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Talk:Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 4

2013-06-09T04:04:00Z

Dan.:

Dan pls
:Oh all right. You know I can't refuse those puppy-dog eyes.

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 4

2013-06-09T04:03:53Z

Dan.:

== 4 Yet Another Sleepless Night ==

044 - ♥10

One must not say that one is tired, as that means passing on one's responsibilities to someone else, or so I'm told. If you are feeling tired, then you should say you need to take a rest, and then continue whatever it is you're doing once you've rested enough.

That was what my kind grandmother had taught me.

No, I should not use past tense. My grandmother is still alive and well.

I've never forgotten this piece of advice. But I guess it's fine since I'm whispering to myself alone in my room at night. Right now, I'm feeling a bit tired.

I've entrusted Irisu-san with helping us sell copies of the anthology, and I've also managed to have the Wall Newspaper Club give the Classics Club a mention in their report. So while it was not in vain, for some reason I felt weighed down by something upon returning to the club room.

I am not the type of person to be lethargic. While I'm not exactly a sporty person, I do have an above average record when it comes to running long distances. And for these last two days I've been walking all over the school grounds, so this was not the reason for my tiredness.

How should I say this... I don't become this tired when taking care of my own problems, but this time, I'm feeling a bit tired just handling this all on my own. During this Cultural Festival, I've been asking other people to help out with our problem, enlisting the help of the Executive Committee, the Wall Newspaper Club and Irisu-san.

I became extremely mindful of the "Juumoji" incident. While I'm curious about how he carries out his theft, I'm also curious as to why he does it as well. Thinking about this, my body becomes so restless that I can't stay in one spot or stand still.

However, after taking a deep breath and thinking as the president of the Classics Club, I just couldn't view other people as objects to be used, and I couldn't treat making requests to other people as some kind of strategy to be utilized.

It's quite unimaginable, to think I could act in such an unconcerned manner.

No, I mustn't become timid. Hasn't Oreki-san been doing his best to help out? We have yet to increase the sales of the anthology.

I must go around making more requests tomorrow. I don't dislike doing such a thing, as it's something I must do, but...

I guess I'm just feeling a little bit tired.

045 - ♦10

I had wanted to go to sleep earlier tonight, but I just couldn't for some reason. So I took out a book from the bookshelf, which was my other treasure, ''Body Talk''.

As I couldn't read ''Ashes at Dusk'' since it's not with me, perhaps I may have deified it a bit. For the other that got left behind, ''Body Talk'' was actually quite interesting once I began reading it. I should be getting ready to sleep, yet right now my brain's completely invigorated.

Its genre could be classified as slapstick. The protagonist is a young man who is unable to speak due to his deafness, but is able to convey his thoughts telepathically via touching. As he is also able to read other people's thoughts by touching, he is often seen as a troublemaker. Though it discarded realism in favour of an interesting story, the troubles the protagonist encountered still made sense. To put it briefly, there were aliens and zombies. No matter how much destruction was wreaked, a short anthropomorphic cat would appear in a blank panel, signalling the end of the scene in the next page. As a result, the tempo was quite quick, which was unheard of in commercial works. It was more like a comic strip than other mangas. In the end, placing the book on my pillow, I rested on my futon and read it till the end.

By the way, this cat, a Gourdski-like gag character<ref>[http://atomrocks.edublogs.org/hyotantsugi-a-k-a-gourdski/ http://atomrocks.edublogs.org/hyotantsugi-a-k-a-gourdski/]</ref>, would often appear in all sorts of acrobatic stances at the corners of various panels for no reason whatsoever. It was probably the author's surrogate character. Despite standing upright, it wore no clothes except for a pair of baggy boots. A puss in boots, essentially.

Despite having a silly plot with a communication discord, it had quite a deep meaning as well. All the characters, including the protagonist, were all acting in self-interest, as they're frequently seeking a favourable outcome for themselves. Yes, this is a good work. But if I were to think of presenting this to Kouchi-sempai, then I'd find that there were a few weak points that stood out, like the story being a bit too random, too many panels with nothing but plain backgrounds, one too many rough sketches in the panels, and the dialogue sometimes not connecting from panel to panel.

...And so, I'm still at a loss on what to show her.

The only light came from the lamp beside my bed, with the bookshelf submerging in the flickering darkness.

''Ashes at Dusk'' and ''Body Talk'' were two non-commercial works which I have a lot of admiration for. Of course, these were not the only books in my room; there were also commercial works which shone just as bright as those two.

There really were many people who could draw interesting works.

Before turning off the lamp, I got out of my futon and took out my own manga from my desk drawer. I saw nothing but tedious white drawings. I would really not want to take this out.

Well, it's not like my drawing is bad. Though the artwork was a bit inconsistent, it's not that despairingly bad. But upon reading one or two pages...

The panels just don't make any sense, and I can no longer understand the dialogue that was written, nor could I feel anything from the story. I have no idea where it begins or ends. It was pretty much a disharmonious read.

If I were to let someone else read this, they would probably not need sleeping pills anymore.

Yet, I'm reading it right now.

Reading my own manga, it feels more like I've ingested some stimulants rather than sleeping pills. With a somewhat unspeakable feeling, I returned the manuscript of my manga to my desk drawer. It's no good, I shouldn't have read this to make me fall asleep. As staying awake would be troublesome, I decided to take some real sleeping pills and get to sleep.

046 - ♠12

After saving energy for a long while, I can more or less predict my own patterns. By saving up too much in the day, I ended up with excessive usable energy at night, which was bad for sleep. I couldn't fall asleep even this late at night. The clock had long since passed one o'clock and was now approaching two.

To think I don't even remember what energy it was that I've saved in bulk, though I do know I've not used up any. How ironic that during the period of the rosy high school life known as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, I could not find an outlet to use any energy.

Waiting to fall asleep, I thought of reading a book, but right now there was only that boring paperback novel. While a boring book could at least substitute for sleeping pills, I instead opted to surf the internet. I was now searching for the official homepage for the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival.

Clicking the link on the search engine site, I twitched at the pain remaining in my right eye.

The top page caption read "KANYA FESTIVAL NOW OPEN! ALL ARE WELCOME." An image of the play taking place in the Gymnasium was posted on it.

Scrolling down the page revealed a list of the participating clubs of each day, a transportation access guide, advice to visitors... And my eyes landed on a place I did not notice two days ago - the mail order section.

It was a mail order service for all goods related to the Cultural Festival. On sale was of course stuff sold during the Cultural Festival.

The items listed include original T-shirts by the Fashion Study Club, the Literature Club anthology ''Kodama'', and the Manga Studies Club anthology ''Zeamis''. Is that all? If it's the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, then surely they have more to sell, but it seemed this was all there was.

Now isn't this a bit empty for a shop? Looking further, there was a mail order form with an email address attached. The address shares the same domain name as Kamiyama High School, and the account name was "somuiinkai." Satoshi, surely the Executive Committee should have done better than this. To begin with, I've yet to seriously ask Satoshi what it is that he does in the Executive Committee.

And then there's this email address. They could have at least used an English name for it. But "somuiinkai?" ...Then again, I have no problem with a name that's at least understandable to a Japanese-speaker like me.

All that remains to be seen on the site are links to other basic external sites, which don't reveal much information. Anyway, I figured it was about time I got to sleep, so I switched off the computer and returned to my room. As to how to fall asleep, I decided to worry about that after I crawl into my bed.

047 - ♣15

I decided to take a walk during the night.

Having just taken a bath not long before, my body was particularly sensitive to the night breeze. As it was late October, I could easily catch a cold if I'm not careful. Hence I wore a jacket just to be safe.

I could just about see the new moon above the skies along with the stars. The weather was just as great today as it was yesterday. As things go it'll probably be fine tomorrow as well, which is good. As a member of the Executive Committee, it's good because it means the events tomorrow will go smoothly under good weather; as a member of the Classics Club, it's good because it means we can get more visitors coming to school; and for me personally, it's good because I get to participate in as many outdoor events as I like. I get to see the various clubs preparing and performing all sorts of skills which I've only heard of. It would be a pity if their chances to show off their skills were denied by the rain.

For example, the performance of the Magic Club's second year, Tayama-sempai was superb today. While I have the knowledge of how the cup and ball trick actually works in my database, even I would not be able to perform it as well as he did. That was why I applauded from the bottom of my heart. By the way, when I said I am unable to perform, it's not that I do not possess the skills, but it's more to do with me not being confident enough. Just because I wanted to learn the secret to the cup and ball trick doesn't mean I wanted to try it out as well.

You could say I am similar to Houtarou in this aspect.

...However, while Houtarou himself insists that he hadn't done much during his three years at junior high, he wasn't exactly the worthless person he claims to be.

I walked in the dark, under the streetlamps surrounded by winged insects in the residential district. As I was wearing sneakers, I could not hear my own footsteps. I could hear someone watching their late night TV shows from somewhere.

Ever since entering Kamiyama High School and coming into contact with a rare medium called Chitanda Eru, Houtarou has changed. Or I should say, he's revealed his true worth. And since then he has demonstrated his sharpness, his clarity of vision, or perhaps instinct, deductive skills if you will, which I had never known he had before. Ever since that day when Chitanda-san was simply sitting alone in the Geology Room, I have been amazed by him many times. Houtarou was no simple colourless and useless human being. He has become an amazing individual hiding an amazing secret power within him.

There was a saying that a skilled hawk hides its talons<ref>You can find more information and an explanation of this proverb [http://www.wideislandview.com/2010/10/japanese-proverb-a-skilled-hawk-hides-its-talons/ here]</ref>. When I discovered Houtarou's hawk side, deep inside, did I truly feel happy for him?

This is why I have decided not to expect Houtarou to solve the "Juumoji" incident, as it's not suitable for a person like him. Instead, I will be the one to do it.

Originally, I would not have been able to seek out the truth using my database alone. However, right now, in order to be able to look up to my friend's eyes, I decided to mimic him. I am well aware of how shameful this is. All this talk about how this is to "promote the name of the Classics Club," that's all just an excuse.

That I understand very well.

Well, even a grade school student would be able to come up with excuses like that.

Now then.

The potential suspects for the phantom thief "Juumoji" are numerous. As expected from Houtarou's sharp observation, "How many people do you think have entered and left the school grounds during the Cultural Festival? And that's not counting that we have nearly a thousand students."

This kind of scenario is often found not just in detective novels, but also in real life investigations as well. This is true even for a small scale crime. In order to pinpoint the identity of the culprit, we must first narrow down the suspects.

From within the six billion people in this world, suspects would be narrowed down by first investigating into details like travel patterns or personal circumstances. For example, if there were a murder within a mountain mansion that was surrounded by mountain fire, the killer would no doubt be someone within the mansion (provided no one heard any helicopter taking off). If a rich young lady gets killed in her holiday retreat, then the killer would be someone who went to the retreat with her. Going along these patterns, the culprit could be narrowed down to around a dozen, by which we could begin investigating their alibis.

However, the "Juumoji" incident was different.

The thefts did not occur in any sealed environment. As the A Capella Club had their cooler box outside, anyone could have stolen its contents if they wished; the Go Club did not have a lock in their room; the Fortune Telling Association only had one person, so the culprit only needed to wait within the restroom nearby; the Gardening Club was targeted when they decided to leave the room for a bit; and then there's the Magic Club yesterday. Not knowing when the item was stolen, anybody could be a suspect, hidden within the sea of anonymity.

First, the culprit is no doubt a student of our school. It's difficult to conceive of someone from outside our school planning something like this and carrying it out for two consecutive days. But this still means there are nearly a thousand suspects. A thousand! It would be a bit silly and pointless to declare "The suspect is amongst these thousand people!" Even a proper law enforcement agency would have their work cut out questioning the alibis of a thousand people.

...The only place that was strange was The Cooking Club. If I were to believe their president who said they had prepared a ladle, then it means the ladle was stolen just before the Wild Fire contest began. As the culprit had the time to prepare a declaration of crime and the ''Kanya Festival Guide'', there was a possibility that the culprit had come from within.

However, would members of The Cooking Club want to obstruct the Wild Fire tournament, which requires a lot of meticulous preparation? A ladle is one of the most basic kitchen utensils. What if we had decided to make a stew dish instead? It would have quickly aroused suspicion. Surely it would make more sense for the culprit to pick a less risky target like the Occult Studies Club ([O]KARUTO KEN オカルト研) or the "Cheering Club ([O]UENDAN 応援団) and Cheerleading Club Combined."

I decided to discard that possibility.

Then how am I supposed to trim down the number of suspects from these thousand people?

...Then again, a serial killer or serial arsonist would have been difficult to find as the suspect base would be huge. In most detective fiction, they would usually have to wait for the culprit to commit their next act before they could form a database. Recalling one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes stories, ''The Adventure of the Six Napoleons'', no one could figure out who the culprit was when the first Napoleon bust was smashed.

That's it. By waiting for the incidents to accumulate, we can then identify the common link between the victims, and then using this link lure the culprit to commit his next act. (By the way, while this common link could be called the "missing link," I just realized the missing Wheel of Fortune could be called a "missing ring." So which one is correct? To quote Chitanda-san: I'm ''really'' curious about it!)

The only piece of detective work I can do is to wait at the next scene of crime. That's the only way.

By waiting at the scene, the culprit may commit some errors or run into misfortune, leaving behind clues which could significantly narrow down the number of suspects. In other words, I'm waiting for him to make a mistake.

Had I realized the culprit had stolen something from the Magic Club before the show had started, but only left his crime declaration after it had ended, I would have stayed behind. Surely not everyone who had remained in Class 2-D's classroom till the end was only there for the magic performance.

In that case, I need to wake up early tomorrow, and arrive at Kamiyama High School first thing in the morning in order to get to "Juumoji's" next target, a club that starts with [KU]. While I'm not that confident with my own observational skills, I'll definitely find any clues left behind by "Juumoji."

The world must be getting strange for me to find conclusions from my database alone. Perhaps I'm interested in seeing if I could amaze myself.

I made a heel turn under the residential streets lit by the moonlight and streetlamps. As I slapped my cheeks to get myself geared up, I ended up being barked at by a dog.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-3|3-3 - The "Juumoji" Incident]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 5-1|5-1 - Four People, Four Cultural Festivals]]
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka

2013-04-25T15:47:21Z

Dan.:

[[Image:Hyouka v01 000.jpg|thumb|Volume 1 Cover]]

'''''Hyouka''''' (氷菓) is a light novel written by Honobu Yonezawa and serialized in Kadokawa Shoten. Currently, the series has 5 volumes. The anime aired from April 22, 2012 to September 16, 2012 with 22 episodes in total. there is an ongoing manga written by the original author and illustrated by Task Ohna.

Hyouka series is also available in the following languages:
*[[Hyouka (Français)|Français (French)]]
*[[Hyouka (Bahasa Indonesia)|Indonesia (Indonesian)]]
*[[Hyouka PL|Polski (Polish)]]

==Story Synopsis==

Oreki Houtarou is a self-proclaimed "energy-saver"(reserved battery mode) - that is, he will not actively waste energy doing things that aren't necessary. Though he had no interest whatsoever in joining any clubs upon entering Kamiyama High School, he was commanded by his older sister Tomoka to enter the school's Classics Club, which was in danger of getting abolished as all previous members have graduated. Together with his old friends Fukube Satoshi and Ibara Mayaka, as well as the elegantly ladylike and curiously inquisitive Chitanda Eru, the newly reformed Classics Club find themselves involved in all sorts of mystery-solving escapades. Houtarou soon finds out that the Classics Club, as Tomoka has promised, is actually "quite interesting".

And so begins the "Classics Club Series".

Adapted into an anime series by Kyoto Animation in 2012 under the title "Hyouka".

== Translation ==

=== [[Hyouka:Registration Page|Registration]] ===

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand. Visit the forums [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4708 here] for help.

'''Translators are asked to [[Hyouka:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on'''

===Format Standards===
'''Every Chapter (after editing) must confirm to the general format guidelines.'''
*[[Format_guideline|General Format/Style Guideline]]

== Updates ==
*November 29th, 2011 - Volume 1 Chapter 1 completed
*February 28th, 2012 - Page opened, synopsis added
*March 11th, 2012 - Volume 1 Chapter 2 completed
*March 19th, 2012 - Volume 1 Chapter 3 and 4 completed
*April 22th, 2012 - Volume 1 Chapter 5 completed
*May 2nd, 2012 - Volume 1 Chapter 6 completed
*May 5th, 2012 - Volume 1 Chapter 7, 8, 9 and Afterword completed
*May 8th, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 0 completed
*June 2nd, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 1 completed
*June 10th, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 2 completed
*June 16th, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 3 completed
*June 17th, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 4 completed
*June 19th, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 5 completed
*June 23rd, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 6 completed
*July 1st, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 7 completed
*July 2nd, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 8 completed
*July 2nd, 2012 - Volume 2 Afterword completed
*July 19th, 2012 - Volume 3 Chapter 1 completed
*September 29th, 2012 - Volume 3 Chapter 2-1 completed
*October 28th, 2012 - Volume 3 Chapter 2-2 completed
*December 22nd, 2012 - Volume 3 Chapter 2-3 completed
*December 27th, 2012 - Volume 3 Chapter 3-1 completed
*March 2nd, 2013 - Volume 3 Chapter 3-2 completed.
*March 7th, 2013 - Volume 3 Chapter 3-3 completed.
*March 8th, 2013 - Volume 3 Chapter 4 completed.

==The ''Hyouka (Classics Club)'' series （〈古典部〉シリーズ） by Honobu Yonezawa==
'''You can find the EPUB and MOBI version of the Volumes in the forums [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=5020 here].'''
===Volume 1 - Hyouka 氷菓 - You can't escape / The niece of time ([[Hyouka:Volume 1|Full Text]] - [http://www.mediafire.com/?nb2ggs2u4s4ae21 PDF])===
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 1|1 - Letter from Benares]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 2|2 - The Rebirth of the Traditional Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 3|3 - The Activities of the Prestigious Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 4|4 - The Descendants of the Eventful Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 5|5 - The Hidden Seal of the Pedigree Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 6|6 - The Old Days of the Glorious Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 7|7 - The Truth of the Historic Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 8|8 - The Daily Life of the Future Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 9|9 - Letter to Sarajevo]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Afterword|Afterword]]

===Volume 2 - The Credit Roll of the Fool 愚者のエンドロール - Why didn't she ask EBA? ([[Hyouka:Volume 2|Full Text]] - [http://www.mediafire.com/?wcia9bdvi939jhu PDF])===
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 0|0 - Avant Title]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 1|1 - Let's Watch a Movie Preview!]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 2|2 - "The Murder in the Abandoned Village of Furuoka"]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 3|3 - "The Invisible Intrusion"]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 4|4 - "Bloody Beast"]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 5|5 - Let's Try This]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 6|6 - "The Blind Spot of 10,000 People"]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 7|7 - Do Not End the Show]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 8|8 - Credit Roll]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Afterword|Afterword]]

===Volume 3 - The Kudryavka Sequence クドリャフカの順番 - Welcome to KANYA FESTA!===
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
::*2 - The Cases That Keep Piling Up
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Has Something Happened With the Classics Club?]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Yet Another Storm]]
::*3 - The "Juumoji" Incident
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-1|3-1 - The Morning Landscape]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-2|3-2 - Wild Fire]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-3|3-3 - The "Juumoji" Incident]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 4|4 - Yet Another Sleepless Night]]
::*5 - The Kudryavka Sequence
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 5-1|5-1 - Four People, Four Cultural Festivals]] (00%)
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 5-2|5-2 - "Juumoji" vs the Classics Club]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 5-3|5-3 - The Curtain Closes]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 5-4|5-4 - Behind the Stage]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 6|6 - And So It Ends]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Afterword|Afterword]]

===Volume 4 - The Doll that Took a Detour 遠まわりする雛 - Little birds can remember===
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 If I Have to Do It, Make It Quick|If I Have to Do It, Make It Quick]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 Committing a Cardinal Sin|Committing a Cardinal Sin]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 Revealing the True Form|Revealing the True Form]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 Those Who Hold Any Clues|Those Who Hold Any Clues]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 Happy New Opening|Happy New Opening]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 The Case of the Hand-made Chocolate|The Case of the Hand-made Chocolate]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 The Doll that Took a Detour|The Doll that Took a Detour]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 Afterword|Afterword]]



===Volume 5 - The Approximation of the Distance of Two ふたりの距離の概算 - It walks by past===
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Prologue|Prologue - Even Just Walking Feels Long]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Prologue-1|Prologue 1 - Present: 0km]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Prologue-2|Prologue 2 - Past: One Day Ago]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Prologue-3|Prologue 3 - Present: 1.2km]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 1|1 - Reception for Joining the Club is Over Here]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 1-1|1-1 - Present: 1.4km; 18.6km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 1-2|1-2 - Past: 42 Days Ago]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 1-3|1-3 - Present: 4.1km; 15.9km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 2|2 - A Friend Must Be Congratulated]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Present: 5.2km; 14.8km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Past: 27 Days Ago]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Present: 6.9km; 13.1km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 3|3 - A Very Beautiful Shop]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 3-1|3-1 - Present: 8.0km; 12.0km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 3-2|3-2 - Past: 13 Days Ago]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 3-3|3-3 - Present: 11.5km; 8.5km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4|4 - Fun for Those Who Left]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4-1|4-1 - Present: 14.3km; 5.7km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4-2|4-2 - Past: Approximately 19 Hours and 30 Minutes Ago]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4-3|4-3 - Present: 14.5km; 5.5km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4-4|4-4 - Present: 14.6km; 5.4km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4-5|4-5 - Present: 14.6km; 5.4km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5|5 - The Approximation of the Distance of Two]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5-1|5-1 - Present: 17.0km; 3.0km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5-1|5-1 - Present: 17.0km; 3.0km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5-2|5-2 - Present: 18.6km; 1.4km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5-3|5-3 - Present: 18.9km; 1.1km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5|5 - The Hand that Could Reach Anywhere]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Epilogue|Epilogue - The Approximation of the Distance of Two]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Epilogue-1|Epilogue-1 - Present: 19.1km; 0.9km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Afterword|Afterword]]

==Project Staff==

*Project Administrator:
*Project Supervisor:

===Translators===

:*[[user:Kinny_Riddle|Kinny Riddle]]

===Editors===
:*[[User:Dan.|Dan.]]

== Series Overview ==

*氷菓 You can't escape / The niece of time (31 October 2001) ISBN 978-4-04-427101-5
*愚者のエンドロール Why didn't she ask EBA? (31 July 2002) ISBN 978-4-04-427102-2
*クドリャフカの順番 Welcome to KANYA FESTA! (24 May 2008) ISBN 978-4-04-427103-9
*遠まわりする雛 Little birds can remember (24 July 2010) ISBN 978-4-04-427104-6
*ふたりの距離の概算 It walks by past (26 June 2012) ISBN 978-4-04-874075-3

Talk:Main Page

2013-04-06T18:56:55Z

Dan.:

== Onizuka-gto ==
Thanks for your initial work, I remember reading it and was really disappointed when I got the end, and realised this wasn't touched for a loooong time.

Thanks for inspiring me to jump into Wikipedia to sort out the Haruhi anime/manga/novel page.

Salutation, comrade!
May Haruhi Suzumiya bless you!

:

[[User:Onizuka-gto|Onizuka-gto]] 10:17, 16 April 2006 (PDT)

==Credit Due==
Not to be too eager to claim credit, since I haven't done that much, yet -- but might I suggest that at least some of the other contributing translators/proofreaders are credited on the front page of the Suzumiya Haruhi project pages? --[[User:Freak Of Nature|Freak Of Nature]] 08:04, 20 April 2006 (PDT)

== Translations as text files ==

I was wondering if someone could possibly put together a script to clean formatting for the translations, putting together an ePub for this is a pain in the ass sometimes :/

== April fool? ==
So that I can't visit this website on yesterday is a lie. Right? ^^" [[User:118.172.49.162|118.172.49.162]] 06:05, 2 April 2008 (PDT)

== Oops!! ==

On the left side bar, we have Ginban Kaleidoscope before Ghost Hunt! It should be the other way around! could someone fix this (I don't think I can, and if could, I wouldn't know how).

PS. While were working with the sidebar, should Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria be put up? we have over a volume, and don't seem to be missing anything.

== Out of Curiosity ==

I wonder how many (non-bot) people have tried to contact Thelastguardian at "thelastguardian@hotmailNOSPAM.comNOSPAM"

My guess is none. However, a few have probably tried to contact him/her at "thelastguardian@hotmailNOSPAM.com"
Copy and paste is really convenient, most of the time...

== IMTranslator Aid ==

Why not use Firefox's IMTranslator addon to translate into rough drafts and then correct the mistakes? Just a thought. [[User:Zero2001|Zero2001]] 19:58, 16 April 2011 (UCT)

It would be extremely helpful both in translating and speeding up the translation of Visual Novel Scripts. [[User:Zero2001|Zero2001]] 02:09, 17 April 2011 (UCT)

== would it be possible to implement semi-protection on this page? ==

It would prevent all the random spam from getting on without an account. Or are there reasons to not do so, technical or otherwise?

I'm also thinking that this would be a great idea. I had enough of tromadol addiction or something like that.

== Suplementy ==

Hello everyone

First of all sorry that I write in this topic but I have some technical problem with the use of this forum. When I'm trying to enter in the appropriate topic, I received a 404 error It's about the only topic in which I was able to enter. Do you have the same problems? What's going on?

---------
These are possible causes:
Please check your antivirus/firewall.
Are you in Japan? (Viewing is not supported from there, for obvious reasons)
Are you using an updated browser? Try another to be sure.

== Navigation Bar ==

It seems that all of the "To Aru Majutsu no Index" pages are now "Toaru Majutsu no Index," but the navigation bar on the left still has the older spelling. Not a broken link, just mildly irritating to see it need a redirect. [[User:CarVac|CarVac]] 23:46, 5 May 2011 (UCT)

Well, as for me, when I check the chapters, it's always 'To Aru' instead of 'Toaru'. [[User:Kira0802|Kira0802]] 00:48, 6 May 2011 (UCT)

Do you really want me to redirect all the links...? Thing is, the name got romanised into Toaru, but since we were using 'To Aru', the chapters are listed as 'To Aru...'. Gosh, I got 10+ volumes to redirect if that's the case...--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 04:42, 6 May 2011 (UCT)

I don't mind one way or the other, just shouldn't we be consistent? [[User:CarVac|CarVac]] 08:19, 6 May 2011 (UCT)

To be honest, you're not going to get me to do all those link changes -_-. I know I prefer consistency, but I don't think it's much of a problem with the chapters (unless you're using direct links). Right now, Oni isn't around at the moment, so I don't think that the link on the navigation bar will be changed anytime soon.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 12:53, 7 May 2011 (UCT)

== weird naming error & strange orphan page ==

i found a weird page while googling the 7 volume series "Accel World" (it has recently recieved a manga adaptation). Apparently, there's a page for it here(5th on google) but because it was named wrong no-one here can find/see/access it. It's at [[Database:title=accel world]]. someone with an account should move/rename it to [[Accel World]] and add it to teasers or something.

The problem with that is, that it doesnt have a teaser at the moment. I think this page was created as a test a while ago... --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 02:37, 19 May 2011 (UCT)

See [[Database]]. Sigh... branched off into a separate wiki, which subsequently died. We now have a set of pages that are linked to by nothing. Do we want to try to revive this? I can see how it would be useful for attracting translators to projects that don't have a wiki page, especially ones that are forum shy, but other than that, I don't see any merit in it. most series that get an anime get a wiki all to themselves, anyway. Unless someone expresses some interested in restarting it, it would probably be better to delete the whole section. --[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] 06:15, 19 May 2011 (UCT)

== Affiliates ==

Shouldn't B-T affiliate itself with other translation groups that do lightnovels? I really liked how B-T linked to cetranslation on the frontpage to expand this community to other translation groups. Isn't it B-T's goal to expand the publicity of light novels to get them published in the language that promotes the most amount of interest from its readers? It would be awesome to see series listed on the left under a sub group (Affilates) [just like how theres Light Novels and Visual Novels] and list other light novels that are being translated from other sites. These links could link back to the original site like how Durarara!! was done. There is no other light novel database site that does this and I wish it would be B-T that would build a bigger community towards all translation groups. You might have to talk with other translation websites about it, but it would be every light novel reader's dream to find out that there are many other interesting series out there. [[User:Lp113|Lp113]] 19:12, 13 January 2012 (CST)

== Navigation ==
Can you make a navigation page, to list all the projects?

The light novels menu is incredibly long, such a long drop down menu doesn't help navigation.

[[Special:Contributions/70.24.244.198|70.24.244.198]] 23:59, 24 March 2012 (CDT)

==Monogatari Series in the Light Novels menu==
It used to say "Bakemonogatari" but was changed to "Monogatari" because the series expanded beyond Bakemonogatari, but the problem is, "Monogatari Series" is in the same position, so it's not in alphabetical order like the rest of the list. Can someone fix this?

== Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu in the 'Light Novels' menu ==

The Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu series is listed in the 'Light Novels' menu as "Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu", which is the name of the series that is the sequel to the Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu series. It wold make more sense to use "Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu" in the menu because that is the actual series name. Can someone please change this?

== The ruling on Original Light Novels section. ==

Can someone explain to me the ruling on presenting a new light novel?
I have been working on materials and concepts for one, and now I want to present the story to the OLN section of BTsuki.

== tlwiki link broken ==

Now the page send to this link
http://www.tsukuru.info/tlwiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

but the new link is:
http://tlwiki.org/index.php?title=Main_Page
:still broken -- [[User:Ninjamask|Ninjamask]] ([[User talk:Ninjamask|talk]]) 17:34, 30 November 2012 (CST)

== To all of the people who make baka-tsuki possible ==
Thank you very much for your hard work! =D --[[User:Dright|Dright]] ([[User talk:Dright|talk]]) 20:24, 6 February 2013 (CST)

== talk page archiving ==

To the staff members of Baka-Tsuki:

Have there been any previous agreements on how to handle talk pages or the archiving of those on this project? Because there are no help pages, I'm just trying to ask that here. On Wikipedia, they say that "It is customary to periodically archive old discussions on a talk page when that page becomes too large. Bulky talk pages may be hard to navigate, contain obsolete discussion, or become a burden for users with slow Internet connections or computers." See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Archiving_a_talk_page Help:Archiving a talk page]. I think that at least the pages should be archived, if they become to long, as for example with 30+ obsolete discussions. If nobody cares, they could even be dumped. --[[User:Unkalibriert|Unkalibriert]] 06:22, 10 February 2013 (CST)

== Mistake in the Android App Section ==

Just a minor mistake: "a App" should be "an App"
--[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] ([[User talk:Dan.|talk]]) 00:12, 20 February 2013 (CST)

== index page ==

Is there an index page? The sidebar list is all well and good, but it'd be easier to read if there was an index page.

-- [[Special:Contributions/65.92.180.137|65.92.180.137]] 03:48, 19 March 2013 (CDT)

== Watchlist & protection logs ==

Is there any way to hide protection logs from my Watchlist? I just got 46 emails when several Haganai pages were simultaneously protected. I didn't find anything in the Watchlist preferences that looked like it would be helpful. Can anybody help me with this? --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] ([[User talk:Dan.|talk]]) 22:48, 29 March 2013 (CDT)

== Page suggestions ==

May i suggest that a page containing a list of all Light Novel adaptations anime be created? Because some people (including me) tends to see whether the series we like was already made into an anime or not. Also, by being adapted into anime most people (me) would feel a lot accepting into reading a new series, because i have many series that i didn't read just because the title is confusing and that the cover's artwork is messy.

Also, it would be nice to see updates of what chapters you guys have just finished in one box, so i also want to suggest to put the said box on the front page so that we don't have to visit each series just to know if it's already updated or not (and twitter is not really reliable :/)

== Question. ==

Can I ask a question? If I want to know about something where do I post it? I am new here because I just recently started reading Light Novels. Also while I'm asking is Date A Live Volume 5 Chapter 5 really blank? Also is Volume 4 Chapter 6 the start of Volume 4?

:You're probably not going to get any answers here. You might want to try the talk page for the series/chapter that you have the question about or the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/ forum]. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] ([[User talk:Dan.|talk]]) 13:56, 6 April 2013 (CDT)

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 8 A New Light

2013-04-06T01:33:11Z

Dan.: Undo revision 239469 by Dual Blades (talk)

===A New Light===

After running out of the clubroom the weekend quickly passed by, and it was now Monday after school.

As I was walking through the halls with heavy steps, I saw Aoi Yusa a ways off walking in my direction.

She was carrying two cardboard boxes and looked really unsteady on her feet.

The boxes looked pretty heavy, and she was wearing a pretty stern expression as she carried them.

The boxes made it so she couldn't see in front of her very well, and it wasn't until she was about a meter away that she realized it was me, causing her to go "Ah..." and make an awkward face.

Yusa averted her gaze and quickly tried to pass by me.

"Awa!?"

However, all of a sudden she tripped over her own feet and lost her balance.

"Uoh!?"

I reflexively grabbed both boxes with my hands and held them steady, allowing Yusa to regain her balance.

"Phew... T-thank you, Hasegawa. I-if you'll excuse me!"

"Hey, wait!"

I called out to Yusa as she tried to quickly get away from me, and asked her,

"...Want some help?"

"I-I'm fi—— Owah, ah?"

Yusa was right in the middle of refusing my offer when she tripped again, almost dropping the top box. All I could do was sigh at her.

"...You can't even see where you're going. It's dangerous——"

I said before snatching the top box.

"——Uwoah!?"

However it was heavier than I thought it'd be, causing me to let out a yelp in a panicked voice.

Most girls would probably have a hell of a time trying to carry two of these at once... Hell, some guys might even have trouble carrying two.

"T-thank you Hasegawa..."

Yusa thanked me while blushing faintly.

"Don't sweat it."

I said, and then started walking alongside Yusa.

"These are pretty heavy... what's in 'em?"

"Request forms and printouts used during the school festival. There's some pamphlets and such in here too."

"Ahh, paper huh. No wonder it's heavy... What were you thinking, carrying two of these at once?"

"I-I couldn't help it, there's a lot of them I have to move! ——Uwo!"

Even with only one box Yusa still looked unsteady on her feet.

"...Are you OK?"

"Y-yes..."

Yusa seemed embarrassed as she nodded at me.

"So if you have a lot, does that mean there's still more after these two?"

"Yes."

"Why are you even carrying these in the first place?"

"It's part of my Student Council duties."

"You have to carry all of them by yourself?"

"Yes."

"How can they make one person carry so many of these alone..."

"T-that's not it!"

Yusa hurriedly interjected upon hearing my accusatory tone.

"It's not like everyone else in the Student Council pushed this onto me. It's the opposite actually, I turned down their offer to help."

"How come?"

"Because it's my fault for skipping a week of work that things got this backed up. I can't bother everyone else with this when they're already so busy."

Yusa plainly stated with a super serious look on her face.

That week she skipped... is probably the time she spent observing what we were doing in the Neighbors Club.

And apparently this is the work that piled up in that time.

"...Hey, Yusa."

"Yes?"

"...Why did you try so hard to get rid of the Neighbors Club?"

I asked her something that'd been on my mind.

First she came and complained we weren't following school rules, and when that failed she went so far as checking the staff roster just to find something we did wrong.

And that's all despite the fact that the Neighbors Club hasn't ever caused any real problems.

The fact we spend all of our time playing around is probably an issue, but I'm pretty sure there are plenty of clubs besides ours who don't do much.

If it was just about the school rules, then there are plenty of other students who aren't following them. In fact, I'd be surprised if you could find even one person who follows all the school rules to a T.

There's also the fact that the time I first met Yusa she actually complimented my clothes and hair and such because she thought I was doing all that to be fashionable. 

Even if she is a ridiculously serious hard worker, I don't think she's an inflexible stubborn person at all.

And yet, she focused on the Neighbors Club to the point that it caused problems with her own work, and even tried to have the club disbanded.

I'm not sure how to put it exactly, but it just doesn't seem like something she'd do.

"I did it because people with amazing skills should be in a place that suits those skills."

Yusa plainly answered.

"...A place that suits their skills?"

"Yes! It is a great loss to all of mankind to have a person as gifted as Sena Kashiwazaki wasting her time in such a place!"

"To all of mankind, huh..."

I said while making a wry smile, and then asked,

"...So, basically, you were trying to get rid of the Neighbors Club for Sena's sake?"

"Yes!" Yusa immediately replied.

"I see..."

Looking at it from an objective point of view—— I'm sure Yusa is right.

Whether or not it's something that affects all of mankind aside, I'm sure Sena could achieve some great things in a sports club.

She might be fatally uncooperative, but it'd be fine as long as she did solo events, and even for team events her specs are so high it balances out her faults and then some.

And Sena isn't the only one in the Neighbors Club like that.

Yozora Mikadzuki is amazing at both academics and sports.

She's bad at socializing, but it's not like she can't fit into a group at all, and I'm sure she'd be able to handle just about anything you throw at her.

Needless to say there's Rika Shiguma as well, who's already done actual professional work.

I bet tons of people would love to have her spend her free time helping them research and invent things. In fact, there's probably more people who'd want her than there are who'd want Sena. 

Kobato Hasegawa is popular in her middle school—— She has a place she belongs outside the Neighbors Club.

She should value the bonds she has with her classmates, so she can be ready for when she eventually graduates and becomes a high school student.

Maria Takayama has an older sister at her side who loves her more than anyone else.

Even if she didn't have the Neighbors Club, I'm sure her sister would protect her and guide her right this time.

As for Yukimura Kusunoki, she claims "I do not need friends." and thus completely denies the idea of "making friends" at the heart of the Neighbors Club.

A shiver ran through my body and caused all my hair to stand on end.

If you think about it logically,

the Neighbors club has no reason to,

no reason to...

"Just kidding, that was a lie."

Yusa said with a sigh just before my brain could form that final terrifying word.

"Huh? A lie?"

"...It would've been nice if I had a cool reason like doing it for the world, or for someone else, or for society, or for justice, but... that's not why I did it. Honestly, I didn't think about doing it for her at all."

"...What do you mean?"

Yusa made a self-derisive smile at my question.

"I just wanted to beat Sena Kashiwazaki. I wanted to show the queen who has everything that not everything will go her way. ...Basically, I was jealous. I wanted someone blessed like her to pay a fitting price. If you're more blessed than others, then you should suffer an equal amount. Otherwise it'd be unfair. If there are people who are born with everything and get to be happy no matter what, then what about the normal people out there trying their best every single day?"

Yusa then paused and went, "Hahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~~" and let out a big sigh.

"...But, trying to harass Sena Kashiwazaki only ended up making me look more pathetic... I even caused trouble for you too, Hasegawa. I'm sorry."

Yusa seemed to truly regret her actions as she apologized to me.

Honestly, I don't think playing the bad guy suits her in the least.

"You don't have to worry about us, what's done is done... And besides, I kinda know what you mean..."

"I appreciate it, even if it is just a lie."

Yusa said with an apologetic look on her face.

I wasn't lying though. After all, what's wrong with being jealous of others?

"...Oh, also,"

There was something more important than her apology I needed to tell her.

"...You're wrong about thinking that Sena has everything. There are things that even she doesn't have."

"Oh? Just what doesn't she have then?"

"...Friends, for example."

"Ahaha."

Yusa made a big grin after hearing my completely serious answer.

"W-why are you laughing?"

Yusa looked like she'd just heard something hilarious as she said,

"Aha, you've got as good a sense of humor as always, Hasegawa~ As if there's anybody who doesn't have any friends! Good joke though! Pfft, haha!"

"......Y-yeah, guess you're right, haha..."

"Thank you very much, Hasegawa! I appreciate you telling such a funny joke to try and cheer someone like me up! You're a really nice and wonderful person!"

She made a sweet smile, and I could see that her walking wasn't as labored as it was before.

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol8_Ch09_Img01(Vexed).png|thumb]]

"........."

.........It's good to see she's back to her usual self again, but... for some reason I feel kinda depressed right now...

☺

Yusa and I left the school building, and carried the boxes all the way out to a shed tucked away in a corner of the school grounds.

Inside the shed there were bunches of folded up cardboard boxes, stacks of printer paper, newspapers, and books all separated into their own little areas.

I've heard that all the paper garbage in St. Chronica Academy goes here, and that once a month they send it out to be recycled.

I took all the paper out of my cardboard box, broke it up into smaller stacks, then tied it up with some vinyl rope and placed it in the designated area.

I folded up the cardboard box too, and placed it on top of the other folded up boxes.

Just one box alone was quite a bit of work.

"Thank you very much, Hasegawa. You were a big help."

Yusa said with a smile while wiping the sweat off of her forehead.

She then told me,

"I'll be fine now, you can go to your club."

"...!"

My heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest at the mention of the word "club".

"You've still got more to carry, don't you? I'll help with those too."

I said, trying my best to act calm.

"Huh?"

Yusa looked confused for a moment, and then said,

"Y-you don't have to do that! This is all work I should be doing!"

"Don't worry about it. In for a penny in for a pound."

"B-but there are still quite a few left..."

"Then all the more reason for me to help. Can't just abandon you, now can I?"

That was, without a doubt, what I honestly thought.

I'd feel bad if I left a little girl like her (even if she is the same age as me) to do all this heavy lifting by herself.

"But it doesn't even have anything to do with you, I'd feel bad making you help..."

"This is all work that piled up while you were observing the Neighbors Club, right? Then it does have something to do with me."

It's also true that I felt a bit guilty about making Yusa waste all that time.

"You... think so...?"

After mulling it over for a few moments, Yusa made a cheerful smile and said,

"Okay, then I'll take you up on your offer. Thank you very much, Hasegawa!"

"...But is it really okay if you don't go to your club?"

I did my best to sound casual as I responded to Yusa's hesitant question.

"You should know by now that the Neighbors Club doesn't have any specific activities. If we have other stuff to do then we're free to do that stuff instead."

That is also the truth.

The seven of us might've started gathering more frequently lately, but it wasn't too long ago that hardly anyone ever showed up.

People would be absent for any number of reasons you'd never get away with in a normal club, whether it be because they wanted to buy a new book, wanted to play a new video game, wanted to do their homework, etc.

In fact, sometimes the only reason would be that they didn't feel like it, and on top of that they wouldn't even tell anyone they weren't coming. To tell the truth, I've actually done that on more than one occasion myself.

Thus, "helping the Student Council" was just the reason I needed.

It was a perfect reason, one nobody could fault me for.

.........

...Why have I been going out of my way to mention "this is the truth" and "that was what I really thought" for the past little while now?

...Why was I looking for "a reason I can't go the Neighbors Club"?

...Who am I making excuses to?

.........The answer is obvious.

I didn't want to admit that, even if it was just for a split second, that I thought to myself, "I don't want to go to the Neighbors Club."

☺

Yusa and I made three more trips back and forth, carrying the heavy cardboard boxes from the Student Council storage room (the room next to the Student Council's room) to the shed.

"Hafuuu~"

Yusa plunked the box she'd been carrying down onto the floor of the shed, and then sat down on top of it.

She was breathing heavily, and her forehead was covered in sweat.

I was in much the same shape, and was currently resting against a shelf regaining my breath.

"Haa......... This is pretty hard work..."

"Sh-shure ish... Hau..."

Yusa gave a tired nod in response to my wry smile.

"How much is left?"

"There's still all the boxes on the floor in our storage room, so at least 10..."

"Seriously...? All of those...?"

"B-but don't worry! We're almost done with all the paper, all that should be left after that is cloth and wood stuff!"

"C-cloth aside, isn't wood kinda heavy...!?"

I said as a cold sweat ran down my cheek.

"...I know it's too late now anyway, but couldn't you have burned all the paper and cloth at the campfire?"

I thought it was a pretty good idea myself, but Yusa simply made a wry smile.

"Ahaha... Maybe some of it, but definitely not all of it."

"Eh, how come?"

"It's dangerous if the fire gets too big, and some stuff might be toxic if we burned it. There's also the fact that the people in the neighborhood would complain if we kept the campfire going too late into the night. ...Actually, it's so much work to do the campfire that every year people say we should stop doing it."

"Really?"

"Yes. We only still do it because it's been a tradition since the school was founded. ...Although some people say it's also because the chairman won't cancel it."

Guess there's a lot of annoying behind-the-scenes stuff even for something as beautiful as the campfire.

"...Alright, ready to get back to work?"

"Ah, yes. ...Um... I think I'll do the rest by myself after all, Hasegawa you can..."

I cut off Yusa mid-sentence, and told her,

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm helping you to the very end and that's that. ......But, well, wanna call it a day after two or three more boxes? It's starting to get dark and all."

"Eh!? Are you going to help me tomorrow too?"

"Of course."

Yusa looked incredibly grateful and made a bashful smile upon hearing my answer.

"Hasegawa... Thank you very much...!"

"Don't sweat it."

...Having someone direct such honest appreciation towards me was honestly really painful. I don't deserve to be thanked by anyone.

"C-come on, let's go."

"OK!"

Yusa nodded with a smile after I'd stuttered my words out, after which we turned towards the entrance to the shed.

However as we did, someone appeared at the entrance.

"...!?"

The light behind them was so bright I couldn't see their face very well.

I could tell the person had long hair and was wearing a skirt though, so it had to be a girl.

"Kuhaha! Excellent work you two!"

...I know I've heard that clear voice that makes you want to just keep on listening to it before.

The girl who'd just appeared with a blinding light behind her greeted us in a hearty voice along with a boisterous laugh, and then entered the shed.

Her good-looks gave her an aura of refinement and intelligence, and her long black hair, tied into braids which made her look like the daughter of a well-off family, only served to strengthen that impression.

Slender legs, a supple waist, and a plump yet modest chest.

Her name is Hinata Hidaka.

She's the student council president here at St. Chronica Academy, beloved by just about everybody (or so I've heard), as well as the girl Yozora secretly loathes and calls "King Lear".

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol8_Ch09_Img02(Vexed).png|thumb]]

"Hinata!? Why are you here!?"

Yusa said in a shocked tone of voice.

President Hinata responded by going "Heh," before making a both majestic and charming smile, and then saying,

"I heard there was a regular student helping you out with your work, you see. I figured I should say my thanks as Student Council President."

"Eh..."

She came all the way out here just to thank me?

I was pretty shocked myself, but Yusa simply gave the president a cold stare.

"...You just used that as an excuse to skip out on your work again, didn't you?"

"Kuhaha! Interacting with my fellow students is my job!"

From the looks of it Yusa was spot on with her guess, but the president didn't seem to care at all and instead made a cheerful laugh.

"My goodness..."

Yusa said with a sigh, after which the president shifted her gaze away from Yusa and over to me.

Her eyes resembling a pair of giant black pearls met with mine.

Her gaze had a certain force to it, but it wasn't an overwhelming one. Rather, it was a tender, comfortable one.

It almost felt like I was going to be sucked into those eyes of hers.

"Hinata, this is Kodaka Hasegawa of class 2-5."

Yusa said, introducing me to the president, which elicited from her the following response:

"Ohh, so this is him, huh!?"

"Eh, you know him?"

"Nope."

The president said with a serious look on her face in reply to Yusa's surprise.

"Then why'd you act all surprised!?"

"I was just going with the flow!"

......What the heck is going on here...

For a second there I thought that even the Student Council President had heard all those bad rumors about me... I almost had a heart attack for cryin' out loud...

"Sheesh..."

Yusa's expression now appeared a bit annoyed as she introduced the president to me.

"Ah, Hasegawa, this is the Student Council President, Hinata Hidaka."

"Ah, yeah... I know."

I said before making a little bow in the president's direction.

"Umm... Hi, I'm Hasegawa."

"I'm Hinata Hidaka. Nice to meet you, Hasegawa."

"Ah, y-yeah, same here."

I couldn't help but feel nervous after having that smile as bright as the sun itself cast at me all of a sudden.

"By the way, why are you helping Aoi, Hasegawa? ...Ah, I know, you must be Aoi's boyfriend, right!? I'm so jealous of you, Aoi!"

""T-that's not it!!""

Yusa and I both denied the president's question in harmony with one another.

Yusa then went red in the face and started fidgeting as she went on to say,

"T-there's no way that... Hasegawa would ever g-go out with someone like me! Besides, Hasegawa already has a fine girlfri-... Oh, wait. You said you aren't going out with Sena Kashiwazaki, didn't you?"

"Y-yeah, that's right..."

Hearing Sena's name got me flustered again.

"Then are you going out with anyone else in the Neighbors Club?"

"I-I'm not! I'm not going out with anyone. ...It's not like that with them."

"Hmm, I see. That makes sense though."

"? What do you mean by that?"

I asked, thinking it was weird how convinced Yusa looked, to which she replied,

"Eh? Because, you're the only guy in the Neighbors Club, right? Things would get really awkward if the only super cool guy in the club started going out with one of the girls!"

..................

............

...Whether I'm cool or not is up for debate, but...

I placed my hand on Yusa's head—— and started patting her.

"H-Hasegawa!? W-why are you patting me on the head with an expression that looks like the face an old man not long for this world would make while looking at his newborn granddaughter!?"

"Ah, well~... It's just... I'm happy that someone out there gets it......"

Crap, I might actually cry.

"I-I don't really get it, but... f-feel free to pat me as much as you like! ...Fuah... It feels so good..."

"Hey~ Earth to Hasegawa~"

The president said with a dumbfounded look on her face, after which I let out a gasp and stopped patting Yusa's head.

Yusa, who'd been entranced until just a second ago, also came back to her senses and started blushing before quickly moving away from me.

"So, if you're not her boyfriend then why?"

"Ah, well, it seemed like a lot of work for just one person, so, you know..."

"Hasegawa is a wonderful person who can't overlook those in need!"

"Eh!? No, I wouldn't go that far..."

Yusa's overwhelming praise left me feeling bewildered.

"I see, that's quite admirable of you! Not many young men like you these days. Keep up the good work!"

"...Eh? Oh, yeah..."

"Alright then, let's get this cleaned up!"

However Yusa squinted at the president's easygoing comment and said,

"...Hinata, please go do your own work."

"Kuhaha, no need to be so cold with me. Come on, it'll go faster with three people, won't it?"

"...Well, yes, that's true, but..."

Yusa then let out a sigh of resignation.

"...Fine. I don't want to bother Hasegawa any more than I already have, so let's all do it together. We might be able to finish today if you help us."

☺

The boxes we'd been carrying were plenty heavy to begin with, but the president was able to carry two of them easily.

Thanks to that we were able to carry twice as many boxes per trip as before, and just like Yusa said, we ended up finishing moving all the boxes just as the sun had begun to set.

...This girl is really something...

I let out a sigh of admiration as I followed President Hidaka back to the main school building.

I'd heard that clubs always fight over getting her to help them out with stuff, but she really is an incredibly powerful person, despite her girlish looks.

"Hnn, haven't had a good workout like that in a while!"

The president was busy stretching her arms out full of satisfaction as we walked.

"...Come to think of it, what events were you in for the athletics festival, President?" I asked on a whim.

Given her strength and stamina I'd imagine her doing really well at the athletics festival, but oddly enough I can't remember ever seeing her.

"...The ball-toss."

The president said, almost as if pouting about it.

"Huh? The ball-toss?"

"My team would've won for sure if I'd actually participated, so the festival committee told me not to do any events other than the ones everyone does. Hahhh, I wanted to play at the festival too you know."

She then pursed her lips a bit, and made a bitter look at Yusa.

"T-there was nothing we could do about it... It wouldn't be any fun if everyone knew who'd win right from the start. It would've been a different story if you weren't in class 3 though."

"Class 3...? Ohhh..."

I realized what Yusa meant by that.

The teams for the festival were broken up by class number, which made it so the president in class 3-3 and Sena in class 2-3 were on the same team.

If there were two people who win every event they're in on the same team, then no other team would've even had a chance of winning, and the entire festival would've been ruined.

The president made another cheerful laugh after seeing Yusa's uncomfortable expression.

"Kuhaha, I know. You guys made the right choice. I'm the Student Council President after all, it was my duty to put up with it so everyone could have fun. What do you think Hasegawa? Pretty admirable of me, right?"

"Haha, you'd be more admirable if you didn't brag about it."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh.

...She's a really interesting person.

Not only does she put others above herself, but she does so gracefully without a hint of bitterness about it. I can see why so many people would like her.

"By the way, Hasegawa."

The president stopped walking all of a sudden, and turned around towards me.

"Yes?"

"I like you, would you be interested in joining the Student Council?"

"Huh?"

I stood there, stunned.

"W-wh-where did that come from!?" Yusa yelped, seeming as flustered as me.

"It's nothing much. We lost our general affairs manager recently, so since the position's open I figured I'd ask."

"Figured you'd ask? Isn't that a bit too casual...?"

I was astonished by how carefree she was being about it.

"Hrmm... That's not a bad idea... There's also the rule that says: 'In the event there is a vacancy in the executive roles, the president is allowed to appoint a regular member to the position so long as the other executive members agree,' so it wouldn't be breaking the rules either."

"Now you too, Yusa!?"

Yusa continued to stare at me with a serious look on her face, despite my yelling, and said,

"The executive roles in the Student Council are currently fulfilled by President Hinata, Vice-President Akane Ohtomo, our treasurer, me, and our clerk, Karin Jinguuji, but we always run into trouble because we're so short on hands."

"Carrying all these boxes was supposed to be the general affairs manager's work, too," the president added.

"We have to hurry and finish the preparations for the Christmas party and ski training in January too, so right now we can use all the help we can get. The four of us are all girls too, which presents problems for us sometimes... Having a guy around would be a huge help! I'm sure you'd be perfect for the job, Hasegawa!"

Yusa seemed strangely enthusiastic as she tried to convince me to join, but all I did was sigh.

"I'd be perfect for the job...? Do you honestly think that?"

"? What do you mean?"

Yusa tilted her head in confusion, so I asked her,

"...Do you honestly not know what everyone else at school thinks of me?"

Yusa paused briefly to think before cutely tilting her head again, and replying,

"Umm, do they all think...... that you're a super cool bad boy?"

"You're the only one who thinks that! Thank you!

Her answer was so off the mark that I ended up thanking her before regaining my composure and letting out another sigh.

"Hahh... You're completely wrong. ...I'm not a bad boy, just plain 'bad'... Basically, like a yankee or a delinquent. My hair, my face, and a bunch of other little stuff I do makes everyone think that."

"What!?"

"Hrm... Now that you mention it your hair does stand out a bit at this school, and you look menacing. I can see why people would think you're a delinquent."

I ended up making a wry smile after hearing the president's blunt evaluation, and said,

"Do you get it now? If you let someone like me into the Student Council it'll just make you guys look b——"

"Only a fool would judge someone based on their appearance alone. I couldn't care less what people like that think."

The president declared without a hint of hesitation, as if it were only natural.

I opened my eyes wide in surprise, and simply stood there staring at the president's face.

Come to think of it, she hasn't made a single comment about my appearance all day today, let alone acted scared of me because of it.

Up until now, I've had people act afraid of me like most students do, think I'm a yankee like Sena and Kate did when we first met, tease me for looking like a Yankee like Yozora and Rika do, or in rare cases have some weird yet positive impression of me like Yusa and Yukimura, all because of how I look.

This girl before me might be the first person I've ever met who's the same age as me but doesn't care about how I look at all.

Don't judge someone based on how they look—— It's easy enough to say, but doing it is hard.

Even I sometimes think "She's got a cute face" or "He looks scary" despite having met my fair share of trouble because of people doing that to me. In fact, I even imagined 'how much easier my life would be if I had that kind of friendly appearance' when I saw the president give her speech at the athletics festival, too. I don't think anyone can really help themselves from thinking like that.

And that's to say nothing about the near-impossible act of completely ignoring the appearance of someone you've just met.

Hinata Hidaka, huh...

I can't believe someone like her exists... and in the same school as me, too.

"What's the matter, Hasegawa? Why are you spacing out?"

"Ah, i-it's nothing!"

I hurriedly tried to act normal after the president gave me a dubious look.

"I see. So, how about it?"

I was honestly at a loss.

I thought to myself that working for this person wouldn't be half bad—— in fact, it'd probably be amazing.

However I shook that thought off, and told her,

"...S-sorry, but I think the Student Council is too much for me..."

"I see..."

Upon seeing the dejected look on the president's face, I quickly added,

"B-but, if you ever need help with manual labor stuff like this again, then just say the word! I've usually got plenty of free time!"

I blurted it out so fast it was as if I'd done it by reflex.

"By reflex"—— In other words, it wasn't an excuse to avoid the Neighbors Club, it was how I truly felt.

After hearing that, both the president's and Yusa's faces broke out into huge smiles.

"I see! So then, can you come again tomorrow? The library staff asked us to help sort some books."

"O-of course, no problem at all!"

"A fine answer. Today must be my lucky day, meeting such a hard worker as yourself! It was worth sneaking away from Akane to come out here, kuhahaha!"

The president said full of cheer, along with a loud, hearty laugh.

 

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Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 8 A New Light

2013-04-03T15:51:47Z

Dan.:

---A New Light---

After running out of the clubroom the weekend quickly passed by, and it was now Monday after school.

As I was walking through the halls with heavy steps, I saw Aoi Yusa a ways off walking in my direction.

She was carrying two cardboard boxes and looked really unsteady on her feet.

The boxes looked pretty heavy, and she was wearing a pretty stern expression as she carried them.

The boxes made it so she couldn't see in front of her very well, and it wasn't until she was about a meter away that she realized it was me, causing her to go "Ah..." and make an awkward face.

Yusa averted her gaze and quickly tried to pass by me.

"Awa!?"

However, all of a sudden she tripped over her own feet and lost her balance.

"Uoh!?"

I reflexively grabbed both boxes with my hands and held them steady, allowing Yusa to regain her balance.

"Phew... T-thank you, Hasegawa. I-if you'll excuse me!"

"Hey, wait!"

I called out to Yusa as she tried to quickly get away from me, and asked her,

"...Want some help?"

"I-I'm fi—— Owah, ah?"

Yusa was right in the middle of refusing my offer when she tripped again, almost dropping the top box. All I could do was sigh at her.

"...You can't even see where you're going. It's dangerous——"

I said before snatching the top box.

"——Uwoah!?"

However it was heavier than I thought it'd be, causing me to let out a yelp in a panicked voice.

Most girls would probably have a hell of a time trying to carry two of these at once... Hell, some guys might even have trouble carrying two.

"T-thank you Hasegawa..."

Yusa thanked me while blushing faintly.

"Don't sweat it."

I said, and then started walking alongside Yusa.

"These are pretty heavy... what's in 'em?"

"Request forms and printouts used during the school festival. There's some pamphlets and such in here too."

"Ahh, paper huh. No wonder it's heavy... What were you thinking, carrying two of these at once?"

"I-I couldn't help it, there's a lot of them I have to move! ——Uwo!"

Even with only one box Yusa still looked unsteady on her feet.

"...Are you OK?"

"Y-yes..."

Yusa seemed embarrassed as she nodded at me.

"So if you have a lot, does that mean there's still more after these two?"

"Yes."

"Why are you even carrying these in the first place?"

"It's part of my Student Council duties."

"You have to carry all of them by yourself?"

"Yes."

"How can they make one person carry so many of these alone..."

"T-that's not it!"

Yusa hurriedly interjected upon hearing my accusatory tone.

"It's not like everyone else in the Student Council pushed this onto me. It's the opposite actually, I turned down their offer to help."

"How come?"

"Because it's my fault for skipping a week of work that things got this backed up. I can't bother everyone else with this when they're already so busy."

Yusa plainly stated with a super serious look on her face.

That week she skipped... is probably the time she spent observing what we were doing in the Neighbors Club.

And apparently this is the work that piled up in that time.

"...Hey, Yusa."

"Yes?"

"...Why did you try so hard to get rid of the Neighbors Club?"

I asked her something that'd been on my mind.

First she came and complained we weren't following school rules, and when that failed she went so far as checking the staff roster just to find something we did wrong.

And that's all despite the fact that the Neighbors Club hasn't ever caused any real problems.

The fact we spend all of our time playing around is probably an issue, but I'm pretty sure there are plenty of clubs besides ours who don't do much.

If it was just about the school rules, then there are plenty of other students who aren't following them. In fact, I'd be surprised if you could find even one person who follows all the school rules to a T.

There's also the fact that the time I first met Yusa she actually complimented my clothes and hair and such because she thought I was doing all that to be fashionable. 

Even if she is a ridiculously serious hard worker, I don't think she's an inflexible stubborn person at all.

And yet, she focused on the Neighbors Club to the point that it caused problems with her own work, and even tried to have the club disbanded.

I'm not sure how to put it exactly, but it just doesn't seem like something she'd do.

"I did it because people with amazing skills should be in a place that suits those skills."

