Reika-sama – 197

Jan 30, 2018 Estelulu 115 Comments

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

Hi guys! Looking for experienced cleaners, redrawers or type-setters to help with the Tashinami scanlations.

Please contribute: http://kenkyokenjitsu.wikia.com

Kaburagi discovered graffiti on Wakaba-chan’s desk.

He normally came to school a bit later.

That day he just happened to come early, so he headed to Enjou’s classroom, spotted Wakaba-chan cleaning her desk, and then noticed what she was cleaning off.

‘Ugly!’

‘Disappear!’

When he saw the insults he flew into a rage.

“Who was it!? Who did this!?”

People could hear his voice from down the hallway.

“Speak up! Who wrote this!?”

My friends and I were amongst them, so we left our classroom to investigate.

“What might be going on?”

“Well…”

And that was how I found out what had happened.

Kaburagi glared this way and that, pinning people under his gaze.

“Answer me. Who did this?”

The Emperor of Zui’ran was truly angry now.

Scary.

Besides my own group, plenty of other people who had come out of curiosity were standing frozen.

Wakaba-chan timidly came up to him, still holding her cleaning rag.

“Kaburagi-sama, um, please calm down…” she tried to stop him, but…

“How am I supposed to calm down!?” he yelled at her instead. “It’s bullshit! Aren’t you angry at all about this!?”

“Ah, I mean…”

“…Don’t tell me this wasn’t the first time?”

Putting the graffiti aside, most of the bullying was done in a way that the boys wouldn’t notice.

Thanks to that, I suppose, Kaburagi hadn’t had much of an idea of what she had to go through.

Well, he still didn’t have one, actually.

The majority of it was insulting her when Kaburagi and Enjou weren’t around, or talking behind her back right in front of her.

And it wasn’t all girls either.

There were the guys jealous of her grades.

“Ummm…”

Her eyes swam and she looked for an excuse, and Kaburagi’s expression grew even harsher.

“Who was it!?”

It wasn’t often that you saw this much emotion from him.

Kaburagi then proceeded to question each and every person there.

Most of them said they didn’t know, but sometimes one would let it slip they didn’t know about today’s incident, which caused them to be questioned further.

In the end, a few people admitted that they had seen Tsuruhana-san’s group or some other girls writing on Wakaba-chan’s desk a few times, causing the girls in question to pale.

“So it was you…”

You could almost see the black rage he was seething with.

“I-It wasn’t us! And look, we only just got to school!”

“It wasn’t us either!”

Despite being afraid of him, they still managed to find excuses.

“You’ve done it before.”

“We…”

“We don’t…”

“So in other words you might have asked someone else to do it today.”

“We didn’t! To begin with, everyone in the school hates Takamichi-san so it’s ridiculous that you’re pinning it all on us!”

“What did you say!?”

That was when Enjou arrived.

He looked a little surprised to see his best friend causing a fuss in his classroom.

“Morning, Masaya. What’s wrong?” he asked.

“What’s wrong!?” Kaburagi bellowed, and pointed at the desk. “Takamichi has been putting up with all this senseless harassment!”

The desk still had some marker ink on it.

It was the first time somebody had used something other than pencil, so it stood out a lot more.

“Ah… I see,” Enjou nodded.

Being that he shared a class with her, he was probably more aware of her plight than Kaburagi.

“Anyway, I’m going to find out who did this.”

“Isn’t that the Student Council President’s job, Masaya?”

Kaburagi frowned at the mention.

“They aren’t even around when they need to be. What can they do?”

“Ummm… The President, Mizusaki-kun, is having a meeting with the teachers about the graduation ceremony next month, so…” Wakaba-chan explained.

She was in the Student Council too, after all.

Kaburagi snorted.

“Takamichi, do you have any idea who did this?”

“Eh? Ah, who knows…”

Probably so many that she didn’t know where to start.

Kaburagi began looking for the culprit again.

Enjou just observed from the side.

Wakaba-chan herself was just ignored, and looked to be at a loss.

It wouldn’t be good to let this drag on.

Still, I loathed getting involved.

“Class is about to start, so shall we just clean up her desk for now?” I said quietly while giving her a glance.

“You’re right,” she agreed, after coming back to herself in a start.

She began cleaning the desk with her rag again.

Some girls from the Student Council brought their own rags to help.

The ink was apparently water-based, so before long it was cleaned away.

Thank goodness it hadn’t been oil-based.

Since people had been arriving at school, the crowd outside the classroom was even bigger now.

“What’s going on?” called a sharp voice.

The crowd parted and revealed Youko-sama and her followers.

Uergh!

The last person I wanted here had appeared.

Youko-sama looked over the classroom.

“I arrive at school in the morning to this huge uproar. Somebody explain this to me.”

The appearance of the former president of the Pivoine had the noisy classroom silent.

One student whispered something in her ear, causing her to let out a huge sigh.

She gave Wakaba-chan a cold glance.

“You again, Takamichi-san?”

“I’m sorry…” she said in a small voice.

“How many times are you going to cause chaos before you’re satisfied?”

“Is that not a little inappropriate?” Kaburagi said protectively. “She is the victim.”

“She may indeed be the victim. But is this not the consequence of her regular behaviour? I have heard much about her history of being problematic.”

To Youko-sama, it was a chance to air her own dissatisfaction.

“Could I ask what problematic behaviour you refer to?”

“You could call it behaving in a manner unbecoming of a student at Zui’ran.”

“Unbecoming…?”

“Indeed. Takamichi-san? Could it be that in order to have these people protect you, you drew on that desk yourself?”

Ehh!?

She was going that far!?

Kaburagi’s expression changed.

“Okishima-senpai. Isn’t that being a little too cruel? Please apologise to Takamichi-san.”

He was glaring now.

Uwawawawah! She’s your senpai, you know!

Youko-sama on the other hand seemed offended that he would ask for that.

“That’s quite impossible. The heart of the matter is that Takamichi-san has done unbelievable things, time and time again.”

“Okishima-senpai! If you go any further…” his fists shook as he warned her.

This was looking really bad…

Just when things were about to explode, Enjou stepped between them.

“Okishima-senpai, Masaya has always despised cowardly acts like this, so the blood must have gone to his head. Could you give me some face and back down just this once?” Enjou smiled disarmingly.

Youko-sama’s expression softened after seeing this.

“…Well if you’re asking, Enjou-sama, then I suppose I must.”

“Thank you very much. Since class is starting soon, please allow me to escort you there.”

And with a smile, Enjou escorted her out of the room.

…S-Scaryyyy!

You did well, Enjou!

I think I speak for everyone when I say that!

The period bell rang, so the peanut gallery all began leaving for their classes.

Kaburagi on the other hand held Wakaba-chan’s shoulders tightly.

“If anything happens, you tell me. I’ll protect you.”

“Eh…!?”

Her face turned red.

Ehh!?

Did her heart really just throb to Kaburagi!?

And Wakaba-chan, your mouth is hanging open!

“Youko-sama was right,” muttered a girl, “Wasn’t all this just a farce to get the Emperor’s attention?”

“Sounds like something she’d do…” muttered another.

From that day onwards, Kaburagi was often spotted at Wakaba-chan’s side.

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Tilea

Turf War – Chapter 25

Jan 29, 2018 Estelulu 15 Comments

Join the Evil God Army on discord!

https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

Sorry I couldn’t get out a Christmas release thing this year.

Life has been mildly hectic.

Also if you want more regular Tilea updates, please join my Discord server and remind me every Friday that people are actually waiting on it.

Chapter 25 – Edim and Miscalculations

“Intruders! Don’t let them get away!”

“Disintegrate, you traaash!”

“Gobaaaagh!”

I continued onwards, using magic bullets to clear the way of mercenaries…

One after another, I slew them and slew them.

But by the time I reached the top floor the number of weaklings had doubled.

I was breathing hard, and there were still so many of them.

On any other day I could have managed without a thought…

Even though I was feeling a bit better after Jessica’s blood it was a far cry from being fully recovered.

After all, I couldn’t kill her, so I only took a little.

I needed so much more.

“W-What are you…?”

“I-, I know what she is. T-That strength can only mean a vampire. She’s a demon!”

Tsk!

So they realised.

If the Fiend realised that a demon was attacking then there was a chance that he would run.

I had to hurry.

But having realised my lack of humanity, the mercenaries were all keeping a distance and firing magical bullets from afar now.

Kuh, nothing could be worse.

My strength was being drained and having Jessica here wasn’t helping.

She was as good as useless after all.

Actually worse than useless since I had to protect her too.

“This is as far as we go, Jessica. You have to escape first.”

“No! How could I leave you when you’re so exhausted!”

“U-Umm, you know. That’s kind of why I want you to leave. It’s actually pretty hard fighting while protecting you.”

“S-Sorry for being useless…”

“It’s fine, just go!”

“Y-Yeah… Yeah! I should go call Tilea-san after all.”

I told you not to do anything unnecessary!

Anything but that!

I’m going to be executed by the leadership, you know.

“Jessica, you should leave Tilea-sa… n out of this.”

“B-But…”

“I’ll be fine, Jessica. If it gets too dangerous I’ll leg it. You should… Ah, right. You need to look after the rest of the girls who escaped the prison. The guards will probably catch some of them.”

“T-There were some kids after all…”

“See?”

“Okay. Got it. Leave everyone to me.”

“I’ll be counting on you.”

“Don’t die, Edim.”

With that, Jessica disappeared down the stairs.

Phew…

That was one burden gone.

I sighed in relief.

Ordinarily I would have looked after her myself.

She belonged to Camilla-sama after all.

But a direct order from Tilea-sama took precedence, and I would have failed the mission at this rate.

Trying to achieve everything would have me failing both.

It wasn’t optimal but it was the best I could do.

There was another benefit to having Jessica gone.

I didn’t have to stick to humane methods any longer.

I let my instincts as a vampire take over.

A happy smile spread across my face as I pounced into the crowd of guards.

“Guahhh! S-Save mee!”

I was going to drink my fill.

On any other day I’d never touch blood like this.

It tasted disgusting of course, but for tonight I wouldn’t waste a drop.

If I managed to recover even half of my strength before reaching the Fiend it would be most satisfactory.

“Just dieeeeee!” somebody screamed.

I had been taken off guard, and magical bullets were flying towards me from a blind spot.

Tsk!

Damn trash!

Because I had been in the middle of drinking blood I was slow to react.

I was trying to dodge them, but a few would probably hit.

I had to bite my lip and tried to endure as they hit me, but to my surpise…

…It was the small fry who were blown away.

Those were magic bullets!

Had Dalf come for me…?

Had he been worried about my health?

I hadn’t forgotten that Ortissio had injured him too.

It was impressive that he had come as reinforcements.

If I was being honest, I wasn’t confident in taking on both the Fiend and Nyger, depleted as I was.

As expected of my most trusted subordinate.

I turned a gaze of trust to him.

“Dalf, you did well in com――”

“It is I, Jayjay.”

“…”

“Is something the matter, Edim-sama? I have infiltrated this mansion alone on Dalf-sama’s orders.”

…Well, it wasn’t what I was expecting, but he was still a second-order vampire of my line.

“We break through in one go, Jayjay.”

“Understood.”

We moved onwards as our enemies fell prey to his magic bullets.

It impressed upon me again the importance of support.

We were making great progress.

Before long we entered a much better decorated area.

This would be the Fiend’s room then.

It was a luxurious place.

All around, I could see signs of unnecessary spending.

Well, not that it compared to the Underground Empire, but still…

“Jayjay, your role is to hold Nyger back. I will use that chance to assassinate the Fiend.”

“As you wish. However…”

“Oh? Do you lack confidence in doing so?”

“No, milady, I simply wanted to ask what the consequences were if I failed to simply hold him back and defeated him by accident.”

“…That’s quite bold of you. Nyger has served many years as the Fiend’s right-hand-man.”

“Ha ha ha. Edim-sama, magical history is literally my speciality. You needn’t remind me.”

Kuh, he was like this as a teacher, and becoming a vampire hadn’t fixed that at all.

Always thinking he was more capable than he really was.

“As long as you understand. I only need a minute. Grab Nyger’s attention!”

“Understood. Today is the day that Nyger dies.”

I wasn’t exactly confident about this, but time was running short. And the bigger issue was that it would be a close call on my own.

Relying on Jayjay was my only real choice.

I entered Gordon’s room and looked around.

Four to the left, three to the right, five in the back…

And there were now people coming up the stairs behind us.

Worse, each of them seemed stronger than the rabble we’d seen previously.

It made the job a lot harder.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to kill them off first, but…

“So you’re the demon that’s invaded my estate,” smirked a man with the face of a scoundrel.

So this was Gordon the Fiend…

In that case, the old man standing there protectively was Nyger.

There was something about the way he held himself that separated Nyger from the rabble.

Jayjay was going to struggle.

The Fiend needed to be put down quickly so that I could help fight Nyger.

Otherwise things would end badly for Jayjay.

“Jayjay, buy me time. Hold out for one minute.”

“Understood.”

With that, I closed in on the Fiend with lightning speed.

I intended to use my remaining mana in one attack.

A single stroke to slay the Fiend, and then Nyger.

“Wha-!? Fast!”

“Slow.”

