form…

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

Join the Evil God Army on discord!
https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

---

I intend to translate more these next few weeks. The brainwashing of the Clinton News Network caused me to focus my time on other things, but now that Trump has freed me I will dedicate myself to Making Novels Great Again.

---

After the excursion comes the mid-term exams.
Because of all the smart External Students that flooded into my school, I need to study harder than ever.
Actually, I’ve been taking it easy these days so I haven’t enrolled in a new cram school for high school yet. Right now I’ve only got a home tutor.

Before the exams began I decided to increase my lessons with her.

“Reika-san, you just always seem to struggle with maths, don’t you. I think you can improve if you keep up the practice though, so keep trying.”

“Yes.”

But that’s the hard part. I hate doing these questions…
If I don’t though I might get called in for remedials again. I’ll pass on those days of isolation again. And even though I’m really just some small fry I want everybody to keep saying “As expected of Reika-sama”!
For the sake of this petty pride I continued to battle with these baffling equations.

*

For the upcoming exams, this time I got my hands on some energy drinks. After all, I normally sleep 7 hours a night. If I get any less I start wobbling with sleepiness.
But when I was in the store seeing them priced at over 1,000 Yen each, they suddenly seemed like a bit much to drink casually. These felt more like something you’d buy for desperate cramming.
Thanks to that I decided to just buy a three-pack of the popular stuff to start off with.
Hm, the taste was pretty nostalgic. I did drink it from time to time in my old life after all.
I’m not sure if it helped at all but I used them to study as hard as I could so I’m feeling pretty satisfied.
Although, when Okaasama saw my empty bottles in the bin she started worrying about me and said,

“You’re a girl so you really needn’t push yourself too far.”

She gave me a lot of scarily expensive beauty drinks so I drank those too.
Well whatever. Come at me whenever, mid-terms!

*

So, about those mid-terms that I drank a bunch of energy drinks to study for… Well, it was still me doing the tests after all…
Anyway, Okaasama dragged me to beauty and hair salons after the exams ended. She really is fussy about how I look, isn’t she. Totally fixated on making sure I look like her image of an ‘ojousama’. Thank goodness said image wasn’t dressed in goth loli or something.
Oh, and that random white hair seemed to be gone now. I never want to experience that tragedy again. That’s why from now on I’m going to make sure to get full workovers more often at salons.
A few days after those treatments left my skin and hair sparkling, the results of the mid-terms were posted.

At Zui’ran, only the top 30 are posted. Since we have roughly 300 students it’s absolutely impossible for me.
…But although I say ‘absolutely’, I still can’t help but hope somewhere in my heart. Why is that?
Even though I’m wearing this modest expression that says I can’t imagine being up there, I’m still going to check it out.
I looked up nervously, but yep, wasn’t there.
Still, there sure were a lot of new names up there. They had to be all the Externals. As expected of them.
And at the very top, shining brilliantly were two names:

1. Kaburagi Masaya
2. Enjou Shuusuke

Just how crazy are these guys. Their cumulative result was pretty much full-marks. Just what do they have there inside their heads. I’m so jealous. Since middle school they’ve always been unshaken in the top two places. Well, the two of them would swap positions though.
Also, although 1st and 2nd place were these two, 3rd place was Wakaba-chan! And her marks were super close to theirs as well. Isn’t it completely possible for her to overtake them next time!?
The girl herself was staring dumbly up at the board with unruly hair as always. I just can’t see her as smart… Wakaba-chan, your mouth is hanging open! You look ridiculous, so please close it already!
The students around me were murmuring about the identity of this mysterious ‘Takamichi Wakaba’ but I can’t imagine anybody would connect that name with the spaced out girl in front of me. I guess she’s like the perfect example of that saying about a capable eagle hiding its talons.
On another note, Stalking Horse managed to grab 5th place despite all these new Externals. That’s amazing, Stalking Horse! As a fellow stalking horse, I’m proud of you!
Anyway, when Wakaba-chan noticed her name up there, relief flooded her expression. I guess this is pretty much life or death for a scholarship student. Congratulations.

It was around that moment that Kaburagi and Enjou came along. They normally don’t care at all about these but I guess they’re here this time because of all the new students?
As they came sauntering down, the students all parted left and right for them.
After confirming their own names at the top, Kaburagi muttered,

“Who’s this Takamichi Wakaba?”

Some of the students heard him and pointed her out to him.
After taking one look at her, he simply left with Enjou. Although Kaburagi was expressionless as always, Enjou had a faint look of interest on his face.
The moment they left the crowd grew noisy. It felt a little dangerous, actually. One phrase I managed to catch was “…knowing her place” though…

Nobody was mad enough to publicly attack her, but it seemed like there were a lot of people quietly dissatisfied with her threatening the pair’s dominance on the rankings. The fact that she was poor and stuck out like a sore thumb certainly didn’t help.
But wow, even if they say that, Wakaba-chan is a scholarship student, you know? She has to get good marks. And if you’re worried about people threatening those two, why didn’t you complain when Stalking Horse took 3rd place all of middle school.
When I asked out of curiosity they told me, “Mizusaki-kun is different.”
What the heck. Is it his face? Is it because his face looks good?
Not only that, but according to the others, Stalking Horse had a charm that both the boys and girls were drawn in by. Well, I guess that’s not really surprising since he made it to StuCo President.
That doesn’t mean that you can blame your own shortcomings on some innocent External girl though.

“The External Students entered only after passing some very rigorous tests after all. That they have good grades is a given. Instead we should be marvelling at how Kaburagi-sama and Enjou-sama defeated them all despite that,” I commented.

“Truly! As expected of those two!”

It’s almost never a mistake to use the names of those two when dealing with girls. The atmosphere was filled with their delighted squealing now.

When I got my report card handed to me, it listed my rank as 73. Hmmm… Should I be feeling happy about this rank?

*

*

Recently I’ve found a new method of stress relief. It’s called needle felting.
You’ve got this ball of wool and you poke at it with needles. It’s actually weirdly fun. I’ve been following the instructions in the textbook, and my latest creation is a snowman. Well, it’s basically just two white balls and two dots for eyes though.
Also when I get too into it my eyes start to hurt so I have to pay attention to the time. MY EYES-! MY EYEEEES-!

I usually do this in my room, but occasionally I camp out in the living room too.
Today I’m making a Tarow the Taro. I’m using brown felt this time.

-poke poke poke…-

When Oniichan saw me after a late night at work he asked me,

“Who’s the target!?”

It’s not a voodoo doll…

*

Geez. I wish I had some friends in the arts and crafts to understand my feelings. I wanna join the Handicrafts Club…
Should I pretend to be socially oblivious and just force my way in?
But if I do that I’ll just end up isolated in the room again. Uuu, these tears are just because I’m straining my eyes, okay?

---

“MY EYES-! MY EYEEEES-!”

is a reference to the typical stereotypical chuunibyou phrase,

“My eye-! My eyeeee-!”

when their left eye goes red and they unleash their power or whatever.

Japanese has no plurals, so Reika’s line is exactly the same as the above.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.

If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.

Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

In celebration of our new God Emperor!

Also, I forgot to recommend them last time but!

Go Gently by Shana the Short (SB)
A rather funny alternate universe story about this completely oblivious Taylor who is friends with Emma, Sophia, and “Mr. Eikawa”.

Queen of the Swarm by Vherstinae (SB)
A pretty good Starcraft/Worm crossover where Taylor develops a Crawler-like ‘Kerrigan’ physiology.

---

The day of the excursion was met with clear weather. I departed after a good meal.
I’ve had a history of suffering on these excursions but this year I was a little different. I thought of a way to walk without tiring!
In the past I always took large strides in order to make more progress. But the trick in mountain climbing is to take small steps!
Why didn’t anybody teach me this earlier! Just how much unnecessary suffering did I go through…
Besides that, I also brought out my old stepper machine to train. Say goodbye to the exhausted Reika!