Yusa plainly answered.

"...A place that suits their skills?"

"Yes! It is a great loss to all of mankind to have a person as gifted as Sena Kashiwazaki wasting her time in such a place!"

"To all of mankind, huh..."

I said while making a wry smile, and then asked,

"...So, basically, you were trying to get rid of the Neighbors Club for Sena's sake?"

"Yes!" Yusa immediately replied.

"I see..."

Looking at it from an objective point of view—— I'm sure Yusa is right.

Whether or not it's something that affects all of mankind aside, I'm sure Sena could achieve some great things in a sports club.

She might be fatally uncooperative, but it'd be fine as long as she did solo events, and even for team events her specs are so high it balances out her faults and then some.

And Sena isn't the only one in the Neighbors Club like that.

Yozora Mikadzuki is amazing at both academics and sports.

She's bad at socializing, but it's not like she can't fit into a group at all, and I'm sure she'd be able to handle just about anything you throw at her.

Needless to say there's Rika Shiguma as well, who's already done actual professional work.

I bet tons of people would love to have her spend her free time helping them research and invent things. In fact, there's probably more people who'd want her than there are who'd want Sena. 

Kobato Hasegawa is popular in her middle school—— She has a place she belongs outside the Neighbors Club.

She should value the bonds she has with her classmates, so she can be ready for when she eventually graduates and becomes a high school student.

Maria Takayama has an older sister at her side who loves her more than anyone else.

Even if she didn't have the Neighbors Club, I'm sure her sister would protect her and guide her right this time.

As for Yukimura Kusunoki, she claims "I do not need friends." and thus completely denies the idea of "making friends" at the heart of the Neighbors Club.

A shiver ran through my body and caused all my hair to stand on end.

If you think about it logically,

the Neighbors club has no reason to,

no reason to...

"Just kidding, that was a lie."

Yusa said with a sigh just before my brain could form that final terrifying word.

"Huh? A lie?"

"...It would've been nice if I had a cool reason like doing it for the world, or for someone else, or for society, or for justice, but... that's not why I did it. Honestly, I didn't think about doing it for her at all."

"...What do you mean?"

Yusa made a self-derisive smile at my question.

"I just wanted to beat Sena Kashiwazaki. I wanted to show the queen who has everything that not everything will go her way. ...Basically, I was jealous. I wanted someone blessed like her to pay a fitting price. If you're more blessed than others, then you should suffer an equal amount. Otherwise it'd be unfair. If there are people who are born with everything and get to be happy no matter what, then what about the normal people out there trying their best every single day?"

Yusa then paused and went, "Hahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~~" and let out a big sigh.

"...But, trying to harass Sena Kashiwazaki only ended up making me look more pathetic... I even caused trouble for you too, Hasegawa. I'm sorry."

Yusa seemed to truly regret her actions as she apologized to me.

Honestly, I don't think playing the bad guy suits her in the least.

"You don't have to worry about us, what's done is done... And besides, I kinda know what you mean..."

"I appreciate it, even if it is just a lie."

Yusa said with an apologetic look on her face.

I wasn't lying though. After all, what's wrong with being jealous of others?

"...Oh, also,"

There was something more important than her apology I needed to tell her.

"...You're wrong about thinking that Sena has everything. There are things that even she doesn't have."

"Oh? Just what doesn't she have then?"

"...Friends, for example."

"Ahaha."

Yusa made a big grin after hearing my completely serious answer.

"W-why are you laughing?"

Yusa looked like she'd just heard something hilarious as she said,

"Aha, you've got as good a sense of humor as always, Hasegawa~ As if there's anybody who doesn't have any friends! Good joke though! Pfft, haha!"

"......Y-yeah, guess you're right, haha..."

"Thank you very much, Hasegawa! I appreciate you telling such a funny joke to try and cheer someone like me up! You're a really nice and wonderful person!"

She made a sweet smile, and I could see that her walking wasn't as labored as it was before.

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol8_Ch09_Img01(Vexed).png|thumb]]

"........."

.........It's good to see she's back to her usual self again, but... for some reason I feel kinda depressed right now...

☺

Yusa and I left the school building, and carried the boxes all the way out to a shed tucked away in a corner of the school grounds.

Inside the shed there were bunches of folded up cardboard boxes, stacks of printer paper, newspapers, and books all separated into their own little areas.

I've heard that all the paper garbage in St. Chronica Academy goes here, and that once a month they send it out to be recycled.

I took all the paper out of my cardboard box, broke it up into smaller stacks, then tied it up with some vinyl rope and placed it in the designated area.

I folded up the cardboard box too, and placed it on top of the other folded up boxes.

Just one box alone was quite a bit of work.

"Thank you very much, Hasegawa. You were a big help."

Yusa said with a smile while wiping the sweat off of her forehead.

She then told me,

"I'll be fine now, you can go to your club."

"...!"

My heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest at the mention of the word "club".

"You've still got more to carry, don't you? I'll help with those too."

I said, trying my best to act calm.

"Huh?"

Yusa looked confused for a moment, and then said,

"Y-you don't have to do that! This is all work I should be doing!"

"Don't worry about it. In for a penny in for a pound."

"B-but there are still quite a few left..."

"Then all the more reason for me to help. Can't just abandon you, now can I?"

That was, without a doubt, what I honestly thought.

I'd feel bad if I left a little girl like her (even if she is the same age as me) to do all this heavy lifting by herself.

"But it doesn't even have anything to do with you, I'd feel bad making you help..."

"This is all work that piled up while you were observing the Neighbors Club, right? Then it does have something to do with me."

It's also true that I felt a bit guilty about making Yusa waste all that time.

"You... think so...?"

After mulling it over for a few moments, Yusa made a cheerful smile and said,

"Okay, then I'll take you up on your offer. Thank you very much, Hasegawa!"

"...But is it really okay if you don't go to your club?"

I did my best to sound casual as I responded to Yusa's hesitant question.

"You should know by now that the Neighbors Club doesn't have any specific activities. If we have other stuff to do then we're free do that stuff instead."

That is also the truth.

The seven of us might've started gathering more frequently lately, but it wasn't too long ago that hardly anyone ever showed up.

People would be absent for any number of reasons you'd never get away with in a normal club, whether it be because they wanted to buy a new book, wanted to play a new video game, wanted to do their homework, etc.

In fact, sometimes the only reason would be that they didn't feel like it, and on top of that they wouldn't even tell anyone they weren't coming. To tell the truth, I've actually done that on more than one occasion myself.

Thus, "helping the Student Council" was just the reason I needed.

It was a perfect reason, one nobody could fault me for.

.........

...Why have I been going out of my way to mention "this is the truth" and "that was what I really thought" for the past little while now?

...Why was I looking for "a reason I can't go the Neighbors Club"?

...Who am I making excuses to?

.........The answer is obvious.

I didn't want to admit that, even if it was just for a split second, that I thought to myself, "I don't want to go to the Neighbors Club."

☺

Yusa and I made three more trips back and forth, carrying the heavy cardboard boxes from the Student Council storage room (the room next to the Student Council's room) to the shed.

"Hafuuu~"

Yusa plunked the box she'd been carrying down onto the floor of the shed, and then sat down on top of it.

She was breathing heavily, and her forehead was covered in sweat.

I was in much the same shape, and was currently resting against a shelf regaining my breath.

"Haa......... This is pretty hard work..."

"Sh-shure ish... Hau..."

Yusa gave a tired nod in response to my wry smile.

"How much is left?"

"There's still all the boxes on the floor in our storage room, so at least 10..."

"Seriously...? All of those...?"

"B-but don't worry! We're almost done with all the paper, all that should be left after that is cloth and wood stuff!"

"C-cloth aside, isn't wood kinda heavy...!?"

I said as a cold sweat ran down my cheek.

"...I know it's too late now anyway, but couldn't you have burned all the paper and cloth at the campfire?"

I thought it was a pretty good idea myself, but Yusa simply made a wry smile.

"Ahaha... Maybe some of it, but definitely not all of it."

"Eh, how come?"

"It's dangerous if the fire gets too big, and some stuff might be toxic if we burned it. There's also the fact that the people in the neighborhood would complain if we kept the campfire going too late into the night. ...Actually, it's so much work to do the campfire that every year people say we should stop doing it."

"Really?"

"Yes. We only still do it because it's been a tradition since the school was founded. ...Although some people say it's also because the chairman won't cancel it."

Guess there's a lot of annoying behind-the-scenes stuff even for something as beautiful as the campfire.

"...Alright, ready to get back to work?"

"Ah, yes. ...Um... I think I'll do the rest by myself after all, Hasegawa you can..."

I cut off Yusa mid-sentence, and told her,

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm helping you to the very end and that's that. ......But, well, wanna call it a day after two or three more boxes? It's starting to get dark and all."

"Eh!? Are you going to help me tomorrow too?"

"Of course."

Yusa looked incredibly grateful and made a bashful smile upon hearing my answer.

"Hasegawa... Thank you very much...!"

"Don't sweat it."

...Having someone direct such honest appreciation towards me was honestly really painful. I don't deserve to be thanked by anyone.

"C-come on, let's go."

"OK!"

Yusa nodded with a smile after I'd stuttered my words out, after which we turned towards the entrance to the shed.

However as we did, someone appeared at the entrance.

"...!?"

The light behind them was so bright I couldn't see their face very well.

I could tell the person had long hair and was wearing a skirt though, so it had to be a girl.

"Kuhaha! Excellent work you two!"

...I know I've heard that clear voice that makes you want to just keep on listening to it before.

The girl who'd just appeared with a blinding light behind her greeted us in a hearty voice along with a boisterous laugh, and then entered the shed.

Her good-looks gave her an aura of refinement and intelligence, and her long black hair, tied into braids which made her look like the daughter of a well-off family, only served to strengthen that impression.

Slender legs, a supple waist, and a plump yet modest chest.

Her name is Hinata Hidaka.

She's the student council president here at St. Chronica Academy, beloved by just about everybody (or so I've heard), as well as the girl Yozora secretly loathes and calls "King Lear".

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol8_Ch09_Img02(Vexed).png|thumb]]

"Hinata!? Why are you here!?"

Yusa said in a shocked tone of voice.

President Hinata responded by going "Heh," before making a both majestic and charming smile, and then saying,

"I heard there was a regular student helping you out with your work, you see. I figured I should say my thanks as Student Council President."

"Eh..."

She came all the way out here just to thank me?

I was pretty shocked myself, but Yusa simply gave the president a cold stare.

"...You just used that as an excuse to skip out on your work again, didn't you?"

"Kuhaha! Interacting with my fellow students is my job!"

From the looks of it Yusa was spot on with her guess, but the president didn't seem to care at all and instead made a cheerful laugh.

"My goodness..."

Yusa said with a sigh, after which the president shifted her gaze away from Yusa and over to me.

Her eyes resembling a pair of giant black pearls met with mine.

Her gaze had a certain force to it, but it wasn't an overwhelming one. Rather, it was a tender, comfortable one.

It almost felt like I was going to be sucked into those eyes of hers.

"Hinata, this is Kodaka Hasegawa of class 2-5."

Yusa said, introducing me to the president, which elicited from her the following response:

"Ohh, so this is him, huh!?"

"Eh, you know him?"

"Nope."

The president said with a serious look on her face in reply to Yusa's surprise.

"Then why'd you act all surprised!?"

"I was just going with the flow!"

......What the heck is going on here...

For a second there I thought that even the Student Council President had heard all those bad rumors about me... I almost had a heart attack for cryin' out loud...

"Sheesh..."

Yusa's expression now appeared a bit annoyed as she introduced the president to me.

"Ah, Hasegawa, this is the Student Council President, Hinata Hidaka."

"Ah, yeah... I know."

I said before making a little bow in the president's direction.

"Umm... Hi, I'm Hasegawa."

"I'm Hinata Hidaka. Nice to meet you, Hasegawa."

"Ah, y-yeah, same here."

I couldn't help but feel nervous after having that smile as bright as the sun itself cast at me all of a sudden.

"By the way, why are you helping Aoi, Hasegawa? ...Ah, I know, you must be Aoi's boyfriend, right!? I'm so jealous of you, Aoi!"

""T-that's not it!!""

Yusa and I both denied the president's question in harmony with one another.

Yusa then went red in the face and started fidgeting as she went on to say,

"T-there's no way that... Hasegawa would ever g-go out with someone like me! Besides, Hasegawa already has a fine girlfri-... Oh, wait. You said you aren't going out with Sena Kashiwazaki, didn't you?"

"Y-yeah, that's right..."

Hearing Sena's name got me flustered again.

"Then are you going out with anyone else in the Neighbors Club?"

"I-I'm not! I'm not going out with anyone. ...It's not like that with them."

"Hmm, I see. That makes sense though."

"? What do you mean by that?"

I asked, thinking it was weird how convinced Yusa looked, to which she replied,

"Eh? Because, you're the only guy in the Neighbors Club, right? Things would get really awkward if the only super cool guy in the club started going out with one of the girls!"

..................

............

...Whether I'm cool or not is up for debate, but...

I placed my hand on Yusa's head—— and started patting her.

"H-Hasegawa!? W-why are you patting me on the head with an expression that looks like the face an old man not long for this world would make while looking at his newborn granddaughter!?"

"Ah, well~... It's just... I'm happy that someone out there gets it......"

Crap, I might actually cry.

"I-I don't really get it, but... f-feel free to pat me as much as you like! ...Fuah... It feels so good..."

"Hey~ Earth to Hasegawa~"

The president said with a dumbfounded look on her face, after which I let out a gasp and stopped patting Yusa's head.

Yusa, who'd been entranced until just a second ago, also came back to her senses and started blushing before quickly moving away from me.

"So, if you're not her boyfriend then why?"

"Ah, well, it seemed like a lot of work for just one person, so, you know..."

"Hasegawa is a wonderful person who can't overlook those in need!"

"Eh!? No, I wouldn't go that far..."

Yusa's overwhelming praise left me feeling bewildered.

"I see, that's quite admirable of you! Not many young men like you these days. Keep up the good work!"

"...Eh? Oh, yeah..."

"Alright then, let's get this cleaned up!"

However Yusa squinted at the president's easygoing comment and said,

"...Hinata, please go do your own work."

"Kuhaha, no need to be so cold with me. Come on, it'll go faster with three people, won't it?"

"...Well, yes, that's true, but..."

Yusa then let out a sigh of resignation.

"...Fine. I don't want to bother Hasegawa any more than I already have, so let's all do it together. We might be able to finish today if you help us."

☺

The boxes we'd been carrying were plenty heavy to begin with, but the president was able to carry two of them easily.

Thanks to that we were able to carry twice as many boxes per trip as before, and just like Yusa said, we ended up finishing moving all the boxes just as the sun had begun to set.

...This girl is really something...

I let out a sigh of admiration as I followed President Hidaka back to the main school building.

I'd heard that clubs always fight over getting her to help them out with stuff, but she really is an incredibly powerful person, despite her girlish looks.

"Hnn, haven't had a good workout like that in a while!"

The president was busy stretching her arms out full of satisfaction as we walked.

"...Come to think of it, what events were you in for the athletics festival, President?" I asked on a whim.

Given her strength and stamina I'd imagine her doing really well at the athletics festival, but oddly enough I can't remember ever seeing her.

"...The ball-toss."

The president said, almost as if pouting about it.

"Huh? The ball-toss?"

"My team would've won for sure if I'd actually participated, so the festival committee told me not to do any events other than the ones everyone does. Hahhh, I wanted to play at the festival too you know."

She then pursed her lips a bit, and made a bitter look at Yusa.

"T-there was nothing we could do about it... It wouldn't be any fun if everyone knew who'd win right from the start. It would've been a different story if you weren't in class 3 though."

"Class 3...? Ohhh..."

I realized what Yusa meant by that.

The teams for the festival were broken up by class number, which made it so the president in class 3-3 and Sena in class 2-3 were on the same team.

If there were two people who win every event they're in on the same team, then no other team would've even had a chance of winning, and the entire festival would've been ruined.

The president made another cheerful laugh after seeing Yusa's uncomfortable expression.

"Kuhaha, I know. You guys made the right choice. I'm the Student Council President after all, it was my duty to put up with it so everyone could have fun. What do you think Hasegawa? Pretty admirable of me, right?"

"Haha, you'd be more admirable if you didn't brag about it."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh.

...She's a really interesting person.

Not only does she put others above herself, but she does so gracefully without a hint of bitterness about it. I can see why so many people would like her.

"By the way, Hasegawa."

The president stopped walking all of a sudden, and turned around towards me.

"Yes?"

"I like you, would you be interested in joining the Student Council?"

"Huh?"

I stood there, stunned.

"W-wh-where did that come from!?" Yusa yelped, seeming as flustered as me.

"It's nothing much. We lost our general affairs manager recently, so since the position's open I figured I'd ask."

"Figured you'd ask? Isn't that a bit too casual...?"

I was astonished by how carefree she was being about it.

"Hrmm... That's not a bad idea... There's also the rule that says: 'In the event there is a vacancy in the executive roles, the president is allowed to appoint a regular member to the position so long as the other executive members agree,' so it wouldn't be breaking the rules either."

"Now you too, Yusa!?"

Yusa continued to stare at me with a serious look on her face, despite my yelling, and said,

"The executive roles in the Student Council are currently fulfilled by President Hinata, Vice-President Akane Ohtomo, our treasurer, me, and our clerk, Karin Jinguuji, but we always run into trouble because we're so short on hands."

"Carrying all these boxes was supposed to be the general affairs manger's work, too," the president added.

"We have to hurry and finish the preparations for the Christmas party and ski training in January too, so right now we can use all the help we can get. The four of us are all girls too, which presents problems for us sometimes... Having a guy around would be a huge help! I'm sure you'd be perfect for the job, Hasegawa!"

Yusa seemed strangely enthusiastic as she tried to convince me to join, but all I did was sigh.

"I'd be perfect for the job...? Do you honestly think that?"

"? What do you mean?"

Yusa tilted her head in confusion, so I asked her,

"...Do you honestly not know what everyone else at school thinks of me?"

Yusa paused briefly to think before cutely tilting her head again, and replying,

"Umm, do they all think...... that you're a super cool bad boy?"

"You're the only one who thinks that! Thank you!

Her answer was so off the mark that I ended up thanking her before regaining my composure and letting out another sigh.

"Hahh... You're completely wrong. ...I'm not a bad boy, just plain 'bad'... Basically, like a yankee or a delinquent. My hair, my face, and a bunch of other little stuff I do makes everyone think that."

"What!?"

"Hrm... Now that you mention it your hair does stand out a bit at this school, and you look menacing. I can see why people would think you're a delinquent."

I ended up making a wry smile after hearing the president's blunt evaluation, and said,

"Do you get it now? If you let someone like me into the Student Council it'll just make you guys look b——"

"Only a fool would judge someone based on their appearance alone. I couldn't care less what people like that think."

The president declared without a hint of hesitation, as if it were only natural.

I opened my eyes wide in surprise, and simply stood there staring at the president's face.

Come to think of it, she hasn't made a single comment about my appearance all day today, let alone acted scared of me because of it.

Up until now, I've had people act afraid of me like most students do, think I'm a yankee like Sena and Kate did when we first met, tease me for looking like a Yankee like Yozora and Rika do, or in rare cases have some weird yet positive impression of me like Yusa and Yukimura, all because of how I look.

This girl before me might be the first person I've ever met who's the same age as me but doesn't care about how I look at all.

Don't judge someone based on how they look—— It's easy enough to say, but doing it is hard.

Even I sometimes think "She's got a cute face" or "He looks scary" despite having met my fair share of trouble because of people doing that to me. In fact, I even imagined 'how much easier my life would be if I had that kind of friendly appearance' when I saw the president give her speech at the athletics festival, too. I don't think anyone can really help themselves from thinking like that.

And that's to say nothing about the near-impossible act of completely ignoring the appearance of someone you've just met.

Hinata Hidaka, huh...

I can't believe someone like her exists... and in the same school as me, too.

"What's the matter, Hasegawa? Why are you spacing out?"

"Ah, i-it's nothing!"

I hurriedly tried to act normal after the president gave me a dubious look.

"I see. So, how about it?"

I was honestly at a loss.

I thought to myself that working for this person wouldn't be half bad—— in fact, it'd probably be amazing.

However I shook that thought off, and told her,

"...S-sorry, but I think the Student Council is too much for me..."

"I see..."

Upon seeing the dejected look on the president's face, I quickly added,

"B-but, if you ever need help with manual labor stuff like this again, then just say the word! I've usually got plenty of free time!"

I blurted it out so fast it was as if I'd done it by reflex.

"By reflex"—— In other words, it wasn't an excuse to avoid the Neighbors Club, it was how I truly felt.

After hearing that, both the president's and Yusa's faces broke out into huge smiles.

"I see! So then, can you come again tomorrow? The library staff asked us to help sort some books."

"O-of course, no problem at all!"

"A fine answer. Today must be my lucky day, meeting such a hard worker as yourself! It was worth sneaking away from Akane to come out here, kuhahaha!"

The president said full of cheer, along with a loud, hearty laugh.

 

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Talk:Main Page

2013-03-30T03:48:14Z

Dan.: /* Watchlist & protection logs */ new section

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-3

2013-03-11T16:32:52Z

Dan.:

== 3-3 The "Juumoji" Incident ==

037 - ♠10

I opened my boxed lunch while listening to the Broadcast Club's live radio broadcast.

What kind of day is it today, you ask? I would say today was one of those days when my sis would decide to make my boxed lunch for me. I should really be giving my thanks for the food I'm receiving, but what's with this ethnic-looking dish comprised of spicy soybeans and fried chicken covered in yoghurt? The grains of rice in this Nasi Goreng<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_goreng Wikipedia - Nasi Goreng]</ref> looked bigger than the rice I normally have. Where'd she get this from?

The door was closed during lunch time. This ethnic looking boxed lunch sure looked good. Guess I'll take my time enjoying this.

"Heya."

Opening the door, Satoshi walked in, followed by Chitanda and Ibara.

"Great work you did there, guys," I said, pointing upwards, or rather, towards the radio broadcast from the speakers.

A while ago, they were doing an interview with The Cooking Club.

"That sure was a high quality competition, wasn't it?"

"Yes, indeed. The results were that close. I thought the amberjack teriyaki, the main dish of Team Fata Morgana's second member would be most capable of winning. The same goes for his steamed clams, though as this is a school cultural festival, in place of steaming it with sake, he substituted rice wine, but still the taste was superb. Though he prepared them so early, that by the time the competition was over they became quite cool. This was where Team Classics Club made their comeback. The second member's giseyaki and imo-mochi were properly stored to be re-heated, while you could feel the heat from their third member's kakiage rice bowl so much that it looked as though that the prawn heads were crying. This heat was the difference that decided their victory."

"And what about Team Astronomy Club?"

"They were in a world of their own."

Putting down my chopsticks, I spoke.

"Congratulations on winning."

By the way, something seems to have happened. As representing the winners to receive the prize, Ibara did not promote the Classics Club's name as she was supposed to, and to think Satoshi went through all this trouble to participate. At any rate, Satoshi was basically enjoying this more than promoting the club.

Despite being complimented, the three members were surprisingly apathetic to the radio broadcast.

"Thank you. It was thanks to Oreki-san's help. By the way, we have something to show you."

Chitanda spoke first. I have a really bad feeling about this.

"A-anyway, let's have lunch."

I prompted them to take their seats, which they duly did and slowly took out their own food... They've all bought bread from the school store. How unambitious.

Opening her bag of green bean paste bread, Chitanda turned around without even taking a bite.

"We have something to show you."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"This," She said and handed something to me. It looked like a greeting card. On it was written "The Cooking Club has lost its ladle." Signed by "Juumoji."

"Hmm."

I took a bite of the spicy beans and said, "The ladles were stolen?"

"Yes... but just ours."

Ibara nodded. As Ibara had made the kakiage rice bowl, she was most affected by the theft. And to think she could have just made dumplings out of the flour I provided... Who would have thought she would fry something with it? She sure is a sensitive person.

"Probably a prank by someone with too much time on their hands."

I returned the greeting card, yet the conversation did not end there.

Munching on his red bean paste bread, Satoshi smiled and said, "It's not just The Cooking Club, the same happened to the Go Club as well. I hear the A Capella Club was also hit."

"The Fortune Telling Association, too. They both found this, um, declaration of crime with the same font."

I see.

"Looks like someone really has a lot of time on their hands."

I tried to downplay the incident, but Chitanda was not one to be fooled. Disregarding the green bean paste bread in her hands, she held her fists tightly. Chitanda's large black eyes, which betray her normally gentle image, were now widening. I could sense the atmosphere changing.

T-this is bad. Why now? Not even half a day had passed yet. And I was hoping to endure the Cultural Festival without incident. To think Chitanda had restrained herself well yesterday, how did it come to this? Where has it gone wrong? Once she makes her move, nobody could stop her. I knew very well when Chitanda Eru would start getting curious, a dark emotion that could kill cats.

Speaking one word at a time she said, "Just who would do such a thing during the Cultural Festival? Why would Juumoji-san commit such acts with such a name? Why would he steal these items one after another?"

She's about to say that line.

"I'm ''really'' curious about it."

Ah, she's said it. She has finally gone and said it.

...No wait, there's no reason to be scared. Ever since enrolling here, I have not been able to suppress her curiosity, but right now, I have a trump card.

Instead of wasting my time making excuses, I promptly showed my trump card.

"Now is not the time for that. What about our anthologies?"

Yet just as I had finished speaking, Satoshi spoke.

"What about those anthologies indeed. Even if we raise our name recognition by participating in these straightforward events, we're not gonna improve our sales anyway. I was prepared to accept that this was a futile exercise, so I just thought of something better."

"Something better?"

Satoshi's eyes were smiling, but that's his usual self. Though he seems to be serious about what he's about to say.

"This series of thefts, coupled with a signed declaration of crime — it's clear we're looking at a phantom thief incident. It's bound to get reported by the Wall Newspaper Club, and possibly broadcasted by the Broadcast Club tomorrow. If we go along this line of thinking, even if we don't sell out, we'll still be able to look forward to selling up to thirty to forty copies."

...I see. It's not so bad if that's the case. Indeed, this is certainly a newsworthy topic. Satoshi's mic appeal yesterday yielded some results, so if we could get the two media clubs to work for us, it's possible to sell up to thirty or forty copies. However,

"How are we going to improve our sales in the first place anyway? This incident has got nothing to do with the Classics Club."

"Oh, I know,"

Ibara interrupted, "We have Oreki."

"Yup. Just as with the 'Hyouka' incident or the 'Empress' incident, Houtarou certainly performed well in both."

Wait a sec, I know where this conversation is going, but wait a sec.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Chitanda was a bit slow in getting their meaning. Satoshi explained with a mischievous smile.

"In other words, 'To find out how Oreki Houtaou, the Classic Club's super sleuth, manages to bring the harbinger of the Cultural Festival Juumonji to justice, read all about it in this "Hyouka," the Classics Club's anthology!' We could kill two birds with one stone by capturing Juumonji and promoting the Classic Club's name."

"I-I see! This is an excellent idea! I should hurry up and..."

Argh! I smacked my chopsticks onto the table.

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm not playing along with your games!"

I yelled. How can they toy around with people like that?

Yet, in contrast to my expectations, Satoshi surprisingly nodded in agreement that he was fooling around.

"You're right. I want to improve the sales, but it's probably not good to have Houtarou be our clown."

So you do get it... That I'll be nothing but a circus clown in such a charade.

"Besides, this 'Juumonji' guy is just stealing randomly. What do you want me to say to him if we do catch him?"

"I dunno, I was thinking you'd come up with something."

Don't be ridiculous.

"Why do you think I would be the one to do such a thing... First of all, how many people do you think have entered and left the school grounds during the Cultural Festival? And that's aside from our nearly one thousand students."

The room went silent. I munched another mouthful of ethnic boxed lunch.

Unwrapping the layers on her bacon roll, Ibara sighed.

"I don't think Fuku-chan's idea was bad. While I think it's a bit mean to have Oreki do something, if we could somehow catch that phantom thief, we could involve the Classics Club in this."

She unwrapped another layer.

"...If only the Classics Club were targeted."

"Yeah."

I nodded. If that were to happen, people would gradually turn their attention to the Classics Club while following the phantom thief incident. But in that case, there was no need to even catch this "Juumonji."

Satoshi muttered, "...We could stage it..."

"REJECTED."

Ibara replied sharply, "It's too risky."

"I was only kidding."

"When Fuku-chan says it, it doesn't sound like you're kidding... But, really, what could we do?"

"Try not to think too much about it, your roll's about to become straight."

Despite my quip, Ibara didn't even glare back at me and unwrapped yet another layer on her roll. She twitched her brows hard. Though she had the strongest sense of responsibility amongst us, she was also the one who's contributed the least to the Classics Club during this time. She must have realized this as well.

"Is there a chance the Classics Club would be targeted?"

Holding the green bean paste bread in her hand, Chitanda asked.

"Satoshi, how many participating clubs are there?"

"Fifty-one. Not a small number if you're wishing to be targeted."

"Would the thief calling himself Juumonji-san choose his targets randomly?"

"You think he'd target the Classics Club if he were to choose in such a fashion?"

The possibility would be zero. If it's completely random, the odds of being targeted would be...

"...Which clubs have been targeted again?"

Satoshi replied instantly, "The Go Club, A Capella Club, The Cooking Club, and what was it? Ah, the Fortune Telling Association."

Our odds of being targeted would be forty-seven out of fifty-one. Even if it were completely random, the possibility percentage would be insanely low. As I'm the only person watching the stall for the club, if I were to go out to take a walk or go to the bathroom, it would make it easier for us to be targeted.

...Hmm?

Wait a moment, this sounds strange.

I stopped Chitanda, who looked as though she was about to say something to me, and asked Satoshi, "Sorry, can you repeat which clubs were targeted again?"

"Sure, the Go Club, A Capella Club, Fortune Telling Association and The Cooking Club."

Hmm, could it be?

"In other words,"

I spoke cautiously, "The A Capella Club, the Go Club, the Fortune Telling Association, and The Cooking Club.

...Who else was targeted?"

Looking puzzled, Satoshi shook his head.

"Dunno, I've not heard of any."

Watching our conversation, Ibara began looking through the "Kanya Festival Guide" in her hands. It seems like she too had realized what I had. Searching via the gojuuon <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goj%C5%ABon Wikipedia - Gojuuon]</ref> directory for the club names at the front of the guide, she began listing some names.

"Film Club, Gardening Club, Drama Club, Sci-Fi Club."

"Yes, which of those four were hit?"

"Film Club, Gardening Club..."

Taking a deep breath, Satoshi yelled, "A.B.C.!"

"Eh? Eh? What do you mean?"

Chitanda was the only one who didn't get it.

Watching her squeeze her green bean paste bread to smithereens, I explained to her, "It is as you have wondered, he wouldn't have targeted the clubs randomly. It's all following a pattern, and a very simple one at that. The only reason we didn't realize it earlier was because the order in which we were told which clubs were targeted was mixed up. So, assuming the Film Club was targeted, we have: The A Capella Club, Go Club, Fortune Telling Association, Film Club, and The Cooking Club."

"Ah!"

Chitanda covered her mouth.

"The gojuuon sequence!"

Meanwhile, Satoshi was doing the rounds, calling someone on his cell phone.

"...Yes, just want to know if you've got something stolen... No, it's not me! Honest! ...Hmm? A water gun? I see, thanks."

He hung up the call as the three of us looked on.

Then he said, "It was the Gardening Club. One of their water guns was stolen while they were away from the room."

"Water gun? Why would the Gardening Club have water guns?"

A sensible question from Ibara, which I answered at once.

"They were making sweet potatoes, so they needed to prepare water to put out the fire, and they decided to use water guns because it looked cool that way."

"O-Oreki! How on earth did you know that!?"

Well, I'm sorry that I have amazing levels of perception. But actually, it was thanks to the Glock 17 that I had obtained earlier on. Ibara continued to mutter.

"But wait a minute. In 'A.B.C.,' it started with a person whose name starts with the letter A murdered in a place also starting with the letter A."

The only person here most likely to have read Agatha Christie's "The A.B.C. Murders" was probably Ibara.

"The Cooking Club had their ladle stolen, right?"

"Just wait a moment."

Stopping Ibara from going frantic, Satoshi took out a notebook and pen from the drawstring bag he always carries with him.

"Chitanda-san, what was it that was stolen from the Fortune Telling Association?"

"It's the 'Wheel of Fortune.'"

"OK!"

He began scribbling with his pen.

'''* A Capella Club ([A]KAPERA BU アカペラ部) - (Drink)''' 
'''* Go Club ([I]GO BU 囲碁部) - (Go Stones)''' 
'''* Fortune Telling Association ([U]RANAI KEN 占い研) - Wheel of Fortune ([U]NMEI NO WA 運命の輪)''' 
'''* Gardening Club ([E]NGEI BU 園芸部) - (Water Gun)''' 
'''* The Cooking Club ([O] RYOURI KEN お料理研) - Ladle ([O]TAMA おたま)'''

I see.

"Hmm. I've not seen their declaration of crime cards, but isn't this stretching it a bit?"

Satoshi tilted his head.

Feeling skeptical myself, I said, "Maybe the Gardening Club had their AK ('''[E]-KEI エーケイ''') stolen?"

"AK? What's that?"

"Their water gun, it's shaped like a Kalashnikov rifle."

"Really? I'll have to call the Gardening Club to confirm this."

"In that case, for the Go Club, they would have had their 'stones' ('''[I]SHI 石''') stolen."

Indeed, no one objected to such a hypothesis.

As for the A Capella Club, "The A Capella Club would be..."

"Hmm...... Awamori '''([A]WAMORI 泡盛)'''? <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awamori Wikipedia - Awamori]</ref> Hot sake '''([A]TSUKAN 熱燗)'''?"

"It wouldn't matter as long as we could confirm the item starts with an [A]. We shouldn't think too much on that."

This... Wouldn't this be the excellent chance that the Classics Club would wish for? This was not me forsaking my energy-saving lifestyle. As usual, if there's something that I don't have to do, I won't do it. But if I let this pass, wouldn't it be too much of a pity? Even I was feeling a bit excited by the dawn of such luck.

"But, how far will this 'Juumonji-san' go with his crimes?"

How can you be so carefree, Chitanda!?

"Yeah, that's a problem."

"It won't be a problem as long as he stops by the Classics Club."

...Do even Satoshi and Ibara not get it as well?

I raised my voice.

"What are you guys talking about? What does the culprit call himself again?"

"Eh? Isn't it Juumonji?"

"I don't know why you guys pronounce it as 'Juumonji', when normally you would pronounce it as 'Juumoji.'"

"...Well, that's because I have a friend called Juumonji Kaho..."

"Oh!" Ibara exclaimed.

"That's it! Juumoji (Ten Characters 十文字)! Since Chi-chan and Fuku-chan kept pronouncing it as 'Juumonji,' I didn't see the association! If it's 'Juumoji' (Ten Characters), then that would make The Cooking Club the fifth character."

Exactly.

"And the sixth target would start with [KA], in other words, the tenth and final target would start with [KO]... That's more than enough reason to get people to come visit the Classics Club ('''[KO]TENBU 古典部'''), isn't it?"

'''[148 COPIES REMAINING]'''

038 - ♥09

While I believe Fukube-san and Mayaka-san are both wonderful people, there's one thing I don't agree with them about.

They make too much fun of Oreki-san.

He gets called dullish, a slacker, oversleeper, lazy, good-for-nothing, loiterer, too lazy to even loiter, a lion that sleeps all day, not a even a lion even if he sleeps all day, the antithesis of Labour Thanksgiving Day, sluggish, and all other sorts of bad names.

For me, if I see something I don't understand, I would seek out its answer. If I see something that looks out of place, I would spot it. But while I often get praised for being able to answer any problem being asked, I do not find myself matching that description. For some of the incredible things that I have come across, I was not able to find the answer to half of them. This would be like how rice cannot be grown by just merely preparing soil, water and seeds alone, part of being a rice farmer is to oversee how they're grown properly. Oreki-san was able to find the key to the questions that I did not understand, and obtain the answers which I had never thought about. He helped massively in the "Hyouka" incident, as named by Fukube-san, as well as come up with an amazing theory in the "Empress" incident.

He wasn't just a bright person. In contrast to what he himself normally claims, that he couldn't be bothered to help other people if it is too troubling for him, I believe he is actually a passionate and warm person deep inside.

Then again, I realize I've been relying too much on that warmth of his. That's why I tell myself I shouldn't rely too much on him...

With the new vision and possibilities shown to me by Oreki-san, I now head once again to the Wall Newspaper Club room. Based on the "pattern" that Oreki-san had spoke of, it would certainly attract the attention of the Wall Newspaper Club. Yet, whether I could convey this message to them to get them moving would depend on how I negotiate with them. I am no longer overwhelmed by the colourful decorations of the Cultural Festival, the incessant chattering of the students and the various posters pasted everywhere. Instead, courtesy of Irisu-san's advice, my heart was filled with the confidence that this time I will not fail.

According to Fukube-san, it seems the "Juumoji" incident has yet to receive much attention, which means this story would be extremely newsworthy for the Wall Newspaper Club. This would be the sort of request where, based on Irisu-san's advice, I do not need to repay any favour.

I recalled what was being taught, as my sense of memory is one of the few things that I'm confident of. Important requests, give them expectations, make them think our problem is trivial, and make the request alone to a person of the opposite gender.

As to why these methods would be effective, I'm still at a loss in understanding them... It feels bad for me to use systems which I do not fully understand as mere tools, but I can't afford to be picky.

Making good use of that advice, I rehearsed my lines. To make sure I don't say anything wrong, I repeated them again and again on my own.

I arrived before the Wall Newspaper Club room, the Biology Lecture Room, and knocked on the closed door,

"Comin~!"

A hoarse voice replied as the door opened startlingly.

There were six people inside, which was more than yesterday. But that was not the only thing that was different. While Toogaito-san was amongst them, the other five people were all speaking on their cell phones. One of them finished speaking and spoke to another male student who was on the phone.

"Cooking Club. Confirm it with their president."

The student who heard the instruction made a circle with his finger. Was it money? ...Oh, he was making an OK sign. The student who just finished speaking on the phone wrote some sort of list before heading out of the room, seemingly not noticing my presence.

It was then that a voice spoke.

"Sorry about that, Chitanda-san. We're a bit busy at the moment."

Before noticing, Toogaito-san had started walking towards me. After being mesmerized by the passion of the Wall Newspaper Club, I quickly returned to my senses.

"Try coming back some other time."

"Yes, sorry to be troubling you..."

No! I mustn't! I quickly stopped what I was saying. We haven't got much time ourselves. If I give up so soon, I wouldn't be able to face Oreki-san. I should at least convey my message,

"...Sorry to be troubling you, but, could you please take a moment? I have something to tell you."

While it's an unreasonable request, Toogaito said with a troubled expression, "All right, make it quick."

He seems to have accepted the request. I should be bowing to him in gratitude, but as he's in a hurry, I have decided to omit that.

It was then that I remembered. Toogaito-san is a member of the opposite gender. As there were other members present, I gradually took a few steps back away from the Biology Room. Perhaps unconsciously, Toogaito-san stepped forward in tandem towards the corridor. I then inadvertently closed the door. During the Cultural Festival, there was virtually no one around the Biology Room on the third floor of the Special Block besides us.

I've managed to adhere to one point of Irisu-san's advice now. To ensure I didn't fail, I suppressed my nervousness and spoke,

"It's about the Classics Club."

"Like I said, we'll only consider it if it's newsworthy."

"Well, umm, it ''is'' newsworthy."

Now, to make an expectation out of him. I think I should say it like this:

"It's something that we can only tell the Wall Newspaper Club."

"Hmm?"

Toogaito-san, who had originally wanted the conversation to end quickly, suddenly had a change in his attitude.

"What do you mean?"

"It's like this,"

I took a quick breath.

"We've discovered that during the Cultural Festival, many clubs have had various items stolen."

I had wanted to go on, but Toogaito-san's reaction was vigorous.

"'Juumoji!'"

"Eh?"

"What do you know about 'Juumoji?!'"

I was at a loss in how to deal with this sudden, unexpected turn of events. Umm, how should I respond? It's a bad habit of mine to suddenly stop speaking in times like these, even Oreki-san had told me about it. I must calm down, in other words, I must try and figure out what's going on so far...

Toogaito-san, or rather the Wall Newspaper Club, has already figured out something about the "Juumoji" incident, and they're extremely interested in it... Rather than a favour that's not expected to be repaid, this has now become a request where the favour is expected to be repaid.

W-what should I do?

No, this shouldn't change what I should be telling him. I nodded and tried my best to calm down, before compiling my thoughts into words.

I explained everything.

From beginning to end.

Toogaito-san looked very intrigued in what I had said and was extremely pleased.

"I see... The gojuuon sequence, huh? Now it makes sense, The Cooking Club's official name starts with [O]. And the Fortune Telling Association was hit as well... So that's why."

I was a bit curious on what he meant by the end.

"Umm, did you figure something out?"

"Oh."

Toogaito-san had a bitter look on his face.

"This is the Wall Newspaper Club after all,"

"Yes."

I nodded.

Toogaito then repeated again in a different tone, "The Wall Newspaper Club ('''[KA]BESHINBUN BU 壁新聞部'''), starts with a [KA]."

"Oh! So that means,"

"We lost out cutter knife ('''[KA]TTA-NAIFU カッターナイフ'''), it happened when we were all out."

"And that's why you're all so busy now?"

Toogaito-san nodded.

"While it's vexing that we had something stolen from us, it's this sort of accidental incident that we most look forward to. This is way more interesting than the usual stuff that we have to report on, isn't it? You've really saved us a lot of trouble. Who would have thought this 'Juumoji' would work in such a way?"

He then added a compliment.

"Good work for figuring that out."

"Oh, yes, that was mainly Oreki-san."

Yet, upon mentioning Oreki-san's name, for some reason Toogaito-san's smile was a mix between delight and vexation.

"...Ah, of course. Anyway, give him my thanks."

"Okay."

"Well, thanks for the information."

With a cheerful expression, I watched as Toogaito-san returned to the Biology Room.

It was when he was about to shut the door that I remembered Irisu-san's advice - "For situations where you're dealing with strangers which you would not deal with again after you receive the favour, in nine out of ten cases, they would consider your request a rip-off."

''Wait! Please write something about the Classics Club in return!''

I should have shouted that to Toogaito-san... but I couldn't do it. I couldn't make myself say something that sounds like I do not trust Toogaito-san.

"......"

I looked at the hand which I stretched out to call Toogaito-san. For a moment, I felt depressed at failing once again.

However.

After thinking again calmly, this could turn out for be best. Irisu-san's advice on that was mainly for strangers whom I won't deal with again. But that's not the case for Toogaito-san. So if I were to build on a trust with Toogaito-san, then what I did wasn't wrong.

Yes, that's got to be the case.

...For a bit, I felt more resolute in my determination.

039 - ♣13

I first knew of Houtarou's amazing sense of perception in the "Hyouka" incident. Despite spending all that time with him in junior high, I never knew he was capable of such feats.

Knowing Houtarou's special abilities, I was full of expectations during the "Empress" affair, as I could not think of anyone else besides him who could pull it off. The very least I could do was give him my support. Though he was also active in other incidents, these were the two main ones that came to mind.

However, this time, I do not expect anything from Houtarou.

As he is in charge of watching the stall, he is unable to leave the Geology Room. Knowing Houtarou's motto, he would surely enjoy not needing to move around, but it also means he would be unable to solve anything, as much footwork is required for this case. In other words, Houtarou is unsuited for the "Juumoji" incident.

And what happens when I don't have any expectations from Houtarou?

...That leaves me with no choice but to do the investigation myself.

Using Houtarou's deductions as a basis, and padding it up with information I gleamed from various connections, I've managed to compile the following data.

'''Day 1 '''
'''* ~11:30am - A Capella Club ([A]KAPERA BU アカペラ部) - "Aquarius" ([A]KUARIASU アクエリアス) soft drink stolen '''
'''* ~12:30pm? - Go Club ([I]GO BU 囲碁部) - Stones ([I]SHI 石)(?) stolen '''
'''* Just after 2:00pm - Fortune Telling Association ([U]RANAI KENKYUU KAI 占い研究会) - Wheel of Fortune ([U]NMEI NO WA 運命の輪) stolen '''

'''Day 2 '''
'''* ~9:00am - Gardening Club ([E]NGEI BU 園芸部) - AK ([E]-KEI エーケイ) (Kalashnikov water gun) stolen '''
'''* Just before 11:30am - The Cooking Club ([O]RYOURI KENKYUU KAI お料理研究会) - Ladle ([O]TAMA おたま) stolen '''

And from Chitanda-san, who just returned dashing down the corridor, just a moment ago (currently it's 1:58pm), the Wall Newspaper Club ([KA]BESHINBUN BU 壁新聞部) has had their cutter knife ([KA]TTA- NAIFU カッターナイフ) stolen. The actual time when they were hit should be sometime earlier than this.

Roughly speaking, it would seem "Juumoji" seems to make his move every one and a half hour to two and a half hours. Considering the Cultural Festival takes place from 8:00am to 5:00pm, it makes sense.

As the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival spans three days, if he were to steal from ten clubs, he would have divided them evenly, stealing from three the first day, three the second day, and four on the final day. However, while he has indeed targeted three clubs in the first day, as people would be preparing to take down their stuff on the final day from around three, it's possible that he could choose to target four clubs today.

Taking out my copy of the "Kanya Festival Guide," I started looking up the clubs whose names begin with [KI]... Heh, looks like the phantom thief is bound by the strange rules he has set for himself, as the only club that starts with [KI] is the Magic Club ([KI]JUTSU BU 奇術部).

Arriving at the Magic Club, there was a poster that read "The next show will begin at 2pm." This is most ideal. If he were to commit the crime, he would have to do so right before everyone's gazes. And even if "Juumoji" manages to pull this off and steal something that starts with [KI], there should still be some clues left behind.

If I stay vigilant, I have a fair chance of victory. "Juumoji"'s defeat lies with his pattern being too easy to read. The only problem with catching "Juumoji" now would mean he's denied the chance to go all the way to [KO], which would be bad for our attempt to promote the Classics Club. Anyway, if we catch him, we still might be able to achieve something out of it.

I'm not like Houtarou. I am unable to untie the knots of a rope, neither am I able to just cut them loose quickly. If I could, even I would be amazed at myself.

However, I am at least able to move my body around, just by walking on my two feet and seeing with my two eyes, I should be able to figure something out.

The Magic Club public performance takes place in Class 2D's classroom. As a regular classroom, it has two entrances. The front door was covered by a curtain, with a cardboard box placed outside that read "Magic Club Backstage. No Trespassers Allowed." Visitors are to enter via the back door. Beside the back door was a table with a white box placed on it. Taking a closer look, it turns out it contains the programme booklets for the show.

As there was nothing else to do while waiting thirty minutes for the show to start, I bought one booklet.

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|
# Introduction 
# Living Dead - Takamura Youichi (1st Year) 
# The Rainbow Ring - Nagai Kaori (1st Year) 
# Vanishing Act - Tayama Kazuya (2nd Year) 
# Closeup Card Magic - Takamura Youichi and Nagai Kaori (1st Year) 
# Bowls and Balls - Tayama Kazuya (2nd Year) 
# Closing

|}

I see.

The first thing I understood was that the Magic Club only has three members. The Classics Club has four while the Sewing Club has five. Hey, we have more.

"Living Dead" would be referring to zombies. As this is the Magic Club, they're no doubt referring to the zombie ball. "Rainbow Ring" would be linking rings, where they'd be playing with the illusion of the rings linking and separating. "Vanishing Act" probably involves something disappearing and being replaced with something else. "Closeup Card Magic" is like its name suggests, a straightforward performance. Should be interesting as there are two performers. "Bowls and Balls" is probably a variation of the cups and balls trick, where the audience is tricked into thinking the ball entered one cup when it instead ended up in another, this time they seem to be using bowls instead.

There doesn't seem to be anything within sight that starts with [KI]. Though there are the Kings ([KI]NGU キング) from the deck of cards, if they're going to use coins, then gold coins ([KI]NKA 金貨). If diacritics<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakuten Wikipedia - Japanese Diacritics] (In Japanese, KI becomes GI with the addition of a diacritic mark)</ref> are allowed for the [KI] spelling, then silver coins ([GI]NKA 銀貨) would do as well... But wait, that's technically impossible. (A 1 yen coin is made of aluminum, 5 yen is brass, 10 yen is bronze, and the rest are nickel coins. Oh, there's also the 500 yen coin, which is a mixture of brass and nickel, I guess?)

I wondered if I should take a peek inside, as I placed my hand on the door handle. I'd better not, while it might help in catching the phantom thief Juumoji, it's too unrefined of me to peek into the Magic Club's backstage. Besides, as long as I just stand here, I would easily see if anyone went in or out.

As I looked at my own notes, I immersed myself in enjoying this unexpected turn of events. While seeking out knowledge at my own pace is also fun in itself, I relish in these kinds of unforeseen incidents. Then again, based on my own experiences, sadly speaking, it would seem my wits, which are required in such a case, are by no means superior to the rest. In essence, I am unable to deal with such sudden situations with a calm head, but this time I have prepared sufficiently in terms of intel, so I should be able to do something about it.

I killed time while going along such thoughts.

"Hmm? Why, if it isn't Fukube," said a surprised sounding voice. It was Tani-kun, with his firm jaw and round nose.

"You did rather well in the Wild Fire tournament."

That reminds me, we did beat his team during the cooking tournament. Upon discovering the declaration of crime, we'd totally forgotten about our duel.

I smiled and said, "Well, it's thanks to my pork miso soup, after all. My teammates also worked their best as a result, making my work look rather incomplete though."

"Team competitions sure are tough. I should have stuck with individual tournaments. Those two girls were incredible, even Suhara was amazed."

"Though I don't feel like I've won, as there weren't many participants. We were just lucky."

"By the way..."

Tani-kun turned his gaze towards my hand, which held the list of targeted clubs and items stolen. I subtly hid it away from sight.

"So have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

Tani-kun then turned his sights towards the Magic Club's billboard. I pondered on the possibiliies of why I would bump into him here.

Just as I wondered if I should confirm that possibility with him, he began to puff his chest and said, "The guy known as 'Juumoji.'"

Bingo. I nodded and shrugged my shoulders.

"As expected of Tani-kun, no rumour ever escapes your attention."

I had meant that as a compliment, yet Tani-kun didn't look too pleased.

"Oh, so you do know."

"That's why I'm here."

"Well, it is you guys that discovered the crime note at the Cooking Club, so it's not surprising that you already knew... But how did you end up figuring out it's the Magic Club?"

"It was easy of course, we followed the gojuuon pattern."

With an intrigued smile, Tani-kun said, "...Interesting. I was right to expect something of you."

Why thank you.

Predicting what his next line would be, I decided to move pre-emptively.

"So, what will our next duel be?"

"Oh, so you're up to it?" Tani-kun said and smiled.

Then he lowered his voice.

"Anyway, to show my fairness... I can tell you that the Wall Newspaper Club has been hit."

I knew that already, you didn't really need to tell me. Though I shouldn't ridicule him for it, less it complicates things.

However.

"It seems the Wall Newspaper Club's now fired up. Their next edition headline will feature the Juumoji story. Seems like they're doing a manhunt for 'Juumoji' with rewards."

Now I didn't know that, so I said with genuine concern, "Oh? Rewards, eh?"

"Details for the rewards will be included in their Special Edition No. 1... Once this becomes public, it'll attract a great deal of attention."

"You bet."

"Everyone is hungry for something unexpected. At any rate, this will become the main talking point for tomorrow."

For me personally, who prefers to enjoy stuff alone, this was rather bad news. Having Tani-kun involved was already a kill-joy, but main talking point? Give me a break. Yet for the Classics Club, in need of some PR to promote themselves, this was good news. If the "Juumoji" incident were to get more and more exciting, attention would eventually be turned towards the Classics Club. As to which aspect I should place more importance on... Guess I should prioritize making Mayaka smile once again.

Placing his hand on my shoulder, Tani-kun smiled.

"Well, it's impressive that you were able to get wind of this so quickly. Sorry, but I'll be the one to catch this guy. I may not look it, but I'm quite the mystery fan, you know?"

Oh, really? While that was what I thought, I maintained my smiling expression.

"Do go easy on us,"

I gave him a polite response, to which he nodded.

"Good luck to us both then, Fukube!"

040 - ♦08

While I would prefer to slowly enjoy my lunch as an excuse to stay with the Classics Club as long as possible, I know this can't last. No matter how unpleasant it is, I need to return to the Manga Club soon.

Without noticing, I had already unwrapped and torn my bacon roll into bits, and I now slowly picked them up one by one and fed them to my mouth. I'll go once I'm finished with them all. Just when I'd decided to do that, Oreki, who was in charge of watching the stall, opened his mouth.

"Ibara, you said you've read Agatha Christie's novels before, right?"

I was just about to wonder how he knew that when I remembered that I had told him near the end of the summer holidays, during what Fuku-chan called the "Empress" affair.

I stopped picking up the bacon roll pieces and said, "I did, but only her most famous works. It's not like I've read all of her works."

"And ''The A.B.C. Murders'' is one of them?"

"Of course."

Crossing his arms, Oreki sat back deeply into his chair while brazenly staring at the ceiling and said, "This 'Juumonji' incident, Satoshi said it's similar to A.B.C...."

It was only just a while ago that Oreki was telling us off for mispronouncing "Juumoji," and now he's pronouncing it as "Juumonji." Though as a person's name, it is indeed easier to pronounce it as "Juumonji," so I didn't say anything.

"Somehow, it's easy to make the association. Since ''The A.B.C. Murders'' involve victims being left with an 'A.B.C. list,' then it's natural that he would make the association with the 'Kanya Festival Guides' that were left at the crime scenes."

"Well, of course. Or there wouldn't be much meaning to it."

"By the way,"

Moving his gaze down from the ceiling, Oreki looked as though he was about to say something bad.

"Just asking, but what's the reason the killer in ''A.B.C.'' kills his victims in alphabetical order?"

...What a strange question.

"Oreki, have you even read ''The A.B.C. Murders''?"

"Nope, just the premise."

"Premise, huh? So, do you intend to read it in the future?"

"...Dunno."

"Are you sure you still want to know even then? It'll spoil the story for you, are you okay with that?"

Thinking for a bit, Oreki met my gaze.

"Sure, go ahead."

Fine then.

Just to be safe, I had a look around. Because if someone were to hear all the plot details of ''A.B.C.'' before reading it, it would definitely ruin the story for them.

After making sure no one was around, I sighed.

"Well, it's actually quite straightforward. Wouldn't you already be thinking the killer simply wants to kill in alphabetical order?"

Oreki gave a bitter smile.

"Yeah, I guess."

Jeez. That's the problem with him, he would often change his mind just when he's about to say something. I began to speak harshly.

"In other words, you were thinking 'Juumoji' had simply wanted to steal according to the gojuuon sequence, weren't you?"

"...Yeah."

Oreki answered and sat upright with an unpleasant looking face.

"I don't know if 'Juumonji' was aware of Christie when he committed his crimes, but what has he stolen? Go stones and ladles, they're nothing but trinkets. Surely he wouldn't really want to steal those.

"But does that mean he's simply a prankster stealing in the gojuuon sequence just for fun?"

"So you're saying there's another meaning to all this?"

I took another piece of bread roll and stuffed it into my mouth.

"When Satoshi and Chitanda both heard that 'Juumonji' works according to the gojuuon sequence, they both ran out looking excited. To be blunt, just by observing the clues, anyone would have figured that out."

"It's true that you were the first to realize, but it's not like it's some big discovery in itself."

"In other words, this was no big deal to 'Juumonji' himself. If instead of the gojuuon sequence, he were to base his sequence on something more cryptic, for example taking the letters from the slogan 'Glory To Kami High,' then he would need to put more effort into it."

"I see. The gojuuon sequence just seems too easy to figure out."

I get what Oreki's trying to say. If 'Juumoji's' objective was merely to steal stuff following the gojuuon sequence, then this prankster is a bit weird in the head. But if that's not the case, then the gojuuon sequence is merely a process for him to achieve something else.

I did not realize this until I'd personally participated in the Cultural Festival, but it really is a unique moment. That uniqueness involves a sense of floating around in a carefree way, and it's not strange to see people getting moved along by strange pranks. But is that all?

...I think I'm becoming strange myself.

"Oreki, do you ever think of catching 'Juumoji' yourself?"

"Me?"

He looked surprised.

"Why would you think I'd do such a thing?"

"You look enthused."

Oreki snorted and went back to leaning on the back of his chair.

"It doesn't matter to me either way. Be it Juumoji (Ten Characters) or The Man with a Thousand Faces. If he wants to steal something from the Classics Club, I'll gladly give it to him as long as it's not my wallet. Though afterwards Chitanda would probably be very curious and would badger me about who 'Juumonji' was."

"Well, you could always just ignore her."

"She's not the sort of person you can just ignore."

Oreki frowned.

Hee hee.

How silly.

Tossing the last bits of bread roll into my mouth, I stood up. As I proceeded to move, I thought I should give my thanks.

"That reminds me. Oreki, thanks for the bag of flour. I was really at a loss back there."

"Oh. Don't mention it."

As though remembering something, Oreki gave an enigmatic smile.

"I got that bag of flour via the straw millionaire protocol."

Straw millionaire protocol?

"What're you talking about?"

"The story of the straw millionaire, you know?"

Oh, I see.

"So you want something in exchange for the bag of flour, is that right?"

"You got something? If you don't, then I don't mind ending my protocol here."

Oh, well.

After thinking for a bit, I took off the brooch on my chest.

"You can have this."

Oreki looked on in surprise.

"...Are you sure? Don't you need it for your cospl—"

"It's not a cosplay, you idiot!"

I threw the brooch at Oreki's face as hard as I could and quickly turned and left the Geology Room.

041 - ♣14

I had intended to keep monitoring any movement near the backstage entrance, but I cannot resist the call of nature. As the show was about to start, I quickly went for the bathroom. When I came back, I asked Tani-kun whether he saw anyone suspicious. Though he admonished me for having the audacity to ask a rival, it helped stroked his ego a bit as he answered kindly.

"Nobody came or went."

As he answered, someone emerged from the Class 2-D classroom. It was a male student, and the badge on his collar indicated he was a second year. That would be the Magic Club president Tayama. (It's not like I knew who he was, I just happened to read it in the programme booklet.) He raised his voice across the corridor filled with flags and lanterns and all sorts of decorations.

"The fifth Magic Club show will commence shortly."

Without saying anything, both Tani-kun and I entered the dark classroom. It seemed like even the windows were draped in black curtains. The classroom itself was partitioned into two parts, with a curtain separating the two sides. The tables were all stacked along the windows while the chairs were lined up in rows. Behind the curtain would be the backstage. Right before the curtain was the podium and teacher's table. That would be the stage. The spacing between the spectators' seating and the stage was quite narrow, which could be a bit tough for the performer but would provide a great view for the spectator. But now's not the time for me to enjoy myself.

I next looked at the people entering the spectators' seating.

As this was the fifth performance, most people with an interest in conjuring tricks would have already seen it, so there weren't many people coming in. The first person I saw coming in was someone I didn't expect. When silent, she would exude a cool aura, and when she spoke, it was as regally as an "Empress." I stood up without thinking.

"Oh, hello there, Irisu-sempai."

Irisu Fuyumi-sempai squinted her eyes in the dark to see who was speaking to her.

"...Oh, you're from the Classics Club."

She nodded and greeted me back before sitting on one of the chairs in the last row. It feels a bit strange seeing the extremely rational Irisu-sempai coming to watch a magic show.

The next person to come in was also a girl, who brought another girl with her. At first I thought they were a couple, as one of them was dressed like a man. I remember seeing that tuxedo before... That's right, she's with the Manga Club. She was with Mayaka when they were drawing the posters. In that case, the girl besides her would be the Manga Club president, whom I've seen a few times. Both chatted and pointed to their programme booklets while taking the seats in front.

Next came various people whom I did not know. Though we may study in the same school, I'm familiar with their faces, but it's not like I'm acquainted with them. As for visitors from outside the school, there was a middle-aged couple, even though today was a working day. Wondering what was going on, a grade-school-looking little girl entered as well looking curious.