Before he could even raise his sword, my hand was at his neck――

“Guuh!”

I had been attacked from behind.

What happened?

I turned around only to find Nyger firing magical bullets.

Wha-, it hadn’t even been ten seconds!

What was Jayjay…?

“E-Edim-sama. M-, My sincere… Guhah!”

S-, So useless.

I asked him for just one minute.

For him to have fallen within ten seconds was…

Nyger had cut off all four of his limbs.

A human would be dead for sure, but as a vampire he was still alive.

Not that I would care if somebody this useless kicked the bucket.

Actually I’d prefer it that way!

“Don’t move, vampire! If you so much as twitch I’ll kill him,” Nyger aimed at the fallen Jayjay.

“Hah?” I scoffed, “Are you trying to take him as a hostage? By all means, kill the eyesore.”

“Huhu, it appears that he doesn’t have much worth as one.”

Nyger laughed fearlessly.

I considered him.

Jayjay might have been a second-degree kin of mine, but he was still a vampire. Nyger had taken him down instantly.

If I considered the strength of the earlier magical bullets as well, the conclusion was that it was Nyger that I should be wary of, not Gordon.

“Vampire girl, you’ll pay for stepping your dirty feet into my mansion!” Gordon spat.

Yes, he wasn’t the real threat here.

In fact, he acted just like a weakling.

I was beginning to think that he was the sort that couldn’t win without dirty tricks and ambushes.

“So the legendary Fiend was actually you,” I said to Nyger.

“What?” goggled Gordon. “It is I who is the legendary Fiend! I bring chaos and destruction to――”

“Silence, clown! You lack the power. Do not interrupt.”

“Clown!?” he screamed. “Nyger, don’t kill this vampire girl. Capture her and I’ll give her a living hell!”

“Gordon-sama, defeating her is one thing, but in my humble opinion she is too powerful to be captured safely,” Nyger argued.

“What!? Both of us are here! Even a demon is nothing to us!”

“This vampire girl is different from the false demons we have faced so far.”

“Mmngh… Is it really too difficult to capture her?”

“Yes. And I believe that now may be our only chance to do so. For whatever reason, she is exhausted. Were that not the case, I humbly believe that even killing her would be impossible.”

“Ngngn… I wanted to try having some fun with a demon girl.”

“Gordon-sama. This will only bring us future trouble if we do not kill her now.”

“F-Fine.”

The two of them attacked in tandem; Gordon with a sword, and Nyger with magical bullets.

But an instant later, Nyger moved in for close-ranged combat.

His techniques were sudden and ever-changing.

Worse yet, Gordon’s subordinates began firing arrows and magical bullets en masse.

It was a struggle to focus on Nyger.

If only Jayjay could have bought me a few seconds…

“Get up, Jayjay! Get up and draw their attention!”

“Ugohgogoh…”

“Stop babbling and move! Be of some use before you die!”

“I-It’s impossible, E-Edim-sama…”

“Impossible? Impossible!? At the Academy you were the one who kept saying ‘It’s only impossible because you think it’s impossible.’ Get up. Get up and take the enemies to hell with you!”

“Edim-sama, m-may the… fortunes of war be with you…”

With those last words, he collapsed into unconsciousness.

So… So useless.

Just fucking die already!

While I was being assaulted from all sides, I suddenly felt Nyger’s mana gathering…

Something bad was coming.

I promptly took defensive manoeuvres.

“Nuoooh, Ghost Rider![Ghost Wave Magic Punch!]”

Nyger dashed forward with all his power concentrated into his fist.

T-This was bad…

I backpedalled to avoid it, and only managed by the skin of my teeth.

The sound of the air parting was audible by my ear.

What speed.

It was unbelievable for a human.

And what power.

No vampire could have withstood a direct blow from that.

Before my eyes was a human who could have met me on my best day.

Strong.

No wonder the Fiend was so famous.

“Hahaha! Take that! And that!”

And while I was busy paying attention to Nyger, Gordon always attacked with exquisite timing.

The years they spent together wasn’t for show.

I was left panting hard.

The situation was getting worse and worse for me.

And I couldn’t afford a protracted battle.

Haah, haah, damn it!

If only it had been Dalf, instead of that useless…

I considered contacting Dalf.

It would take a few seconds to start up the telepathy.

To buy myself some time, I waited for an opening and closed the distance between Gordon and I.

“Diiee!”

“Guaah!”

I tore off Gordon’s finger.

Alright.

Now I just needed a few seconds to…

“Naive!”

“Guahh!”

D-Damn.

Just that instant was enough for Nyger to score a direct hit.

I was sent flying.

My right arm was destroyed past the ability of my body to regenerate.

Urgh, what force…

Thanks to my weariness and lapse in judgement, things were looking even grimmer.

Of course a veteran expert like Nyger would never miss an opening.

Gordon and his goons ended up routing me.

I was covered in blood from all the wounds now.

“Haah, haa, haa, you’ve caused us a lot of trouble, you bitch…”

“Gordon-sama, please do not approach her carelessly. We should finish her from afar.”

“Wait, Nyger. That whore tore my finger off. She needs to suffer, or I won’t be able to sleep at night.”

“However…”

“I’ll keep your words in mind. Hey, you lot, she’s yours. Strip her, skewer her, whatever you want. Just don’t give her an easy death!”

“Whaooo! Can we really?”

Gordon’s underlings swarmed me with vulgar cheers.

“S-Stop it…”

“Kuhihihi, what happened to your attitude? Aren’t you an almighty vampire?”

“Oi, oi, is that shaking I see? A brat is just a brat, huh.”

“Haah, I’m done waiting. Let’s hurry up and jam it in already.”

The voices and smells were making me nauseous.

“Let go of me…”

“Oho? You’re bloodied and battered and you still wanna act tough?”

“Silence…”

“Ku ku, hey, let’s strip her and do her already. The arrogant act is really starting to piss me off.”

The insolent mob began pulling at my clothes.

“D-, Don’t touch me, you filth… I belong to Camilla-sama…”

“What are you on about? You belong to us. And you had better believe that we have a lot in store for you.”

“Unforgivable…”

“Heh, what are you-”

“You fucking amoebaaa! Get your filthy hands off of meeee!”

With a roar I discharged the mana in my body and showered my surroundings with blood.

Bloody Mary[Demonic Bloodsucker].

My ultimate technique.

It involved manipulating the blood in your body with mana to create violent bursts of it.

The result was an unavoidable spray of blood that cut through everything in my surroundings.

Armour, helmets, none of it would help you.

The blade of blood could cut through steel like nothing.

I can’t believe I used my trump card on these guys.

It was my strong technique to be sure… but it came with the drawback of being helpless.

After using it I couldn’t move for a while.

The loss of blood made my body feel like lead each time.

I wouldn’t have minded collapsing right there, but I needed to confirm Gordon’s death.

Fighting off my intense desire to sleep, I forced my leaden limbs to move.

I was surrounded by body pieces

Limbs, entrails, and an ocean of blood all around.

These fools had probably passed away without knowing what happened.

But these were just his lackeys.

Haah, haah, haah…

Gordon had been at the back…

I struggled in that direction and found a blood-soaked Nyger.

But Gordon’s corpse was nowhere to be seen.

I-Impossible.

He was gone.

Gone.

Why…?

Panicked, I looked around the room but there was no trace of him.

Gordon had definitely been here.

It was in range of my attack.

Did he escape?

No, that should have been impossible.

My attack wasn’t so slow that you had a chance to run from it.

Did that mean he sensed it before I did it?

Kuh, I had to contact my kin…

Telepathy activate!

『Haah, haah, haah, Dalf! Answer me!』

『Edim-sama, how is the mission…?』

『…He escaped. Have you seen any movement on your end?』

『No… But there was a report of a strange stagnation of mana.』

Stagnation?

I see.

Gordon, you fucker. You used teleportation magic!

『Dalf, I trust that you dispatched soldiers to investigate?』

『O-Ortissio-sama was afraid of disrupting the encirclement, so he wouldn’t give us permission. Even sending Jayjay took a very long time.』

T-, That incompetent idiot!

Thanks to him…

『Dalf, immediately dispatch a unit to the location. This time, do it no matter what Ortissio-sama might say.』

『By your will.』

Haa, haa, it had already been a few minutes though.

Even if he sent a unit, Gordon wouldn’t be there.

“Damn it!” I cursed in Zenonese.

I let him escape…

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Kenkyo Kenjitsu

Reika-sama – 196

Jan 29, 2018 Estelulu 102 Comments

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

Hi guys! Looking for experienced cleaners, redrawers or type-setters to help with the Tashinami scanlations.

Please contribute: http://kenkyokenjitsu.wikia.com

The day after Valentine’s, the thing with Yukino’s chocolate had, as expected, been completely misunderstood.

“Reika-sama’s real interest was in Enjou-sama!”

“I was so sure it was Kaburagi-sama!”

“But Enjou-sama is broadminded like she is, so don’t they go well together?”

“And I’ve seen them talking to each other a lot recently.”

Even my own group was using me as a topic for gossip.

You’re wrong!

Ayame-chan, the Enjou fan in our group, suddenly took my hand.

“I’ve admired Enjou-sama for a long time, but since it’s you I’ll cheer you on, Reika-sama!”

I mean this: you really don’t need to.

“I have mentioned this before but those chocolates were for his younger brother. Not for Enjou-sama himself.”

“Geez, you’re so shy, Reika-sama.”

The girls all smirked at me teasingly.

Hey, my stomach is really starting to hurt so please stop that.

“I am not being shy. The chocolate was for his esteemed brother, Yukino-kun. I am making at least that much clear!”

These baseless rumours needed to be crushed.

There was only about a year left until graduation.

If because of these Enjou rumours I somehow became even more unpopular it would be a nightmare.

Like, what if – and I really just mean what if – but what if there was a boy who secretly had a crush on me?

If that boy heard that I liked Enjou then wouldn’t he give up on me?

That would be a huge problem!

“…Well, if you’re that serious about it, then we’ll just take your word for it, Reika-sama.”

They seemed to sense my discomfort because they let it drop.

“Will you help me clear up the rumours?”

“We will. If anybody asks, we’ll say that you said it was just for his younger brother.”

“Please, please do, okay?”

Everyone acquiesced to my desperate plea.

Thank goodness.

I’m relying on you guys!

It wouldn’t be funny if the boy who secretly had a crush on me heard weird rumours and gave up just as he was thinking of confessing.

Don’t give up!

Speaking of confessions though…

It was the dream, wasn’t it?

Being asked to meet after school, and then pretending not to know they wanted to confess…

‘I have something I’d like to talk about, so could you stay back?’

‘Hmm? What about?’

And then in the empty classroom, illuminated by the evening sun…

‘The truth is, I’ve always liked you.’

‘Eh…?!’

Waah! That sounds so nice!

I wanted to experience it too.

“Speaking of which, Kaburagi-sama doesn’t seem too lively today.”

“Apparently he was sighing by himself in class. I wonder what happened.”

“I’m worried…”

So you were looking forward to a chocolate from Wakaba-chan, and then got depressed when you didn’t get some?

Spring is ever distant, isn’t it, Kaburagi.

In the manga the two of them were already attracted like crazy by now, but reality was harsh.

It must have been irritating though, having the most salient kid in your class moping and sighing.

“But the feeling of melancholy he gives off is dreamy too.”

“His expression really plucks at the heartstrings.”

Eh? Really?

So as long as you were hot, gloominess would transform into melancholy in people’s heads?

The world was so unfair.

The rumours about my Valentine’s chocolates gradually died down thanks to my complete denials and Enjou’s own answers to people who asked.

A few days later, Yukino-kun himself came to the Pivoine’s salon.

“Reika-oneesan! Thank you for the Valentine’s chocolates!”

This was just more evidence.

Yukino-kun is really such an angel!

I was worried about him though.

Maybe the air was too dry, because he coughed from time to time.

“Are you all right, Yukino-kun?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Is your cold better, Reika-oneesan?”

“Yes. I am very well.”

I didn’t have the most robust body, but I never got really sick either.

“I hear you were admitted to the hospital a little while ago. Try not to overdo it, all right?”

“Yes.”

He smiled happily as he blew on the hot tea in his hands.

The other members of the Pivoine were all enraptured by him too.

They gathered around our sofa and asked him this or that.

The former President Youko-sama was there as well.

Even after retiring, Youko-sama was still the radiant centre of the Pivoine.

Kaburagi didn’t do much as President, so Youko-sama still held a lot of influence.

What was troublesome was that our salon was host to both members from high school and middle school.

Because of that, the high school first years were already very familiar with her.

Not that I don’t think Kaburagi could bring them under his own influence if he could just be bothered to use his charisma.

The guy himself was useless due to lovesickness though.

You know, Kaburagi, Wakaba-chan still irritates Youko-sama.

If you became the president to protect her, shouldn’t you get your act together!

“Reika-oneesan, is something wrong?”

“Eh?”

“You expression looked a little scary for a moment.”

“Oh goodness, I apologise. I was distracted for a moment…”

I guess without realising I had been glaring at Kaburagi.

I mean, he was just sitting there carefree, reading some book.

I quickly put on a smile for Yukino-kun.

Wow.

It must be nice, relaxing over there, oblivious to everyone else’s worries.