Well, to cut to the chase I ended up in the lagging groups again, but maybe because it was an easier hike this year, I had more fun than expected. I want to believe that it was my stepper training and strategy at work.
If only things were this easy every year. Being the kind girl that I am, I told all my fellow slowpokes about my small steps tactic.
But you know, there have always been some kids that were worse than me, you know? It’s just that they all throw in the towel early and ride away in a car. Last time they were sitting at the base of the mountain drinking tea or something. Isn’t that kind of unfair?
I’d want to do that too! But being the coward that I am, I never could find the timing to quit, so I was stuck with climbing to the end. And since the exercise was oddly good for my circulation I wasn’t hit by a wave of anaemia the one time it could have made itself useful.
Anyway, there were plenty of kids who retired early this time too, riding away gracefully in their car. Well, some of those were members of my group though. For example, my fellow Pivoine member Haginokouji Fuyuko-sama, whose face would probably look good with those round eyebrows that the ancient Heian nobility wore.

Fuyuko-sama is attached to my group because it’s the biggest faction, but she’s a bit different to everyone else. Maybe it’s because of her face, but it kinda feels like she lives in another world…
Sakura-chan might be “Japanese style” but this girl is plain “ancient Japanese”. She’d probably look more natural in a juunihitoe than western clothes.

“Look, Reika-sama. We can see the ocean.”

“Truly. How beautiful.”

Yes, I have enough energy to speak this year. It’s wonderful. I wish I had this much energy every year.
Or rather, if we just didn’t climb a mountain each time I wouldn’t have this problem to begin with. We went to Kamakura this year, so we should have just stuck to money-washing,

warabimochi,

or just eating soft custard pudding.

I hope I have somebody to go sightseeing with, this time.

*

When we arrived back at the hotel after the hike I went and changed clothes.
Aah, I can finally get out of this track jacket. They don’t suit me. If possible I’d like to avoid being seen in them outside.
I fixed up my appearance before heading to the hotel for lunch when I found the classes arranged around tables by class. The main course was seafood. All the exercise really gets your appetite up~
Oh! This Kamakura vegetable soup is pretty good!
But when I looked around, the Externals were ignoring the food in favour of huddling their heads together. I see. They still have their entertainment to do, so I suppose it’s no time to be eating. They really have it tough.

Around the time the food was finished, Class 1 began their skit.
Unsurprisingly it was a choir but they had a leader whose voice was trembling a bit. Can’t blame them though. I’m just thanking my lucky stars that I’m not an External…
After that there were concerts and skits too. My class was doing their best singing, with a piano and some people on the tambourines too. I don’t think I’m biased in saying that their practice paid off.
In the class with the concert there was this one kid whipping his hair back and forth as he played the violin, but I have to wonder if he moved into the right school.
Finally, it was Wakaba-chan’s turn.

In the spirit of being in Kamakura, her class performed the “Benten and the Five-Headed Dragon”. According to the story, in the past there was a terrifying five-headed dragon that lived in the Kamakura lake who caused natural disasters, demanded children as sacrifices, and just made life for the villagers hell. But then one day a heavenly nymph descended from the heavens who was so beautiful that the dragon proposed to her, but she rejected him and told him that she couldn’t marry someone wicked, so he reformed and became a good dragon.

The guy playing the dragon was dressed in a mask and black cloth while the girl playing Benten seemed to be shrouded in white cloth. The other roles included the narrator, the villagers and stuff too. Wakaba-chan was holding a stick attached to blue cloth and was pretending to be the ocean.

“ZAZAAAN~ ZAZAAAN~” she yelled as she waved her stick, enthusiastically playing her part.

…Umm, Wakaba-chan, you’re great, you’re really shining up there. Trying your very best to wave the stick even when nobody is really watching you. Even though sometimes you got so tired that you had to do it with one arm, you gave your all to the role until the end. Well done.
It couldn’t be that she’s being picked on, right? Or so I wondered for a moment, but there was a kid playing the part of Enoshima island so I guess I was just being paranoid. The part of the ocean is still better than being an island, right?

When my class’ act was done, they came over to thank Satomi-kun and I.

“Thank you so much for all your help.”

“Thank you very much, Reika-sama.”

All I really did was get them that music room, but Satomi-kun practised with them and gave them the advice including the idea about borrowing the maracas and tambourines too. He really is great at taking care of people.

“You performed very well. It appears that your practised paid off,” I said.

They all looked really happy. It looks like they became closer through all this. But it’s not good to only stick to themselves, so hopefully they’ll get close to the others too.

The class that won the prize for best sideshow this year was Wakaba-chan’s class.
The prize were enough tickets for free meals at the cafeteria for all of them. Wakaba-chan’s eyes were shining. The food at our school is quite expensive so I suppose she didn’t have much chance to try it. Good for her. I wish I could give her recommendations.

*

After that whole affair, I became closer to this External girl called Ikoma-san.
Friend GET?
But I’m a bit troubled because she looks at me with these eyes that seem oddly worshipping. I’ll bet she has some weird image of me in her head.
Ikoma-san who always looks at me with these sparkling eyes filled with respect… I’m too cowardly to disappoint her, so I vowed to myself to keep up the act around her.

Ikoma-san, if you like my hairstyle so much, how about you curl your hair too?

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.

If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.

Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

There was meant to be a whole message and Worm fanfiction recommendation list here but when I published after changing the link from https://oniichanyamete.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/reika-sama-077-3/ everything was blank and scumbag wordpress had no fucken drafts, so fuck. I’ll edit it in now I guess…

EDIT: Okay, fuck. So! Like I was saying in my earlier draft, I’m sorry for the long absence. The last time I released a chapter was August 12th, so a bit under 3 months ago.

EDITEDIT: Why does wordpress keep fucking blanking everything!?

Fuck!

EDITEDITEDIT: Hopefully third time is the charm. So! August 12th. I’m sorry for my absence. I was really busy with my masters degree and was busy until roughly the 1st of November. Yes, I am aware that it is now the 7th of November. Some issues with Warframe and Worm fanfiction came up, okay? Namely that I wanted to do those more than translate.

Speaking of Worm fanfiction though, if you haven’t read Worm, go read it now. NOW! If you have read it, here are some fanfiction recommendations I’d like to make! The formatting and reviews are shitter because this is the second time I’m doing this, so please bear with me.

Constellations by Unwelcome Storm. (SB)(SV)
A light-hearted, funny, adorable, and very enjoyable crossover with Ōkami.

Twinnings by Harbin (SB)(SV)
Taylor with Coil powers. Note that the stories on SB and SV diverge at chapter 1.5 and I’d recommend you read both. The SpaceBattles version first. Fun stuff.

Starry Eyes by helnae (SV)
A completely adorable alternate power fanfiction where Taylor cuts off her face and makes friends with a shoggoth and nightgaunt.

Heredity by BeaconHill (SB)(SV)
A fun alternate universe fanfiction where Taylor moves to Arcadia and somehow ends up teaming up with Amy.

Intrepid by Cerulean (SB)(SV)
An alternate universe (and thus power) fanfiction that follows four different protagonists: Madison, Emma, Sophia and Taylor. Four different teams with one of them each. Non-Mary Sue-ish and really quite an engaging story.

As for some longer stories, we have Cenotaph and sequels which read… a lot like the original Worm I suppose, Queen of Blood which is nowhere near as edgy as you’d expect from a name like that, A Cloudy Path which is great but somehow even more emotionally draining to read than the original Worm, Atonement which is cheesy and Mary Sue-ish but still somehow pretty good and really fun, Magical Girl Lyrical Taylor which is… um… well I’d definitely recommend it…, and finally Amelia which is a dark fixfic which was pretty okay.

---

This year’s excursion was to Kamakura.

A city! It’s finally a city! Goodbye, mountain climbing! Or so I thought until I heard that, yep, we were going to be hiking. To think that even Kamakura had hiking…

But well, I guess I was already kinda prepared for that. The real issue was the lunch.

After spending the whole gruelling morning on hiking, next was returning to the reserved hotel banquet hall to have lunch together as a whole grade. I was told that we were going to have seafood. Seafood is great stuff.