The girl who entered next was a classmate of mine, though as I don't know her really well, I didn't call out to her. She must've noticed my presence, though she decided not to call out to me either. Come to think of it, her surname happens to be "Juumonji," Juumonji Kaho-san. As a member of the "Four Exponential Clans," I would most like to get to know her, but I find it quite hard to deal with her. (As for what I meant by "getting to know her," it simply means I'd like to ask her about stuff that I've not heard before, that's all. Though I'd get myself in a lot of trouble if Mayaka were to hear me say that.)

While there weren't many people in the beginning, in time the room was now quite packed. The Magic Club should be quite pleased with this attendance. The president from before could be seen taking a peek through the curtain.

Next came a group of guys. Whoa, if it isn't the president of the Executive Committee Tanabe Jirou? And beside him was... Oh my god, it's the Nth President of the Kamiyama High School Student Council, His Excellency Kugayama Munetaka. ("Nth" means I have no idea how many presidents there were before him.) A charismatic figure with a sporty-looking figure and carefree smile, his moving speech still left an impression in my mind, though I have no idea what the president normally does. Besides those two, I'm not quite acquainted with the others. Noticing me, Tanabe-sempai raised his hand to greet me.

While the spectator seating that took up half of the classroom was not quite completely filled, it was still 70% full. A girl, presumably a Magic Club member, closed the door. The partition curtain opened, and a male student walked onto the stage carrying a candle stand in each hand, placing them on the teaching desk. Taking a match from his pocket, he began lighting the candles, which began to illuminate the dark classroom with a gentle light. I see, in order to deal with the confined spacing of the room, they resorted to using dim candle lighting to make the room look bigger. I began to be absorbed by the mood created.

After the guy who lit the candles withdrew, the president emerged. The president, with his hair combed back and wearing a pair of framed spectacles, was a slim figure with skillful-looking hands. He waited till the audience gradually went silent before smiling and bowed courteously like a stage actor.

"Let the show commence. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Magic Club performance. Now feast your eyes upon the wonders that we have worked hard in order to show you."

Applause.

I looked around during the applause. There doesn't seem to be anything out of order so far...

"First, the Magic Club proudly presents Takamura Youichi of Class 1B, who will be gracing us with his performance of 'The Living Dead.'"

He then withdrew from the stage amidst the applause. The male student that next emerged from the curtains was carrying a ball, as expected, as the El Bimbo<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Bimbo Wikipedia - El Bimbo]</ref> began to be played in the background... As a French whisper pop, this kind of music suits the mood well. Takamura-kun seems totally relaxed. Now I know why they were proudly presenting him. Or perhaps it's because this is the fifth time he's performing this?

The zombie ball and linking rings performances went smoothly as expected.

The Magic Club people sure have some skill. While I've seen my fair share of conjuring tricks, this was nothing to be amazed at, but still, it was quite intense seeing the ball float in mid air or the rings linked together from such a close distance. And while the first guy and the girl that followed had a few awkward moments with their movements, it wasn't so bad as to jeopardize their performance. I applauded their mastery from the bottom of my heart.

The third act, "Vanishing Act," was just as impressive. Tayama-san, the Magic Club president and their sole second year, was certainly more skilled than his two members. He was just as composed during his performance as he was while greeting the audience, making cards and handkerchiefs appear seemingly out of nowhere as the background music played (this time it's some piano sonata, the name of which I've forgotten).

His card and handkerchief apparition acts, while skillful, were nothing to be astonished at, but, I was still a bit surprised when he suddenly made that black handkerchief appear out of his right hand near the end. It caused quite a stir with the audience, and even I was grappling at the edge of my seat.

Whether he was relieved at the success of his performance or pleased with the applause, the previously emotionless president Tayama gave a gentle smile. He then took out a pink candle, which was already alight. I'm not making this up, normally you wouldn't put a lit candle in your pocket, would you? Raising the candle for all to see, we all applauded in unison.

Seated some distance from me, Tani-kun whispered to me while applauding.

"Looks like he's got the torch."

I don't know why he's calling it a torch. Sure, it has other names like a flambeau, torchlight or rushlight, but wouldn't one normally call those candles? I had an urge to explain to him that torches were different from candles, but I decided not to.

No, wait, I've been so immersed in the show, I'd nearly forgotten I wasn't here to watch the performance. Yet, nothing out of the ordinary had happened with the magic show so far, and there were no strange movements amongst the audience either. Occasionally the door would open and one or two more visitors would enter or leave mid way, but there was nothing "Juumoji" could have stolen from the outside, as there's nothing but curtains, the billboard, and posters. Hmm, what was it that Juumoji was after again? Something that begins with [KI].

...CANDLE ([KI]YANDORU キャンドル)!

I gave out a gasp, and turned to look at president Tayama, who was sincerely thanking the audience. The candle in his hand was no longer lit. As it was probably dangerous, upon showing the lit candle to everyone, he had promptly blown it out. But that wasn't the only candle in the room. I turned to look at the candle stands used for illuminating the room.

"...AH!"

"Now, rather than the usual poker cards, this time we'll be playing with Japanese playing cards<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanafuda Wikipedia - Hanafuda (Japanese card game)]</ref>... Huh?"

Oh crap, I gasped too loudly. As the following card magic involved interacting with the audience, there was no background music, and so Takamura-kun and Nagai-san, who were now performing, turned to look at me. I quickly waved my hands apologetically for interrupting them.

There were originally five candles on each candle stand. While the stand on the right still had five candles, the one on the left only had four!

They've been hit!

But when?! All this time no one had approached the stage, until now.

"And now, would the lady sitting at the back please come forward to the stage?"

Irisu-san, being called upon, walked towards the stage. But before that, only the performers had appeared. Which means the missing candle was never there to begin with.

And all this time I was thinking that "Juumoji" would carry out his act under the gaze of this many people. Yet the act had already been carried out before the show even began.

Dammit, I've been wasting my time all along!

He must have left his declaration of crime somewhere. Come to think of it, the ladle wasn't stolen from The Cooking Club during the Wild Fire tournament itself. It was already gone before the tournament even began. The phantom thief "Juumoji" did not seem to carry out his thefts in a flashy way like most phantom thieves do.

Anyway, if it had come to this, there was no reason for me to stay anymore. If it had already been stolen beforehand, then it rules out the people here as suspects. All that's left is to...

"The card you've chosen is the Maple Deer, right?"

"...That's it!"

I clapped my hands.

I straightened myself up and watched on carefully.

042 - ♦09

Returning to the Manga Club, one of the first years with whom I'm friendly greeted me.

"You're late."

I smiled kindly in response and returned to my seat at the booth.

The posters drawn during the morning had some effect in drawing visitors, as they seem to have increased from yesterday.

I asked the girl sitting beside me in a low voice, "How is it? Compared to yesterday."

She took a look across the room, and it was then that I noticed Kouchi-sempai was here.

Making sure Kouchi-sempai was engaged with her followers and not looking over here, the girl replied in an even lower voice, "Well, there are more visitors."

"Is it because of the posters?"

"I'm not sure, but..."

Well, it's good if it helps sales. It's not like I was against Kouchi-sempai's proposal to draw posters to attract customers in the first place, but on the other hand, it's not like I'm pleased that my drawings had helped as well. Don't get the wrong idea.

However, while realizing I could be wrong, I still felt something was not right. As we giggled, someone from across the room began speaking to indicate that they heard us.

"See? We should have listened to sempai to begin with."

"Yeah, if it weren't for someone being against it, we would have sold more yesterday."

It's not like these people who've not even contributed to the anthologies have any right to complain, but I kept quiet.

"Oh, don't be so mean to her. To think she worked so hard to draw the posters."

"I guess. Well, good luck."

Though they said one thing, the tones of their voices revealed another meaning. To be more precise, they were saying "Oh, don't be ''so'' mean to her. To think ''she'' worked so hard to draw the posters," while throwing a glance at me, as though accusing me of having a victim's complex and saying "Serves you right."

I love manga, and if I had to choose, I would say I like the Manga Club as well. Though I did not wish for this to happen... but it can't be helped. There's three of them, and it's not in my nature to say anything unnecessary. Not to mention I was unable to present my evidence. So I need to hold back. But with such an atmosphere, there's no way I could ask the club to help sell ''Hyouka''.

They continued their persistent whispering. They're really such pesky gossips. Speaking of gossips, this reminds me of a strange conversation I once had with Fuku-chan, when I once said he was like a gossip and he gave me an unbelievable response.

"You mean I'm brave?"

"Eh?"

"As well as being patriotic?"

"What're you talking about?"

"You said I'm like Kossuth<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lajos_Kossuth Wikipedia - Lajos Kossuth]</ref>."



"...What the hell's that?"

"A Hungarian hero."

Seriously, what the hell's that??

Being reminded of how seriously silly Fuku-chan was then, I giggled. I know I shouldn't be laughing, but I still ended up doing it. As expected, the gossiping group suddenly stopped.

"What's with her?"

"Isn't she being a bit cocky?"

"Weird girl."

Well I'm sorry about that!

This group normally acts in unison, with each member being basically like the others, though this time one of them led the way by speaking louder than before.

"She was bluffing, wasn't she? To say she couldn't find it, as if anyone would believe that. And she was going on about how there are masterpiece mangas out there and was bragging about showing us one of them. Instead, she gives the name of some doujin no one's ever heard of, as though she's some expert on it. Besides, she..."

For them to go so far, even my patience was incredibly stretched to the point of bursting.

"Enough. You should keep your mouth shut about things you have no knowledge of."

A voice called out from across the room. The gossiping group turned their heads in a direction they never expected the voice would come from. They had no choice but to keep quiet, as the one who spoke was none other than their leader, Kouchi-sempai. Dressed in her tuxedo, Kouchi-sempai began yawning as though she hadn't even said those words.

I was quite surprised. But not at Kouchi-sempai reprimanding her followers. For Kouchi-sempai, as long as it was funny, it didn't matter whether a manga was fiction or non-fiction, parody or homage, so I thought she would be the sort who wouldn't fuss whether things were fair or not. So I was really astonished when she of all people would tell people to shut up about things they are ignorant about.

The group of followers all cowered like a bunch of dogs who had just been scolded by their master. Though I could still feel their resentful gazes directed towards me.

This feels suffocating.

...Though I had only just arrived, I already felt like I needed a breath of fresh air. So I told the girl sitting next to me I needed to leave for a bit and stood up. I wish I could just flutter away like the wind.

The autumn sun was sinking quickly.

Though it wasn't yet evening, the sunlight was getting weaker and the wind was getting cooler. I stood along the roof of the connecting corridor, looking down towards the central garden, wondering if this place had been forgotten while the rest of Kamiyama High School has been decorated fully.

Till now, while I still think I wasn't wrong, I wondered if I should have kept silent.

But I didn't regret it, I think. I just couldn't stand by and watch Kouchi-sempai say that whether one think a manga is interesting or not was purely subjective. If what she said was true, then anyone can be an expert. While my art wasn't something I was ashamed of showing people, as I did draw the posters a while ago, the manga that I drew were just dull. I wanted to draw something more interesting, much, much more interesting. If I had not encountered ''Ashes at Dusk'', I would have still believed myself to be capable of that. For Kouchi-sempai to say it was pointless to strive to improve one's work, it was as though she was describing the effort as walking in the dark. She said without a clear objective or target, no matter how much you've progressed, it still wouldn't make much of a difference. No matter how you brush up your skills, it still wouldn't change anything. If I had accepted those words, then why would I still be thinking my art isn't good enough?

...Yet I didn't give her those counter-arguments yesterday, as I thought showing her a copy of ''Ashes at Dusk'' would be good enough. But I didn't consider whether she would be convinced by it, or whatever her followers might say afterwards.

Heh, I'm such an idiot.

...I feel like seeing Fuku-chan. He's probably engaged in some event like a fool somewhere. I too wanted to go investigate the "Juumoji" incident with him. I wonder if he would invite me. As a result of these thoughts, I still had not returned to the Manga Club.

"Ibara,"

A voice suddenly called out to me, so I turned to see who it was.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through all that."

It was President Yuasa, giving a concerned but gentle smile with her fluffy cheeks and double eyelids.

I quickly shook my head.

"Why are you apologizing? You've done nothing wrong, President."

"Well, that's because I've been quiet all this time. I wanted to stand by your side."

...To come all the way to the roof of the connecting corridor to tell me that, I wonder what my mind was going through then?

But, that's fine. It's not like I had wanted anybody on my side. And had she actually stood up for me, it would only worsen my conflict with Kouchi-sempai and cause turmoil within the Manga Club. That wouldn't be good. So it's fine.

"...Ayako doesn't really mean what she said," President Yuasa said as she stood alone.

As I was wondering who Ayako was, I realized she meant Kouchi-sempai, whose full name was Kouchi Ayako.

"What do you mean by her not meaning what she said? You mean her saying we should keep quiet about things we have no knowledge of?"

"No, not that. I meant her argument with you yesterday."

It was a topic I did not want to go further into.

I took a deep sigh and said, "You mean her saying whether a manga is interesting or not depends on one's acceptance antenna?"

The president nodded softly.

Was she trying to console me? If she was, she wasn't doing quite a good job at it.

I gave a weak smile and asked, "How could you tell she didn't mean it?"

"Well... it's because Ayako and I are good friends."

"Is that all?"

"Ayako and Haruna are good friends as well."

President Yuasa smiled kindly, as though I would understand by now. I was probably looking dumbfounded like an idiot right now. Who's Haruna? She sure wasn't referring to Kouchi-sempai, and that wasn't President Yuasa's name either. I could not recall anyone I knew with that name. After an awkward pause, I decided to ask.

"Who's that?"

"Who's who?"

"This Haruna."

This time it was President Yuasa's turn to look perplexed. The way she tilted her head reminded me a bit of Chi-chan.

"Eh? But, Ibara, I thought you've read her work."

What work? Seeing I still haven't got a clue, she continued.

"You know, ''Ashes at Dusk''?"

Hearing the name of the title I never thought would get mentioned during this conversation, I replied with a stiffened back.

"...Yeah."

"Haruna was its author. Anjou Haruna. Didn't she put her name on it?"

Eh?

I would have most certainly remembered who the author of ''Ashes at Dusk'' was. But, how should I say this, it was definitely not "Anjou Haruna." The author name for that doujinshi was a quite obscure sounding name, that I certainly remembered.

"I thought the author was someone called Anshinin?"

"Anshinin?"

"'Anshin' as in 'peace of mind,' 'In' as in 'hall.'"

President Yuasa looked a bit surprised, but then slowly shook her head.

"She must have used a pen-name then. But I know the story was penned by Haruna. I have no idea who drew the art, though Haruna should know."

I managed to learn more about the author of a manga I admire in the strangest of occasions.

While I knew that the script and artist were different people, for a moment, I had forgotten the depression that I was having and asked, "Which class is this person in?"

"Oh, Haruna is no longer here. She transferred to another school."

"...I-I see."

I tried to organize what the president had just told me... I didn't really get it, so I sighed softly.

"President, what did you mean when you said this Anjou Haruna was friends with Kouchi-sempai? And how did you realize Kouchi-sempai didn't mean what she said?"

The president looked downwards and went silent.

Could it be that she was quite cautious with her words? As I pondered such a question, she slowly raised her head.

"If you had spoken to Haruna, you might understand as well. I know this is not a good enough answer for you, but, I'm sorry Ibara, while I do know the answer, I'm not able to tell you."

"..."

"Because Ayako is my friend."

Her large eyes with her double eyelids looked lonely as she explained. ''I can't tell you, because she's my friend.'' If she had told me, she might feel that she was speaking ill of Kouchi-sempai... as well as revealing Kouchi-sempai's secrets.

In any case, as she couldn't tell me, I wouldn't understand. And right now, I realized I was going nowhere thinking about something I do not understand. I slowly shook my head.

I feel like being alone. Regardless of whether Kouchi-sempai really meant what she said, I just wanted to indulge in the breeze.

"Let me just enjoy the breeze for a bit before returning."

"Ibara..."

Once again, I said insistently, "I'll be back in just a bit."

So please leave me alone.

043 - ♠11

It was soon five o'clock.

Though everyone had returned just before the final chime, for some reason the mood seemed strange. Satoshi was unusually frowning for once. In contrast, Chitanda looked pleased. Ibara just looked downright depressed. As she probably doesn't wish for anyone to speak to her, I decided to ignore her for now.

"We've been outfoxed, Houtarou."

As Satoshi spoke, he suddenly stared at my face and asked puzzledly, "What happened to your eye?"

Is it still red?

"Oh, my eye got hit by a heart."

"Huh?"

"Like I said, my eye got hit by a heart."

Satoshi looked dumbfounded, but quickly regained his composure.

"Anyway, we were completely outfoxed. A candle was taken from the Magic Club."

"Isn't that good news?"

I said truthfully, "It wouldn't be good if 'Juumonji' was caught before he reached the Classics Club, would it?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Satoshi nodded grudgingly. Hearing his story, it seemed he had hoped to catch "Juumoji" red handed. Firstly, none of the items from [A] to [KA] had been stolen during events. Secondly, "Juumoji" wouldn't be so stupid as to pick an inconvenient time like during a performance to carry out his thefts. He would simply do so at a time of his convenience, regardless of whether an event was ongoing or not.

"You could've told me that earlier..."

Satoshi grumbled. Hey, it's not like I knew what you were trying to do before.

"So? Did you find a declaration of crime?"

"Yeah, after looking around, we found it bundled along with a notice for tomorrow's first show at 10am, and sure enough, a copy of the ''Kanya Festival Guide'' was there as well."

"And you found that in the corridor?"

"Yeah."

This means the culprit could be anyone.

Meanwhile, Chitanda's cheek was twitching. Though she wanted to smile, upon seeing Ibara looking depressed, she obviously couldn't do so. I decided to break the tension.

"Seems like you found something good?"

Chitanda gave a big nod.

"Yes I did!"

"Really?"

"The twenty copies of ''Hyouka'' that I've given to Irisu-san are selling well."

I guess, since it is that Irisu. While it's something to rejoice about, I couldn't smile for some reason. I just hope she doesn't find use for me this time.

"So they're all sold out?"

"No, there are still a few copies left, but they'll most likely be sold out by tomorrow."

If they're all sold out, should we send another twenty copies over? That was the question.

"And there's more. The ''Kami High Monthly Special Edition'' that was released at 4pm mentioned the 'Juumoji' incident. It included the gojuuon rule that Oreki-san figured out."

I feel a bit embarrassed at being credited for such a deduction. As I've mentioned to Ibara, anyone could have figured that out.

Chitanda continued while placing her hand before her chest as though in prayer, "Besides, they've mentioned the Classics Club's name! Right here: ''And so, our dear readers, it is speculated that 'Juumoji' will carry out his final crime sometime between noon and 2pm at either the Classics Club or the Miniature Club ([KO]USAKU BU 工作部).''"

"The Miniature Club? I didn't know we had such a club."

Satoshi nodded deeply as he replied, "We do, now that you mention it."

"If he went to that club, then all our plans will be wasted."

"Yes, I'm worried about that as well,"

Chitanda gradually withdrew her delighted expression as she said that. I was wondering why she was so happy just now when I realized it was she who had brought that newspaper from the Wall Newspaper Club over here. So she was happy that she gets to inform us of the news... No, that's not right. This wasn't something that would get her this happy, there must be something else to it. But I shouldn't be prying into the minds of others, especially not that of Chitanda Eru.

"...So, Houtarou, how many copies have we sold?"

Ah, that.

"Excluding the copies we've given Irisu-sempai, that would be sixteen copies."

"Hey, we're actually selling more than yesterday."

Yeah, but only marginally. Though we seem to have done better in our promotion today via the Wild Fire tournament than the Quiz Trial tournament yesterday. So there were more students who had decided to come over to this forsaken corner during their free time. We'll need all the word-of-mouth advertisement we can get.

At the end of the second day, our hope for selling out the remaining three quarters rests with how the "Juumoji" incident plays out...

Well, we'll worry about it then. I took out a bag of biscuits from the table drawer.

"Houtarou, what's that?"

"I bought them from the Confectionery Club. I've not eaten them yet, you can have some if you like."

As I called out, even Ibara had walked over.

The four of us divided up the bag of biscuits. As we munched on the biscuits, the chime signalling the end of the second day began ringing.

'''[141 COPIES REMAINING]'''

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

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| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-2|3-2 - Wild Fire]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 4|4 - Yet Another Sleepless Night]]
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-3

2013-03-09T18:52:54Z

Dan.: half-edited

== 3-3 The "Juumoji" Incident ==

037 - ♠10

I opened my boxed lunch while listening to the Broadcast Club's live radio broadcast.

What kind of day is it today, you ask? I would say today was one of those days when my sis would decide to make my boxed lunch for me. I should really be giving my thanks for the food I'm receiving, but what's with this ethnic-looking dish comprised of spicy soybeans and fried chicken covered in yoghurt? The grains of rice in this Nasi Goreng<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_goreng Wikipedia - Nasi Goreng]</ref> looked bigger than the rice I normally have. Where'd she get this from?

The door was closed during lunch time. This ethnic looking boxed lunch sure looked good. Guess I'll take my time enjoying this.

"Heya."

Opening the door, Satoshi walked in, followed by Chitanda and Ibara.

"Great work you did there, guys," I said, pointing upwards, or rather, towards the radio broadcast from the speakers.

A while ago, they were doing an interview with The Cooking Club.

"That sure was a high quality competition, wasn't it?"

"Yes, indeed. The results were that close. I thought the amberjack teriyaki, the main dish of Team Fata Morgana's second member would be most capable of winning. The same goes for his steamed clams, though as this is a school cultural festival, in place of steaming it with sake, he substituted rice wine, but still the taste was superb. Though he prepared them so early, that by the time the competition was over they became quite cool. This was where Team Classics Club made their comeback. The second member's giseyaki and imo-mochi were properly stored to be re-heated, while you could feel the heat from their third member's kakiage rice bowl so much that it looked as though that the prawn heads were crying. This heat was the difference that decided their victory."

"And what about Team Astronomy Club?"

"They were in a world of their own."

Putting down my chopsticks, I spoke.

"Congratulations on winning."

By the way, something seems to have happened. As representing the winners to receive the prize, Ibara did not promote the Classics Club's name as she was supposed to, and to think Satoshi went through all this trouble to participate. At any rate, Satoshi was basically enjoying this more than promoting the club.

Despite being complimented, the three members were surprisingly apathetic to the radio broadcast.

"Thank you. It was thanks to Oreki-san's help. By the way, we have something to show you."

Chitanda spoke first. I have a really bad feeling about this.

"A-anyway, let's have lunch."

I prompted them to take their seats, which they duly did and slowly took out their own food... They've all bought bread from the school store. How unambitious.

Opening her bag of green bean paste bread, Chitanda turned around without even taking a bite.

"We have something to show you."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"This," She said and handed something to me. It looked like a greeting card. On it was written "The Cooking Club has lost its ladle." Signed by "Juumoji."

"Hmm."

I took a bite of the spicy beans and said, "The ladles were stolen?"

"Yes... but just ours."

Ibara nodded. As Ibara had made the kakiage rice bowl, she was most affected by the theft. And to think she could have just made dumplings out of the flour I provided... Who would have thought she would fry something with it? She sure is a sensitive person.

"Probably a prank by someone with too much time on their hands."

I returned the greeting card, yet the conversation did not end there.

Munching on his red bean paste bread, Satoshi smiled and said, "It's not just The Cooking Club, the same happened to the Go Club as well. I hear the A Capella Club was also hit."

"The Fortune Telling Association, too. They both found this, um, declaration of crime with the same font."

I see.

"Looks like someone really has a lot of time on their hands."

I tried to downplay the incident, but Chitanda was not one to be fooled. Disregarding the green bean paste bread in her hands, she held her fists tightly. Chitanda's large black eyes, which betray her normally gentle image, were now widening. I could sense the atmosphere changing.

T-this is bad. Why now? Not even half a day had passed yet. And I was hoping to endure the Cultural Festival without incident. To think Chitanda had restrained herself well yesterday, how did it come to this? Where has it gone wrong? Once she makes her move, nobody could stop her. I knew very well when Chitanda Eru would start getting curious, a dark emotion that could kill cats.

Speaking one word at a time she said, "Just who would do such a thing during the Cultural Festival? Why would Juumoji-san commit such acts with such a name? Why would he steal these items one after another?"

She's about to say that line.

"I'm ''really'' curious about it."

Ah, she's said it. She has finally gone and said it.

...No wait, there's no reason to be scared. Ever since enrolling here, I have not been able to suppress her curiosity, but right now, I have a trump card.

Instead of wasting my time making excuses, I promptly showed my trump card.

"Now is not the time for that. What about our anthologies?"

Yet just as I had finished speaking, Satoshi spoke.

"What about those anthologies indeed. Even if we raise our name recognition by participating in these straightforward events, we're not gonna improve our sales anyway. I was prepared to accept that this was a futile exercise, so I just thought of something better."

"Something better?"

Satoshi's eyes were smiling, but that's his usual self. Though he seems to be serious about what he's about to say.

"This series of thefts, coupled with a signed declaration of crime — it's clear we're looking at a phantom thief incident. It's bound to get reported by the Wall Newspaper Club, and possibly broadcasted by the Broadcast Club tomorrow. If we go along this line of thinking, even if we don't sell out, we'll still be able to look forward to selling up to thirty to forty copies."

...I see. It's not so bad if that's the case. Indeed, this is certainly a newsworthy topic. Satoshi's mic appeal yesterday yielded some results, so if we could get the two media clubs to work for us, it's possible to sell up to thirty or forty copies. However,

"How are we going to improve our sales in the first place anyway? This incident has got nothing to do with the Classics Club."

"Oh, I know,"

Ibara interrupted, "We have Oreki."

"Yup. Just as with the 'Hyouka' incident or the 'Empress' incident, Houtarou certainly performed well in both."

Wait a sec, I know where this conversation is going, but wait a sec.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Chitanda was a bit slow in getting their meaning. Satoshi explained with a mischievous smile.

"In other words, 'To find out how Oreki Houtaou, the Classic Club's super sleuth, manages to bring the harbinger of the Cultural Festival Juumonji to justice, read all about it in this "Hyouka," the Classics Club's anthology!' We could kill two birds with one stone by capturing Juumonji and promoting the Classic Club's name."

"I-I see! This is an excellent idea! I should hurry up and..."

Argh! I smacked my chopsticks onto the table.

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm not playing along with your games!"

I yelled. How can they toy around with people like that?

Yet, in contrast to my expectations, Satoshi surprisingly nodded in agreement that he was fooling around.

"You're right. I want to improve the sales, but it's probably not good to have Houtarou be our clown."

So you do get it... That I'll be nothing but a circus clown in such a charade.

"Besides, this 'Juumonji' guy is just stealing randomly. What do you want me to say to him if we do catch him?"

"I dunno, I was thinking you'd come up with something."

Don't be ridiculous.

"Why do you think I would be the one to do such a thing... First of all, how many people do you think have entered and left the school grounds during the Cultural Festival? And that's aside from our nearly one thousand students."

The room went silent. I munched another mouthful of ethnic boxed lunch.

Unwrapping the layers on her bacon roll, Ibara sighed.

"I don't think Fuku-chan's idea was bad. While I think it's a bit mean to have Oreki do something, if we could somehow catch that phantom thief, we could involve the Classics Club in this."

She unwrapped another layer.

"...If only the Classics Club were targeted."

"Yeah."

I nodded. If that were to happen, people would gradually turn their attention to the Classics Club while following the phantom thief incident. But in that case, there was no need to even catch this "Juumonji."

Satoshi muttered, "...We could stage it..."

"REJECTED."

Ibara replied sharply, "It's too risky."

"I was only kidding."

"When Fuku-chan says it, it doesn't sound like you're kidding... But, really, what could we do?"

"Try not to think too much about it, your roll's about to become straight."

Despite my quip, Ibara didn't even glare back at me and unwrapped yet another layer on her roll. She twitched her brows hard. Though she had the strongest sense of responsibility amongst us, she was also the one who's contributed the least to the Classics Club during this time. She must have realized this as well.

"Is there a chance the Classics Club would be targeted?"

Holding the green bean paste bread in her hand, Chitanda asked.

"Satoshi, how many participating clubs are there?"

"Fifty-one. Not a small number if you're wishing to be targeted."

"Would the thief calling himself Juumonji-san choose his targets randomly?"

"You think he'd target the Classics Club if he were to choose in such a fashion?"

The possibility would be zero. If it's completely random, the odds of being targeted would be...

"...Which clubs have been targeted again?"

Satoshi replied instantly, "The Go Club, A Capella Club, The Cooking Club, and what was it? Ah, the Fortune Telling Association."

Our odds of being targeted would be forty-seven out of fifty-one. Even if it were completely random, the possibility percentage would be insanely low. As I'm the only person watching the stall for the club, if I were to go out to take a walk or go to the bathroom, it would make it easier for us to be targeted.

...Hmm?

Wait a moment, this sounds strange.

I stopped Chitanda, who looked as though she was about to say something to me, and asked Satoshi, "Sorry, can you repeat which clubs were targeted again?"

"Sure, the Go Club, A Capella Club, Fortune Telling Association and The Cooking Club."

Hmm, could it be?

"In other words,"

I spoke cautiously, "The A Capella Club, the Go Club, the Fortune Telling Association, and The Cooking Club.

...Who else was targeted?"

Looking puzzled, Satoshi shook his head.

"Dunno, I've not heard of any."

Watching our conversation, Ibara began looking through the "Kanya Festival Guide" in her hands. It seems like she too had realized what I had. Searching via the gojuuon <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goj%C5%ABon Wikipedia - Gojuuon]</ref> directory for the club names at the front of the guide, she began listing some names.

"Film Club, Gardening Club, Drama Club, Sci-Fi Club."

"Yes, which of those four were hit?"

"Film Club, Gardening Club..."

Taking a deep breath, Satoshi yelled, "A.B.C.!"

"Eh? Eh? What do you mean?"

Chitanda was the only one who didn't get it.

Watching her squeeze her green bean paste bread to smithereens, I explained to her, "It is as you have wondered, he wouldn't have targeted the clubs randomly. It's all following a pattern, and a very simple one at that. The only reason we didn't realize it earlier was because the order in which we were told which clubs were targeted was mixed up. So, assuming the Film Club was targeted, we have: The A Capella Club, Go Club, Fortune Telling Association, Film Club, and The Cooking Club."

"Ah!"

Chitanda covered her mouth.

"The gojuuon sequence!"

Meanwhile, Satoshi was doing the rounds, calling someone on his cell phone.

"...Yes, just want to know if you've got something stolen... No, it's not me! Honest! ...Hmm? A water gun? I see, thanks."

He hung up the call as the three of us looked on.

Then he said, "It was the Gardening Club. One of their water guns was stolen while they were away from the room."

"Water gun? Why would the Gardening Club have water guns?"

A sensible question from Ibara, which I answered at once.

"They were making sweet potatoes, so they needed to prepare water to put out the fire, and they decided to use water guns because it looked cool that way."

"O-Oreki! How on earth did you know that!?"

Well, I'm sorry that I have amazing levels of perception. But actually, it was thanks to the Glock 17 that I had obtained earlier on. Ibara continued to mutter.

"But wait a minute. In 'A.B.C.,' it started with a person whose name starts with the letter A murdered in a place also starting with the letter A."

The only person here most likely to have read Agatha Christie's "The A.B.C. Murders" was probably Ibara.

"The Cooking Club had their ladle stolen, right?"

"Just wait a moment."

Stopping Ibara from going frantic, Satoshi took out a notebook and pen from the drawstring bag he always carries with him.

"Chitanda-san, what was it that was stolen from the Fortune Telling Association?"

"It's the 'Wheel of Fortune.'"

"OK!"

He began scribbling with his pen.

'''* A Capella Club ([A]KAPERA BU アカペラ部) - (Drink)''' 
'''* Go Club ([I]GO BU　囲碁部) - (Go Stones)''' 
'''* Fortune Telling Association ([U]RANAI KEN　占い研) - Wheel of Fortune ([U]NMEI NO WA　運命の輪)''' 
'''* Gardening Club ([E]NGEI BU　園芸部) - (Water Gun)''' 
'''* The Cooking Club ([O] RYOURI KEN　お料理研) - Ladle ([O]TAMA　おたま)'''

I see.

"Hmm. I've not seen their declaration of crime cards, but isn't this stretching it a bit?"

Satoshi tilted his head.

Feeling skeptical myself, I said, "Maybe the Gardening Club had their AK ('''[E]-KEI エーケイ''') stolen?"

"AK? What's that?"

"Their water gun, it's shaped like a Kalashnikov rifle."

"Really? I'll have to call the Gardening Club to confirm this."

"In that case, for the Go Club, they would have had their 'stones' ('''[I]SHI 石''') stolen."

Indeed, no one objected to such a hypothesis.

As for the A Capella Club, "The A Capella Club would be..."

"Hmm...... Awamori '''([A]WAMORI 泡盛)'''? <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awamori Wikipedia - Awamori]</ref>　Hot sake '''([A]TSUKAN 熱燗)'''?"

"It wouldn't matter as long as we could confirm the item starts with an [A]. We shouldn't think too much on that."

This... Wouldn't this be the excellent chance that the Classics Club would wish for? This was not me forsaking my energy-saving lifestyle. As usual, if there's something that I don't have to do, I won't do it. But if I let this pass, wouldn't it be too much of a pity? Even I was feeling a bit excited by the dawn of such luck.

"But, how far will this 'Juumonji-san' go with his crimes?"

How can you be so carefree, Chitanda!?

"Yeah, that's a problem."

"It won't be a problem as long as he stops by the Classics Club."

...Do even Satoshi and Ibara not get it as well?

I raised my voice.

"What are you guys talking about? What does the culprit call himself again?"

"Eh? Isn't it Juumonji?"

"I don't know why you guys pronounce it as 'Juumonji', when normally you would pronounce it as 'Juumoji.'"

"...Well, that's because I have a friend called Juumonji Kaho..."

"Oh!" Ibara exclaimed.

"That's it! Juumoji (Ten Characters 十文字)! Since Chi-chan and Fuku-chan kept pronouncing it as 'Juumonji,' I didn't see the association! If it's 'Juumoji' (Ten Characters), then that would make The Cooking Club the fifth character."

Exactly.

"And the sixth target would start with [KA], in other words, the tenth and final target would start with [KO]... That's more than enough reason to get people to come visit the Classics Club ('''[KO]TENBU 古典部'''), isn't it?"

'''[148 COPIES REMAINING]'''

038 - ♥09

While I believe Fukube-san and Mayaka-san are both wonderful people, there's one thing I don't agree with them about.

They make too much fun of Oreki-san.

He gets called dullish, a slacker, oversleeper, lazy, good-for-nothing, loiterer, too lazy to even loiter, a lion that sleeps all day, not a even a lion even if he sleeps all day, the antithesis of Labour Thanksgiving Day, sluggish, and all other sorts of bad names.

For me, if I see something I don't understand, I would seek out its answer. If I see something that looks out of place, I would spot it. But while I often get praised for being able to answer any problem being asked, I do not find myself matching that description. For some of the incredible things that I have come across, I was not able to find the answer to half of them. This would be like how rice cannot be grown by just merely preparing soil, water and seeds alone, part of being a rice farmer is to oversee how they're grown properly. Oreki-san was able to find the key to the questions that I did not understand, and obtain the answers which I had never thought about. He helped massively in the "Hyouka" incident, as named by Fukube-san, as well as come up with an amazing theory in the "Empress" incident.

He wasn't just a bright person. In contrast to what he himself normally claims, that he couldn't be bothered to help other people if it is too troubling for him, I believe he is actually a passionate and warm person deep inside.

Then again, I realize I've been relying too much on that warmth of his. That's why I tell myself I shouldn't rely too much on him...

With the new vision and possibilities shown to me by Oreki-san, I now head once again to the Wall Newspaper Club room. Based on the "pattern" that Oreki-san had spoke of, it would certainly attract the attention of the Wall Newspaper Club. Yet, whether I could convey this message to them to get them moving would depend on how I negotiate with them. I am no longer overwhelmed by the colourful decorations of the Cultural Festival, the incessant chattering of the students and the various posters pasted everywhere. Instead, courtesy of Irisu-san's advice, my heart was filled with the confidence that this time I will not fail.

According to Fukube-san, it seems the "Juumoji" incident has yet to receive much attention, which means this story would be extremely newsworthy for the Wall Newspaper Club. This would be the sort of request where, based on Irisu-san's advice, I do not need to repay any favour.

I recalled what was being taught, as my sense of memory is one of the few things that I'm confident of. Important requests, give them expectations, make them think our problem is trivial, and make the request alone to a person of the opposite gender.

As to why these methods would be effective, I'm still at a loss in understanding them... It feels bad for me to use systems which I do not fully understand as mere tools, but I can't afford to be picky.

Making good use of that advice, I rehearsed my lines. To make sure I don't say anything wrong, I repeated them again and again on my own.

I arrived before the Wall Newspaper Club room, the Biology Lecture Room, and knocked on the closed door,

"Comin~!"

A hoarse voice replied as the door opened startlingly.

There were six people inside, which was more than yesterday. But that was not the only thing that was different. While Toogaito-san was amongst them, the other five people were all speaking on their cell phones. One of them finished speaking and spoke to another male student who was on the phone.

"Cooking Club. Confirm it with their president."

The student who heard the instruction made a circle with his finger. Was it money? ...Oh, he was making an OK sign. The student who just finished speaking on the phone wrote some sort of list before heading out of the room, seemingly not noticing my presence.

It was then that a voice spoke.

"Sorry about that, Chitanda-san. We're a bit busy at the moment."

Before noticing, Toogaito-san had started walking towards me. After being mesmerized by the passion of the Wall Newspaper Club, I quickly returned to my senses.

"Try coming back some other time."

"Yes, sorry to be troubling you..."

No! I mustn't! I quickly stopped what I was saying. We haven't got much time ourselves. If I give up so soon, I wouldn't be able to face Oreki-san. I should at least convey my message,

"...Sorry to be troubling you, but, could you please take a moment? I have something to tell you."

While it's an unreasonable request, Toogaito said with a troubled expression, "All right, make it quick."

He seems to have accepted the request. I should be bowing to him in gratitude, but as he's in a hurry, I have decided to omit that.

It was then that I remembered. Toogaito-san is a member of the opposite gender. As there were other members present, I gradually took a few steps back away from the Biology Room. Perhaps unconsciously, Toogaito-san stepped forward in tandem towards the corridor. I then inadvertently closed the door. During the Cultural Festival, there was virtually no one around the Biology Room on the third floor of the Special Block besides us.

I've managed to adhere to one point of Irisu-san's advice now. To ensure I didn't fail, I suppressed my nervousness and spoke,

"It's about the Classics Club."

"Like I said, we'll only consider it if it's newsworthy."

"Well, umm, it ''is'' newsworthy."

Now, to make an expectation out of him. I think I should say it like this:

"It's something that we can only tell the Wall Newspaper Club."

"Hmm?"

Toogaito-san, who had originally wanted the conversation to end quickly, suddenly had a change in his attitude.

"What do you mean?"

"It's like this,"

I took a quick breath.

"We've discovered that during the Cultural Festival, many clubs have had various items stolen."

I had wanted to go on, but Toogaito-san's reaction was vigorous.

"'Juumoji!'"

"Eh?"

"What do you know about 'Juumoji?!'"

I was at a loss in how to deal with this sudden, unexpected turn of events. Umm, how should I respond? It's a bad habit of mine to suddenly stop speaking in times like these, even Oreki-san had told me about it. I must calm down, in other words, I must try and figure out what's going on so far...

Toogaito-san, or rather the Wall Newspaper Club, has already figured out something about the "Juumoji" incident, and they're extremely interested in it... Rather than a favour that's not expected to be repaid, this has now become a request where the favour is expected to be repaid.

W-what should I do?

No, this shouldn't change what I should be telling him. I nodded and tried my best to calm down, before compiling my thoughts into words.

I explained everything.

From beginning to end.

Toogaito-san looked very intrigued in what I had said and was extremely pleased.

"I see... The gojuuon sequence, huh? Now it makes sense, The Cooking Club's official name starts with [O]. And the Fortune Telling Association was hit as well... So that's why."

I was a bit curious on what he meant by the end.

"Umm, did you figure something out?"

"Oh."

Toogaito-san had a bitter look on his face.

"This is the Wall Newspaper Club after all,"

"Yes."

I nodded.

Toogaito then repeated again in a different tone, "The Wall Newspaper Club ('''[KA]BESHINBUN BU 壁新聞部'''), starts with a [KA]."

"Oh! So that means,"

"We lost out cutter knife ('''[KA]TTA-NAIFU カッターナイフ'''), it happened when we were all out."

"And that's why you're all so busy now?"

Toogaito-san nodded.

"While it's vexing that we had something stolen from us, it's this sort of accidental incident that we most look forward to. This is way more interesting than the usual stuff that we have to report on, isn't it? You've really saved us a lot of trouble. Who would have thought this 'Juumoji' would work in such a way?"

He then added a compliment.

"Good work for figuring that out."

"Oh, yes, that was mainly Oreki-san."

Yet, upon mentioning Oreki-san's name, for some reason Toogaito-san's smile was a mix between delight and vexation.

"...Ah, of course. Anyway, give him my thanks."

"Okay."

"Well, thanks for the information."

With a cheerful expression, I watched as Toogaito-san returned to the Biology Room.

It was when he was about to shut the door that I remembered Irisu-san's advice - "For situations where you're dealing with strangers which you would not deal with again after you receive the favour, in nine out of ten cases, they would consider your request a rip-off."

''Wait! Please write something about the Classics Club in return!''

I should have shouted that to Toogaito-san... but I couldn't do it. I couldn't make myself say something that sounds like I do not trust Toogaito-san.

"......"

I looked at the hand which I stretched out to call Toogaito-san. For a moment, I felt depressed at failing once again.

However.

After thinking again calmly, this could turn out for be best. Irisu-san's advice on that was mainly for strangers whom I won't deal with again. But that's not the case for Toogaito-san. So if I were to build on a trust with Toogaito-san, then what I did wasn't wrong.

Yes, that's got to be the case.

...For a bit, I felt more resolute in my determination.

039 - ♣13

I first knew of Houtarou's amazing sense of perception in the "Hyouka" incident. Despite spending all that time with him in junior high, I never knew he was capable of such feats.

Knowing Houtarou's special abilities, I was full of expectations during the "Empress" affair, as I could not think of anyone else besides him who could pull it off. The very least I could do was give him my support. Though he was also active in other incidents, these were the two main ones that came to mind.

However, this time, I do not expect anything from Houtarou.

As he is in charge of watching the stall, he is unable to leave the Geology Room. Knowing Houtarou's motto, he would surely enjoy not needing to move around, but it also means he would be unable to solve anything, as much footwork is required for this case. In other words, Houtarou is unsuited for the "Juumoji" incident.

And what happens when I don't have any expectations from Houtarou?

...That leaves me with no choice but to do the investigation myself.

Using Houtarou's deductions as a basis, and padding it up with information I gleamed from various connections, I've managed to compile the following data.

'''Day 1 '''
'''* ~11.30am - A Capella Club　([A]KAPERA BU アカペラ部) - "Aquarius" ([A]KUARIASU アクエリアス)　soft drink stolen '''
'''* ~12.30pm? - Go Club ([I]GO BU 囲碁部)　- Stones　([I]SHI 石)(?) stolen '''
'''* Just after 2.00pm - Fortune Telling Association　([U]RANAI KENKYUU KAI 占い研究会) - Wheel of Fortune ([U]NMEI NO WA 運命の輪)　stolen '''

'''Day 2 '''
'''* ~9.00am - Gardening Club ([E]NGEI BU 園芸部)　- AK ([E]-KEI エーケイ)　(Kalashnikov water gun) stolen '''
'''* Just before 11.30am - The Cooking Club ([O]RYOURI KENKYUU KAI お料理研究会)　- Ladle ([O]TAMA おたま)　stolen '''

And from Chitanda-san, who just returned dashing down the corridor, just a moment ago (currently it's 1.58pm), the Wall Newspaper Club ([KA]BESHINBUN BU　壁新聞部) has their cutter knife ([KA]TTA- NAIFU　カッターナイフ) stolen. The actual time when they were hit should be sometime earlier than this.

Roughly speaking, it would seem "Juumoji" seems to make his move every one and a half hour to two and a half hours. Considering the Cultural Festival takes place from 8.00am to 5.00pm, it makes sense.

As the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival spans three days, if he were to steal from ten clubs, he would have divided them evenly, stealing from three the first day, three from the second day, and four on the final day. However, while he has indeed targeted three clubs in the first day, as people would be preparing to take down their stuff on the final day from around three, it's possible that he could choose to target four clubs today.

Taking out my copy of the "Kanya Festival Guide", I started looking up the clubs whose names begin with [KI]...... Heh, looks like the phantom thief is bound by the strange rules he has set for himself, as the only club that matches the description was Magic Club ([KI]JUTSU BU 奇術部).

Arriving at the Magic Club, there was a poster that read "The next show will begin in 2pm". This is most ideal. If he were to commit the crime, he would have to do so right before everyone's gazes. And even if "Juumoji" manages to pull this off and steal something that starts with [KI], there should still be some clues left behind.

If I stay vigilant, I have a fair chance of victory. "Juumoji"'s defeat lies with his pattern being too easy to read. The only problem with catching "Juumoji" now would mean he's denied the chance to go all the way to [KO], which would be bad for our attempt to promote the Classics Club. Anyway, if we catch him, we still might be able to achieve something out of it.

I'm not like Houtarou. I am unable to untie the knots of a rope, neither am I able to just cut them loose quickly. If I could, even I would be amazed at myself.

However, I am at least able to move my body around, just by walking on my two feet and seeing with my two eyes, I should be able to figure something out.

The Magic Club public performance takes place in Class 2D's classroom. As a regular classroom, it has two entrances. The front door was covered by a curtain, with a cardboard box placed outside that read "Magic Club Backstage. No Trespassers Allowed". Visitors are to enter via the back door. Besides the backdoor was a table with a white box placed on it. Taking a closer look, turns out it contains the programme booklets for the show.

As there was nothing else to do while waiting thirty minutes for the show to start, I bought one booklet.

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|
# Introduction 
# Living Dead - Takamura Youichi (1st Year) 
# The Rainbow Ring - Nagai Kaori (1st Year) 
# Vanishing Act - Tayama Kazuya (2nd Year) 
# Closeup Card Magic - Takamura Youichi and Nagai Kaori (1st Year) 
# Bowls and Balls - Tayama Kazuya (2nd Year) 
# Closing

|}

I see.

The first thing I understood was that the Magic Club only has three members. The Classics Club has four while the Sewing Club has five. Hey, we have more.

"Living Dead" would be referring to zombies, as this is the Magic Club, they're no doubt referring to the zombie ball. "Rainbow Ring" would be linking rings, where they'd be playing with the illusion of the rings linking and separating. "Vanishing Act", probably involves something disappearing and replaced with something else. "Closeup Card Magic" is like its name suggests, a straightforward performance. Should be interesting as there're two performers. "Bowls and Balls", probably a variation of the cups and balls trick, where the audience is tricked into thinking the ball entered one cup when it instead ended up in another, this time they seem to be using bowls instead.

There doesn't seem to be anything within sight that starts with [KI]. Though there are the Kings ([KI]NGU キング) from the deck of cards, if they're going to use coins, then gold coins ([KI]NKA 金貨). If diacritics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakuten) are allowed for the [KI] spelling, then silver coins ([G]INKA　銀貨) would do as well...... But wait, that's technically impossible. (As a 1 yen coin is made of aluminium, 5 yen is brass, 10 yen is bronze, and the rest are nickel coins. Oh, there's also the 500 yen coin, which is a mixture of brass and nickel, I guess?)

I wonder if I should take a peek inside, as I placed my hand on the door handle. I'd better not, while it might help in catching the phantom thief Juumoji, it's too unrefined of me to peek into the Magic Club's backstage. Besides, as long as I just stand here, I could easily know if anyone is coming in or going out.

As I looked at my own notes, I immersed myself in enjoying this unexpected turn of events. While seeking out knowledge in my own pace is also fun in itself, I relish in these kinds of unforeseen incidents. Then again, based on my own experiences, sadly speaking, it would seem my wits, which are required in such a case, are by no means superior to the rest. In essence, I am unable to deal with such sudden situations with a calm head, but this time I have prepared sufficiently in terms of intel, so I should be able to do something about it.

As I kill time while going along such thoughts,

"Hmm? Why if it isn't Fukube?"

Said a surprised sounding voice. It was Tani-kun, with his firm jaw and round nose,

"You did rather well in the Wild Fire tournament."

That reminds me, we did beat his team during the cooking tournament. Upon discovering the declaration of crime, we totally forgotten about our duel. I smiled and said,

"Well, it's thanks to my pork miso soup, after all. My teammates also worked their best as a result, making my work look rather incomplete though."

"Team competitions sure is tough. I should have stick with individual tournaments. Those two girls were incredible, even Suhara was amazed."

"Though I didn't feel like I've won, as there aren't many participants. We were just lucky."

"By the way......"

Tani-kun turned his gaze towards my hand, which held the list of targeted clubs and items stolen. I subtly hid it away from sight.

"So have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

Tani-kun then turned his sights towards the Magic Club's billboard. I pondered on the possibility on why I would bump into him here. Just as I wondered if I should confirm that possibility with him, he began to puff his chest and said,

"The guy known as 'Juumoji'."

Bingo. I nodded and shrugged my shoulders,

"As expected of Tani-kun, no rumour ever escapes your attention."

I had meant that as a compliment, yet Tani-kun didn't look too pleased,

"Oh, so you do know."

"That's why I'm here."

"Well, it is you guys that discovered the crime note at the Cooking Club, so it's not surprising that you already knew...... But how did you end up figuring out it's the Magic Club?"

"It's easy of course, we follow the gojuuon pattern."

With an intrigued smile, Tani-kun said,

"...... Interesting. I was right to expect something of you."

Why thank you.

Predicting what his next line would be, I decided to move pre-emptively,

"So, what will our next duel be?"

"Oh, so you're up to it?"

Tani-kun said and smiled, he then lowered his voice,

"Anyway, to show my fairness...... I can tell you that the Wall Newspaper Club has been hit."

I knew that already, you didn't really need to tell me. Though I shouldn't ridicule him for it, less it complicates things.

However.

"It seems the Wall Newspaper Club's now fired up. Their next edition headline will feature the Juumoji story. Seems like they're doing a manhunt for 'Juumoji' with rewards."

Now I didn't know that, so I said with a genuine concern,

"Oh? Rewards, eh?"

"Details for the rewards will be included in their Special Edition No. 1...... Once this becomes public, it'll attract a great deal of attention."

"You bet."

"Everyone is hungry for something unexpected. At any rate, this will become the main talking point for tomorrow."

For me personally, who prefers to enjoy stuff alone, this was rather bad news. Having Tani-kun involved was already a kill-joy, but main talking point? Give me a break. Yet for the Classics Club, in need of some PR to promote themselves, this was good news. If the "Juumoji" incident were to get more and more exciting, attention will eventually be turned towards the Classics Club. As to which aspect I should place more importance on...... Guess I should prioritize on making Mayaka smile once again.

Placing his hand on my shoulder, Tani-kun smiled,

"Well, it's impressive that you're able to get wind of this so quickly. Sorry, but I shall be the one to catch this guy. I may not look it, but I'm quite the mystery fan, you know?"

Oh, really? While that was what I thought, I maintained my smiling expression,

"Do go easy on us,"

I gave him a polite response, to which he nodded,

"Good luck to us both then, Fukube!"

040 - ♦08

While I would prefer to slowly enjoy my lunch as an excuse to stay with the Classics Club as long as possible, I know this can't last. No matter how unpleasant it is, I need to return to the Manga Club soon.

Without noticing, I had already unwrapped and torn my bacon roll into bits, and I now slowly picked them up one by one and fed them to my mouth. I'll go once I'm finished with them all. Just when I've decided to do that, Oreki, who was in charge of watching the stall, opened his mouth,

"Ibara, you said you've read Agatha Christie's novels before, right?"

I was just about to wonder how did he know that when I remembered that I told him near the end of the summer holidays, in what Fuku-chan called the "Empress" affair. I stopped picking up the bacon roll pieces and said,

"I did, but only her most famous works. It's not like I've read all of her works."

"And ''The A.B.C. Murders'' is one of them?"

"Of course."

Crossing his arms, Oreki sat deeply into his chair while brazenly staring at the ceiling and said,

"This 'Juumonji' incident, Satoshi said it's similar to A.B.C. ......"

It was only just a while ago that Oreki was telling us off for mispronouncing "Juumoji", and now he's pronouncing it as "Juumonji". Though as a person's name, it is indeed easier to pronounce it as "Juumonji", so I didn't say anything.

"Somehow, it is easy to make the association. Since ''The A.B.C. Murders'' involve victims being left with an 'A.B.C. list', then its natural that he would make the association with the 'Kanya Festival Guide' that were left in the crime scenes."

"Well, of course. Or there wouldn't be much meaning to it."

"By the way,"

Moving his gaze down from the ceiling, Oreki looked as though he was about to say something bad,

"Just asking, but what's the reason for the killer in ''A.B.C.'' to kill his victims in alphabetical order?"

...... What a strange question.

"Oreki, have you even read ''The A.B.C. Murders''?"

"Nope, just the premise."

"Premise, huh? So, do you intend to read it from now on?"

"...... Dunno."

"Are you sure you still want to know even then? It'll spoil the story for you, are you okay with that?"

Thinking for a bit, Oreki met my gaze,

"Sure, go ahead."

Fine then.

Just to be safe, I had a look around. As if someone were to hear all the plot details of ''A.B.C.'' before reading it, it'll definitely ruin the story for them.

After making sure no one's around, I sighed.

"Well, it's actually quite straightforward. Won't you be already thinking the killer simply wants to kill in alphabetical order?"

Oreki gave a bitter smile,

"Yeah, I guess."

Jeez. That's the problem with him, he would often change his mind just when he's about to say something. I began to speak harshly,

"In other words, you were thinking if 'Juumoji' had simply wanted to steal according to the gojuuon sequence, weren't you?"

"...... Yeah."

Oreki answered and sat upright with an unpleasant looking face,

"I don't know if 'Juumonji' was aware of Christie when he did his stuff, but what has he stolen? Go stones and ladles, they're nothing but trinkets. Surely he wouldn't really wanted to steal these.

But does that mean he's simply a prankster stealing in the gojuuon sequence just for fun?"

"So you're saying there's another meaning to all this?"

I took another piece of bread roll and stuffed it into my mouth.

"When Satoshi and Chitanda both heard that 'Juumonji' works according to the gojuuon sequence, they both ran out looking excited. To be blunt, just by observing the clues, anyone would have figured that out."

"It's true that you were the first to realize, but it's not like it's some big discovery in itself."

"In other words, this was no big deal to 'Juumonji' himself. If instead of the gojuuon sequence, he were to base his sequence on something more cryptic, for example taking the letters from the slogan 'Glory To Kami High', then he would need to put more effort into it."

"I see. The gojuuon sequence just seems too easy to figure out."

I get what Oreki's trying to say. If 'Juumoji''s objective was merely to steal stuff following the gojuuon sequence, then this prankster is a bit weird on the head. But if that's not the case, then the gojuuon sequence is merely a process for him to achieve something else.

I did not realize this until I've personally participated in the Cultural Festival, but it really is a unique moment. That uniqueness involves a sense of floating around in a carefree way, and it's not strange to see people getting moved along by strange pranks. But is that all?

...... I think I'm becoming strange myself.

"Oreki, do you ever think of catching 'Juumoji' yourself?"

"Me?"

He looked surprised,

"Why would you think I'd do such a thing?"

"You look enthused."

Oreki snorted and went back to leaning on the back of his chair,

"It doesn't matter to me either way. Be it Juumoji (Ten Characters) or Man with a Thousand Faces. If he wants to steal something from the Classics Club, I'll gladly give it to him as long as it's not my wallet. Though afterwards Chitanda would probably be very curious and would badger me on who 'Juumonji' was."

"Well, you could have just ignore her."

"She's not the sort of person you could just ignore,"

Oreki frowned.

Hee hee.

How silly.

Tossing the last bits of bread roll into my mouth, I stood up. As I proceeded to move, I thought I should give my thanks,

"That reminds me. Oreki, thanks for the bag of flour. I was really at a loss back there."

"Oh. Don't mention it,"

As though remembering something, Oreki gave an enigmatic smile,

"I got that bag of flour via the straw millionaire protocol."

Straw millionaire protocol?

"What're you talking about?"

"The story of the straw millionaire, you know?"

Oh, I see.

"So you want something in exchange for the bag of flour, is that right?"

"You got something? If you don't, then I don't mind ending my protocol here."

Oh, well.

After thinking for a bit, I took off the brooch on my chest,

"You can have this."

Oreki looked on in surprise,

"...... Are you sure? Wouldn't you need it for your cospl..."

"It's not a cosplay, you idiot!"

I threw the brooch at Oreki's face as hard as I could and quickly turned and left the Geology Room.

041 - ♣14

I had intended to keep monitoring any movement near the backstage entrance, but I cannot resist the call of nature. As the show was about to start, I quickly went for the bathroom. When I came back, I asked Tani-kun whether he saw anyone suspicious, though he admonished me for having the audacity to ask a rival, it helped stroked his ego a bit as he answered kindly,

"Nobody came or went."

As he answered, someone emerged from the Class 2-D classroom. It was a male student, the badge on his collar indicated he was a second year. That would be the Magic Club president Tayama. (It's not like I knew who he was, I just happened to read it off the programme booklet. ) He raised his voice across the corridor filled with flags and lanterns and all sorts of decorations,

"The fifth Magic Club show will commence shortly."

Without saying anything, both me and Tani-kun entered the dark classroom. Seems like even the windows were draped in black curtains. The classroom itself was partitioned into two parts, with a curtain separating the two sides. The tables were all stacked along the windows while the chairs were lined up in rows. Behind the curtain would be the backstage. Right before the curtain was the podium and teacher's table. That would be the stage. The spacing between the spectators' seating and the stage was quite narrow, which could be a bit tough for the performer but would provide a great view for the spectator. But now's not the time for me to enjoy myself, though.

I next looked at the people entering the spectators' seating.

As this was the fifth performance, many people with an interest in conjuring tricks would have already seen it, so there weren't many people coming in. The first people I saw coming in was someone I didn't expect. When silent, she would exude a cool aura, and when she speaks, it was as regal as an "Empress". I stood up without thinking,

"Oh, hello there, Irisu-sempai."

Irisu Fuyumi-sempai squinted her eyes in the dark to see who was speaking to her,

"...... Oh, you're from the Classics Club."

She nodded and greeted me back before sitting on one of the chairs on the last row. It feels a bit strange seeing the extremely rational Irisu-sempai coming to watch a magic show.

The next person to come in was also a girl, who brought another girl with her. At first I thought they were a couple, as one of them was dressed like a man. I remember seeing that tuxedo before...... That's right, she's with the Manga Club. She was with Mayaka when they were drawing the posters. In that case, the girl besides her would be the Manga Club president, whom I've seen a few times. Both chatted and pointed to their programme booklet while taking the seats in front.

Next came various people whom I did not knew. Though we may study in the same school, I'm only familiar with their faces, but it's not like I'm acquainted with them. As for visitors from outside school, there was a middle-aged couple, even though today was a working day. Wondering what's going on, a grade-school-looking little girl entered as well looking curious.

The girl who entered next was a classmate of mine, though as I don't know her really well, I didn't call out to her. She must've noticed my presence, though she too decided not to call me out. Come to think of it, her surname happens to be "Juumonji", Juumonji Kaho-san. As a member of the "Four Exponential Clans", I would most like to get to know her, but I find it quite hard to deal with her. (As for what I meant by "getting to know her", it simply means I'd like to ask her about stuff that I've not heard before, that's all. Though I'll get myself in a lot of trouble if Mayaka were to hear me say that. )

While there weren't many people in the beginning, in time the room was now quite packed. The Magic Club should be quite pleased with this attendance. The president from before could be seen taking a peek through the curtain.

Next came a group of guys. Whoa, if it isn't the president of the Executive Committee Tanabe Jirou? And besides him was...... Oh my god, it's the Nth President of the Kamiyama High School Student Council, His Excellency Kugayama Munetaka. ("Nth" means I have no idea how many presidents there were before him. ) A charismatic figure with a sporty-looking figure and carefree smile, his moving speech still left an impression in my mind, though I have no idea what the president normally does. Besides those two, I'm not quite acquainted with the others. Noticing me, Tanabe-sempai raised his hand to greet me.