What was he reading, anyhow?

Don’t tell me it was another poem anthology!?

God, what if it was Heine again?

I sealed the last one away because it had the stench of being dumped.

I wonder if having it nearby was the cause of my love troubles.

Maybe there was a better way of disposing of it.

Oh, maybe I could give it to Tsuruhana-san.

She’d always been fond of Kaburagi, after all.

I bet she’d be overjoyed.

But despite being his fan, apparently she gave chocolates to a whole slew of boys.

Some upperclassmen confessed to her too.

Why!

She had such a bad personality, so why was she so popular!?

Did nobody care about youur personality as long as you were a beauty!?

So boys were all like that after all!

And why not me…!?

“Reika-oneesan?”

Oh gosh. Did I make a scary face again?

Ah well, whatever.

While everyone was caught up in romance, I was going to study my butt off and make a come-back on the ranking board.

Just watch me!

Tonight I was studying past midnight.

For supper, I’d have red udon for good luck.

Anyhow, after Yukino left with Enjou, I stayed back at the salon for a bit before heading to the carpark.

Katsuragi was glaring at me there.

“Did you really give chocolates to Enjou-san!?”

You don’t have to shout. I can hear you just fine.

And wow, is your information network slow.

“They were for his brother, Yukino.”

Since it was cold I just walked right past him.

“Enjou-san already has Yuiko-san! You got that? Don’t get in the way!”

Aah, shut up already.

That was something to think about, though.

There was a chance that Yuiko-san might have heard about the chocolates too…

What a pain.

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

English original, I'm the Final Boss!?

I’m the Final Boss!? – Chapter 6

Jan 28, 2018 Pira 2 Comments

A New Friend!

It feels like I’ve been gone a while.

Thinking about it, it has been a while since I last took a look at that brat. I hope she’s had some fun while I was away, because now that I’m back, it’s about to get a lot less fun.

《Let fate restart》

It feels like I’ve been gone a while.

Actually, it feels as though something terrible has happened… how strange. However, I shrug and ignore the sensation. I don’t seem to be any different, so does it really matter?

I shake my head and continue my patrol through the house. I recently started walking inside like this to build necessary muscles faster. It really got to be a pain not being able to do anything except sit in that cage of a place, so I want to never have to deal with it again. Regardless, two years have past now, and I’ve gotten pretty good at this walking thing.

Pausing my walk, I joyfully lift my fists into the air as I laugh. I’m just so happy to be free again! …I’m only doing this because I know nobody else is home though. It’d be too embarrassing otherwise…

Suddenly thinking something was off, I quickly drop my hands and glance around to make sure I was really alone. Mom and Yuki said they’d be gone for a while, but sometimes they lie and hide in the house. They like to tease me because I do stuff like what I just did, so I really don’t know why I keep doing it…

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I depressedly resume my walking. Sometimes I really don’t like Mom and Sis. Then again~… it’s not like any harm is done because of the teasing. Mn, I don’t know!

I shake my head to clear my constantly wandering thoughts, as I make another lap around the house. Anyway, I’m mainly walking like this because I’m bored. I’m usually not allowed to go with them… wherever it is they go. It makes me feel a bit lonely, but they usually give me lots of attention after they return, so I’ll generously forgive them for now.

While I walk, I reflect on the past two years and think about what happened. I say that, but nothing happened. They took care of me, and while I was happily being cared for, I tried to learn the language and also learn how to walk again. Well, I’m halfway there at least.

Where was I again? Ah, yeah. So everyone’s names. First, Mom’s name is Aria. I don’t know if she has any other names as I’ve only ever heard her called Aria. I guess it doesn’t matter. Either way, the second important point is that my sister’s name is Yuki. Now, since I’m sure you’re dying to know, I won’t hold back and say the most important point of all this is that my name is Rael.

…I don’t really know why my name is Rael, and it actually took me a while to figure out that’s what they were calling me. I kinda like it. I was thinking I’d be named something like Alice, but my expectations were pleasantly shattered.

Actually, can you even shatter something pleasantly? I stop to think about it. I don’t really think you can. How are you supposed to shatter something pleasantly? Do you gently break it into pieces? That’s still not pleasant for the thing being shattered though~.

As I continue to think about it, smoke starts coming out of my ears so I give up and continue walking. It’s not like it matters that much. Either way, I can say those names and a few other common words, but it’s a pain not being able to talk fluently. I actually even still have problems pronouncing the words I do know from time to time…

I had thought that I would easily master this new language, but unfortunately I’ve had lots of trouble. As far as I know, I’m learning at an average pace for a child… or maybe even faster, but I should be fluent at this point considering I already know a language!

Well… I have thought of what would happen if I did start talking to Mom and Sis fluently. It wouldn’t be good.

I’m shaken from my thoughts when I see a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. I knew it… Mom and Sis were still here! I don’t know how I missed them the first time, but I got them this time!

I rush over behind the simple couch, but cast my eyes down in frustration when I don’t see anything there. However, I then feel something behind me, so I quickly turn around and catch whatever it was diving out of sight into a different room. Of course, I hastily rush after them. I’m determined to catch Mom and Sis!

I’m caught off-guard when I enter the room. Mom and Sis aren’t there waiting for me. Instead, I see a little person with wings on their back fluttering around. They’re so tiny… I wonder what they are… Hesitantly, I get closer to the unknown creature.

As I near it, the unknown creature suddenly turns around in surprise. I guess it noticed me… though I’m not exactly the “stealthiest” person out there. I barely have enough control over my legs to walk around the house a few times, let alone try to sneak.

I’m actually wondering how this little creature got inside the house. So far, nothing else has invaded this home, so it was a little strange to see something besides me here.

I take a good look at it while we’re both staring at each other. It seems to be a miniaturized human with attached wings. I quickly notice she’s not wearing any clothes, so I have to question the lifestyle of these creatures. Seems a bit strange to me, but overall, I guess she does look friendly enough, so I smile and slowly walk closer.

Seemingly a bit nervous, she seems cautiously keeps her distance, but eventually she giggles and flies up to my finger. Although she wouldn’t make it as a full-sized human… what with the lack of clothes and all… she is pretty cute like this.

While I’m happily looking at the strange being before me, I feel a tug on my finger. It seems this fairy wants me to go somewhere? I look in the direction she’s pulling and realize she’s trying to lead me out of the house. Well, she’s pointing to a window, but I’m pretty sure she meant to go outside. I think a door would be easier though~.

Although I’m a bit hesitant because I’ve never left the house before, the fairy keeps pulling my finger urgently wanting to lead me outside, so I think I might have to leave. I feel confident I can make it, but it could still be dangerous for me… However, my new little friend here really wants me to go outside, so I make my way to the door and by tip-toeing, I can just barely reach the handle to open it.

With the door opened, and my freedom secured, I walk outside, letting my new friend lead the way.

Author’s Note:

A little bit earlier than I had said I would publish chapters here, but close enough.

Anyway, I feel better about the formatting and paragraph structure of this chapter.
Of course, if you see any grammar or spelling issues, please let me know in the comments. I don’t have an editor for the moment, so I can easily see issues appearing.

I hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

We’re slowly restarting.
I look forward to writing with you guys.

-P

Previous Chapter | Home | Next Chapter

Gate to Another Realm

Gate to Another Realm – Chapter 1-1

Jan 26, 2018 Sethraw 8 Comments

It’s not obvious at the start, but this is an Isekai story. It will take a while until it gets to that point.

Gate to Another Realm

Chapter 1-1

Authors Note: This is aiming to be a heartwarming story for all ages. I think the romance aspect is almost nonexistent.

I, as usual, am in my room, facing the computer.

On that computer monitor, a girl character is alone in a room, swinging a hammer down.

Every time the girl swings the hammer, the blue part of the bar displayed above her head grows a bit longer. Then, at the moment the bar turned completely blue, the girl’s whole body shines brightly.

Yep, finished!

From the character’s inventory screen, I display the just-finished item.

Yep, nicely made. Now then, if I enhance the durability with annealing it will be completed, I suppose?

On the screen, a dully shiny circular mass of iron, a one-handed frying pan is shining radiantly.

Next, when I click the annealing skill, the character on the screen begins swinging the hammer once again.

While watching the screen, I open the nearby plastic bottle of black tea and take a sip.

In that time, the bar once again fills with blue, and the girl shines brightly.

Just like before, upon checking the inventory screen, the frying pan is displayed with the same graphic.

－ Reinforced Masterwork Frying Pan Durability 25/25 ATK+15 DEX+2 AGI+2 Cooking Skill Bonus +2

“Hmm, +2 bonus huh….”

If it had been a Great Success the bonus would have been +3, it’s a bit disappointing.

Since I’m crafting anyway I would have wanted +3 y’know, well it’s not made to sell, so I’ll put up with it.

The crafting this time was to restore the lowered durability of the frying pan I have used until now, but while I’m at it I was aiming for a +3 bonus. If I’m using something then I’d rather use a good one….Well, I guess failures can’t be helped.

Regaining focus, I equipped the frying pan I just finished on the character that is like my second self, then shifted to the kitchen counter.

“All right, today I’ll make Wasabi Shoyu Grilled Chicken!(Recovers 300HP and 150MP)”

While getting fired up, I click on each item in the item box, and was about to begin cooking.

At that moment….

Piroro~~n, Piroro~~n

The sound of a Private Chat (Whisper) rang out.

“Cure-sa~n, haihai~”

“Oh? Tomoe-san, this is rare~”

Tomoe-san is the guildmaster of a mid-sized guild with roughly 30 members, or rather, was.

As for me, although I joined many parties when I started playing this game, I’m not close with anyone to that extent… I think?

“Yeah, Cure-san you took weaponsmithing as a crafting skill right? How high did your skill level get~?”

Oh my, how unusual. I don’t normally make weapons for other people, just my own equipment. Incidentally, lately I’ve been making nothing but kitchenware. Ah, the frying pan from before is classified as a weapon as well.

“At the moment it’s level 50+5 y’know~ I maxed it out”

“Ooh~~, make weapon plz!!!”

“Oh? How unusual, did the Lady Deduction guild not have a blacksmith?”

“Ahaha~, they’ve all gone Above y’see, the crafters’ main business is high-level customers right?. That’s why they’ve gone Above rather early, lately we’ve been losing members as well~”

When Tomoe-san says “Above”, she’s talking about VRMMORPG.

This game “Gate to Another Realm” is a five-year-old Fantasy MMORPG, VR support was added half a year ago.

This VR technology started ten years ago as experimental prototypes and medical equipment for rehabilitation. However, even more than the purchase price, the uncertain effects on the human body meant that general distribution was prohibited.

Nevertheless, about two years later, an american medical equipment manufacturer and a computer manufacturer jointly developed a miniaturised VRMMO Unit called ROOM, and after dealing with various difficult controversies, it was finally released to market about six months ago.

VR is a world of dreams after all, so there was a huge reaction♪

ROOM is a bed-sized capsule type machine, when inside it monitors your heart rate, brain waves, and manages your physical condition in order to be a safe private unit for diving into VR. However, it costs around 1200000 yen each. It’s really not a game console for kids is it~…..

I don’t have that kind of money of course, so I am diligently playing an MMORPG (aka: The World Below).

“Above huh, they’re all rich people aren’t they. It’s totally impossible for me ＞＜”

“Ahaha, it’s impossible for me too y’know, a student can’t afford that. Besides, my body would be defenseless when I’m diving… it’s kinda scary isn’t it lol”

“I know right~, it’s kinda scary right~, look, there’s the urban legends about stuff like death-games too, it’s too much lol”

“Yeah yeah!”

“Ah, so anyway, where are you right now Cure-chan? Hunting?”

“Nope, relaxing in my home＾＾”

“Ah, that tower on a remote mountaintop? You’re still living in a place like that?”

A place like that…. Sure, it’s remote backcountry that no-one visits, but in it’s own way it’s a pretty nice place. Herbs are abundant, ore can be mined, monsters are suitably? around… It’s paradise for a crafter y’know(probably)… but despite that nobody comes here….

“Uuu~~ if you live here it’s a reasonably nice place you know~”

“Nah, other than Cure-chan a person who would want to live there doesn’t exist lol”

“So mean!”

“I mean, there’s no Transfer Gate, and the closest village is about 2 hours away in real time right?”

“Ah, if I mark the location of my home with the Transfer skill I can return there. The Royal Capital is also marked so it’s not inconvenient you know?”

“Hmm~~ …… Cure-chan, sorry to bother you, but would you mind coming to the Royal Capital?”

The Royal Capital huh, well the Transfer skill marked locations has one personal location, one for your owned home, and one for the church in the last province you visited, so if I have an appointment then going to the Royal Capital is the smoothest way isn’t it.

“Alright~ then for now let’s meet in front of the church in thirty minutes okay?”

“Yup, that’s fine~ thank youu~”

With the Whisper closed, I took out equipment for going to the Royal Capital from the storehouse.

Ah, I need to switch out all of my items, lately it’s been nothing but crafting, or rather……. I haven’t gone to a town at all

◆◆◆◆

The town I hadn’t seen for a long time was filled with people. It’s lively enough to think “Is it really depopulating?”, the stall-filled street from before is still as flooded with the stalls of shop-mules as ever.

