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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter7

2012-06-25T01:25:33Z

66.183.54.148: /* Part 1 */

== Chapter 7: Contracted Spirit Est ==

=== Part 1 ===

.....He remembered that he was taken into a black room.

A room like a prison cell without windows.

He recalled being taken by people in black, also the day he met '''her''' for the first time ---

It was since eight years ago when the young boy became The Strongest Blade Dancer --- Ren Ashbell.

Before that he was at an orphanage.

It was no ordinary orphanage. It was a so called «Instructional School» of a town that didn't exist on any maps.

From every part of the continent, young girls with talents as a spirit contractor were gathered from orphanages or relief institutions, and received special training in the secret facility. Those were raised there were exceptional assassins. The emotions of the girls were killed by the crazy education, and nothing but massacre techniques using spirits where thoroughly hammered into them.

On that day eight years ago a young boy who was taken in by the Instructional School was able to communicate with the spirits.

The Demon King's Reincarnation --- called the miracle child by the training instructor, that young boy was trained with highest priority.

He was subjected to the highest assassin skills training, handing to him their treasured one of the most powerful Pillar Spirits.

Formerly, a Sealed Spirit because of the Demon King, the Dark Spirit.

But, four years ago, an enigma berserk accident suddenly destroyed the Instructional School.

Thanks to the incident, the hideous truth of the Instructional School was brought to light, and the aristocrat faction in charge of the scheme was purged; its existence was erased from all the records of the Ordesia empire.

The young boy, escaped with his contracted spirit.

Running away from his pursuers, he disguised himself as a girl. Originally the young boy had well equipped features; his voice had yet to break, and nobody thought that he was a boy.

Also, three years ago. The strongest blade dancer magnificently debuted.

Winning the 'Blade Dance', in order to fulfill '''her''' one and only 'wish'.

But, it was --- '''something humans must never wish for'''.

=== Part 2 ===

Kamito opened his eyes and found himself lying in bed.

Birds were chirping outside the window. Bright morning light entered into the room.

He strongly felt that he had a very nostalgic dream, but couldn't remember what it was about.

His head hurt. Kamito slowly turned his head and sat up. Then he noticed.

What he was wearing was not the the Areidesia Spirit Academy school uniform. It seemed that someone had helped him into pajamas. The freshly washed clothes were very comfortable.

"By the way... where am I?"

Kamito looked around the room.

The layout of the room was very familiar. This must be the dormitory of academy.

However, this was not Claire's room. It was impossible for her room to be so clean. The furniture and household items looked very upscale and polished spotless. The room was like a luxury hotel. It did feel like a girl's room, but with a different perspective from Claire's.

He moved his arms to get out of bed - but a sharp burning pain shot up from his right hand.

Grimacing from the sharp pain, Kamito finally remembered.

''At that time, I......''

In order to protect Claire, Kamito had surpassed the limit to release the contract spirit's power.

Conjuring up a powerful Elemental Waffe was of course good. But since the spirit was too strong, his divine energy was exhausted all at once, and he had passed out.

''Right, ...How was Claire?''

Kamito was going to get up from bed, but at that moment -

''Hm?''

Something squirmed inside the sheets.

"Wow! What... What the hell!?"

Kamito bounced up and quickly yanked the sheets aside.

Something unbelievable was there.

A silver-haired girl.

And she was naked, stark naked.

No, more precisely she was not completely naked; she had black knee socks on.

A knee socks wearing, nude, silver-haired girl was there.

...Silence for about a full half minute.

"...Who are you?" Asked Kamito. His head was spinning, and he couldn't come up with any other questions.

"Est." The girl expressionlessly replied. It was a cold and mechanical-sounding voice.

"Est... so that's your name?"

"Right. Human vocal organs are incapable of pronouncing my true name, so call me Est."

"Well, Est."

"Yes."

One would blink in amazement at the transparent violet eyes of the beautiful silver-haired girl.

She seemed to be younger than Kamito.

Her body was very petite, maybe even smaller than Claire's.

"Uh... Why... are you... in my bed?"

"Because I belong to you, my master."

The girl answered with no hesitation.

"......"

Cold sweat flowed down from Kamito's forehead.

''...Wait. Calm down.'' He had no memory of such a thing. Wrong, isn't it that he didn't remember anything about it even worse?

''Why am I in bed with a naked girl? Kamito Kazehaya, were you really such a despicable pervert that stripped innocent little girls and then brought them to bed?''

''NO! Absolutely not!''

"Hey, Est."

"Yes, master."

"Why are you calling me master? Please briefly explain."

"Because master is my master. Was there any self-contradiction? "

Est replied expressionless.

"Or would you like me to call you differently?"

"For now, anything other than master."

"Well, Aniue-sama<ref>An extremely respectable way for calling an elder brother in Japanese.</ref>."

"No."

"Daddy."

"Even worse."

"...Onii-chan?"<ref>A casual and cute way of referring to an elder brother in Japanese.</ref>

"...Uh... no!"

Kamito averted his eyes slightly. Involuntarily, he felt that the last one was quite good.

"My bad. Kamito, please call me Kamito."

"Got it. I'll call you Kamito."

The knee-socks wearing nude silver-haired girl nodded.

Kamito... Kamito... my master is Kamito... the girl murmured, as if constantly chewing these words.

Kamito's head gradually started aching. What is with this girl?