The problem comes after. Apparently it’s Zui’ran tradition to have the External Students of each class gather together to prepare some kind of skit for the lunch. Like a baptism of sorts for them.

But a skit! And in front of three-hundred odd people! It’s a total punishment game.

When the Externals in my class heard about it, all of them went deathly pale. Not like I don’t understand though.

After asking around a bit, apparently the previous years were pretty much all choirs and concerts, with the occasional dance or magic trick. A few oddballs apparently banded together to recite Japanese waka poetry or haikus, too.

That day, whenever we had spare time, the Externals would group together and plan for the lunch skit. Mn, for things like this you have to decide what to do first after all.

“Can’t we just sing something?”

“But whatever would we sing? And would it be possible to sing loudly enough for a large hall such as this?”

“But that makes it even harder to see a skit.”

Hmm~ Looks like they’re having trouble.

Satomi-kun and I called out to them.

“How goes it? Have you yet agreed upon anything?”

They all shook their heads at me with troubled expressions.

“Apparently most people just sing or perform on instruments,” I added.

“But it’d be difficult to bring instruments…”

“I believe it quite possible to have them loan you at least a piano or a guitar. And the hall is furnished with a screen so with a microphone small magic tricks or juggling should be possible.”

“Really!?”

Looks like they had more options now.

“By the way, what’s the most popular thing for us to do?”

“From what I hear, some students with particular confidence in their singing voices decided to sing Nessun Dorma. Apparently they were met with quite an applause, and were called the Three Tenors of Zui’ran or somesuch. They were so popular in fact that the popularity of doing mini operas sky-rocketed in the following years, or so the story goes.”

“Opera…”

“The Three Tenors…? But if there were only three singers, what was everybody else doing?”

“Lighting and sound, it seems.”

“Having it focused around one person might not be a bad idea.”

“However, pushing the pressure onto a single classmate is not ideal, so generally things of more equal participation are expected. The exceptions are only when somebody is particularly talented at something.”

“Talent…”

They looked at each other. Unfortunately none of them seemed to be superstars of any sort. They all looked a little crestfallen.

“Dances are popular too but it kinda depends on how tired each class is after the hike,” advised Satomi-kun.

Yeah~ If it were me I’d be half dead after all the walking.

“But there’s been all kinds of dances too. Stuff from proper dances, to waltzing to piano music or something.”

“I’ve never waltzed before.”

“Me neither… Outside of folk dancing at school, I’ve never really…”

Folk dancing, huh. If somebody did like, an Oklahoma Mixer, I’d probably end up laughing.

Ah, maybe a Mayim Mayim would be more exciting?

It turned out to be a unanimous vote against folk dancing. After long deliberation, they decided on the safe option of choir singing.

*

They immediately went to practice after school but the kids from the other classes were thinking the same thing obviously, so it was quite a scramble for the piano. After all, whether for choir or concert performances, the piano is a key part, right?

The music rooms in the high school section weren’t enough so I went and negotiated with the school. In the end I got permission for them to use the middle school ones as well.

“You’re amazing. You got us permission to use the middle school rooms? Umm, I guess you used your power as a Pivoine, right?” asked a girl hesitantly.

Hmmm. I can’t really say. When I went and talked to the teacher I was just like,

“Say, since you made me take up the class rep position and all, just lending me a room or two is nothing, riight?”

so I’m pretty sure I wasn’t demanding anything. Mn. That sounds right. It was just a request.

“I should think it was because the school cooperates with its students,” I smiled.

Please don’t look at me so suspiciously.

Anyway, I was pushing for them to sing gospel music but they were like “We don’t have enough people for that…” and refused. Hm, do you really need that many people? I mean, the Three Tenors of Zui’ran managed, so can’t you get loud enough if you try? I was so sure it’d be popular too.

In the end they chose something easy. Well, it’s a song I quite like anyway, so it’s all good I guess.

After entrusting the key to the music rooms to the External students, I headed for the Pivoine. Just to be safe, I’ll check up on the Externals once more before I go home later.

On the way, I bumped into Katsuragi Boy in the hallway.

“Ah! Why the hell are you in the middle school!”

I checked the hallway in all directions. Hmm~ Nobody seems to be here. Alright.

“OWWW!”

I sentenced the rude little junior to a facial noogie.

I didn’t hold back at all so I’m sure it hurt quite a bit. Since we were the same height though, he pulled me off rather easily.

“What the fuck are you doing, violent woman!?”

“Is that how you address a senior? My, such a dullard, you poor thing. I henceforth name you Birdboy. The bird-brained Birdboy.”

“Fuck you!”

“My, are you not satisfied? Then go learn some manners and I shall promote you back to a full human once more. Well then, gokigen’yoh, Birdboy-kun.”

I walked away with a HO HO HO! when I heard the idiot call out,

“A bitch like you will never be worthy of Enjou-san!”

So of course I headed right back.

“W-What are you doing?”

Since he had his guard high, I kicked him in the shin.

“OWWWWW!!”

Hurt, didn’t it. Even the legendary warrior monk Benkei would cry from a shin kick.

“Truuly such a cretinous bird. Worry not. I have no feelings towards Enjou-sama at all. I will not get in the way of your love for him. Society still has much progress to be made towards completely understanding homosexuality, but there is no harm in fantasising as you please. Do as you deign appropriate.”

“Wha-, I’m not-”

OHOHOHOHOHO, I can’t heaar youuu~

With that, I left my mentally challenged kouhai behind.

*

The Externals in each class continued to practice each day.

One time in the hallway, I caught sight of Wakaba-chan running around covered in some weird cloth, but, eh, don’t tell me it’s really some dress-up skit!?

---

“One time in the hallway, I caught sight of Wakaba-chan running around covered in some weird cloth, but, eh, don’t tell me it’s really some dress-up skit!?”

Kasou Taishou: Kasou Taishou is a semi-annual show on NTV in which various amateur groups perform short skits, which are rated by a panel of judges. Especially in recent years, many of the skits have revolved around clever methods of “faking” cinematic special effects on a live stage. The show is hosted by Kinichi Hagimoto and Shingo Katori. Worldwide, the most famous of these skits, and among the most successful at “fake special effects” was a skit which is widely known as “Matrix ping pong”.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kasou+taishou+best

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

Evil God Army members, assemble: https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

---

Today, at Kasumi-sama’s invitation, I was having lunch at the Pivoine seats. I feel like I’ve been eating nothing but sweet foods recently, so today I went with a healthy spring greens and bacon pasta.

“I heard that you planned a lunch event for your class,” she said with a teasing expression.

I’ll bet this is about how I used her name on Tomoe-senpai.

“Yes, both the Student Council President and the cafeteria staff happily agreed, you see. Thanks to that, everybody was able to have a pleasant lunch together.”

“My! Huhu,” she laughed.

Suddenly, some others joined our conversation.

“Was there any need to go out of your way to ask the Student Council? Why, it almost seems as though the Student Council is ranked above us.”

“Yeah. When everything’s said and done, it’s us Pivoine that’s the highest here at Zui’ran.”

Oh dear~ Things have become annoying.
The Pivoine Supremecists really hate the Student Council after all.
Kasumi-sama was hanging her head awkwardly. Considering their reactions, it would be impossible to come clean about her boyfriend.
Unlike middle school, the tensions between the Pivoine and Student Council are quite pronounced here.
It’s probably because the power of the Student Council is a lot greater in the high school section. Well, considering who our current StuCo President is though, I doubt it’ll turn into an all-out confrontation, but still…

“Because I am still only a new student, I felt that perhaps it would be safer to notify the Student Council as well. However, if my conduct has caused anybody discomfort, I am truly very sorry…”

“Ah, no, it’s not your fault, Reika-san. Sorry about that. Just don’t worry about it.”