While the spectator seating that took up half of the classroom was not quite completely filled, it was still 70% full. A girl, presumably a Magic Club member, closed the door. The partition curtain opened, and a male student walked onto the stage carrying a candle stand on each hand, placing them on the teaching desk. Taking a match from his pocket, he began lighting the candles, which began to illuminate the dark classroom with a gentle light. I see, in order to deal with the confined spacing of the room, they resorted to using dim candle lighting to make the room look bigger. I began to be absorbed by the mood created.

After the guy who lit the candles withdrew, the president then emerged. The president, with his hair combed back and wearing a pair of framed spectacles, was a slim figure with skillful-looking hands. He waited till the audience gradually went silent before smiling and bowed courteously like a stage actor,

"Let the show commence. Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Magic Club performance. Now feast your eyes upon the wonders that we have worked hard in order to show you."

Applause.

I looked around during the applause. There doesn't seem to be anything out of order so far......

"First, the Magic Club proudly presents Takamura Youichi of Class 1B, who will be gracing us with his performance of 'The Living Dead'."

He then withdrew from the stage amidst the applause. The male student that next emerged from the curtains was carrying a ball as expected as the El Bimbo began to be played in the background...... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Bimbo) As a French whisper pop, this kind of music suits the mood well. Takamura-kun seems totally relaxed, now I know why they were proudly presenting him. Or perhaps it's because this is the fifth time he's performing this?

The zombie ball and linking rings performances went smoothly as expected.

The Magic Club people sure have some skill. While I've seen my fair share of conjuring tricks, this was nothing to be amazed at, still, it was quit intense seeing the ball float in mid air or the rings linked together from such a close distance. And while the first guy and the girl that followed had a few awkward moments with their movements, it wasn't that bad as to jeopardize their performance. I applauded their mastery from the bottom of my heart.

The third act "Vanishing Act" was just as impressive. Tayama-san, the Magic Club president and their sole second year, was certainly more skilled than his two members. He was just as composed during his performance as he was while greeting the audience, making cards and handkerchiefs appear seemingly out of nowhere as the background music plays (this time its some piano sonata of which name I've forgotten).

His card and handkerchief apparition acts, while skillful, were nothing to be astonished act, still, I was a bit surprised when he suddenly made that black handkerchief appear out of his right hand near the end. It caused quite a stir with the audience, even I was grappling at the edge of my seat.

Whether he was relieved at the success of his performance or pleased with the applause, the previously emotionless president Tayama gave a gentle smile. He then took out a pink candle, which was already alight. I'm not making this up, normally you wouldn't put a lit candle in your pocket, would you? Raising the candle for all to see, we all applauded in unison.

Seated some distance from me, Tani-kun whispered to me while applauding,

"Looks like he's got the torch."

I don't know why he's calling it a torch. Sure, it has other names like a flambeau, torchlight or rushlight, but wouldn't one normally call those candles? I had an urge to explain to him that torches were different from candles, but I decided not to.

No, wait, I've been so immersed in the show, I nearly forgot I wasn't here to watch the performance. Yet, nothing out of the ordinary has happened with the magic show, and there were no strange movements amongst the audience either. Occasionally the door would open and one or two more visitors would enter or leave mid way. But there's nothing "Juumoji" could have stolen from the outside, as there's nothing but curtains, billboard and posters. Hmm, what was it that Juumoji was after again? Something that begins with [KI].

...... CANDLE ([KI]YANDORU キャンドル)!

I gave out a gasp, and turned to look at president Tayama, who was sincerely thanking the audience. The candle in his hand was no longer lit. As it was probably dangerous, upon showing the lit candle to everyone, he had promptly blown it off. But that wasn't the only candle in the room. I turned to look at the candle stands used for illuminating the room,

"...... AH!"

"Now, rather than the usual poker cards, this time we will be playing with Japanese playing cards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanafuda)...... Huh?"

Oh crap, I gasped too loudly. As the following card magic involved interacting with the audience, there was no background music, and so Takamura-kun and Nagai-san, who were now performing, turned to look at me. I quickly waved my hands apologetically for interrupting them.

There were originally five candles on each candle stand, while the stand on the right had five candles, the one on the left only had four!

They've been hit!

But when?! All this time no one had approached the stage, until now,

"And now, would the lady sitting at the back please come forth to the stage?"

Irisu-san, being called upon, walked towards the stage. But before that, only the performers had appeared. Which means the missing candle was never there to begin with.

And all this time I was thinking that "Juumoji" would carry out his act under the gaze of this many people. Yet the act had already been carried out before the show even began.

Dammit, I've been wasting my time all along!

He must have left his declaration of crime somewhere. Come to think of it, the ladle wasn't stolen from The Cooking Club during the Wild Fire tournament itself. It was already gone before the tournament even began. The phantom thief "Juumoji" did not seem to carry out his thefts in a flashy way like most phantom thieves do.

Anyway, if it has come to this, there's no reason for me to stay anymore. If it's already been stolen beforehand, then it rules out the people here as suspects. All that's left is to......

"The card you've chosen is the Maple Deer, right?"

"...... That's it!"

I clapped my hands.

I straightened myself up and watched on carefully.

042 - ♦09

Returning to the Manga Club, one of the first years whom I'm friendly with greeted me,

"You're late."

I smiled kindly in response and returned to my seat at the booth.

The posters drawn during the morning had some effect in drawing visitors, as they seem to have increased from yesterday. I asked the girl sitting besides me in a low voice,

"How is it? Compared to yesterday."

She took a look across the room, and it was then that I noticed Kouchi-sempai was here. Making sure Kouchi-sempai was engaged with her followers and not looking over here, the girl replied in an even lowered voice,

"Well, there're more visitors."

"Is it because of the posters?"

"I'm not sure, but..."

Well, it's good if it helps sales. It's not like I was against Kouchi-sempai's proposal to draw posters to attract customers in the first place, on the other hand, it's not like I'm pleased that my drawings had helped as well. Don't get the wrong idea.

However, while realizing I could be wrong, I still felt something was not right. As we giggled, someone from across the room began speaking to indicate that they heard us,

"See? We should have listened to sempai to begin with."

"Yeah, if it weren't for someone who was against it, we would have sold more yesterday."

It's not like these people who've not even contributed to the anthologies have any right to complain, but I kept quiet.

"Oh, don't be so mean to her. To think she worked so hard to draw the posters."

"I guess. Well, good luck."

Though they mean one thing, the tone of their voices revealed another meaning. To be more precise, they were saying "Oh, don't be ''so'' mean to her. To think ''she'' worked so hard to draw the posters." while throwing a glance at me, as though accusing me of having a victim's complex and saying "Serves you right."

I love manga, and if I had to choose, I would say I like the Manga Club as well. Though I did not wish for this to happen...... but it can't be helped. There's three of them, and it's not in my nature to say anything unnecessary. Not to mention I was unable to present my evidence. So I need to hold back. But with such an atmosphere, there's no way I could ask the club to help sell ''Hyouka''.

They continued their persistent whispering, they're really such pesky gossipers. Speaking of gossiper, this reminds me of a strange conversation I once had with Fuku-chan, when I once said he was like a gossiper, he gave me an unbelievable response,

"You mean I'm brave?"

"Eh?"

"As well as being patriotic?"

"What're you talking about?"

"You said I'm like Kossuth." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lajos_Kossuth)


"...... What the hell's that?"

"A Hungarian hero."

Seriously, what the hell's that??

Being reminded by how seriously silly Fuku-chan was then, I giggled. I know I shouldn't be laughing, but I still ended up doing it. As expected, the gossiping group suddenly stopped,

"What's with her?"

"Isn't she being a bit cocky?"

"Weird girl."

Well I'm sorry about that!

This group normally acts in unison, each member was basically like the others, though this time one of them led the way by speaking louder than before,

"She was bluffing, wasn't she? To say she couldn't find it, as if anyone would believe that. And she was going on about how there're masterpiece mangas out there and was bragging about showing us one of them. Instead, she gives a name of some doujin no one's ever heard of, as though she's some expert on it. Besides, she......"

For them to go so far, even my patience was incredibly stretched to the point of bursting.

"Enough. You should keep your mouth shut on things which you have no knowledge of."

A voice called out from across the room. The gossiping group turned their heads to a direction they never expected the voice would come from. They had no choice but to keep quiet, as the one who spoke was none other than their leader, Kouchi-sempai. Dressed in her tuxedo, Kouchi-sempai began yawning as though she didn't even said those words.

I was quite surprised. But not at Kouchi-sempai reprimanding her followers. For Kouchi-sempai, as long as it was funny, it didn't matter whether a manga was fiction or non-fiction, a parody or homage, so I thought she would be the sort who wouldn't fuss whether things were fair or not. So I was really astonished when she of all people would tell people to shut up on things they are ignorant on.

The group of followers all cowered like a bunch of dogs who had just been scolded by their master. Though I could still feel their resentful gazes directed towards me.

This feels suffocating.

...... Though I only just arrived, I already felt like needing a breath of fresh air. So I told the girl sitting next to me I needed to leave for a bit and stood up. I wish I could just flutter away like the wind.

The autumn sun was sinking quickly.

Though it's not yet evening, the sunlight was getting weaker and the wind was getting cooler. I stood along the roof of the connecting corridor, looking down towards the central garden, wondering if this place has been forgotten while the rest of Kamiyama High School has been decorated fully.

Till now, while I still think I wasn't wrong, I wondered if I should have kept silent.

But I didn't regret it, I think. I just couldn't stand by and watch Kouchi-sempai say that whether one think a manga is interesting or not was purely subjective. If what she says was true, then anyone can be an expert. While my art wasn't something I was ashamed of showing people, as I did draw the posters a while ago, but the manga that I drew were just dull. I wanted to draw something more interesting, much much more interesting. If I had not encountered ''Ashes at Dusk'', I would have still believed myself to be capable of that. For Kouchi-sempai to say how it was pointless to strive to improve one's artwork, it was as though she was describing the effort as walking in the dark. She said without a clear objective or target, no matter how much you've progressed, it still wouldn't make much of a difference. No matter how you brush up your skills, it still wouldn't change anything. If I had accepted those words, then why would I still be thinking my art isn't good enough?

...... Yet I didn't give her those counter-arguments yesterday, as I thought showing her a copy of ''Ashes at Dusk'' would be good enough. But I didn't consider whether she would be convinced by it, or whatever her followers might say afterwards.

Heh, I'm such an idiot.

...... I feel like seeing Fuku-chan. He's probably engaged in some event like a fool somewhere. I too wanted to go investigate the "Juumoji" incident with him. I wonder if he would invite me. As a result of these thoughts, I still had not returned to the Manga Club.

"Ibara,"

A voice suddenly called out to me, I turned to see who it was.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through all these."

It was President Yuasa, giving a concerned but gentle smile with her fluffy cheeks and double eyelids.

I quickly shook my head,

"Why are you apologizing? You've done nothing wrong, president."

"Well, that's because I've been quiet all this time. I had wanted to stand by your side."

...... To come all the way to the roof of the connecting corridor to tell me that, I wonder what my mind was going through then?

But, that's fine. It's not like I had wanted anybody on my side. And had she actually stood up for me, it would only worsen my conflict with Kouchi-sempai and cause turmoil within the Manga Club. That wouldn't be good. So it's fine.

"...... Ayako doesn't really mean what she said."

President Yuasa said as she stood alone. As I was wondering who Ayako was, I realized she meant Kouchi-sempai, whose full name was Kouchi Ayako.

"What do you mean by her not meaning what she said? You mean her saying we should keep quiet on things we have no knowledge of?"

"No, not that. I meant her argument with you yesterday."

It was a topic I did not want to go further into, I took a deep sigh and said,

"You mean her saying whether a manga is interesting or not depends on one's acceptance antenna?"

The president nodded softly.

Was she trying to console me? If she was, she wasn't doing quite a good job at it. I gave a weak smile and asked,

"How could you tell she didn't mean it?"

"Well...... it's because Ayako and I are good friends."

"Is that all?"

"Ayako and Haruna are good friends as well."

President Yuasa smiled kindly, as though I would understand by now. I was probably looking dumbfounded like an idiot right now. Who's Haruna? She sure wasn't referring to Kouchi-sempai, and that wasn't President Yuasa's name either. I could not recall anyone I knew with that name. After an awkward pause, I decided to ask,

"Who's that?"

"Who's who?"

"This Haruna."

This time it was President Yuasa's turn to look perplexed. The way she tilted her head reminded me a bit of Chi-chan,

"Eh? But, Ibara, I thought you've read her work."

What work? Seeing I still haven't got a clue, she continued,

"You know ''Ashes at Dusk''?"

Hearing the name of the title I never thought would get mentioned during this conversation, I replied with a stiffened back,

"...... Yeah."

"Haruna was its author. Anjou Haruna. Didn't she put her name on it?"

Eh?

I would have most certainly remembered who the author of ''Ashes at Dusk'' was. But, how should I say this, it was definitely not "Anjou Haruna". The author name for that doujinshi was a quite obscure sounding name, that I certainly remembered.

"I thought the author was someone called Anshinin?"

"Anshinin?"

"'Anshin' as in 'peace of mind', 'In' as in 'hall'."

President Yuasa looked a bit surprised, but then slowly shook her head,

"She must have used a pen-name then. But I know the story was penned by Haruna. But I have no idea who drew the art, though Haruna should know."

I managed to learn more about the author of a manga I admire in the most strangest of occasions. While I knew that the script and artist were different people, for a moment, I forgotten the depression that I was having and asked,

"Which class is this person in?"

"Oh, Haruna is no longer here. She's transferred to another school."

"...... I, I see."

I tried to organize what the president just told me...... I don't really get it, so I sighed softly,

"President, what did you mean when you said this Anjou Haruna was friends with Kouchi-sempai? And how did you realize Kouchi-sempai didn't mean what she said?"

The president looked downwards and went silent.

Could it be that she was quite cautious with her words? As I pondered such a question, she slowly raised her head,

"If you had spoken to Haruna, you might understand as well. I know this is not a good enough answer for you, but, I'm sorry Ibara, while I do know the answer, I'm not able to tell you."

"......"

"Because Ayako is my friend."

Her large eyes with her double eyelids looked lonely as she explained. ''I can't tell you, because she's my friend.'' If she had told me, she might feel that she's speaking ill of Kouchi-sempai...... as well as revealing Kouchi-sempai's secrets.

At any case, as she couldn't tell me, I wouldn't understand. And right now, I realized I was going nowhere thinking about something I do not understand. I slowly shook my head.

I feel like being alone. Regardless of whether Kouchi-sempai really meant what she said, I just wanted to indulge in the breeze,

"Let me just enjoy the breeze for a bit before returning,"

"Ibara......"

Once again, I said insistently,

"I'll be back in just a bit."

So please leave me alone.

043 - ♠11

It was soon five o'clock.

Though everyone had returned just before the final chime, for some reason the mood seemed strange. Satoshi was unusually frowning for once, in contrast, Chitanda looked pleased. Ibara just looked downright depressed, as she probably doesn't wish for anyone to speak to her, I decided to ignore her for now.

"We've been outfoxed, Houtarou,"

As Satoshi spoke, he suddenly stared at my face and asked puzzlingly,

"What happened to your eye?"

Is it still red?

"Oh, my eye got hit by a heart."

"Huh?"

"Like I say, my eye got hit by a heart."

Satoshi looked dumbfounded, but quickly rediscovered his composure,

"Anyway, we were completely outfoxed. A candle was taken from the Magic Club."

"Isn't that good news?"

I said truthfully,

"It wouldn't be good if 'Juumonji' was caught before he reached the Classics Club, would it?"

"Yeah, I guess,"

Satoshi nodded grudgingly. Hearing his story, it seemed he had hoped to catch "Juumoji" red handed. Firstly, none of the items from [A] to [KA] had been stolen during events, secondly, "Juumoji" wouldn't be so stupid as to pick an inconvenient time like during a performance to carry out his thefts. He would simply do so at a time of his convenience, regardless of whether an event was ongoing or not.

"You could've told me that earlier......"

Satoshi grumbled. Hey, it's not like I knew what you were trying to do before.

"So? Did you find a declaration of crime?"

"Yeah, after looking around, we found it bundled along a notice for tomorrow's first show at 10am, and sure enough, a copy of the ''Kanya Festival Guide'' was there as well."

"And you found that on the corridor?"

"Yeah."

This means the culprit could be anyone.

Meanwhile, Chitanda's cheek was twitching. Though she wanted to smile, upon seeing Ibara looking depressed, she obviously couldn't do so. I decided to break the tension,

"Seems like you found something good?"

Chitanda gave a big nod,

"Yes I did!"

"Really?"

"The twenty copies of ''Hyouka'' that I've given to Irisu-san are selling well."

I guess, since it is that Irisu. While it's something to be rejoiced, I couldn't smile for some reason. I just hope she doesn't find use for me this time.

"So they're all sold out?"

"No, there're still a few copies left, but they'll most likely be sold out by tomorrow."

If they're all sold out, should be send another twenty copies over? That was the question.

"And there's more. The ''Kami High Monthly Special Edition'' that was released on 4pm gave mentioned the 'Juumoji' incident. It included the gojuuon rule that Oreki-san had figured out."

I feel a bit embarrassed at being credited for such a deduction. As I've mentioned to Ibara, anyone could have figured that out. Chitanda continued while placing her hand before her chest as though in prayer,

"Besides, they've mentioned the Classics Club's name! Right here: ''And so, our dear readers, it is speculated that 'Juumoji' will carry out his final crime sometime between noon and 2pm at either the Classics Club or the Miniature Club ([KO]USAKU BU 工作部).''"

"The Miniature Club? I didn't know we had such a club."

Satoshi nodded deeply as he replied,

"We do, now that you mention it."

"If he went to that club, then all our plans will be wasted."

"Yes, I'm worried about that as well,"

Chitanda gradually withdrew her delighted expression as she said that. I was wondering why she was so happy just now when I realized it was she who had brought that newspaper from the Wall Newspaper Club over here. So she was happy that she gets to inform us of the news...... No, that's not right. This wasn't something that would get her this happy, there must be something to it. But I shouldn't be prying into the minds of others, especially not that of Chitanda Eru's.

"...... So, Houtarou, how many copies have we sold?"

Ah, that,

"Excluding the copies we've given Irisu-sempai, that would be sixteen copies."

"Hey, we're actually selling more than yesterday."

Yeah, only marginally. Though we seem to have done better in our promotion today via the Wild Fire tournament compared to the Quiz Trial tournament yesterday. So there were more students who had decided to come over to this forsaken corner during their free time. We'll need all the word-of-mouth advertisement we could get.

At the end of the second day, our hope for selling out the remaining three quarters rests with how the "Juumoji" incident plays out......

Well, we'll worry about it by then. I took out a bag of biscuits from the table drawer.

"Houtarou, what's that?"

"I bought them from the Confectionery Club. I've not eaten them yet, you can have some if you like."

As I called out, even Ibara had walked over.

The four of us divided up the bag of biscuits. As we munched on the biscuits, the chime signalling the end of the second day began ringing.

'''[141 COPIES REMAINING]'''

==Translator's notes and references==

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| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-2|3-2 - Wild Fire]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 4|4 - Yet Another Sleepless Night]]
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</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-2

2013-03-07T04:32:58Z

Dan.:

== 3-2 Wild Fire ==

029 - ♥07

As my long hair was in the way, I had it tied at the back of my head.

I had always wondered why The Cooking Club has a "The" as a part of its name.

That question was instantly answered by its president.

"Something unfortunate happened with the old Cooking Club, leading to its disbandment. So we re-registered under this new name instead."

They seem like they've been through a lot.

Having been invited by Fukube-san, I was now participating in The Cooking Club's tournament "Wild Fire." While it has a strange name for a tournament, upon participating, one would quickly understand why such a name was used. The Wild Fire tournament does not take place in the Home Economics Room, but outside on the track field.

The tables forming the makeshift kitchen counters were quite narrow, and use of water was to be limited. Cooking fire was provided by two-legged stoves on each counter... It is certainly strange in appearance, but on the other hand, it also meant any observer would instantly know what it was.

Besides, as this tournament involves teams of three people...

"Mayaka-san sure is late."

The deadline for accepting entries has finished, and there's only three minutes till 11:30, when the tournament would officially commence. Yet Fukube-san was surprisingly calm.

"Each team member has twenty minutes, so we'll just put Mayaka last. If she still doesn't come in 40 minutes, then guess that's too bad. We're only here to promote ourselves anyway, so it doesn't matter whether we win or not."

While he's quite right, I still continued to glance towards the field entrance.

A male student's voice spoke from behind us.

"Doesn't matter whether you win or not? That's hardly fun at all, Fukube!"

Could he be a friend of Fukube-san? I've not seen him before.

Though Fukube-san was usually energetic, perhaps even he was getting exhausted from being so active during the tournament, because he sounded quite indifferent when replying to his friend.

"Nah, we'll be giving our all."

Though his friend did not seem to mind a bit and smiled.

"At any rate, this rule of having three people on a team is great! Even if my cooking isn't up to snuff, I'll still be well covered by the other two teammates. Still, no one person can win it alone, so you gotta plan ahead accordingly."

"Isn't that the same for all team tournaments?"

"Anyway, have you found yourself some good teammates? Just so you know, Team B has got Suhara, who's the son of the chef of Miraku on Main Street."

"Ah, so I've heard."

"And I'm on that team."

Fukube-san gave an ambiguous smile.

"Wow, that's great. May the best team win then."

Just as I thought, something does feel strange. The Fukube-san that I know would have been more sociable. Still, his friend remained in good spirits and returned to his team. I gently called out to Fukube-san.

"Fukube-san... are you feeling all right?"

The person who turned around was the usual Fukube-san,

"How am I feeling? I'm feeling superb! I feel like making some of Fukube's Seafood Fried Rice today!"

Looks like I've been thinking too much into this. I smiled.

"I'll be looking forward to it... I don't know if I'm getting this wrong, but we're only allowed to cook rice from scratch. If you're going to make fried rice, wouldn't you have to cook last in order to properly prepare?"

Fukube-san doesn't look too lively. As expected, perhaps his exhaustion is beginning to show on his face.

An impressive crowd was gathered, about a hundred to two hundred, perhaps even more. To think we're going to cook dishes in front of this many people... This feels a bit embarrassing.

"Um... if Mayaka-san is to cook last, who will cook first then?"

"Hmm? Chitanda-san, I did say we're gonna make rice, so maybe you should cook first."

"But it'll take more than an hour to prepare the rice, that would be too..."

I wasn't able to explain myself properly, but perhaps Fukube-san realized it from my gaze.

He replied, "Fine, I'll cook first. Guess that's it for Fukube's Seafood Fried Rice. I can make that anytime!"

Oh no, you don't really have to say it so clearly.

Beside the makeshift kitchen counters was a podium, where The Cooking Club's president walked on and began to explain the rules. With a loud voice, he began to introduce the participating teams.

"We have a total of five teams who've entered the tournament, but as we only have four counters, only the first four teams to apply get to compete for the Wild Fire Cup.

"And now, the teams themselves. Entry No. 1: Team Ajiyoshi!"

It was a team with three third year male students. I took a glance at them and noticed two of them had quite long fingernails. Could it be that they rarely cook?

"Entry No. 2: Team Fata Morgana!"

It was the team Fukube-san's friend was in. One of them looked quite calm and reserved. Perhaps he's the chef's son from Miraku.

"Entry No. 3: Team Astronomy Club!"

Huh? It seems there's another club who thinks just like Fukube-san did and participated. One of their members waved both her arms to greet the audience... We've met her before—it was Sawakiguchi-san, who was dressed in her usual chignon hairstyle. Oh, she even threw a kiss to the audience. She seems like a tough opponent.

"Entry No. 4: Team Classics Club!"

Fukube-san pumped his right fist into the air. I was at a loss for what to do, but still, I decided to bow respectfully to the audience around us.

"The rules have been well explained in advance. Each team is to make three dishes. Ingredients are available in the basket in the centre of the field on a first-come-first-serve basis. We often get cases of participants only getting rice, so please plan what you need beforehand. If the ingredient basket has run out, you are allowed to procure ingredients within the confines of Kami High. We have the Gardening Club cooking sweet potatoes today, you know?"

Oh, I see. As the ingredients are first-come-first-serve, it would be better for the first contestant to prepare the ingredients for his teammates as well. I'm glad that Fukube-san is cooking first, as I would easily get overwhelmed by too many choices.

"And now, first participants, on your positions..."

"Well, I'll be going."

Fukube-san waved his arm and headed towards the tables making up the makeshift counter. The four counters were set up in such a way that they surrounded the ingredients in the centre.

The Cooking Club president raised his voice from the podium.

"Wild Fire: START!"

The ingredients Fukube-san procured were three cups of rice, one bag of dried sardines, a bit of frying oil, a bottle of sweet vinegar ginger, four blocks of tofu, half a radish, three spring onions, six potatoes, a bit of black sesame seeds, 200g of sliced pork, one pack of sweet prawns, and a packet of potato starch. As for seasonings and spices like miso, soy sauce, wasabi, chili pepper, it seems like there is no limit on how much we can use them.

Fukube-san thought deeply for a bit before proceeding to boil a pot of water. Using the time the water takes to boil, he began to cut up the spring onions. Taking one of the three spring onions he'd procured, he began to chop them up into many tiny bits, though not as fast as professionals would chop them. It hardly looked hazardous. He next took out the dried sardines. Ah, so he's preparing miso soup.

Observing from the podium, The Cooking Club president began commentating on behalf of the audience.

"Oh, looks like Team Classics Club sure are thorough! They're slowly taking out the intestines of the sardines one by one! This is a very important step!"

After taking out the sardines' intestines, he began cutting up the radish into smaller pieces.

Wait, Fu-Fukube-san! There's no problem with how you cut up the radish, but you've forgotten to peel its skin! But team members are not allowed to speak while their teammates are cooking. The radish! The radish! I tried to motion my body in order to let him know... The radish!

After cutting up all the pieces, he finally seems to have noticed and took out a peeler. Oh dear! He's peeling the skin off the small pieces he just cut one by one! But if you do that, they'll become too dry by the time you put them into the hot water!

After peeling off the radish skin, he placed the dried sardines aside... Though as he'd taken care of its innards, it shouldn't smell anymore. Fukube-san next turned his attention to the sliced pork. He walked to the centre to obtain some miso paste. Of the three types of miso: red, white and koji, he had chosen white. By now, even I knew what he was planning to make, and it was not plain miso soup. He now held a miso soup spoon in his left hand and a regular spoon in his right.

Twenty minutes passed and on the stove of our kitchen counter was a pot of pork miso soup.

"Twenty minutes is up! Please swap places now."

Fukube-san ran back towards where we sat, and the first thing he said was, "Didn't go as well as I thought!"

"The peeling of the skin?"

Fukube-san shook his head.

"Yeah that as well, but if I'm to make pork miso soup, I shouldn't have spent so much time taking care of the sardine innards! That took up a lot of time..."

He was right, we cannot afford to waste that much time.

"I-I'm counting on you, Chitanda-san."

I nodded.

Please leave it to me.

030 - ♣10

And just when I was wondering how Chitanda-san's cooking would fare...

She's fast! Not just in her movement, but in how she manages to get the knack of things as well. Despite the narrow space around her, she moves as though she has many limbs. Even the commentator is astounded.

"What on earth is going on with Team Astronomy Club's second member Sawakiguchi? Just what is she making? ...Whoa! Look at the superb way Team Classics Club's Chitanda is slicing the radish skin!"

Before time, the radish skin has been peeled into what seems like a long thin sheet of paper. She next placed the spring onion on the chopping board while preparing the sweet vinegar ginger. How does Chitanda-san manage to move so swiftly when she's usually quite meek, I mean, gentle?

Using the thin radish pieces, she wrapped them around the spring onions and ginger before placing them on the dish. That's one dish complete. Damn, and it's only been two minutes since she started.

It was then that Chitanda-san suddenly stopped moving, for about ten seconds. Just when I realized what was going on, she began moving frantically again. "Ah yes, the rice." Phew, that's the Chitanda-san I know.

Though she had only started to wash the rice, the way she washed it was incredibly thorough.

"Team Classics Club sure are taking their time to polish their rice... They're generously using up every ounce of the six litres of water allocated to them! In order to bring out the best taste in their rice, the Classics Club are cutting no corners with their resources! Look properly, that's the way you wash your rice, by slowly draining the water with your hands!"

She was gentle, yet fast. Upon deciding on the amount of water to be used, she brought it to boil and then turned her attention elsewhere.

"...Team Ajiyoshi has finished their second dish of miso soup. Are they planning on making a variety of miso soup? Meanwhile, it seems Team Fata Morgana's teriyaki is going smoothly!"

Chitanda-san's movement became more and more intense. She wrapped the tofu with a cloth and placed it in a bowl, then sprinkled salt and sugar on it while warming up the frying pan. No, she wasn't simply warming up the pan, she was frying the black sesame seeds with oil. She then placed and spread the tofu evenly across the pan. The commentary went ballistic.

"Oh my, Team Classics Club is making giseyaki! I am so moved to tears by Team Classics Club's Chitanda!"

Sounds like a dish I've never heard of before...

Chitanda-san next began to peel the potato skin while occasionally turning to tend to the frying pan. After peeling the potato skin, she took the tofu out of the pan. It now had an impressive colour as she placed it on the chopping board. Cutting up the tofu, she placed it on another dish. That's the second dish completed.

I could already smell the sweet aroma coming from the roasted sugar as well as the fried sesame. I was lost for words, indeed, I felt like eating that myself!

"...A sweet scent is coming from the dish of Team Classics Club! How formidable, for them to impress just by scent alone!"

Meanwhile, a sweet smell of roasted soy sauce came from Tani-kun's team.

"Team Fata Morgana has also finished their teriyaki. The colour looks superb. One cannot think of these people as mere students. Just who are they?!"

You're dealing with Lady Chitanda Eru, daughter of the Chitanda farming clan! Remember her name!

There was no time to wash the frying pan. As soon as she filled the pot with water and brought it to boil, without waiting she went straight for the sweet prawns, speedily removing their shells. She then turned the fire down when the rice began to boil. And when the pot of hot water started boiling, she threw in the sweet potatoes. Taking some radish, she began making wasabi sauce. Yup, guess that's the way to prepare sweet prawns.

Meanwhile, she briefly cleaned the bowl that held the tofu a while ago and placed the starch in it. I wonder what she's up to now. Feeling curious, I decided to look on.

Though the potatoes were now boiled, she didn't discard the soup right away. Using a pair of chopsticks and the miso spoon, she skillfully scooped the contents out. After draining them of moisture, she placed them into the bowl holding the starch and began grinding them with a mortar. Was she good at making food that involves grinding stuff? Starch and boiled potatoes, just what was she making? Cooking sure is complicated. People who possess the most surprises are the most interesting after all. I'm very looking forward to this. Taking the white stuff that emerged from the bowl, she wrapped them with a cloth and began squeezing them into lumps. She then dumped the lumps back into the soup.

"It seems Team Astronomy Club is continuing with their Avant-Garde cooking, I pray for the health of our judges... Whoa, Team Classics Club has just made imo-mochi! This Chitanda is extremely skillful! But, are they going to be okay?"

Imo-mochi, huh? I like that a lot. By the way, how much time do we have left? Looking at my watch, we still have two minutes. But wouldn't the commentator say something about the time if we're short on it?

Looking at the kitchen counter, I see a row of dishes being lined up, as well as a row of utensils, and the dishes now being prepared, and then the ingredients...

"AHH-~!"

I yelled. And instantly,

"Whoa there, Team Classics Club! No talking is allowed."

Damn, this is bad.

That's it, there's still time to let her know! This is really bad. Chitanda-san has made a grave error. But can it be resolved? I crossed my arms over my head to indicate to her that she's making a mistake.

Chitanda-san seems to have noticed my gesture, has she realized?

She gave a gentle smile and crossed her arms as well.

"..."

Looks like we're unable to communicate at all.

It's useless. Even if she were to realize, nothing could be done about it.

The imo-mochi began to boil inside the pot. Placing them on a small plate, she applied some soy-sauce over them.

And right on cue, "Forty minutes is up! Please change with your final member now," said the announcement.

"How do you think I did?"

Despite moving so swiftly, Chitanda-san showed no signs of fatigue and smiled. As for me, I smiled back, knowing I could never do what she had accomplished.

"You were amazing, Chitanda-san. I never knew you could cook that well."

Chitanda-san said shyly, "Is that so? I really like cooking."

"Yeah, I can see that. But..."

"But?"

Her expression became clouded.

"...Did something go wrong?"

The Cooking Club president commentated,

"Team Classics Club's final member has yet to appear! And to think they performed so superbly until now..."

"Chitanda-san, this is a three-person team."

"Of course. I'm worried for Mayaka-san."

"No, even if she had come..."

I pointed towards the makeshift kitchen counter that Chitanda-san had just worked vigorously on.

On there was a pot of cooking rice, radish rolls filled with ginger and spring onions, giseyaki, imo-mochi, sweet prawn sashimi and pork miso soup.

Chitanda-san looked lively, as we were looking at her masterpieces. Yet... she first looked right, and then looked left again. Then she covered her mouth.

"...OH!"

Even if it were a joke, it was hardly funny. The only ingredients remaining were a radish with its skin peeled, and a little bit of spring onion left behind. It was as good as trash.

Hahaha, sorry about that, Mayaka.

031 - ♦06

If I had had more time, I would have drawn it better, but even if this was speed drawing I would still prefer to get it perfect, and so I ended up re-doing the fine details that I wasn't too happy with over and over again. I realized it was past the time I promised to meet up with Fuku-chan, but if I don't fix the shape of this eye over here, it'll look way too unbalanced.

That said, it wasn't easy just deciding where to redo. With all my resolve, I worked on those parts with my pen and eraser, and time flew by before I even realized.

"I'm done!"

Kouchi-sempai raised her eyebrows and looked at the drawing of a smiling girl.

"It doesn't look completely alike, but it's good enough," she muttered.

During these two and a half hours, we've drawn five standing portraits and eight facial portraits. While its not a number to brag about considering our speed, it's still quite a lot. Though I was mainly in charge of erasing any defects I see as well as completing the unfinished parts of the drawing, I really must go now. I was told I could still make it if I arrive at 12 noon, but it's now been over ten minutes since then.

Rolling up the posters, President Yuasa said, "Thank you Ibara. I'm really sorry to take up your time, even though you had an appointment."

As president, she didn't need to do any drawing, and was mainly involved in handing the completed drawings over to the sales booth to display. I gave the president my respects and duly bolted out of Preparation Room No. 1.

Instantly, I was engulfed by the atmosphere of the Cultural Festival. The whole corridor was covered with advertisements and decorations, as well as students walking about in a relaxed manner. I sped through the gaps that they created, it was in these moments that my small figure came in handy.

While I could not pay attention to the time as I was so busy drawing the posters, like the Quiz Club's tournament yesterday, I could hear what was going on at the track field from the speakers.

"...Team Ajiyoshi has now begun preparing dessert by peeling the apple skins. But is this how you peel apple skins? They're making an interesting shape out of it! Team Classics Club's final member has yet to appear..."

I slid across the corridor to make a turn around the corner, leaping through flights of stairs that were pasted with posters. Having to change into my outdoor shoes by the shoe lockers was bothersome, and I took off at once upon putting on my shoes. At the end of a line of white posters was the dazzling light of the sun. There was a crowd gathered on the grounds, and I caught of glimpse of Chi-chan, who was pointing towards me. This was the first time I've seen her tie her hair behind her head.

Just as I was thinking that, the crowd suddenly turned their gaze in unison towards me as the speaker shouted, "Oh! Could that girl in casual clothing be the final Team Classics Club member? Will she make it?"

For some reason, the crowd began to applaud. It was at this moment that I realized what I was wearing. That's right, I was still in my cosplay attire...

I felt my body heating up. I really wanted to grumble. I don't want to do this dressed up like this! That does it, if it has to be like this, then it can't be helped.

I rushed towards the tournament venue to where Chi-chan was. Fuku-chan raised his arm and motioned towards a guy on the podium with a mic.

"Judge! As our member is late, we request permission to explain the situation to her!"

The guy looked a bit troubled, but then spoke through his mic.

"Keep it short," he said.

Fuku-chan probably had thought of keeping it organized beforehand as he began to speak quickly.

"There's rice being cooked in the pot on the right, it should be just about ready. There's pork miso soup in the pot on the left, all you need to do is heat it up. As for the ingredients..."

Chi-chan looked as though she was about to cry... Has Fuku-chan been bullying her?

"I'm so sorry, Mayaka-san!"

"....Besides the stuff left in the kitchen, you're only allowed to procure items within the school grounds. I'm really sorry you're always given the short end of the stick, but you'll have to figure out how to make something out of those. We're counting on you."

He gently pushed me from behind towards the makeshift kitchen.

I first took care of the rice. The fire was set on low, and the pot made a hissing sound due to the lid blocking the steam from getting out. I noticed a cloth nearby, so I stopped the fire, took out the lid and covered the pot with the cloth. This should take care of it for now. Now, what should I make?

"...Eh?"

Ummm.

How should I say this? There's nothing except what you'd call trash. All I had was a radish and small pieces of chopped green onions. Onions and radish... What can I cook with that? Or fry it with?

Surrounded by the four makeshift kitchens was a basket in the centre of the ground. I could see a tube of wasabi in it. I though maybe there was something useful in it, so I dashed towards it to have a look.

...The only ingredient I could find was a shoddy-looking onion small enough to fit into the palm of my hand. Besides that was just a few blocks of ice... No matter how you look at it, there wasn't much.

On the other hand, I looked at the dishes we had made, and saw we had made quite a lot of amazing dishes. There's no way Fuku-chan could have made that, so it must have been Chi-chan. Wow. There's no way I could beat her. But the problem now is what dish I should make alongside all these impressive dishes. If I make something strange, Chi-chan's efforts would have gone to waste.

A sliced radish, chopped pieces of green onion, and a shoddy-looking onion... What is this? Some sort of riddle? I remained motionless while staring at the chopping board. I now knew what Fuku-chan meant by me drawing the short-end of the stick. The commentary from the guy in the podium was getting quite irritating.

"Team Classics Club looks like they've come out of the frying pan and into the fire! They've run out of ingredients. If their last member is unable to submit anything, their entire score will be zero. Is this the end for Team Classics Club?"

What should I do?

...Just what can I make?

032 - ♠09

"Team Classics Club looks like they've come out of the frying pan and into the fire! They've run out of ingredients. If their last member is unable to submit anything, their entire score will be zero. Is this the end for Team Classics Club?"

Just what on earth are they doing anyway...

From the Geology Room on the fourth floor of the Special Block, I could see what was going on on the ground. Or rather, I could hear what was going on in the Wild Fire tournament. While I have no idea how a three-person team could manage to use up all their ingredients after the second member's turn, I did know that Team Classic Club's second member was a certain Chitanda Eru, soI was hardly surprised.

I muttered softly, "What're you gonna do?"

Saying that, I did not mean "What is Ibara going to do." Rather, it was whether I was going to swallow my pride and help Ibara out of her predicament, cover for Chitanda's error, and help out on Satoshi's promotion.

The answer was clear from the beginning.

''No.''

...Anyway, this is them fooling around. Moving from the window, I returned to my seat and began fiddling with the paperback that was so boring I stopped reading halfway.

'''[150 COPIES REMAINING]'''

033 - ♣11

Chitanda-san had undone her hair knot and reverted to her usual long flowing hairdo, and was now constantly whispering while looking at Mayaka.

"What is Mayaka-san going to do with these few ingredients? ...I'm ''really'' curious about it."

And just whose fault was it anyway?

But as this is Chitanda-san, I was unable to give her a proper retort.

Mayaka remained frozen on the spot. If it were me, I would have just taken the spring onion, radish and onion and fried them all together without giving it a second thought, but Mayaka would probably have none of that. She'd probably be thinking such a strange dish would merely be an eyesore in contrast to Chitanda-san's dishes.

While I wasn't particularly concerned with how the other teams were doing, I did take a glance at Team Fata Morgana, considering how Tani-kun seems to want to treat the Classics Club as his opponents. Taking the baton from the chef's son, it was now Tani-kun's turn to cook... Omelette rice? That's a pretty hard dish you've chosen, good luck there.

Mayaka simply stood before the makeshift kitchen with her arms crossed. If it were me I would have just raised my hand and surrendered, but Mayaka wasn't the sort to give up. And she's probably exhausted from the work with the Manga Club as well. The commentary boomed.

"It looks like Team Classics Club is out of their (''...TOSHI!'') wits. Only ten minutes now remain, is counting down the time all they can do now?"

Hmm? I thought I heard something from within the commentary. Was it calling for me?

Just when I thought I was imagining things, Chitanda-san, whose hearing was far superior to mine, began looking around her.

"I think I heard someone call out your name, Fukube-san."

"Huh? You think so too?"

"Team Astronomy Club's dish can no longer be called a dish from this world! As befitting of their name, even their dish seems to come from outer space! By cooking banana within a stew, an indescribable scent is emanating from their pot!"

Banana stew, sounds interesting, but.

"Excuse me, could you be quiet for a moment?"

The Cooking Club president frowned for a bit, but put down his mic and asked what the problem was. It was at this moment I could hear clearly.

"SATOSHI!"

It was Houtarou's voice, and it came from afar. But where?

"There! The club room!"

I turned my head around.

Following the direction Chitanda-san pointed, I saw the Geology Room on the fourth floor of the Special Block. And unbelievably, there was Houtarou waving his arms!

For Houtarou to actually bother to shout from out of the window to support us, that's unthinkable, as he would be the last person to do such a thing. Besides, Houtarou wasn't one to slowly attract the attention of more and more people.

"...What the...?"

"...Who's that?"

The crowd began to mutter.

"He seems to be beckoning you to come over, Fukube-san," Chitanda-san whispered.

Really? Hmm, from the look of it, it does seem like Houtarou is beckoning for me to come over rather than waving at me. He continued to shout.

"Satoshi! Come here! Right below!"

What would prompt the energy-saving Houtarou to go through so much trouble to do this?

Mayaka stared at the fourth floor with her mouth wide-open. For that Houtarou to call out to me, it must be something urgent.

It's a rare sight, but something must be up, so I said to Chitanda-san, "Well, since he called me over, guess I'll go have a look."

A hundred metres separate the makeshift kitchens at the grounds and the Special Block. Dashing towards there, I looked up and cupped my hands over my mouth.

"What's up?"

"Here, catch!"

Houtarou seemed to have something in his hand. Catch? Catch what? Without even time to think, Houtarou tossed something out of the window. Whoa! At least let me prepare...

I managed to catch a glimpse of something falling.

That said, it was difficult to judge the distance of something falling from right above you. As it fell from the fourth floor, it fell right into my arms at quite a considerable speed.

It was pretty heavy, but it was a nice catch, if I do say so myself. But what's this?

"...T-this is!"

Within my arms was something unbelievable. How on earth did Houtarou get his hands on this?

034 - ♦07

Fuku-chan came running back with a yellowish bag in his arms. And without saying anything, he tossed the bag over, which I instinctively caught. Is this what Oreki threw at him?

Where did Oreki get this? On the bag was written "weak flour."

Looking flustered after running all the way back, Fuku-chan gave me a thumbs-up gesture. The guy commentating on the podium shouted.

"An incredible development has occurred with Team Classics Club! It's true that you're allowed to procure ingredients within the school grounds, but for them to acquire wheat flour!"

The worrying can come later. Wheat flour, with spring onions, radish and onion, and then...

A completed picture flashed within my head, as well as the steps to get there.

Let's do this.

035 - ♣12

Mayaka began to move.

Pouring the flour into a bowl, she then filled it with water. She took some ice cubes from the basket in the centre and placed them into the bowl as well. She next began heating up the frying pan and poured oil into it. She cut the chopped spring onions into even lengths, as well as chopping up the round onion and shredding the radish with a shredder. She then began to fry something.

"Team Classics Club is now gathering the prawn heads that Chitanda took off a while ago. What is she planning to do with them?"

Sweet prawn heads... while they aren't exactly inedible, what's that got to do with the flour?

As I tilted my head in puzzlement, Chitanda-san quietly whispered, "...Kakiage."

That's it! Looking at the makeshift kitchen, Mayaka was indeed making kakiage.

Using these seemingly trash-like ingredients, Mayaka was able to make them shine. She had just breathed new life into this "trash" and given it a new name: "kakiage." Mayaka had basically just lectured us on how to never give up! This is not trash! Anyone is capable of shining! Long live Mayaka! In fact, we're all amazing! I felt as giddy as a grade school student.

Dipping the vegetables and prawn heads into the dissolved flour, she heated up the oil. However...

"You have five minutes remaining!"

Can she make it in time?

Mayaka seemed to be searching for something. What is it? She should be pouring oil over the kakiage by now.

After looking around the utensils tray, she glared at the president on the podium and shouted, "Hey, Cooking Club! At least prepare a ladle!"

Oh yeah, there didn't seem to be a ladle. It was really bothersome when I was making the pork miso soup, I had to make do with a spoon. The president frantically instructed one of his female members to go find one at once. The girl began looking around for a ladle. Hurry up! Any ladle would do, there's no time! In the end, she managed to borrow a ladle from another team that wasn't using it and handed it to Mayaka. Dammit, that's a minute gone!

Mayaka snatched the ladle from the girl and began pouring oil over the kakiage with it. A sizzling sound began to form as she did so. She next moved very swiftly, shredding the radish, heating up the pork soup and mixing the soy sauce with sweet wine before putting them into a bowl of rice... Rice?

"Team Classics Club is catching up really fast! Can they make it? One minute remaining!"

Perhaps feeling anxious because of the commentary, Mayaka kept looking at the pan of oil. The next few seconds were excruciatingly long and silent. And suddenly, the autumn sun was blocked by a pair of chopsticks, as she placed the kakiage on top of the bowl of rice and sprinkled the shredded radish on it.

"Come on!"

"Time's almost up!"

"You can do it!"

The audience cheered her on. Even they were fired up by Mayaka's persistence.

"Mayaka-san..."

Even Chitanda-san sounded tearful.

As expected of Mayaka. I'm so proud of you.

"Time's--up!"

Placing a final piece of topping, Mayaka had completed her kakiage bowl rice, and right on cue, the Wild Fire tournament came to an end.

I have no regrets. No matter what the result is, I have no regrets.

(Team Classics Club's dishes are as follows. 
1st member - Fukube Satoshi: Pork miso soup. 
2nd member - Chitanda Eru: Vinegar ginger radish roll, giseyaki, sweet prawn sashimi, imo-mochi. 
3rd member - Ibara Mayaka: Kakiage bowl rice. )

036 - ♥08

Mayaka-san's skills brought us back from the jaws of defeat. Not only was she adept in the use of the knives, but to think of making kakiage at such a desperate situation was simply amazing. I then looked towards the fourth floor at the window of the Geology Room. I don't know how Oreki-san got his hands on the bag of flour, but he is a very perceptive person. Perhaps he is able to foresee events before they even happen. While I could not see him at the window, I still bowed towards his direction in gratitude.

Within the thunderous applause, Mayaka-san returned to her seat. The cute-looking beret hat on her head and the heart shaped brooch on her chest attracted a lot of attention. Yet despite her adorable appearance, Mayaka-san didn't seem too pleased.

Reminded of my own mistake, I felt like I should at least apologize to her, yet the first thing that came out of her mouth was, "It wasn't fried enough!"

"Well, it's not like we had the time to. It was still great, though."

Fukube-san tried to console her, but she did not seem satisfied

"There was no ladle! They've got shredders and peelers, so I thought they would also have a ladle. That's a minute wasted. If it wasn't for that, I could have fried it better. I'm such an idiot, I should have thought of using something else in place of a ladle during all that time!"

"I must sincerely apologize for that."

A person said while emerging from the side. It was The Cooking Club's president, who was commentating on the podium a while ago. While he maintained a comical personality on the podium, right now he was sincere as he apologized to Mayaka-san for the oversight.

"We did check to make sure we had all the utensils needed... We even doubled-check just before the tournament."

Fukube-san stood between them and mediated.

"Well, I did find it odd when I was making the pork miso soup. I should have raised this question when it was my turn, as I had more time then."

"...I guess so."

By saying that, it seems Mayaka-san has accepted the president's apology.

"But it's amazing for you to manage to fry something even under such conditions..." As the president continued the conversation, I decided to have a look at the makeshift kitchen, as I was feeling curious about why a utensil would be missing from the tournament itself.

The judges had begun sampling the dishes, and everyone's attention was on them now. After ingesting the Astronomy Club's greenish brown dish (or perhaps bamboo-coloured), one of the judges closed his eyes and leaned skyward. I don't think I would be curious about what that tasted like. While I do not quite agree with the quote "ignorance is bliss," I decided to be flexible for today at least.

The utensils were placed inside a cloth-covered tray. Inside were utensils which none of us had used neatly lined up next to one another, like bamboo skewers, lemon squeezers and barbecue spatulas. Yet a ladle ought to be one of the most basic kitchen utensils; was it be just a mere error?

It's not like I was expecting something, neither was I looking for any irregularities. I was simply lifting up the tray to have a look when,

"Oh!"

A greeting card. And under it was an opened copy of the pamphlet "Kanya Festival Guide." Where have I seen this before?

Could it be? Could it be?! I quickly turned around.

"Fukube-san! Mayaka-san!"

And shouted towards them both. By this time, the president had returned to the podium to continue with his duties.

"Hey, Chitanda-san, seems like that president really admires you."

Admire me? No way, but I hardly even know him. This would be troubling. No, more importantly,

"Take a look at this, under the tray."

"What's this?"

Mayaka-san casually picked up the card, yet upon taking a glance, her expression stiffened. Written on it were a series of words which I had expected to see:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|The Cooking Club has lost its ladle.

Juumoji
|}

"This is..."

Fukube-san's eyes began to sparkle. I instinctively spoke upon seeing the card.

"The same as the Fortune Telling Association!" 

"The same as the Go Club!"

Eh?

My eyes met with Fukube-san's, which had widened. I probably looked just as startled as well.

Only Mayaka-san remained calm. The page which the opened copy of "Kanya Festival Guide" was showing was the page featuring the list of participating clubs, just like the one Kaho-san had shown me. The page which had the following "The Cooking Club - Cooking battle 'Wild Fire' on the School Grounds on Day 2 at 11am! Seeking participants."

Mayaka-san first looked at Fukube-san and then towards me and slowly said, "So, what's this all about?"

She asked what this was all about.

...So what was this all about?

I once again exchanged glances with Fukube-san.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-1|3-1 - The Morning Landscape]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-3|3-3 - The "Juumoji" Incident]]
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:Main Page

2013-02-20T06:12:15Z

Dan.: /* Mistake in the Android App Section */ new section

Talk:Hyouka

2013-01-18T02:32:48Z

Dan.:

hi, cool to see a familiar TL again. i remember you from toradora (awesome shit)... anyway, i wanted to ask if there was any romance in this novel. --[[User:Idiffer|Idiffer]] 10:44, 18 March 2012 (CDT)

There's romance between Satoshi and Ibara, but it's very subtle. She has an interest in Satoshi, which is what leads her to join the Classics Club. --[[User:Gwilthyunman|Gwilthyunman]] 18:47, 7 May 2012 (CDT)

Where's Dan? Why doesn't he edits? [[User:Kiyoso|Kiyoso]] ([[User talk:Kiyoso|talk]]) 08:24, 15 January 2013 (CST)
:I wasn't reading or editing Hyouka because I hate all the stupid manga club stuff with Ibara in this arc. (Just my opinion - everyone's entitled to one.) Anyway, I saw your comment so I edited Vol. 3 Ch. 2-3, and I'll do Ch. 3-1 soon. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] ([[User talk:Dan.|talk]]) 17:41, 15 January 2013 (CST)
:: Thank you. Well, you overcame yourself and it gave you some willpower, I hope. (Sorry, if there's something wrong, English isn't my native language, so I can burden the things.) [[User:Kiyoso|Kiyoso]] ([[User talk:Kiyoso|talk]]) 14:30, 17 January 2013 (CST)
:::You're welcome, and don't worry, I understand what you're saying. It wasn't really that bad to do it, I just procrastinate too much. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] ([[User talk:Dan.|talk]]) 20:32, 17 January 2013 (CST)

== Do not number the chapters for Volume 4 ==

Note to editors: Please leave the chapter names as they are for volume 4, as they're supposed to be individual short stories on their own, and so are not supposed to be numbered. Thank you. --[[User:Kinny Riddle|Kinny Riddle]] 09:08, 28 April 2012 (CDT)

== Are there more volumes? ==

Right now, you have indicated the existence of 5 volumes of this series, with a 6 year gap between 2 and 3 and the last released 2 years ago. I haven't read the volumes you haven't translated, but volume 5's subchapters' titles seem to indicate the story still goes on. Has another volume been released, is there some in process, is the series in hiatus or has it finished?--[[User:Kemm|Kemm]] 10:27, 11 July 2012 (CDT)

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-1

2013-01-16T19:08:36Z

Dan.:

== 3-1 The Morning Landscape ==

023 - ♦05

''Ashes at Dusk'' was a 30-page manga containing three short stories. Despite its morbid-sounding title, it actually came from Rennyo's<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennyo Wikipedia - Rennyo]</ref> well-known verse: "We may have radiant faces in the morning, but by evening we may turn into white ashes."<ref>[http://www12.canvas.ne.jp/horai/white%20ashes.htm Read the Source Online]</ref>

The overarching theme across these short stories is its emphasis on the abstract impermanence of life. Taking place in a classically dim Showa-style backdrop, the story describes a rather sad story. That said, the manga doesn't indulge itself in the retro-feel, but actually focuses on the platonic love of high school girls as well, so it was also rich in entertainment.

As a Third Year Junior High student, I was lost for words when I saw and bought this on a whim while visiting the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival. Though there was nothing special about the theme, it just felt earnestly vivid to me.

A unique story that develops alongside its rich dialogue, it is supported by sensitive-looking artwork, which looked like something right out of a kabuki theatre. In certain pivotal points of the plot, the art would give a surreal effect. If I have to list a work, regardless of whether it is commercial or not, that leaves an impression on me, then it has to be ''Ashes at Dusk''.

And thus, this was a manga that possesses a certain charm which words alone cannot describe. If I had to give criticism, then I would say the background art looked a bit amateurish, but even that is not enough to make it bad.

There were only two doujinshis that have taken my breath away completely, one was ''Ashes at Dusk'', the other was ''Body Talk'', a title I found in another doujinshi event unrelated to Kami High. I cherish these two works as my treasures. But if I have to pick one out of these two, I would have to go for ''Ashes at Dusk''.

In order to counter Kouchi-sempai's argument that a work can be great to begin with, regardless of what the readers think, I would have to show her a glimpse of this title. Such was my faith in its ability to charm.

I was very glad when I found out I made it into Kamiyama High School. Besides being glad that I've entered high school, I was even more glad that I had entered a school where you could sell any sort of manga freely as though its a soft drink vending machine. That's why I entered the Manga Studies Club as soon as I started school.

Yet I found myself a bit disappointed afterwards.

There was no one in the club that knew anything about the author of ''Ashes at Dusk''.

But as I still had fun with people discussing stuff that we like, I thought that my decision to join the Manga Club was correct.

...That's what I thought anyway.

On the morning of the second day of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, I arrived at school with a gloomy expression. I had no choice but to postpone what I intended to do. Prior to going to the attendance ceremony, I first headed towards the Manga Club.

I had intended to arrive early, but I found Kouchi-sempai had arrived even earlier. She was dressed in a classy tuxedo today. She's probably dressed as that Thai boxer. As she isn't particularly tall, yesterday's costume didn't really suit her. Was she trying to dress up as a different game character everyday, or does she simply want to cosplay in varying costumes? While I too am cosplaying as a different character than yesterday, I hadn't devoted as much time and money to my costume as she had to hers.

Kouchi-sempai looked towards me, or rather, the heart-shaped brooch on my chest.

"Going for old-fashioned again, I see?" she said. Today I wore a cardigan over my blouse, and high socks coupled with a flared skirt. The only part that one could really call cosplay was the brooch and the beret hat I was wearing.

"Are you gonna shoot out Jintan<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jintan_%28Japanese_medicine%29 Wikipedia - Jintan]</ref> candies from that?"

"No, this is just for show."

"If you're going to cosplay as that character, you should at least put some effort into your hair."

Don't be ridiculous. It's already quite embarrassing for me to have such a gravity-defying hairdo, not to mention my hair isn't that long.

I need to get to the main topic right away.

"So, where's your ''Ashes at Dusk''?"

It was Kouchi-sempai who started the conversation instead. I was surprised that she could remember the name of a title which she only heard once. I always thought her to be quite a quick-witted person, so it's not like she could really read my mind or anything.

As most of the members had not yet arrived, the Manga Club room was rather quiet. Everyone, including those members who weren't here yesterday, had known of my spat with Kouchi-sempai.

Even Kouchi-sempai, who had looked rather confident yesterday, now looked at me with a tense expression without even realizing it.

T-this is bad.

But I can't just run away now. Taking a deep breath filling my lungs as much as they could be, and while doing my best not to look abject, I said, "I'm sorry, I didn't bring it today."

"What?"

"I must have taken it to my relatives' house by mistake during the summer holidays."

Yes, for the whole night and until early this morning, I was searching for my copy of ''Ashes at Dusk'' in my room.

I made sure to search everywhere I could think of. I looked about ten times or more within the bookshelves which contained my favourite books. I did the same for the other bookshelves, as well as opening up the boxes which contained my old mangas.

Yet I could not find my ''Ashes at Dusk'' anywhere. I do not remember lending it to anyone. It was not a book I would show Fuku-chan. And I was reading it repeatedly during the first semester...

So instead I brought ''Body Talk'' as a replacement. But I had already decided to bring ''Ashes at Dusk'' the day before, so this felt like a cop out. Bringing a book that could not satisfy my intention was just as good as not bringing it at all.

Yet I did not feel like I'd lost the book. As I remembered organizing my books during the summer holiday, and placing the old books in boxes to be sent to the storage warehouse in my grandparent's house. It must have been mixed up during that time. I'd probably find it if I looked there.

However, such a causal mix-up should not have happened, and I became slightly embarrassed because of it, as lately I've been making too many silly mistakes. Even if I reflect on them the deed has already been done. I wish I had not made such mistakes to begin with.

"Ehh??" A short disapproving sound was uttered. Looking around, I saw only President Yuasa with her calm expression; this meant it wasn't her. It must have been someone else.

"Hmm, so you don't have it."

Kouchi-sempai's expression eased. I, in contrast, bit my lips.

I felt like a carp on a chopping board right now. Victory has not yet been decided as we may still have arguments to put forward, but having said I would present evidence to support my argument, it couldn't be helped now that I did not bring it. Hearing Kouchi-sempai's followers snickering just gets on my nerves.

One of them said, "Ibara, weren't you talking big yesterday? And you think you can get away by saying you don't have it?"

Another followed, "That's right. Don't you have other ways of apologizing?"

They probably won't be satisfied unless I go down on my knees. I decided to ignore them, as this was a problem between me and Kouchi-sempai alone. If she were to ask me to go down on my knees, I'd gladly do so.

However, Kouchi-sempai, as though losing interest in me, simply waved her hands and said briefly, "Then, help me with drawing a poster."

"P-poster?"

"Draw a moe character... I'm going out for a bit now."

She said that and turned to leave the club room.

As I was being basked in the cold stares of her followers, who had been left behind, I turned to speak with President Yuasa.

"President, do you have tools for drawing a poster?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, we do."

I nodded and looked at my watch. It's almost time to head to the Gymnasium. I pointed to my watch and said, "I'll start drawing once I come back."

If I'm going to draw something, it's better if I put my full effort into it rather than stop midway. I wonder what I should draw for this "moe character" order from the victor?

024 - ♣08

After attendance was taken, I quickly left the gymnasium.

It wasn't because there was something I wanted to see, since I am after all a member of the General Committee, which has the duty of ensuring the smooth running of the Cultural Festival. At the appointed time, I needed to attend the meeting in the Conference Room where the General Committee is based, in order to carry out any orders decided by the Committee executives. Besides security, there's also event organizing to take care of. Particularly the setting up and taking down of event equipment by the various clubs requires a lot of labour. By the way, if there's no work to be done one gets to be free for the day. Carrying a noble sense of duty within me, I knocked at the door of the Conference Room.

"Fukube reporting. I see I haven't got any work today, I guess I'll take my leave now."

A pity that I wasn't able to help out with the General Committee in the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival. Just as I was about to check out some strange event about to start at the Sci-Fi Studies Club, someone stopped me.

"Wait Fukube, you ''do'' have work."

Eh~.

President Tanabe was the only person inside, with a white board behind him covered by a timetable. Before long he turned to me and smiled bitterly.

