Volume 5 Chapter 7 Day One Evening
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Early, aren’t ya~”
”I figured I’d just end up sleepin’ if I laid down, so.”
I pour tea for the both of ’em. Chifumi settles into a chair and sips it slowly.
”I thought I’d take a quick look outside while it’s still bright. There’s an open-air bath and a sauna, right? Have you two seen ’em yet?”
”Come to think of it, I haven’t.”
”I couldn’t see ’em from my room’s window. And the baths are definitely somethin’ I’m interested in.”
After tea, I head outside with Chifumi and the others. A few cottages like ours are scattered around. Lights are on, so there are other guests. They’re spaced far enough apart that unless someone makes a racket, I don’t think we’ll get noise complaints.
We go back in and head to the bathing area. Past the washing space, there’s a door leading outside.
On the other side is an area enclosed by wooden fencing. A rock bath the size of six tatami mats is filled with hot water, with a fresh trickle flowing in. I check the temp. It’s on the hotter side.
”It looks like a free-flowin’ natural spring.”
Manaka checks the info posted at the springs.
”It seems the water takes a while to change over. Let’s make sure we keep the tub clean.”
”Good thing Minoru’s special hobbies aren’t actually anything too weird~”
”What are you talkin’ about.”
Does she think I’m gonna do it here? …Actually, that sounds pretty good. Line ’em up with their hands on the edge of the tub and take ’em from behind, thwack, thwack. In an open-air bath with snow falling, my d**k would be searchin’ for a place hotter than the water (or so I imagine).
Since Asari ends up sprayin’ and Yurina treats her ass with care, I’ll have to be careful not to dirty the tub. I’ll keep that in mind — and absolutely make it happen.
”That is not what I meant when I said that…”
”Sorry, Manaka-chan. My mistake~”
”……”
Manaka is bewildered. Chifumi looks like she truly regrets her words, but it’s too late.
Yurina stays silent, face flushed red.
It seems Chifumi has finally grasped my tastes. I’m happy to hear that.
”The sauna door is right here~. So you have to go outside to enter it? Do you cool off in the snow after?”
”That’s probably right. Besides… there were gender signs at the bath entrance, so we shouldn’t walk in on the wrong side. Minoru, you be careful too.”
Even with Risa’s warnin’, I can’t help but suspect it’s just foreshadowin’.
We return to the living room in a somewhat awkward atmosphere, where the others have gathered.
Sawa is trying to connect a game console she brought from home to the TV. It’s the same hardware we played at Onigashima in the summer. They didn’t prepare a projector this time. Manaka scolds her with an exasperated look.
”Sawa, did you come all this way just to play games?”
”Just a little before bed.”
”Honestly… please have some moderation.”
”I know. I understand TPO (time, place, occasion) as well as anyone, you know.”
Do you really?
The cassette label says it’s a party game. I get that she chose something we could all enjoy. But I don’t think that’s where the real thought is needed.
”Alright, it’s ready! Minoru!”
”Well done!”
I react without thinkin’, and I can tell everyone is shootin’ me cold glares. I messed up.
”Hmm… it’s about time. Anri-san should be coming to pick us up.”
Hopin’ to deflect, I point to the clock. It’s ten minutes before the promised time. Outside, it’s getting dark. Then, I see a car with its lights on approaching.
Anri-san arrives in a van one size smaller than the shuttle bus. The same driver is there.
Our group is guided to the restaurant.
It’s a buffet. We can choose any dish with no extra fees. It’s crowded with many other tourists.
At the reception, Anri-san talks to the staff, and everyone is guided to their seats.
In the middle of that, only two people are left behind. Risa and me.
”Tatemiya-san and Risa, you are at the same table as me. Please, follow me.”
Anri-san leads us to a small table a bit apart from the rest.
The restaurant is big, and the area buzzes with people. Maybe it’s so that if we talk in low voices, the noise will cover it for private conversation. The fact that she made distance on purpose means I’ll probably hear something secret.
But… Manaka is here.