Once I started acting feeble and pitiful, they backed down surprisingly quickly. Uhehe.
That was the end of that, and lunch progressed peacefully again. Both Kaburagi and Enjou occasionally joined in on the conversation too. Apparently they weren’t going to join a club. Although, it seemed that a lot of sports clubs invited them.

“Which club did you want to join, Reika-sama? I heard that you went to check them out.”

“Yes, although I am still having trouble deciding…”

Although, the truth is that there are a few cultural clubs that I want to enter. But all of them are filled with quiet kids, so it would be like a sudden wolf in a pen of little rabbits. They definitely wouldn’t welcome me.

“How about the Tea Ceremony Club or the Flower Arrangement Club?”

“I have teachers that I have been learning both under since young, so there is really no reason to join those clubs as well.”

“I see. Is there anything else you wanted?”

“At first I was interested in the sports clubs, but…”

Suddenly, Kaburagi and Enjou glanced my way. What the heck. So what if I wanted to join a sports club.
It’s true that I don’t have a good history with mountain climbing but my P.E. results are at least average, okay! And didn’t I do pretty well during the Athletics Carnival!
It’s not that I’m bad at sports. I’m just lacking the willpower, okay.

“I’ve heard that the Zui’ran sports clubs lean towards the intense side. Wouldn’t it be a little harsh for you, Reika-sama?”

“Yes. I realised that it was impossible for me after having a look.”

I heard Kaburagi and Enjou quietly stifling their laughter. Annoying.

“Huuuh~? These seats are free, guys~”

At that moment, Wakaba-chan suddenly came this way with a bentou.
No way! Why!?
I got careless because of how far into lunch break we were. Did her class get held back or something!?
The plate! Where’s the plate that says they’re Pivoine only!? It’s gonee! Who was it!? Who was it that removed it!?
As Wakaba-chan came over with an innocent smile, the atmosphere around the Pivoine senpais grew severe. This is bad… It seemed like the Pivoine Supremecists would explode at any moment.

“U-Umm! These seats are reserved for our use only, so normal students cannot sit here, you know?”

Before I knew it I had stood up and warned Wakaba-chan.
For a moment she stared blankly as our eyes met. Then she turned around and found her pale friends, and finally realised that she was in trouble.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realise. I sincerely apologise,” she exclaimed as she bowed, low, before rushing back to her friends.

Safe!

“What was that meant to be. A new External? Let’s find her name later and issue a formal warning. She’s setting a bad example for the rest.”

“That girl did not seem as though she belonged here. Could it be that she was a scholarship student?”

“That’d make things all the worse.”

Gegeh-!

“Umm! There is really no need to go that far. I am sure she is simply still acclimating. Could you perhaps turn the other way just this once?”

“However…”

“Of course it would not do to simply leave things, so I will personally talk to her class representative to give her a warning, as well as properly teach her about the Pivoine. Please?”

“…Then just this one time, in deference to you, Reika-san.”

“…Yes. If Reika-san is willing to go that far, then…”

“My! Thank you very much!”

Scaryyy~ The Pivoine is so scaryyyy~
There’s no need to get so angry just because somebody wanted to sit in a chair, okay~?
And Wakaba-chan, you’re way too careless. The friends with you all noticed, didn’t they? And friends of Wakaba-chan, you’re supposed to tell her. Don’t just go pale and stand there.

Also, all throughout this little drama, Kaburagi and Enjou continued eating like nothing…

But wow, what happened just now was that scene when Kisshouin Reika got angry and screamed “Know your place!” at Wakaba-chan, right?
In the manga, the whole cafeteria went silent, and made Wakaba-chan rather infamous right at the start of school. It marked the beginning of a lot of troubles.
Still, I managed to avoid it, right? Although I did sort of stand up and warn her without much thought. I mean, things would have gotten extremely troublesome had I stayed still.
Aahh, but what happened was almost like the manga… Uu, my stomach is kinda hurting again.
But I’ll make sure to finish this pasta. Vegetables are good for you, after all.

*

*

I spoke to her class representative about what happened at lunch, and asked them to discreetly teach the new students what to watch out for.

It’d be nice if there was a Pivoine manual or something, though. Perhaps I’ll have a word with Tomoe-senpai about it…

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

Evil God Army members, assemble: https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

---

I’ll be meeting with Aoi-chan for the first time in a while. The last time was in spring break so I’m really happy.
Unfortunately Aoi-chan’s been attending a different cram school ever since high school started, so we can’t see each other on a regular basis anymore. It had been my emotional oasis too…
But we’ve been talking via text and phone so I think we’ll stay friends forever. I won’t let you escape, Aoi-chan!

The two of us went to a café known for its cakes. True to its reputation, the menu boasted quite a large selection.
The banana tart looks really nice.

But it’s so hard to ignore the black tea chiffon cake.

Maybe it would be fine if I bought the swiss roll to take home.

After agonising over my choice for a while, in the end I went with a cake made from milk chocolate.

Aahh~ How can just a bit of cake send me to heaven like this.

“It seems that your complexion has improved a lot since spring break, Aoi-chan. I’m glad.”

“Mn, thank you.”

Aoi-chan had completely recovered from her haggard self, and the gaunt cheeks from right before the exams were back to their fluffy selves.

“Have you acclimated to your high school?”

“The moment I entered there was a test. I thought I was free from studying for the moment but then they hit me with that.”

“My~”

As expected of a prep school.

“But I’m done with studying for now. I’ve been thinking about joining a club so I’ve been having a look around.”

A club, huhh… I was in the go-home club as a middle schooler. Maybe I should try joining one too. It might lead to some new meetings too!

“I was thinking that since I’m joining one anyway, it might as well be a sports club. Maybe ballet or badminton or something. I was in the basketball club in middle school, after all.”

A sports club? That’s nice, moving your body around. Most importantly, it’ll help you slim.

“Perhaps I should join one too. A sports club, that is.”

“You, Reika-chan? I think that’s a great idea! Let’s see, I think tennis would suit you!”

“I am open to all suggestions except tennis.”

Tennis is the only club I’m absolutely against joining. Even though I’d be a complete beginner, I can already super see people expecting me to be some expert.
It’s one of those things, you know? Like when some boy is named Tsubasa and everyone just expects him to be great at soccer.
It’s scary how easy it is to see myself being stuck with the name Madame.

“I think I may simply have a look around as well. I still have only a faint idea of what clubs my school offers. I did have a quick look at the list earlier, but…”

“Yeah. It’s hard to really know what you want without seeing it first, right?”

Aoi-chan laughed happily as she took a bite of her black tea chiffon cake.
I knew that was going to be good. Maybe I should place just another order…

“Now that your exams are over, you seem to have having fun each day, Aoi-chan. I’m glad.”

“Hmmm… It’s not all smooth sailing, you know. It’s not school this time, though, it’s home.”

“Home?”

“Yeah. My Oniichan suddenly awoke to his guitarist’s soul, so now it’s just dundundundundun every single day. It’s driving me crazy, but he won’t reflect.”

“My, my…”

“Not only that, he’s even starting singing along these days. It’s just a nightmare. Dundududundundun aah aaa aaah aah~ The whole neighbourhood is filled with his crappy guitar and weird cries now. You know, the other day somebody told my mum, ‘Your son is such a talented guitarist’. It was completely sarcastic!” she shouted, something incredibly rare for her gentle self.

“Incidentally, which of your two oniisamas is it?”

“…Muscles.”

Muscles and guitar? Is he the hot-blooded type that would sing at the base of a volcano or something?

“I’m just so sick of it already. It’s so embarrassing I can’t even walk outside.”

“You have it hard.”

“Mn,” nodded Aoi-chan, before letting out a big sigh.

But although I feel sorry for thinking this, Aoi-chan, I kinda wanna meet that brother of yours.

“Would it be possible for me to meet…”

“Never.”

I see.

“Sorry for bringing up a weird topic. Enough about Muscles. How has school been, Reika-chan?”

“Well, it appears that others think of me as difficult to approach. Especially the boys.”

“You’ve said something like that before as well, haven’t you? I think it was during your remedials?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right. Things are undoubtedly better than that time, at least.”