"Hey, what's with the disappointed look you got there?"

"No, actually, this is me looking grateful that I get to contribute my efforts."

Actually, I had plans to be at The Cooking Club at 11:30 today, so I was only intending to work with the General Committee around those times that were convenient to me. Though I made a playful face, I wasn't exactly unhappy. Opening the door, I entered the room.

I rubbed my hands and asked, "Well, what is it? As long as it ends before 11:30, I'll jump into an inferno or leap into the ocean for you."

"It'll be over soon. There are bags containing visitor slippers in the staff room, you'll need to bring two of these bags to every building entrance. That's about it."

Indeed, this wouldn't take up a lot of time.

President Tanabe sure worked hard in making the pamphlet. Casually, I began to converse with him.

"Sempai, won't you go sightseeing during the festival?"

"Hmm? Oh."

Facing the whiteboard with its timetable, he turned to me and spoke gently.

"There's a lot of menial stuff to take care of. Still, it requires me to move around the campus, so it's not like I don't get to see anything. Oh yeah, the movie shown by Class 2-F is pretty good, I hear."

Oh, this was quite some good news for us.

"But you're unable to join in any events yourself, aren't you?"

Tanabe-sempai smiled bitterly.

"I won't be able to attend to the General Committee if I do. Unlike you, it's not like I'm as talented or have many interests."

Do I look that talented or have many interests to other observers?

"Well, what is it? You got something interesting to tell me?"

"Interesting, huh?"

Thinking about it, there is the issue of the Classics Club having 200 anthology copies, but Mayaka wouldn't be happy if I used that as a joke. The Rakugo Club performance at the Opening Ceremony was pretty interesting, but that's just my personal opinion. I've also heard of other stuff, but they aren't really that interesting when mentioned one by one.

Hmm. I didn't particularly find this intriguing, but if I had told him there was nothing interesting, the conversation would be too dull. So how about this one?

"We seem to have a phantom thief appearing at the Go Club."

"Oh?"

"Some Go stones were stolen from the container, and the thief even left a message behind."

"Really?"

Now this was surprising. This actually piqued President Tanabe's interest.

"I see. The Go Club, huh?"

Just as I wass about to say that this could be some prank staged by the Go Club themselves, President Tanabe continued, "I heard from Okano that something similar has happened to the A Capella Club."

"What?"

This time it was my turn to have my interest piqued. Something similar happening to the A Capella Club means that the possibility of this being an inside job by the Go Club has been ruled out.

"They seem to have had one drink bottle taken from the cooler box."

"Was there a message left behind?"

"I'm not sure if it's from the culprit, but they found a strange memo inside."

Now this looks pretty interesting. At the very least, my interest has now increased beyond the level when I first heard this from Tani-kun. We have a phantom thief lurking in the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival! This is actually quite a fun prank.

Hmm hmm, now how should I plan my schedule from here on.

...No wait, now's not the time for that yet.

"What's wrong, Fukube? You're grinning."

"Nope, no~thing really."

It's still too early to indulge in this yet. In order for a phantom thief incident to be established, the phantom thief would need to continue with his prank. If I end up scaring the thief prematurely, it'll just make me look foolish. My experience tells me that it is better to first play with the thief.

Furthermore, not many within the school are aware of this yet. Even I have only just heard about this. I wasn't really concerned with whether the thief intends to attract much interest or not, but right now, his flute is only vaguely audible.

Since I still had an event to attend, it wouldn't be too late even if I take some rest now and allow the thief to surprise me even further. So it was better for me to leave this aside for now.

All right, now where's my drawstring bag?

"I guess I'll get to work then."

"Sure, good luck."

Having encouraged me, President Tanabe turned back towards the timetable board.

025 - ♠07

"I'll do my best again today!" Upon saying that, Chitanda left the room.

Now to begin watching over the stall for the day again.

How should I say this? I never thought being in charge of a stall where people hardly ever come would be this boring. I liked being idle and carefree, but certainly not being bored. At any rate, one doesn't require a lot of effort to insert the small change into the coin box repeatedly. Even if I were to take time to go to the bathroom, no one would come. Still, while I had brought a paperback novel to kill time, it was not the right book. It is quite unbecoming for an energy saver like me to actually desire some action just because I'm feeling bored.

Anyway, I should line up the ''Hyouka'' copies. Ten copies per stack should be just about right.

As I finished lining them up, a customer arrived. It was a male student I didn't know. The badge on his collar indicated he was a second year.

"You selling?"

Now this is quite a good omen. I'd better use my manners.

"Yeah, we are."

Hmm, maybe I should have said it longer, like "Yeah, we are, man." But that doesn't sound polite, does it? The second year sort of dangled towards the pile of ''Hyouka'' and looked at the cover.

"So this is the one that explains where Kanya Festival gets its name from?"

Wow, seems like Satoshi's microphone appeal was still having some influence. Or did he hear it from someone else? At any rate, I should be thankful.

As I nodded, the second year asked, "Can I stand and read?"

"I'm afraid you can't."

"Oh come on. It's only 200 yen, isn't it?"

"It may be only 200 yen, but please do buy one. We've got so many remaining, I feel like crying."

Not that I really would.

The second year laughed and took out his wallet and bought one copy. Upon thanking him and seeing him place his wallet back in his pocket, I noticed, "Sempai, your fly's open."

"What?! No way!"

He frantically placed his hand between his legs. Upon inspection, he lifted his head and groaned,

"Argh, can't be helped. It's broken!"

Looking closely, I saw black silk dangling from the opening. I see, now I get what he's saying,

"Your zipper's broken?"

"Yeah, and I've still got a whole day before I can even take time to fix this."

You have my sympathies. There's nothing I can do.

No wait, that's not true. I still have it with me, haven't I? Looking in the table drawer, I found it. It was the badge that I obtained earlier today. While I'm not interested in attending a fashion show, the badge does have a safety pin taped behind it, which was easily removed.

"There's only one, but try using this."

I handed the pin out to him. The second year looked grateful as though being blessed by the heavens.

"Whoa, thanks man. Amazing that you actually have one with you."

He proceeded to pin the hole shut... While it looked kind of strange, it should do for now.

The second year certainly looked glad as he muttered, "You're amazing, man, you just helped out big time."

"If you want to show your gratitude then you could buy another copy."

The second year smiled and waved his hand.

"No thanks,"

Though he seemed to have thought of something, and put his hand behind his trousers. Searching his back pocket, he took out a hand gun.

Staring into the muzzle, I asked, "Is this a robbery?"

"Don't be silly. It's a water gun."

The second year placed the gun on the table.

"You can have this as my thanks."

"I see."

I looked at the water gun and then towards him.

"...Is this your hobby?"

Rolling up the ''Hyouka'' copy in his hand, he whacked my head with it.

"Course not. I'm with the Gardening Club. We're roasting sweet potatoes today."

I still didn't see what this had to do with anything.

The second year continued while looking pleased, "You see, we need fire in order to roast the potatoes. And if there's fire, we'll need some water to put it out. But it would be too boring to just use a bucket, right?"

Ahh, I see. So he's supposed to be a soldier or something... So there are clubs who actually do silly stuff. I looked at the hand gun.

"Don't you need this then?"

"I already have one. This is just a side-arm. My main one's a Kalashnikov."

Fabulous. So they're actually thinking of putting out a fire using a water gun? They should instead be more careful with handling the fire.

Anyway, what use do I have for a water gun for watching over the Classics Club stall? The same goes for the badge, I seemed to be receiving all sorts of useless stuff. Though I have no reason to refuse him.

"Thanks, man. See ya!"

The second year left the Geology Room looking elated.

I looked at the hand gun he left behind and merely muttered, "...A Glock 17?"

Having an AK as a main weapon and a Glock as a side-arm. Isn't this rather inconsistent?

'''[176 COPIES REMAINING]'''

026 - ♥06

I'll do my best again today!

I was thinking a lot last night. What Tanabe-san and Toogaito-san said were both correct. I haven't managed to expand our selling spots, nor have I managed to get the Wall Newspaper Club interested in us. However, it is still too early to give up and say nothing could be done.

I heard rumours that the movie made by Class 2-F was quite popular. A few of my friends had wanted to go and watch, but it seems for the entire first day the Audio Visual Room was packed during airing.

We the Classics Club were slightly involved in the making of that movie by Class 2-F. Upon solving the trouble encountered during the shooting of the movie, Fukube-san duly named it the "Empress Incident." I didn't exactly do much, though Oreki-san's advice seems to have helped them a lot. Thus for me personally, it was a joyous thing to hear that the movie was doing well.

I was acquainted with one of the students from Class 2-F, Irisu Fuyumi-san. Speaking of which, this "Empress Incident" also applies to her as well, since she was involved in overseeing the production of the movie.

If we could arrange for ''Hyouka'' to be sold alongside a popular movie, there's a chance our sales might increase.

Thus today, I embark on ensuring such a deal could be done.

I'll do my best.

The Audio Visual Room was currently airing the movie ''The Blind Spot of 10,000 People''. The entrance to the room was left open, with a black curtain to block outside light from coming in. Looks like its another full house today, but I have no way of knowing as I could not peek into the dark room. Outside was a signboard as tall as myself which read "Now Showing - The Blind Spot of 10,000 People," with its airing times written on a paper taped below it.

There was a table beside the board which seemed to double as a reception counter. Though it's called a reception counter, as the movie is free, it's not going to collect any admission fee. Rather, they seem to be selling pamphlets for the movie. A girl was assigned to watch the counter, but as nobody seems to be coming while the movie was being shown, she's currently talking to someone else.

That someone else was none other than Irisu-san. It must be my lucky day, as I was prepared to look all over the campus for her. Upon waiting for them to finish their conversation, I spoke up.

"Good morning, Irisu-san,"

"Hmm? Oh, it's Chitanda."

Noticing my presence, she quickly ended her conversation with the counter girl. Walking some distance from the Audio Visual Room entrance, she beckoned me to come over beside the fire emergency exit.

Irisu Fuyumi-san is the daughter of the warden of Rengou Hospital, located right next to Kamiyama High School. She is just as tall as I am, though her figure is much more slender. Just to be safe, this doesn't mean I'm meaty compared to her. Her fine feature gives an impression of one who is very sharp, a resolute person who could solve any problem encountered. She was someone I admire somewhat.

Before I could say anything, Irisu-san pointed towards the Audio Visual Room.

"Thanks to you guys, our movie was a great success, as you can see. And to think we were in danger of not being able to complete the movie on time. You have my deep gratitude."

"Oh, no, there's no need to... Is Hongou-san all right?"

Hongou-san was originally the screenwriter for the movie, but I heard she collapsed due to stress.

"Oh, she's fine now. Would you like to see her?"

"I see... Oh no, not now."

Perhaps sensing my hesitation, Irisu-san lowered her voice.

"Do you need something from me?"

"Yes, rather than you, I have a request for Class 2-F."

I nodded deeply.

I'll need to get to the main point right away.

"Please help the Classics Club sell their anthology."

Irisu-san blinked her eyes twice, before quickly saying, "So you're asking us to sell your anthology where we're showing our movie, right?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

"All right. How many copies do you have?"

Eh?

"Y-you're accepting our request?"

As I replied without thinking, Irisu-san raised her brow.

"Why do you look surprised?"

"Oh, no, umm..."

As I was used to being flatly refused right away yesterday, I was at a loss hearing that my request was granted so suddenly now... Besides, I've once again forgotten to explain the details.

"...Thank you so much!"

"You can thank me once we've sold the copies. So how many copies you have?"

Irisu-san placed her right hand on her hip and asked as though she might tear the wall down anytime.

"We've printed 200 copies..."

"200?!"

Irisu-san's small eyes widened for an instant.

"That's a lot."

"We ordered more copies than we were supposed to by mistake. That's why, we're hoping to sell as many as possible. I-I..."

Oh no. Just when I thought I had obtained Irisu-san's help, I became lost for words. I'm still in a conversation, so I gritted my teeth and went on, "I'm sorry. As for the price, we've set it at 200 yen per copy."

Irisu-san nodded gently.

"If you're willing to lower the price to 150 yen per copy, then I can take twenty copies from you."

"Eh? Lower the price?"

"Our pamphlet costs 50 yen each. Together with your anthology, that would make 200 yen per set. Though we'll need to make a few arrangements."

"Umm, but, don't you need to consult with the others from Class 2-F...?"

"Oh, I'll take care of that afterwards."

Incredible. If it's Irisu-san, she would accept any request with no questions asked. Besides, wouldn't it be bothersome for her to receive twenty copies from us? Since we had only intended to sell twenty-four copies over three days.

As though she could read the anxiety on my face, Irisu-san added nonchalantly, "We should be able to sell them all by today. If we do, we may be able to order another batch from you."

"Is that fine with you?"

"It's fine."

...I felt my chest becoming tight again.

Irisu-san stretched out her right hand which she had rested on her hip. Was she trying to shake my hand? Taking out my hand, I placed it on top of hers.

"?"

"Rather than shake my hand, you should be showing me a sample copy instead."

A sample? I shook my head. Irisu-san gave a small sigh. Did I mess things up? She then softly spoke while I remained startled.

"...It's all right since it's me, but if you're really going to ask someone to sell your anthology for you, you should at least bring a sample with you. Or you won't be able to convince anyone."

I-I see. So that's how one gets things done.

"I understand. Thank you so much!"

It was then that I began thinking. Yesterday I hardly achieved anything. Maybe I spent so much time worrying about what to do next that my request would still get turned down. I've spent a lot of effort explaining my situation to both Tanabe-san and Toogaito-san, but if I had asked Irisu-san to come with me back then, I might not have had my requests turned down.

Yes, I must not make the same mistakes as yesterday. I must ensure my success rate is improved from now on.

Having made my mind, I decided to make another request to Irisu-san.

"Irisu-san,"

"W-what is it?"

Oh no, I ended up approaching too near to her. This was a bad habit which Oreki-san has often told me to be careful of. I took one step back.

"Irisu-san, you're good at having other people carry out your requests, right?"

"..."

"Please teach me how you do it!"

"WHA–!?"

Irisu-san made a flustered, out-of-character yelp, though her ruffled state only lasted for a moment before she began chuckling.

"...Heh, I've been called a lot of things, but never 'good at having other people carry out requests' before," she muttered.

Leaning against the emergency exit, Irisu-san gazed at me and spoke slowly.

"Right. You do tend to be too direct in your approaches sometimes. I'll teach you two or three methods which you can remember."

"T-thank you."

"What do you know about role-playing?"

Irisu-san lowered her head and closed her eyes and began thinking. This was the first time I'd ever seen her taking time to think. My body went stiff from the anxiety,

"...Right... Well, let's put it this way," she muttered and opened her eyes. She then raised her clenched fist towards me. I instinctively leaned backwards as a result.

"There are two ways to get people to carry out your requests. First, there is one in which you're expected to repay the favour received."

She lifted her index finger.

"The second is where you do not repay any favour."

She then lifted her middle finger. Before long, she withdrew both fingers and placed her hand back on her hip.

"For requests where you're to repay the favour, it means the person you're asking does not trust you."

"Eh?"

Maybe it had something to do with her calm way of speaking, but Irisu-san's serene voice seemed to have blocked out the noise generated by the Cultural Festival around us.

"For situations where you're dealing with strangers which you would not deal with again after you receive the favour, in nine out of ten cases, they would consider your request a rip-off. Even if they don't, they would try to minimize the effort they would put into handling your request. So in cases where you're expected to repay the favour, you mustn't just think about what you would expect them to do, but also take into consideration the time they have and the effort they're willing to make. You must also take into consideration that they may not be able to do what you request of them. If you're unwilling to do that, then they too will not be willing to take such a risk for your request.

"While you could use reverse psychology to make them think they're ripping you off instead, that would be too difficult for you. So for the moment being, you're more suited to the second type, where trust would be needed.

"In such a situation, you would need to provide them with mental satisfaction in order to carry out your request. It is easy to cut corners when only a physical reward is available, but not so for a mental reward. The best way to achieve that is to make them feel they're charismatic or popular, but you will find you would not have much opportunity to use those. The next would be faith and love, but these would require a lot of time to prepare beforehand. By the way, I myself have never relied on these two.

"If possible, you should take advantage of their sense of justice or duty, their professional spirit or their self-esteem, but its difficulty is above intermediate. Though once you get the hang of those, you should be able to apply them to many situations.

"On the other end of the spectrum would be to make them think they're feared or superior to you, but we'll not go into that today.

"For you, as a beginner, you should aim to have expectations of them.

"Listen up, it's basically to make them think that 'Only they could accomplish this request of yours.' To make them think they're your only hope, which is pretty easy to do. It would not be rare for them to even make some sacrifices for you, since you have expectations of them, even if you're just pretending to.

"In addition, do not make them think the problem is huge. Don't let them know that you're desperate for their help. There just aren't many people who would help others solve a major problem with no benefit to themselves. Instead, you should make it look like the problem is very trivial, that way it'll make them feel exceptional.

"Finally, if possible, make the request where no one else is around to someone of the opposite gender."

For a moment, my head went blurry.

I-I just heard something really amazing. I never even thought about these things before. In order to have a stranger do one's request, one must make them feel loved and trusted, as well as feel superior because you have expectations of them, alone in a place where nobody can see... It's going to be difficult for me to digest all of this at once.

I would need time to slowly understand all of this. At any rate, I would need to thank Irisu-san.

"Um, umm, I..."

Yet Irisu-san merely said, "Hurry up and bring the copies over."

And hurriedly returned to the Audio Visual Room.

I should at least bow deeply in gratitude to her.

Thank you very much! Irisu-san, I will not let your advice go to waste!

027 - ♠08

The paperback novel I brought turned out to be quite a bore.

Though I hadn't exactly wasted my money as I bought it for only 100 yen from a new second-hand bookstore, I still felt like i had been ripped off by them. I just couldn't force myself to continue reading on. Having said that, there's was nothing I could do but yawn. I should have brought a backup novel.

Hearing the A Capella Club singing yesterday sure was a good way to kill time. Wondering if they'd be singing again, I decided to stand up and open the windows... And I smelled a scent of burning leaves, as right below me were some people surrounding a stove. As there seemed to be some sort of armed sentries in that group, that must be the Gardening Club.

Sweet potatoes - just smelling their scent makes one feel famished. Whether its sweet potatoes or not, at the moment I felt like eating anything, since I overslept this morning and decided to skip breakfast. This was really my sis's fault for taking my alarm clock from my room without permission. As a result, I'm feeling a bit hungry. As it was only eleven, it was still too early for lunch.

As I continued to stare at the stove...

"Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

Someone intruded while shouting in strange voices. They sounded like girls, but I have no idea who they are if I can't see their faces. Or rather, there was no way I could see their faces. There were two intruders, both carrying baskets covered in white cloth and wearing pumpkin masks over their heads... Pumpkins?

W-what on earth? Pumpkin Heads? Halloween costumes already?

As I continued to look bewildered, "Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

They made the same greeting again while flailing their arms.

Were they trying to dance?

...I needed to calm down. All right, so they're in a Halloween mood. Does that mean I should throw beans at them? Or I should pour sweet tea at them?<ref>Oreki is confusing the customs of Halloween and the Japanese holiday Setsubun - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun Wikipedia]</ref>

No, wait, I remember now. I looked coldly at the dancing pumpkin heads and said, "If it's candy you want, I haven't got any, so get lost."

One of the pumpkin heads gasped.

"Yikes! How mean!"

"But you are welcome to buy our anthologies."

"Not interested!"

"Who the hell are you guys anyway!?"

It was then the two pumpkin heads walked forward in synchrony and showed me their baskets. As though trained for this, they both spoke at the same time.

"We're doing door-to-door sales for the Confectioneries Studies Club. Would you like some cookies, biscuits and cream puffs?"

...

"What if I said no?"

"...Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

OK, I get it. I get it already, so stop dancing, you pushy saleswomen.

But this could be great timing,

"How much is one of your biscuits?"

"Heh heh, it's 100 yen per bag, master!"

They really don't have much consistency with their sales pitches. I took out one copy of ''Hyouka''.

"...What's that?"

Whoa, they reverted to their normal voices.

"It's an anthology by the Classics Club. 200 yen per copy. I can swap two bags of your biscuits with this."

"Not interested."

"Oh, don't say that, I want your biscuits, after all."

"That'll upset the balance between supply and demand~"

It's useless. I decided to take out my wallet.

"Wow! What's that? It's so cool!"

One of the pumpkin heads, who was looking around the room, suddenly raised her voice. In her hand was the Glock 17 pistol.

"Wow, cool! How come you have one of these? Could you be a collector?"

"Hey, you think it would be better for our sales if we carry this around?"

Really? I think you'd scare everybody instead.

Oh well, if they wanted it, "I'll give you that semi-auto along with the anthology for two bags of your biscuits."

"Really? You're giving it to us?"

I nodded. Holding the Glock in her hand, she began dancing again. After spinning one turn, she took out two bags of biscuits from her basket as well as a small yellow paper bag.

"Here's a sign of gratitude from the pumpkins."

"What's that?"

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

Without answering my question, the two pumpkin heads took the glock and a copy of ''Hyouka'' and left. Those heads look rather large, will they be able to stand properly in those... Just hope they don't trip.

Opening the paper bag, I looked inside.

It's wheat flour. Looking at the description, it says "weak flour."

Once again I've obtained something I have no use for.

From a fountain pen to a badge, from a badge to a Glock, and now from a Glock to a bag of flour. This somehow feels like the story of the straw millionaire<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_Millionaire Wikipedia - Straw Millionaire]</ref>, yet somehow, the items I'm receiving don't seem to be rising in value. Come to think of it, weren't these people giving me these items simply because they have no use for them themselves?

Taking out 200 yen from my wallet, I placed them into the candy box which doubled as a register. Leaning back towards the windowside, I opened one of the bags of biscuits.

'''[171 COPIES REMAINING]'''

028 - ♣09

It's just past eleven. The Cooking Club's tournament will take place at half-past eleven.

This may sound like me bragging, but I do have some confidence when it comes to cooking. Though I have not taken into calculation about having three people as a team. I would have enjoyed it better if I could do this all on my own, but as we're not allowed to participate alone, I guess it can't be helped. Still, it's not as if I wouldn't enjoy myself, so I've invited Mayaka and Chitanda-san along as well. While it's also interesting to see Houtarou carry a knife, he probably wouldn't come even if I invited him.

Except... On one hand, Mayaka can really cook. I knew that, as she would occasionally bring her own boxed lunch. Though I don't know about Chitanda-san, so she's an unknown factor. When I told her about it, she readily agreed, "Understood. It's to promote our anthology, right?"

That was one of my concerns. Actually, I had two concerns. By the way, should they be called "concerns?" Wouldn't it be better if I describe them as "worries?" Hmm, I must do some research regarding the meanings of these words. Anyway, my other concern was whether Mayaka would make it on time after finishing her duties with the Manga Club.

Deciding to pay her a visit, I headed towards Preparation Room No. 1.

Whoa, there's quite a lot of people here. And Mayaka was saying how the Manga Club was quiet yesterday. It's basically packed today, it's like a carnival here. As I thought that, I noticed a poster pasted on the door:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|Speed Poster Drawing

Featuring two of our best artists! (The Esper vs The Panther) 
Watch how their artistic senses shine at unwavering speed!

|}

...I had never heard of such an event before.

I decided to take a peek.

"...Whoa."

I let out a gasp.

Mayaka, dressed in a cardigan over her blouse and wearing a beret cap, was scribbling her pen across an A3 paper without even moving her eyes away. This was Mayaka in serious mode. I could even hear the pen being tapped on the paper as she drew. I could even see her cheeks reddening as though blood was rushing to her head. I had no idea what she was drawing as I couldn't see it from here.

Next to her, the girl in a tuxedo was just as amazing. Just when I thought there were still a lot of white areas in her drawing, as though receiving some divine inspiration, she began to boldly colour the drawing already.

Again, I had no idea what she was colouring, but within five minutes...

"Done!"

She handed her drawing to the girls waiting before her. At once, many people gathered and placed the drawing on a table for it to dry. It was then I saw what it was, a drawing of a female character from a popular monthly manga series. That is good. That's Mayaka's drawing, no doubt. So Mayaka does the drawing while the tuxedo girl does the colouring.

Two of the Manga Studies Club's best artists, huh? I see.

I chuckled and turned back.

If Mayaka ended up not attending the cooking tournament and it resulted in us losing by default as a result of this, I wouldn't have complained.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Yet Another Storm]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-2|3-2 - Wild Fire]]
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-1

2013-01-16T19:06:39Z

Dan.:

== 3-1 The Morning Landscape ==

023 - ♦05

''Ashes at Dusk'' was a 30-page manga containing three short stories. Despite its morbid-sounding title, it actually came from Rennyo's<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennyo Wikipedia - Rennyo]</ref> well-known verse: "We may have radiant faces in the morning, but by evening we may turn into white ashes."<ref>[http://www12.canvas.ne.jp/horai/white%20ashes.htm Read the Source Online]</ref>

The overarching theme across these short stories is its emphasis on the abstract impermanence of life. Taking place in a classically dim Showa-style backdrop, the story describes a rather sad story. That said, the manga doesn't indulge itself in the retro-feel, but actually focuses on the platonic love of high school girls as well, so it was also rich in entertainment.

As a Third Year Junior High student, I was lost for words when I saw and bought this on a whim while visiting the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival. Though there was nothing special about the theme, it just felt earnestly vivid to me.

A unique story that develops alongside its rich dialogue, it is supported by sensitive-looking artwork, which looked like something right out of a kabuki theatre. In certain pivotal points of the plot, the art would give a surreal effect. If I have to list a work, regardless of whether it is commercial or not, that leaves an impression on me, then it has to be ''Ashes at Dusk''.

And thus, this was a manga that possesses a certain charm which words alone cannot describe. If I had to give criticism, then I would say the background art looked a bit amateurish, but even that is not enough to make it bad.

There were only two doujinshis that have taken my breath away completely, one was ''Ashes at Dusk'', the other was ''Body Talk'', a title I found in another doujinshi event unrelated to Kami High. I cherish these two works as my treasures. But if I have to pick one out of these two, I would have to go for ''Ashes at Dusk''.

In order to counter Kouchi-sempai's argument that a work can be great to begin with, regardless of what the readers think, I would have to show her a glimpse of this title. Such was my faith in its ability to charm.

I was very glad when I found out I made it into Kamiyama High School. Besides being glad that I've entered high school, I was even more glad that I had entered a school where you could sell any sort of manga freely as though its a soft drink vending machine. That's why I entered the Manga Studies Club as soon as I started school.

Yet I found myself a bit disappointed afterwards.

There was no one in the club that knew anything about the author of ''Ashes at Dusk''.

But as I still had fun with people discussing stuff that we like, I thought that my decision to join the Manga Club was correct.

...That's what I thought anyway.

On the morning of the second day of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, I arrived at school with a gloomy expression. I had no choice but to postpone what I intended to do. Prior to going to the attendance ceremony, I first headed towards the Manga Club.

I had intended to arrive early, but I found Kouchi-sempai had arrived even earlier. She was dressed in a classy tuxedo today. She's probably dressed as that Thai boxer. As she isn't particularly tall, yesterday's costume didn't really suit her. Was she trying to dress up as a different game character everyday, or does she simply want to cosplay in varying costumes? While I too am cosplaying as a different character than yesterday, I hadn't devoted as much time and money to my costume as she had to hers.

Kouchi-sempai looked towards me, or rather, the heart-shaped brooch on my chest.

"Going for old-fashioned again, I see?" she said. Today I wore a cardigan over my blouse, and high socks coupled with a flared skirt. The only part that one could really call cosplay was the brooch and the beret hat I was wearing.

"Are you gonna shoot out Jintan<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jintan_%28Japanese_medicine%29 Wikipedia - Jintan]</ref> candies from that?"

"No, this is just for show."

"If you're going to cosplay as that character, you should at least put some effort into your hair."

Don't be ridiculous. It's already quite embarrassing for me to have such a gravity-defying hairdo, not to mention my hair isn't that long.

I need to get to the main topic right away.

"So, where's your ''Ashes at Dusk''?"

It was Kouchi-sempai who started the conversation instead. I was surprised that she could remember the name of a title which she only heard once. I always thought her to be quite a quick-witted person, so it's not like she could really read my mind or anything.

As most of the members had not yet arrived, the Manga Club room was rather quiet. Everyone, including those members who weren't here yesterday, had known of my spat with Kouchi-sempai.

Even Kouchi-sempai, who had looked rather confident yesterday, now looked at me with a tense expression without even realizing it.

T-this is bad.

But I can't just run away now. Taking a deep breath filling my lungs as much as they could be, and while doing my best not to look abject, I said, "I'm sorry, I didn't bring it today."

"What?"

"I must have taken it to my relatives' house by mistake during the summer holidays."

Yes, for the whole night and until early this morning, I was searching for my copy of ''Ashes at Dusk'' in my room.

I made sure to search everywhere I could think of. I looked about ten times or more within the bookshelves which contained my favourite books. I did the same for the other bookshelves, as well as opening up the boxes which contained my old mangas.

Yet I could not find my ''Ashes at Dusk'' anywhere. I do not remember lending it to anyone. It was not a book I would show Fuku-chan. And I was reading it repeatedly during the first semester...

So instead I brought ''Body Talk'' as a replacement. But I had already decided to bring ''Ashes at Dusk'' the day before, so this felt like a cop out. Bringing a book that could not satisfy my intention was just as good as not bringing it at all.

Yet I did not feel like I'd lost the book. As I remembered organizing my books during the summer holiday, and placing the old books in boxes to be sent to the storage warehouse in my grandparent's house. It must have been mixed up during that time. I'd probably find it if I looked there.

However, such a causal mix-up should not have happened, and I became slightly embarrassed because of it, as lately I've been making too many silly mistakes. Even if I reflect on them the deed has already been done. I wish I had not made such mistakes to begin with.

"Ehh??" A short disapproving sound was uttered. Looking around, I saw only President Yuasa with her calm expression; this meant it wasn't her. It must have been someone else.

"Hmm, so you don't have it."

Kouchi-sempai's expression eased. I, in contrast, bit my lips.

I felt like a carp on a chopping board right now. Victory has not yet been decided as we may still have arguments to put forward, but having said I would present evidence to support my argument, it couldn't be helped now that I did not bring it. Hearing Kouchi-sempai's followers snickering just gets on my nerves.

One of them said, "Ibara, weren't you talking big yesterday? And you think you can get away by saying you don't have it?"

Another followed, "That's right. Don't you have other ways of apologizing?"

They probably won't be satisfied unless I go down on my knees. I decided to ignore them, as this was a problem between me and Kouchi-sempai alone. If she were to ask me to go down on my knees, I'd gladly do so.

However, Kouchi-sempai, as though losing interest in me, simply waved her hands and said briefly, "Then, help me with drawing a poster."

"P-poster?"

"Draw a moe character... I'm going out for a bit now."

She said that and turned to leave the club room.

As I was being basked in the cold stares of her followers, who had been left behind, I turned to speak with President Yuasa.

"President, do you have tools for drawing a poster?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, we do."

I nodded and looked at my watch. It's almost time to head to the Gymnasium. I pointed to my watch and said, "I'll start drawing once I come back."

If I'm going to draw something, it's better if I put my full effort into it rather than stop midway. I wonder what I should draw for this "moe character" order from the victor?

024 - ♣08

After attendance was taken, I quickly left the gymnasium.

It wasn't because there was something I wanted to see, since I am after all a member of the General Committee, which has the duty of ensuring the smooth running of the Cultural Festival. At the appointed time, I needed to attend the meeting in the Conference Room where the General Committee is based, in order to carry out any orders decided by the Committee executives. Besides security, there's also event organizing to take care of. Particularly the setting up and taking down of event equipment by the various clubs requires a lot of labour. By the way, if there's no work to be done one gets to be free for the day. Carrying a noble sense of duty within me, I knocked at the door of the Conference Room.

"Fukube reporting. I see I haven't got any work today, I guess I'll take my leave now."

A pity that I wasn't able to help out with the General Committee in the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival. Just as I was about to check out some strange event about to start at the Sci-Fi Studies Club, someone stopped me.

"Wait Fukube, you ''do'' have work."

Eh~.

President Tanabe was the only person inside, with a white board behind him covered by a timetable. Before long he turned to me and smiled bitterly.

"Hey, what's with the disappointed look you got there?"

"No, actually, this is me looking grateful that I get to contribute my efforts."

Actually, I had plans to be at The Cooking Club at 11:30 today, so I was only intending to work with the General Committee around those times that were convenient to me. Though I made a playful face, I wasn't exactly unhappy. Opening the door, I entered the room.

I rubbed my hands and asked, "Well, what is it? As long as it ends before 11:30, I'll jump into an inferno or leap into the ocean for you."

"It'll be over soon. There are bags containing visitor slippers in the staff room, you'll need to bring two of these bags to every building entrance. That's about it."

Indeed, this wouldn't take up a lot of time.

President Tanabe sure worked hard in making the pamphlet. Casually, I began to converse with him.

"Sempai, won't you go sightseeing during the festival?"

"Hmm? Oh."

Facing the whiteboard with its timetable, he turned to me and spoke gently.

"There's a lot of menial stuff to take care of. Still, it requires me to move around the campus, so it's not like I don't get to see anything. Oh yeah, the movie shown by Class 2-F is pretty good, I hear."

Oh, this was quite some good news for us.

"But you're unable to join in any events yourself, aren't you?"

Tanabe-sempai smiled bitterly.

"I won't be able to attend to the General Committee if I do. Unlike you, it's not like I'm as talented or have many interests."

Do I look that talented or have many interests to other observers?

"Well, what is it? You got something interesting to tell me?"

"Interesting, huh?"

Thinking about it, there is the issue of the Classics Club having 200 anthology copies, but Mayaka wouldn't be happy if I used that as a joke. The Rakugo Club performance at the Opening Ceremony was pretty interesting, but that's just my personal opinion. I've also heard of other stuff, but they aren't really that interesting when mentioned one by one.

Hmm. I didn't particularly find this intriguing, but if I had told him there was nothing interesting, the conversation would be too dull. So how about this one?

"We seem to have a phantom thief appearing at the Go Club."

"Oh?"

"Some Go stones were stolen from the container, and the thief even left a message behind."

"Really?"

Now this was surprising. This actually piqued President Tanabe's interest.

"I see. The Go Club, huh?"

Just as I wass about to say that this could be some prank staged by the Go Club themselves, President Tanabe continued, "I heard from Okano that something similar has happened to the A Capella Club."

"What?"

This time it was my turn to have my interest piqued. Something similar happening to the A Capella Club means that the possibility of this being an inside job by the Go Club has been ruled out.

"They seem to have had one drink bottle taken from the cooler box."

"Was there a message left behind?"

"I'm not sure if it's from the culprit, but they found a strange memo inside."

Now this looks pretty interesting. At the very least, my interest has now increased beyond the level when I first heard this from Tani-kun. We have a phantom thief lurking in the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival! This is actually quite a fun prank.

Hmm hmm, now how should I plan my schedule from here on.

...No wait, now's not the time for that yet.

"What's wrong, Fukube? You're grinning."

"Nope, no~thing really."

It's still too early to indulge in this yet. In order for a phantom thief incident to be established, the phantom thief would need to continue with his prank. If I end up scaring the thief prematurely, it'll just make me look foolish. My experience tells me that it is better to first play with the thief.

Furthermore, not many within the school are aware of this yet. Even I have only just heard about this. I wasn't really concerned with whether the thief intends to attract much interest or not, but right now, his flute is only vaguely audible.

Since I still had an event to attend, it wouldn't be too late even if I take some rest now and allow the thief to surprise me even further. So it was better for me to leave this aside for now.

All right, now where's my drawstring bag?

"I guess I'll get to work then."

"Sure, good luck."

Having encouraged me, President Tanabe turned back towards the timetable board.

025 - ♠07

"I'll do my best again today!" Upon saying that, Chitanda left the room.

Now to begin watching over the stall for the day again.

How should I say this? I never thought being in charge of a stall where people hardly ever come would be this boring. I liked being idle and carefree, but certainly not being bored. At any rate, one doesn't require a lot of effort to insert the small change into the coin box repeatedly. Even if I were to take time to go to the bathroom, no one would come. Still, while I had brought a paperback novel to kill time, it was not the right book. It is quite unbecoming for an energy saver like me to actually desire some action just because I'm feeling bored.

Anyway, I should line up the ''Hyouka'' copies. Ten copies per stack should be just about right.

As I finished lining them up, a customer arrived. It was a male student I didn't know. The badge on his collar indicated he was a second year.

"You selling?"

Now this is quite a good omen. I'd better use my manners.

"Yeah, we are."

Hmm, maybe I should have said it longer, like "Yeah, we are, man." But that doesn't sound polite, does it? The second year sort of dangled towards the pile of ''Hyouka'' and looked at the cover.

"So this is the one that explains where Kanya Festival gets its name from?"

Wow, seems like Satoshi's microphone appeal was still having some influence. Or did he hear it from someone else? At any rate, I should be thankful.

As I nodded, the second year asked, "Can I stand and read?"

"I'm afraid you can't."

"Oh come on. It's only 200 yen, isn't it?"

"It may be only 200 yen, but please do buy one. We've got so many remaining, I feel like crying."

Not that I really would.

The second year laughed and took out his wallet and bought one copy. Upon thanking him and seeing him place his wallet back in his pocket, I noticed, "Sempai, your fly's open."

"What?! No way!"

He frantically placed his hand between his legs. Upon inspection, he lifted his head and groaned,

"Argh, can't be helped. It's broken!"

Looking closely, I saw black silk dangling from the opening. I see, now I get what he's saying,

"Your zipper's broken?"

"Yeah, and I've still got a whole day before I can even take time to fix this."

You have my sympathies. There's nothing I can do.

No wait, that's not true. I still have it with me, haven't I? Looking in the table drawer, I found it. It was the badge that I obtained earlier today. While I'm not interested in attending a fashion show, the badge does have a safety pin taped behind it, which was easily removed.

"There's only one, but try using this."

I handed the pin out to him. The second year looked grateful as though being blessed by the heavens.

"Whoa, thanks man. Amazing that you actually have one with you."

He proceeded to pin the hole shut... While it looked kind of strange, it should do for now.

The second year certainly looked glad as he muttered, "You're amazing, man, you just helped out big time."

"If you want to show your gratitude then you could buy another copy."

The second year smiled and waved his hand.

"No thanks,"

Though he seemed to have thought of something, and put his hand behind his trousers. Searching his back pocket, he took out a hand gun.

Staring into the muzzle, I asked, "Is this a robbery?"

"Don't be silly. It's a water gun."

The second year placed the gun on the table.

"You can have this as my thanks."

"I see."

I looked at the water gun and then towards him.

"...Is this your hobby?"

Rolling up the ''Hyouka'' copy in his hand, he whacked my head with it.

"Course not. I'm with the Gardening Club. We're roasting sweet potatoes today."

I still didn't see what this had to do with anything.

The second year continued while looking pleased, "You see, we need fire in order to roast the potatoes. And if there's fire, we'll need some water to put it out. But it would be too boring to just use a bucket, right?"

Ahh, I see. So he's supposed to be a soldier or something... So there are clubs who actually do silly stuff. I looked at the hand gun.

"Don't you need this then?"

"I already have one. This is just a side-arm. My main one's a Kalashnikov."

Fabulous. So they're actually thinking of putting out a fire using a water gun? They should instead be more careful with handling the fire.

Anyway, what use do I have for a water gun for watching over the Classics Club stall? The same goes for the badge, I seemed to be receiving all sorts of useless stuff. Though I have no reason to refuse him.

"Thanks, man. See ya!"

The second year left the Geology Room looking elated.

I looked at the hand gun he left behind and merely muttered, "...A Glock 17?"

Having an AK as a main weapon and a Glock as a side-arm. Isn't this rather inconsistent?

'''[176 COPIES REMAINING]'''

026 - ♥06

I'll do my best again today!

I was thinking a lot last night. What Tanabe-san and Toogaito-san said were both correct. I haven't managed to expand our selling spots, nor have I managed to get the Wall Newspaper Club interested in us. However, it is still too early to give up and say nothing could be done.

I heard rumours that the movie made by Class 2-F was quite popular. A few of my friends had wanted to go and watch, but it seems for the entire first day the Audio Visual Room was packed during airing.

We the Classics Club were slightly involved in the making of that movie by Class 2-F. Upon solving the trouble encountered during the shooting of the movie, Fukube-san duly named it the "Empress Incident." I didn't exactly do much, though Oreki-san's advice seems to have helped them a lot. Thus for me personally, it was a joyous thing to hear that the movie was doing well.

I was acquainted with one of the students from Class 2-F, Irisu Fuyumi-san. Speaking of which, this "Empress Incident" also applies to her as well, since she was involved in overseeing the production of the movie.

If we could arrange for ''Hyouka'' to be sold alongside a popular movie, there's a chance our sales might increase.

Thus today, I embark on ensuring such a deal could be done.

I'll do my best.

The Audio Visual Room was currently airing the movie ''The Blind Spot of 10,000 People''. The entrance to the room was left open, with a black curtain to block outside light from coming in. Looks like its another full house today, but I have no way of knowing as I could not peek into the dark room. Outside was a signboard as tall as myself which read "Now Showing - The Blind Spot of 10,000 People," with its airing times written on a paper taped below it.

There was a table beside the board which seemed to double as a reception counter. Though it's called a reception counter, as the movie is free, it's not going to collect any admission fee. Rather, they seem to be selling pamphlets for the movie. A girl was assigned to watch the counter, but as nobody seems to be coming while the movie was being shown, she's currently talking to someone else.

That someone else was none other than Irisu-san. It must be my lucky day, as I was prepared to look all over the campus for her. Upon waiting for them to finish their conversation, I spoke up.

"Good morning, Irisu-san,"

"Hmm? Oh, it's Chitanda."

Noticing my presence, she quickly ended her conversation with the counter girl. Walking some distance from the Audio Visual Room entrance, she beckoned me to come over beside the fire emergency exit.

Irisu Fuyumi-san is the daughter of the warden of Rengou Hospital, located right next to Kamiyama High School. She is just as tall as I am, though her figure is much more slender. Just to be safe, this doesn't mean I'm meaty compared to her. Her fine feature gives an impression of one who is very sharp, a resolute person who could solve any problem encountered. She was someone I admire somewhat.

Before I could say anything, Irisu-san pointed towards the Audio Visual Room.

"Thanks to you guys, our movie was a great success, as you can see. And to think we were in danger of not being able to complete the movie on time. You have my deep gratitude."

"Oh, no, there's no need to... Is Hongou-san all right?"

Hongou-san was originally the screenwriter for the movie, but I heard she collapsed due to stress.

"Oh, she's fine now. Would you like to see her?"

"I see... Oh no, not now."

Perhaps sensing my hesitation, Irisu-san lowered her voice.

"Do you need something from me?"

"Yes, rather than you, I have a request for Class 2-F."

I nodded deeply.

I'll need to get to the main point right away.

"Please help the Classics Club sell their anthology."

Irisu-san blinked her eyes twice, before quickly saying, "So you're asking us to sell your anthology where we're showing our movie, right?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

"All right. How many copies do you have?"

Eh?

"Y-you're accepting our request?"

As I replied without thinking, Irisu-san raised her brow.

"Why do you look surprised?"

"Oh, no, umm..."

As I was used to being flatly refused right away yesterday, I was at a loss hearing that my request was granted so suddenly now... Besides, I've once again forgotten to explain the details.

"...Thank you so much!"

"You can thank me once we've sold the copies. So how many copies you have?"

Irisu-san placed her right hand on her hip and asked as though she might tear the wall down anytime.

"We've printed 200 copies..."

"200?!"

Irisu-san's small eyes widened for an instant.

"That's a lot."

"We ordered more copies than we were supposed to by mistake. That's why, we're hoping to sell as many as possible. I-I..."

Oh no. Just when I thought I had obtained Irisu-san's help, I became lost for words. I'm still in a conversation, so I gritted my teeth and went on, "I'm sorry. As for the price, we've set it at 200 yen per copy."

Irisu-san nodded gently.

"If you're willing to lower the price to 150 yen per copy, then I can take twenty copies from you."

"Eh? Lower the price?"

"Our pamphlet costs 50 yen each. Together with your anthology, that would make 200 yen per set. Though we'll need to make a few arrangements."

"Umm, but, don't you need to consult with the others from Class 2-F...?"

"Oh, I'll take care of that afterwards."

Incredible. If it's Irisu-san, she would accept any request with no questions asked. Besides, wouldn't it be bothersome for her to receive twenty copies from us? Since we had only intended to sell twenty-four copies over three days.

As though she could read the anxiety on my face, Irisu-san added nonchalantly, "We should be able to sell them all by today. If we do, we may be able to order another batch from you."

"Is that fine with you?"

"It's fine."

...I felt my chest becoming tight again.

Irisu-san stretched out her right hand which she had rested on her hip. Was she trying to shake my hand? Taking out my hand, I placed it on top of hers.

"?"

"Rather than shake my hand, you should be showing me a sample copy instead."

A sample? I shook my head. Irisu-san gave a small sigh. Did I mess things up? She then softly spoke while I remained startled.

"...It's all right since it's me, but if you're really going to ask someone to sell your anthology for you, you should at least bring a sample with you. Or you won't be able to convince anyone."

I-I see. So that's how one gets things done.

"I understand. Thank you so much!"

It was then that I began thinking. Yesterday I hardly achieved anything. Maybe I spent so much time worrying about what to do next that my request would still get turned down. I've spent a lot of effort explaining my situation to both Tanabe-san and Toogaito-san, but if I had asked Irisu-san to come with me back then, I might not have had my requests turned down.

Yes, I must not make the same mistakes as yesterday. I must ensure my success rate is improved from now on.

Having made my mind, I decided to make another request to Irisu-san.

"Irisu-san,"

"W-what is it?"

Oh no, I ended up approaching too near to her. This was a bad habit which Oreki-san has often told me to be careful of. I took one step back.

"Irisu-san, you're good at having other people carry out your requests, right?"

"..."

"Please teach me how you do it!"

"WHA–!?"

Irisu-san made a flustered, out-of-character yelp, though her ruffled state only lasted for a moment before she began chuckling.

"...Heh, I've been called a lot of things, but never 'good at having other people carry out requests' before," she muttered.

Leaning against the emergency exit, Irisu-san gazed at me and spoke slowly.

"Right. You do tend to be too direct in your approaches sometimes. I'll teach you two or three methods which you can remember."

"T-thank you."

"What do you know about role-playing?"

Irisu-san lowered her head and closed her eyes and began thinking. This was the first time I'd ever seen her taking time to think. My body went stiff from the anxiety,

"...Right... Well, let's put it this way," she muttered and opened her eyes. She then raised her clenched fist towards me. I instinctively leaned backwards as a result.

"There are two ways to get people to carry out your requests. First, there is one in which you're expected to repay the favour received."

She lifted her index finger.

"The second is where you do not repay any favour."

She then lifted her middle finger. Before long, she withdrew both fingers and placed her hand back on her hip.

"For requests where you're to repay the favour, it means the person you're asking does not trust you."

"Eh?"

Maybe it had something to do with her calm way of speaking, but Irisu-san's serene voice seemed to have blocked out the noise generated by the Cultural Festival around us.

"For situations where you're dealing with strangers which you would not deal with again after you receive the favour, in nine out of ten cases, they would consider your request a rip-off. Even if they don't, they would try to minimize the effort they would put into handling your request. So in cases where you're expected to repay the favour, you mustn't just think about what you would expect them to do, but also take into consideration the time they have and the effort they're willing to make. You must also take into consideration that they may not be able to do what you request of them. If you're unwilling to do that, then they too will not be willing to take such a risk for your request.

"While you could use reverse psychology to make them think they're ripping you off instead, that would be too difficult for you. So for the moment being, you're more suited to the second type, where trust would be needed.

"In such a situation, you would need to provide them with mental satisfaction in order to carry out your request. It is easy to cut corners when only a physical reward is available, but not so for a mental reward. The best way to achieve that is to make them feel they're charismatic or popular, but you will find you would not have much opportunity to use those. The next would be faith and love, but these would require a lot of time to prepare beforehand. By the way, I myself have never relied on these two.

"If possible, you should take advantage of their sense of justice or duty, their professional spirit or their self-esteem, but its difficulty is above intermediate. Though once you get the hang of those, you should be able to apply them to many situations.

"On the other end of the spectrum would be to make them think they're feared or superior to you, but we'll not go into that today.

"For you, as a beginner, you should aim to have expectations of them.

"Listen up, it's basically to make them think that 'Only they could accomplish this request of yours.' To make them think they're your only hope, which is pretty easy to do. It would not be rare for them to even make some sacrifices for you, since you have expectations of them, even if you're just pretending to.

"In addition, do not make them think the problem is huge. Don't let them know that you're desperate for their help. There just aren't many people who would help others solve a major problem with no benefit to themselves. Instead, you should make it look like the problem is very trivial, that way it'll make them feel exceptional.

"Finally, if possible, make the request where no one else is around to someone of the opposite gender."

For a moment, my head went blurry.

I-I just heard something really amazing. I never even thought about these things before. In order to have a stranger do one's request, one must make them feel loved and trusted, as well as feel superior because you have expectations of them, alone in a place where nobody can see... It's going to be difficult for me to digest all of this at once.

I would need time to slowly understand all of this. At any rate, I would need to thank Irisu-san.

"Um, umm, I..."

Yet Irisu-san merely said, "Hurry up and bring the copies over."

And hurriedly returned to the Audio Visual Room.

I should at least bow deeply in gratitude to her.

Thank you very much! Irisu-san, I will not let your advice go to waste!

027 - ♠08

The paperback novel I brought turned out to be quite a bore.

Though I hadn't exactly wasted my money as I bought it for only 100 yen from a new second-hand bookstore, I still felt like i had been ripped off by them. I just couldn't force myself to continue reading on. Having said that, there's was nothing I could do but yawn. I should have brought a backup novel.

Hearing the A Capella Club singing yesterday sure was a good way to kill time. Wondering if they'd be singing again, I decided to stand up and open the windows... And I smelled a scent of burning leaves, as right below me were some people surrounding a stove. As there seemed to be some sort of armed sentries in that group, that must be the Gardening Club.

Sweet potatoes - just smelling their scent makes one feel famished. Whether its sweet potatoes or not, at the moment I felt like eating anything, since I overslept this morning and decided to skip breakfast. This was really my sis's fault for taking my alarm clock from my room without permission. As a result, I'm feeling a bit hungry. As it was only eleven, it was still too early for lunch.

As I continued to stare at the stove...

"Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

Someone intruded while shouting in strange voices. They sounded like girls, but I have no idea who they are if I can't see their faces. Or rather, there was no way I could see their faces. There were two intruders, both carrying baskets covered in white cloth and wearing pumpkin masks over their heads... Pumpkins?

W-what on earth? Pumpkin Heads? Halloween costumes already?

As I continued to look bewildered, "Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

They made the same greeting again while flailing their arms.

Were they trying to dance?

...I needed to calm down. All right, so they're in a Halloween mood. Does that mean I should throw beans at them? Or I should pour sweet tea at them?<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun]</ref>

No, wait, I remember now. I looked coldly at the dancing pumpkin heads and said, "If it's candy you want, I haven't got any, so get lost."

One of the pumpkin heads gasped.

"Yikes! How mean!"

"But you are welcome to buy our anthologies."

"Not interested!"

"Who the hell are you guys anyway!?"

It was then the two pumpkin heads walked forward in synchrony and showed me their baskets. As though trained for this, they both spoke at the same time.

"We're doing door-to-door sales for the Confectioneries Studies Club. Would you like some cookies, biscuits and cream puffs?"

...

"What if I said no?"

"...Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

OK, I get it. I get it already, so stop dancing, you pushy saleswomen.

But this could be great timing,

"How much is one of your biscuits?"

"Heh heh, it's 100 yen per bag, master!"

They really don't have much consistency with their sales pitches. I took out one copy of ''Hyouka''.

"...What's that?"

Whoa, they reverted to their normal voices.

"It's an anthology by the Classics Club. 200 yen per copy. I can swap two bags of your biscuits with this."

"Not interested."

"Oh, don't say that, I want your biscuits, after all."

"That'll upset the balance between supply and demand~"

It's useless. I decided to take out my wallet.

"Wow! What's that? It's so cool!"

One of the pumpkin heads, who was looking around the room, suddenly raised her voice. In her hand was the Glock 17 pistol.

"Wow, cool! How come you have one of these? Could you be a collector?"

"Hey, you think it would be better for our sales if we carry this around?"

Really? I think you'd scare everybody instead.

Oh well, if they wanted it, "I'll give you that semi-auto along with the anthology for two bags of your biscuits."

"Really? You're giving it to us?"

I nodded. Holding the Glock in her hand, she began dancing again. After spinning one turn, she took out two bags of biscuits from her basket as well as a small yellow paper bag.

"Here's a sign of gratitude from the pumpkins."

"What's that?"

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

Without answering my question, the two pumpkin heads took the glock and a copy of ''Hyouka'' and left. Those heads look rather large, will they be able to stand properly in those... Just hope they don't trip.

Opening the paper bag, I looked inside.

It's wheat flour. Looking at the description, it says "weak flour."

Once again I've obtained something I have no use for.

From a fountain pen to a badge, from a badge to a Glock, and now from a Glock to a bag of flour. This somehow feels like the story of the straw millionaire<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_Millionaire Wikipedia - Straw Millionaire]</ref>, yet somehow, the items I'm receiving don't seem to be rising in value. Come to think of it, weren't these people giving me these items simply because they have no use for them themselves?

Taking out 200 yen from my wallet, I placed them into the candy box which doubled as a register. Leaning back towards the windowside, I opened one of the bags of biscuits.

'''[171 COPIES REMAINING]'''

028 - ♣09

It's just past eleven. The Cooking Club's tournament will take place at half-past eleven.

This may sound like me bragging, but I do have some confidence when it comes to cooking. Though I have not taken into calculation about having three people as a team. I would have enjoyed it better if I could do this all on my own, but as we're not allowed to participate alone, I guess it can't be helped. Still, it's not as if I wouldn't enjoy myself, so I've invited Mayaka and Chitanda-san along as well. While it's also interesting to see Houtarou carry a knife, he probably wouldn't come even if I invited him.

Except... On one hand, Mayaka can really cook. I knew that, as she would occasionally bring her own boxed lunch. Though I don't know about Chitanda-san, so she's an unknown factor. When I told her about it, she readily agreed, "Understood. It's to promote our anthology, right?"

That was one of my concerns. Actually, I had two concerns. By the way, should they be called "concerns?" Wouldn't it be better if I describe them as "worries?" Hmm, I must do some research regarding the meanings of these words. Anyway, my other concern was whether Mayaka would make it on time after finishing her duties with the Manga Club.

Deciding to pay her a visit, I headed towards Preparation Room No. 1.

Whoa, there's quite a lot of people here. And Mayaka was saying how the Manga Club was quiet yesterday. It's basically packed today, it's like a carnival here. As I thought that, I noticed a poster pasted on the door:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|Speed Poster Drawing

Featuring two of our best artists! (The Esper vs The Panther) 
Watch how their artistic senses shine at unwavering speed!

|}

...I had never heard of such an event before.

I decided to take a peek.

"...Whoa."

I let out a gasp.

Mayaka, dressed in a cardigan over her blouse and wearing a beret cap, was scribbling her pen across an A3 paper without even moving her eyes away. This was Mayaka in serious mode. I could even hear the pen being tapped on the paper as she drew. I could even see her cheeks reddening as though blood was rushing to her head. I had no idea what she was drawing as I couldn't see it from here.

Next to her, the girl in a tuxedo was just as amazing. Just when I thought there were still a lot of white areas in her drawing, as though receiving some divine inspiration, she began to boldly colour the drawing already.

Again, I had no idea what she was colouring, but within five minutes...

"Done!"

She handed her drawing to the girls waiting before her. At once, many people gathered and placed the drawing on a table for it to dry. It was then I saw what it was, a drawing of a female character from a popular monthly manga series. That is good. That's Mayaka's drawing, no doubt. So Mayaka does the drawing while the tuxedo girl does the colouring.

Two of the Manga Studies Club's best artists, huh? I see.

I chuckled and turned back.

If Mayaka ended up not attending the cooking tournament and it resulted in us losing by default as a result of this, I wouldn't have complained.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Yet Another Storm]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-2|3-2 - Wild Fire]]
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-1

2013-01-16T19:06:25Z

Dan.:

== 3-1 The Morning Landscape ==

023 - ♦05

''Ashes at Dusk'' was a 30-page manga containing three short stories. Despite its morbid-sounding title, it actually came from Rennyo's<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennyo Wikipedia - Rennyo]</ref> well-known verse: "We may have radiant faces in the morning, but by evening we may turn into white ashes."<ref>[http://www12.canvas.ne.jp/horai/white%20ashes.htm Read the Source Online]</ref>

The overarching theme across these short stories is its emphasis on the abstract impermanence of life. Taking place in a classically dim Showa-style backdrop, the story describes a rather sad story. That said, the manga doesn't indulge itself in the retro-feel, but actually focuses on the platonic love of high school girls as well, so it was also rich in entertainment.

As a Third Year Junior High student, I was lost for words when I saw and bought this on a whim while visiting the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival. Though there was nothing special about the theme, it just felt earnestly vivid to me.

A unique story that develops alongside its rich dialogue, it is supported by sensitive-looking artwork, which looked like something right out of a kabuki theatre. In certain pivotal points of the plot, the art would give a surreal effect. If I have to list a work, regardless of whether it is commercial or not, that leaves an impression on me, then it has to be ''Ashes at Dusk''.

And thus, this was a manga that possesses a certain charm which words alone cannot describe. If I had to give criticism, then I would say the background art looked a bit amateurish, but even that is not enough to make it bad.

There were only two doujinshis that have taken my breath away completely, one was ''Ashes at Dusk'', the other was ''Body Talk'', a title I found in another doujinshi event unrelated to Kami High. I cherish these two works as my treasures. But if I have to pick one out of these two, I would have to go for ''Ashes at Dusk''.

In order to counter Kouchi-sempai's argument that a work can be great to begin with, regardless of what the readers think, I would have to show her a glimpse of this title. Such was my faith in its ability to charm.

I was very glad when I found out I made it into Kamiyama High School. Besides being glad that I've entered high school, I was even more glad that I had entered a school where you could sell any sort of manga freely as though its a soft drink vending machine. That's why I entered the Manga Studies Club as soon as I started school.

Yet I found myself a bit disappointed afterwards.

There was no one in the club that knew anything about the author of ''Ashes at Dusk''.

But as I still had fun with people discussing stuff that we like, I thought that my decision to join the Manga Club was correct.

...That's what I thought anyway.

On the morning of the second day of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, I arrived at school with a gloomy expression. I had no choice but to postpone what I intended to do. Prior to going to the attendance ceremony, I first headed towards the Manga Club.

I had intended to arrive early, but I found Kouchi-sempai had arrived even earlier. She was dressed in a classy tuxedo today. She's probably dressed as that Thai boxer. As she isn't particularly tall, yesterday's costume didn't really suit her. Was she trying to dress up as a different game character everyday, or does she simply want to cosplay in varying costumes? While I too am cosplaying as a different character than yesterday, I hadn't devoted as much time and money to my costume as she had to hers.

Kouchi-sempai looked towards me, or rather, the heart-shaped brooch on my chest.

"Going for old-fashioned again, I see?" she said. Today I wore a cardigan over my blouse, and high socks coupled with a flared skirt. The only part that one could really call cosplay was the brooch and the beret hat I was wearing.

"Are you gonna shoot out Jintan<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jintan_%28Japanese_medicine%29 Wikipedia - Jintan]</ref> candies from that?"

"No, this is just for show."

"If you're going to cosplay as that character, you should at least put some effort into your hair."

Don't be ridiculous. It's already quite embarrassing for me to have such a gravity-defying hairdo, not to mention my hair isn't that long.

I need to get to the main topic right away.

"So, where's your ''Ashes at Dusk''?"

It was Kouchi-sempai who started the conversation instead. I was surprised that she could remember the name of a title which she only heard once. I always thought her to be quite a quick-witted person, so it's not like she could really read my mind or anything.

As most of the members had not yet arrived, the Manga Club room was rather quiet. Everyone, including those members who weren't here yesterday, had known of my spat with Kouchi-sempai.

Even Kouchi-sempai, who had looked rather confident yesterday, now looked at me with a tense expression without even realizing it.

T-this is bad.

But I can't just run away now. Taking a deep breath filling my lungs as much as they could be, and while doing my best not to look abject, I said, "I'm sorry, I didn't bring it today."