From what happened at karaoke, she could easily eavesdrop from this distance. I quietly check Manaka’s table. She has her usual smile. She’s definitely doing it. I can’t say anything reckless.
After we’re seated, we make a few trips to line the table with food.
When the three of us are ready, we say, “Itadakimasu.”
”How is it? Does it suit your taste?”
”It’s extremely delicious.”
It’s not flattery; the food is truly good. Salad, fish, meat. Everything is a hit.
”This area is a treasure trove of ingredients. We take pride in the freshness of our fish.”
”The 13th District is an Inland sea, and the 5th District is the open ocean. The types of fish you can catch are completely different.”
”The Naruse merchant guild (us) also invests in aquaculture businesses. We make sure to stock fish from there.”
Naruse-nee’s younger sister explains with a proud look.
”Besides fish, the wild vegetables and mushrooms in the mountains here are also delicious.”
”Is that so?”
”We have excellent wild vegetable hunters, so we can harvest fresh ones. Please, try some.”
When our first plates are running low and it’s about time for a second round, Anri-san brings up what I think is the main topic.
”About the schedule after dinner. I will drive you from the hotel back to the cottage, just like when you arrived. But what happens after that… Risa, would you be willing to come with me?”
”Am I meetin’ That person?”
”Your mother says she wants to talk to you today.”
”Sigh… on a travel day, huh…”
Risa clearly looks unhappy.
I know it’s rude, but I can’t help asking.
”Is it not possible to wait until tomorrow?”
”If you think normally, that would be the case, but…”
Risa gives in to Anri-san’s apologetic look.
”It’s useless to resist That person with logic. She puts herself first. My older sister probably tried to stop her, too, right? But she wouldn’t change her mind. She’s the type who doesn’t listen once she’s decided.”
”……”
Anri-san neither denies nor confirms, but her expression says it all.
”Fine. It’s best to finish the quota quickly. …Minoru, I think I’ll stay at the Naruse Annex tonight. Is that alright?”
”You aren’t comin’ back?”
”It might be a bit difficult. The Annex is in the city town. It’s bad to make the driver go back and forth on dark roads for over an hour each way. …Unless you insist I come back?”
”No, it’s fine. Tomorrow is early enough.”
”Sorry about that.”
Dinner ends with the post-dinner plans decided and everyone full.
Anri-san drives us back to the cottage.
Risa takes only a small bag and heads with Anri-san toward the Naruse family Annex.
It’s 7:00. Bath time.
”Let’s take the baths in turns~”
”How should we decide the order?”
”I think rock-paper-scissors is fine~”
First, Manaka and I play. I lose.
”Then, we will take our time bathing later. You go ahead, Minoru.”
I thank ’em for lettin’ us go first, then play rock-paper-scissors with the rest.
In the end, I go first. Unexpectedly able to enjoy the first bath, I head to the baths feeling upbeat.
Just before washing up and getting into the tub, I remember something.
I fill a bucket with water and release an Aberration (a magical creature from another world) from my shadow into it.
A catfish pokes its face out, then quickly disappears under the surface. As I soak and catch my breath, a centipede appears with a rustle.
’Oh, so this is that “cottage” then.’
”Kept you waitin’.”
’Thanks for callin’ me.’
Inside the bucket, the catfish, shrimp, and clam are packed tight. Kaname the catfish Aberration is a high-and-mighty one, but lately the clam has learned to snuggle up to Kaname. In fact, Kaname, who’s been around longer than even Tempura, has been taken as an ally and seems to enjoy himself every day.
If my held Aberrations, starting with Hinoki (they/them), can experience or grow in the 5th District, that’s just a bonus.
After fully enjoying the open-air bath and sauna, I leave the bath to find everyone absorbed in a game in the living room.
”You’re out~. Well then, everyone, let’s go~”
Chifumi takes Mitsuki, Yurina, and Asari toward the bath.
It’s big enough for four people. It’ll be fine.
Once Chifumi and the others are gone, just as I’m about to join the game, Manaka asks with a serious face.