"Why are you wearing nothing but knee socks? Isn't it odd?"

"Are you saying that I should take the socks off!?"

Est's normally expressionless face showed a sign of wavering for the first time.

"Actually demanding me to show my bare feet... Kamito is such a pervert."

"No, aren't you naked? What is this mysterious sense of embarrassment?"

Kamito sighed. Oh, well, perhaps it was due to cultural difference.

At this point, suddenly the sound of someone coming up the stairs was heard through the door.

"...Oh, no! Someone is coming!"

It would be bad regardless of whom, seeing this situation.

"Hide somewhere now!"

"Why?"

"No questions! Hurry up!"

"Oui<ref>French for yes or other confirmatory word</ref>, roger that."

Est wiggled deep into the sheets.

"Why there out of all places!"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Snip* -

At this instant, the door opened.

"Kamito, you woke up!"

Rinslet's maid Carol appeared. She was carrying a basin and towels.

"Carol!? That you are here means this is -"

"The room of my lady, Rinslet."

Carol smiled.

I see. Indeed she was a daughter of the Laurenfrost family. No wonder the room was so different from Claire's.

"By the way, why am I in Rinslet's room?"

"My lady was very worried because you fainted and had you carried here. She and I took care of you."

"......So that's why. Thank you."

Kamito felt very grateful. That girl was surprisingly a good person.

Carol walked over towards the bed.

''...Oh, no!''

The moment Kamito put on the alert posture, Est squirmed in the sheets.

Kamito's body suddenly involuntarily froze.

''Hey... Hey! Come on. Please stay still!''

"You woke up, Kamito Kazehaya."

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Snip* - this time the uniformed Rinslet came in.

Although he thought Rinslet would breath a sigh of relief, but she put two hands upon her waist, and glared sharply at Kamito.

"...I was so startled because you suddenly fainted."

"Ah, My bad. I heard that you have been taking care of me. Thank you."

"Humph! Taking care of the servants is also the duty of a master!"

Rinslet's face suddenly became red and she looked away.

"...Besides, you saved my friend..."

"Well?"

"Nothing...!"

Rinslet suddenly folded her arms, and turned her face aside.

Her behavior of not being frank with herself was somehow quite lovely, actually.

"By the way, how is Claire?" Asked Kamito. Back then Claire looked very haggard, and something was obviously wrong.

''...Hopefully she was not thinking something strange.''

"She locked herself in her room the moment she came back to the academy and has stayed there since then. No matter how I provoke her from outside the door, she completely refuses to come out."

"So..."

Kamito sighed. It seemed that even that defiant princess could suffer from depression. Although she acted very tough, she was just an ordinary girl after all.

"My lady is really worried about her childhood friend Miss Claire."

"Carol! what, what are you talking about! " Red faced Rinslet repetitively beat Carol on her back.

Looking at the exchange between the two girls, Kamito smiled bitterly.

''...Ah. That girl, even though she was seemingly convinced that she was alone,''

''She does have good friends.''

"What is it, Kamito Kazehaya? Why are you smiling?"

Rinslet puffed her cheeks and stared at Kamito.

"Since you have woken up, get out already. Men are prohibited in the female dormitory!"

"Ah, Oh. I'll go out now...... uh!"

Just then, Kamito suddenly froze.

''...No way.'' He absolutely could not get out of bed now. There was a beautiful knee socks wearing nude young girl hidden under the sheets.

This was bad. Extremely bad. If she was to be discovered by these two girls, his life will be in danger in all kinds of ways.

''What should I do... right!''

Kamito needed to change from pajamas into uniforms. Using that as an excuse, he could sent Rinslet and Carol away, then take this opportunity to escape with Est from the window.

No, no good. To go out with Est in her current state, they would surely be caught.

If they were to be dragged to that stubborn leader of the Knights, he would end up even more miserable.

That being the case, he had to -

"Uh... right! Can I ask for a favor?"

"What's that? Do you... want to lick my toes?"

"No one asked for such a thing!"

Kamito retorted out of reflex... Why was there an expectation in her tone?

"That's not what I ask. I was thinking... could you lend me some clothes."

"Clothes? Oh, of course, your uniform is right here."

Rinslet snapped her fingers, and Carol immediately brought out the folded uniforms. The ripped uniforms from battle yesterday was mended, even the buttons were sewn back on neatly.

"That's not what I meant. I would like to borrow a girl's uniform. "

"......"

''Eh? I feel like I have made some kind of fatal mistake just now...''

Rinslet stared at Kamito as if looking at a cockroach on the roadside.

"Oh? What do you plan to do with a girl's uniform, Kamito Kazehaya?"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Gogogogo...*

"No... No, not what you think... uh... that..."

Kamito stammered, trying to find excuses to gloss over the question.

"Then it can't be helped. Then although it is a bit embarrassing, I'll lend you my clothes..."

Carol's face turned red, and she started to remove her clothes uneasily.

"Not your clothes! And that's not even a uniform!"

"So that's how it is. What Kamito-sama desires most is a uniform of my lady's."

"What? ...My uniform?"

Rinslet suddenly blushed totally red, and quickly covered her chest.

''Ah ah ah ah! These two are so troublesome!''

Kamito cried in his mind. Just at this time.

From the abdomen of Kamito somehow came a wiggling sensation.

''...! Est! What are you are doing!''

"Hmm? Kamito Kazehaya, what are you doing?"