I stayed a deserted island until the very end, after all.

“Could it be that I truly do have a bully’s face? You know, it seems that there are lots of kids who avert their eyes in fear.”

“Eh… But don’t you have some close friends too? And I mean, you said you had that male friend from cram school too.”

“Well, yes, I suppose.”

Akizawa-kun, huh.

“What if you had that boy spread your good points amongst the others? You could ask your girl friends too. You might makes lots more friends that way.”

“Isn’t that just a massive farce? If it was ever found out that I orchestrated it all, I would die from the embarrassment. And to begin with, it would be much too embarrassing to ask anyone for that favour.”

“Well, that’s true…”

I don’t want to believe that I’m cornered enough to do that.

“Then it has to be a club after all! You’ll definitely make new friends!”

“I think so too. I should go look at the clubs the next chance I have!”

Yeah. I’ll make lots of new friends once I join a club, and then maybe I’ll even start up some romance with a dreamy senpai!
I wonder what club I should join.

*

When they heard I was joining a club, the Tennis Club immediately came to invite me. I told you guys, the Tennis Club is just out of the question.
And what the heck is the Tenni-Pong Club. Isn’t that like tennis too? And it’s way too niche. I never even knew you guys existed.
And the Tennis de Table Club? Please just call it Ping Pong. Have some confidence in your own club, damnit.
And if you lot want to make me hold a racket so badly then maybe I’ll compromise with badminton. Aoi-chan was considering it too, after all. Lots of the friends from my old life did it too. Mn, that might be a good idea.

I went to the Badminton Club without much thought, and was sent trembling by the speed of the shuttle. Impossible. I’ll die if that hits me. And it looks like the running is really intense too. For me, running is a bit… Sometimes when I run I swear I can taste blood. I don’t think I’m quite suited for it.
At my friends’ invitations I went to look at the various sports clubs, but the intensity of it all steadily disillusioned me.

“After all of that touring, I think that sports clubs may be a bit much for me. I am sorry for making you accompany me,” I apologised to my friends, but everyone had this expression like, ‘I thought so’. I’m sorry, guys.
While I was walking around, feeling a little depressed at my own weakness, by chance I came across Class Rep who invited me to the Literature Club. Class Rep, are you still writing poems there?
Anyway, poems aside, maybe the Literature Club would suit me. I might make some kind friends. Maybe I’ll have a look tomorrow. Yeah. I’ll do that.

*

In the end, despite my optimism towards them, the members of the Cooking Club and Handicrafts Club were incredibly nervous when I came to have a look, so I decided against them.
I actually wanted to try making a plushie though…
The hurdle for joining a club are actually really high, aren’t they…

---

“It’s one of those things, you know? Like when some boy is named Tsubasa and everyone just expects him to be great at soccer.
It’s scary. There’s a huge probability of me being called Madame as a nickname.”

The first line is a reference to Captain Tsubasa, about the adventures of a Japanese youth soccer team and its football/soccer captain Oozora Tsubasa (大空翼).

The second line is a reference to the manga Ace wo Nerae!, and I have to thank zoom for the heads up. The story is about Oka Hiromi (岡ひろみ), a high school girl who struggles to become good at tennis.
Hiromi starts playing tennis at her school, Nishi (西高), because she is fascinated by Ryuuzaki Reika (竜崎麗香), an older girl who is the best player in the team and is nicknamed “Madame Butterfly” (お蝶夫人, Ochoufujin) because of her grace on the tennis court.

Guess which one of the three girls is Madame Butterfly.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

Evil God Army members, assemble: https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

---

It’s been a few days now since I entered high school but there haven’t been any problems. I haven’t heard about Wakaba-chan causing any trouble either.
I popped down to stealthily check out her classroom, but she seemed to have friends at least, so I think she’s doing okay.
I judged that it was safe to leave her alone for the time being.
That’s why I’ve decided to work on building up the friendship in my own class.

*

The new External Students haven’t been acclimating too well. Even the Internals are a bit stiff around people they didn’t talk to in middle school.
That’s why I’ve decided to hold a social gathering! And social gatherings mean food!

“You want to have lunch together as a whole class?”

“Yes. I believe that we should attempt to deepen our bonds by having lunch together.”

I immediately decided to see what my fellow class rep, Satomi Yukinari-kun, thought.
I was thinking that it would be difficult to make do with just the breaks between classes, so it would be better to try having lunch together one time and having a nice chat together.
After all, if it’s lunch then even if you can’t find something to talk about you can just recommend foods to each other. It’s easy and inoffensive, right? I wonder what Satomi-kun thinks.

“Hmmm~ I’m not against the idea itself, but would we really be able to secure enough seats together for the whole class?”

Good point. Usually people just sit wherever there’s room, so it would be rather difficult to prepare a group of 40 seats.
However! Satomi-kun has forgotten one very important thing!

“There will be no issue.”

–CHACHING!-
I flashed my red peony badge at him.

“Hm? Pivoine? Eh-! Don’t tell me you’re going to use the reserved Pivoine seats!?”

“That would be beyond even me. However, reserving a group of forty normal seats may not be.”

At first I considered sitting in the garden and eating packed lunches together, but once I considered the rain I thought it would be better to host it in the cafeteria.

“Wouldn’t our senpais be annoyed if a group of new students suddenly occupied a part of the cafeteria?”

-CHACHING!-
I flashed the badge again.

“You can simply say that it was all my plan. Perhaps I will also have a word with the Student Council President, just to be safe. It is only a one-time event so I am sure that they will be magnanimous about it.”

“Oooh! As expected of you, Kisshouin-san!”

Satomi-kun began to applaud.
Ho ho ho! If you have any complaints then bring it up with the Pivoine!
…Hm? Is it just me, or did that line sound like something the Rococo Queen would say?

*

*

After receiving Student Council President Tomoe-senpai’s OK, my class was able to have the lunch without a hitch.
When I brought up Kasumi-sama’s name, Tomoe-senpai accepted with a defeated smile.
It wasn’t a threat, okay? It was just a request, okay?
I’d feel bad taking up any particularly good seats, so I decided to just use somewhere out of the way and out of sight. I’d hate having to sit right in the middle under everyone’s stares anyway.

“Well then, ladies and gentlemen, shall we dine?”

There were kids eating cafeteria food, as well as kids eating their bentous. It’s completely acceptable to eat home lunches in the cafeteria, but there were some kids who had been hesitant so far, so hopefully this is a good chance for them to start.
As the lunch progressed, even the initially silent and stiff members of my class began to talk happily to the people around them.
There was a nice mood going, with Internal Students teaching Externals various things about the school.

“And so, those seats way over there are reserved for Pivoine members so you absolutely mustn’t sit there if you’re a normal student,” I heard one of the Internals saying.

Mn, but those seats have a sign that says they’re reserved for Pivoine, so I think anybody would realise.
Incidentally, I rarely ever use them. Ever since I entered middle school, I’ve almost always had lunch with Serika-chan and co. and my experience with the Pivoine seats are limited to when I get invited by other members. Back when I was in my first year of the middle school section, Kasumi-sama would sometimes invite me. Mostly to listen to her talk fondly about Tomoe-senpai.
To begin with, lunch is when most of the talking and gossip gets done in a group of girls. If you miss out on that, you’ll have trouble keeping up and they’ll leave you behind. That’s why if you’re in a girls’ group, having lunch together is something that’s pretty important.
Kaburagi and Enjou are always in the reserved seats though. It’s probably so that their fangirls can’t get to them. I guess even they’d want to have lunch peacefully.

By the time lunch was coming to an end, everybody had really loosened up around each other. As for me though, I was just sitting with my group as always, so I didn’t get to make new friends…
Well, whatever. At least a few of the girls spoke to me. I’ll just have to keep at it.
But is it just my imagination that most of the boys were avoiding eye-contact? I’m a class rep too, so if you have any questions feel free to ask me, okay~
Even though I’m being so welcoming, why are they all asking Satomi-kun instead.

