Chapter 39 The Mystery At School Gate
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The next morning, I stood in the hallway on the 3rd floor where my first-year Class C classroom was.
This building was a different one from the building where my second-year Class D classroom was, but they were connected by a walkway.
From the classroom at the end of the hallway, Himeno kept peeking out and looking over here.
It seemed like I, a second-year student, stood out in front of the first-year classroom, so I was getting quite a bit of attention.
I endured the discomfort and continued to wait, feeling anxious as homeroom time approached, when Kanon appeared.
She was a petite, youthful girl with long hair tied in a ponytail and pink glasses. Her noticeably large chest couldn’t be mistaken even from her silhouette. Unlike the innocent expression I had seen before, she now had a troubled look on her face as she walked slowly with a beige school bag on her back, gazing at the ground. Just watching her like that made my heart ache.
Taking a deep breath, I gathered my courage and called out to Kanon.
”H-hey, Kanon. Long time no see!”
When Kanon looked up, she stopped in surprise.
”Wha!? Um, um, who might you be!?”
”Huh? Oh, um, I’m Tsuchimiya. Remember me?”
When I replied, Kanon’s eyes widened, and she became flustered.
”Huh? Wha!? T-Tsuchimiya-senpai!? Oh, I-I apologize for my rudeness!”
”No, it’s fine. I just got back from the dungeon the other day and was wondering about you. Is your foot okay now?”
”Y-yes! Yes! Thanks to a magic spell, it got better in no time! Th-thank you so much for today!”
After saying that, Kanon looked around anxiously.
”Me too, I just got back, so I still don’t know much about the school and stuff. Can you show me around the campus or special zone starting from now?”
Higurashi’s instruction was to take Kanon out of this place without mentioning the matter at hand.
”R-Right now? Ah… but, classes will start soon, and I have something to do in the afternoon.”
Kanon said, looking down.
”It’s okay. Sometimes, skipping class for a bit of fun is cool! Let’s go do something fun!”
Ah, no good. I got flustered and messed up the vibe. This is turning into a bad attempt at flirting. Convincing a girl and taking her out for an introverted guy like me is a tough mission.
”Huh? W-Will you… skip… with me…?”
Kanon looked surprised, her gaze wandering between me and the classroom. Could this… work?
”Yeah, let’s go.”
As I reached out my hand, Kanon looked at it with a puzzled expression.
”U-um… okay…!”
Soon, Kanon blushed and timidly took my hand.
”Alright!”
I held Kanon’s hand and we walked back down the hallway and stairs.
There were still quite a few students heading towards the classrooms, so we hurriedly descended the stairs against the flow, reaching the 1st floor and heading towards the school gate through the lobby. Kanon, with her small steps, struggled to keep up, so I slowed down a bit for her.
My phone vibrated, and I quickly checked the screen.
GC: Tsuchimiya × Tina
Tina: As Higurashi-san said, it seems like we’re being followed by two people.
The screen switched to a map, showing two red dots not far behind us, tracking us.
First, I needed to deal with these two before we could talk. But I couldn’t be too obvious about it. I didn’t know about Kanon’s worries; I just invited her to hang out as an acquaintance.
From Higurashi, I was given a weird instruction that said, “Just break through the school gate no matter what.”
As we approached the gate, despite it being homeroom time, there was a decent crowd gathered there, murmuring and pointing towards the gate from a distance.
As we got closer, there was a suspicious figure standing on the wall next to the gate.
Wearing a white cloak with a red scarf fluttering, and a butterfly mask with a red butterfly design on the face, a girl stood with her arms crossed like a queen, dressed in the typical freshman girl’s uniform. There was a white shopping bag at her feet.
Higurashi!? What’s that guy up to!?
When Higurashi noticed us, she grinned and loudly declared,
”Fuhahahaha! My name is Kamen Papillon! No one gets through here!”
Kamen Papillon declared, then suddenly pulled out a gas burner from somewhere and lit a bunch of firecrackers, tossing them around the school gate area.
Loud explosions echoed, and screams from the girls rose up.
Kanon, startled, let out a small scream and froze in place.
So this is a forced breakthrough!
”Kanon! Let’s go!”
”Huh? Whaaat!?”