"What?"

"I must have taken it to my relatives' house by mistake during the summer holidays."

Yes, for the whole night and until early this morning, I was searching for my copy of ''Ashes at Dusk'' in my room.

I made sure to search everywhere I could think of. I looked about ten times or more within the bookshelves which contained my favourite books. I did the same for the other bookshelves, as well as opening up the boxes which contained my old mangas.

Yet I could not find my ''Ashes at Dusk'' anywhere. I do not remember lending it to anyone. It was not a book I would show Fuku-chan. And I was reading it repeatedly during the first semester...

So instead I brought ''Body Talk'' as a replacement. But I had already decided to bring ''Ashes at Dusk'' the day before, so this felt like a cop out. Bringing a book that could not satisfy my intention was just as good as not bringing it at all.

Yet I did not feel like I'd lost the book. As I remembered organizing my books during the summer holiday, and placing the old books in boxes to be sent to the storage warehouse in my grandparent's house. It must have been mixed up during that time. I'd probably find it if I looked there.

However, such a causal mix-up should not have happened, and I became slightly embarrassed because of it, as lately I've been making too many silly mistakes. Even if I reflect on them the deed has already been done. I wish I had not made such mistakes to begin with.

"Ehh??" A short disapproving sound was uttered. Looking around, I saw only President Yuasa with her calm expression; this meant it wasn't her. It must have been someone else.

"Hmm, so you don't have it."

Kouchi-sempai's expression eased. I, in contrast, bit my lips.

I felt like a carp on a chopping board right now. Victory has not yet been decided as we may still have arguments to put forward, but having said I would present evidence to support my argument, it couldn't be helped now that I did not bring it. Hearing Kouchi-sempai's followers snickering just gets on my nerves.

One of them said, "Ibara, weren't you talking big yesterday? And you think you can get away by saying you don't have it?"

Another followed, "That's right. Don't you have other ways of apologizing?"

They probably won't be satisfied unless I go down on my knees. I decided to ignore them, as this was a problem between me and Kouchi-sempai alone. If she were to ask me to go down on my knees, I'd gladly do so.

However, Kouchi-sempai, as though losing interest in me, simply waved her hands and said briefly, "Then, help me with drawing a poster."

"P-poster?"

"Draw a moe character... I'm going out for a bit now."

She said that and turned to leave the club room.

As I was being basked in the cold stares of her followers, who had been left behind, I turned to speak with President Yuasa.

"President, do you have tools for drawing a poster?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, we do."

I nodded and looked at my watch. It's almost time to head to the Gymnasium. I pointed to my watch and said, "I'll start drawing once I come back."

If I'm going to draw something, it's better if I put my full effort into it rather than stop midway. I wonder what I should draw for this "moe character" order from the victor?

024 - ♣08

After attendance was taken, I quickly left the gymnasium.

It wasn't because there was something I wanted to see, since I am after all a member of the General Committee, which has the duty of ensuring the smooth running of the Cultural Festival. At the appointed time, I needed to attend the meeting in the Conference Room where the General Committee is based, in order to carry out any orders decided by the Committee executives. Besides security, there's also event organizing to take care of. Particularly the setting up and taking down of event equipment by the various clubs requires a lot of labour. By the way, if there's no work to be done one gets to be free for the day. Carrying a noble sense of duty within me, I knocked at the door of the Conference Room.

"Fukube reporting. I see I haven't got any work today, I guess I'll take my leave now."

A pity that I wasn't able to help out with the General Committee in the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival. Just as I was about to check out some strange event about to start at the Sci-Fi Studies Club, someone stopped me.

"Wait Fukube, you ''do'' have work."

Eh~.

President Tanabe was the only person inside, with a white board behind him covered by a timetable. Before long he turned to me and smiled bitterly.

"Hey, what's with the disappointed look you got there?"

"No, actually, this is me looking grateful that I get to contribute my efforts."

Actually, I had plans to be at The Cooking Club at 11:30 today, so I was only intending to work with the General Committee around those times that were convenient to me. Though I made a playful face, I wasn't exactly unhappy. Opening the door, I entered the room.

I rubbed my hands and asked, "Well, what is it? As long as it ends before 11:30, I'll jump into an inferno or leap into the ocean for you."

"It'll be over soon. There are bags containing visitor slippers in the staff room, you'll need to bring two of these bags to every building entrance. That's about it."

Indeed, this wouldn't take up a lot of time.

President Tanabe sure worked hard in making the pamphlet. Casually, I began to converse with him.

"Sempai, won't you go sightseeing during the festival?"

"Hmm? Oh."

Facing the whiteboard with its timetable, he turned to me and spoke gently.

"There's a lot of menial stuff to take care of. Still, it requires me to move around the campus, so it's not like I don't get to see anything. Oh yeah, the movie shown by Class 2-F is pretty good, I hear."

Oh, this was quite some good news for us.

"But you're unable to join in any events yourself, aren't you?"

Tanabe-sempai smiled bitterly.

"I won't be able to attend to the General Committee if I do. Unlike you, it's not like I'm as talented or have many interests."

Do I look that talented or have many interests to other observers?

"Well, what is it? You got something interesting to tell me?"

"Interesting, huh?"

Thinking about it, there is the issue of the Classics Club having 200 anthology copies, but Mayaka wouldn't be happy if I used that as a joke. The Rakugo Club performance at the Opening Ceremony was pretty interesting, but that's just my personal opinion. I've also heard of other stuff, but they aren't really that interesting when mentioned one by one.

Hmm. I didn't particularly find this intriguing, but if I had told him there was nothing interesting, the conversation would be too dull. So how about this one?

"We seem to have a phantom thief appearing at the Go Club."

"Oh?"

"Some Go stones were stolen from the container, and the thief even left a message behind."

"Really?"

Now this was surprising. This actually piqued President Tanabe's interest.

"I see. The Go Club, huh?"

Just as I wass about to say that this could be some prank staged by the Go Club themselves, President Tanabe continued, "I heard from Okano that something similar has happened to the A Capella Club."

"What?"

This time it was my turn to have my interest piqued. Something similar happening to the A Capella Club means that the possibility of this being an inside job by the Go Club has been ruled out.

"They seem to have had one drink bottle taken from the cooler box."

"Was there a message left behind?"

"I'm not sure if it's from the culprit, but they found a strange memo inside."

Now this looks pretty interesting. At the very least, my interest has now increased beyond the level when I first heard this from Tani-kun. We have a phantom thief lurking in the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival! This is actually quite a fun prank.

Hmm hmm, now how should I plan my schedule from here on.

...No wait, now's not the time for that yet.

"What's wrong, Fukube? You're grinning."

"Nope, no~thing really."

It's still too early to indulge in this yet. In order for a phantom thief incident to be established, the phantom thief would need to continue with his prank. If I end up scaring the thief prematurely, it'll just make me look foolish. My experience tells me that it is better to first play with the thief.

Furthermore, not many within the school are aware of this yet. Even I have only just heard about this. I wasn't really concerned with whether the thief intends to attract much interest or not, but right now, his flute is only vaguely audible.

Since I still had an event to attend, it wouldn't be too late even if I take some rest now and allow the thief to surprise me even further. So it was better for me to leave this aside for now.

All right, now where's my drawstring bag?

"I guess I'll get to work then."

"Sure, good luck."

Having encouraged me, President Tanabe turned back towards the timetable board.

025 - ♠07

"I'll do my best again today!" Upon saying that, Chitanda left the room.

Now to begin watching over the stall for the day again.

How should I say this? I never thought being in charge of a stall where people hardly ever come would be this boring. I liked being idle and carefree, but certainly not being bored. At any rate, one doesn't require a lot of effort to insert the small change into the coin box repeatedly. Even if I were to take time to go to the bathroom, no one would come. Still, while I had brought a paperback novel to kill time, it was not the right book. It is quite unbecoming for an energy saver like me to actually desire some action just because I'm feeling bored.

Anyway, I should line up the ''Hyouka'' copies. Ten copies per stack should be just about right.

As I finished lining them up, a customer arrived. It was a male student I didn't know. The badge on his collar indicated he was a second year.

"You selling?"

Now this is quite a good omen. I'd better use my manners.

"Yeah, we are."

Hmm, maybe I should have said it longer, like "Yeah, we are, man." But that doesn't sound polite, does it? The second year sort of dangled towards the pile of ''Hyouka'' and looked at the cover.

"So this is the one that explains where Kanya Festival gets its name from?"

Wow, seems like Satoshi's microphone appeal was still having some influence. Or did he hear it from someone else? At any rate, I should be thankful.

As I nodded, the second year asked, "Can I stand and read?"

"I'm afraid you can't."

"Oh come on. It's only 200 yen, isn't it?"

"It may be only 200 yen, but please do buy one. We've got so many remaining, I feel like crying."

Not that I really would.

The second year laughed and took out his wallet and bought one copy. Upon thanking him and seeing him place his wallet back in his pocket, I noticed, "Sempai, your fly's open."

"What?! No way!"

He frantically placed his hand between his legs. Upon inspection, he lifted his head and groaned,

"Argh, can't be helped. It's broken!"

Looking closely, I saw black silk dangling from the opening. I see, now I get what he's saying,

"Your zipper's broken?"

"Yeah, and I've still got a whole day before I can even take time to fix this."

You have my sympathies. There's nothing I can do.

No wait, that's not true. I still have it with me, haven't I? Looking in the table drawer, I found it. It was the badge that I obtained earlier today. While I'm not interested in attending a fashion show, the badge does have a safety pin taped behind it, which was easily removed.

"There's only one, but try using this."

I handed the pin out to him. The second year looked grateful as though being blessed by the heavens.

"Whoa, thanks man. Amazing that you actually have one with you."

He proceeded to pin the hole shut... While it looked kind of strange, it should do for now.

The second year certainly looked glad as he muttered, "You're amazing, man, you just helped out big time."

"If you want to show your gratitude then you could buy another copy."

The second year smiled and waved his hand.

"No thanks,"

Though he seemed to have thought of something, and put his hand behind his trousers. Searching his back pocket, he took out a hand gun.

Staring into the muzzle, I asked, "Is this a robbery?"

"Don't be silly. It's a water gun."

The second year placed the gun on the table.

"You can have this as my thanks."

"I see."

I looked at the water gun and then towards him.

"...Is this your hobby?"

Rolling up the ''Hyouka'' copy in his hand, he whacked my head with it.

"Course not. I'm with the Gardening Club. We're roasting sweet potatoes today."

I still didn't see what this had to do with anything.

The second year continued while looking pleased, "You see, we need fire in order to roast the potatoes. And if there's fire, we'll need some water to put it out. But it would be too boring to just use a bucket, right?"

Ahh, I see. So he's supposed to be a soldier or something... So there are clubs who actually do silly stuff. I looked at the hand gun.

"Don't you need this then?"

"I already have one. This is just a side-arm. My main one's a Kalashnikov."

Fabulous. So they're actually thinking of putting out a fire using a water gun? They should instead be more careful with handling the fire.

Anyway, what use do I have for a water gun for watching over the Classics Club stall? The same goes for the badge, I seemed to be receiving all sorts of useless stuff. Though I have no reason to refuse him.

"Thanks, man. See ya!"

The second year left the Geology Room looking elated.

I looked at the hand gun he left behind and merely muttered, "...A Glock 17?"

Having an AK as a main weapon and a Glock as a side-arm. Isn't this rather inconsistent?

'''[176 COPIES REMAINING]'''

026 - ♥06

I'll do my best again today!

I was thinking a lot last night. What Tanabe-san and Toogaito-san said were both correct. I haven't managed to expand our selling spots, nor have I managed to get the Wall Newspaper Club interested in us. However, it is still too early to give up and say nothing could be done.

I heard rumours that the movie made by Class 2-F was quite popular. A few of my friends had wanted to go and watch, but it seems for the entire first day the Audio Visual Room was packed during airing.

We the Classics Club were slightly involved in the making of that movie by Class 2-F. Upon solving the trouble encountered during the shooting of the movie, Fukube-san duly named it the "Empress Incident." I didn't exactly do much, though Oreki-san's advice seems to have helped them a lot. Thus for me personally, it was a joyous thing to hear that the movie was doing well.

I was acquainted with one of the students from Class 2-F, Irisu Fuyumi-san. Speaking of which, this "Empress Incident" also applies to her as well, since she was involved in overseeing the production of the movie.

If we could arrange for ''Hyouka'' to be sold alongside a popular movie, there's a chance our sales might increase.

Thus today, I embark on ensuring such a deal could be done.

I'll do my best.

The Audio Visual Room was currently airing the movie ''The Blind Spot of 10,000 People''. The entrance to the room was left open, with a black curtain to block outside light from coming in. Looks like its another full house today, but I have no way of knowing as I could not peek into the dark room. Outside was a signboard as tall as myself which read "Now Showing - The Blind Spot of 10,000 People," with its airing times written on a paper taped below it.

There was a table beside the board which seemed to double as a reception counter. Though it's called a reception counter, as the movie is free, it's not going to collect any admission fee. Rather, they seem to be selling pamphlets for the movie. A girl was assigned to watch the counter, but as nobody seems to be coming while the movie was being shown, she's currently talking to someone else.

That someone else was none other than Irisu-san. It must be my lucky day, as I was prepared to look all over the campus for her. Upon waiting for them to finish their conversation, I spoke up.

"Good morning, Irisu-san,"

"Hmm? Oh, it's Chitanda."

Noticing my presence, she quickly ended her conversation with the counter girl. Walking some distance from the Audio Visual Room entrance, she beckoned me to come over beside the fire emergency exit.

Irisu Fuyumi-san is the daughter of the warden of Rengou Hospital, located right next to Kamiyama High School. She is just as tall as I am, though her figure is much more slender. Just to be safe, this doesn't mean I'm meaty compared to her. Her fine feature gives an impression of one who is very sharp, a resolute person who could solve any problem encountered. She was someone I admire somewhat.

Before I could say anything, Irisu-san pointed towards the Audio Visual Room.

"Thanks to you guys, our movie was a great success, as you can see. And to think we were in danger of not being able to complete the movie on time. You have my deep gratitude."

"Oh, no, there's no need to... Is Hongou-san all right?"

Hongou-san was originally the screenwriter for the movie, but I heard she collapsed due to stress.

"Oh, she's fine now. Would you like to see her?"

"I see... Oh no, not now."

Perhaps sensing my hesitation, Irisu-san lowered her voice.

"Do you need something from me?"

"Yes, rather than you, I have a request for Class 2-F."

I nodded deeply.

I'll need to get to the main point right away.

"Please help the Classics Club sell their anthology."

Irisu-san blinked her eyes twice, before quickly saying, "So you're asking us to sell your anthology where we're showing our movie, right?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

"All right. How many copies do you have?"

Eh?

"Y-you're accepting our request?"

As I replied without thinking, Irisu-san raised her brow.

"Why do you look surprised?"

"Oh, no, umm..."

As I was used to being flatly refused right away yesterday, I was at a loss hearing that my request was granted so suddenly now... Besides, I've once again forgotten to explain the details.

"...Thank you so much!"

"You can thank me once we've sold the copies. So how many copies you have?"

Irisu-san placed her right hand on her hip and asked as though she might tear the wall down anytime.

"We've printed 200 copies..."

"200?!"

Irisu-san's small eyes widened for an instant.

"That's a lot."

"We ordered more copies than we were supposed to by mistake. That's why, we're hoping to sell as many as possible. I-I..."

Oh no. Just when I thought I had obtained Irisu-san's help, I became lost for words. I'm still in a conversation, so I gritted my teeth and went on, "I'm sorry. As for the price, we've set it at 200 yen per copy."

Irisu-san nodded gently.

"If you're willing to lower the price to 150 yen per copy, then I can take twenty copies from you."

"Eh? Lower the price?"

"Our pamphlet costs 50 yen each. Together with your anthology, that would make 200 yen per set. Though we'll need to make a few arrangements."

"Umm, but, don't you need to consult with the others from Class 2-F...?"

"Oh, I'll take care of that afterwards."

Incredible. If it's Irisu-san, she would accept any request with no questions asked. Besides, wouldn't it be bothersome for her to receive twenty copies from us? Since we had only intended to sell twenty-four copies over three days.

As though she could read the anxiety on my face, Irisu-san added nonchalantly, "We should be able to sell them all by today. If we do, we may be able to order another batch from you."

"Is that fine with you?"

"It's fine."

...I felt my chest becoming tight again.

Irisu-san stretched out her right hand which she had rested on her hip. Was she trying to shake my hand? Taking out my hand, I placed it on top of hers.

"?"

"Rather than shake my hand, you should be showing me a sample copy instead."

A sample? I shook my head. Irisu-san gave a small sigh. Did I mess things up? She then softly spoke while I remained startled.

"...It's all right since it's me, but if you're really going to ask someone to sell your anthology for you, you should at least bring a sample with you. Or you won't be able to convince anyone."

I-I see. So that's how one gets things done.

"I understand. Thank you so much!"

It was then that I began thinking. Yesterday I hardly achieved anything. Maybe I spent so much time worrying about what to do next that my request would still get turned down. I've spent a lot of effort explaining my situation to both Tanabe-san and Toogaito-san, but if I had asked Irisu-san to come with me back then, I might not have had my requests turned down.

Yes, I must not make the same mistakes as yesterday. I must ensure my success rate is improved from now on.

Having made my mind, I decided to make another request to Irisu-san.

"Irisu-san,"

"W-what is it?"

Oh no, I ended up approaching too near to her. This was a bad habit which Oreki-san has often told me to be careful of. I took one step back.

"Irisu-san, you're good at having other people carry out your requests, right?"

"..."

"Please teach me how you do it!"

"WHA–!?"

Irisu-san made a flustered, out-of-character yelp, though her ruffled state only lasted for a moment before she began chuckling.

"...Heh, I've been called a lot of things, but never 'good at having other people carry out requests' before," she muttered.

Leaning against the emergency exit, Irisu-san gazed at me and spoke slowly.

"Right. You do tend to be too direct in your approaches sometimes. I'll teach you two or three methods which you can remember."

"T-thank you."

"What do you know about role-playing?"

Irisu-san lowered her head and closed her eyes and began thinking. This was the first time I'd ever seen her taking time to think. My body went stiff from the anxiety,

"...Right... Well, let's put it this way," she muttered and opened her eyes. She then raised her clenched fist towards me. I instinctively leaned backwards as a result.

"There are two ways to get people to carry out your requests. First, there is one in which you're expected to repay the favour received."

She lifted her index finger.

"The second is where you do not repay any favour."

She then lifted her middle finger. Before long, she withdrew both fingers and placed her hand back on her hip.

"For requests where you're to repay the favour, it means the person you're asking does not trust you."

"Eh?"

Maybe it had something to do with her calm way of speaking, but Irisu-san's serene voice seemed to have blocked out the noise generated by the Cultural Festival around us.

"For situations where you're dealing with strangers which you would not deal with again after you receive the favour, in nine out of ten cases, they would consider your request a rip-off. Even if they don't, they would try to minimize the effort they would put into handling your request. So in cases where you're expected to repay the favour, you mustn't just think about what you would expect them to do, but also take into consideration the time they have and the effort they're willing to make. You must also take into consideration that they may not be able to do what you request of them. If you're unwilling to do that, then they too will not be willing to take such a risk for your request.

"While you could use reverse psychology to make them think they're ripping you off instead, that would be too difficult for you. So for the moment being, you're more suited to the second type, where trust would be needed.

"In such a situation, you would need to provide them with mental satisfaction in order to carry out your request. It is easy to cut corners when only a physical reward is available, but not so for a mental reward. The best way to achieve that is to make them feel they're charismatic or popular, but you will find you would not have much opportunity to use those. The next would be faith and love, but these would require a lot of time to prepare beforehand. By the way, I myself have never relied on these two.

"If possible, you should take advantage of their sense of justice or duty, their professional spirit or their self-esteem, but its difficulty is above intermediate. Though once you get the hang of those, you should be able to apply them to many situations.

"On the other end of the spectrum would be to make them think they're feared or superior to you, but we'll not go into that today.

"For you, as a beginner, you should aim to have expectations of them.

"Listen up, it's basically to make them think that 'Only they could accomplish this request of yours.' To make them think they're your only hope, which is pretty easy to do. It would not be rare for them to even make some sacrifices for you, since you have expectations of them, even if you're just pretending to.

"In addition, do not make them think the problem is huge. Don't let them know that you're desperate for their help. There just aren't many people who would help others solve a major problem with no benefit to themselves. Instead, you should make it look like the problem is very trivial, that way it'll make them feel exceptional.

"Finally, if possible, make the request where no one else is around to someone of the opposite gender."

For a moment, my head went blurry.

I-I just heard something really amazing. I never even thought about these things before. In order to have a stranger do one's request, one must make them feel loved and trusted, as well as feel superior because you have expectations of them, alone in a place where nobody can see... It's going to be difficult for me to digest all of this at once.

I would need time to slowly understand all of this. At any rate, I would need to thank Irisu-san.

"Um, umm, I..."

Yet Irisu-san merely said, "Hurry up and bring the copies over."

And hurriedly returned to the Audio Visual Room.

I should at least bow deeply in gratitude to her.

Thank you very much! Irisu-san, I will not let your advice go to waste!

027 - ♠08

The paperback novel I brought turned out to be quite a bore.

Though I hadn't exactly wasted my money as I bought it for only 100 yen from a new second-hand bookstore, I still felt like i had been ripped off by them. I just couldn't force myself to continue reading on. Having said that, there's was nothing I could do but yawn. I should have brought a backup novel.

Hearing the A Capella Club singing yesterday sure was a good way to kill time. Wondering if they'd be singing again, I decided to stand up and open the windows... And I smelled a scent of burning leaves, as right below me were some people surrounding a stove. As there seemed to be some sort of armed sentries in that group, that must be the Gardening Club.

Sweet potatoes - just smelling their scent makes one feel famished. Whether its sweet potatoes or not, at the moment I felt like eating anything, since I overslept this morning and decided to skip breakfast. This was really my sis's fault for taking my alarm clock from my room without permission. As a result, I'm feeling a bit hungry. As it was only eleven, it was still too early for lunch.

As I continued to stare at the stove...

"Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

Someone intruded while shouting in strange voices. They sounded like girls, but I have no idea who they are if I can't see their faces. Or rather, there was no way I could see their faces. There were two intruders, both carrying baskets covered in white cloth and wearing pumpkin masks over their heads... Pumpkins?

W-what on earth? Pumpkin Heads? Halloween costumes already?

As I continued to look bewildered, "Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

They made the same greeting again while flailing their arms.

Were they trying to dance?

...I needed to calm down. All right, so they're in a Halloween mood. Does that mean I should throw beans at them? Or I should pour sweet tea at them?<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun]</ref>

No, wait, I remember now. I looked coldly at the dancing pumpkin heads and said, "If it's candy you want, I haven't got any, so get lost."

One of the pumpkin heads gasped.

"Yikes! How mean!"

"But you are welcome to buy our anthologies."

"Not interested!"

"Who the hell are you guys anyway!?"

It was then the two pumpkin heads walked forward in synchrony and showed me their baskets. As though trained for this, they both spoke at the same time.

"We're doing door-to-door sales for the Confectioneries Studies Club. Would you like some cookies, biscuits and cream puffs?"

...

"What if I said no?"

"...Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

OK, I get it. I get it already, so stop dancing, you pushy saleswomen.

But this could be great timing,

"How much is one of your biscuits?"

"Heh heh, it's 100 yen per bag, master!"

They really don't have much consistency with their sales pitches. I took out one copy of ''Hyouka''.

"...What's that?"

Whoa, they reverted to their normal voices.

"It's an anthology by the Classics Club. 200 yen per copy. I can swap two bags of your biscuits with this."

"Not interested."

"Oh, don't say that, I want your biscuits, after all."

"That'll upset the balance between supply and demand~"

It's useless. I decided to take out my wallet.

"Wow! What's that? It's so cool!"

One of the pumpkin heads, who was looking around the room, suddenly raised her voice. In her hand was the Glock 17 pistol.

"Wow, cool! How come you have one of these? Could you be a collector?"

"Hey, you think it would be better for our sales if we carry this around?"

Really? I think you'd scare everybody instead.

Oh well, if they wanted it, "I'll give you that semi-auto along with the anthology for two bags of your biscuits."

"Really? You're giving it to us?"

I nodded. Holding the Glock in her hand, she began dancing again. After spinning one turn, she took out two bags of biscuits from her basket as well as a small yellow paper bag.

"Here's a sign of gratitude from the pumpkins."

"What's that?"

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

Without answering my question, the two pumpkin heads took the glock and a copy of ''Hyouka'' and left. Those heads look rather large, will they be able to stand properly in those... Just hope they don't trip.

Opening the paper bag, I looked inside.

It's wheat flour. Looking at the description, it says "weak flour."

Once again I've obtained something I have no use for.

From a fountain pen to a badge, from a badge to a Glock, and now from a Glock to a bag of flour. This somehow feels like the story of the straw millionaire<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_Millionaire Wikipedia - Straw Millionaire]</ref>, yet somehow, the items I'm receiving don't seem to be rising in value. Come to think of it, weren't these people giving me these items simply because they have no use for them themselves?

Taking out 200 yen from my wallet, I placed them into the candy box which doubled as a register. Leaning back towards the windowside, I opened one of the bags of biscuits.

'''[171 COPIES REMAINING]'''

028 - ♣09

It's just past eleven. The Cooking Club's tournament will take place at half-past eleven.

This may sound like me bragging, but I do have some confidence when it comes to cooking. Though I have not taken into calculation about having three people as a team. I would have enjoyed it better if I could do this all on my own, but as we're not allowed to participate alone, I guess it can't be helped. Still, it's not as if I wouldn't enjoy myself, so I've invited Mayaka and Chitanda-san along as well. While it's also interesting to see Houtarou carry a knife, he probably wouldn't come even if I invited him.

Except... On one hand, Mayaka can really cook. I knew that, as she would occasionally bring her own boxed lunch. Though I don't know about Chitanda-san, so she's an unknown factor. When I told her about it, she readily agreed, "Understood. It's to promote our anthology, right?"

That was one of my concerns. Actually, I had two concerns. By the way, should they be called "concerns?" Wouldn't it be better if I describe them as "worries?" Hmm, I must do some research regarding the meanings of these words. Anyway, my other concern was whether Mayaka would make it on time after finishing her duties with the Manga Club.

Deciding to pay her a visit, I headed towards Preparation Room No. 1.

Whoa, there's quite a lot of people here. And Mayaka was saying how the Manga Club was quiet yesterday. It's basically packed today, it's like a carnival here. As I thought that, I noticed a poster pasted on the door:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|Speed Poster Drawing

Featuring two of our best artists! (The Esper vs The Panther) 
Watch how their artistic senses shine at unwavering speed!

|}

...I had never heard of such an event before.

I decided to take a peek.

"...Whoa."

I let out a gasp.

Mayaka, dressed in a cardigan over her blouse and wearing a beret cap, was scribbling her pen across an A3 paper without even moving her eyes away. This was Mayaka in serious mode. I could even hear the pen being tapped on the paper as she drew. I could even see her cheeks reddening as though blood was rushing to her head. I had no idea what she was drawing as I couldn't see it from here.

Next to her, the girl in a tuxedo was just as amazing. Just when I thought there were still a lot of white areas in her drawing, as though receiving some divine inspiration, she began to boldly colour the drawing already.

Again, I had no idea what she was colouring, but within five minutes...

"Done!"

She handed her drawing to the girls waiting before her. At once, many people gathered and placed the drawing on a table for it to dry. It was then I saw what it was, a drawing of a female character from a popular monthly manga series. That is good. That's Mayaka's drawing, no doubt. So Mayaka does the drawing while the tuxedo girl does the colouring.

Two of the Manga Studies Club's best artists, huh? I see.

I chuckled and turned back.

If Mayaka ended up not attending the cooking tournament and it resulted in us losing by default as a result of this, I wouldn't have complained.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Yet Another Storm]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-2|3-2 - Wild Fire]]
-|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-1

2013-01-16T19:04:07Z

Dan.:

== 3-1 The Morning Landscape ==

023 - ♦05

''Ashes at Dusk'' was a 30-page manga containing three short stories. Despite its morbid-sounding title, it actually came from Rennyo's<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennyo Wikipedia - Rennyo]</ref> well-known verse: "We may have radiant faces in the morning, but by evening we may turn into white ashes."<ref>[http://www12.canvas.ne.jp/horai/white%20ashes.htm Read the Source Online]</ref>

The overarching theme across these short stories is its emphasis on the abstract impermanence of life. Taking place in a classically dim Showa-style backdrop, the story describes a rather sad story. That said, the manga doesn't indulge itself in the retro-feel, but actually focuses on the platonic love of high school girls as well, so it was also rich in entertainment.

As a Third Year Junior High student, I was lost for words when I saw and bought this on a whim while visiting the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival. Though there was nothing special about the theme, it just felt earnestly vivid to me.

A unique story that develops alongside its rich dialogue, it is supported by sensitive-looking artwork, which looked like something right out of a kabuki theatre. In certain pivotal points of the plot, the art would give a surreal effect. If I have to list a work, regardless of whether it is commercial or not, that leaves an impression on me, then it has to be ''Ashes at Dusk''.

And thus, this was a manga that possesses a certain charm which words alone cannot describe. If I had to give criticism, then I would say the background art looked a bit amateurish, but even that is not enough to make it bad.

There were only two doujinshis that have taken my breath away completely, one was ''Ashes at Dusk'', the other was ''Body Talk'', a title I found in another doujinshi event unrelated to Kami High. I cherish these two works as my treasures. But if I have to pick one out of these two, I would have to go for ''Ashes at Dusk''.

In order to counter Kouchi-sempai's argument that a work can be great to begin with, regardless of what the readers think, I would have to show her a glimpse of this title. Such was my faith in its ability to charm.

I was very glad when I found out I made it into Kamiyama High School. Besides being glad that I've entered high school, I was even more glad that I had entered a school where you could sell any sort of manga freely as though its a soft drink vending machine. That's why I entered the Manga Studies Club as soon as I started school.

Yet I found myself a bit disappointed afterwards.

There was no one in the club that knew anything about the author of ''Ashes at Dusk''.

But as I still had fun with people discussing stuff that we like, I thought that my decision to join the Manga Club was correct.

...That's what I thought anyway.

On the morning of the second day of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, I arrived at school with a gloomy expression. I had no choice but to postpone what I intended to do. Prior to going to the attendance ceremony, I first headed towards the Manga Club.

I had intended to arrive early, but I found Kouchi-sempai had arrived even earlier. She was dressed in a classy tuxedo today. She's probably dressed as that Thai boxer. As she isn't particularly tall, yesterday's costume didn't really suit her. Was she trying to dress up as a different game character everyday, or does she simply want to cosplay in varying costumes? While I too am cosplaying as a different character than yesterday, I hadn't devoted as much time and money to my costume as she had to hers.

Kouchi-sempai looked towards me, or rather, the heart-shaped brooch on my chest.

"Going for old-fashioned again, I see?" she said. Today I wore a cardigan over my blouse, and high socks coupled with a flared skirt. The only part that one could really call cosplay was the brooch and the beret hat I was wearing.

"Are you gonna shoot out Jintan<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jintan_%28Japanese_medicine%29 Wikipedia - Jintan]</ref> candies from that?"

"No, this is just for show."

"If you're going to cosplay as that character, you should at least put some effort into your hair."

Don't be ridiculous. It's already quite embarrassing for me to have such a gravity-defying hairdo, not to mention my hair isn't that long.

I need to get to the main topic right away.

"So, where's your ''Ashes at Dusk''?"

It was Kouchi-sempai who started the conversation instead. I was surprised that she could remember the name of a title which she only heard once. I always thought her to be quite a quick-witted person, so it's not like she could really read my mind or anything.

As most of the members had not yet arrived, the Manga Club room was rather quiet. Everyone, including those members who weren't here yesterday, had known of my spat with Kouchi-sempai.

Even Kouchi-sempai, who had looked rather confident yesterday, now looked at me with a tense expression without even realizing it.

T-this is bad.

But I can't just run away now. Taking a deep breath filling my lungs as much as they could be, and while doing my best not to look abject, I said, "I'm sorry, I didn't bring it today."

"What?"

"I must have taken it to my relatives' house by mistake during the summer holidays."

Yes, for the whole night and until early this morning, I was searching for my copy of ''Ashes at Dusk'' in my room.

I made sure to search everywhere I could think of. I looked about ten times or more within the bookshelves which contained my favourite books. I did the same for the other bookshelves, as well as opening up the boxes which contained my old mangas.

Yet I could not find my ''Ashes at Dusk'' anywhere. I do not remember lending it to anyone. It was not a book I would show Fuku-chan. And I was reading it repeatedly during the first semester...

So instead I brought ''Body Talk'' as a replacement. But I had already decided to bring ''Ashes at Dusk'' the day before, so this felt like a cop out. Bringing a book that could not satisfy my intention was just as good as not bringing it at all.

Yet I did not feel like I'd lost the book. As I remembered organizing my books during the summer holiday, and placing the old books in boxes to be sent to the storage warehouse in my grandparent's house. It must have been mixed up during that time. I'd probably find it if I looked there.

However, such a causal mix-up should not have happened, and I became slightly embarrassed because of it, as lately I've been making too many silly mistakes. Even if I reflect on them the deed has already been done. I wish I had not made such mistakes to begin with.

"Ehh??" A short disapproving sound was uttered. Looking around, I saw only President Yuasa with her calm expression; this meant it wasn't her. It must have been someone else.

"Hmm, so you don't have it."

Kouchi-sempai's expression eased. I, in contrast, bit my lips.

I felt like a carp on a chopping board right now. Victory has not yet been decided as we may still have arguments to put forward, but having said I would present evidence to support my argument, it couldn't be helped now that I did not bring it. Hearing Kouchi-sempai's followers snickering just gets on my nerves.

One of them said, "Ibara, weren't you talking big yesterday? And you think you can get away by saying you don't have it?"

Another followed, "That's right. Don't you have other ways of apologizing?"

They probably won't be satisfied unless I go down on my knees. I decided to ignore them, as this was a problem between me and Kouchi-sempai alone. If she were to ask me to go down on my knees, I'd gladly do so.

However, Kouchi-sempai, as though losing interest in me, simply waved her hands and said briefly, "Then, help me with drawing a poster."

"P-poster?"

"Draw a moe character... I'm going out for a bit now."

She said that and turned to leave the club room.

As I was being basked in the cold stares of her followers, who had been left behind, I turned to speak with President Yuasa.

"President, do you have tools for drawing a poster?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, we do."

I nodded and looked at my watch. It's almost time to head to the Gymnasium. I pointed to my watch and said, "I'll start drawing once I come back."

If I'm going to draw something, it's better if I put my full effort into it rather than stop midway. I wonder what I should draw for this "moe character" order from the victor?

024 - ♣08

After attendance was taken, I quickly left the gymnasium.

It wasn't because there was something I wanted to see, since I am after all a member of the General Committee, which has the duty of ensuring the smooth running of the Cultural Festival. At the appointed time, I needed to attend the meeting in the Conference Room where the General Committee is based, in order to carry out any orders decided by the Committee executives. Besides security, there's also event organizing to take care of. Particularly the setting up and taking down of event equipment by the various clubs requires a lot of labour. By the way, if there's no work to be done one gets to be free for the day. Carrying a noble sense of duty within me, I knocked at the door of the Conference Room.

"Fukube reporting. I see I haven't got any work today, I guess I'll take my leave now."

A pity that I wasn't able to help out with the General Committee in the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival. Just as I was about to check out some strange event about to start at the Sci-Fi Studies Club, someone stopped me.

"Wait Fukube, you ''do'' have work."

Eh~.

President Tanabe was the only person inside, with a white board behind him covered by a timetable. Before long he turned to me and smiled bitterly.

"Hey, what's with the disappointed look you got there?"

"No, actually, this is me looking grateful that I get to contribute my efforts."

Actually, I had plans to be at The Cooking Club at 11:30 today, so I was only intending to work with the General Committee around those times that were convenient to me. Though I made a playful face, I wasn't exactly unhappy. Opening the door, I entered the room.

I rubbed my hands and asked, "Well, what is it? As long as it ends before 11:30, I'll jump into an inferno or leap into the ocean for you."

"It'll be over soon. There are bags containing visitor slippers in the staff room, you'll need to bring two of these bags to every building entrance. That's about it."

Indeed, this wouldn't take up a lot of time.

President Tanabe sure worked hard in making the pamphlet. Casually, I began to converse with him.

"Sempai, won't you go sightseeing during the festival?"

"Hmm? Oh."

Facing the whiteboard with its timetable, he turned to me and spoke gently.

"There's a lot of menial stuff to take care of. Still, it requires me to move around the campus, so it's not like I don't get to see anything. Oh yeah, the movie shown by Class 2-F is pretty good, I hear."

Oh, this was quite some good news for us.

"But you're unable to join in any events yourself, aren't you?"

Tanabe-sempai smiled bitterly.

"I won't be able to attend to the General Committee if I do. Unlike you, it's not like I'm as talented or have many interests."

Do I look that talented or have many interests to other observers?

"Well, what is it? You got something interesting to tell me?"

"Interesting, huh?"

Thinking about it, there is the issue of the Classics Club having 200 anthology copies, but Mayaka wouldn't be happy if I used that as a joke. The Rakugo Club performance at the Opening Ceremony was pretty interesting, but that's just my personal opinion. I've also heard of other stuff, but they aren't really that interesting when mentioned one by one.

Hmm. I didn't particularly find this intriguing, but if I had told him there was nothing interesting, the conversation would be too dull. So how about this one?

"We seem to have a phantom thief appearing at the Go Club."

"Oh?"

"Some Go stones were stolen from the container, and the thief even left a message behind."

"Really?"

Now this was surprising. This actually piqued President Tanabe's interest.

"I see. The Go Club, huh?"

Just as I wass about to say that this could be some prank staged by the Go Club themselves, President Tanabe continued, "I heard from Okano that something similar has happened to the A Capella Club."

"What?"

This time it was my turn to have my interest piqued. Something similar happening to the A Capella Club means that the possibility of this being an inside job by the Go Club has been ruled out.

"They seem to have had one drink bottle taken from the cooler box."

"Was there a message left behind?"

"I'm not sure if it's from the culprit, but they found a strange memo inside."

Now this looks pretty interesting. At the very least, my interest has now increased beyond the level when I first heard this from Tani-kun. We have a phantom thief lurking in the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival! This is actually quite a fun prank.

Hmm hmm, now how should I plan my schedule from here on.

...No wait, now's not the time for that yet.

"What's wrong, Fukube? You're grinning."

"Nope, no~thing really."

It's still too early to indulge in this yet. In order for a phantom thief incident to be established, the phantom thief would need to continue with his prank. If I end up scaring the thief prematurely, it'll just make me look foolish. My experience tells me that it is better to first play with the thief.

Furthermore, not many within the school are aware of this yet. Even I have only just heard about this. I wasn't really concerned with whether the thief intends to attract much interest or not, but right now, his flute is only vaguely audible.

Since I still had an event to attend, it wouldn't be too late even if I take some rest now and allow the thief to surprise me even further. So it was better for me to leave this aside for now.

All right, now where's my drawstring bag?

"I guess I'll get to work then."

"Sure, good luck."

Having encouraged me, President Tanabe turned back towards the timetable board.

025 - ♠07

"I'll do my best again today!" Upon saying that, Chitanda left the room.

Now to begin watching over the stall for the day again.

How should I say this? I never thought being in charge of a stall where people hardly ever come would be this boring. I liked being idle and carefree, but certainly not being bored. At any rate, one doesn't require a lot of effort to insert the small change into the coin box repeatedly. Even if I were to take time to go to the bathroom, no one would come. Still, while I had brought a paperback novel to kill time, it was not the right book. It is quite unbecoming for an energy saver like me to actually desire some action just because I'm feeling bored.

Anyway, I should line up the ''Hyouka'' copies. Ten copies per stack should be just about right.

As I finished lining them up, a customer arrived. It was a male student I didn't know. The badge on his collar indicated he was a second year.

"You selling?"

Now this is quite a good omen. I'd better use my manners.

"Yeah, we are."

Hmm, maybe I should have said it longer, like "Yeah, we are, man." But that doesn't sound polite, does it? The second year sort of dangled towards the pile of ''Hyouka'' and looked at the cover.

"So this is the one that explains where Kanya Festival gets its name from?"

Wow, seems like Satoshi's microphone appeal was still having some influence. Or did he hear it from someone else? At any rate, I should be thankful.

As I nodded, the second year asked, "Can I stand and read?"

"I'm afraid you can't."

"Oh come on. It's only 200 yen, isn't it?"

"It may be only 200 yen, but please do buy one. We've got so many remaining, I feel like crying."

Not that I really would.

The second year laughed and took out his wallet and bought one copy. Upon thanking him and seeing him place his wallet back in his pocket, I noticed, "Sempai, your fly's open."

"What?! No way!"

He frantically placed his hand between his legs. Upon inspection, he lifted his head and groaned,

"Argh, can't be helped. It's broken!"

Looking closely, I saw black silk dangling from the opening. I see, now I get what he's saying,

"Your zipper's broken?"

"Yeah, and I've still got a whole day before I can even take time to fix this."

You have my sympathies. There's nothing I can do.

No wait, that's not true. I still have it with me, haven't I? Looking in the table drawer, I found it. It was the badge that I obtained earlier today. While I'm not interested in attending a fashion show, the badge does have a safety pin taped behind it, which was easily removed.

"There's only one, but try using this."

I handed the pin out to him. The second year looked grateful as though being blessed by the heavens.

"Whoa, thanks man. Amazing that you actually have one with you."

He proceeded to pin the hole shut... While it looked kind of strange, it should do for now.

The second year certainly looked glad as he muttered, "You're amazing, man, you just helped out big time."

"If you want to show your gratitude then you could buy another copy."

The second year smiled and waved his hand.

"No thanks,"

Though he seemed to have thought of something, and put his hand behind his trousers. Searching his back pocket, he took out a hand gun.

Staring into the muzzle, I asked, "Is this a robbery?"

"Don't be silly. It's a water gun."

The second year placed the gun on the table.

"You can have this as my thanks."

"I see."

I looked at the water gun and then towards him.

"...Is this your hobby?"

Rolling up the ''Hyouka'' copy in his hand, he whacked my head with it.

"Course not. I'm with the Gardening Club. We're roasting sweet potatoes today."

I still didn't see what this had to do with anything.

The second year continued while looking pleased, "You see, we need fire in order to roast the potatoes. And if there's fire, we'll need some water to put it out. But it would be too boring to just use a bucket, right?"

Ahh, I see. So he's supposed to be a soldier or something... So there are clubs who actually do silly stuff. I looked at the hand gun.

"Don't you need this then?"

"I already have one. This is just a side-arm. My main one's a Kalashnikov."

Fabulous. So they're actually thinking of putting out a fire using a water gun? They should instead be more careful with handling the fire.

Anyway, what use do I have for a water gun for watching over the Classics Club stall? The same goes for the badge, I seemed to be receiving all sorts of useless stuff. Though I have no reason to refuse him.

"Thanks, man. See ya!"

The second year left the Geology Room looking elated.

I looked at the hand gun he left behind and merely muttered, "...A Glock 17?"

Having an AK as a main weapon and a Glock as a side-arm. Isn't this rather inconsistent?

'''[176 COPIES REMAINING]'''

026 - ♥06

I'll do my best again today!

I was thinking a lot last night. What Tanabe-san and Toogaito-san said were both correct. I haven't managed to expand our selling spots, nor have I managed to get the Wall Newspaper Club interested in us. However, it is still too early to give up and say nothing could be done.

I heard rumours that the movie made by Class 2-F was quite popular. A few of my friends had wanted to go and watch, but it seems for the entire first day the Audio Visual Room was packed during airing.

We the Classics Club were slightly involved in the making of that movie by Class 2-F. Upon solving the trouble encountered during the shooting of the movie, Fukube-san duly named it the "Empress Incident." I didn't exactly do much, though Oreki-san's advice seems to have helped them a lot. Thus for me personally, it was a joyous thing to hear that the movie was doing well.

I was acquainted with one of the students from Class 2-F, Irisu Fuyumi-san. Speaking of which, this "Empress Incident" also applies to her as well, since she was involved in overseeing the production of the movie.

If we could arrange for ''Hyouka'' to be sold alongside a popular movie, there's a chance our sales might increase.

Thus today, I embark on ensuring such a deal could be done.

I'll do my best.

The Audio Visual Room was currently airing the movie ''The Blind Spot of 10,000 People''. The entrance to the room was left open, with a black curtain to block outside light from coming in. Looks like its another full house today, but I have no way of knowing as I could not peek into the dark room. Outside was a signboard as tall as myself which read "Now Showing - The Blind Spot of 10,000 People," with its airing times written on a paper taped below it.

There was a table beside the board which seemed to double as a reception counter. Though it's called a reception counter, as the movie is free, it's not going to collect any admission fee. Rather, they seem to be selling pamphlets for the movie. A girl was assigned to watch the counter, but as nobody seems to be coming while the movie was being shown, she's currently talking to someone else.

That someone else was none other than Irisu-san. It must be my lucky day, as I was prepared to look all over the campus for her. Upon waiting for them to finish their conversation, I spoke up.

"Good morning, Irisu-san,"

"Hmm? Oh, it's Chitanda."

Noticing my presence, she quickly ended her conversation with the counter girl. Walking some distance from the Audio Visual Room entrance, she beckoned me to come over beside the fire emergency exit.

Irisu Fuyumi-san is the daughter of the warden of Rengou Hospital, located right next to Kamiyama High School. She is just as tall as I am, though her figure is much more slender. Just to be safe, this doesn't mean I'm meaty compared to her. Her fine feature gives an impression of one who is very sharp, a resolute person who could solve any problem encountered. She was someone I admire somewhat.

Before I could say anything, Irisu-san pointed towards the Audio Visual Room.

"Thanks to you guys, our movie was a great success, as you can see. And to think we were in danger of not being able to complete the movie on time. You have my deep gratitude."

"Oh, no, there's no need to... Is Hongou-san all right?"

Hongou-san was originally the screenwriter for the movie, but I heard she collapsed due to stress.

"Oh, she's fine now. Would you like to see her?"

"I see... Oh no, not now."

Perhaps sensing my hesitation, Irisu-san lowered her voice.

"Do you need something from me?"

"Yes, rather than you, I have a request for Class 2-F."

I nodded deeply.

I'll need to get to the main point right away.

"Please help the Classics Club sell their anthology."

Irisu-san blinked her eyes twice, before quickly saying, "So you're asking us to sell your anthology where we're showing our movie, right?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

"All right. How many copies do you have?"

Eh?

"Y-you're accepting our request?"

As I replied without thinking, Irisu-san raised her brow.

"Why do you look surprised?"

"Oh, no, umm..."

As I was used to being flatly refused right away yesterday, I was at a loss hearing that my request was granted so suddenly now... Besides, I've once again forgotten to explain the details.

"...Thank you so much!"

"You can thank me once we've sold the copies. So how many copies you have?"

Irisu-san placed her right hand on her hip and asked as though she might tear the wall down anytime.

"We've printed 200 copies..."

"200?!"

Irisu-san's small eyes widened for an instant.

"That's a lot."

"We ordered more copies than we were supposed to by mistake. That's why, we're hoping to sell as many as possible. I-I..."

Oh no. Just when I thought I had obtained Irisu-san's help, I became lost for words. I'm still in a conversation, so I gritted my teeth and went on, "I'm sorry. As for the price, we've set it at 200 yen per copy."

Irisu-san nodded gently.

"If you're willing to lower the price to 150 yen per copy, then I can take twenty copies from you."

"Eh? Lower the price?"

"Our pamphlet costs 50 yen each. Together with your anthology, that would make 200 yen per set. Though we'll need to make a few arrangements."

"Umm, but, don't you need to consult with the others from Class 2-F...?"

"Oh, I'll take care of that afterwards."

Incredible. If it's Irisu-san, she would accept any request with no questions asked. Besides, wouldn't it be bothersome for her to receive twenty copies from us? Since we had only intended to sell twenty-four copies over three days.

As though she could read the anxiety on my face, Irisu-san added nonchalantly, "We should be able to sell them all by today. If we do, we may be able to order another batch from you."

"Is that fine with you?"

"It's fine."

...I felt my chest becoming tight again.

Irisu-san stretched out her right hand which she had rested on her hip. Was she trying to shake my hand? Taking out my hand, I placed it on top of hers.

"?"

"Rather than shake my hand, you should be showing me a sample copy instead."

A sample? I shook my head. Irisu-san gave a small sigh. Did I mess things up? She then softly spoke while I remained startled.

"...It's all right since it's me, but if you're really going to ask someone to sell your anthology for you, you should at least bring a sample with you. Or you won't be able to convince anyone."

I-I see. So that's how one gets things done.

"I understand. Thank you so much!"

It was then that I began thinking. Yesterday I hardly achieved anything. Maybe I spent so much time worrying about what to do next that my request would still get turned down. I've spent a lot of effort explaining my situation to both Tanabe-san and Toogaito-san, but if I had asked Irisu-san to come with me back then, I might not have had my requests turned down.

Yes, I must not make the same mistakes as yesterday. I must ensure my success rate is improved from now on.

Having made my mind, I decided to make another request to Irisu-san.

"Irisu-san,"

"W-what is it?"

Oh no, I ended up approaching too near to her. This was a bad habit which Oreki-san has often told me to be careful of. I took one step back.

"Irisu-san, you're good at having other people carry out your requests, right?"

"..."

"Please teach me how you do it!"

"WHA–!?"

Irisu-san made a flustered, out-of-character yelp, though her ruffled state only lasted for a moment before she began chuckling.

"...Heh, I've been called a lot of things, but never 'good at having other people carry out requests' before," she muttered.

Leaning against the emergency exit, Irisu-san gazed at me and spoke slowly.

"Right. You do tend to be too direct in your approaches sometimes. I'll teach you two or three methods which you can remember."

"T-thank you."

"What do you know about role-playing?"

Irisu-san lowered her head and closed her eyes and began thinking. This was the first time I'd ever seen her taking time to think. My body went stiff from the anxiety,

"...Right... Well, let's put it this way," she muttered and opened her eyes. She then raised her clenched fist towards me. I instinctively leaned backwards as a result.

"There are two ways to get people to carry out your requests. First, there is one in which you're expected to repay the favour received."

She lifted her index finger.

"The second is where you do not repay any favour."

She then lifted her middle finger. Before long, she withdrew both fingers and placed her hand back on her hip.

"For requests where you're to repay the favour, it means the person you're asking does not trust you."

"Eh?"

Maybe it had something to do with her calm way of speaking, but Irisu-san's serene voice seemed to have blocked out the noise generated by the Cultural Festival around us.

"For situations where you're dealing with strangers which you would not deal with again after you receive the favour, in nine out of ten cases, they would consider your request a rip-off. Even if they don't, they would try to minimize the effort they would put into handling your request. So in cases where you're expected to repay the favour, you mustn't just think about what you would expect them to do, but also take into consideration the time they have and the effort they're willing to make. You must also take into consideration that they may not be able to do what you request of them. If you're unwilling to do that, then they too will not be willing to take such a risk for your request.

"While you could use reverse psychology to make them think they're ripping you off instead, that would be too difficult for you. So for the moment being, you're more suited to the second type, where trust would be needed.

"In such a situation, you would need to provide them with mental satisfaction in order to carry out your request. It is easy to cut corners when only a physical reward is available, but not so for a mental reward. The best way to achieve that is to make them feel they're charismatic or popular, but you will find you would not have much opportunity to use those. The next would be faith and love, but these would require a lot of time to prepare beforehand. By the way, I myself have never relied on these two.

"If possible, you should take advantage of their sense of justice or duty, their professional spirit or their self-esteem, but its difficulty is above intermediate. Though once you get the hang of those, you should be able to apply them to many situations.

"On the other end of the spectrum would be to make them think they're feared or superior to you, but we'll not go into that today.

"For you, as a beginner, you should aim to have expectations of them.

"Listen up, it's basically to make them think that 'Only they could accomplish this request of yours.' To make them think they're your only hope, which is pretty easy to do. It would not be rare for them to even make some sacrifices for you, since you have expectations of them, even if you're just pretending to.

"In addition, do not make them think the problem is huge. Don't let them know that you're desperate for their help. There just aren't many people who would help others solve a major problem with no benefit to themselves. Instead, you should make it look like the problem is very trivial, that way it'll make them feel exceptional.

"Finally, if possible, make the request where no one else is around to someone of the opposite gender."

For a moment, my head went blurry.

I-I just heard something really amazing. I never even thought about these things before. In order to have a stranger do one's request, one must make them feel loved and trusted, as well as feel superior because you have expectations of them, alone in a place where nobody can see... It's going to be difficult for me to digest all of this at once.

I would need time to slowly understand all of this. At any rate, I would need to thank Irisu-san.

"Um, umm, I..."

Yet Irisu-san merely said, "Hurry up and bring the copies over."

And hurriedly returned to the Audio Visual Room.

I should at least bow deeply in gratitude to her.

Thank you very much! Irisu-san, I will not let your advice go to waste!

027 - ♠08

The paperback novel I brought turned out to be quite a bore.

Though I hadn't exactly wasted my money as I bought it for only 100 yen from a new second-hand bookstore, I still felt like i had been ripped off by them. I just couldn't force myself to continue reading on. Having said that, there's was nothing I could do but yawn. I should have brought a backup novel.

Hearing the A Capella Club singing yesterday sure was a good way to kill time. Wondering if they'd be singing again, I decided to stand up and open the windows... And I smelled a scent of burning leaves, as right below me were some people surrounding a stove. As there seemed to be some sort of armed sentries in that group, that must be the Gardening Club.

Sweet potatoes - just smelling their scent makes one feel famished. Whether its sweet potatoes or not, at the moment I felt like eating anything, since I overslept this morning and decided to skip breakfast. This was really my sis's fault for taking my alarm clock from my room without permission. As a result, I'm feeling a bit hungry. As it was only eleven, it was still too early for lunch.

As I continued to stare at the stove...

"Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

Someone intruded while shouting in strange voices. They sounded like girls, but I have no idea who they are if I can't see their faces. Or rather, there was no way I could see their faces. There were two intruders, both carrying baskets covered in white cloth and wearing pumpkin masks over their heads... Pumpkins?

W-what on earth? Pumpkin Heads? Halloween costumes already?

As I continued to look bewildered, "Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

They made the same greeting again while flailing their arms.

Were they trying to dance?

...I needed to calm down. All right, so they're in a Halloween mood. Does that mean I should throw beans at them? Or I should pour sweet tea at them?<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun]</ref>

No, wait, I remember now. I looked coldly at the dancing pumpkin heads and said, "If it's candy you want, I haven't got any, so get lost."

One of the pumpkin heads gasped.

"Yikes! How mean!"

"But you are welcome to buy our anthologies."

"Not interested!"

"Who the hell are you guys anyway!?"

It was then the two pumpkin heads walked forward in synchrony and showed me their baskets. As though trained for this, they both spoke at the same time.

"We're doing door-to-door sales for the Confectioneries Studies Club. Would you like some cookies, biscuits and cream puffs?"

...

"What if I said no?"

"...Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

OK, I get it. I get it already, so stop dancing, you pushy saleswomen.

But this could be great timing,

"How much is one of your biscuits?"

"Heh heh, it's 100 yen per bag, master!"

They really don't have much consistency with their sales pitches. I took out one copy of ''Hyouka''.

"...What's that?"

Whoa, they reverted to their normal voices.

"It's an anthology by the Classics Club. 200 yen per copy. I can swap two bags of your biscuits with this."

"Not interested."

"Oh, don't say that, I want your biscuits, after all."

"That'll upset the balance between supply and demand~"

It's useless. I decided to take out my wallet.

"Wow! What's that? It's so cool!"

One of the pumpkin heads, who was looking around the room, suddenly raised her voice. In her hand was the Glock 17 pistol.

"Wow, cool! How come you have one of these? Could you be a collector?"

"Hey, you think it would be better for our sales if we carry this around?"

Really? I think you'd scare everybody instead.

Oh well, if they wanted it, "I'll give you that semi-auto along with the anthology for two bags of your biscuits."

"Really? You're giving it to us?"

I nodded. Holding the Glock in her hand, she began dancing again. After spinning one turn, she took out two bags of biscuits from her basket as well as a small yellow paper bag.

"Here's a sign of gratitude from the pumpkins."

"What's that?"

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

Without answering my question, the two pumpkin heads took the glock and a copy of ''Hyouka'' and left. Those heads look rather large, will they be able to stand properly in those... Just hope they don't trip.

Opening the paper bag, I looked inside.

It's wheat flour. Looking at the description, it says "weak flour."

Once again I've obtained something I have no use for.

From a fountain pen to a badge, from a badge to a Glock, and now from a Glock to a bag of flour. This somehow feels like the story of the straw millionaire<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_Millionaire Wikipedia - Straw Millionaire]</ref>, yet somehow, the items I'm receiving don't seem to be rising in value. Come to think of it, weren't these people giving me these items simply because they have no use for them themselves?

Taking out 200 yen from my wallet, I placed them into the candy box which doubled as a register. Leaning back towards the windowside, I opened one of the bags of biscuits.

'''[171 COPIES REMAINING]'''

028 - ♣09

It's just past eleven. The Cooking Club's tournament will take place at half-past eleven.

This may sound like me bragging, but I do have some confidence when it comes to cooking. Though I have not taken into calculation about having three people as a team. I would have enjoyed it better if I could do this all on my own, but as we're not allowed to participate alone, I guess it can't be helped. Still, it's not as if I wouldn't enjoy myself, so I've invited Mayaka and Chitanda-san along as well. While it's also interesting to see Houtarou carry a knife, he probably wouldn't come even if I invited him.

Except... On one hand, Mayaka can really cook. I knew that, as she would occasionally bring her own boxed lunch. Though I don't know about Chitanda-san, so she's an unknown factor. When I told her about it, she readily agreed, "Understood. It's to promote our anthology, right?"

That was one of my concerns. Actually, I had two concerns. By the way, should they be called "concerns?" Wouldn't it be better if I describe them as "worries?" Hmm, I must do some research regarding the meanings of these words. Anyway, my other concern was whether Mayaka would make it on time after finishing her duties with the Manga Club.

Deciding to pay her a visit, I headed towards Preparation Room No. 1.

Whoa, there's quite a lot of people here. And Mayaka was saying how the Manga Club was quiet yesterday. It's basically packed today, it's like a carnival here. As I thought that, I noticed a poster pasted on the door:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|Speed Poster Drawing

Featuring two of our best artists! (The Esper vs The Panther) 
Watch how their artistic senses shine at unwavering speed!

|}

...I had never heard of such an event before.

I decided to take a peek.

"...Whoa."

I let out a gasp.

Mayaka, dressed in a cardigan over her blouse and wearing a beret cap, was scribbling her pen across an A3 paper without even moving her eyes away. This was Mayaka in serious mode. I could even hear the pen being tapped on the paper as she drew. I could even see her cheeks reddening as though blood was rushing to her head. I had no idea what she was drawing as I couldn't see it from here.

Next to her, the girl in a tuxedo was just as amazing. Just when I thought there were still a lot of white areas in her drawing, as though receiving some divine inspiration, she began to boldly colour the drawing already.

Again, I had no idea what she was colouring, but within five minutes...

"Done!"

She handed her drawing to the girls waiting before her. At once, many people gathered and placed the drawing on a table for it to dry. It was then I saw what it was, a drawing of a female character from a popular monthly manga series. That is good. That's Mayaka's drawing, no doubt. So Mayaka does the drawing while the tuxedo girl does the colouring.

Two of the Manga Studies Club's best artists, huh? I see.

I chuckled and turned back.