When I go to the plaza in front of the church, this is also like it used to be, party recruiters clustered here and there, spewing emoji-strewn conversation. Or rather, the chat log is scrolling with a vigour I haven’t seen for a long time…. Ah, it should get better if I mess with the log settings…

And so, after promptly messing with the log settings

“Cure-chan where are you~~~”

“I can’t find you~~”

Etcetera, etcetera, the whisper chat log was overflowing….. I’m sorry…

“Tomoe-san sorryy~, you got buried by the chat spam lol”

Perhaps from seeing my speech bubble, a Tomoe-san-looking character headed towards me. Hmm~, pretty flashy isn’t it~, a bright red dress and long sword, or rather… I don’t remember Tomoe-san’s character. Yup, I’m awful huh….

“Thank goodness~, you weren’t responding to me, and honestly I couldn’t remember Cure-san’s character lol”

“Ah, as I thought, I couldn’t remember yours either lol”

After we had a laugh about it, we began moving towards Tomoe-san’s guild hall.

Owning a guild hall in the Royal Capital is pretty amazing huh, I wonder how much it cost?

“Tomoe-san, how many members do you have at the moment?”

“About forty people I guess? At our peak we almost reached 100 people, but ever since Above was released we’ve been steadily losing them.

Tomoe-san seemed a bit lonely as she spoke, but 40 people is amazing! Even though my friends list only has 12 names on it…. From that perspective I’m surprised a loner like me managed to add her….

While listening to the recent state of affairs in the Royal Capital, we moved to the Guild District.

“By the way, what was the weapon you wanted me to make? ”

I asked while thinking about the materials I brought with me.

If it’s Tomoe-san, the Phoenix Blade perhaps? If it’s me making it then the success rate is about 50% huh, as I was considering such things

“What I wanted you to make is, three Sand Vipers”

“Hoe? Sand Viper???”

The unexpected request surprised me a bit.

A Sand Viper is used by mid-level swordsmen and tanks, as it is a relatively easy-to-make weapon. Basically, when crafting, there are thresholds at levels 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50, making a level 30 weapon requires Weaponsmithing level 30 at minimum. If I remember correctly, with skill level 30, STR30, DEX30, LUK10 the success rate is about 30%. Normally I think she wouldn’t need to go out of her way to ask me, what kind of ridiculous situation…

“Right now y’see, buying a Sand Viper will cost from 1M to 2M”

“Wha??? Eeeeeh~~~~!!!”

As you might expect from the name, a Sand Viper is primarily made from scales acquired by killing snakes that live in the desert. The number of scales required is quite significant so I suppose you could say it’s difficult, but compared to other materials they can be can be bought quite easily from NPCs, and because I refined a bunch to raise my crafting skills, frankly, there are so many in my storehouse that they are a nuisance.

In short, you could buy one for about 200k to 300k back then, if I remember correctly?

“Materials included?”

If that’s the case then, considering the labour involved, I suppose it wouldn’t be unreasonable? Nevertheless the drop rate is pretty high, so if your luck is decent and you have 2 hours to spend you ought to be able to collect enough? Well, earning 1M per hour isn’t something to sneeze at…

“Nope~~, bring-your-own materials!”

“Wha, why is it so expensive!”

“Because, the high rank blacksmiths have already gone Above, and raising crafting skills in this game takes a huge amount of time and money doesn’t it? I have sewing and alchemy at level 50 as well, so I can manage cloth or leather equipment and potions, but unfortunately the best blacksmith in our guild is only level 25”

In this game “Gate to Another Realm”, the disparity of the crafting classes is huge. If you make a skill-related item suitable for your level you get some XP.

For example, if have Alchemy level 10 and you make a level 10 Healing Potion you get 100XP, but a level 9 Healing Potion gets you 0XP, while a level 15 Healing Potion will get you 150XP, that sort of thing.

Of course, if you don’t succeed then you get 0XP.

So here’s where it becomes a problem: Blacksmithing. In order to make level 10 Platemail, you must use Iron Ore x50 and Flame Stone x10 to make Steel x10. Then, Steel x10, Flame Stone x10, Polishing Stone x5 are used to finally make level 10 Platemail x1. So after coming this far, you receive 10XP from the Steel, and 100XP from the Platemail.

The effort spent is huge.

Getting discouraged is normal right…. The max-level me saying that is weird though… Masochistic…

Well, you can use items to boost to some extent though.

“Hmm? If there’s a level 25 Blacksmith they can use a Mithril Anvil for Blacksmithing +3 and a Mithril Hammer for Blacksmithing +2 to boost to level 30 to do it right?”

“Well sure, if those could be bought…..”

“Umm… No one is selling them?”

“Mithril Anvil and Hammer can only be made by level 40+ Blacksmiths, and even if they were available, well, our gold would all flow away.”

Uwaa… No way…. Somehow in the time I haven’t come to this city something dreadful has happened.

“Umm… how many Blacksmiths do you have?”

“Two, but one is level 25, and the other is only about level 14-ish, well, there’s a long way to go.”

While we were talking, we arrived at Tomoe-san’s guild.

As we entered, about ten characters are having a conversation about something. Probably Guild Chat I guess?

For me the conversation isn’t visible.

“Hmm? Master who’s that? New member?”

From among them, an obviously tank-looking character called out to us.

“Ah, nope, it’s my friend Cure-san. I asked her to come because she’s a Blacksmith.”

“Ohhhh! Ah, I’m the Vice-Master Kojirou. For now I’m the guild’s tank. My crafting skill is Alchemy level 45”

Tank Guy made a bowing emoji.

Although I think everyone who plays MMOs knows what a Tank is, when fighting monsters in a party the Tank’s duty is to protect the party by receiving attacks. It’s a core role for party play.

“I’m Curie. Healer is more or less my main class. I have various crafting skills but I guess my main is accessories? I also do Weaponsmithing though lol”

“Umm….. Hmm???”

Kojirou-san made a dubious face at introduction. His face can’t be seen though, it’s the mood…

“Something up Kojirou? Did you already know Cure-san?”

“Ah, no…. Cure-san is an elf right? Why Blacksmithing? With the Racial Characteristics you can’t reach max level right? Ah, do you have an Alt or a second account?”

Oh no! Since I rarely interact with people I forgot that I am unusual!!!

This game includes what are called Racial Characteristics, for example as an elf like me you can only become one of the Caster classes, or Swordsman, or Hunter. Also, for crafting, Artisan and Sewing have a maximum level of 60, but conversely, Smithing is limited to level 40.

Of course, there is workaround that I use to compensate.

“Hmm? Cure-chan you said that you had Weaponsmithing level 50 didn’t you?”

“Ah, ahaha…..errr…..”

“Ah, could it be that Curie-san is a Title Holder?”

“!!!! Really?!”

Erm, a Title Holder is when you accomplish something significant in the game and receive an Achievement-like thing. For example: the winner of the monthly Fighting Tournament receives the “Supreme Champion” Title.

By the way, it is only temporary until the next tournament.

Besides that, “Hero King” is famous I guess? It seems that if you win the Fighting Tournament ten times you will receive that title. As a Permanent Title, it has a golden crown displayed in front of the Title, Temporary Titles have a silver crown on them, so Title Holders are also referred to as Crown Holders.

Also, Possessing a Title confers a bonus to skill level. Because of this, even as an Elf with a Blacksmithing skill cap of 40, I can reach level 50.

Kojirou-san seems to have realised this huh….

“Y, yes. More or less….”

In the whole playerbase, only about 10% of them are Title Holders. Furthermore amongst Title Holders only about 10% of them possess Permanent Titles, I think?

I’m not very well informed so I’m not sure.

“GC? SC? And what Title?”

Tomoe-san and Kojirou-san asked, deeply interested. Plus, all the people in the guild hall….

“Eh? There’s a Title Holder in here?”

“Awesome~~~, this is my first time seeing a Title Holder in person”

And other similar chatter.

Honestly, I’m flustered, I’m sweating, I want to run away.

A Title is something players yearn for after all.

“Erm, it’s more or less a GC….”

“Oohh~~ it’s Gold”

“Awesome~~~”

And similar, as the surroundings start stirring.

“Title is…Hermit…of the Forest…”

“Ohh~ So cool!”

“Certainly Elf-like isn’t it~”

“How did you acquire it?”

Auu, Tomoe-san asks the #1 question I don’t want asked.

“Do I have to say?”

“Yep, I just checked a walkthrough site but that Title wasn’t on there”

“Right~, of the ‘of the Forest’ titles there was Guardian and Sage, but no Hermit”

“Guardian is an elf, Carlos-san I believe, Sage is Himiko-san”

“Nice, it’s the third ‘of the Forest” Title. Since it’s a GC only one player has it”

Everyone is getting excited.

“So, how did you get it? Tell us~~”

Tomoe-san asks insistently.

“Auu, erm, I didn’t really do anything special….”

“After secluding myself playing in the forest for about one year real-time…. When I logged in the next day I received the Title…”

As I say that, the chat log which until now has been scrolling excitedly suddenly stops. Auu… the silence hurts…

“Erm…. you logged in right?”

“Yep, I logged in basically every day”

“So, you were playing solo in the forest without meeting anyone, right…”

“….Yeah”

“MMO Shut-in?”

“So mean!”

From the surroundings the chat log is scrolling.

“lolololol”

“lmao”

“Ah, this is bad… my stomach hurts lololol”

“Everyone is so mean!”

In such a conversation, I watch the nostalgic gathering of players on the monitor with a relaxed smile on my face.

If you are wondering what kind of game she is playing, it probably resembles Ragnarok Online.

Kenkyo Kenjitsu

Reika-sama – 195

Jan 22, 2018 Estelulu 168 Comments

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

Hi guys! Looking for experienced cleaners, redrawers or type-setters to help with the Tashinami scanlations.

Please contribute: http://kenkyokenjitsu.wikia.com

The day after seeing off Enjou and who I thought was Yuiko-san, Enjou himself came and thanked me again.

“Yukino was overjoyed. He even started talking about how he was going to write you a reply. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.”

“My! I would be overjoyed too if I managed to help his mood even a little! I apologise for not being able to write anything meaningful.”

“Don’t say that. He had a lot of fun reading about your recent endeavours with dessert making.”

“I truly wrote nothing but trifling nonsense…”

“Speaking of the dessert making, could it be that you’re preparing for Valentine’s?”

“Well, yes…”

It was kind of embarrassing to be asked that…

It made you seem like you were really excited about it…

“I see. Have you already got a list of who you’ll be giving them to?”

“Eh?”

Why was he asking me this?

“Mmmn, well, I think that brat Yukino is hoping for some from you.”

“Eh!? Truly!?”

“He won’t out and say it though, but yeah~ Ever since reading your letter he’s been asking us what we think you’re making. Normally if you hear that a girl is making desserts you’d think of Valentine’s, right?”

“I do believe that there are people who make desserts even beyond Valentine’s Day. I have thought about giving Yukino-kun some chocolate before, so I am glad to hear that he wants some. The issue is that my handmade desserts are not good enough to share beyond my family. I would rather buy some cute white chocolate that suits his name better.”

“Thanks. I guess his hopes aren’t unfounded now. It’s pretty rough being a guy, you know? You wait, and you wait, and the more sure you are about getting chocolates, the bigger the shock is when you don’t.”

“Huhuhu. Considering the stacks of chocolates that you receive each year, I am sure that such a feeling is foreign to you two.”

“Well, who knows.”

Oh my.

Look at the smug smile of a popular guy on his mug.

Tsk.

But still, he had a point.

Whenever Valentine’s day came around I was particularly glad I wasn’t born a guy.

Considering my current record with love I probably wouldn’t get a single chocolate…

My, my, I need to expand the Forever Alone village.

Reviving this village is going to be a tough job.

A few days later Yukino-kun’s reply letter came, along with desserts from their okaasama as thanks.

I had to quickly write a reply!

The closer to Valentine’s it got, the more Wakaba-chan was harrassed by Kaburagi and Fellow Stalking Horse’s fans.

She was their biggest rival after all.

I was worried about her so I gathered my courage and called her.

She told me that she had put a lock on her locker, and she had been keeping her shoebox locked since the last incident.

She never left anything at her desk before going home either.

Since she wasn’t getting anything vandalised anymore, she assured me that there wasn’t any real harm.

“Still,” she added, “when I dropped my rubber and went to pick it up, I was really surprised to find an ofuda stuck underneath my chair.”

Ehhhh!? Was that a curse or something!? Scary!

Wakaba-chan needed to go get exorcised!

“What did you do?”

“Huh? I peeled it off and threw it in the garbage of course.”

You’re too strong, Wakaba-chan…

It was pandemonium at Zui’ran on Valentine’s day.

Queues of girls had lined up outside of Kaburagi, Enjou, and Fellow Stalking Horse’s classes.

Hordes of chocolate-holding girls from the middle school section had come too.

Since it had nothing to do with me, though, I was actually having a lot of fun watching them.

At the moment I was wondering how much chocolate it would be by the end of the day.

The particularly bold girls were handing them to Enjou and Kaburagi directly.

Serika-chan and the others had obviously given chocolates to them.

It was nice that they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

What I brought to school was mostly chocolates to exchange with girls, and the chocolates for Yukino-kun.