*

*

After our lunch event, I think my classmates all got along a lot better. That’s great, that’s great.

“It looks like everyone is closer thanks to your idea, Kisshouin-san. As expected of you,” praised Satomi-kun.

Speaking of which, unlike the other boys, Satomi-kun has always spoken to me quite normally, hasn’t he.

“I was under the impression that boys were frightened of me, but you seem to be speaking just fine.”

“Eh-, afraid of you!? Ahh… Ummm, I wonder about that. Isn’t it kinda more like, you know, like you’re a flower beyond reach?”

…I have serious doubts about that.

“But anyway, I’m friends with Akizawa so I occasionally heard about you from him.”

“You were friends with Akizawa-kun!?”

That’s the first I’ve heard of this. And Akizawa-kun, what on earth have you been spreading about me.

“He told me that you two went to the same cram school in primary, and you’ve been close ever since. And also, how right now you’re apparently good friends with his childhood friend. I think her name was uh, was it Fukioka-san?”

“You know about Sakura-chan?”

“Yeah. I met her when I went to Akizawa’s. She was quiet and gentle, like exactly what you’d expect from a Yurinomiya girl.”

You’re being fooled, Satomi-kun! She might look like a traditional beauty but inside she’s just a nagging youkai with the tongue of a venomous snake!
But wow, Sakura-chan is so good at faking it.
I should really learn from her example.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

Evil God Army members, assemble: https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

---

Gokigenyou:

---

The day has finally come.
Will the protagonist really be coming to my school?
My heart is pounding. The next three years are going to determine the path of my life. Here we go!

*

*

The high school section entrance ceremony was held on a bright April day, sakura petals dancing in the breeze.
I turned about and scanned the auditorium, but I couldn’t find anybody who matched the description.
Since about a hundred new External Students will be joining us, it makes sense that I couldn’t spot her.
I suppose I’ll just watch the ceremony.
The representative of the current Zui’ran students was Tomoe-senpai, the Student Council President of the high school section, and it was him who gave the speech too.
He sure has matured in the time I haven’t seen him. A totally different person to the middle schooler who snacked on sweets with a smile.
As I was thinking about how cool he is, next up was Kaburagi, representing the new students.
When he reached the podium, the audience grew noisy. He does have pretty stunning looks, so I can hardly blame them for being shocked. His black hair together with the tinge of coldness on his face made him look like a black panther. Leaving the Internals aside, it must have been pretty shocking for the Externals with no resistance yet.
Anyhow, eventually the ceremony ended and we headed to our classrooms as we looked at the sheet with our classes on them.
After I found my name, naturally it was her name that I looked for next.
Doesn’t seem to be in my class at least.
As I continued looking through the list of first years… umm… Oh!

Takamichi Wakaba.

…Her name was really there.
Wakaba-chan. The protagonist of 『you are my dolce』, and the heroine who ended up with the Emperor after many twist and turns. And the important girl who will determine my future.
Where is she? I wanna see her. I wanna see what Wakaba-chan looks like.
But since everyone needs to quickly make their way, I don’t have time to visit another classroom.
Can’t be helped. I’ll have plenty of other chances to see her. I’ll give up for now.
I decided to just give up and headed for my classroom.

When I entered my new classroom, the students were divided firmly into two camps: the new Externals who were sitting nervously by themselves, and the comfortable Internals who were happily chatting in groups of existing friends.

“Ah-, Reika-sama!”

“Reika-sama, gokigen’you. It appears that we’re in the same class this time!”

Starting with my own group, girls began to form a ring to welcome me.

“Gokigen’you, everybody. It overjoys me that we will be together this year. Please take care of me.”

“Gokigen’you, Reika-sama. I’m feeling terribly relieved to be in the same class as you.”

“Reika-sama, gokigen’you.”

Everyone started greeting me with a smile. A few Externals glanced my way. Some of them seemed familiar somehow, so I suppose they must be members of upper society. There aren’t that many scholarship places, so the rest of the Externals have to be from fairly high backgrounds or at least rich enough to pay tuition. The number of genuine commoners is surprisingly little. And Wakaba-chan is one of those few genuine commoners.
She must be getting hit by such a culture shock right now. This is just totally different from any school she’s been to, after all. I was shocked too when I entered the primary school section. But boy is she going to be even more shocked once they introduce the students to the facilities.

*

*

When our new homeroom teacher entered the class, everybody took a seat and we began our introductions.

“I am Kisshouin Reika. I sincerely hope that we shall get along this year.”

When it was my turn I gave what I thought was a fairly standard introduction, but for some reason a number of people started applauding me.
Wha-, stop that!
I know that you kids don’t mean anything bad, but please stop that!
Look! Look at the Externals! They’re all shocked! They’re all shocked and thinking, ‘Holy shit, this girl is bad news!’
I’m not bad news at all, okay~ I’m not scary at all, okay~ I’m not a threat at all, okay~
After that, Sensei picked out people for class representative. I had the faint feeling this was going to happen, but I ended up as the female class rep. Ehh~ I’d already planned on being a proper Pivoine and staying away from chores and everything too…
There were some other girls who seemed like they could do it, but Sensei just looked at me with these eyes that said, ‘Hey, you wouldn’t refuse, right? Hey, you’ll do it, right?’ so in the end I accepted. Ueh~ Must be hard on you, Sensei.
The other class rep was a boy who entered Zui’ran in middle school.
Deciding the people for the various other roles as well as a tour of the school would be taking place during tomorrow’s home room period, so with that, class ended and we were all excused.

*

*

In the end, I never got to see Wakaba-chan today.
In the manga she was a cheerful girl, but I wonder what the real Wakaba-chan is like.
At any rate, now that Wakaba-chan has entered school, I don’t have any time left to lose.
When I got home, over and over, I told Otousama,

“Fraud is bad.”

Otousama was playing dumb and said he had no idea what I was talking about, but I’m begging you here, just tell the truth.
I have no plans of getting in the way of Kaburagi and Wakaba-chan anymore, but if you’re still committing fraud then there’s a chance somebody else will report you, right?
Aaah, I’m not making any progress with Otousama. I have to talk to Oniisama instead!

*

*

The next morning, it was time for the various other responsibilities to be handed out.
Speaking of which, last year Little Monk mentioned something like,

“Enjou-kun handed out the roles to the External Students who were less familiar with the school,”

didn’t he. Should I copy him?
But it would be mean to suddenly force them into it, wouldn’t it. Maybe it would be better to have them help out as half members or something just to get them to participate.
Anyway, I decided to take a stab at it.

“Those of you who have just entered, I encourage you as well to proactively volunteer.”

Still, not many of them raised their hands. Hmm~ Guess it can’t be helped.
In the end, most of the representatives were Internals, so I suppose I’ll just have to slowly get them to participate from now on.

After that was a tour of the school. Sensei and the class reps led everybody else in a row.
Because there are more people in the high school cohorts, the facilities were larger than the ones in middle school, but most of it turned out to be the same. Because of that, the Internals, myself included, were all fairly relaxed. In contrast, every one of the External kids were shocked and bewildered. Well, that’s how it is.
The next place on our tour was the cafeteria. Wow, it’s larger than the middle school one too. I wonder if the menu has increased too.
Ah! Speaking of which, the cafeteria was where Wakaba-chan stirred up trouble by trying to sit in the reserved Pivoine seats, wasn’t it. What do I do. Should I warn all the Externals here? But in that case, we’d have to explain what the Pivoine is first, and having me openly declare all the privileges that we Pivoine get is a bit… you know? Maybe I should just get somebody to tell them in secret later.
How did it go in middle school again? They just seemed to all know after a while.

After that, we continued touring here and there, and just as the tour was about to end, we finally arrived at the Student Council room.

“Oh! So it’s your class, Kisshouin-san. Come in, come in.”

When we entered, Tomoe-senpai and the rest of the members introduced themselves to us.