”Minoru, are you plannin’ on sleepin’ alone tonight?”
I stare at Manaka’s face at the unexpected question.
”Well, yeah… I don’t, uh, have any plans.”
I didn’t say “what kind of” plans. Because we both understood.
”If that’s the case, there is a favor I would like to ask of you on this occasion.”
”?? What is it?”
”It is…”
At Manaka’s signal, the two newcomers step forward.
”Could I ask you to provide ‘guidance’ to these two?”
””……””
They stare at me in silence. Waitin’ for my next words.
”……Huh? What did you just say?”
I couldn’t understand Manaka’s request and could only ask back.
”Could I ask you to provide ‘guidance’ to these two?”
Manaka repeats the exact same words. I think about the meaning. When it comes to “guidance”… the first thing that comes to mind is that… but it must mean something else, right?
”In the game?”
”Please, First-Push me.”
”……”
First-Push and guidance. It’s hard to see it as anything else. Apparently, I didn’t mishear her. The expressions of the others besides Manaka are dead serious. They aren’t messing with me.
”It’s troublin’ to be asked for ‘guidance’ so suddenly. Give me the background.”
”I see. First of all… these two, Miku and Megumi, have some dissatisfaction — no, it’s not even at that level. They seem to have been holding a grudge for a long time.”
”Dissatisfaction? A grudge?”
Well, if you were fitted with a collar like that, you’d have dissatisfaction and grudges.
There’s probably resentment that I didn’t let ’em into the group. But didn’t you apologize at the airport? Does that mean you’re not reflectin’?
”It might be better to have ’em tell you directly. Megumi.”
”Yes.”
The droopy-eyed Satsuki opens her mouth.
”We are innocent. We did not change the settings of that Simulated Dungeon generator (a device that creates practice dungeons) in the first semester. Despite that, we were expelled for doing it. We hold a grudge against being framed by someone.”
”……Huh?”
Another unexpected story. What is this girl talking about?
Koharu agrees with Satsuki.
”I also — Megu… Satsuki and I didn’t change the dungeon generator settings. I swear on this collar, it’s true!”
”Even if you say that… I heard from the teacher that you two were the culprits. It was in the report.”
”That is a mistake! Everyone is lying!”
Koharu pleads with a tragic face.
”We denied our involvement. Yet the teachers and adults insisted we did it. No one believed us.”
An appeal like clinging to a single ray of light in despair. Almost overwhelmed by their intensity, I ask ’em to explain in detail.
”I can’t believe it. The report said you two admitted to changing the settings. That you approached the teacher who managed the device, learned the procedure, and did it.”
”There was a day, different from when it happened, when we were allowed to change the settings once. But we didn’t do anything that day. Only the parts of our statements that were convenient for them were used!”
Can that really happen?
”Did you not appeal to your parents or teachers?”
”We did. But… they presented the records left in the device as evidence, and it was decided we were lying…!”
Satsuki pleads.
Manaka speaks up here.
”Actually, it seems a nearly identical incident happened in another district. In that case, the one who tried to get rid of a rival by changing the dungeon generator settings failed, and he confessed. Because of that, these two were pegged as the culprits from the start.”
Can they really decide someone is the culprit and convict them even when the person denies it?
”Was truth-determination sorcery not used?”
”Our words were judged as truth. But they said if the person strongly believes they are right, the judgment accuracy drops. The log from the device was trusted over our testimony…”
It’s not about the objective fact, but truth judgment based on what the person thinks. That’s why truth-determination sorcery is said to be weak as court evidence.
With the school not wanting to make it public, did an adult — or someone — decide it was cleaner to bury the evidence in favor of the two?
I understand their plea, but I’m not going to be convinced just like that. The device log is objective evidence. But… these girls claim the log was faked by someone, and they were set up.
I don’t know what the truth is anymore. While I couldn’t sort out the situation, Satsuki continued.
”Therefore, we would like Tatemiya-san to ‘guide’ us to reveal the truth.”