If Mayaka ended up not attending the cooking tournament and it resulted in us losing by default as a result of this, I wouldn't have complained.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Yet Another Storm]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-2|3-2 - Wild Fire]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:Hyouka

2013-01-15T23:41:13Z

Dan.:

hi, cool to see a familiar TL again. i remember you from toradora (awesome shit)... anyway, i wanted to ask if there was any romance in this novel. --[[User:Idiffer|Idiffer]] 10:44, 18 March 2012 (CDT)

There's romance between Satoshi and Ibara, but it's very subtle. She has an interest in Satoshi, which is what leads her to join the Classics Club. --[[User:Gwilthyunman|Gwilthyunman]] 18:47, 7 May 2012 (CDT)

Where's Dan? Why doesn't he edits? [[User:Kiyoso|Kiyoso]] ([[User talk:Kiyoso|talk]]) 08:24, 15 January 2013 (CST)
:I wasn't reading or editing Hyouka because I hate all the stupid manga club stuff with Ibara in this arc. (Just my opinion - everyone's entitled to one.) Anyway, I saw your comment so I edited Vol. 3 Ch. 2-3, and I'll do Ch. 3-1 soon. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] ([[User talk:Dan.|talk]]) 17:41, 15 January 2013 (CST)

== Do not number the chapters for Volume 4 ==

Note to editors: Please leave the chapter names as they are for volume 4, as they're supposed to be individual short stories on their own, and so are not supposed to be numbered. Thank you. --[[User:Kinny Riddle|Kinny Riddle]] 09:08, 28 April 2012 (CDT)

== Are there more volumes? ==

Right now, you have indicated the existence of 5 volumes of this series, with a 6 year gap between 2 and 3 and the last released 2 years ago. I haven't read the volumes you haven't translated, but volume 5's subchapters' titles seem to indicate the story still goes on. Has another volume been released, is there some in proccess, is the series in hiatus or has it finished?--[[User:Kemm|Kemm]] 10:27, 11 July 2012 (CDT)

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3

2013-01-15T23:36:37Z

Dan.:

== 2-3 Yet Another Storm ==

020 - ♦04

I had originally wanted to just keep a low profile.

I totally did not intend to get into an argument with anyone.

It all began when Kouchi-sempai said to President Yuasa as the flow of customers started to decrease, "Well, turns out it was a mistake to sell such plain stuff after all. Nobody's coming at all. But it's not too late for us to change this and turn it around. We should have an anime character poster outside. Since we're all so free anyway, it wouldn't take us a lot of time to draw one."

I didn't believe the reason there were so few customers was what she said. The anthology was selling pretty well. However, it was indeed true that the stall was far from lively no matter how positively I try to see things. I wasn't particularly against the idea of drawing an anime character poster in order to attract customers; at least it's better than dressing up in skimpy cosplay to attract the boys.

But what I couldn't stand was Kouchi-sempai trying to bring the president into all of this, seeing as how she was now being surrounded by Kouchi-sempai's followers. It looked as though she was being protested against. Though President Yuasa merely smiled calmly, I wondered how she must have felt.

"You may be right, but this was what we all decided on doing..."

"It may have been decided, but not by majority consent. To begin with, what's with this anthology anyway? A review of a hundred manga titles just sounds so tedious, who on earth is gonna read that? We should have made more parody mangas instead."

Come to think of it, someone had suggested everyone in the Manga Club could try making their own parody manga. Right now, there were a few of them lined up around the stalls. The reason why there were so few of them was mainly because they were either not confident about displaying their works in the Cultural Festival, or they did not want to end up making a loss. But to blame it on the presence of ''Zeamis'' was just absurd.

Upon being told that no one would bother reading the anthology that I worked so hard on, the atmosphere in the room became delicately tense. To begin with, Kouchi-sempai's group was entirely uncooperative in the making of ''Zeamis''. Uncooperative as in shoving the work to other people. Even someone as lazy as Oreki still bothered to take time to write up the manuscript despite constantly complaining about how bothersome it was, but Kouchi-sempai's followers were simply slacking off. Even now, not a single one of them had offered to help sell it. There were quite a few people in the club who found such behaviour revolting.

The only reason such sentiments had not erupted was due to Kouchi-sempai, who had herself diligently worked on her own rather interesting column. She didn't even brag about the fact that she had it completed within the day.

Extending her arms from within her long Taoist priest robes, Kouchi-sempai crossed them and looked up as though preaching some truth.

"Even if we assume that there's no such thing as a boring manga, this would be like reading an interesting manga a hundred times over. Anyone would get bored doing that. There's simply no meaning to it, right?" she said, seeking approval from those around her. A chorus of barely audible agreement could be heard, muttered by her followers. If you want to be a Yes Men, you could at least be more assertive in your agreements.

But to say that it has no meaning, well...

Some of the members turned their gaze toward the sales booth where I was seated... While I was indeed the only one who disagreed with Kouchi-sempai, I would have preferred they not look at me like this.

Kouchi-sempai went on, "Besides, wouldn't it be better to use an anime character to capture attention? Why does this gloomy anthology of all things have to be the centrepiece? We ought to have something more flashy."

She then turned her gaze to the other members besides her own followers. Even as I sat silently at the sales booth, our eyes met.

I didn't know whether it was my imagination, but when Kouchi-sempai looked at me, the corners of her lips were raised.

Was she provoking me? Was that smile of hers just now a provocation?

Would Fuku-chan trust me? The thought flashed by in my head that he wouldn't. But it was true that all this time during the Cultural Festival, I had behaved myself within the Manga Club, as I still had to take care of the Classic Club's anthology.

But I was at my limit. I wondered why I ended up that way. Even I myself was surprised at how cold I sounded as I remained seated and said, "What exactly do you mean when you say it's all meaningless, sempai?"

Kouchi-sempai looked as though she had expected a response from me. Turning her back to President Yuasa, she smiled and said, "It is meaningless regardless of whether it's interesting or not. Surely you should understand the meaning of that, no?"

"I understand the meaning of your words, but I don't understand how you come to such a conclusion. I spent a lot of time working on this anthology, and so have the others.

"I'm not asking for recognition for our hard work, but if you're going to declare all that meaningless, then please at least elaborate on your reason for it."

On one side was Kouchi-sempai looking rather composed, while I on the other hand probably looked snappy. I would probably look like an idiot to an outsider.

With a sneering smile, Kouchi-sempai took a step towards me.

"Yeah, maybe I was mistaken in saying it was meaningless. Sorry about that, Ibara, I was trying to say it was too assertively harmful."

"Whichever it is, I would still like to hear why you think it is so."

"You see, I've been thinking,"

As though demonstrating to those around her, she waved her arms about.

"Not every manga ends up as a classic. Just because you like a title it doesn't make it a classic. Nine hundred ninety nine people out of a thousand could have decided it was crap. Yet, you would disregard such consensus and promote your own bias? ''That'' is what I call harmful."

For a while I hesitated at how to respond. A member who was standing beside me lashed out.

"How can you be so sure that is bias!?"

While I understood her sentiment, it was not the right moment for her to interject. Yet Kouchi-sempai merely gave her a glance and ignored her. She could have easily countered the accusation of whether the anthology was biased or not by giving a definition of what the word "bias" means. Still, she had not chosen to do that.

This means she did not intend for the argument to be ambiguous.

I took a gulp and said, "Let me get this straight. You're trying to say we were being subjective?"

"Yeah."

"So you find the viewpoint that 'Subjectively, any manga can be a classic, and so it is meaningless to call a manga bad' harmful?"

Kouchi-sempai nodded satisfactorily.

"Yup, that's what I meant."

"But–"

As I was about to respond, I noticed someone's hand moving. Before me, the pile of ''Zeamis'' copies were being removed by President Yuasa, which I didn't mind.

There was a decisive flaw in Kouchi-sempai's argument, yet I wonder if she has noticed it already? While feeling uneasy, I tried to maintain a calm voice and continued, "In that case, wouldn't it also be harmful to think that 'Subjectively, any manga can be rubbish, and so it is meaningless to call a manga good'?"

In that way, there was no way she could agree with that. But if she disagrees, then she would have to rephrase her argument. Despite being confronted with such a contradiction, Kouchi-sempai gave a profound smile and said, "Yeah."

"Wha–"

For a moment, I was lost for words. Even her followers murmured. It was as confusing as falling into nothingness. No one could understand what she was thinking when she made such a response.

Taking advantage of my wavering, Kouchi-sempai spoke cheerfully.

"But it's true, isn't it? Since even you thought so.

"Just because a manga is called boring doesn't mean the manga itself is boring. It simply means the person's tolerance antenna is set rather low for the title. So for those cowards who do not want to express themselves clearly would say 'This manga doesn't suit me' rather than just call it boring.

"So it's the same thing. Just because a manga is called interesting doesn't mean the work itself is interesting. It just means the person has a high tolerance for the interesting aspects of the title. Am I right?"

For some time, I've always found Kouchi-sempai to be rather reckless. Even though she has a lot of admirers as a core member of the Manga Club, I just found myself looking down on those people. Right now, I feel like I know why I felt that way. Kouchi Ayako-sempai was just such a person.

I can't lose to her... I just can't lose.

At first, I was merely lashing out at her for calling the anthology we had worked so hard on meaningless. But now it's become more than that, she was laughing at the basis of my beliefs itself. I wasn't the type to just simply laugh it away and suck it up. The urge to fight back welled up within me, I licked my lips and countered, "...So you're basically saying there are no mangas that are called classics or masterpieces? Other mediums like music, art and novels all have what you call classics and masterpieces. Are you saying that even those don't exist as well? Or are you saying this only applies to manga?"

I, along with many Manga Club members, do not believe that as an expression medium, there would exist flaws within mangas that cannot be rectified.

Not even Kouchi-sempai could say that just because a work is a manga, it cannot become a classic.

And indeed she said no such thing.

"I never said that there's no such thing as a classic or masterpiece manga."

"But isn't that what you were saying? That a work is rubbish no matter how you look at it?"

"Yeah, it is."

She withdrew her sneering smile and said, "But masterpieces ''do'' exist.

"After years of being scrutinized by critics and standing the test of time, only those works which contain the highest common factor remain. These are what we'd call 'masterpieces.' If not highest common factor, then the works which receive the most acceptance, which is basically the same thing.

"So I'll say this: it's just foolish for the Manga Club to do something like review manga, where we just go about deciding if this work is great or that work is crap. We're just saying what comes out of our heads. We should cut that out and just be content to enjoy what we read."

"Then,"

Before I could even think, I fired back, "Do you not recognize the existence of the geniuses that gave birth to such masterpieces? Do you not recognize that the works of such people are wonderful and deserve to be passed down the generations?"

"Don't be so long-winded, Ibara, of course I don't. That's why this is all part of your subjective opinion. I've already said that masterpieces are those that withstand the test of time."

"..."

Kouchi-sempai's gaze was sharper than a while ago. I too was probably glaring back at her. I felt myself breathing heavily.

I sensed that now was the time to pull out my trump card.

The treasures I have are something that would have to be shown to her if to repudiate her. If I didn't repudiate her, then I would have to repudiate my treasures. Though I was reluctant to do this, I had no choice. So I slowly said, "You're wrong."

"About what?"

"This has nothing to do with one's subjective opinion. You say such outrageous things only because you've never gone through what I've felt. There's a person whose manga is so terrific that I've yet to meet someone who doesn't think that way."

"Oh, now that's some boast you've got."

Kouchi-sempai spoke with a dark tone while dressed in her Jiangshi outfit. Without feeling daunted, I continued, "Based on what you said, even the manga that I drew would be on the same level as every other manga out there. But that is not true. What I'm saying is there's no way you could say that my manga could line up alongside this person's manga. That work is something which could never be eliminated over time.

"So tell me, sempai, have you read a manga called ''Ashes at Dusk'', which was sold at the Cultural Festival last year?"

When I noticed, Kouchi-sempai had lost her usual calm demeanor. With an expression as though she was trying to strangle me, she replied briefly,

"...No,"

"In that case,"

If it doesn't work, then it can't be helped. If she does not recognize my treasure, then I'll just have to raise the white flag.

"I'll bring it tomorrow. If after reading it you still feel the same, then I'll have nothing to say."

''Phew'' I sighed. In order for the truth to be spoken, such an outcome was inevitable. As a result, I sighed again, as this meant that I'd lost my chance to ask the Manga Club to help sell ''Hyouka''.

It was then that I realized, and said, "What's going on here?"

The room was suddenly filled with people. A while ago there were only Manga Club members, and now the room was full of customers. Huh? Why? When did they come in? Could it be that they've been watching me argue all this time?

As I looked at the customers, they all avoided my gaze, and as though apologetic, began lining up to buy copies of ''Zeamis''. Each stack contained ten copies. Already I saw two stacks of ''Zeamis'' copies being sold and President Yuasa bringing in a new stack to replace them.

Erm, I...

Taking a deep breath, I put on a smile and said, "Welcome."

The bystanders who were glancing at me quickly turned their backs around. Perhaps I had spoken in a rough tone, and maybe they thought I was dangerous?

If this was a manga, then veins would have popped up in my forehead already.

021 - ♥05

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|Now Featuring:

The Battle of the Maidens!

in Manga Theory Debate

(The Jiangshi vs The Hermaphrodite)
|}

...I wonder what this poster could be about? It was written in very huge and trendy letters.

As I happened to be passing by, I had decided to drop by the Manga Studies Club and pay Mayaka-san a visit, but I ended up being distracted by this strange poster outside.

Is this Battle of the Maidens currently going on right now? As I was about to take a peek inside, a female student emerged from the door. I recognized that person; it was the president of the Manga Studies Club, Yuasa Naoko-san.

"Um, what is this?" I pointed to the poster and asked.

Yuasa-san gave a gentle smile as she proceeded to slowly tear the poster down, she then turned toward a bewildered me and replied, "Oh, we're just finished with that. We'll be holding another at 1pm tomorrow, so please do come visit again. The Manga Studies Club wishes you a good day today."

I see.

Umm.

...The Classics Club also wishes you a good day today.

022 - ♠06

The clock hand shows that it will be approaching five soon. The first day was coming to an end.

The Classics Club members who were scattered around the campus were now gathered back inside the Geology Room. Though Chitanda and Satoshi had popped by many times during the day, this was Ibara's first time showing her face back here since this morning.

As I had a lot of free time, I took the time to pack the extra copies of ''Hyouka'' into the boxes and kept them hidden from view. As the person in charge of running the stall, it wouldn't look nice if the customers were to see us struggling with our sales, after all.

"Well, what do you think? My sales appeal worked a bit, didn't it?" Satoshi asked.

As I'm not as optimistic as him, I replied indifferently, "Sort of."

"Eh, really?"

I nodded. Truth be told, as soon as Satoshi made his speech, a few customers did appear. As a sales pitch, it sounded kinda stupid. I don't know what kind of fun he had in that competition, but his effort sure helped give our sales a little push.

Satoshi made a victory pose.

"All right! We shall do our best tomorrow as well. We'll be participating in The Cooking Club's cooking tournament tomorrow morning."

Ibara asked nonchalantly to his merry expression, "The one where you need three people to form a team?"

"Huh?"

Satoshi's smile stiffened.

"Three people? Really?" He said as he frantically took out the pamphlet. It's no good for someone from the General Committee to be unaware of what the events are about, after all.

Meanwhile, Chitanda looked kind of depressed.

"I'm sorry, I... I didn't do my best..."

"Don't worry too much about it."

To be honest, I hadn't expected much from her. Rather than having no expectation from her abilities, it was more to do with having no expectation that we would receive special permission to make changes to an event that had already been decided. As she looked down toward the ground, she seemed to have thought of something and looked up.

"Oh, but, I did come across something curious though."

Something, curious?

I felt myself shuddering at the mention of that word. Whenever this lady utters "I'm really curious about it," it means that things cannot go back to the way they were. For someone with such a burning sense of curiosity, it is impossible not to satiate Chitanda in her search for the answers.

Every time she says "I'm really curious about it," she has given me... I mean, us, quite a lot of commotion... These memories began flashing in my head.

However, this was simply not the time of the day for her to do that. Once she got things started, it would be impossible to suppress her curiosity, but this did not mean that Chitanda would allow herself to run around in a rampage. She's not the sort to brashly go about in search of the answers under the banner of curiosity. Similarly, if there were other things that needed to be done, she would not prioritize her curiosity over those.

As though realizing how dangerous she could become, she turned her gaze towards the box containing the ''Hyouka'' copies.

"...Oh, nothing. It's not really curious," she said.

That was a relief.

Finally, there was Ibara, who seemed quite sullen. Though she's usually like that, even though she wouldn't admit it herself, she always seemed like she wanted to say what was on her mind, but then gave up doing so. Though she did not make any sound, her lips were moving as though muttering to herself. I couldn't help but notice that.

"Ibara, did something happen at the Manga Club?"

I decided to ask.

"Nothing."

She snapped back looking annoyed. Did I say something wrong? She didn't look rather angry as her face wasn't red.

"So, Houtarou, how many copies did we sell?"

Upon being asked, I leaned back in my chair and said, "Thirteen."

This was the best answer I could come up with. Had we printed twenty-four copies as we had intended, such a figure would have been impressive for a first day sale. At any rate, the real battle begins on the third day, Saturday.

Though I did not mention that, as I did not want to suffer from Ibara's sarcasm, and Satoshi would have given a buoyant face and go "Really?"

Two days left... It's not like we were trying to shore up all the support we could get. As if we could expect something explosive to happen anyway. Now was not the time for us to expect miracles.

As the chime rang, the first day of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival came to an end.

'''[177 COPIES REMAINING]'''

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-1|3-1 - The Morning Landscape]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3

2013-01-15T23:35:09Z

Dan.:

== 2-3 Yet Another Storm ==

020 - ♦04

I had originally wanted to just keep a low profile.

I totally did not intend to get into an argument with anyone.

It all began when Kouchi-sempai said to President Yuasa as the flow of customers started to decrease, "Well, turns out it was a mistake to sell such plain stuff after all. Nobody's coming at all. But it's not too late for us to change this and turn it around. We should have an anime character poster outside. Since we're all so free anyway, it wouldn't take us a lot of time to draw one."

I didn't believe the reason there were so few customers was what she said. The anthology was selling pretty well. However, it was indeed true that the stall was far from lively no matter how positively I try to see things. I wasn't particularly against the idea of drawing an anime character poster in order to attract customers; at least it's better than dressing up in skimpy cosplay to attract the boys.

But what I couldn't stand was Kouchi-sempai trying to bring the president into all of this, seeing as how she was now being surrounded by Kouchi-sempai's followers. It looked as though she was being protested against. Though President Yuasa merely smiled calmly, I wondered how she must have felt.

"You may be right, but this was what we all decided on doing..."

"It may have been decided, but not by majority consent. To begin with, what's with this anthology anyway? A review of a hundred manga titles just sounds so tedious, who on earth is gonna read that? We should have made more parody mangas instead."

Come to think of it, someone had suggested everyone in the Manga Club could try making their own parody manga. Right now, there were a few of them lined up around the stalls. The reason why there were so few of them was mainly because they were either not confident about displaying their works in the Cultural Festival, or they did not want to end up making a loss. But to blame it on the presence of ''Zeamis'' was just absurd.

Upon being told that no one would bother reading the anthology that I worked so hard on, the atmosphere in the room became delicately tense. To begin with, Kouchi-sempai's group was entirely uncooperative in the making of ''Zeamis''. Uncooperative as in shoving the work to other people. Even someone as lazy as Oreki still bothered to take time to write up the manuscript despite constantly complaining about how bothersome it was, but Kouchi-sempai's followers were simply slacking off. Even now, not a single one of them had offered to help sell it. There were quite a few people in the club who found such behaviour revolting.

The only reason such sentiments had not erupted was due to Kouchi-sempai, who had herself diligently worked on her own rather interesting column. She didn't even brag about the fact that she had it completed within the day.

Extending her arms from within her long Taoist priest robes, Kouchi-sempai crossed them and looked up as though preaching some truth.

"Even if we assume that there's no such thing as a boring manga, this would be like reading an interesting manga a hundred times over. Anyone would get bored doing that. There's simply no meaning to it, right?" she said, seeking approval from those around her. A chorus of barely audible agreement could be heard, muttered by her followers. If you want to be a Yes Men, you could at least be more assertive in your agreements.

But to say that it has no meaning, well...

Some of the members turned their gaze toward the sales booth where I was seated... While I was indeed the only one who disagreed with Kouchi-sempai, I would have preferred they not look at me like this.

Kouchi-sempai went on, "Besides, wouldn't it be better to use an anime character to capture attention? Why does this gloomy anthology of all things have to be the centrepiece? We ought to have something more flashy."

She then turned her gaze to the other members besides her own followers. Even as I sat silently at the sales booth, our eyes met.

I didn't know whether it was my imagination, but when Kouchi-sempai looked at me, the corners of her lips were raised.

Was she provoking me? Was that smile of hers just now a provocation?

Would Fuku-chan trust me? The thought flashed by in my head that he wouldn't. But it was true that all this time during the Cultural Festival, I had behaved myself within the Manga Club, as I still had to take care of the Classic Club's anthology.

But I was at my limit. I wondered why I ended up that way. Even I myself was surprised at how cold I sounded as I remained seated and said, "What exactly do you mean when you say it's all meaningless, sempai?"

Kouchi-sempai looked as though she had expected a response from me. Turning her back to President Yuasa, she smiled and said, "It is meaningless regardless of whether it's interesting or not. Surely you should understand the meaning of that, no?"

"I understand the meaning of your words, but I don't understand how you come to such a conclusion. I spent a lot of time working on this anthology, and so have the others.

"I'm not asking for recognition for our hard work, but if you're going to declare all that meaningless, then please at least elaborate on your reason for it."

On one side was Kouchi-sempai looking rather composed, while I on the other hand probably looked snappy. I would probably look like an idiot to an outsider.

With a sneering smile, Kouchi-sempai took a step towards me.

"Yeah, maybe I was mistaken in saying it was meaningless. Sorry about that, Ibara, I was trying to say it was too assertively harmful."

"Whichever it is, I would still like to hear why you think it is so."

"You see, I've been thinking,"

As though demonstrating to those around her, she waved her arms about.

"Not every manga ends up as a classic. Just because you like a title it doesn't make it a classic. Nine hundred ninety nine people out of a thousand could have decided it was crap. Yet, you would disregard such consensus and promote your own bias? ''That'' is what I call harmful."

For a while I hesitated at how to respond. A member who was standing beside me lashed out.

"How can you be so sure that is bias!?"

While I understood her sentiment, it was not the right moment for her to interject. Yet Kouchi-sempai merely gave her a glance and ignored her. She could have easily countered the accusation of whether the anthology was biased or not by giving a definition of what the word "bias" means. Still, she had not chosen to do that.

This means she did not intend for the argument to be ambiguous.

I took a gulp and said, "Let me get this straight. You're trying to say we were being subjective?"

"Yeah."

"So you find the viewpoint that 'Subjectively, any manga can be a classic, and so it is meaningless to call a manga bad' harmful?"

Kouchi-sempai nodded satisfactorily.

"Yup, that's what I meant."

"But–"

As I was about to respond, I noticed someone's hand moving. Before me, the pile of ''Zeamis'' copies were being removed by President Yuasa, which I didn't mind.

There was a decisive flaw in Kouchi-sempai's argument, yet I wonder if she has noticed it already? While feeling uneasy, I tried to maintain a calm voice and continued, "In that case, wouldn't it also be harmful to think that 'Subjectively, any manga can be rubbish, and so it is meaningless to call a manga good'?"

In that way, there was no way she could agree with that. But if she disagrees, then she would have to rephrase her argument. Despite being confronted with such a contradiction, Kouchi-sempai gave a profound smile and said, "Yeah."

"Wha–"

For a moment, I was lost for words. Even her followers murmured. It was as confusing as falling into nothingness. No one could understand what she was thinking when she made such a response.

Taking advantage of my wavering, Kouchi-sempai spoke cheerfully.

"But it's true, isn't it? Since even you thought so.

"Just because a manga is called boring doesn't mean the manga itself is boring. It simply means the person's tolerance antenna is set rather low for the title. So for those cowards who do not want to express themselves clearly would say 'This manga doesn't suit me' rather than just call it boring.

"So it's the same thing. Just because a manga is called interesting doesn't mean the work itself is interesting. It just means the person has a high tolerance for the interesting aspects of the title. Am I right?"

For some time, I've always found Kouchi-sempai to be rather reckless. Even though she has a lot of admirers as a core member of the Manga Club, I just found myself looking down on those people. Right now, I feel like I know why I felt that way. Kouchi Ayako-sempai was just such a person.

I can't lose to her... I just can't lose.

At first, I was merely lashing out at her for calling the anthology we had worked so hard on meaningless. But now it's become more than that, she was laughing at the basis of my beliefs itself. I wasn't the type to just simply laugh it away and suck it up. The urge to fight back welled up within me, I licked my lips and countered, "...So you're basically saying there are no mangas that are called classics or masterpieces? Other mediums like music, art and novels all have what you call classics and masterpieces. Are you saying that even those don't exist as well? Or are you saying this only applies to manga?"

I, along with many Manga Club members, do not believe that as an expression medium, there would exist flaws within mangas that cannot be rectified.

Not even Kouchi-sempai could say that just because a work is a manga, it cannot become a classic.

And indeed she said no such thing.

"I never said that there's no such thing as a classic or masterpiece manga."

"But isn't that what you were saying? That a work is rubbish no matter how you look at it?"

"Yeah, it is."

She withdrew her sneering smile and said, "But masterpieces ''do'' exist.

"After years of being scrutinized by critics and standing the test of time, only those works which contain the highest common factor remain. These are what we'd call 'masterpieces.' If not highest common factor, then the works which receive the most acceptance, which is basically the same thing.

"So I'll say this: it's just foolish for the Manga Club to do something like review manga, where we just go about deciding if this work is great or that work is crap. We're just saying what comes out of our heads. We should cut that out and just be content to enjoy what we read."

"Then,"

Before I could even think, I fired back, "Do you not recognize the existence of the geniuses that gave birth to such masterpieces? Do you not recognize that the works of such people are wonderful and deserve to be passed down the generations?"

"Don't be so long-winded, Ibara, of course I don't. That's why this is all part of your subjective opinion. I've already said that masterpieces are those that withstand the test of time."

"..."

Kouchi-sempai's gaze was sharper than a while ago. I too was probably glaring back at her. I felt myself breathing heavily.

I sensed that now was the time to pull out my trump card.

The treasures I have are something that would have to be shown to her if to repudiate her. If I didn't repudiate her, then I would have to repudiate my treasures. Though I was reluctant to do this, I had no choice. So I slowly said, "You're wrong."

"About what?"

"This has nothing to do with one's subjective opinion. You say such outrageous things only because you've never gone through what I've felt. There's a person whose manga is so terrific that I've yet to meet someone who doesn't think that way."

"Oh, now that's some boast you've got."

Kouchi-sempai spoke with a dark tone while dressed in her Jiangshi outfit. Without feeling daunted, I continued, "Based on what you said, even the manga that I drew would be on the same level as every other manga out there. But that is not true. What I'm saying is there's no way you could say that my manga could line up alongside this person's manga. That work is something which could never be eliminated over time.

"So tell me, sempai, have you read a manga called ''Ashes at Dusk'', which was sold at the Cultural Festival last year?"

When I noticed, Kouchi-sempai had lost her usual calm demeanor. With an expression as though she was trying to strangle me, she replied briefly,

"...No,"

"In that case,"

If it doesn't work, then it can't be helped. If she does not recognize my treasure, then I'll just have to raise the white flag.

"I'll bring it tomorrow. If after reading it you still feel the same, then I'll have nothing to say."

''Phew'' I sighed. In order for the truth to be spoken, such an outcome was inevitable. As a result, I sighed again, as this meant that I'd lost my chance to ask the Manga Club to help sell ''Hyouka''.

It was then that I realized, and said, "What's going on here?"

The room was suddenly filled with people. A while ago there were only Manga Club members, and now the room was full of customers. Huh? Why? When did they come in? Could it be that they've been watching me argue all this time?

As I looked at the customers, they all avoided my gaze, and as though apologetic, began lining up to buy copies of ''Zeamis''. Each stack contained ten copies. Already I saw two stacks of ''Zeamis'' copies being sold and President Yuasa bringing in a new stack to replace them.

Erm, I...

Taking a deep breath, I put on a smile and said, "Welcome."

The bystanders who were glancing at me quickly turned their backs around. Perhaps I had spoken in a rough tone, and maybe they thought I was dangerous?

If this was a manga, then veins would have popped up in my forehead already.

021 - ♥05

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|Now Featuring:

The Battle of the Maidens!

in Manga Theory Debate

(The Jiangshi vs The Hermaphrodite)
|}

...I wonder what this poster could be about? It was written in very huge and trendy letters.

As I happened to be passing by, I had decided to drop by the Manga Studies Club and pay Mayaka-san a visit, but I ended up being distracted by this strange poster outside.

Is this Battle of the Maidens currently going on right now? As I was about to take a peek inside, a female student emerged from the door. I recognized that person; it was the president of the Manga Studies Club, Yuasa Naoko-san.

"Um, what is this?" I pointed to the poster and asked.

Yuasa-san gave a gentle smile as she proceeded to slowly tear the poster down, she then turned toward a bewildered me and replied, "Oh, we're just finished with that. We'll be holding another at 1pm tomorrow, so please do come visit again. The Manga Studies Club wishes you a good day today."

I see.

Umm.

...The Classics Club also wishes you a good day today.

022 - ♠06

The clock hand shows that it will be approaching five soon. The first day was coming to an end.

The Classics Club members who were scattered around the campus were now gathered back inside the Geology Room. Though Chitanda and Satoshi had popped by many times during the day, this was Ibara's first time showing her face back here since this morning.

As I had a lot of free time, I took the time to pack the extra copies of ''Hyouka'' into the boxes and kept them hidden from view. As the person in charge of running the stall, it wouldn't look nice if the customers were to see us struggling with our sales, after all.

"Well, what do you think? My sales appeal worked a bit, didn't it?" Satoshi asked.

As I'm not as optimistic as him, I replied indifferently, "Sort of."

"Eh, really?"

I nodded. Truth be told, as soon as Satoshi made his speech, a few customers did appear. As a sales pitch, it sounded kinda stupid. I don't know what kind of fun he had in that competition, but his effort sure helped give our sales a little push.

Satoshi made a victory pose.

"All right! We shall do our best tomorrow as well. We'll be participating in The Cooking Club's cooking tournament tomorrow morning."

Ibara asked nonchalantly to his merry expression, "The one where you need three people to form a team?"

"Huh?"

Satoshi's smile stiffened.

"Three people? Really?" He said as he frantically took out the pamphlet. It's no good for someone from the General Committee to be unaware of what the events are about, after all.

Meanwhile, Chitanda looked kind of depressed.

"I'm sorry, I... I didn't do my best..."

"Don't worry too much about it."

To be honest, I hadn't expected much from her. Rather than having no expectation from her abilities, it was more to do with having no expectation that we would receive special permission to make changes to an event that had already been decided. As she looked down toward the ground, she seemed to have thought of something and looked up.

"Oh, but, I did come across something curious though."

Something, curious?

I felt myself shuddering at the mention of that word. Whenever this lady utters "I'm really curious about it," it means that things cannot go back to the way they were. For someone with such a burning sense of curiosity, it is impossible not to satiate Chitanda in her search for the answers.

Every time she says "I'm really curious about it," she has given me... I mean, us, quite a lot of commotion... These memories began flashing in my head.

However, this was simply not the time of the day for her to do that. Once she got things started, it would be impossible to suppress her curiosity, but this did not mean that Chitanda would allow herself to run around in a rampage. She's not the sort to brashly go about in search of the answers under the banner of curiosity. Similarly, if there were other things that needed to be done, she would not prioritize her curiosity over those.

As though realizing how dangerous she could become, she turned her gaze towards the box containing the ''Hyouka'' copies.

"...Oh, nothing. It's not really curious," she said.

That was a relief.

Finally, there was Ibara, who seemed quite sullen. Though she's usually like that, even though she wouldn't admit it herself, she always seemed like she wanted to say what was on her mind, but then gave up doing so. Though she did not make any sound, her lips were moving as though muttering to herself. I couldn't help but notice that.

"Ibara, did something happen at the Manga Club?"

I decided to ask.

"Nothing."

She snapped back looking annoyed. Did I say something wrong? She didn't look rather angry as her face wasn't red.

"So, Houtarou, how many copies did we sell?"

Upon being asked, I leaned back in my chair and said, "Thirteen."

This was the best answer I could come up with. Had we printed twenty-four copies as we had intended, such a figure would have been impressive for a first day sale. At any rate, the real battle begins on the third day, Saturday.

Though I did not mention that, as I did not want to suffer from Ibara's sarcasm, and Satoshi would have given a buoyant face and go "Really?"

Two days left... It's not like we were trying to shore up all the support we could get. As if we could expect something explosive to happen anyway. Now was not the time for us to expect miracles.

As the chime rang, the first day of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival came to an end.

'''[177 COPIES REMAINING]'''

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-1|3-1 - The Morning Landscape]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 6

2012-12-10T07:48:41Z

Dan.: Undo revision 211451 by Safio (talk)

== 6 - "The Blind Spot of 10,000 People" ==

The next morning, after making sure I had the video cassette in my shoulder bag, I departed the house.

After making a promise to review the movie yesterday at the Hifumi tea house, Irisu handed over a video cassette she prepared beforehand and said, "We do not have much time left. I shall meet you at a place designated by you tomorrow at 1pm and hear your conclusion about this matter."

After considering my own house or the Cafe Pineapple Sandwich which I so frequent, I decided to meet her to at the Geology Room.

Right now, I was heading towards the Geology Room. It was nearly ten o'clock when I exited the residential streets and moved on to the main street. For the next fifteen minutes of passing through various cars and people, my mind was blank, save for a favourite folksong of mine which constantly played while I move my legs. I'd more or less forgotten about the details of the movie. It was inefficient to think in such a state.

At the end of the main street, a glimpse of Kamiyama High School could be seen. As I arrived there, a voice called behind me, "Hmm, Houtarou?"

Small town this was. I turned to find Satoshi, wearing his standard Kamiyama High School summer uniform and carrying a drawstring bag, getting off his mountain bike with a smile. I waved my hand in lieu of a greeting.

"You're heading to school as well today?"

He nodded and raised his brows.

"How rare for Houtarou to come to school of his own will during vacation. You have some business?"

"Am I not allowed to come to school if I don't have any?"

"Not at all. It's just that it's so out of character for you, something must be up."

I bit my tongue. I never thought about this, but it would seem my energy-saving behaviour was just as easy to read as Chitanda's curiosity-driven behaviour.

I had no reason to hide. No, I was thinking of letting them know, which was why I've chosen to meet at the Geology Room in the first place. So I said, "I'm on official imperial business from Irisu. She commanded me to designate a killer for Kaitou's death."

Whether it was on purpose or not, Satoshi went stiff for three whole seconds upon hearing that. For some reason, he then revealed a very cheerful face as he said with a raised voice, "Wow! Who would have thought? You were the last person in my mind who would accept such an errand."

"Oreki Houtarou's righteousness and compassion know no bounds."

"Nice quip there, Houtarou."

"I'm in a hurry."

Satoshi started walking alongside me as he pushed his mountain bike. As the road wasn't wide, I ended up leaning towards the side of the road.

"That's some change of heart from you. I wonder if it could have something to do with that? Want me to tell you what 'that' is?"

He prodded me, to which I remained silent.

"It's for Chitanda-san's sake, isn't it?"

He said something matter-of-factly. To begin with, it was a conclusion made in light of the results of the past few months. Nearly all the troublesome incidents which the Classics Club got entangled in were started by Chitanda. A pattern developed where she would coerce me to be deeply involved. Though there was one exception.

This was the second exception. I shook my head and said, "No, it isn't."

Though it was indeed Chitanda who brought the case forward, it was not due to her request that I came to school today.

Satoshi raised his brows at my unexpected response.

"It wasn't Chitanda-san? Then was it a whim? Or you're doing it out of charity... nah, can't be. While you didn't say it out, this is also in line with your motto 'If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick.' right?"

Of course, that was my original intention. As a result of Satoshi being completely frank about it, I got even more displeased. I said bluntly, "Must I explain even that to you?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Not really. But I didn't want to pretend I wasn't interested in knowing why. Should I apologize?"

I smiled and let the matter rest.

We walked silently together for a brief while. As there was nothing else to say, Satoshi moved to get on his bike in an attempt to ride on ahead. While I found no need to stop him, I still called out to him.

"Satoshi,"

"Hmm?"

Though I called him, I didn't have anything in particular to say. Realizing this, I tried to be frank about the predicament I was in.

"...Do you think, do you think there's some things that only you could do?"

It was an ambiguous question. He tilted his head and replied cautiously, "I'm not sure why you're asking, but... amongst every person that ever lived in this world past, present and future, I do think that there's one thing that only I could do."

Could he, even in such conditions?

"And that is?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's the 'passing on the genes of Fukube Satoshi'," he said and smiled. He didn't sound like he was joking. It was his way of poking fun at his own Average Joe inadequacies.

"My bad. Allow me to rephrase,"

I thought for a little while.

"Within Kamiyama High School, is there a talent in which you consider yourself to be second-to-none?"

He replied at once, "Nope."

I was at a loss for words at how fast and precise his answer was.

Satoshi said with a carefree tone, "I told you before, Fukube Satoshi possesses no talents whatsoever. Take my passion to become a Holmesian, for example: there's no way I can become one. I do not have what it takes to enter an endless maze of knowledge just to pursue it. If Mayaka were to take up an interest in Sherlock Holmes, I can guarantee you that she would overtake my knowledge in three months' time. I'm the sort that only takes a peek at the entrances and takes a pamphlet or two to read. I wouldn't call myself second-to-none on anything."

I never thought I would hear Satoshi say such things. Yet Satoshi said it calmly as though he were talking about the weather. As I remained speechless, he smiled mischievously.

"Now I get it, the reason why Houtarou wants to try and solve the movie mystery."

"......"

"Irisu-sempai has recognized your abilities as a 'detective', hasn't she? She must have said you were the only one who could solve this, and you ended up agreeing, right?"

Damn, was he a telepath or what? So I nodded.

"But this sure is some risky business, to lend your skills based on the words of 'the Empress' concerning your knowledge."

"But you aren't suspicious of it yourself."

"Maybe... Anyway, I'll be going ahead and setting up the video player."

Satoshi got on his mountain bike and proceeded to ride off. As he was about to step on his pedal, I noticed I had something I wanted to say. It would feel bad if I ended up not saying anything.

"Satoshi,"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know what you'll think of it, but I think you're worth more than that. I think there'll come a day when you'll be one of the best Holmesians in Japan."

Satoshi blinked his eyes, but soon returned to his default smiling expression.

He shrugged his shoulders and turned to say to me, "Rather than a Holmesian, I'm just very fascinated by Sherlock Holmes, that's all. Besides..."

"?"

"...Besides, I now feel it was worth it for me to give that answer to you just now."

The movie was coming near to its climax.

The six members each took one key and went on separate ways. We awaited the tragedy that was to come, where Kaitou's mutilated body was to be discovered.

Using the dust-filled television in the Geology Room, I watched the still-nameless movie. The screen showed Kaitou's body being discovered.

Sitting some distance from me, Ibara said in admiration, "They've done quite a great job with that arm of Kaitou-sempai's. They made good use of the dim lighting to convince the audience that it's a real arm."

When she found out I had come to school for no particular reason, her reaction was one of surprise. When she heard my declaration to challenge the mystery left behind by Hongou, her eyes widened. Speaking of which, she came because she couldn't stand the thought of being left hanging by Irisu-sempai and decided to try to seek out the truth once and for all. She too could be quite a formidable person to deal with.

Satoshi added with a smile, "Now if only their acting was a bit better. In the end, it was the props division that performed the best."

And so I ended up watching the video, for the second time. While I'd heard that a crime scene must be visited at least a hundred times, I wasn't going to watch this thing that many times. Neither would Satoshi or Ibara, who merely came along just to watch the movie. And thank goodness for that.

As Katsuta ran towards the Left Stage, only to discover that the path was completely blocked, he was astounded and said,

''"No way..."''

The scene faded to black.

And the video ended.

Never tiring of menial tasks, Ibara stood up right away to rewind the video as well as turn off the TV.

To be honest, I had thought Chitanda would have come as well before I finished watching the video, as she does have amazing powers of observation and good memory. Though indeed she was unable to use her observation and memory to good analytical use, I was thinking of borrowing those talents of hers today.

However, she never came, so I asked Ibara, "Ibara, what's happened to Chitanda?"

Upon being asked, she gave a difficult expression. It was a smile mixed with some regret.

"Chi-chan's still sleeping."

"How come? She got a summer cold again?"

"No,"

She paused for a bit,

"...Hangover."

......

"Now that's... rare..."

I nodded in agreement with Satoshi's excellent remark.

"Anyway,"

Trying to get back on topic, Satoshi shifted in his seat.

"Watching this again, I still don't see anything complicated about it. And it more or less shoots down any remaining bits of those three people's theories."

I agreed totally. After three days of revision, I realized that the mystery left behind by Hongou was not easy to solve, yet upon watching this video, I had only a light impression of it.

"It's hard to find something easy in something that's hard." I muttered alone.

Though having heard me, Ibara looked at me as though seeing a fool, puffed her chest out and said, "You're wrong, the mystery was filmed in too easy a manner."

"Really? How so?"

"Here's what I think: as a movie, it's filmed in quite a boring way that makes it hard to get the audience excited, which makes the mystery uninteresting. I thought if they put some effort into the acting and camerawork, they might have made this into a more interesting sealed room mystery."

Was that so? I didn't think one's impression of a literary work would change depending on its technical issues. Just as I was disagreeing, Satoshi suddenly smiled as though he'd found a soul mate.

"A wise observation. It's true that when I first watched this and discovered this was a sealed room mystery, it didn't feel like one at all. If only they could put more effort into their acting... But was the camerawork really that bad?"

Ibara nodded.

"It was ''bad''."

"How would you have filmed it then?"

"Me? Let's see... Take the first scene showing the Narakubo area, for example. If the cameraman had stood further away, then he'd be able to film the actors together with the ruins for better effect. Besides, hmm, though I didn't think of this at first, in the part where the rest of the members gathered after splitting up, Sugimura-sempai's face could be seen from the equipment room, right? I think it'd be easier for the audience to understand if that scene was shot from Sugimura-sempai's point-of-view looking down towards the lobby. Oh yes, and if that was done, we would be able to see Sugimura-sempai watch where the two members on the second floor went as well, and then switch the point-of-view to either one of those two. Besides..."

She went on and on. Ibara really does like watching detective movies, so it was just as appropriate that Satoshi motioned to stop her with a smile. If he hadn't done that, we probably wouldn't have heard the end of it from her.

I sighed and said, "We won't get anywhere if all we do is moan about how shoddily the movie was made,"

"True. In the end, the problem lies with the methods. How about we have a look at those? Maybe not all possibilities have been shot down. Though we may have a time limit, this should be fun."

As Satoshi finished, an intruder had arrived.

The door to the Geology Room was opened loudly by someone I didn't know. The mark on his collar indicated he was a first-year.

Moving his eyes away from me, he found the person he was looking for and shouted, "There you are, Fukube!"

Upon seeing him, a bitter expression appeared on Satoshi's face. Though I could hear him click his tongue, he quickly reverted to his smiling face.

"Why, if it isn't Yamauchi-kun? You here to join the Classics Club?"

The guy called Yamauchi disregarded Satoshi's wise-talk and moved towards him, grabbing him by the collar.

"H-hey! There's no need to be so violent!"

"Oh, don't give me this! I'm doing this for your sake! Omichi's serious! What're you gonna do if you end up repeating a year?"

The name Omichi rang a bell in my mind. He was the strict maths teacher. Now I see. I crossed my arms and smiled at Satoshi.

"Satoshi, you really should take your revision classes, you know? Weren't you saying you'd be busy studying for your exams?"

Yamauchi, whom I presumed to be one of Satoshi's friends, instantly grabbed him from his chair.

Even so, Satoshi didn't lose his composure as he pleaded, "That's the spirit, Houtarou! Keep it up and you'll be solving Hongou-sempai's mystery in no time!"

Seeing as he was unaware of the situation he was in, Yamauchi yelled, "The revision class is about to start, idiot! Hurry up and move along!"

"Noooooo<nowiki>~~</nowiki>!!! What about the sealed room? The sealed rooooom<nowiki>~~</nowiki>!!!"

Satoshi disappeared, leaving a trail of screams behind.

''Sigh.'' Now how should I comment on this? If I have to put it in one sentence: Was he an idiot? ...Just as I was thinking that, he ran back here. Taking his notebook out from his drawstring bag, he shoved it towards me.

"Regrettably, things are out of my control. As it's come to this, I leave the rest in your hands... See ya!"

He ran off again. Well, good luck. Here's wishing Satoshi gets promoted to second year.

As soon as the storm-like event had passed, Ibara too stood up.

"Well, I should be going as well."

"Really?"

"What's with those eyes? Irisu-sempai didn't ask me to help you, after all... I'm on librarian duty at eleven. If I had known what you were doing today, I would have changed my shift in advance, so it's all your fault for deciding on such short notice," she said harshly as she picked up her bag and proceeded to leave the Geology Room.

Standing by the door, she turned and said in her usual apologetic way, "But... I'm sorry, Oreki."

I waved my hand to send her off.

I was now left alone in the classroom. I sighed, stretched my back, scratched my head, crossed my arms, and closed my eyes and I began thinking.

If I slowly recalled the movie I just re-watched, and the facts I deduced these past three days... I attempted to link them together. If it were me, I would...

...And finally I came to a conclusion.

As it was a hard to believe conclusion, I reviewed it myself many times over. Yet I could find no flaws with it. So it had to be this one.

I muttered, "This, is Hongou's true intention."

I glanced at my wristwatch. The time had gone way past twelve and was fast approaching one without me noticing it. I quickly took out a rice ball from my bag to fill my empty stomach.

After finishing that, I gulped down a can of green tea, which was simply nowhere near the glass of iced tea I had yesterday, when someone knocked at the door.

"Come in."

The one who entered was none other than "the Empress", Irisu Fuyumi, who was in her school uniform today. Whether she was in her casual wear or uniform, she never left any openings. I stood up out of courtesy and motioned her to sit in the seat before me. Upon her taking her seat, I too sat down.

Irisu skipped the formalities and went straight for the main topic.

"First, I would like to hear whether you have come to a conclusion or not."

I gulped a bit, and nodded in lieu of answering.

Irisu raised her brow just a little bit.

"...I see," she said while not particularly revealing much emotion, as expected of her.

"Then, let's hear it."

"Okay."

My lips were still wet from the can of green tea that now lies standing on the table.

I had already decided where to start, so I went straight for the answer at the end.

"The key to this mystery is needless to say a sealed room, the room where Kaitou... sorry, Kaitou-sempai died. No one is able to enter or leave that room."

Maybe it was my imagination, for I just saw Irisu loosen her mouth. Realizing it herself, she said as though trying to smooth things out, "Oh, you may speak as you normally would and dispense with the honourifics."

A most grateful permission. It was quite bothersome to have to consciously speak in a formal manner and add honourifics to everything.

I nodded and went straight for the core of the topic.

"...As I have discussed the composition of this sealed room just yesterday, I may be repeating some of what I've said, so please bear with me.

As the sealed room is in the Right Stage, and considering that the window was not filmed being opened from the outside without damaging it, the only way the killer could enter was via the door. But how? The movie did not reveal whether there was any physical trick used to open that door. Then we should surmise that the killer simply used the master key obtained from the theatre office. I think Satoshi calls this way of thinking Occam's razor.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor</ref>

"However, the killer was not able to enter the right corridor, which was the only way to get to the Right Stage. That is because Sugimura was constantly watching from above. If one was to obtain the master key and enter via the right corridor, then it could not have been one of the six people there.

"In that case, what does it all mean?"

I stopped there. I wouldn't say the following wasn't interesting, as I didn't think that myself. It's just a waste to be so plain about it, that's all.

"If the killer was not amongst the six, then there can only be one explanation... There was a seventh person present."

That was my conclusion.

Irisu looked at me with stern eyes, as though I'd just uttered some idle gossip.

"A seventh person? Like what Sawakiguchi suggested?"

"Under certain conditions, that is. It did sound quite ridiculous when I first thought about it, as it was Sawakiguchi that said Hongou was looking for a seventh actor. When I thought about that, I was certain that there was a seventh person present."

Without saying a word, Irisu urged me to go on. Even if she had any objections, she was probably waiting for me to finish first. That makes things easier for me.

"Yet you told me Hongou intends to give the audience a fair chance at solving the mystery. So I won't say that this was the work of some slasher that suddenly appears. By the way, I only just noticed this when re-watching the video, but a lot of strange things were observed. Fortunately, Satoshi had them all written down in this notebook; let me read it out to you.

"...Kounosu sees map, A light was turned on. Probably a hand torch...

"They went to the remaining room to look for Kaitou.

"...The corridor was dark and poorly illuminated. The torch was turned on...

"Did you notice something?"

Irisu replied instantly, "The torch?"

"Exactly."

I licked my lips, as this was most important.

"As a result, it was never revealed who was using the torch. One should be able to figure out who it was in scenes right after the torch was turned on; for example, when the scene of the crime was discovered. Though there may have been time for the person to hide the torch, it would be too unreasonable for that to happen."

Irisu gave a suspicious look. As I knew she was not satisfied after thinking it through, I voiced out her reservations.

"I understand that you're thinking that's just the illumination. But first, let's leave that aside for now,"

I could not tell whether she was convinced or not. I continued anyway.

"One more thing, no offense to those who love making movies, but this movie was pretty boring, whether it was the acting or the camerawork. Yet here was a hint. I don't watch a lot of movies, but even I could tell it was a boring movie. Especially the camerawork; you may not realize it, but it's as though not much effort was being put into it. But what if there was actually a reason for that?

"What did I mean when I said no effort was put into the camerawork? To put it in the simplest terms, didn't you find the position of the cameraman awkward for most of the scenes? For the majority of the movie, the cameraman was basically following the six members... Now do you see what I'm getting at?"

Though her demeanor was still calm, I noticed Irisu's eyes slowly widening. As expected for "the Empress" to realize so quickly. Yet even Irisu Fuyumi would not be able to foresee this deduction. The seventh person that I suggested was...

"...Are you saying that the seventh person is actually the cameraman?"

I nodded. I realized I was getting cheeky about it.

"There were seven people in total. It was those seven that decided on and went to Narakubo. The screen only showed six people, while the seventh was the one holding the camera. The other six only spoke appropriately upon being told to look into the camera to give their thoughts, meaning they were conscious of the presence of a cameraman. Rather than call him the 'cameraman', we should call him 'the seventh person'.

"This seventh person was also the one turning the torch on and off. No matter how you see it, the way the torch was turned on and off just looked too deliberate. But if you think from the angle of someone carrying the torch, then it wasn't unnatural at all. The shoddy camerawork was due to him following everyone else around; it would make more sense if you consider the cameraman as a character."

As I went on, I realized Irisu was getting more and more interested.

"And then, this is the most important part, after everyone had split up, the camera was left in the lobby without anyone holding it. The scene then faded to black; in other words, the camera was momentarily turned off, before being turned on again by one of the members that returned to the lobby.

"Thus it was easy to guess how the crime was committed. The seventh person waited till everyone was scattered across the theatre, put down his camera, and took the master key from the theatre office. After killing Kaitou, he locked the door behind him and returned to the lobby to wait for everyone else to return.

"That sums up my deduction. If Hongou hasn't found a seventh actor yet, I suggest you hurry up and do so."

I finished everything in one go and proceeded to sip my can of green tea.

That was my deduction.

Irisu quietly evaluated my case before inquiring, "Two questions.

"First, if what you said is true, wouldn't it be too unnatural for nobody to interact and speak with him?"

I had already prepared an answer for that.

"Perhaps Hongou had intended for that. In other words, as the seventh person was totally ignored by the other six, there was no room for him to speak."

"Second, if that's true, then the characters themselves would have deduced it themselves, for the most suspicious person would be the one who left the lobby last and returned first. Furthermore, this seventh person did not circumvent the 'second sealed room' which you mentioned, as his movement should also be noticed by the other people. In that case, there would be no mystery to speak of."

I purposely smiled.

"Well, to quote from Sawakiguchi... Does it really matter whether it's a mystery?"

"......"

"The main purpose of this movie was to satisfy the movie-makers themselves rather than the audience. It is not something for the characters to worry about. As Nakajou had remarked before, it's fine as long as the audience considers it a mystery; it didn't matter whether the characters themselves thought otherwise... Think about it, wasn't this why no one was designated as the detective for this movie? Because the characters had already guessed who the killer was without even deducing."

A minute's silence ensued. Irisu remained quiet and looked down without glancing at me. Was she troubled by such a bold suggestion?

Yet I was hardly panicking, as this deduction was fine as it is. No matter how long Irisu evaluated it, the result was inevitable.

And finally, Irisu whispered, "Congratulations,"

"Huh?"

She raised her head, and unlike her usual meagre expression, gave a very cheerful smile as she said, "Congratulations, Oreki Houtarou. You have solved Hongou's mystery. It was a surprising and bold deduction, but all the facts line up, so it has to be the truth. Thank you as well, as we are now able to complete the movie."

She stretched out her right hand.

I blushed.

And shook her hand.

It was a firm handshake. Irisu then patted my shoulder with her left hand.

"I was indeed right with my judgment. You have the skills, which no one else possessed that could never be replaced."

...I see.

Irisu went on with her cheerful expression, "How about this? To commemorate your hard work, I'll let you set the title for the movie,"

A title, huh? I didn't think about that.

Yet, it was not bad to leave a name to commemorate the rare occasion of me believing in my abilities. I thought for a while and said what came to my mind.

"Alright, considering the contents... How about 'The Blind Spot of 10,000 People'?"

"Hmm,"

Irisu nodded many times.

"A fine title. It's decided then."

With the title of the unnamed movie decided, this bothersome business that has taken up four whole days of my summer vacation has finally been resolved. While I gained nothing material in return, I did not feel the least bit worse off.

The fact that I played the role of the "detective" gave me a sense of fulfillment.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

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| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 7|7 - Do Not End the Show]]
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</noinclude>

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 7 King Lear

2012-11-07T07:04:40Z

Dan.:

<h2>King Lear</h2>

It was now Friday morning. It's been five days since the middle school festival ended, and Kobato's been filming with us ever since.

Normally we'd all have a short homeroom period right now, but all students of the Saint Chronica high school division were instead lined up on the track in our gym uniforms.

Today is the long-awaited first day of the Saint Chronica Academy high school division's festival—— the day of the athletics festival.

The teams were broken up into five colors: red, white, blue, yellow, and green, and our team, the green team, was made up of classes 1-5, 2-5, and 3-5, with everyone on our team wearing a green headband.

"——We shall begin our athletics festival on this wonderful autumn day without a cloud in the sky. Students, now is the time to show the fruits of all the hard work you've done for this day——"

A beautiful voice rang out across the entire track from a microphone on the stage in front of us.

The person speaking into the microphone right now was the student council president, who was giving her little greeting speech.

However, despite what she'd just said, there were, in fact, several clouds in the sky, the wind was pretty strong, it wasn't very warm, and on top of all that, most students were busy preparing for the cultural festival side of things, not the athletics festival, which is more of a formality than anything. The only people who did any practice for it were the ones who already practice daily anyway, so I doubt that anyone even had any fruits to show, but I guess you're not supposed to point that out.

The speech was pretty much just a template of the same stuff you always hear at these kinds of things, but strangely enough, it had a certain charm to it that made you want to listen.

Come to think of it, I didn't even know our student council president was a girl until now.

I'm a transfer student, so I obviously didn't go to the entrance ceremony, and this school doesn't have ceremonies for the end of each semester either. I've also never had a reason to get involved with the student council, so this was really my first time seeing her.

She had pure black hair, and part of it was tied into braids and bundled up on the back of her head.

She was certainly pretty, and had an air of refinement to her as well, but she didn't have even a hint of the harsh impression Yozora does, nor was she so flashy as to be unapproachable like Sena. She also had, as I mentioned before, a nice clean voice, as well as a nice and friendly atmosphere about her.

To sum it all up—— She had the kind of appearance that anybody, young or old, man or woman, would like the instant they saw her, and honestly, I was pretty jealous of her for that.

I don't really like to get all negative like this, but I couldn't help but think how much easier my life would be if I had that kind of friendly appearance too.

Anyway, the stage she was standing on also had teachers, the event organizers, and the first-aid team on it as well, and among those people was the baby wolf-like girl I'd met a few days ago, the student council treasurer, Aoi Yusa.

Yusa was standing ramrod straight, and the way she was so obviously nervous with her face all stiff was actually kinda funny.

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img01(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

☺

After the StuCo president gave her speech, the chairman came to give his (usually the chairman's speech is a really long and boring one, but he wrapped his up surprisingly quickly), after which the opening ceremony speech was given, and once we'd finished our warm-up stretches, the athletics festival began at long last.

That said, the only events I was participating in were the class vs. class tug-of-war competition and the relay race, so I wouldn't be doing anything soon.

There was a general listless mood in the air among the students as everyone got ready for the first event, the 200 meter sprint, as well, except for the cheering squads, who somehow managed to muster up the energy to get all fired up and beat on their drums and stuff.

It was just like Yozora said before, looks like nobody really gets too excited for the athletics festival here.

Anyway, as I was walking around our class' little area trying to stay quiet, I spotted Yozora standing off on the edge of the track in the shade.

"Yo."

"...Ahghh?"

I was met with a zombie-like groan of a reply after calling out to Yozora, who seemed even more melancholic than usual.

"...Oh, Kodaka......... Hahh... Maybe I should just go home now..."

"Already? Seriously?"

I made a wry smile at Yozora, who was already planning on leaving despite the fact that the festival had just started, and then said,

"I'm kinda surprised you actually even showed up at all."

"Hmph... I only came on a whim."

Yozora said as though she were pouting with her lips pursed.

"...Now that I'm here though, I wish I would've skipped. Having to see that irritating woman first thing in the morning was awful."

"Irritating woman?"

I asked in return, causing Yozora to start twitching with what appeared to be annoyance.

"...The woman who gave the speech at the opening ceremony."

"Umm... Do you mean the student council president? What'd she do to you?"

"Just hearing about her pisses me off."

"Eh? Do you not get along with her?"

Yozora doesn't even seem to do anything where she'd run into her.

"...I've never talked to her, but I hate her to death."

"Huh?"

Yozora's expression filled with even more hatred after she gave me her nonsense answer.

"...Hinata Hidaka, a senior. She's incredibly popular, and has been the student council president for two years now. She's incredibly athletic, and often serves as a stand-in for several of the sports clubs at their matches and such. She's also very kind, and people say that she hardly ever turns down requests for her help, despite how busy she is. Of course, she's loved by both her juniors and fellow classmates as well."

"She sounds like a friggin' great person! Hell, you could probably call her a saint."

Yozora nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that's exactly right. Hinata Hidaka... She is what it means to be a true normal... Back when I was a freshman, I thought that both her and Meat were the two peerless normals of this school, and thus viewed them as my enemies. However, unlike Meat, that woman is incredibly popular with girls as well. And, seeing as how I now know that Meat is unmatched in how pathetic she is, it is Hinata Hidaka alone who stands at the top of the world of normals—— she truly is befitting of being called King Lear."<ref>King Lear is pronounced, "Ria Ou" in Japanese, which also sounds like "King of the Normals" (Normals = Riajuu, Ou = King).</ref>

"King Lear...? Wait, isn't that the title of some book?"

I asked, to which Yozora gave a small nod, and then casually explained,

"It's one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. It's a story about an old king who is betrayed by the ones he loved, and then lives out his final years as a vagrant, ultimately meeting a pathetic end after experiencing many tragedies. Aside from Lear, most of the other characters in the story die too."

"That's a terrible nickname to give somebody!"

That might even be worse than Sena's "Meat."

"...I came up with it in the hopes that her life would end like his. ...Anyway, it's awful just being in the same school as her. Every time I see her, I'll wait till she goes by me, and then glare at her from behind, or quietly click my tongue at her, or something like that."

"H-holy crap are you petty..."

Oh man... this is just... pathetic.

I kinda wanted to start crying at how my once-manly childhood friend (who was actually a girl) had changed so much.

Actually, now that I think about it, she's only been getting worse recently...

She's always had plenty of pathetic habits, like talking to her air friend, but I get the feeling that she isn't even trying to hide them anymore now.

Back when I'd just transferred in, she at least looked perfect. I mean, she was like an intelligent, hard-to-approach cool beauty to me, but now... It's strange... When did she turn into such a hopeless case...

"...Arghh, just talking about her is pissing me off and making my stomach hurt and making me wanna throw up. I'm gonna go rest in the nurse's office."

Yozora's complexion actually did seem a little worse as she walked off.

"Just how much do you hate normals anyway..."

Anyway, I decided to leave as well, taken aback by Yozora's attitude, and headed over to our class' tent.

But then, all of a sudden, at the edge of my vision—— I saw something white flapping on roof of the school building.

It was a lab coat—— a girl in a lab coat, to be precise.

"...What the heck is she doing way up there?"

☺

Generally speaking, students aren't allowed into the building during the athletics festival, but I got in quite easily on account of having spotted sister Kate walking around nearby.