I picked up Kanon and dashed straight toward the school gate. Soon Kanon’s body felt lighter, like wings, and our speed increased significantly. It seemed Tina had activated the Warrior title to boost my physical abilities.
”Kamen Papillon! I don’t know who you are, but we’re getting through here!”
”Hmph! You ignorant fool! Take this!”
Kamen Papillon took out sparklers and rocket fireworks from a shopping bag and dropped them at the school gate. But just before she could ignite, I broke through the gate amidst the sound of firecrackers.
Behind me, colorful flames shot up, and smoke filled the air, while the whistle of the rocket fireworks echoed.
In front of me was a wide avenue leading straight from the school gate.
Not this way!
I quickly turned right and started running along the road by the school wall.
”Fire!”
When Kamen Papillon pulled a rope at her feet, the rope stretched taut at the low position of the gate, and amidst the smoke, someone could be seen falling vigorously.
”I said no one’s allowed through! If you want to pass, pay up!”
On the other side of the wall, the voices of adults from the School Management Committee echoed.
”Hey, what are you doing?”
”Get down from there, you fool!”
”Who do you think you are!?”
”I’m Kamen Papillon! I’m a modified human created by Demiurge, but I ran away before they could do brain surgery on me!”
It looks like she ran away right after getting brain surgery.
”Hahaha! Over here, over here!”
Kamen Papillon dashes along a narrow wall, throwing firecrackers inside the wall while running alongside me.
”You there! Catch her! Throw herinto solitary confinement!”
”Hahaha! I’ll stop here for today! Until next time, everyone!”
With that, Kamen Papillon jumps down to my side, gives me a thumbs-up, then disappears by turning right along the wall.
I turn left and slip into a narrow alley. I stop when I confirm that there are no pursuers by carefully checking the path.
I lean against the wall to catch my breath. Kanon shrinks in my arms, looking up at me with a puffy face.
”Kanon, I’ll put you down.”
”Ah, um… yes!”
When I took Kanon off and checked the map screen, the red dot was still wandering around the school gate area. It completely lost track of us.
”Alright, the lookout is taken care of. We’re good now.”
”Tsuchimiya-senpai…!”
Then Kanon clung to me as if diving into my chest.
”Tsuchimiya-senpai! I missed you!”
”Oh… uh…”
To be honest, I didn’t expect Kanon to be so attached to me, so I’m a little bewildered. But it seems like Himeno and Higurashi understood.
This time, I thought Kanon would feel more at ease if her friend Himeno was also there, so I asked her to come along. But she insisted that I would be fine alone.
I had a feeling that she was showing me some kind of favor towards me. But maybe I was ignoring things other than the definite fact of ‘getting along well’ to avoid getting hurt. Maybe I didn’t want to get hurt. Because of that, I ended up hurting Himeno and Kanon.
”Welcome back, Tsuchimiya-senpai. I’m glad you’re safe. I was really… worried about you.”
”I’m home, Kanon. Sorry for making you worry. I’m… not a good guy, huh?”
I lightly put my arm around her back and patted her head, and Kanon also put her arm around my back and hugged me tightly.
”Tsuchimiya-senpai, you’re not a bad guy. Once again, you came to help me. You really are like a Prince Lord-sama, Tsuchimiya-senpai.”
”?”
Kanon sometimes uses words I don’t know. I guess I should interpret it as “thank you for coming to help me” based on the context.
”I really wanted to thank Tsuchimiya-senpai for a long time.”
”During the first dive? Well, I think I’ve already heard your thanks then.”
”No, it’s different… Senpai might not remember, but it’s from two years ago… during the third term of my first year at Meihou Junior High School.”
Two years ago? That’s right before I transferred here.
* * *
”Stop it! Give it back!”
On a cold afternoon with snow fluttering, my voice echoed in the courtyard of the school building.
”You’re such an idiot, aren’t you? Bringing toys like this to school, even as a middle schooler.”
Kimura-san shook the dedicated card case containing Lunatic Cards and laughed, showing it off.
She seemed to dislike me, and for the entire year since becoming a middle schooler, I had been bullied by her as if I were her mortal enemy.
”Hahaha, confiscation, confiscation.”