I was heading to the Petit Salon after school.

Or so I had planned, but after the classes ended, Enjou stopped me.

“Sorry, Kisshouin-san. Yukino went to hospital today, so he left earlier.”

“Ehh!?”

What the heck!?

I should have given them earlier then!

“Then, what should I do with these…?”

I held out the chocolates for Yukino-kun.

“You could give them tomorrow, or I could hand them over for you today…”

“It would be better for him to receive these today, I think. In that case, could I trouble you to deliver these?”

“Yeah. Sure. Sorry about making you do this.”

“Not at all.”

Just as I handed these to him, I had a suddenly realisation.

Didn’t this look like I was handing chocolates to Enjou on Valentine’s day!?

Oh crap!

“Enjou-sama! You must absolutely deliver these chocolate to your esteemed brother! These chocolates are for your esteemed brother!” I said loudly, putting stress on who they were for.

Enjou seemed to understand my worries because he was smiling in enjoyment.

Buzz off!

I turned around to hurry home only to spot Kaburagi loitering like he was looking for someone.

Just like Wakaba-chan and Kanta-kun had taught me, I followed the recipe to the letter.

When I tried one of the resulting fondant au chocolats, it tasted exactly the same as the one at Wakaba-chan’s!

So, so delicious!

So I was wrong about home made food being unique experiences after all!

I hurried to Otousama to hand him his.

Taste it, Otousama! Taste the fruits of my labour!

“Thank you, Reika. I’m really happy,” he said.

For whatever reason he was being really slow about it.

Then he broke off a dainty piece with his fork.

Huh? Are you a girl? Go for a big chunk.

When he finally put it into his mouth, Otousama’s eyes shot wide open.

“What happened, Reika!? These are delicious!”

…Your mouth slipped, Tanuki.

“Otousama, what is that supposed to mean?”

“Ahh… I mean, you’ve gotten really skilled at making desserts. Did you learn this from the Narutomi family’s Akimi-san as well?”

In a completely different picture to before, Otousama was happily gobbling it down.

“…No. I learnt this from another friend.”

“Oh? A friend from Zui’ran?”

“Well, yes…”

“Was it one of the girls that came to our house a few times?” asked Okaasama as she sat down beside him. “The ones from primary. I think their names were Serika-san and…”

Okaasama didn’t eat sweet things often in consideration for her looks, so she never touched any of the chocolates I made.

In any case, I was a little surprised that Okaasama still remembered the names of my friends.

They had only come over a few times in total…

“It was not them, Okaasama. This is somebody I interacted with during club activities.”

I decided it would be better not to mention her.

Plus, I never said it was somebody in my club.

As a club, we definitely interacted with the Student Council.

“I see. A girl from a nice family, then? Don’t hang out with anybody strange.”

“Yes…”

“After all, in the high school section it’s a mixed bag. Be careful in who you associate with, Reika-san.”

“It is not a problem. By the way, Otousama, would you like one more? There are still many left.”

“Really? Since you made them for me, maybe I’ll have one more.”

“Dear. Eating before bed like this will make your cholesterol rise again.”

“…I suppose.”

Oh gosh, Otousama.

You have high cholesterol?

I’d better get that healthy food program started right away.

I decided to learn from Akimi-san as soon as the exams were over.

I gave Oniisama’s portion a proper cling wrap before putting them in the fridge.

Apparently microwaving them would make the insides nice and soft again, so he could have some when he came back from work!

Haaah.

In the end I never gave any proper chocolates to a boy I liked.

I did pop into the library after school, but Naru-kun wasn’t there.

Even if I didn’t have the guts to give them over properly, I thought it would be nice to sneak some into his bag while he wasn’t looking.

Thinking about it later, though, it would have been scary to find food you didn’t know about in there…

Thank goodness I didn’t do it…

I got sleepy while waiting for Oniisama in my room, so in decided to take a nap in my bed and ended up sleeping soundly until morning.

Geez, Oniisama. What time did you come home anyway?

Since I didn’t know when I’d see Imari-sama next, I had somebody send over the fondant au chocolat, as well as some coffee from a chocolate shop.

After all, there was no way the Chief of the Casanova village wouldn’t have plans on Valentine’s day, right?

I was sure he had a lot of chocolates already, but I hoped he’d try mine.

Well, it was Imari-sama though, so I was sure he’d have a bite at least.

It would be days later when Imari-sama sent me a sachet and herb tea set from the oldest pharmacy in the world in Florence.

Imari-sama, don’t tell me that you send something to everyone that gives you a chocolate!?

As expected of Imari-sama…

The day after Valentine’s, Kaburagi was looking lifeless…

Was this the phenomenon that Enjou was talking about?

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Kenkyo Kenjitsu

Reika-sama – 194 – Takamichi Kanta

Jan 22, 2018 Estelulu 102 Comments

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

Hi guys! Looking for experienced cleaners, redrawers or type-setters to help with the Tashinami scanlations.

Please contribute: http://kenkyokenjitsu.wikia.com

I have an older sister.

Neechan is four years older than me.

When she was in her last year of middle school she suddenly started going on about taking the examinations for this school for rich kids.

The famous Zui’ran Academy.

It caused a huge fuss.

My parents and her teacher had thought that she was going to a public school after all.

Why Zui’ran!?

In fact, her teacher told her, “With your grades I think you could get in on the scholarship, but that place isn’t like other schools, you know? Is that okay with you, Takamichi-san?”

Mum and Dad were worried that she wouldn’t fit in there as well.

Neechan insisted.

“If I get the scholarship then I can go there for free. Plus, if my marks are good enough, they’ll even give me money that I won’t have to return. The curriculum is leagues more fulfilling than other schools too, so I want to go there,” she explained.

My parents weren’t having any of it of course.

“Don’t worry about the school fees. Just go to a school where you’ll fit in.”

School fees, huh. I suppose we did have quite a few siblings.

But Neechan didn’t change her mind.

“It isn’t just the school fees. I want to see a new world and experience something different. Plus, the uniforms are cute.”

That last reason was a pretty girly one.

Since she was so determined, in the end our parents consented.

“Well, if you insist,” they relented.

And so she ended up taking the examinations.

Deciding on your school based on the uniforms though…

I really don’t get girls.

According to Mum, Neechan has always had a strong sense of curiosity.

One time she chased a butterfly all the way into the next town, and they only found out where she was when a police officer contacted them.

Another time she had an insect guide. She went around all day looking at bugs with a magnifying glass, and ended up collapsing to heatstroke.

When it was a star guide instead, she stayed on the veranda stargazing all night long and ended up bedridden with a fever.

Neechan loves those encyclopaedic picture guides.

Anyway, since Mum figured Zui’ran was another case of her curiosity flaring up, she decided to let her be.

After Neechan made it in she tried on the uniform.

“Does it suit me? Do I look like an ojousama?”

I don’t know how many times she asked that.

She only left the mirror when we finally replied, “It does, it’s cute.”

But after that she started going,

“Did you know they say gokigen’yoh at Zui’ran? Kanta, Gokigen’yoh.”

She wouldn’t stop, and it was annoying, but Mum told me to deal with it.

“She made it past a very difficult examination to be accepted there, so just bear with it.”

So bear with it I did.

Neechan had just begun ecstatically attending Zui’ran when she suddenly said to me:

“That school is even crazier than I imagined.”

“What’s so crazy about it?”

“Hmmm, all sorts of things. Really makes you realise that out there there are worlds like that too. Yeah…” she nodded to herself.

I’m still wondering what’s so crazy, damnit!

“And man, seeing the real thing sure was different to my own ‘gokigen’yoh’. It sounded completely natural coming from them. Whenever I say it there’s some part of me embarrassed about what the heck I’m doing, you know? But in that world it’s a matter of fact, isn’t it. And they throw about topics about high society so fast that I don’t know what’s what. It was like listening to another language,” she said in wonder.

Hearing that just made us worried.

“Are you going to be okay, Wakaba?” Mum asked. “Are you sure you shouldn’t have gone to another school?”

But Neechan wasn’t worried at all.

“Ah well, I’m sure I’ll get used to it sooner or later. Once I do, I’ll be a splendid ojousama as well!”

“Is this the face of an ojousama to you?”

That got me a punch.

That hurts, damnit!

“Is your school really all that amazing?”

“Yeah. I hadn’t heard of half the items on the cafeteria menu. I gave one of the soups a go, and it came out cold! At first I was like, ‘Ah! they forgot to heat it up!’ but it turns out that it’s meant to be like that. Vichyssoise is this cold, potato soup. Vichyssoise. And even though we were speaking Japanese they all pronounced the ‘v’. It was crazy. Vee, Kanta. Vee.”

“Enough already!”

“Man. I had no idea food in a school cafeteria could be so good. Of course it was as expensive as it was surprising, though. Since I can’t eat there every day I think it’d be nice if I treated myself there whenever I get some money.”

“Oneechan! I want some too!”

“Me too!”

The twins joined the conversation out of nowhere.

“Alright. I guess I’ll try making it at home sometime!”

What was good about cold soup?

In the days following, my sister would come home influenced by something that happened there.

The time when she learnt flower arrangement she came home and decorated the foyer.

The time when she learnt tea ceremony she began mixing tea in a tea bowl.

“Today I learnt this flower arrangement type called moribana. At the start you pick the grandest, longest branch and place it right in the middle of the kenzan stand~ Right here, see? They call it the shin branch. When you’re done with that, the next one is the soe branch and put stick it in here~”

*
“When you drink the tea you move the brush over like this, and take a sip while avoiding it.”

*
“When you pick up your chopsticks you have to grab them from above with your right hand, hold them in your left, and then swap them back to your right hand.”

Each time Neechan showed off something she learnt to the family, everyone oo’d and ah’d in admiration.

“As expected of Zui’ran,” they’d all praise.

“Yep,” she would laugh.

“Your dad and I were worried that you’d have a hard time there. It’s a relief to see you enjoying yourself.”

“It was one culture shock after another, and they have so many customs too. But I’m having fun, and I’m learning a lot there.”

“Neechan, did you make any friends at a place like that?”

“I’m surrounded by young masters and ojousamas so I don’t have a lot, but I definitely do have friends so don’t worry.”

I hoped that was true.

Ever since Neechan had entered high school, she had begun working a part-time job.

Apparently her scholarship money was ‘for the future’, so she needed a source of pocket money.

“I’ll be out and working by the time it’s your turn for university, so I’ll take care of the fees, okay?” she once told me, but I was going to get a part-time job in high school anyhow.

Neechan’s everyday life was busy, from studying to her job.

But even in middle school, friends from around the area would come over to play.

There didn’t seem to be any sign of that here, so I knew that Mum and Dad were still secretly worried.

Neechan was hit by a car during summer break.

The culprit was somebody in her year at Zui’ran.

Although her bicycle had been completely dented at the front, Neechan had only suffered some bruises and scrapes.

When that schoolmate had brought her to the hospital, the examination diagnosed her with no serious injuries.

Anyway, he came to our house to apologise that day, with a huge bouquet and a lawyer in tow.

We had first realised when my little sister excitedly notified us about “some kind of hearse car” parked in front of our house.

“Your cherished daughter has been injured because of me. I sincerely apologise and have no excuse,” the classmate bowed low when he brought Neechan back from the hospital.

Neechan had told us that it was nothing serious, but ordinarily Mum and Dad would still be worried and furious.

Instead, seeing the boy refuse to stop bowing sent them into a fluster instead.

It sent Neechan into an even greater one, actually.

“K-Kaburagi-sama! Please raise your head! Look! Right as rain, see?!”

“My daughter is right. You brought her to the hospital as well, and we can all see that you genuinely feel sorry.”

“And you’re our daughter’s schoolmate so we weren’t thinking of pressing charges at all.”

After a lot of convincing from the three of them, he finally lifted his head.

As it turned out, he was super handsome.

“Then let’s talk about reparations,” said his lawyer, but my parents refused them on the grounds that they wouldn’t feel at ease with it.

In the end we only agreed to take this huge envelope of “get-well money” from them.

“We will also reimburse you for the bicycle, and the medical fees are a matter of course,” said her schoolmate.

“Ehh!? Just this get-well money is more than enough!”

“That will not do. This and that are two different matters.”

Neechan tried to reason with him.

“Kaburagi-sama, umm, you’ve already paid for the hospital and medical bills today. Since I don’t have any broken bones, I don’t think think I’ll be going to the hospital either so there won’t be any medical bills to pay…”

“Unacceptable. You have to keep going until the doctor says that you’ve fully recovered. Nobody can say that there won’t be medical complications,” he replied severely.

“I understand…” she replied meekly.

When it was time for him to leave, he told us he was buying all the cakes in the store.

“I’d feel bad for the other customers who came here to buy things, so just your feelings are enough~!” she stopped him in a panic.

After the boy and his lawyer left, Dad had to go back to the store.

Everyone else was still gathered in the living room.

“For a high schooler, that boy really has his act together…”

“Yeah…”

“Do you think we breached some etiquette by serving him barley tea, Mum?”

“You’re asking that now?”

“That oniisan was so cool!”

“His car was cool too!”

“That’s the car that hit Neechan, yanno?”

“Oh no, that wasn’t the car that hit me. It wasn’t any less expensive though.”