"No... Nothing..."

[[Image:STnBD V01 207.jpg|thumb]]
"You have been acting strange since earlier. Come to think of it, the sheets seemed to bulge mysteriously."

"My lady, men are the kind of creatures to bulge in the morning."

"Yes... a normal physiological phenomenon, it can't be helped... '''That's not what this is!'''"

"Out with it already, what exactly are you hiding there!"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Paa-tsu* - Rinslet forcefully yanked the sheets off.

"What!" "Ah!"

Rinslet and Carol simultaneously covered their mouths, and opened their eyes widely.

It was no wonder. In the bed, after all, there was one beautiful knee socks wearing naked girl.

"Kamito, we are caught."

Still expressionless, Est suddenly hugged Kamito tightly.

"Wh... Wh... What!"

"Hold on! Rinslet, don't misunderstand! This is because -"

Kamito panically shook his head, trying desperately to explain.

"This is because what?"

"Uh... because... that..."

...Uh, no good. Even Kamito didn't know why the young girl was here.

Having said that, regardless of what excuses that Kamito came up with, he had no confidence to convince these two.

"- I see, that's how it was."

Rinslet grinned, a chilling smile appeared on her face.

An elegant, graceful, and truely aristocratic smile.

"You... You understand?"

"Yes, I completely understand. While I was worried about you, you...you secretly brought such a lovely girl to bed---"

Rinslet's freezing cold stares repeatedly stabbed Kamito.

Or rather... it was really cold, cold enough to freeze one to death.

Unknowingly, the windows were covered with frost. Just as one thought that a blizzard was bursting around in the room, the wolf spirit of magic ice suddenly appeared on top of the bed.

"...Wait! This is no joke - I am really going to die!"

"Then... Then die! You pervert ----!"

The Magic Ice Spirit «Fenrir» let out a terrifying roar, then started attacking Kamito.

"...Wahh! For real!?"

Kamito nimbly jumped out of bed and fled around in the room.

Baring its fangs, the Magic Ice Spirit chased Kamito back and forth.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Bark!* *Bark!*

"......"

At this moment, Est quietly rose up and stood in front of Kamito as if to shield him.

The white wolf bared its sharp fangs fiercely, and then leaped.

Still expressionless, Est thrust her hand in front of the nose of the white wolf.

Fenrir's movement suddenly froze.

"Woo...ong..."

"Stay back! How dare you as a Magic Ice Spirit to defy me, the «Demon Slayer»? "

The moment Est calmly finished her words, Fenrir began to tremble.

And then -

"Sit."

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Chokun*<ref>Sound of sitting down</ref>.

"Hand."

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Pofu*.

"Good boy."

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Rub*. *Rub*.

"......"

Kamito was speechless. Rinslet's mouth also hung wide open.

Even spirits of the rank of Fenrir were lead by the nose. This girl, could she be -

"Might you be a spirit!?"

"Yes, I'm the contract spirit of Kamito."

Stroking the head of the tamed Fenrir, Est nodded expressionlessly.

===Part 3===

"Unbelievable. I never expect you to be the «sealed spirit» of that sword."

Having left the female dormitory and walking in the academy's courtyard, Kamito took a glance at the girl next to him.

Of course, she was not naked. Currently, she was wearing the school uniform of Areishia Spirit Academy.

The spirits that had a human form were the highest rank in Astral Zero. So it is understandable that Kamito did not immediately discover the girl's true identity.

"I mean, you can reconstruct clothes, so why were you naked?"

"I thought you would be pleased that way. Or do I really have to show you my bare feet?"

It seemed that this spirit would be embarrassed if she exposed her bare feet. Such an obscure type of shyness.

Kamito sighed, and tried to sort out what he had talked about with Est.

-- Back then Est resonated to the strong will of Kamito, and was summoned in the form of an Elemental Waffe. However, at the same time when Kamito lost his consciousness, the {{Furigana|Magic Circuit|Path}} was once again closed, and she ended up not being able to return to Astral Zero.

"Why was the {{Furigana|Magic Circuit|Path}} not connected? We did form the contract after all."

"One factor is that my original existence is an overly powerful being, but probably the main cause is from Kamito yourself. Subconsciously, Kamito was ''rejecting the contract with me''."

"......"

Kamito had an idea. His eyes rested on the left hand in the black leather gloves.

Back then to save Claire, Kamito strived to not consider about it.

But it is undeniable, ''her'' presence still haunts the heart of Kamito.

"...Sorry. It is not that I was unwilling to contract with you. That's not how it was."

Not being able to return to Astral Zero put an enormous stress on the Spirits.

However, most of the power of Est was left in Astral Zero, so at the moment she was seemingly unable to display her original strength.

Perhaps because Est took the form of a human girl, Kamito became more distressed.

"It does not matter. Anyway, I'm tired of being sealed inside the sword. It has been hundreds of years since I last came to this world. I decided to enjoy everything here. Say, Kamito-"

Est pulled the sleeve of Kamito's uniform.

"It feels like I have a good impression of you."

"...A good impression?"

"Meaning that I might like you."

"Ah. So... thank you."

Kamito could not help but blush, and averted his eyes.

Despite being a sealed spirit with extraordinary power, her appearance was that of a lovely girl.

To receive such a straight confession... Kamito did not know how to respond.

"But when you were sealed inside the sword, haven't you rejected contracting with all the other spirit contractors?"