”Do you still have it? Let’s do a body check.”
”That sounds good.”
The usual group of guys was teasing.
”Stop it!”
”Look, if you resist, I’ll throw this toy in the trash full of leftovers.”
Kimura-san laughed as she shook the card case on top of the big trash can provided. I felt a chill of dread, and then──
It was a sudden turn of events.
A guy who seemed to be passing by grabbed Kimura-san’s arm, took the card case, and then grabbed Kimura-san’s head and shoved her into the trash can.
”Aaaahh!?”
The guy grabbed Kimura-san’s legs, and with them, shoved Kimura-san’s upper body upside down into the trash can.
”You’re not supposed to throw anything other than trash in the trash can.”
The guy said this as he took out his phone and started filming Kishimura-san, who was struggling with only her skirt peeking out from the trash can.
”Wow, looks like she is drowning.”
Her stunned followers snapped back to reality and started yelling angrily.
”You, what are you doing!”
”I’m doing cleaning activities and keeping records. I don’t like volunteering, but it was so unpleasant that I had no choice.”
”Don’t mess around, you jerk!”
When her follower tried to punch the guy, he quickly shook his head to dodge it.
”Ugh!?”
The follower who tried to punch staggered back, holding his arm.
”Watch out! He’s got something!”
At that moment, the guy looked at his raised thumb thoughtfully and muttered something.
”Hmm. They say masters can make holes in bricks, but it’s impossible without training, right?”
Meanwhile, another follower came forward to attack.
The guy caught the fist with his left palm and then thrust his right thumb into the side of the follower’s neck.
”Ugh…!”
The follower grimaced in pain, holding his neck, and then fell to his knees, unable to move.
The guy turned away from the follower and walked over to me.
He took out my card case from his pocket and handed it to me.
”Is this yours? It was lying over there.”
”Huh? Oh… um, yeah.”
He pushed the card case towards me and gently tapped my back as if urging me.
”Come on, take it. I’ll handle the cleanup.”
”But… um…”
”Come on.”
He pushed my back again, and I left without saying anything.
”What’s wrong with you? Who even are you?”
”Me? I’m Tsuchimiya, a second year student.”
I heard his name from behind.
”Oh! That time? That was you, Kanon! You weren’t wearing glasses then, were you?”
I vaguely remembered that moment. Maybe because I sometimes rewatched that funny video and reminisced about it.
”Since then, have those guys bothered you?”
”No! Since then, Kimura-san and the others haven’t come near me at all.”
Looks like they kept their promise.
Actually, the next day, even during break time, three male students approached me while I was studying seriously.
I was studying for the entrance exam of Seito Academy, because my stepmother had ‘asked’ me to study properly.
If she had just said “Study!” bluntly, I might have brushed it off, but her ‘requests’ are her secret weapon, and when she brings it out, I can’t refuse.
My stepmother is a gentle person, and she hardly ever gives orders outright. But when it’s important, she’ll hold my head to her ample chest and whisper in a sweet voice, ‘Hey, Takeru-kun… I have a favor to ask,’ and I can’t resist.
Once, when I started to refuse, I was pushed down and she smiled, saying, “I guess I didn’t ask nicely enough.” So I hurriedly agreed. It felt like it would have been a serious situation otherwise. My stepsister, who was playing games next to me, was giving me a stern look.
Anyway, I had promised to study seriously and pass the transfer exam.
Standing in front of my desk, where I had spread out my reference books and workbooks, were some troublemakers from the same class. The guy in the middle, Tanaka, seemed like the leader. We had some issues on the first day of my transfer, and since then, he hadn’t approached me.
”Tsuchimiya… did you not have a problem with that girl, Kimura, and my underclassmen yesterday?”
Tanaka spoke to me.
He seemed to be just confirming the facts with a subtle expression, but the other two around him seemed eager from the look in their eyes.
”Talking about the trash in the courtyard? If they’re kouhai, you should tell them, ‘if you feel uncomfortable next time, go clean it up at my house.’”
When a friend on the right side got angry, he said,
”Hey! Who are you talking to, huh?!”
He tried to kick me while I was sitting, but I saw it coming.
I defended myself by pushing away with a sharp pencil I held in my hand.