“Are you for real!?”

They had more than one car like that!?

“The car that hit me got a bit scratched after all. I was actually worried about what we’d do if they asked for compensation, you know?”

“It’s good that he was a decent person, wasn’t it,” my Mum commented.

“By the way, Neechan,” I asked, “How come you were being so polite to him? Isn’t he your age? And why the -sama?”

“Oneechan, was he your friend?”

“Whoaa, no way! That’s somebody special even for a Zui’ran student, you know! If it wasn’t for the accident I’d have graduated without ever saying a word to him!”

“Huh. He was some kind of big shot then?” I asked.

“He is. We’ve got two, ah, three…? people at our school that everyone acknowledges as special. Kaburagi-sama is one of them.”

That boy who ‘everybody acknowledged as special’ ended up visiting Neechan a bunch more times during the summer break to drive her to the hospital.

He even got her an expensive Italian bicycle which Neechan promptly remodelled into a city bike with a basket.

What a waste.

But yeah, people from Zui’ran really were different to your average high schooler.

When I got back from school, something crazy was waiting for me in the lounge room.

Her hair was curled like chocolate cornets or something, and she even had a ribbon attached.

It was like somebody had pulled an ojousama out of some manga or drama.

But for some reason she was wearing one of Neechan’s T-shirts and shorts.

It couldn’t have looked any worse on her.

Neechan had made some yakisoba for us when she came back.

She asked the Cornet girl if she wanted seconds.

Apparently Cornet had eaten before we got here.

“No, I am… Well, if you insist then perhaps just a bite, since you offered,” was her reply.

She ended up eating with us.

“You’ve got nori on your face, you know?”

“Oh goodness.”

She even went ‘ohoho’ as she wiped the nori I pointed out.

‘Ohoho’ I said.

Who knew there were really people who laughed that way in real life…

So she was both an ‘ohoho’ and a ‘Cornet’.

After that day, Cornet visited us on occasion.

Each time she came over she ended up eating something.

And her “just a bite” was always a huge serving.

She always said ‘then, just a bite’ but would end up demolishing the whole plate.

And whenever Neechan asked if she wanted seconds the reply was always something like, “No, I am quite full. Although if you insist then perhaps just a bite…” and she’d end up eating even more.

“Hey Neechan, even though Cornet always eats until the end, why does she always refuse once first?”

“Hmmm, maybe it’s etiquette for an ojousama?”

I don’t get it.

Actually the other day she ate quite a lot of the mochi too.

Since she was eating so well, I thought she might be hungry.

Chikara udon is mochi rice cakes on an udon dish.

“Want me to throw some chikara udon together?” I asked, but this time she really refused.

“Perhaps next time,” she said before muttering, “Udon zousui would be nice too…”

Was she planning on adding zousui to her chikara udon?

There was honestly no helping her.

“Hey, Neechan. Cornet is your friend, right?”

“I’ve told you her name isn’t Cornet, it’s Kisshouin-san! But my friend, huh… I’d like to think so at least. She’s actually as amazing a person as Kaburagi-kun is. But, Kisshouin-san is always helping me out, you know? She might have actually proven to be the most trustworthy person there.”

“Huh. Then I suppose Cornet’s welcome in my home!”

“Cocky brat. And she’s Kisshouin-san to you!”

“Cornet-chan’s a good girl. Always so polite,” added Mum. “Your mum can rest at ease knowing you have a friend like that.”

“You’re calling her that too, Mum…? But mmn, sorry for worrying you. I’ve got friends there, and I’m having a lot of fun.”

“I’m glad to hear that. So? What’s Cornet-chan like at school?”

“She’s a pure-bred Zui’ran, I have to say~ Lots of girls really look up to her. They treat her like the ideal girl, I guess?”

“Buhaha!? Cornet!? The same Cornet who’s been eating yakisoba, or curry, or mochi every time she comes to our house!? The one that actually laughs ‘ohoho’? The Ohoho Cornet Girl?”

“Kanta! But well, even I had no idea she’d be so easy to get along with… I think I’d like to get to know her better.”

“Hmmmm~ Alright then.”

“What about Kaburagi-kun?” Mum asked. “Is he your boyfriend, Wakaba?”

“Haah!? No way! Don’t say stupid things!” shouted Neechan.

“Ehh? But he keeps coming to visit you, and he even came here to give you a present on Christmas.”

“Seriously! Stop it! If by some tiny chance a person from Zui’ran overheard that…”

“Oh my, should we keep it a secret from Cornet-chan too?”

“I’ve already told Kisshouin-san but… But just don’t say these things outside, okay! You never know who might overhear! Not just you Mum, everyone else too, okay!?”

She seemed awfully serious, so we reluctantly replied.

“Then who was the boy you went to your New Year’s shrine visit with? Remember? The one that you showed me the picture of.”

“He’s just a friend I’m in the Student Council with! And didn’t I show you pictures of my other friends!?”

“But that boy was so cool.”

“He’s! Just! A! Friend! I’m done with this conversation! Done!”

“Your dad’s been worried too, you know? He’s been asking me if you’ve gotten yourself a boyfriend.”

“Neechan, are you aiming to marry into money?”

“I’m nottt!”

Whatever the case, Kaburagi-san definitely liked Neechan.

I mean it was on Christmas Eve.

Would you go out of your way like that for a normal friend?

At first I laughed at giving a high schooler a present like that, but then Cornet told us about how famous and expensive it was and shocked the crap out of Neechan and I.

Tens of thousands of yen for a stuffed toy!?

It was bloody insane.

The teddy bear had actually come with a coat and a heart necklace.

My little sister wanted the necklace since she thought it was cute.

Since she was in elementary, Neechan figured it would be fine even though it was for a toy.

It was pretty sparkly for a toy, so she quickly came to adore it.

Even the doll’s accessories were crazy good!

Anyway, it had decorated the house until the end of the year, and was sitting in Neechan’s room now.

I wonder if Neechan was planning on giving Kaburagi-san some Valentine’s chocolates this year.

I was pretty sure he was waiting for them.

Speaking of Valentine’s, I was really damned worried about Cornet’s…

Was that girl going to be alright?

She’d better follow the recipe properly!

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Kenkyo Kenjitsu

Reika-sama – 193

Jan 16, 2018 Estelulu 133 Comments

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

Hi guys! Looking for experienced cleaners, redrawers or type-setters to help with the Tashinami scanlations.

Please contribute: http://kenkyokenjitsu.wikia.com

The snow that appeared Saturday night kept falling well into Sunday.

Although it had stopped by the time Monday had come rolling around, looking out the window of my car on the way to school, it was plainly obvious that it had snowed, and parts of the road were still frozen over.

Oh. A salaryman just slipped.

How dangerous.

With this much snow around I wondered if Enjou and Kaburagi were going to build Yukino-kun another snowman.

I arrived early, having left early to take into account the road conditions.

Class Rep was already there.

“Good morning, Kisshouin-san.”

“Gokigen’yoh, Class Rep. Somebody is early today.”

“Yeah. It’s been snowing after all. Plus, the exams are coming soon, so I was thinking of studying.”

“My, what a model student you are. Perhaps I should follow your example and study now as well.”

After all, I was left out of the top 30 for my end of year exams. It was about time that I got a bit serious.

“Oh, right. Remember how I told you Honda-san gave me chocolates for Valentine’s?”

“Did you now?”

“I did. Anyway, since the two of them said they’d make handmade chocolates for us, I thought I should return the favour by handmaking some for them.”

“Eh!? Handmade!?”

I turned to him in shock.

“Well, I thought it was a good chance to try. Anyway, I was thinking about what to make and I thought Sachertorte would be nice.”

“Sachertorte!?”

The cake consists of a dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam on top, coated in dark chocolate icing on the top and sides. It is traditionally served with unsweetened whipped cream.

What a crazy hard choice for a first-timer!

“Is that not a little difficult…?” I was about to ask but Class Pres showed me a picture on his phone.

It was a wonderful example of a Sachertorte.

“I’ve never baked a cake before, but it turned out pretty well, I think.”

“I see,” I deadtoned.

Apparently the maiden was even equipped with dessert-making skills.

Even though I had been doing this for years and was only just recently seeing results.

Disgusting.

I didn’t know how good Miharu-chan was, but I had to wonder how you’d feel if a boy gave you better-made chocolates than you could manage yourself.

At the very least, I would get an inferiority complex.

“People at Zui’ran prefer buying expensive chocolates, so perhaps you should reconsider,” I told him. “Besides, if you trade your home cooking with her you are only a single mistake away from being treated as her girl friend.”

“Eh-, girl friend!? I really wouldn’t want that…”

Class Rep was flustered now.

“Or were you intending on confessing to Honda-san with that Sachertorte? In that case I will not stop you, but…”

“Ehh!? No! I haven’t been thinking about confessing at all yet!” he exclaimed, red-faced. “I just wanted to thank her!”

“In that case buying a few expensive limited-edition chocolates, as well as some accessories like a handkerchief or some gloves would achieve something closer to your desired effect. Well, some people do say that handkerchiefs are a sign of a goodbye, so perhaps something else.”

“I see. As expected of a Love Guru. I better tell Iwamuro-kun too!”

“Besides some small gifts, I had been happy enough to receive a small bouquet in the past, but if you go down that route you had better have somebody take care of it during class. Otherwise it may have wilted by the time school is out. Perhaps it would be better to forget about those for now.”

“Yeah, you might be right. But how did you learn all these things about romance anyway?”

I learnt about the presents from Imari-sama, and everything else from the shoujo manga I read in my last life.

“I’ve been talking to Iwamuro-kun about it, but I think my luck in romance has been better after touching that reversed curl of yours. Thank you for always blessing me.”

Apparently in his head I was one of those bronze ox statues you rubbed for good luck.

People believe in the strangest things.

But I got my hair fixed at a beauty salon so they were all curled the right way now.

In exchange I grew an urna!

“Say, Class Rep, if some strange girl you had never spoken to suddenly gave you a Valentine’s chocolate, how would you feel?”

“Eh-, strange girl!? Hmmm, I’d be happy, but I guess a little troubled too if I didn’t know her…”

“As I thought…”

For an instant I had considered gaining the courage to give one to Naru-kun from the library, but since it would probably only make me look like a stalker I decided against it.

I guess the Village Chief was having another boring Valentine’s.

I wonder if there were any new applicants to the village.

We’re still taking new people, you know?

Ru’ne-chan and the others arrived so I apologised to Class Rep for disturbing his studies and said goodbye.

“Reika-sama’, gokigen’yoh. It’s cold today, isn’t it?”

“Gokigen’yoh. It is indeed. I had trouble getting out of bed.”

“Me too~”

Still, everyone came to school in a car so there was only the walk from the car park.

“It’s got to be rough for people walking to school today.”

“I have to agree. I saw quite a few people losing their footing today while being driven to school.”

“Wow, that’s dangerous.”

Before long, Serika-chan and Kikuno-chan arrived as well, and the conversation turned to excited talk about the snow.

Suddenly another girl from my group ran into the classroom.

“It’s terrible, Reika-sama! Takamichi-san got out of Kaburagi-sama’s car again!”

“Eh?”

“Kaburagi-sama!?”

Apparently right after Kaburagi and Wakaba-chan parted, everyone swarmed her to ask what was going on.

And according to Wakaba-chan, he had spotted her on the way to school. Rather than let her ride the train and then walk through the snow, he told her to get in instead.

“How many times has that been now? That that girl has been in Kaburagi-sama’s car,” frowned Kikuno-chan.

Everyone else muttered about how shameless she was too.

But I was focused on something else.

Before she rode the train and walk through the snow?

Didn’t this mean he had been lying in wait in her neighbourhood then…?

Scaryy!

Stalker!!

Scaryyy!!!

“Could we speak, Kisshouin-san?” somebody asked.

The girls in the classroom erupted in squeals.

It had been Enjou, standing by the classroom door.

“Is something the matter?” I asked, having joined him in the hallway.

We were still being showered by curious gazes.

“The truth is that Yukino was hospitalised last night,” he smiled helplessly.

“Ehh!? Yukino-kun!?”

“Yeah, but we admitted him more as a precaution than anything else. It’s nothing serious.”

“How terrible. Being in hospital is such an unpleasant experience.”

“Ahh~ Well, I guess. Anyway, sorry to bother but do you think you could write him a ‘get well’ message before school ends?”

“A message?”

“Yeah. He’s been whining about the hospital quite a bit this time since he only had a minor asthma attack. Yukino’s been in a bad mood, so I thought you could cheer him up.”

“My…”

It had to be so rough on a child.

“If just a letter from someone like me could help cheer him up a little, I will write as many as it takes!”

“Thanks, and I really am sorry for the bother. I’ll definitely make this up to you.”

“No, no. I am simply doing this for Yukino-kun, so no thanks are needed.”

I went to my locker to get my letter set and began writing.

After school, he thanked me politely again when I handed him the letter.

Apparently he was skipping the salon today and heading straight to the hospital.

While we spoke about Yukino-kun, I ended up seeing him off at the carpark.

“See you tomorrow then. Thanks for the letter.”

“Not at all. Gokigen’yoh, Enjou-sama.”

He waved at me and then got in his car.

Hmmm…?