”If you are ‘guided,’ you can’t lie, huh?”
”Yes.”
Unlike the Binding Vow (a magical promise) from the collar, there are no restrictions on questions after “guidance.”
They intend to prove their innocence through forced disclosure of their inner thoughts. Their resolve is strong. With nothing left to lose, and already having lost their futures, they’ll do whatever it takes to change things.
”I understand the two of you’s intent. Manaka, are you really okay with this? A member of your own group is goin’ to be ‘guided’ by me.”
”I don’t mind.”
Manaka answers right away.
”Actually, I heard the same story when they joined the group. At the very least, based on the collar of obedience’s effects, I can judge they are not lying. With that in mind, I want to ask you, Minoru. If you judge their words are the truth, that will determine my future actions.”
”Manaka’s actions?”
”Yes. It will be material to clarify why the head of the house entrusted these two to me and what she wants me to do.”
”I see.”
Knowing that family head, she might have grasped at least a bit of the truth.
”However, I will attach one condition to performing the ‘guidance’.”
Just as I thought.
I knew it was strange that Manaka would give me such a tasty deal for free.
—
Summary:
Minoru and his group settle into their resort cottage, navigating tense social dynamics and bath-time routines while Minoru maintains his secret control over Aberrations. Anri-san facilitates a dinner that forces Risa into a confrontation with her mother, leading her to stay at an off-site annex. Back at the cottage, Manaka introduces two newcomers, Miku and Megumi, who plead with Minoru to use his ‘guidance’ to prove they were framed for a dungeon generator incident, leaving Minoru to confront an unexpected condition from Manaka.
—
Trivia:
The Aberrations Kaname, Tempura, and the clam are growing increasingly comfortable in Minoru’s care.
The 5th District and 13th District have distinct marine ecosystems and trade specializations.
Truth-determination sorcery in this world is unreliable when the subject holds a strong conviction in their own version of events.
Anri-san’s van is smaller than the shuttle bus, implying a more intimate or urgent transport requirement.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Chifumi – Minoru’s long-haired, scrawny childhood friend and romantic partner is a first-year honor student, vanguard, and Lead Majo who wields water/ice magic and a spear. Acting as the group’s observant travel coordinator and photographer, she masks her sharp intellect with a bubbly persona. She loves dressing as a witch and teasing Minoru, hiding their intense mana bond from her mother.
• T – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has recruited K and N from East Middle into his group.
• A – A student from South Middle School described as an idol who has been recruited into R’s high school squad.
• Manaka – An elegant, aristocratic Shisei High beauty and Kuga family sorcerer, she wields spatial and sound magic. Composed, strategic, and authoritative, she leads her own faction—integrating two new members—and reprimands public inconveniences. Formerly in Mitsuki’s group, she now advises her childhood friend Minoru, initiating sensitive requests and managing his group’s dynamics.
• M – A first-year student at District 13 High School and the childhood friend of Anonymous Student 0006, described as an atavistic strong-female who looks plain but possesses significant power.
• Minoru – A lean, black-haired student sorcerer and dungeon leader with adult memories secretly controls Aberrations via space magic. Pragmatically cynical yet calculated, he treats social interactions as strategic networking between sorcerers and plain-folk. This hidden Demon Lord and logistical caregiver handles the 5th District and a dramatic schoolmate harem (Mai, Risa, Mitsuki) at a resort cottage.
• Yurina – A stoic, black-haired Plain-folk student and Kendo vanguard wielding a katana with powerful Severing Sorcery. Wearing an apron, cat ears, collar, and tail, she devotedly plays a cat obeying Lord Minoru, whom she reveres with intense romantic misunderstandings, though she exhibits shyness regarding his preferences. A polite, anxious dungeon explorer, she is Chifumi’s protector and Risa’s companion.