“Kisshouin-san, you’re class rep even though you’re a Pivoine? Geez, you should just go all the way and enter the Student Council already,”

said Tomoe-senpai with a cheerful smile.

“That would be impossible for me.”

“Yeah. I mean, you are still Pivoine, huh. Oh, you External kids, the Pivoine is a group that receives special treatment here at Zui’ran. For the details you can ask some of the Internals. Incidentally, that red flower badge that Kisshouin-san is wearing is proof of membership, so be careful about those who wear them.”

Tomoe-senpai, explanations are fine and all, but the way you said it sounded like you were warning them to be careful about me, you know!?
Isn’t your girlfriend a Pivoine too! I’m definitely going to tattle to Kasumi-sama.
Look, aren’t all the External kids looking even more frightened of me now…

“If you have any problems at all, come talk to the Student Council. But well, I guess things should be fine since you have Kisshouin-san anyway. She’s great at looking after others. If there’s anything you don’t know, just ask her. She’s a really good girl.”

Kyau~un! Tomoe-senpaaai! I really do love you after allll!

After saying goodbye to the wonderful Tomoe-senpai and co., we were heading down the hallway as another class came from the opposite end.
──And for a moment, a familiar face passed by me.

Wakaba-chan!

The Wakaba-chan I spotted was just like the Wakaba-chan I knew.
As usual, her hair was a bit messy, and her eyes were filled to the brink with curiosity. That girl was the real Wakaba-chan.
Uwahhh, this is kinda moving.
After that, I kept turning around to look at her, and the new class rep started looking at me with worry. Oops, look at me, making mistakes so soon after entering. I’m nobody suspicious, okay~

*

*

Yesterday I only saw her name, but seeing her in person today moved me a little.
Again, I decided to carefully explain to Otousama the meaning of the idiom, “Swift is Heaven’s Judgement.”
As expected, he probably was doing something shady because he escaped to the study and holed himself up in there. That why to be doubly sure, I stood in front of the door and said,

“The heavens are always watching, okay!”

when Oniisama came home and dragged me into the living room and got angry at me, saying,

“I’ve already checked the records for the last two years, and there’s nothing like that, so just stop with the weird worries already.”

Really, Oniisama? Can I trust you, Oniisama?

“Dad is getting depressed because his daughter keeps falsely suspecting him,”

he said, so I decided to reflect a little on wronging Otousama.
I understand. I’ll believe in you and Otousama then. We’re family after all.

*

*

But just to make sure, I’ll just make sure to remind him once in a while that the Heavens = Me.
Hey, it’s just to make sure, okay?

---

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Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

Evil God Army members, assemble: https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

---

It’s time for the middle school graduation ceremony.

Unlike the primary graduation, I’m feeling pretty moved this time.
After all, when I enter the high school section next month, the protagonist will be entering with me. I wonder what’s going to happen.
I’ve had some small troubles here and there, but my life at school so far has been pretty peaceful. But I can’t say if that will change. I’m starting to wish Kaburagi had just stuck to Yurie-sama.
Should I try and talk him up through Aira-sama? Nothing good about him comes to mind though…

Speaking of which, Aoi-chan and Sakura-chan said that they’d be graduating today too, didn’t they. Unlike Sakura-chan who’s in an escalator school system like me, Aoi-chan’s been studying so hard that even I was getting stressed.
When I saw her text me

“I passed without a problem,”

I felt relieved from the bottom of my heart.

“Reika-chan, it’s thanks to your pencil and headband,” she said. How nice.

I’ve been studying at home with my headband on too. Although, when I wandered about the house with it still on, I gave my family a shock.

“You don’t have to take it so seriously,” said Okaasama, but I was just wearing the headband to get in the mood. I wasn’t feeling pressured at all.

Actually, what was really pressuring me was how much hot chocolate I’d been drinking. It’s delicious and I love it, but my tummy got just a little bigger. Drinking it on the daily was a bit much, huh.
I brought back my hula hoop to stave off the fat though.

*妹*

*妹*

The graduation address was done by Kaburagi. He has the traits of a stalker, and he’s an athletics carnival-loving cavalry battle idiot, but he’s still the most outstanding in our grade.
I thought that these were normally given by the student council president, but hmm. Hang in there, Fellow Stalking Horse.

He certainly looked majestic reading out his address on stage. It wasn’t just the female students; even the male students were captivated by him. It seems that the Emperor’s display of indomitability had captured their male hearts.
Earlier, having already declared his retirement form cavalry battles, the Emperor was met with a flood of disciple applicants. That first year who got owned at the end was amongst them. Apparently he was a bundle of ambition who wanted to become the Emperor of the next generation. How nice~ that kind of determined stupidity. But geez, just how much do the boys at Zui’ran love cavalry battles.

The Emperor turned them all down. According to him,

“Techniques aren’t things you are taught; they are things you plunder.”

All of the boys seemed incredibly moved by his words. Idiots. The boys at Zui’ran are all idiots. We might be in trouble.
As for Enjou, even though he’s usually right next to him, during the fiasco he was standing a little further away. You could tell that he was trying to declare that he had nothing to do with these dumbasses.

Anyway, that’s how it is so I was sure he’d mention cavalry battles during his address too, but it never turned up once. And the cavalry battles were definitely the highlight of middle school for him too. You endured well, Kaburagi.

*妹*

*妹*

When I headed outside after the ceremony, Oniisama was there!
I wasn’t sure whether or not to invite him since he was so busy this year, but Oniisama guessed my feelings and told me he would come.
Since he was spoiling me anyway, I asked him to bring Urara flowers with him.
And just as promised, Oniisama brought a bouquet of flowers with Urara mixed in.
Even though you’ve been so busy… Thank you, Oniisama!
Since Oniisama’s university graduation is coming up, I told him that I’d come running to his too, but he turned me down with a smile… Why.

Besides Oniisama, my senpai from the Pivoine came to congratulate me with flowers too, and shockingly, even Ririna’s underlings brought some for me! And of all things, Ririna brought flowers too …and then gave them to Oniisama instead of me. OI!

“Taka-niisama, please bring me lilies next year for my graduation! Lilies are Ririna’s flowers!”

Won’t the Emperor get angry if you claim lilies as yours?
See? Because you spoke so loudly, he turned around just now.

“Would red spider lilies not be more suitable to you, Ririna? They suit you very well.”

“What on earth are you saying! Those aren’t even real lilies! My flowers are the madonna lilies!”

Uwah, so shameless.

“Hmmm. I’ll be working next year, so I can’t really promise.”

“Ehhhhhh?”

Don’t worry, Ririna. I’ll come with flowers for you next year. Lollipop lilies just right for you.

“Ririna, should you not be going over to congratulate Kaburagi-sama?”

“Of course I’m going.”

Just like an idol, Kaburagi was holding a handshaking event in the middle of a horde of girls.
With a bouquet of blue preserved roses in hand, Ririna excitedly charged towards the circle with her gang.
Just before she was gone, she turned her head around and said,

“Oh, while I’m at it, congratulations Reika-san.”

before completely running off.
Goodness, what a little tsundere…

“It looks like you two really get along now.”

“Do you think? But I suppose they do say that stupider kids are cuter.”

While I was nodding in agreement with myself,

“…That’s true. Dumber kids really are cuter,”

he agreed.

This time, Otousama made sure to bring a bouquet to compete with Oniisama.

“The Queen of the Orchids, the Cattleya. Perfect for you, Reika,” he announced proudly.

I bet it was Okaasama who picked them anyway. I can’t imagine that this pot-bellied tanuki could come up with something like this.
Hm, am I looking down on my father too much?

Ah-, Miharu-chan rushed into Enjou’s crowd with a digital camera in hand. My my~
And following behind her was Class Rep with his own camera… Class Rep, shot down!? Aren’t you a little too trusting in your Middle Blessing slip?

Having taken enough photos of Kaburagi and Enjou for now, Serika-chan and the others came and invited us too. Wait, ‘together with your Oniisama’? Was that the aim from the start!?
Still, I ended up taking photos excitedly with the girls I was close to.
Unfortunately there were no guys who asked for a photo. Are there no boys out there who like me? You don’t have to be shy, okay? If you come out now, I’ll even throw in a handshake.