"Yes, Kamito. So far, I have rejected 53 spirit contractors."

"Then why has such a high rank spirit like you chosen me?"

"Well, if I had to guess - it might have been an intuition."

Est watched Kamito with the pair of clear violet eyes.

"Because I felt- that the two of us are alike."

"...What do you mean?"

"Kamito."

Est suddenly held out her forefinger and gently pressed it against Kamito's lips.

"Do not snoop about a girl's secrets!"

"...!"

A completely unexpected reaction. Kamito's heart raced at the soft touch of her fingertip.

Then, her skirt twirled as Est quickly turned around. She ran forward lightly.

Going a long way from the dormitory, Kamito finally arrived at the school building of the academy.

''Could Claire be here?'' After being driven out of Rinslet's room, Kamito immediately went to Claire's room to check her out. But she was not in the room.

Maybe she had already recovered, and went to the class to take the lectures.

It was good if that's the case- but somehow his heart jittered anxiously.

While walking together with Est in the corridor, Kamito heard whispers constantly coming from all directions.

"Look. Look. There is that male transfer student."

"As expected, he has already laid his hands on a new girl."

"What a pretty girl... do we have such a student in our academy?"

"Hey. Is it true that Ellis's group engaged in a duel with him?"

"He can't be planing to lay his hands on all the girls of the academy, can he?"

"What a pervert... or rather, a lewd beast?"

"Definitely a lewd beast."

"Yeah, a lewd beast."

"Public enemy of the girls..."

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Twitter twitter*...

...Kamito's heart hurt. The target of this chattering had heard everything.

"Is Kamito really a lewd beast?"

Est dealt a further blow. Well, she meant no harm.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Clink*-- the sound of a sword being drawn came from the back at that moment.

"- Kamito Kazehaya, you nasty man!"

"...!"

With no time to turn around, the blade had come to rest on the back of his neck.

Kamito raised both his hands, and timidly moved nothing but his line of sight -

Standing there was the pony-tailed leader of the Knights, emitting a terrifying murderous intent.

"E...Ellis...?"

"I misjudged you, you sex maniac! How could you lay your hand on such an innocent girl!"

"...Listen."

Kamito sighed, and said with half squinted eyes: "You have made a very rude misunderstanding about other people. She is my contract spirit."

"......What?"

Ellis raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"You are saying this girl is that Sword Spirit that slayed the Magic Spirit with one blow?"

Ellis skeptically stared at Est for a moment, then turned back to Kamito again.

"Stop making lame excuses, Kamito Kazehaya!"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Clang*- the blade came to rest on his neck again.

But the next second, Ellis's startled eyes widened.

The blade that was stabbed towards the back of his neck turned soft and bent down.

"What is going on?"

"{{Furigana|Property Resonance|Howling}}- as a sword spirit, I can freely interfere with various blades. Are you willing to believe us now?"

"...!"

Ellis, with her eyes wide open, examined the bent sword.

Spirit magic could bring about similar phenomenon, but Est bent the sword without even lifting a finger.

"I see. ...Sorry for having doubted you."

Ellis put away the sword, and apologized seriously with a bow.

"No. Originally, even I did not think she was a spirit."

Kamito shrugged and shook his head.

Although there were times where she was overly stubborn, but this candor was also endearing.

"By the way, how are the other two? Hm, from the Knight Brigade-"

"You mean Rakka and Reishia? They regained their consciousness this morning. They were beaten pretty badly by you guys. They need to rest for a while before they can control spirits again."

"Sorry... Once I use Elemental Waffe, it is difficult to calibrate my strength."

"It was a duel. Please do not mind it. For them it was a good lesson."

Ellis deliberately coughed, and then-

"...I'm sorry."

"Hmm?"

"I said, I'm sorry. I disliked you for no other reason except that you are a boy. So I feel compelled to apologize."

With her cheeks blushing red, she stared into the eyes of Kamito.

"When you stood up to the Magic Spirit to save Claire Rouge, you looked really... really cool. To be honest I was petrified with fear."

"I had to deal with frenzied spirits several times before. It was just experience."

Kamito, scratched the back of his head, like he was feeling a bit shy.

"Kamito, I dislike being ignored." Est said, puffing out her cheeks.

"Oh, sorry..."

Then, Kamito suddenly recalled his purpose here.

"Ellis, do you know where Claire is?"

"Isn't Claire Rouge still locking herself in her room? Losing the contract spirit seemed to be a very big blow to her."


"But she doesn't seem to be in her room. Do you have a clue?"

"Well..."

Ellis raised her hand to her chin and pondered a bit.

"Come to think of it, the «Military Spirit» Contract Ceremony will be held in the academic town this afternoon."

"Contract Ceremony?"

"Ah, volunteers are recruited among the students of the academy to form a contract with Military Spirits."

In short, it is scouting from the military - Ellis explained.

In return for the powerful Military Spirit provided by the Ordesia Knights brigade, the academy presents the students. Once the student forged a contract with the military spirit, he or she becomes part of the army, and as a cost for the powerful military spirit, he must obey the orders and be dispatched immediately whenever requested by the brigade.

"Although there are a lot of troubles to become military personnel, there are many voluntary participants seeking to form contracts with powerful spirits. From the very beginning, there are many student who entered the academy aiming to become Spirit Knights."

"With so many participants, how do they pick the candidate?"

"Of course - with a blade dance."