He fell on his butt, holding his leg where the pencil stuck, groaning in pain.
I sighed and took out another pencil from my pencil case. Honestly, I don’t have time for dealing with them right now. My stepmother already warned me with a smile, “If you break the promise, you’ll be punished,” which made me really nervous.
Then, Tanaka sighed and spoke up.
”I just wanted to hear from the kouhai and make sure. I’ll let the kouhai know.”
”That’s it?”
”Yeah, sorry for interrupting.”
”Alright.”
After that, Tanaka dragged the guy who was moaning about the money for the mechanical pencil out of the classroom, leaving a 500-yen coin on my desk. I went back to working on my problem set.
In the end, I’m not sure if my reaction was bad, but I ended up being suspended for a week and transferred to another school.
”I’ve always regretted not being able to thank you back then.”
Kanon said, clinging to me.
”Oh, really…”
I hadn’t paid it much attention, but it seemed important to Kanon.
”So, let me thank you now. Thank you for helping me. My life changed since then. No, even before that, even today… Tsuchimiya-senpai always came to help whenever I was in real trouble. Thank you so much.”
”Now, I want you to tell me what’s been bothering you. Can you talk to me?”
”Yeah… I’ll tell Tsuchimiya-senpai everything.”
Good. We can’t move forward without solving Kanon’s problem first.”
”Let’s move to a less crowded spot.”
Around here, it looks a bit like a quiet downtown area. Most shops seem to be closed, but after walking a bit, we found a café with an ‘Open’ sign in a basement.
We went down the dimly lit stairs and opened the door to find a surprisingly bright and fancy café inside.
A waitress dressed as a maid greeted us cheerfully, “Welcome!”
There were hardly any customers in the small café, so we sat at a table in the back.
When I offered to treat, Kanon looked at the menu seriously.
”This café is much cheaper than the ones on the main street. It might be a hidden gem!”
Still, the prices were higher than what we were used to.
I ordered spaghetti for four thousand yen, and Kanon got sweet red beans with ice cream for five thousand yen.
When our orders arrived, Kanon’s eyes sparkled with joy. She seemed happier than when we first arrived.
”I wanted to ask why you’re hanging out with Demiurge’s group. Are they holding something over you?”
I asked while eating.
”Oh, you know about them? Yes, they have my friend Njorn-chan as a hostage.”
Njorn-chan? Another unfamiliar term. Is it a person since she mentioned a hostage?
”Who is Njorn-chan?”
”Njorn-chan is a spirit that guides Magical Girls.”
Hmm, I still don’t get it.
”So, four days ago, something happened. I joined a party looking for helpers and dived into a dungeon. During that, I leveled up. Then, from the Shining Luminous Baton, Njorn-chan popped out. While we were introducing ourselves and chatting, one of the guys from the party trapped Njorn-chan in a ‘fairy birdcage’… I told him to ‘give her back,’ but he said, ‘This is a monster I caught,’ and then he said, ‘If you want her, I’ll sell her to you for a million yen’…
Kanon seemed to recall that moment and made a slightly distressed face, then quickly gobbled up some sweet red bean soup.
Getting caught right after appearing, what a careless fairy.
”So, if I told someone about this, they said Nyorn-chan would be sold at the buyback counter.”
That’s why she couldn’t tell Himeno.
”What’s a ‘fairy birdcage’ anyway?”
”Um, it’s an item that traps fairies coming out of the lower floors. They say you can sell it for a high price if you catch them unharmed. They sell it at the school store, but someone happened to use the one that came out of the treasure chest.”
”So, where is this Njorn-chan now?”
”Um, I think either in the room they use for guest receptions in the boys’ dormitory B building, or in Iwakura-senpai’s room…”
”Iwakura too!? You know that guy!?”
”Uh, yeah. Iwakura-senpai is the leader of the party.”
”That jerk…”
Was he using dirty tactics to threaten Kanon? But causing a commotion in the dorm is troublesome. If we stir things up, the dorm manager will come out, and how do we get back that spirit called Njorn?
”For now, Papi… let’s call Higurashi and Himeno to discuss.”
I sent a message to Higurashi and Himeno. Tina had attached a map showing the location of the shop.