…Well whatever. My luck with boys is definitely going to blossom in high school. Today, I bid farewell to my Curse fortune!

*妹*

*妹*

But I really am a lucky girl. So many people came to congratulate me.
I hope that in high school, and even after high school, I’ll continue enjoying this happiness.

---

Translator’s Note: That concludes the middle school arc.

I hope you’ve been enjoying the series as much as I have, and if you haven’t already, that you’ll write a review here, mentioning both how you find the story, and how you’ve been finding my translation quality and style. If you have complaints, please include them as well!

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

Evil God Army members, assemble: https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

---

Consider re-reading this first:
https://oniichanyamete.wordpress.com/2016/06/05/reika-sama-068/

---

Winter came, and I began seriously studying for my entrance exams. I know it doesn’t really matter in an elevator school, but well, may as well.
Once I enter the high school section, the newly arrived External Students will drop my rankings even lower, after all. I have to start studying now to prepare.

And so today, once again, I was studying with my home tutor.
Since Karin-sensei was looking for a job now and quit her role as tutor, the one teaching me was her younger sister, Marin-sensei. Just like Karin-sensei, she’s a student at a national university. These sisters sure are smart~

“At this rate, I think you’ll definitely pass your internal exams.”

“Really?”

“If you continue studying like this until the last day, that is.”

I see~ But if you tell me something like that I’ll get lazy in no time, so please don’t praise me so much.
Procrastination has been engraved in my karma since my previous life.

“Speaking of which, I rarely ever do see your Oniisama, Reika-sama.”

“Yes, now that you mention it.”

Ever since his coming-of-age ceremony, Oniisama has been busy with both school and our family business, so things have been hectic for him. Most of the time he isn’t even back in time for dinner so I can’t just casually ask him to play anymore.
But even though Oniisama is so busy that he can never get home in time for dinner, why is it that Otousama never comes home late? Otousama, aren’t you overworking Oniisama?
*gasp!* Could it be that he found some fraud and has been busy with the cover-up!? That has to be it. Try your best, Oniisama!
I’ll make him a bentou sometime. A hand-made bentou filled with his little sister’s love. I’ll bet he’ll be happy. I’ll use sakura denbu to draw a heart on the rice.

Get ready for a surprise, uu-pft-pft. Bentou drawings should be a good challenge for me.

“Your Oniisama is so dreamy. From all the rumours I hear, I can’t even imagine that he’s younger than my sister!”

“My.”

I had no idea. Marin-sensei was actually the type who loves celebrity gossip?
But Oniisama really is dreamy. When he studies or reads books he puts on his glasses, and always looks really intellectual. As a fan of pretty boys with glasses, it really sends my heart beating.

“Is Oniisama your type, Marin-sensei?”

“Well, it’s a bit hard to say this but Takateru-sama is for viewing and admiration. If I was looking for a boyfriend, I’d go for somebody more normal.”

“Is there somebody like that in mind!?”

“Well, no. But I guess there’s a guy in my grade who’s been going after me~? He’s the opposite of my type though. It’s a bit embarrassing, but I prefer guys more like the vocalists in visual kei bands.”

“Goodness~ So you prefer skinny and fair-skinned guys in leather?”

“Yeah. It’s embarrassing though.”

You say you prefer normal guys, and then go for visual kei singers?
What a surprising side to a studious girl like her.

“By the way, what’s your type, Reika-sama?”

“Eh… Just what, I wonder. Perhaps somebody earnest and kind.”

I’m not sure since I haven’t liked anybody since Tomoe-senpai.
Sometimes I hear Juliet-Kasumi-senpai brag about him though. How nice~ Everyone seems to be so happy.

“The guy who’s been coming after me is earnest too but, he’s kinda… overwhelming.”

“Is he troubling you? In that case, what if you got on a boat with him at Inokashira Park?”

“Hmm, but isn’t that only for couples?”

Really? Sakura-chan was completely enraged though. She was like a real-life Hannya.

Honestly terrifying.
Really, it was just a bit of a joke.

“JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE SAD AND ALONE, DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TEAR OTHERS APART!” she said. Her expression was incredible but, Sakura-chan, you two aren’t actually a couple yet, right? And if you’re really a fated couple, then small tribulations like this are essential. Confidence in your relationship is important, okay?

Forever Alone Village, currently accepting villagers.

*妹*

*妹*

It was still technically an entrance exam, so I decided for a change of pace to visit a shrine and pray to the God of Learning.
I knew that they sold ‘Praying for entrance’ pencils, but I had no idea they even had ‘Victory’ headbands too.
But then on the news you often see reports about kids skipping New Years celebrations and studying frantically with a headband on their foreheads, so maybe these Victory ones are actually pretty standard?
Once you consider Emperor’s abnormal obsession with headbands, maybe there’s just something about them that makes people try harder.
It seemed interesting, so I bought myself one along with the pencil. And then extras for Aoi-chan too. None for Scary Hannya Sakura. She’s a nagging youkai.
Aoi-chan’s been getting more and more ragged by the day. I’m really worried. I wrote “Please let Aoi-chan pass” on my wooden prayer plaque, and prayed hard for her.
But even though people call Tenjin-sama the God of Learning, in life he was actually demoted wasn’t he. Can he really bless us like that?
Or so went my blasphemous thoughts when a bird poop attack came. It came right down in front of me, but just as I thought I was safe I realised it hit my stockings in exchange!!
I’m sorry. I was wrong for doubting you. Please forgive me.
…Vengeful spirits are so scary. Just please don’t drop lightning on me.

*妹*

*妹*

I never told the Nagging Youkai, but the truth is that after the Athletics Carnival, Toriumi-san spoke to me.
Naturally, about Akizawa-kun.
Apparently, she occasionally saw me chatting to Akizawa-kun about Sakura-chan, and ended up with a strange misunderstanding.

“Could you be dating?” she asked.

Noooo wayyyyy~ This girl, Sakura-chan, why does everyone look at things through this weird romance filter?
And it’s weird to say this myself, but good job calling out to me, Toriumi-san. The power of love is amazing, huh.
In respect of her courage, I made sure to clear things up about Akizawa-kun and I, as well as mention,

“Apparently he is going out with his childhood friend.”

“So he is dating…” she said, depressed.

In response, I told her,

“I think there is somebody else even more suitable for you, Toriumi-san.”

I heard from one of Ririna’s underlings, Glasses-chan, that there’s actually a boy who likes her.

When I subtly suggested to Toriumi-san,

“What if you turned your eyes to the club members in your own grade?”

She was shocked.

Ummm~ Judging from the ways her eyes swam, perhaps spring is coming quite soon for a certain boy in the Track and Field Club.
Okay, this time, I think I did pretty good!
Nagging Youkai, I’ve been working pretty hard for you in the background, okay. I, the Village Chief, have a magnanimous heart.

But anyway, that Glasses-chan might look really docile but she actually has quite the gossip. Compared to a fake spy like me, she’s like the real thing.
From funny stories to useful intel, she tells me all sorts of things.
I don’t have many kouhai who look up to me, so Glasses-chan makes me really happy.
I asked her to call me “Reika-senpai” instead of “Reika-sama”.
She also told me that the 1st Year who got beaten up in the cavalry battle started having these weird feelings of rivalry with me. Why?

“People say that Katsuragi-kun is an idiot, so please be careful,”  she warned.

I’m surrounded by idiots, aren’t I~ From Kaburagi to Katsuragi. Even their names are similar. Life is hard.

Later on when I walked past that idiot first year, he suddenly declared,

“The likes of you aren’t suitable for Enjou-san!”

The rantings of an idiot are too crazy for me to understand.

Anyway, that sad case first year might have been ambushed by my followers later…
It must be tough being singled out by a group of girls. Maybe it’ll even give him a trauma.
If your hair turns white, you can come talk to me.

---

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