The format of the competition was a free for all battle royal.

Serving also as a demonstration from the Ordesia Knight Brigade to the public, the blade dance would be held in the arena of the academy town, rather than in Astral Zero.


"Having lost her contract spirit, it is possible that she will volunteer to participate in the ceremony."

"However, without her contract spirit, to enter a blade dance is-" Kamito stopped in mid-sentence and swallow the remaining words.

Impossible-- but he was not sure.

To perform blade dance without the contract spirit, that kind of action amounts to nothing but suicide.

Without the power of spirits, there was absolutely no way to beat other spirit contractors. Such a no-brainer simple truth.

But Claire now--

Kamito recalled how she looked like that day when she stood in the rain.

"...Ellis, where is the ceremony going to take place?"

"If I remember correctly, just go straightly along the Olivier Avenue- Kamito?"

"-Got it. Ellis, thank you!"

Kamito took Est's hand and started to run.

''Do not try to shoulder everything by yourself. Idiot!''

===Part 4===

Claire walked alone in the alley within the academic town.


She looked dejected, and her steps were very heavy.

However, she had to go. There is no choice but to move forward.

For the sake of Scarlet who shielded her with its own body, she must obtain an extremely strong spirit---an overwhelming power that will not lose to anyone.

...It could not be reconciled. In front of that terrifying Magic Spirit, she couldn't do anything.

Moreover, because of her own arrogance and stupidity, she had lost Scarlet, her most important partner that had accompanied her since childhood.

Further, had Kamito not come to her rescue, she would surely have been killed.

"...Why do I think about the face of that guy again!"

Claire shook her head, trying to get rid of the image of Kamito in her mind.

"-I do not need that guy. I survived on my own from the past to present."

Yes, she would not stop here. Claire Rouge must face the battle alone.

- I want more power, a strong power that will not lose to anyone.

A strong power so I would never lose anything again. A strong power to take back what I have lost.

For example--- like the power of that girl that I admired on first sight three years ago.

The overwhelming power of the Strongest Blade Dancer, Ren Ashbell.

"-You desire power so much?"

"......?"

Hearing the sudden voice, Claire quickly turned around.

There stood a beautiful girl.

It was a girl in a dark dress with lustrous black hair.

Her refined face exhibited a subtle grace, and a beauty that somehow looked like a dissociation with normal humans.

She had pitch black pupils, as if one will be sucked in with one look.

Claire instantly discarded her alertness, charmed by the beauty of the girl.

"Thank you. Because of you, Kamito has awoken."

"Who are you? What are you talking about?"

"However, this is not enough, his true self is much more than that."

The girl giggled, and slowly approached Claire.

Claire did not move. No, she couldn't move.

"What?"

"If you seek more strength, please accept this."

The girl gracefully stretched out a slender hand.

Above her palm, a mass of ominous fog-like black object floated.

"This is a spirit!?"

"Yes, it can help you draw out your real strength."

"The real strength..."

Claire absentmindedly murmured.

Had it been the usual Claire, surely she would not hesitate to brush that hand away.

The contract spirits were to be gained by one's own hand. They are not something received from others.

However, the flame in Claire's heart was gradually diminishing.

So weak that it would likely extinguish at any time.

Therefore-- Claire took that hand. She accepted the spirit presented by that girl.

The black mist gradually seeped into her hand and disappeared.

Sharp pain instantly shot up from the left hand, an ominous black spirit seal was engraved on it.

"The frenzy spirit «Gespenst» - do you like it?"

The girl in black smiled.

Like a cruel little girl.

Like an innocent demon.

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and References==
<references/>

{{SeireiDance Nav|prev=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter6|next=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter8}}</noinclude>

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume7 School Festival Activity meeting

2012-06-07T19:54:13Z

66.183.54.148:

A few minutes later, Kobato entered the room with a nervous look on her face.

She was wearing her usual Gothic clothes, with a cross around her neck too.

I told her to thank everyone again. Even though her face was flushed bright red, she still managed a "T-T-Thank You..." as she bowed her head low.

This was followed by a "Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Kobato-chan's such an angel~~!!!! Come let Onee-chan have a lick!!", as Sena leaped towards Kobato with a gleam in her eye. Yozora's flyswatter quickly cut her short, though, as the topic of conversation shifted back to the School Festival once again.

Six people sat around the table.

I was sitting right at the center, with Yozora to my right and Kobato to my left.

Directly across from me was Rika. To her right was Yukimura and to her left, Sena.

This was to ensure maximum distance between Sena and Kobato.

"Well then, anyone have any good ideas?"

Yozora asked us, the club members.

"Thinking back about it, the only activities we managed to come up with before this were a Maid Cafe, a Tarot Booth and... I think that's all."

The Tarot Booth was the spark that eventually led to us celebrating Kobato's birthday party.

"By the way, what kind of activities are considered 'normal' for a School Festival?"

"A Maid Cafe!"

Sena answered Rika's question almost instantly.

"Didn't we already do that!" Yozora shouted back hesitantly.

"In the Galgames I've played, the main character's class always opens a maid cafe for the school festival! There are other cafes too like Butler Cafes, Cosplay Cafes, Animal Cafes and the like!"

"I can imagine a Butler Cafe and a Cosplay Cafe but... What's an animal cafe?"

I curiously asked.

"A cafe where the waitresses cosplay as animals!"