Just 10 seconds later, Himeno walked into the shop, and I was startled.
”Himeno… Were you waiting outside the shop? You followed me, but I didn’t sense you at all. It gave me chills.”
Himeno calmly sat next to me, holding my arm. While Kanon and Himeno chatted cheerfully, I felt uneasy, as if someone was threatening me with a knife against my back.
From now on, when we share maps, I’ll mark Himeno with a specific color to know it’s her.
Less than ten minutes later, Higurashi arrived and sat down next to Kanon.
”Hey, Watarase-san. Hello.”
”Here, hello.”
Kanon stiffened up and avoided eye contact while exchanging greetings. He seems shy but really nervous.
”I’m Higurashi Asuka. We met briefly during the first dive.”
”Oh! That time…? Uh, I’m Watarase Kanon. Nice to meet you.”
”Hehe, since we’re classmates, you don’t need to use formal language.”
”Y-yes!”
Kanon’s expression relaxed slightly.
”Thanks for your hard work, Tsuchimiya-senpai.”
”You… you just show up like nothing happened, but what was that earlier? Who said anything about being a modified human?”
”Huh? What are you talking about? Anyway, didn’t Tsuchimiya-senpai meet that masked Warrior near the school gate? I saw it from afar, and it was exciting. The whole school is buzzing about her now!”
Is this guy serious? Himeno must be confused about what to say.
”Well, setting that aside, I wanted to talk about Kanon…”
”Oh, right. If it’s okay, I’d like to hear what you have.”
Kanon talked to Himeno and Higurashi about the spirit Njorn.
”Hmm… Is Njorn captured inside the student dorms?”
”Yeah, it’s quite troublesome. With the dorm manager around, it’s hard to sneak in.”
”We might need a backup plan, but it seems best to start with a straightforward conversation.”
”A conversation? Just so you know, Iwakura isn’t the type to listen to reason.”
”That might be true. But negotiation should still be possible.”
”Negotiation? Even if we brought a million yen, it’s doubtful if he’d honor any agreements.”
”That’s because he looks down on us completely. Iwakura-senpai believes he has the rights to the spirit, so he’s setting tough conditions. He’s unreasonable, but not entirely unpredictable. If we can convince him that the spirit rightfully belongs to Watarase-san, negotiations might go smoother. He might not try to forcefully take it back.”
”I see… But can we really convince him that Kanon owns the spirit?”
”Maybe it will work out somehow. The problem is if they resort to forceful measures. Asagiri-san alone would not be judged if she accompanied Watarase-san, but that’s not enough to get into Demiurge’s base. I don’t feel well. I’d like to find some other means of support…”
”If it’s about dorm manager, I’d like to talk to Gil-san.”
”…Um, yeah. Maybe we could hear some useful stuff rather than just thinking by ourselves.”
Then, instead of leaving the café with just our thoughts, Himeno and Higurashi left a gold coin on the table as a tip.
To avoid being caught by the lookout, Kanon entered the forest from the edge of the special zone, passed behind the teleportaion facility, and came out to the park, then returned to dormitory building C.
As the four of us entered the entrance of the boys’ dormitory, Gil-san was reading manga at the reception.
”Hey, Manager!”
”Oh, Asagiri. What brings you all here? It’s rare to see you gathered.”
Manager!?
Gil-san emitted a calm, mature aura despite his evil presence slipping away. Looks like manga really has a big influence.
”Hmm… So you’re planning to infiltrate Demiurge’s headquarters? Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?”
When hearing the explanation from Higurashi, Gil-san looked at us with a wrinkled brow and a sly, evil grin. Uh-oh, it seems like Gil-san, the troublemaker, is back.
”The dorm manager of Building B is probably that jerk from Beldritz. Hehehe… Hahaha… Alright, I’ll handle the talking.”
”Really? Is that okay!?”
”Yeah, no problem. Just turn a blind eye to the little stuff and pretend not to notice. But make sure you’ve got some excuses ready just in case. The cleaning staff will be there soon, so I’ll ask them to help get you into Building B.”
”In that case, should Tsuchimiya-senpai hide in the bathroom or somewhere else, ready to back us up when negotiations start?”
”Got it.”
Then the meeting began.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.