The person in the car with him, didn’t she look an awful lot like Yuiko-san?

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Tilea

Turf War – Chapter 24

Jan 15, 2018 Estelulu 14 Comments

Join the Evil God Army on discord!

https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

Sorry I couldn’t get out a Christmas release thing this year.

Life has been mildly hectic.

Also if you want more regular Tilea updates, please join my Discord server and remind me every Friday that people are actually waiting on it.

Chapter 24 – Edim and Jessica Team Up

“Edim, let’s hurry up and bring everyone out of here!”

Jessica, the goody two shoes.

I should have known she’d say something like this…

I was starting to feel down at how nothing was working out right.

Haah.

I had wanted to use all their blood to heal myself.

But if I did that I’d lose Jessica’s trust.

I was stuck playing the role of the “vampire who had a human heart” after all.

Still, this was all to stay in-line with Tilea-sama’s scheme.

As long as I had no idea what was riding on this, there was no way I could hinder it.

I suppose I had no choice.

I cut through all of the chains and freed the women and children, one by one.

Snap.

The room was filled with the sound of breaking metal links..

“Ah, t-the chains… Am, am I saved…?”

“T-, Thank you, big sis.”

“T-, Thank you… Thank you!”

And now they were getting noisy again.

Stop it already.

You’re going to call the guards over, damn it!

No, the guards were coming soon anyway.

So the escaping women would have been noticed anyway?

I had to hurry.

“Jessica, do you know where the Fiend is?”

“No. I was only just brought here too.”

“I see…”

What could I do?

If I went around beating small fry up for information I’d run out of stamina.

But if I hid myself and looked for him I’d never have enough time.

If I took too long Ortidiot would come barging in.

“Edim, could it be that you were planning to kill Gordon?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I know you’re a goodie-two-shoes. But even if you’re against it, this is one thing that I――”

“I’m not against it! T-, That cruel man. I-In the plaza he killed so many people. The desperate parents of the girls being taken away. Brothers who tried to protect their sisters. So many… So many people… I-, It’s unforgivable. If you don’t kill him, then I will!” Jessica screamed.

She was normally such a kind girl too…

Gordon was quite the villain, it seemed.

He had picked on the wrong person, though.

Getting ahead of himself and laying his hands on Tilea-sama’s belongings.

It was unthinkable.

For that, I would give him a taste of hell.

After releasing the women in the cell, Jessica and I searched for Gordon’s room.

Unfortunately, not only was the place like a maze but it was also crawling with mercenary guards.

Progress was slow.

“Jessica, we won’t break any ground by keeping hidden like this. I’m going to be a bit more overbearing.”

“Wait. Edim, are you okay? You’ve looked terrible all night.”

Sharp as always.

She noticed even though she had been distracted with our reunion.

She was right of course.

I was on the verge of collapse, dizzy and getting worse all the time.

I was still feeling the regret from not healing myself with the women.

“You’re right. I’m not at my best, Jessica. But I still have to kill Gordon no matter what.”

“Edim, I think you should consider a temporary retreat. I can’t forgive Gordon either, but I don’t want you to die.”

Ugh, so annoying.

Retreat was unacceptable.

I couldn’t report a failure.

I’d probably be executed on the spot if I did.

“It’s fine. I’m a vampire. I don’t die so easily.”

“B-But… I-, I know! We should have Tilea-san help us. You know how strong she is, right? Tilea-san could beat him in a flash.”

Even more unacceptable!

It was unthinkable.

Failing the missing, and then getting your superior to wipe your backside for you…

If I did something so shameful the leadership would lynch me.

No, it would probably be an even worse torture that awaited me.

Uu, scary…

“Jessica, let’s not get Tilea-sa…n involved in this. I owe her my life. Plus, we can’t delay it. The longer we do, the more victims there’ll be. If we don’t kill him tonight, more girls are going to be violated and murdered.”

“Y-You’re right. I can’t just rely on Tilea-san for everything. And Gordon is still ordering girls to come to him. We have to save them.”

“Exactly.”

“But are you really going to be okay? I’ll do my best to help, so don’t overdo it, okay?”

“Yeah, got it. Anyway, about the strategy I mentioned earlier…”

“Strategy…?”

“It’s nothing complicated. Basically while I hide in the shadows, you lure one of the guards over. I’ll interrogate him and find out where Gordon is.”

“Finding information quietly is a good plan. But how am I going to lure someone over?”

“You seduce them, obviously.”

“Ehhhh!? I-I’m going to be doing it again…?”

“Huh? You’ve seduced someone before?”

“Y-Yeah. When I was fighting the demons with Tilea-san…”

“Well if you’ve done it before, then I’ll be relying on you. Pull somebody over for me.”

Of course I could just run around haphazardly creating vampires as well. The chaos incited would serve me well.

But in that case Jessica would doubt that I actually was a vampire with a human heart…

Hahhh.

Honestly, the reason we need such a convoluted plan is because of you, Jessica.

“Uuu, I don’t wanna.”

“Isn’t this better than using violence?”

“Y-Yeah. I don’t like it, but it’s to defeat Gordon, right?” she consented.

Now we just needed to wait for a target to come along.

After waiting in the shadows for a few minutes…

A bearded, muscular guy who looked the type to be a lech came along.

Exactly the type of pervert you’d expect to love Jessica’s type.

“Alright, Jessica. So what you’re going to do us lure him into the dark. After that I’ll ask him where Gordon is.”

“Uu, can I really do this?”

“You’ll be fine. Stupid-looking men like that love childish bodies like yours the most.”

“Kuh! Even you, Edim!? I-I’m still growing, okay…” she whined.

Having said that it seemed like she had found her determination because she pulled her top down around her shoulders and began sashaying towards the man.

Now is the time for your washboard to shine, Jessica.

“H-, Heyy~ M-Mister?”

“What? Girl! How did you get in here!?”

“M-, My body feels so hot right now. Haaah~ Say, w-, wanna do something nice together?”

Jessica was acting as hard as she could!

Well done, Jessica! Although I wished you could have looked a bit more natural doing it…

Ah well, it was naive little Jessica after all.

I suppose asking for a convincing seduction was a bit much.

“What are going on about, you snot-nosed brat? Get back to your damned cell!”

“Eh!? U-Um, s-something nice…”

“Gordon-sama’s strike zone is too huge. What’s good about brats like these?”

Jessica turned to me in tears.

Ah, so it was hopeless, huh…

I guess she just wasn’t sexy enough after all.

Ah well.

I wasn’t happy about it, but I suppose I’d play the bait instead.

I signalled Jessica with my hands.

Shoulders dropped, she trudged back over to me.

“Uu, I said I couldn’t do it…”

“Yeah. You don’t have enough sex appeal. I’ll take over.”

“Wha-, E-Edim…?”

Jessica came back to my side and we switched placed.

I exposed my shoulders and pulled up my skirt a little.

“Hello, mister~ How about it? Wanna have a little fun with me?”

“Another woman… What the fuck are the guards even doing?>”

“Come on~ Over here~”

“Look, I’m not interested in brats like――”

I casually brought emphasis to my cleavage.

How’s that?

Jessica doesn’t have a ravine like this, does she?

Although I was no Tilea-sama, I think I had pretty good proportions for my age.

“Not bad. I thought you were just some kid but, you’re… Alright, let uncle show you a good time.”

Alright, I got him.

Huhu, now I just needed to lure him into the dark to interrogate him.

I smugly gave Jessica a sidelong glance.

Aha, she looked mortified.

I could see her shoulders trembling.

“Come on, uncle, this way――”

I beckoned him into the shadows like a dancer, and watched as he came closer and closer.

“Guhehehe~ Let’s have a taste fir―― Mn!? It stinks! Don’t you know what a bath is!? Disgusting!”

“Eh…?”

He was almost there.

But his nose twitched and he backed off.

Stink?

W-, Why?

Wait! S-Speaking of which, that homeless guy stank as well…

It was horrible.

It had been like biting into a corpse.

Had that given me bad breath?

“It stinks, it stinks, you fucking stink! I hate brats, but I hate unhygienic women as well. Piss off back to your cell!”

“Y-, You fuckerr!”

Unhygienic!?

How dare a lowly human speak to me like that!

My hand shot out and held his neck in a vicegrip.

“Guoohh! W-What the hell is this power? I-I can’t breathe. Gahh! S-Save me!”

“H-, Huh? What’s going on?” called another guard.

Thanks to the first one’s noise they were beginning to gather.

T-This was bad.

I had to get my answers now!

“Oi. If you don’t want me to strangle you to death then tell me where Gordon is!”

“Guh, w-who would, tell you――?”

“Hmph.”

I increased the strength of my grip.

I could hear the start of his bones creaking.

“Guahh! I-I’ll speak! Cough, cough. Please stop this,” he wheezed before telling me what I wanted to know.

Since I was done, I dropped him onto the floor.

He shouldn’t have pissed me off to begin with.

According to him, Gordon’s room was on the top floor.

As long as we kept going up, we’d find him.

“Jessica, I know where he is now. He’s on the top floor.”

“…Yeah. But why did you start yelling? I heard you guys arguing about a smell or something but――”

“J-, Jessica, we’ve got other things to worry about. We need to take him down already.”

“You’re right.”

Together, the two of us evaded the encroaching guards as we made our way to the top floor.

Unfortunately the further we went, the more guards there were.

We couldn’t continue like this for long.

On the other hand I didn’t have the stamina to mow down all of these weaklings either.

“Jessica, we can’t just keep running past them. Can I count on you to clear the path for me?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Her mana surged as she prepared for battle.

Alright.

Jessica would take care of them for me, and I’d save my stamina for the coming battle instead.

Phew.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Circulating the mana through my body, I prepared to recover.

I continued with the technique for a few minutes.

After a while I began to feel a little better.

Opening my eyes, I began setting out for the top floor again.

How many people had Jessica taken care of?

Wai-, she hadn’t taken care of a single one!

Actually, wasn’t she kind of in trouble?

Jessica was firing magical bullets at the mercenaries but seemed to be having trouble finishing the job.

Actually, Jessica was being toyed with by their magical bullets and arrows.

Hahh, humans really were weak.

To think there was a time in my life when I was seriously competing with creatures like these…

Ah, oops.

Camilla-sama was about to lose a belonging if I didn’t do something.

Jessica, you’re not allowed to break without permission.

Haah.

Damnit.

This was going to be a hit to my stamina for sure.

I generated a few magical bullets before firing them upon the mercenaries.

“Kuaah!”

“W-What is that power!?”

“H-Hiiee! How can magical bullets be so strong!?”

It hadn’t taken much to crush their morale.

Unfortunately that hadn’t translated into deaths.

A number of them were injured but I couldn’t defeat them while holding back like this.

Their numbers weren’t going to decrease at this rate.

Trying to converse my mana would only waste time.

Haah, haah…

I was still so dizzy though.

This time I circulated my mana to the limit to overwhelm the guards.

I had almost run dry now, but the two of us would have been defeated otherwise.

“Get back, Jessica.”

“B-But…”

“Just listen. I can’t let you die! Get back!”

“Y-Yeah.”

After she did as I told, I faced off against the mercenaries.

There were only a few floors left until the top.

As long as I could get rid of these small-fries I was basically there.

“Come on, you garbage. Those of you who want to die, step forward!”

“”Waaaaaaaaaah!”” they screamed, as they charged me half-mad.

It seemed that the pressure I put on them earlier had caused them to fall into a panic.

Haha, it seemed that I had some hope now.

Had they taken up proper military formation I might have been screwed.

But like this they were just target practice.

I fired.

The lot of them danced around like fools.

A few of them came at me with swords, so I snapped them before snapping their necks in turn.

Not long afterwards…

Haah, haah, haah…

I did it.

Somehow, I managed to finish off all the soldiers on this floor.

Uu, d-damn it.

Quite a lot of my energy had been expended.

If I collapsed here I wasn’t sure I’d get up again.

I leant against a pillar to catch my breath.

Huh.

Where was Jessica, anyhow?

She hadn’t died, had she?

She had gotten behind me but I was too busy with the guards to pay attention to her afterwards.

“Hahh, haah, J-, Jessica, are you okay…?”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

“T-, Thank goodness…”

“I’m sorry, Edim. All I’m doing is being a deadweight. H-Hey, are you really okay?”

“Haah, haah, I-, I said I was fine. M-, More importantly, we need to hurry.”

“We can’t! Edim, I know you’re strong but you’re overdoing it. Let’s rest first. I can’t see you beating Gordon in your state.”

Perhaps she had a point.

My stamina wasn’t increasing, but the enemy numbers would.

I needed blood.

And all the better if it came from a beauty.

And there was a beautiful girl right in front of me.

I wanted it.

If I didn’t drink, my power would never come back to me.

Jessica belonged to Camilla-sama, though.

I couldn’t lay a hand on her.

Unfortunately…

I had to apologise to Camilla-sama.

In order to realise Tilea-sama’s order I had no choice but to do so.

Camilla-sama, please forgive my trespass.

“J-, Jessica, I need a favour…”

“What is it? Ask me anything.”

“Haah, haah, c-could you share some of your blood with me?”

“Eh!? T-That’s…”

“It’s fine. I won’t take all of it. I just need a little. Just a little…”

“O-, Okay… Just a little then.”