"Isn't that just a type of cosplay cafe? For a moment there I thought there would be animals in the cafe."

"...... Kodaka, having animals in a cafe is unhygienic."

Yozora coolly said next to me.

"T-that's true I guess..."

At this moment, Rika butted in.

"Then again Yozora-senpai, Rika's heard of cafes where one pats cats or dogs while sipping tea. They seem to be called Kitty or Doggy cafes."

"Ah, I've heard of those too. There are indeed cats and dogs in the cafe, are we allowed to touch them?"

"S-such things exist...!?"

Yozora asked in shock. It seems that she had never heard of them before.

".... I see... So such a paradise exists after all in this rotten world..."

Yozora mumbled to herself in a low tone, her face full of wonder.

"Yozora?"

"!? N-Nothing's wrong! I-I'll consider a Kitty cafe in the future."

"You still need to consider it?"

"S-shut up Kodaka!! A-Anyone else have any suggestions?"

"May I?"

Yukimura asked energetically. That's Yukimura for you.

"Yukimura?"

Yozora ushered Yukimura on.

"I would like to open a Sengoku<ref>Sengoku refers to the warring states era in Feudal Japan</ref> Cafe!"

"S-sengoku cafe!? Do they even exist?"

Yozora asked in shock. Yukimura tilted his head in surprise.

"... They don't?"

"How would I know!"

"They do~"

Rika answered coolly.

"Just as its name suggests, the waitresses dress like armored warriors. They usually greet their customers with 'Denka'"

"To think... They actually exist..."

Yukimura revealed the same expression as Yozora previously did.

"There are also similarly themed 'Princess Cafes', 'Little Sister Cafes', 'Tsundere Cafes', 'BL Cafes', 'Otoko no ko<ref>The kanji 男の娘 literally means 'A male girl'; it is a play on the phrase 男の子 which means 'little boy'. Both are pronounced the same, hence the pun. A general term would be 'Crossdressing Cafe' I suppose</ref> Cafes', 'Nun cafes', 'Reptilian Cafes', 'Gamudan Cafes', 'EXA Cafes' and so on. A lot of concept cafes exist in this world."

"Huh... How should I put it, these people are capable of thinking of anything..."

I said half impressed, half dejectedly.

"Since everyone seems to be doing Cafes, I think taste will determine the winner."

"Of course taste is important, but if we can't attract customers in the first place, we won't even get the chance to compete on that stage. 'As long as the content is fine, the packaging doesn't really matter', those are the futile words of an unrealistic dreamer. Of course, even if the packaging is superb, if the inside is horrible it'll all go to waste too."

"......We're talking about a cafe right?"

The conversation seemed to have taken a foreign turn for a moment there.

"If we want to focus on the concept, then the Neighbor's Club should put up a 'Friend's Cafe', don't you think?"

Yozora made a mysterious suggestion.

"F-friend cafe?"

I asked Yozora, unable to imagine what a friend cafe would look like. Yozora explained with unexpected confidence:

"Yes, a friend cafe. I just thought of it a moment ago. As its name suggests, we should serve the customers like friends. Anyone without friends would be able to experience the feeling of having friends here!"

"Hmm... A waiter who seems just like a friend..."

I tried to imagine how that would be like.

Waiter A: "Oh, if it isn't Kodaka-kun! What would you like to order, huh? Huh?"

Me: "Ummm... Ahh... I would like... erm... Coffee..."

Waiter B: "Seriously?? Coffee? Why don't you read the atmosphere!"

Waiter A: "Kodaka-kun, you're so hilarious!! (laughs)"

Me: "Er... Ahahaha..."

......

"... I don't think this will work."

"Although Rika's never heard of a 'Friend Cafe', in a nutshell its a cafe where the waiters are closer to you right? Such cafes exist too - cafes where the waiters talk to you casually."

"To be honest, anyone who went to such a cafe would just get pissed off even more."

Me, Rika and Sena admitted.

"Hmm... Friends are really precious, not something a cheap cafe could easily replicate huh..."

Yozora nodded, as if she abruptly understood something.

"Aside from a Cafe, how does a haunted house sound?"

Sena said.

"A haunted house huh, that might work..."

"Meat actually said something logical. The world's going to end tomorrow..."

"To think that Sena-senpai said something logical, aliens are going to invade the Earth tomorrow..."

"Sena-anego said something logical! Is this a sign foretelling a world-shifting disaster..."

Yozora, Rika and Yukimura's voices were tinted with a hint of real fear.

"I've always been logical all along! Listen up, a haunted house is a school festival staple! Going together with a girl into a haunted house, walking through a dark and creepy corridor! Suddenly a ghost jumps out in the middle of the road, scaring my partner so bad she comes running to me and embracing me tightly, causing my relationship with her to rapidly advance!! Kobato-chan, come with me to a haunted house would you!?"

"NO!!"

Kobato instantly turned down Sena's request with a hint of disgust.

"Meat is still revolting as always..."

Yozora facepalmed.

"...Even though it might work, the Neighbor's Club can't set up a haunted house." I said.

"Why not, Kodaka?"

"We don't have a venue."

Even though Meeting Room 4 was quite spacious, it wasn't big enough to be modified into a haunted house.

"Places like the dojo which are spacious enough to hold a haunted house are likely taken by other clubs already. Plus, we don't have enough... manpower."

"Ah..."

It seemed that Sena realized as well.