• Asari – A serious, tall, long-haired, and curvy (E-cup) Kasakura first-year honor student and dungeon explorer. Close to Mari and Nagase, she is Minoru’s devoted partner, pampered by him and unrestrained in intimate situations. This Crystal Wall vanguard marvels at the resort but acts fidgety around new group members, willingly joining the breeding ritual and embracing Halloween.
• Yuri – A cheerful and energetic first-year student at Higashi High who is a classmate of Shibuya and an acquaintance of Kibe Yurina from their middle school days. A girl known for being aggressive toward Hayato and displaying overt favoritism.
• S – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has taken B from North Middle into his squad.
• B – A student originally from North Middle School who was added to S’s group.
• Risa – A tall, well-endowed Naruse merchant student raised as Plain-folk by a guild executive father. Aikawa’s sister and Anri’s older sister, she is a disciplined Onibara practitioner wielding a grenade rifle. As Minoru’s protective, authoritative childhood friend, she manages family tensions, cooks with Chifumi and Manaka, and maintains a sharp, distrustful attitude toward Komoda and newcomers.
• R – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has successfully built a squad and added multiple girls, including M and A, into his group.
• Sawa – Voluptuous and bespectacled, this private-school student, original Shisei member, and Onibara disciple is a relaxed, IT-savvy gamer carrying a portable console. Part of Manaka and Minoru’s groups, she is Minoru’s pragmatic childhood friend who reads him bluntly. She knows Mitsuki, enjoys dry-land fishing, acts as a peacemaker, and suffers extreme flight motion sickness needing recovery magic.
• Anri – The fourth Naruse sister and a Strong-Female who lives in the annex with her biological mother. As the older sister of second-year high school resort guide Risa, she acts as a guide and facilitator who manages logistics for Minoru and his companions.
• Tatemiya – The prestigious Tatemiya family plays a central role in the group’s social dynamics. Their name references the household where the protagonist Minoru, Kotoha, and his witches return to live, bond, and interact.
• Naruse – The Naruse family, an old-money sorcerer lineage and wealthy merchant guild, maintains a prestigious yet understated presence. Tied to Risa and Anri, they are led by the sisters’ influential mother, a key figure in hotel and dungeon management. They reside in a modest private estate featuring an integrated family dungeon and a dojo smaller than the Onigahara family’s.
• N – A student from East Middle with an eccentric personality who entered National High School due to complex family circumstances and used herself as leverage to negotiate a protective agreement for K.
• K – A student from East Middle who followed N to National High School out of care, successfully remaining pure through N’s protection until a misunderstanding involving Anonymous Student 0008 led to her capitulation.
• Tempura – A crayfish-sized, shrimp-like Aberration residing in a water tank, this sharp-tongued, comedic Phantom was captured a decade ago. As Minoru’s loyal subordinate and offensive partner, they channel destructive shockwaves in combat. Now an instructor who attends household meetings, they fight as a team, train Clams, mentor newcomers, and assist in caring for other creatures.
• Kaname – A high-and-mighty, catfish-like Aberration belonging to Minoru that resides in his shadow. Connected to the earth, it serves as his specialized anti-lightning countermeasure.
• Hinoki – An Oni-fied centipede Aberration in Minoru’s possession, this conversational they/them entity bridges him to supernatural forces. Speaking from his shadow in a regional dialect, they serve as an apologetic advisor, navigator, and combat mount. This 30cm creature has a metallic shell and sharp eyes, but transforms into massive reptilian forms to draw aggro using dungeon sorcery, venom, and chains.
• Mitsuki – A tall, dark-skinned Oni girl with a large, athletic build and high metabolism, this blunt transfer student is a wealthy Sumo club member, Witch, and top assassin candidate who loves snacks. Shrouded in black, she uses a Kanabo, aerial footholds, and recovery magic. She is Minoru’s clingy childhood friend and rival, leaving Manaka’s group to join his winter trip as a supportive traveler.
• Megumi – A newcomer to the group, also known as Satsuki, who claims she was framed for tampering with a dungeon generator.
• Miku – A newcomer to the group who seeks Minoru’s assistance to prove her innocence regarding a school incident.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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