“Haah, haah, don’t worry, Jessica… I-, I wouldn’t ever kill you. We’re… friends, right?”

“Yeah. You’re right. We’re fine.”

All I had to do was invoke the ‘friend’ card and she was readily holding her arm out for me.

Huhu, how typical of her.

She was offering her blood to a vampire…

It was all the cuter to see that arm tremble just a little.

Relax, Jessica.

You belong to Camilla-sama.

I won’t kill you nor turn you.

I just want to enjoy you a little.

I took her arm into my hand and pulled her into my embrace.

And then I pierced my fangs into her soft neck.

“H-, Hey, Edim…?”

“W-, What is it? Haah, haah, you said that I could.”

“I-I did but, w-why are you touching me there? Hey-, wah!”

“Just bear with it for a bit… Vampires always get a little hot and bothered when drinking blood.”

And I still had horrible memories from those hobos.

I needed someone nice and pretty to clear those out.

“N-No, b-but, hahh, hahh, hang on…”

“Hahh, hahh… Y-, You’re adorable, Jessica. Just adorable…”

I kissed her adorable nape and chest between sips of her blood.

“Hahh, hey, t-that’s… Stop it! Stop!”

“Haah, haah, j-just hang on a little. This isn’t a bit deal.”

“Hic! No! You really have changed, Edim. You’re not a human…”

She was crying now.

Ah geez, had I gone too far?

I suppose the old Edim wouldn’t have done this, huh.

Well, since I was feeling better now, I suppose this was good enough?

“S-, Sorry, Jessica.”

“You’re horrible, Edim…”

“I really am sorry. It might sound like an excuse, but I kind of lose my mind while drinking blood.”

“Hic…”

“Come on, I’ll do anything, so forgive me. I’m feeling a lot better now that you shared some blood with me. Thank you.”

“…A-Are you better now?”

“Yeah. I really feel a lot better. Oh, I know! To apologise, how about I treat you to that Lintd Teahouse?”

“You still remember that place?”

“Of course I do. Didn’t you turn down my invitation because you had homework to do?”

“Uuu, uuu, you really do remember. Even though it happened before you turned… Uu, Edim…”

Jessica ran over and hugged me.

Haah, man I was tired.

What was this rollercoaster of tears, anger, and consolation?

“Do you forgive me?”

“Uu, only if you treat me to chiffon cake.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll treat you to as much as you want.”

“Ehehe, it’s a promise then. Maybe we should invite Tilea-san and the three of us can go together.”

Inviting Tilea-sama to go to a teahouse…

Jessica just dropped something difficult.

I wonder how jealous the leadership would be if I actually went through with it.

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Kenkyo Kenjitsu

Reika-sama – 192

Jan 15, 2018 Estelulu 90 Comments

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

Hi guys! Looking for experienced cleaners, redrawers or type-setters to help with the Tashinami scanlations.

Please contribute: http://kenkyokenjitsu.wikia.com

Sorry for the delay, guys. I was exhausted last week, and then spent the weekend translating Tilea, some manga, and playing warframe.

“Heyy, Kanta-kun. What if I put yoghurt on mochi?”

“Give it up. Here. Some cod-roe-and-cheese mochi for you, Cornet.”

“Thank you! Wahh, so good! Hey, Kanta-kun? What if I put jam on the mochi?”

“Sounds disgusting. Here, mochi pizza.”

“Waah, this is my first time having a pizza mochi! It was so good!”

Kanta-kun had turned down all of my ideas. But all of the things that Kanta-kun made for me were delicious, so I guess it was fine?

Still, it was actually pretty hard trying to match sweet things with the mochi.

If it was shiratama dango instead would it be easier?

Hmmm…

“Hey Cornet, do you ever eat them normally?”

“I do eat them normally. But I just wonder about more unique ways to do them sometimes…”

“Yeah, but why. Like, could you honestly say that you’d enjoy eating jam or yoghurt on mochi?”

“Uu…”

“Food isn’t your toy.”

“Guh…”

There was nothing I could say to that.

“To begin with, why do you always try and put weird spins on these? It was the same with that cake as well.”

Uu, that was because…

“..out… working…”

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

…I daydreamed that if I came up with my own original recipe, I could get rich without working.

Then my daydream got even bigger.

I would be this amateur chef who posted her original recipes on the internet.

Then people started talking about me, which would be when I published my own cooking book.

The media all started featuring me and I’d suddenly find myself a celebrity.

That was when a hot young actor with an interest in cooking would suddenly invite me to have a chat!

The two of us would hit it off.

Eventually it turned into love.

But the love between the popular young actor, and Japan’s foremost young lady was not to be.

The people around us tried to tear us apart.

While I was locked at home and I spent every day crying, one day I overheard my family talking about a political marriage!

I wanted to see him.

But I couldn’t.

Eventually I made up my mind.

I would abandon my family!

It wasn’t only me risking her future though.

I slipped out at night to meet with him.

While throwing off my pursuers I ran onto a road where I was hit by a truck!

Nobody could find a blood donor for me, but just when it was about to be too late, shockingly that young actor had the same blood-type as me!

For the girl he loved, he let them take almost all the blood he could spare.

In tears, my family thanked him.

“No,” he said, “As long as it’s for her, I don’t care how many times I risk my life!”

I was safe from death now.

In my deluxe suite, I watched him on t.v. holding an emergency press conference.

“I have somebody I love. Before I’m an actor, I’m a man in love!”

I couldn’t see him properly through my tears!

Since he had saved my life, my family finally approved of him.

As for his agency, they allowed it as well after seeing his resolve.

All of Japan blessed our pure love, and as we had our wedding in an old European castle, a double rainbow spanned the sky as exchanged our vows.

What a touching finale!

──And that was how my grandiose delusions went.

“What happened, Cornet? You’re all smirking now. It’s creepy.”

“Eh?”

Kanta-kun looked at me in suspicion.

Apparently I had been smirking while I thought back to my delusions.

I decided to be more careful while daydreaming in public…

But man, did I used to love that rare blood-type cliche.

AB Negative and that.

Was it because it was nice being special?

Incidentally my actual blood type was the second most common in Japan.

“Anyway, just follow the recipe for all cooking!”

“Okay…”

He was being pretty bossy for a 1st year middle-schooler but since he helped his parents and sister with the shop he could cook even as a child.

I respect you, Kanta-kun.

The isobeyaki you made for me was exquisite was well!

After eating the delicious mochi, I began learning how to make the chocolat au fondant with Wakaba-sensei.

Today not only was Kanta-kun joining us, but the twins were watching as well.

It made me a little more nervous than usual.

I get it, okay?

I’ll follow the recipe already.

Kanta-kun’s looking pretty strict, after all.

“First we sieve the flour, okay?” said Wakaba-chan.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Cornet, you better do this right,” warned Kanta-kun.

“Yes…” I replied.

“Do you best, Cornet!” said the twins.

“Next we’ll melt the chocolate and batter in the warm water.”

“Yes.”

Warming it up with water, huh.

“You know,” I began, “In the past I failed to understand the importance of warming it with water like this. Since I figured it was just melting and casting it, I put it in a pot and just heated it directly.”

“Eh!?”

“What the hell were you doing!?”

The Takamichi siblings looked like they had discovered some kind of impossible creature.

“What happened then…?” Wakaba-chan asked.

“It burnt in the saucepan and the resulting chocolate was gritty and terrible. Heating it up with water is a very important step,” I lectured.

“We already know that…” they replied.

I had planned to break the ice with the story but Kanta-kun’s gaze just got stricter.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said that…

I let my guard down because I was too relaxed here.

Maybe because it reminded me of my old life somehow.

“Done!”

The outside was crumbly while the inside was gooey.

It hadn’t taken all that long to make, but the chocolat au fondant was sooo good!

Wakaba-chan had an amazing recipe!

“And the powdered sugar looks like snow, so it is good on the eyes too,” I noted in admiration.

The chocolate cheesecake we made last time was great too, but today’s creation was leagues ahead!

This was definitely going to be this year’s Valentine’s chocolate!

I decided to teach Sakura-chan and Aoi-chan the recipe too.

“See!” Kanta-kun boasted. “Look at how delicious it is when you don’t add weird shit!”

“Kanta!” his sister scolded him.

I had learnt an important lesson…

It was night-time when it was time to leave.

Looking up at the night sky, I realised that it had suddenly started snowing.

“Are you going to be okay? Want an umbrella?”

“No, thank you. When I reach my station I shall call for a car.”

Since I was keeping these visits a secret I couldn’t get picked up from here.

But just a bit of snow was fine.

“Thank you for putting up with me today. I must have caused you a lot of trouble.”

“Not at all! I still haven’t paid you back at all, Kisshouin-san!”

“You mean the uniform and the shoes? It was really nothing much, so please forget it.”

“I can’t do that. They were so expensive. I still wonder if I shouldn’t try and pay some of it back.”

“Ehh!?”

I had no idea she was trying to do that!

I mean, they were all bird-pooped and all.

“They were only about a hundred thousand Yen though…”

“Eh? It’s more than that, Kisshouin-san. You don’t know the cost of the uniforms you’re using? And besides, even if it was a hundred thousand that’s a lot to me.”

I suppose so.

A hundred thousand was a lot to me too, though.

Wakaba-chan’s expression turned serious.

“Ummm, you know, it’s a bit hypocritical of me to say this, but I’ve been thinking that maybe you should cherish the things your parents give you a bit more.”

“Eh…?”

“The uniform you gave me was something bought with money that your dad worked hard for. I’d feel a bit bad for him if you didn’t treasure it a bit more…”

“…”

“Sorry, that was rude of me. But I know how hard my mum and dad work, so the things they buy for me are precious to me. I mean, it’s hard making a hundred thousand, you know?”

“Yes…”

In my past life I would never have forgotten how lucky I was to have that money.

When had I become numb to it?

Unlike Wakaba-chan’s dad, I never saw Otousama working of course, so maybe that factored into it.

I never even bothered to find out how much the uniform they bought me cost.

I just accepted it without a thought, because it was natural.

Even though Otousama had worked for that money.

What on earth was I doing.

This wasn’t being humble or reliable at all.

“Are you okay, Kisshouin-san?” she asked me worriedly.

I had fallen silent for a while.

“Oh yes. I am.”

“Sorry for saying something weird. I just…”

“No. I was in the wrong. Thank you. I have realised it now. But please forget about the uniform. I have many spares, after all.”

I kept thinking about her words on the train ride home.

When I got home, Otousama was relaxing on the sofa.

“Otousama!”

“Oh, welcome home, Reika.”

“I am back.”

I walked over and sat down right next to him.

“Oh? What’s wrong? Somebody’s clingy today.”

“…Thank you for everything, Otousama.”

“What’s the matter, Reika?”

Otousama seemed confused.

“I realised again that it is only because you work hard every day that I live as luxuriously as I do. My school fees and everything I wear was bought with money you earned through work. Thank you. And sorry that I always spend so much without realising how much you labour for that money…”

“Reika… You’re such a good girl! Just buy anything you want, Reika! I’ll pay for anything you want! Let’s go on a shopping spree tomorrow!”

Eh? That wasn’t what I was trying to say at all…

But the Tanuki was so ecstatic that he wasn’t going to listen anymore.

Are you trying to earn more points with your daughter by showering her with gifts, Tanuki?

Ah, no, no, I was being grateful to Otousama.

Right, right.

“Otousama, today I was learning to bake a cake for Valentine’s day. I will try my best to make something delicious for you on the day, so please look forward to it!”

To date, all of the things I gave Otousama was just made on the side while I baked for Oniisama.

But this year I would make sure to put my heart into it!

“Ah, you know, this year your Otousama is stuck going to that compulsory Human Dry Dock medical examination…”

“My! That sounds so rough! Then from today onwards I will make healthy meals for you!”

I could get Akimi-san to teach me how to make healthy food.

I wonder what kind of dishes there were.

Stuff like tofu steaks or something?

It sounded tough, but I’d do my best.

It was for Otousama, after all!

“My Reika, just your feelings are enough, so…”

“Worry not, Otousama. From today onwards I will show my gratitude by making sure you are as fit as a fiddle! Leave it to me!”

Oh geez, Otousama.

He seemed so moved by his daughter that he was in tears.

Oh, I know.

Maybe I could become a nutritionist in the future.

Then I come up with a revolutionary nutritional plan.

Renowned across the country, Kisshouin Reika, the beautiful nutritionist.

Suddenly, an offer by a superstar athlete to work as his dietician.

Under my meticulous plan, his results begin to skyrocket.

Before he knew it, his gratitude had turned to love…

To be continued…

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

お兄ちゃん、やめてぇ！

Reika-sama – 197

Turf War – Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Edim and Miscalculations

Reika-sama – 196

I’m the Final Boss!? – Chapter 6

A New Friend!

Gate to Another Realm – Chapter 1-1

Reika-sama – 195

Reika-sama – 194 – Takamichi Kanta

Reika-sama – 193

Turf War – Chapter 24

Chapter 24 – Edim and Jessica Team Up

Reika-sama – 192

「今日のお兄ちゃんはおかしいよ！怖いよ！ッ！？いやだよっ！いやぁ！やめて！やめてぇっ！！」