Including our advisor Maria, the Neighbor's Club only had 7 people.

"We'll need someone by the entrance right? So that leaves us with 6 people. I don't think 6 ghosts are enough."

Just then, Yukimura said:

"Aniki, as long as you stand in a dark corner, you'll be able to let everyone feel the horror of a hundred vengeful spirits."

"That's not the kind of horror you would expect from a haunted house would you? Speaking of which that was really disrespectful Yukimura!"

"I am deeply sorry."

Yukimura bowed down and apologized, with a faint smile on his cheek.

... It couldn't be that Yukimura was trying to make fun of me, could it?

It was such a rare occurrence I couldn't help but be surprised.

"Hmm, if its the venue I might be able to think of something..." Sena said.

"Huh, really?"

Sena's eyes narrowed, as an evil smile appeared on her face.

"Heh heh heh... Kodaka, you know what wealth and power is right?"

... The daughter of the school chairman was terrifying indeed.

"Rika should be able to make animatronic models of ghosts too. In fact, they might even be scarier than normal human actors!"

Rika said enthusiastically.

"...It seems a haunted house might actually be plausible after all. Lets take a vote."

Yozora said as she wrote "Cafe", "Tarot Booth" and "Haunted House" on the whiteboard.

"Alright, any other suggestions?"

<p style="margin: 32px 0; font-size:300%; text-align:center;">☺</p>

An hour later.

All suggestions for the School Festival were listed on the whiteboard.

* Shrine Games (shooting gallery, ring toss, goldfish scooping etc)

* IQ Challenge

* Drama / Play

* Eating contest (Wanko Soba<ref>From Wikipedia, Wanko Soba (わんこそば?) is a style of Japanese soba noodles originating from Iwate Prefecture in Japan, particularly Morioka and Hanamaki. It consists of a small serving of soba noodles in a small bowl.</ref>, Buns, Huge Gyozo, Ramen, Meat)

* Endurance Test (Endure Hot, Endure Cold, Endure Scolding)

* Exhibition

* Band performance (Counter-point: No one knows how to play any instruments)

* Dancing

* Flea Market

* Doujinshi sales (Adult-rated BL Doujinshi preferred)

* Club book sales (Plus point: It's easier to sell to friends <-- Counter point: If we knew how to make friends we wouldn't be here would we?)

* Planetarium

* Comedy talk show

* Magic performances

Other suggestions included building a huge maze and underwater kibasen tournaments, but those were deemed too difficult to manage by the club alone.

A beauty contest was also suggested, but it was fiercely opposes by Yozora who soon veto-ed it.

"Hmm... I don't want to do an exhibition here too."

Sena said unsatisfactorily.

Speaking of which, Sena's class was doing an exhibition titled 'History of Tooyo City'"

Its said that Sena absolutely dominated the School Festival, so in order to prevent that from happening again the female students had banded together.

"The only reason I wrote it down is because it's actually quite doable. To be honest I don't like exhibitions either, they lack a sense of fulfilment present in real life." Yozora said.

"It's expected for an exhibition to be boring on the day itself, but everyone working towards a single goal preparing for the exhibition, isn't that an amazing thing?"

Hearing my explanation, Sena told me in frustration.

"Those kind of things only happen when everyone's motivated! The ones in my class are helpless."

To think that "Not letting Sena have her way" could produce such motivation...

"It depends on the context too no? If only they could get hyped up over NETA..."

"That's what I thought too, so I suggested the exhibition be themed 'The omnipotent omniscient goddess Kashiwazaki Sena-sama's photo collection'!! In the end all the female students were against it! Hnnnnnngh... Just thinking about it makes me angry, those idiotic group of female stand-ins...!!"

"You're the idiot."

Yozora spat out coldly.

"Maa, ignoring that idiot Meat, I don't think the exhibition will be any fun on the day itself, so lets cancel that."

Since the other members weren't too keen on an exhibition either, nobody opposed.

Yozora erased "Exhibition" from the whiteboard.

Looking at the whiteboard,

"Hmm, we can try these other backup plans here one by one. We need to visit the flea market and the planetarium once first before we make a decision."

"Ack, we're going to try all of them?"

I asked in surprised, as Yozora nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course. Since we don't know what we should be doing at the School Festival, its best if we expand our perimeters and try everything out."

"Even so this is a bit too much no? We only have a month left, by the time we finish experimenting a month will be over. It'll be best if we slash off a few others too..."

"Oh...That makes sense..."

Yozora once again looked at the whiteboard after listening to me.

"Heh."

She erased "Comedy talk show" without a second thought.

"Wait, why did you erase that first? Isn't that the most suitable backup?"

I protested in surprise.

By the way, I was the one who proposed the "Comedy Talk Show".

Doing a comedy talk show in front of everyone and expressing my humorous side, everyone would then understand I was a pretty funny guy, and dispel my image of being a delinquent. This would then pave the road for me to make new friends, it was absolutely the best plan ever!

""Hmm, it's definitely the best backup plan, erasing that..."

"...Was the right decision Yozora senpai."
"...I think it's a wise choice, Yozora-anego."
"...Kuh kuh kuh... It's the right choice..."

None of the members outside Yozora had any qualms about it.

"Heh, you guys seem uninterested in humour... Heh heh heh. I wonder if you'll be able to stay that way after listening to my latest joke 『The man in the red fridge』? Heh heh heh. It was when I was alone on the road..."

"If you continue I'll dismember you and stuff you in the fridge Kodaka."

.........

All the other members shot me cold stares, hence I had no choice but to give up.

Yozora continued

"Hmm... Ahh right. Lets remove all duplicates of anything our classes are doing too."

"We already removed 'Exhibition' right?" Sena asked.

"My class and Kodaka's isn't doing anything spectacular. What about Rika and Yukimura?"

"Who knows? Rika's never stepped into class once, so Rika wouldn't know."

"Our class is doing a choir."

"Namaste...?<ref>The original kanji used, 合唱 and 合掌, are both pronounced Gasshou. The former means Choir, while the later refers to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste Namaste], a salutation originating from the Indian subcontinent.</ref>"

A gesture to appease the souls of the dead, why would something like that be held in a school festival--- Ohh, Choir.

"A plan unrelated to the Neighbor's Club huh..."

The only one left was --- Suddenly I realized!

"Say Kobato, aren't there any problems with the School Festival over there in Junior High?"

Of course, St. Chronica Junior High would have a School Festival too, a week before Senior High in fact.

"Kuh kuh kuh... No problem at all..."

Kobato gave her usual laugh and replied.

"What are you doing for the Junior High School Festival then, Kobato-chan?"

Sena asked excited. Kobato went "Kuh kuh kuh" as she looked away.

... From the looks of it, it seems that she was doing "nothing".

"Kuh kuh kuh... My Kindred... You have no right to know... "

A cold sweat trickled down her forehead, as she avoided making eye contact with me.

Suspicious...

There was something off about the way she spoke. Thinking back about it, this was exactly how she acted when I asked her about her summer homework ("Kuh kuh kuh... No problem...") which she never did.

... To avoid it happening again in the future, its best I come straight with her now.

"If you don't tell me I won't cook Pork Ramen for you ever again."

"H-Hnngh... To think a low rank demon like you would dare threaten the Exalted Queen of the Night Leysis Vi Felicity Sumeragi... Foolishness..."

"There's still some leftover meat from yesterday in the fridge. I'll eat all of it."

"Hnngh... T-that's not fair..."

"Tell us straight then, what's your class planning to do?"

Faced with my questioning, Kobato made regretful "Uuu..." and lowered her head in shame.

"...M-movie..."

It was so soft it was barely audible.

"A MOVIE!?"

She managed to shock us alright.

Thinking back about it, as long as its not too complicated, a simple camcorder should be enough to shoot a movie.

"Heh... That sounds interesting."

"Hmm... A movie..."

Yozora and Rika seemed interested.

"So your class is doing a movie. What are you in charge of then, Kobato?"

"Kuh kuh kuh... That does not concern you..."

Kobato said as she tried to close the topic.

"If you don't tell us I'm forbidding you to play video games any more starting from today."

"What...!? T-that means I won't be able to complete my training before I enter the second Great war between Angels and Demons with the horrible Gods...!"

"Be honest with us then."

"Uuuu..."

Kobato covered her head in shame.

"...ine"

She muttered something softly.

"Huh? What?"

"...ine"

"What's an ine?"

Was it the name of a character? To think they already distributed the roles, that was surprising.

Kobato lifted her head, looked straight at me and shouted.

"I SAID!! HEROINE!! I COULD ONLY PLAY THE HEROINE!!"

"Heroine!?"

Sena and I yelled at the same time. Yozora and Rika wore equally shocked looks on their faces too.

"Heroine... You? You're the heroine of your class' movie?"

I asked again to make sure. Kobato nodded with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Kuh kuh kuh... Despicable primates... Why is it such that a noble like me must entertain these ignorant children of the day?"

"Being a heroine is great! That's a great improvement!"

I said ignoring Kobato's previous comment.

I was always worried that Kobato wasn't welcome in class... Could it be that she was secretly popular...?

Thinking about it, as we travelled around Japan, I never heard of cases where Kobato was bullied.

"I wanna watch! A movie where Kobato-chan's the heroine must be great! Lets all go watch!!"

Seeing Sena all fired up, Kobato sobbed "Uuu~~ I hate her..."

More importantly.

"Hey Kobato! Since you're the heroine, is it alright for you to be over here in a senior club?"

"......"

Upon hearing my question, Kobato looked away as a sweat trickled down her forehead.

This girl, she ditched her own class project to join us...

I let out a sigh.

"Kobato, since you were chosen as the heroine you should give it all you've got."

Kobato let out a "Muu..." unhappily. Looks like I need to start training her seriously.

"...In this world, there are plenty of others who don't get any roles at all in their class..."

"Uuu..."

Kobato let out a small whimper, and then looked at Yozora, Sena and me.

Yozora gave her a look that said 'well he's not talking about me' before looking away, while Sena let out a faint smile.

"...Right? This is a rare opportunity, make sure you work hard Kobato. A lot of people are counting on you right? That alone is something really amazing. You should only come help out here occasionally when you're free."

I said softly. Kobato stared at me silently for a while, before finally nodding her head with an "...Uhm".

I patted Kobato's head.

"That's good, now that's behaviour befitting the Exalted Queen of the Night Leysis Vi Felicity Sumeragi!!"

"An--An-chan!! Ummm... Kuh kuh kuh... Pat my head more, my loyal kindred... Ufufufu..."

As her face flushed bright red, Kobato's said so, a comfortable look on her face.

<references />

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