"Please try to refrain from stealing girls' underwear and uniforms, getting dressed in them, putting them on your head, and then splooging all over them, Onii-chan," was the moronic warning she gave me, which I pretended I didn't even hear, and quickly walked through the halls up to the roof.

The instant I opened the door to the roof, a strong wind blew right at me, causing me to scrunch up my face reflexively.

It was much windier and colder up here on the roof.

I went outside though, and closed the door behind me.

The door made a loud "BANG" as it closed due to the strong wind.

"Owah!?"

The girl in the lab coat leaning against the railing as she looked down at the track—— that is, Rika Shiguma let out a yelp and quickly turned around to face me.

"Huh...? Senpai? Why are you up here?"

"Uh, ya' know... that's my line here."

I said in response to Rika's question.

"Well~ I just wanted to stand out in the wind a bit," said Rika.

I then saw what Rika was wearing, and made a frown.

"...What the heck are you wearing?"

I couldn't tell from down on the track, but Rika was wearing a gym uniform beneath her lab coat, except she was wearing a pair of black bloomers instead of the black spats that are part of the school's regulation gym uniform.

She didn't have her glasses on, but her hair was in a ponytail, just like it was when I first met her.

Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've seen Rika in her lab coat in a while.

Rika made an embarrassed smile, her cheeks tinged a light shade of red.

"Rika decided to put on a gym uniform too, since it's the athletics festival and all. Does it suit me?"

Honestly she looked incredibly good in it, and I wished she'd take off the lab coat, but instead of telling her that, I said, 

"I'm pretty sure they'd give you a spare gym uniform if you went to the nurse's office. Heck, why don't you just join the festival while you're at it? There's stuff you can sign up for the day of too."

However Rika shook her head, and replied,

"It's OK, I've still got work to do. I wouldn't join even if I didn't though."

We just barely managed to finish filming our movie last night.

We left all the editing up to Rika and went home, but...

"...Did you not go home yesterday? Hell, did you even sleep?"

I noticed that Rika had dark bags under her eyes.

"Ah, you found out, huh? I suppose I should've put on a pair of fake glasses or something."

Rika awkwardly made a wry smile.

"...You know, um..."

Sorry for making you do all the work, is what I was about to say, but I decided to think of something else after remembering what Rika told me before.

In the end, I told her,

"......——Thanks for doing so much stuff for us, Rika."

A surprised expression found its way to Rika's face for an instant.

A moment later, her face went red as a beet.

"Geez~! You little~! Didn't I tell you to stop throwing those fastballs at me out of nowhere~!?"

"Not sure how else you want me to say it..."

I said, surprised by Rika's reaction.

Rika then said, as though trying to change the subject as soon as possible,

"Ah, look, the next race is starting!"

She then pulled out a pair of binoculars from one of her lab coat's pockets, and looked down at the track again.

As she did, I heard the faint "Bam!" of a starting gun.

Looks like the 200 meter sprint just got started.

"Ah, Sena-senpai's already out there."

Rika said while looking through her binoculars.

I looked down at the track too after hearing that, and sure enough, Sena was down there running.

Sena's hair was easy to spot as it swayed in the wind, even from all the way out here, and it even looked like it was giving off little golden particles.

"Woah~ Those things really can bounce, can't they~...... Tch."

Rika sounded a little jealous as she described what was going on down on the track.

"Where the heck are you looking..."

It wasn't long before Sena reached the goal line, way ahead of the other runners.

She then ran both hands through her hair, as though trying to show off her perfect win to everybody, and took the first place flag from one of the boys helping to run the festival as though it were hers to begin with.

Every single little move she made had a certain flashiness to it.

"Haa~ Sena-senpai really is amazing, isn't she~"

Rika pulled the binoculars away from her eyes, turned away from the track, and leaned back against the rail.

"Yeah, sure is," I said as I continued to look down at the track.

But then, all of a sudden,

"By the way, Kodaka-senpai, how do you feel about Sena-senpai?"

Rika threw that fastball at me out of nowhere like it was nothing.

"W-what do you mean... she's just a fellow club member."

"Even though you're engaged?"

"...That's all in the past now."

"Oh yeah...?"

Rika made a face that looked like she was thinking about something.

"...Doesn't seem like it is for Sena-senpai though."

"Eh? What'd you say?"

I asked Rika, who'd mumbled something under her breath, and then, all of a sudden, Rika looked at me with a scornful, hostile, horribly cold look in her eyes.

She then looked up at the sky, and then whispered in an emotionless voice, as though talking to herself,

"——Always gets lonely, but is scared of having others show they honestly care."

"——Pretends not to notice. Pretends not to hear."

"——Run away. Brushes it off. Avoids the issue. Refuses."

"——Even turns to self-deception, spinning lies such as 'There's no way anybody likes me.' "

"...Ahh, you mean Kobato? Yeah, you're right, she does act like that sometimes, doesn't she... She's always been shy. Looks like she still is too, based on what we saw a few days ago."

I said to Rika with a bitter smile on my face, knowing full-well that wasn't what she meant.

I couldn't tell if she was listening to me or not, but she soon lowered her gaze from the sky down to the concrete ground we were standing on. She then made a vague expression on her face that looked like she was both crying and laughing, and said, not as though criticizing me, but rather, as though soothing me, in a gentle, affectionate tone of voice,

"——Don't give me that 'What'd you say?' crap, iii~diot..."

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img02(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

Rika's lips then twisted into a smile as she stared at me with dark, empty eyes as cold as space.

She'd thrown away her mask of being "That weird junior that's always energetic and always saying ridiculous stuff." The Rika before me now was one I've never seen before.

Rika then continued while acting as though she were giggling.

"...If that's what you want, Kodaka-senpai, then Rika will continue acting like she has been. It's not like I don't enjoy BL, mecha, and sexy stuff. And acting hyper, and having you always act so blunt with me is fun in its own way, too. But you know, Kodaka-senpai——"

"Don't you think it's about time we move on? I mean——"

"Stop it!"

I unintentionally let out a wild yell.

I absolutely cannot let her finish that sentence.

If she did, I'd, we'd... have no choice but to move on.

And moving on... means changing.

That is an incredibly scary thing.

It's truly terrifying, like moving from a bright, warm room into a world of darkness that leaves you completely blind.

It's not just me either.

I'm sure it's the same for Yozora, Sena, Yukimura, and Rika too.

Those words are ones that could bring about an irreversible change that would shake the Neighbors Club itself.

That change would truly be irreversible—— it can't even be compared to trivial problems like a memory from 10 years ago, or a pre-arranged marriage.

"...Hahh." Rika let out a fleeting sigh as she went completely silent.

I let out a tiny sigh myself, and said, "...I'm gonna go now," as I walked off.

I'd gotten away from Rika—— and just as I put my hand on the knob to the roof's door,

"I mean, aren't we all——"

Rika whispered something behind me.

In a voice that sounded like it was shaking—— like it was crying.

My entire body shook with terror.

However, that very instant,

Luckily—— whether or not it was truly lucky, I don't know, but——a wind far stronger than before roared across the rooftop, and erased Rika's words.

And I, like the coward I am, signed a breath of relief.

I turned only my head around to face Rika.

"——Eh? What'd you say?"

That's what I told her, playing dumb once again.

However, what I'd said was not a question, it was my answer.

And the girl, who was wiser than anyone else in the Neighbors Club, who could tell what people were thinking——whether she wanted to or not——simply made a sad smile, and said nothing in response.

I opened the door, and left the roof behind me.

All the while telling myself I'd made the right choice.

...But I knew what those words lost in the wind really were.

...I'd known what they were for a long, long time now.

 

The End.

<references />
<noinclude>
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Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 7 King Lear

2012-11-07T07:02:07Z

Dan.:

<h2>King Lear</h2>

It was now Friday morning. It's been five days since the middle school festival ended, and Kobato's been filming with us ever since.

Normally we'd all have a short homeroom period right now, but all students of the Saint Chronica high school division were instead lined up on the track in our gym uniforms.

Today is the long-awaited first day of the Saint Chronica Academy high school division's festival—— the day of the athletics festival.

The teams were broken up into five colors: red, white, blue, yellow, and green, and our team, the green team, was made up of classes 1-5, 2-5, and 3-5, with everyone on our team wearing a green headband.

"——We shall begin our athletics festival on this wonderful autumn day without a cloud in the sky. Students, now is the time to show the fruits of all the hard work you've done for this day——"

A beautiful voice rang out across the entire track from a microphone on the stage in front of us.

The person speaking into the microphone right now was the student council president, who was giving her little greeting speech.

However, despite what she'd just said, there were, in fact, several clouds in the sky, the wind was pretty strong, it wasn't very warm, and on top of all that, most students were busy preparing for the cultural festival side of things, not the athletics festival, which is more of a formality than anything. The only people who did any practice for it were the ones who already practice daily anyway, so I doubt that anyone even had any fruits to show, but I guess you're not supposed to point that out.

The speech was pretty much just a template of the same stuff you always hear at these kinds of things, but strangely enough, it had a certain charm to it that made you want to listen.

Come to think of it, I didn't even know our student council president was a girl until now.

I'm a transfer student, so I obviously didn't go to the entrance ceremony, and this school doesn't have ceremonies for the end of each semester either. I've also never had a reason to get involved with the student council, so this was really my first time seeing her.

She had pure black hair, and part of it was tied into braids and bundled up on the back of her head.

She was certainly pretty, and had an air of refinement to her as well, but she didn't have even a hint of the harsh impression Yozora does, nor was she so flashy as to be unapproachable like Sena. She also had, as I mentioned before, a nice clean voice, as well as a nice and friendly atmosphere about her.

To sum it all up—— She had the kind of appearance that anybody, young or old, man or woman, would like the instant they saw her, and honestly, I was pretty jealous of her for that.

I don't really like to get all negative like this, but I couldn't help but think how much easier my life would be if I had that kind of friendly appearance too.

Anyway, the stage she was standing on also had teachers, the event organizers, and the first-aid team on it as well, and among those people was the baby wolf-like girl I'd met a few days ago, the student council treasurer, Aoi Yusa.

Yusa was standing ramrod straight, and the way she was so obviously nervous with her face all stiff was actually kinda funny.

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img01(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

☺

After the StuCo president gave her speech, the chairman came to give his (usually the chairman's speech is a really long and boring one, but he wrapped his up surprisingly quickly), after which the opening ceremony speech was given, and once we'd finished our warm-up stretches, the athletics festival began at long last.

That said, the only events I was participating in were the class vs. class tug-of-war competition and the relay race, so I wouldn't be doing anything soon.

There was a general listless mood in the air among the students as everyone got ready for the first event, the 200 meter sprint, as well, except for the cheering squads, who somehow managed to muster up the energy to get all fired up and beat on their drums and stuff.

It was just like Yozora said before, looks like nobody really gets too excited for the athletics festival here.

Anyway, as I was walking around our class' little area trying to stay quiet, I spotted Yozora standing off on the edge of the track in the shade.

"Yo."

"...Ahghh?"

I was met with a zombie-like groan of a reply after calling out to Yozora, who seemed even more melancholic than usual.

"...Oh, Kodaka......... Hahh... Maybe I should just go home now..."

"Already? Seriously?"

I made a wry smile at Yozora, who was already planning on leaving despite the fact that the festival had just started, and then said,

"I'm kinda surprised you actually even showed up at all."

"Hmph... I only came on a whim."

Yozora said as though she were pouting with her lips pursed.

"...Now that I'm here though, I wish I would've skipped. Having to see that irritating woman first thing in the morning was awful."

"Irritating woman?"

I asked in return, causing Yozora to start twitching with what appeared to be annoyance.

"...The woman who gave the speech at the opening ceremony."

"Umm... Do you mean the student council president? What'd she do to you?"

"Just hearing about her pisses me off."

"Eh? Do you not get along with her?"

Yozora doesn't even seem to do anything where she'd run into her.

"...I've never talked to her, but I hate her to death."

"Huh?"

Yozora's expression filled with even more hatred after she gave me her nonsense answer.

"...Hinata Hidaka, a senior. She's incredibly popular, and has been the student council president for two years now. She's incredibly athletic, and often serves as a stand-in for several of the sports clubs at their matches and such. She's also very kind, and people say that she hardly ever turns down requests for her help, despite how busy she is. Of course, she's loved by both her juniors and fellow classmates as well."

"She sounds like a friggin' great person! Hell, you could probably call her a saint."

Yozora nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that's exactly right. Hinata Hidaka... She is what it means to be a true normal... Back when I was a freshman, I thought that both her and Meat were the two peerless normals of this school, and thus viewed them as my enemies. However, unlike Meat, that woman is incredibly popular with girls as well. And, seeing as how I now know that Meat is unmatched in how pathetic she is, it is Hinata Hidaka alone who stands at the top of the world of normals—— she truly is befitting of being called King Lear."<ref>King Lear is pronounced, "Ria Ou" in Japanese, which also sounds like "King of the Normals" (Normals = Riajuu, Ou = King).</ref>

"King Lear...? Wait, isn't that the title of some book?"

I asked, to which Yozora gave a small nod, and then casually explained,

"It's one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. It's a story about an old king who is betrayed by the ones he loved, and then lives out his final years as a vagrant, ultimately meeting a pathetic end after experiencing many tragedies. Aside from Lear, most of the other characters in the story die too."

"That's a terrible nickname to give somebody!"

That might even be worse than Sena's "Meat."

"...I came up with it in the hopes that her life would end like his. ...Anyway, it's awful just being in the same school as her. Every time I see her, I'll wait till she goes by me, and then glare at her from behind, or quietly click my tongue at her, or something like that."

"H-holy crap are you petty..."

Oh man... this is just... pathetic.

I kinda wanted to start crying at how my once-manly childhood friend (who was actually a girl) had changed so much.

Actually, now that I think about it, she's only been getting worse recently...

She's always had plenty of pathetic habits, like talking to her air friend, but I get the feeling that she isn't even trying to hide them anymore now.

Back when I'd just transferred in, she at least looked perfect. I mean, she was like an intelligent, hard-to-approach cool beauty to me, but now... It's strange... When did she turn into such a hopeless case...

"...Arghh, just talking about her is pissing me off and making my stomach hurt and making me wanna throw up. I'm gonna go rest in the nurse's office."

Yozora's complexion actually did seem a little worse as she walked off.

"Just how much do you hate normals anyway..."

Anyway, I decided to leave as well, taken aback by Yozora's attitude, and headed over to our class' tent.

But then, all of a sudden, at the edge of my vision—— I saw something white flapping on roof of the school building.

It was a lab coat—— a girl in a lab coat, to be precise.

"...What the heck is she doing way up there?"

☺

Generally speaking, students aren't allowed into the building during the athletics festival, but I got in quite easily on account of having spotted sister Kate walking around nearby.

"Please try to refrain from stealing girls' underwear and uniforms, getting dressed in them, putting them on your head, and then splooging all over them, Onii-chan," was the moronic warning she gave me, which I pretended I didn't even hear, and quickly walked through the halls up to the roof.

The instant I opened the door to the roof, a strong wind blew right at me, causing me to scrunch up my face reflexively.

It was much windier and colder up here on the roof.

I went outside though, and closed the door behind me.

The door made a loud "BANG" as it closed due to the strong wind.

"Owah!?"

The girl in the lab coat leaning against the railing as she looked down at the track—— that is, Rika Shiguma let out a yelp and quickly turned around to face me.

"Huh...? Senpai? Why are you up here?"

"Uh, ya' know... that's my line here."

I said in response to Rika's question.

"Well~ I just wanted to stand out in the wind a bit," said Rika.

I then saw what Rika was wearing, and made a frown.

"...What the heck are you wearing?"

I couldn't tell from down on the track, but Rika was wearing a gym uniform beneath her lab coat, except she was wearing a pair of black bloomers instead of the black spats that are part of the school's regulation gym uniform.

She didn't have her glasses on, but her hair was in a ponytail, just like it was when I first met her.

Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've seen Rika in her lab coat in a while.

Rika made an embarrassed smile, her cheeks tinged a light shade of red.

"Rika decided to put on a gym uniform too, since it's the athletics festival and all. Does it suit me?"

Honestly she looked incredibly good in it, and I wished she'd take off the lab coat, but instead of telling her that, I said, 

"I'm pretty sure they'd give you a spare gym uniform if you went to the nurse's office. Heck, why don't you just join the festival while you're at it? There's stuff you can sign up for the day of too."

However Rika shook her head, and replied,

"It's OK, I've still got work to do. I wouldn't join even if I didn't though."

We just barely managed to finish filming our movie last night.

We left all the editing up to Rika and went home, but...

"...Did you not go home yesterday? Hell, did you even sleep?"

I noticed that Rika had dark bags under her eyes.

"Ah, you found out, huh? I suppose I should've put on a pair of fake glasses or something."

Rika awkwardly made a wry smile.

"...You know, um..."

Sorry for making you do all the work, is what I was about to say, but I decided to think of something else after remembering what Rika told me before.

In the end, I told her,

"......——Thanks for doing so much stuff for us, Rika."

A surprised expression found its way to Rika's face for an instant.

A moment later, her face went red as a beet.

"Geez~! You little~! Didn't I tell you to stop throwing those fastballs at me out of nowhere~!?"

"Not sure how else you want me to say it..."

I said, surprised by Rika's reaction.

Rika then said, as though trying to change the subject as soon as possible,

"Ah, look, the next race is starting!"

She then pulled out a pair of binoculars from one of her lab coat's pockets, and looked down at the track again.

As she did, I heard the faint "Bam!" of a starting gun.

Looks like the 200 meter sprint just got started.

"Ah, Sena-senpai's already out there."

Rika said while looking through her binoculars.

I looked down at the track too after hearing that, and sure enough, Sena was down there running.

Sena's hair was easy to spot as it swayed in the wind, even from all the way out here, and it even looked like it was giving off little golden particles.

"Woah~ Those things really can bounce, can't they~...... Tch."

Rika sounded a little jealous as she described what was going on down on the track.

"Where the heck are you looking..."

It wasn't long before Sena reached the goal line, way ahead of the other runners.

She then ran both hands through her hair, as though trying to show off her perfect win to everybody, and took the first place flag from one of the boys helping to run the festival as though it were hers to begin with.

Every single little move she made had a certain flashiness to it.

"Haa~ Sena-senpai really is amazing, isn't she~"

Rika pulled the binoculars away from her eyes, turned away from the track, and leaned back against the rail.

"Yeah, sure is," I said as I continued to look down at the track.

But then, all of a sudden,

"By the way, Kodaka-senpai, how do you feel about Sena-senpai?"

Rika threw that fastball at me out of nowhere like it was nothing.

"W-what do you mean... she's just a fellow club member."

"Even though you're engaged?"

"...That's all in the past now."

"Oh yeah...?"

Rika made a face that looked like she was thinking about something.

"...Doesn't seem like it is for Sena-senpai though."

"Eh? What'd you say?"

I asked Rika, who'd mumbled something under her breath, and then, all of a sudden, Rika looked at me with a scornful, hostile, horribly cold look in her eyes.

She then looked up at the sky, and then whispered in an emotionless voice, as though talking to herself,

"——Always gets lonely, but is scared of having others show they honestly care."

"——Pretends not to notice. Pretends not to hear."

"——Run away. Brushes it off. Avoids the issue. Refuses."

"——Even turns to self-deception, spinning lies such as 'There's no way anybody likes me'."

"...Ahh, you mean Kobato? Yeah, you're right, she does act like that sometimes, doesn't she... She's always been shy. Looks like she still is too, based on what we saw a few days ago."

I said to Rika with a bitter smile on my face, knowing full-well that wasn't what she meant.

I couldn't tell if she was listening to me or not, but she soon lowered her gaze from the sky down to the concrete ground we were standing on. She then made a vague expression on her face that looked like she was both crying and laughing, and said, not as though criticizing me, but rather, as though soothing me, in a gentle, affectionate tone of voice,

"——Don't give me that 'What'd you say?' crap, iii~diot..."

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img02(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

Rika's lips then twisted into a smile as she stared at me with dark, empty eyes as cold as space.

She'd thrown away her mask of being "That weird junior that's always energetic and always saying ridiculous stuff." The Rika before me now was one I've never seen before.

Rika then continued while acting as though she were giggling.

"...If that's what you want, Kodaka-senpai, then Rika will continue acting like she has been. It's not like I don't enjoy BL, mecha, and sexy stuff. And acting hyper, and having you always act so blunt with me is fun in its own way, too. But you know, Kodaka-senpai——"

"Don't you think it's about time we move on? I mean——"

"Stop it!"

I unintentionally let out a wild yell.

I absolutely cannot let her finish that sentence.

If she did, I'd, we'd... have no choice but to move on.

And moving on... means changing.

That is an incredibly scary thing.

It's truly terrifying, like moving from a bright, warm room into a world of darkness that leaves you completely blind.

It's not just me either.

I'm sure it's the same for Yozora, Sena, Yukimura, and Rika too.

Those words are ones that could bring about an irreversible change that would shake the Neighbors Club itself.

That change would truly be irreversible—— it can't even be compared to trivial problems like a memory from 10 years ago, or a pre-arranged marriage.

"...Hahh." Rika let out a fleeting sigh as she went completely silent.

I let out a tiny sigh myself, and said, "...I'm gonna go now," as I walked off.

I'd gotten away from Rika—— and just as I put my hand on the knob to the roof's door,

"I mean, aren't we all——"

Rika whispered something behind me.

In a voice that sounded like it was shaking—— like it was crying.

My entire body shook with terror.

However, that very instant,

Luckily—— whether or not it was truly lucky, I don't know, but——a wind far stronger than before roared across the rooftop, and erased Rika's words.

And I, like the coward I am, signed a breath of relief.

I turned only my head around to face Rika.

"——Eh? What'd you say?"

That's what I told her, playing dumb once again.

However, what I'd said was not a question, it was my answer.

And the girl, who was wiser than anyone else in the Neighbors Club, who could tell what people were thinking——whether she wanted to or not——simply made a sad smile, and said nothing in response.

I opened the door, and left the roof behind me.

All the while telling myself I'd made the right choice.

...But I knew what those words lost in the wind really were.

...I'd known what they were for a long, long time now.

 

The End.

<references />
<noinclude>
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Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 7 King Lear

2012-11-07T07:01:06Z

Dan.:

<h2>King Lear</h2>

It was now Friday morning. It's been five days since the middle school festival ended, and Kobato's been filming with us ever since.

Normally we'd all have a short homeroom period right now, but all students of the Saint Chronica high school division were instead lined up on the track in our gym uniforms.

Today is the long-awaited first day of the Saint Chronica Academy high school division's festival—— the day of the athletics festival.

The teams were broken up into five colors: red, white, blue, yellow, and green, and our team, the green team, was made up of classes 1-5, 2-5, and 3-5, with everyone on our team wearing a green headband.

"——We shall begin our athletics festival on this wonderful autumn day without a cloud in the sky. Students, now is the time to show the fruits of all the hard work you've done for this day——"

A beautiful voice rang out across the entire track from a microphone on the stage in front of us.

The person speaking into the microphone right now was the student council president, who was giving her little greeting speech.

However, despite what she'd just said, there were, in fact, several clouds in the sky, the wind was pretty strong, it wasn't very warm, and on top of all that, most students were busy preparing for the cultural festival side of things, not the athletics festival, which is more of a formality than anything. The only people who did any practice for it were the ones who already practice daily anyway, so I doubt that anyone even had any fruits to show, but I guess you're not supposed to point that out.

The speech was pretty much just a template of the same stuff you always hear at these kinds of things, but strangely enough, it had a certain charm to it that made you want to listen.

Come to think of it, I didn't even know our student council president was a girl until now.

I'm a transfer student, so I obviously didn't go to the entrance ceremony, and this school doesn't have ceremonies for the end of each semester either. I've also never had a reason to get involved with the student council, so this was really my first time seeing her.

She had pure black hair, and part of it was tied into braids and bundled up on the back of her head.

She was certainly pretty, and had an air of refinement to her as well, but she didn't have even a hint of the harsh impression Yozora does, nor was she so flashy as to be unapproachable like Sena. She also had, as I mentioned before, a nice clean voice, as well as a nice and friendly atmosphere about her.

To sum it all up—— She had the kind of appearance that anybody, young or old, man or woman, would like the instant they saw her, and honestly, I was pretty jealous of her for that.

I don't really like to get all negative like this, but I couldn't help but think how much easier my life would be if I had that kind of friendly appearance too.

Anyway, the stage she was standing on also had teachers, the event organizers, and the first-aid team on it as well, and among those people was the baby wolf-like girl I'd met a few days ago, the student council treasurer, Aoi Yusa.

Yusa was standing ramrod straight, and the way she was so obviously nervous with her face all stiff was actually kinda funny.

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img01(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

☺

After the StuCo president gave her speech, the chairman came to give his (usually the chairman's speech is a really long and boring one, but he wrapped his up surprisingly quickly), after which the opening ceremony speech was given, and once we'd finished our warm-up stretches, the athletics festival began at long last.

That said, the only events I was participating in were the class vs. class tug-of-war competition and the relay race, so I wouldn't be doing anything soon.

There was a general listless mood in the air among the students as everyone got ready for the first event, the 200 meter sprint, as well, except for the cheering squads, who somehow managed to muster up the energy to get all fired up and beat on their drums and stuff.

It was just like Yozora said before, looks like nobody really gets too excited for the athletics festival here.

Anyway, as I was walking around our class' little area trying to stay quiet, I spotted Yozora standing off on the edge of the track in the shade.

"Yo."

"...Ahghh?"

I was met with a zombie-like groan of a reply after calling out to Yozora, who seemed even more melancholic than usual.

"...Oh, Kodaka......... Hahh... Maybe I should just go home now..."

"Already? Seriously?"

I made a wry smile at Yozora, who was already planning on leaving despite the fact that the festival had just started, and then said,

"I'm kinda surprised you actually even showed up at all."

"Hmph... I only came on a whim."

Yozora said as though she were pouting with her lips pursed.

"...Now that I'm here though, I wish I would've skipped. Having to see that irritating woman first thing in the morning was awful."

"Irritating woman?"

I asked in return, causing Yozora to start twitching with what appeared to be annoyance.

"...The woman who gave the speech at the opening ceremony."

"Umm... Do you mean the student council president? What'd she do to you?"

"Just hearing about her pisses me off."

"Eh? Do you not get along with her?"

Yozora doesn't even seem to do anything where she'd run into her.

"...I've never talked to her, but I hate her to death."

"Huh?"

Yozora's expression filled with even more hatred after she gave me her nonsense answer.

"...Hinata Hidaka, a senior. She's incredibly popular, and has been the student council president for two years now. She's incredibly athletic, and often serves as a stand-in for several of the sports clubs at their matches and such. She's also very kind, and people say that she hardly ever turns down requests for her help, despite how busy she is. Of course, she's loved by both her juniors and fellow classmates as well."

"She sounds like a friggin' great person! Hell, you could probably call her a saint."

Yozora nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that's exactly right. Hinata Hidaka... She is what it means to be a true normal... Back when I was a freshman, I thought that both her and Meat were the two peerless normals of this school, and thus viewed them as my enemies. However, unlike Meat, that woman is incredibly popular with girls as well. And, seeing as how I now know that Meat is unmatched in how pathetic she is, it is Hinata Hidaka alone who stands at the top of the world of normals—— she truly is befitting of being called King Lear."<ref>King Lear is pronounced, "Ria Ou" in Japanese, which also sounds like "King of the Normals" (Normals = Riajuu, Ou = King).</ref>

"King Lear...? Wait, isn't that the title of some book?"

I asked, to which Yozora gave a small nod, and then casually explained,

"It's one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. It's a story about an old king who is betrayed by the ones he loved, and then lives out his final years as a vagrant, ultimately meeting a pathetic end after experiencing many tragedies. Aside from Lear, most of the other characters in the story die too."

"That's a terrible nickname to give somebody!"

That might even be worse than Sena's "Meat."

"...I came up with it in the hopes that her life would end like his. ...Anyway, it's awful just being in the same school as her. Every time I see her, I'll wait till she goes by me, and then glare at her from behind, or quietly click my tongue at her, or something like that."

"H-holy crap are you petty..."

Oh man... this is just... pathetic.

I kinda wanted to start crying at how my once-manly childhood friend (who was actually a girl) had changed so much.

Actually, now that I think about it, she's only been getting worse recently...

She's always had plenty of pathetic habits, like talking to her air friend, but I get the feeling that she isn't even trying to hide them anymore now.

Back when I'd just transferred in, she at least looked perfect. I mean, she was like an intelligent, hard-to-approach cool beauty to me, but now... It's strange... When did she turn into such a hopeless case...

"...Arghh, just talking about her is pissing me off and making my stomach hurt and making me wanna throw up. I'm gonna go rest in the nurse's office."

Yozora's complexion actually did seem a little worse as she walked off.

"Just how much do you hate normals anyway..."

Anyway, I decided to leave as well, taken aback by Yozora's attitude, and headed over to our class' tent.

But then, all of a sudden, at the edge of my vision—— I saw something white flapping on roof of the school building.

It was a lab coat—— a girl in a lab coat, to be precise.

"...What the heck is she doing way up there?"

☺

Generally speaking, students aren't allowed into the building during the athletics festival, but I got in quite easily on account of having spotted sister Kate walking around nearby.

"Please try to refrain from stealing girls' underwear and uniforms, getting dressed in them, putting them on your head, and then splooging all over them, Onii-chan," was the moronic warning she gave me, which I pretended I didn't even hear, and quickly walked through the halls up to the roof.

The instant I opened the door to the roof, a strong wind blew right at me, causing me to scrunch up my face reflexively.

It was much windier and colder up here on the roof.

I went outside though, and closed the door behind me.

The door made a loud "BANG" as it closed due to the strong wind.

"Owah!?"

The girl in the lab coat leaning against the railing as she looked down at the track—— that is, Rika Shiguma let out a yelp and quickly turned around to face me.

"Huh...? Senpai? Why are you up here?"

"Uh, ya' know... that's my line here."

I said in response to Rika's question.

"Well~ I just wanted to stand out in the wind a bit," said Rika.

I then saw what Rika was wearing, and made a frown.

"...What the heck are you wearing?"

I couldn't tell from down on the track, but Rika was wearing a gym uniform beneath her lab coat, except she was wearing a pair of black bloomers instead of the black spats that are part of the school's regulation gym uniform.

She didn't have her glasses on, but her hair was in a ponytail, just like it was when I first met her.

Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've seen Rika in her lab coat in a while.

Rika made an embarrassed smile, her cheeks tinged a light shade of red.

"Rika decided to put on a gym uniform too, since it's the athletics festival and all. Does it suit me?"

Honestly she looked incredibly good in it, and I wished she'd take off the lab coat, but instead of telling her that, I said, 

"I'm pretty sure they'd give you a spare gym uniform if you went to the nurse's office. Heck, why don't you just join the festival while you're at it? There's stuff you can sign up for the day of too."

However Rika shook her head, and replied,

"It's OK, I've still got work to do. I wouldn't join even if I didn't though."

We just barely managed to finish filming our movie last night.

We left all the editing up to Rika and went home, but...

"...Did you not go home yesterday? Hell, did you even sleep?"

I noticed that Rika had dark bags under her eyes.

"Ah, you found out, huh? I suppose I should've put on a pair of fake glasses or something."

Rika awkwardly made a wry smile.

"...You know, um..."

Sorry for making you do all the work, is what I was about to say, but I decided to think of something else after remembering what Rika told me before.

In the end, I told her,

"......——Thanks for doing so much stuff for us, Rika.

A surprised expression found its way to Rika's face for an instant.

A moment later, her face went red as a beet.

"Geez~! You little~! Didn't I tell you to stop throwing those fastballs at me out of nowhere~!?"

"Not sure how else you want me to say it..."

I said, surprised by Rika's reaction.

Rika then said, as though trying to change the subject as soon as possible,

"Ah, look, the next race is starting!"

She then pulled out a pair of binoculars from one of her lab coat's pockets, and looked down at the track again.

As she did, I heard the faint "Bam!" of a starting gun.

Looks like the 200 meter sprint just got started.

"Ah, Sena-senpai's already out there."

Rika said while looking through her binoculars.

I looked down at the track too after hearing that, and sure enough, Sena was down there running.

Sena's hair was easy to spot as it swayed in the wind, even from all the way out here, and it even looked like it was giving off little golden particles.

"Woah~ Those things really can bounce, can't they~...... Tch."

Rika sounded a little jealous as she described what was going on down on the track.

"Where the heck are you looking..."

It wasn't long before Sena reached the goal line, way ahead of the other runners.

She then ran both hands through her hair, as though trying to show off her perfect win to everybody, and took the first place flag from one of the boys helping to run the festival as though it were hers to begin with.

Every single little move she made had a certain flashiness to it.

"Haa~ Sena-senpai really is amazing, isn't she~"

Rika pulled the binoculars away from her eyes, turned away from the track, and leaned back against the rail.

"Yeah, sure is," I said as I continued to look down at the track.

But then, all of a sudden,

"By the way, Kodaka-senpai, how do you feel about Sena-senpai?"

Rika threw that fastball at me out of nowhere like it was nothing.

"W-what do you mean... she's just a fellow club member."

"Even though you're engaged?"

"...That's all in the past now."

"Oh yeah...?"

Rika made a face that looked like she was thinking about something.

"...Doesn't seem like it is for Sena-senpai though."

"Eh? What'd you say?"

I asked Rika, who'd mumbled something under her breath, and then, all of a sudden, Rika looked at me with a scornful, hostile, horribly cold look in her eyes.

She then looked up at the sky, and then whispered in an emotionless voice, as though talking to herself,

"——Always gets lonely, but is scared of having others show they honestly care."

"——Pretends not to notice. Pretends not to hear."

"——Run away. Brushes it off. Avoids the issue. Refuses."

"——Even turns to self-deception, spinning lies such as 'There's no way anybody likes me'."

"...Ahh, you mean Kobato? Yeah, you're right, she does act like that sometimes, doesn't she... She's always been shy. Looks like she still is too, based on what we saw a few days ago."

I said to Rika with a bitter smile on my face, knowing full-well that wasn't what she meant.

I couldn't tell if she was listening to me or not, but she soon lowered her gaze from the sky down to the concrete ground we were standing on. She then made a vague expression on her face that looked like she was both crying and laughing, and said, not as though criticizing me, but rather, as though soothing me, in a gentle, affectionate tone of voice,

"——Don't give me that 'What'd you say?' crap, iii~diot..."

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img02(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

Rika's lips then twisted into a smile as she stared at me with dark, empty eyes as cold as space.

She'd thrown away her mask of being "That weird junior that's always energetic and always saying ridiculous stuff." The Rika before me now was one I've never seen before.

Rika then continued while acting as though she were giggling.

"...If that's what you want, Kodaka-senpai, then Rika will continue acting like she has been. It's not like I don't enjoy BL, mecha, and sexy stuff. And acting hyper, and having you always act so blunt with me is fun in its own way, too. But you know, Kodaka-senpai——"

"Don't you think it's about time we move on? I mean——"

"Stop it!"

I unintentionally let out a wild yell.

I absolutely cannot let her finish that sentence.

If she did, I'd, we'd... have no choice but to move on.

And moving on... means changing.

That is an incredibly scary thing.

It's truly terrifying, like moving from a bright, warm room into a world of darkness that leaves you completely blind.

It's not just me either.

I'm sure it's the same for Yozora, Sena, Yukimura, and Rika too.

Those words are ones that could bring about an irreversible change that would shake the Neighbors Club itself.

That change would truly be irreversible—— it can't even be compared to trivial problems like a memory from 10 years ago, or a pre-arranged marriage.

"...Hahh." Rika let out a fleeting sigh as she went completely silent.

I let out a tiny sigh myself, and said, "...I'm gonna go now," as I walked off.

I'd gotten away from Rika—— and just as I put my hand on the knob to the roof's door,

"I mean, aren't we all——"

Rika whispered something behind me.

In a voice that sounded like it was shaking—— like it was crying.

My entire body shook with terror.

However, that very instant,

Luckily—— whether or not it was truly lucky, I don't know, but——a wind far stronger than before roared across the rooftop, and erased Rika's words.

And I, like the coward I am, signed a breath of relief.

I turned only my head around to face Rika.

"——Eh? What'd you say?"

That's what I told her, playing dumb once again.

However, what I'd said was not a question, it was my answer.

And the girl, who was wiser than anyone else in the Neighbors Club, who could tell what people were thinking——whether she wanted to or not——simply made a sad smile, and said nothing in response.

I opened the door, and left the roof behind me.

All the while telling myself I'd made the right choice.

...But I knew what those words lost in the wind really were.

...I'd known what they were for a long, long time now.

 

The End.

<references />
<noinclude>
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Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 7 King Lear

2012-11-07T06:59:17Z

Dan.:

<h2>King Lear</h2>

It was now Friday morning. It's been five days since the middle school festival ended, and Kobato's been filming with us ever since.

Normally we'd all have a short homeroom period right now, but all students of the Saint Chronica high school division were instead lined up on the track in our gym uniforms.

Today is the long-awaited first day of the Saint Chronica Academy high school division's festival—— the day of the athletics festival.

The teams were broken up into five colors: red, white, blue, yellow, and green, and our team, the green team, was made up of classes 1-5, 2-5, and 3-5, with everyone on our team wearing a green headband.

"——We shall begin our athletics festival on this wonderful autumn day without a cloud in the sky. Students, now is the time to show the fruits of all the hard work you've done for this day——"

A beautiful voice rang out across the entire track from a microphone on the stage in front of us.

The person speaking into the microphone right now was the student council president, who was giving her little greeting speech.

However, despite what she'd just said, there were, in fact, several clouds in the sky, the wind was pretty strong, it wasn't very warm, and on top of all that, most students were busy preparing for the cultural festival side of things, not the athletics festival, which is more of a formality than anything. The only people who did any practice for it were the ones who already practice daily anyway, so I doubt that anyone even had any fruits to show, but I guess you're not supposed to point that out.

The speech was pretty much just a template of the same stuff you always hear at these kinds of things, but strangely enough, it had a certain charm to it that made you want to listen.

Come to think of it, I didn't even know our student council president was a girl until now.

I'm a transfer student, so I obviously didn't go to the entrance ceremony, and this school doesn't have ceremonies for the end of each semester either. I've also never had a reason to get involved with the student council, so this was really my first time seeing her.

She had pure black hair, and part of it was tied into braids and bundled up on the back of her head.

She was certainly pretty, and had an air of refinement to her as well, but she didn't have even a hint of the harsh impression Yozora does, nor was she so flashy as to be unapproachable like Sena. She also had, as I mentioned before, a nice clean voice, as well as a nice and friendly atmosphere about her.

To sum it all up—— She had the kind of appearance that anybody, young or old, man or woman, would like the instant they saw her, and honestly, I was pretty jealous of her for that.

I don't really like to get all negative like this, but I couldn't help but think how much easier my life would be if I had that kind of friendly appearance too.

Anyway, the stage she was standing on also had teachers, the event organizers, and the first-aid team on it as well, and among those people was the baby wolf-like girl I'd met a few days ago, the student council treasurer, Aoi Yusa.

Yusa was standing ramrod straight, and the way she was so obviously nervous with her face all stiff was actually kinda funny.

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img01(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

☺

After the StuCo president gave her speech, the chairman came to give his (usually the chairman's speech is a really long and boring one, but he wrapped his up surprisingly quickly), after which the opening ceremony speech was given, and once we'd finished our warm-up stretches, the athletics festival began at long last.

That said, the only events I was participating in were the class vs. class tug-of-war competition and the relay race, so I wouldn't be doing anything soon.

There was a general listless mood in the air among the students as everyone got ready for the first event, the 200 meter sprint, as well, except for the cheering squads, who somehow managed to muster up the energy to get all fired up and beat on their drums and stuff.

It was just like Yozora said before, looks like nobody really gets too excited for the athletics festival here.

Anyway, as I was walking around our class' little area trying to stay quiet, I spotted Yozora standing off on the edge of the track in the shade.

"Yo."

"...Ahghh?"

I was met with a zombie-like groan of a reply after calling out to Yozora, who seemed even more melancholic than usual.

"...Oh, Kodaka......... Hahh... Maybe I should just go home now..."

"Already? Seriously?"

I made a wry smile at Yozora, who was already planning on leaving despite the fact that the festival had just started, and then said,

"I'm kinda surprised you actually even showed up at all."

"Hmph... I only came on a whim."

Yozora said as though she were pouting with her lips pursed.

"...Now that I'm here though, I wish I would've skipped. Having to see that irritating woman first thing in the morning was awful."

"Irritating woman?"

I asked in return, causing Yozora to start twitching with what appeared to be annoyance.

"...The woman who gave the speech at the opening ceremony."

"Umm... Do you mean the student council president? What'd she do to you?"

"Just hearing about her pisses me off."

"Eh? Do you not get along with her?"

Yozora doesn't even seem to do anything where she'd run into her.

"...I've never talked to her, but I hate her to death."

"Huh?"

Yozora's expression filled with even more hatred after she gave me her nonsense answer.

"...Hinata Hidaka, a senior. She's incredibly popular, and has been the student council president for two years now. She's incredibly athletic, and often serves as a stand-in for several of the sports clubs at their matches and such. She's also very kind, and people say that she hardly ever turns down requests for her help, despite how busy she is. Of course, she's loved by both her juniors and fellow classmates as well."

"She sounds like a friggin' great person! Hell, you could probably call her a saint."

Yozora nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that's exactly right. Hinata Hidaka... She is what it means to be a true normal... Back when I was a freshman, I thought that both her and Meat were the two peerless normals of this school, and thus viewed them as my enemies. However, unlike Meat, that woman is incredibly popular with girls as well. And, seeing as how I now know that Meat is unmatched in how pathetic she is, it is Hinata Hidaka alone who stands at the top of the world of normals—— she truly is befitting of being called King Lear."<ref>King Lear is pronounced, "Ria Ou" in Japanese, which also sounds like "King of the Normals" (Normals = Riajuu, Ou = King).</ref>

"King Lear...? Wait, isn't that the title of some book?"

I asked, to which Yozora gave a small nod, and then casually explained,

"It's one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. It's a story about an old king who is betrayed by the ones he loved, and then lives out his final years as a vagrant, ultimately meeting a pathetic end after experiencing many tragedies. Aside from Lear, most of the other characters in the story die too."

"That's a terrible nickname to give somebody!"

That might even be worse than Sena's "Meat."

"...I came up with it in the hopes that her life would end like his. ...Anyway, it's awful just being in the same school as her. Every time I see her, I'll wait till she goes by me, and then glare at her from behind, or quietly click my tongue at her, or something like that."

"H-holy crap are you petty..."

Oh man... this is just... pathetic.

I kinda wanted to start crying at how my once-manly childhood friend (who was actually a girl) had changed so much.

Actually, now that I think about it, she's only been getting worse recently...

She's always had plenty of pathetic habits, like talking to her air friend, but I get the feeling that she isn't even trying to hide them anymore now.

Back when I'd just transferred in, she at least looked perfect. I mean, she was like an intelligent, hard-to-approach cool beauty to me, but now... It's strange... When did she turn into such a hopeless case...

"...Arghh, just talking about her is pissing me off and making my stomach hurt and making me wanna throw up. I'm gonna go rest in the nurse's office."

Yozora's complexion actually did seem a little worse as she walked off.

"Just how much do you hate normals anyway..."

Anyway, I decided to leave as well, taken aback by Yozora's attitude, and headed over to our class' tent.

But then, all of a sudden, at the edge of my vision—— I saw something white flapping on roof of the school building.

It was a lab coat—— a girl in a lab coat, to be precise.

"...What the heck is she doing way up there?"

☺

Generally speaking, students aren't allowed into the building during the athletics festival, but I got in quite easily on account of having spotted sister Kate walking around nearby.

"Please try to refrain from stealing girls' underwear and uniforms, getting dressed in them, putting them on your head, and then splooging all over them, Onii-chan," was the moronic warning she gave me, which I pretended I didn't even hear, and quickly walked through the halls up to the roof.

The instant I opened the door to the roof, a strong wind blew right at me, causing me to scrunch up my face reflexively.

It was much windier and colder up here on the roof.

I went outside though, and closed the door behind me.

The door made a loud "BANG" as it closed due to the strong wind.

"Owah!?"

The girl in the lab coat leaning against the railing as she looked down at the track—— that is, Rika Shiguma let out a yelp and quickly turned around to face me.

"Huh...? Senpai? Why are you up here?"

"Uh, ya' know... that's my line here."

I said in response to Rika's question.

"Well~ I just wanted to stand out in the wind a bit," said Rika.

I then saw what Rika was wearing, and made a frown.

"...What the heck are you wearing?"

I couldn't tell from down on the track, but Rika was wearing a gym uniform beneath her lab coat, except she was wearing a pair of black bloomers instead of the black spats that are part of the school's regulation gym uniform.

She didn't have her glasses on, but her hair was in a ponytail, just like it was when I first met her.

Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've seen Rika in her lab coat in a while.

Rika made an embarrassed smile, her cheeks tinged a light shade of red.

"Rika decided to put on a gym uniform too, since it's the athletics festival and all. Does it suit me?"

Honestly she looked incredibly good in it, and I wished she'd take off the lab coat, but instead of telling her that, I said, 

"I'm pretty sure they'd give you a spare gym uniform if you went to the nurse's office. Heck, why don't you just join the festival while you're at it? There's stuff you can sign up for the day of too."

However Rika shook her head, and replied,

"It's OK, I've still work to do. I wouldn't join even if I didn't though."

We just barely managed to finish filming our movie last evening.

We left the editing all up to Rika and went home, but...

"...Did you not go home yesterday? Hell, did you even sleep?"

I noticed that Rika had dark bags under her eyes.

"Ah, you found out, huh? I suppose I should've put on a pair of fake glasses or something."

Rika awkwardly made a wry smile.

"...You know, um..."

Sorry for making you do all the work, is what I was about to say, but I decided to think of something else after remembering what Rika told me before.

In the end, I told her,

"......——Thanks for doing so much stuff for us, Rika.

A surprised expression found its way to Rika's face for an instant.

A moment later, her face went red as a beet.

"Geez~! You little~! Didn't I tell you to stop throwing those fastballs at me out of nowhere~!?"

"Not sure how else you want me to say it..."

I said, surprised by Rika's reaction.

Rika then said, as though trying to change the subject as soon as possible,

"Ah, look, the next race is starting!"

She then pulled out a pair of binoculars from one of her lab coat's pockets, and looked down at the track again.

As she did, I heard the faint "Bam!" of a starting gun.

Looks like the 200 meter sprint just got started.

"Ah, Sena-senpai's already out there."

Rika said while looking through her binoculars.

I looked down at the track too after hearing that, and sure enough, Sena was down there running.

Sena's hair was easy to spot as it swayed in the wind, even from all the way out here, and it even looked like it was giving off little golden particles.

"Woah~ Those things really can bounce, can't they~...... Tch."

Rika sounded a little jealous as she described what was going on down on the track.

"Where the heck are you looking..."

It wasn't long before Sena reached the goal line, way ahead of the other runners.

She then ran both hands through her hair, as though trying to show off her perfect win to everybody, and took the first place flag from one of the boys helping to run the festival as though it were hers to begin with.

Every single little move she made had a certain flashiness to it.

"Haa~ Sena-senpai really is amazing, isn't she~"

Rika pulled the binoculars away from her eyes, turned away from the track, and leaned back against the rail.

"Yeah, sure is," I said as I continued to look down at the track.

But then, all of a sudden,

"By the way, Kodaka-senpai, how do you feel about Sena-senpai?"

Rika threw that fastball at me out of nowhere like it was nothing.

"W-what do you mean... she's just a fellow club member."

"Even though you're engaged?"

"...That's all in the past now."

"Oh yeah...?"

Rika made a face that looked like she was thinking about something.

"...Doesn't seem like it is for Sena-senpai though."

"Eh? What'd you say?"

I asked Rika, who'd mumbled something under her breath, and then, all of a sudden, Rika looked at me with a scornful, hostile, horribly cold look in her eyes.

She then looked up at the sky, and then whispered in an emotionless voice, as though talking to herself,

"——Always gets lonely, but is scared of having others show they honestly care."

"——Pretends not to notice. Pretends not to hear."

"——Run away. Brushes it off. Avoids the issue. Refuses."

"——Even turns to self-deception, spinning lies such as 'There's no way anybody likes me'."

"...Ahh, you mean Kobato? Yeah, you're right, she does act like that sometimes, doesn't she... She's always been shy. Looks like she still is too, based on what we saw a few days ago."

I said to Rika with a bitter smile on my face, knowing full-well that wasn't what she meant.

I couldn't tell if she was listening to me or not, but she soon lowered her gaze from the sky down to the concrete ground we were standing on. She then made a vague expression on her face that looked like she was both crying and laughing, and said, not as though criticizing me, but rather, as though soothing me, in a gentle, affectionate tone of voice,

"——Don't give me that 'What'd you say?' crap, iii~diot..."

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img02(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

Rika's lips then twisted into a smile as she stared at me with dark, empty eyes as cold as space.

She'd thrown away her mask of being "That weird junior that's always energetic and always saying ridiculous stuff." The Rika before me now was one I've never seen before.

Rika then continued while acting as though she were giggling.

"...If that's what you want, Kodaka-senpai, then Rika will continue acting like she has been. It's not like I don't enjoy BL, mecha, and sexy stuff. And acting hyper, and having you always act so blunt with me is fun in its own way, too. But you know, Kodaka-senpai——"

"Don't you think it's about time we move on? I mean——"

"Stop it!"

I unintentionally let out a wild yell.

I absolutely cannot let her finish that sentence.

If she did, I'd, we'd... have no choice but to move on.

And moving on... means changing.

That is an incredibly scary thing.

It's truly terrifying, like moving from a bright, warm room into a world of darkness that leaves you completely blind.

It's not just me either.

I'm sure it's the same for Yozora, Sena, Yukimura, and Rika too.

Those words are ones that could bring about an irreversible change that would shake the Neighbors Club itself.

That change would truly be irreversible—— it can't even be compared to trivial problems like a memory from 10 years ago, or a pre-arranged marriage.

"...Hahh." Rika let out a fleeting sigh as she went completely silent.

I let out a tiny sigh myself, and said, "...I'm gonna go now," as I walked off.

I'd gotten away from Rika—— and just as I put my hand on the knob to the roof's door,

"I mean, aren't we all——"

Rika whispered something behind me.

In a voice that sounded like it was shaking—— like it was crying.

My entire body shook with terror.

However, that very instant,

Luckily—— whether or not it was truly lucky, I don't know, but——a wind far stronger than before roared across the rooftop, and erased Rika's words.

And I, like the coward I am, signed a breath of relief.

I turned only my head around to face Rika.

"——Eh? What'd you say?"

That's what I told her, playing dumb once again.

However, what I'd said was not a question, it was my answer.

And the girl, who was wiser than anyone else in the Neighbors Club, who could tell what people were thinking——whether she wanted to or not——simply made a sad smile, and said nothing in response.

I opened the door, and left the roof behind me.

All the while telling myself I'd made the right choice.

...But I knew what those words lost in the wind really were.

...I'd known what they were for a long, long time now.

 

The End.

<references />
<noinclude>
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Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 7 King Lear

2012-11-07T06:54:53Z

Dan.:

<h2>King Lear</h2>

It was now Friday morning. It's been five days since the middle school festival ended, and Kobato's been filming with us ever since.

Normally we'd all have a short homeroom period right now, but all students of the Saint Chronica high school division were instead lined up on the track in our gym uniforms.

Today is the long-awaited first day of the Saint Chronica Academy high school division's festival—— the day of the athletics festival.

The teams were broken up into five colors: red, white, blue, yellow, and green, and our team, the green team, was made up of classes 1-5, 2-5, and 3-5, with everyone on our team wearing a green headband.

"——We shall begin our athletics festival on this wonderful autumn day without a cloud in the sky. Students, now is the time to show the fruits of all the hard work you've done for this day——"

A beautiful voice rang out across the entire track from a microphone on the stage in front of us.

The person speaking into the microphone right now was the student council president, who was giving her little greeting speech.

However, despite what she'd just said, there were, in fact, several clouds in the sky, the wind was pretty strong, it wasn't very warm, and on top of all that, most students were busy preparing for the cultural festival side of things, not the athletics festival, which is more of a formality than anything. The only people who did any practice for it were the ones who already practice daily anyway, so I doubt that anyone even had any fruits to show, but I guess you're not supposed to point that out.

The speech was pretty much just a template of the same stuff you always hear at these kinds of things, but strangely enough, it had a certain charm to it that made you want to listen.

Come to think of it, I didn't even know our student council president was a girl until now.

I'm a transfer student, so I obviously didn't go to the entrance ceremony, and this school doesn't have ceremonies for the end of each semester either. I've also never had a reason to get involved with the student council, so this was really my first time seeing her.

She had pure black hair, and part of it was tied into braids and bundled up on the back of her head.

She was certainly pretty, and had an air of refinement to her as well, but she didn't have even a hint of the harsh impression Yozora does, nor was she so flashy as to be unapproachable like Sena. She also had, as I mentioned before, a nice clean voice, as well as a nice and friendly atmosphere about her.

To sum it all up—— She had the kind of appearance that anybody, young or old, man or woman, would like the instant they saw her, and honestly, I was pretty jealous of her for that.

I don't really like to get all negative like this, but I couldn't help but think how much easier my life would be if I had that kind of friendly appearance too.

Anyway, the stage she was standing on also had teachers, the event organizers, and the first-aid team on it as well, and among those people was the baby wolf-like girl I'd met a few days ago, the student council treasurer, Aoi Yusa.

Yusa was standing ramrod straight, and the way she was so obviously nervous with her face all stiff was actually kinda funny.

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img01(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

☺

After the StuCo president gave her speech, the chairman came to give his (usually the chairman's speech is a really long and boring one, but he wrapped his up surprisingly quickly), after which the opening ceremony speech was given, and once we'd finished our warm-up stretches, the athletics festival began at long last.

That said, the only events I was participating in were the class vs. class tug-of-war competition and the relay race, so I wouldn't be doing anything soon.

There was a general listless mood in the air among the students as everyone got ready for the first event, the 200 meter sprint, as well, except for the cheering squads, who somehow managed to muster up the energy to get all fired up and beat on their drums and stuff.

It was just like Yozora said before, looks like nobody really gets too excited for the athletics festival here.

Anyway, as I was walking around our class' little area trying to stay quiet, I spotted Yozora standing off on the edge of the track in the shade.

"Yo."

"...Ahghh?"

I was met with a zombie-like groan of a reply after calling out to Yozora, who seemed even more melancholic than usual.

"...Oh, Kodaka......... Hahh... Maybe I should just go home now..."

"Already? Seriously?"

I made a wry smile at Yozora, who was already planning on leaving despite the fact that the festival had just started, and then said,

"I'm kinda surprised you actually even showed up at all."

"Hmph... I only came on a whim."

Yozora said as though she were pouting with her lips pursed.

"...Now that I'm here though, I wish I would've skipped. Having to see that irritating woman first thing in the morning was awful."

"Irritating woman?"

I asked in return, causing Yozora to start twitching with what appeared to be annoyance.

"...The woman who gave the speech at the opening ceremony."

"Umm... Do you mean the student council president? What'd she do to you?"

"Just hearing about her pisses me off."

"Eh? Do you not get along with her?"

Yozora doesn't even seem to do anything where she'd run into her.

"...I've never talked to her, but I hate her to death."

"Huh?"

Yozora's expression filled with even more hatred after she gave me her nonsense answer.

"...Hinata Hidaka, a senior. She's incredibly popular, and has been the student council president for two years now. She's incredibly athletic, and often serves as a stand-in for several of the sports clubs at their matches and such. She's also very kind, and people say that she hardly ever turns down requests for her help, despite how busy she is. Of course, she's loved by both her juniors and fellow classmates as well."

"She sounds like a friggin' great person! Hell, you could probably call her a saint."

Yozora nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that's exactly right. Hinata Hidaka... She is what it means to be a true normal... Back when I was a freshman, I thought that both her and Meat were the two peerless normals of this school, and thus viewed them as my enemies. However, unlike Meat, that woman is incredibly popular with girls as well. And, seeing as how I now know that Meat is unmatched in how pathetic she is, it is Hinata Hidaka alone who stands at the top of the world of normals—— she truly is befitting of being called King Lear."<ref>King Lear is pronounced, "Ria Ou" in Japanese, which also sounds like "King of the Normals" (Normals = Riajuu, Ou = King).</ref>

"King Lear...? Wait, isn't that the title of some book?"

I asked, to which Yozora gave a small nod, and then casually explained,

"It's one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. It's a story about an old king who is betrayed by the ones he loved, and then lives out his final years as a vagrant, ultimately meeting a pathetic end after experiencing many tragedies. Aside from Lear, most of the other characters in the story die too."

"That's a terrible nickname to give somebody!"

That might even be worse than Sena's "Meat."

"...I came up with it in the hopes that her life would end like his. ...Anyway, it's awful just being in the same school as her. Every time I see her, I'll wait till she goes by me, and then glare at her from behind, or quietly click my tongue at her, or something like that."

"H-holy crap are you petty..."

Oh man... this is just... pathetic.

I kinda wanted to start crying at how my once-manly childhood friend (who was actually a girl) had changed so much.

Actually, now that I think about it, she's only been getting worse recently...

She's always had plenty of pathetic habits, like talking to her air friend, but I get the feeling that she isn't even trying to hide them anymore now.

Back when I'd just transferred in, she at least looked perfect. I mean, she was like an intelligent, hard-to-approach cool beauty to me, but now... It's strange... When did she turn into such a hopeless case...

"...Arghh, just talking about her is pissing me off and making my stomach hurt and making me wanna throw up. I'm gonna go rest in the nurse's office."

Yozora's complexion actually did seem a little worse as she walked off.

"Just how much do you hate normals anyway..."

Anyway, I decided to leave as well, taken aback by Yozora's attitude, and headed over to our class' tent.

But then, all of a sudden, at the edge of my vision—— I saw something white flapping on roof of the school building.

It was a lab coat—— a girl in a lab coat, to be precise.

"...What the heck is she doing way up there?"

☺

Generally speaking, students aren't allowed into the building during the athletics festival, but I got in quite easily on account of having spotted sister Kate walking around nearby.

"Please try to refrain from stealing girls' underwear and uniforms, getting dressed in them, putting them on your head, and then splooging all over them, Onii-chan," was the moronic warning she gave me, which I pretended I didn't even hear, and quickly walked through the halls up to the roof.

The instant I opened the door to the roof, a strong wind blew right at me, causing me to scrunch up my face reflexively.

It was much windier and colder up here on the roof.

I went outside though, and closed the door behind me.

The door made a loud "BANG" as it closed due to the strong wind.

"Owah!?"

The girl in the lab coat leaning against the railing as she looked down at the track—— that is, Rika Shiguma let out a yelp and quickly turned around to face me.

"Huh...? Senpai? Why are you up here?"

"Uh, ya' know... that's mine line here."

I said in response to Rika's question.

"Well~ I just wanted to stand out in the wind a bit," said Rika.

I then saw what Rika was wearing, and made a frown.

"...What the heck are you wearing?"

I couldn't tell from down on the track, but Rika was wearing a gym uniform beneath her lab coat, except she was wearing a pair of black bloomers instead of the black spats that are part of the school's regulation gym uniform.

She didn't have her glasses on, but her hair was in a ponytail, just like it was when I first met her.

Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've seen Rika in her lab coat in a while.

Rika made an embarrassed smile, her cheeks tinged a light shade of red.

"Rika decided to put on a gym uniform too, since it's the athletics festival and all. Does it suit me?"

Honestly she looked incredibly good in it, and I wished she'd take off the lab coat, but instead of telling her that, I said, 

"I'm pretty sure they'd give you a spare gym uniform if you went to the nurse's office. Heck, why don't you just join the festival while you're at it? There's stuff you can sign up for the day of too."

However Rika shook her head, and replied,

"It's OK, I've still work to do. I wouldn't join even if I didn't though."

We just barely managed to finish filming our movie last evening.

We left the editing all up to Rika and went home, but...

"...Did you not go home yesterday? Hell, did you even sleep?"

I noticed that Rika had dark bags under her eyes.

"Ah, you found out, huh? I suppose I should've put on a pair of fake glasses or something."

Rika awkwardly made a wry smile.

"...You know, um..."

Sorry for making you do all the work, is what I was about to say, but I decided to think of something else after remembering what Rika told me before.

In the end, I told her,

"......——Thanks for doing so much stuff for us, Rika.

A surprised expression found its way to Rika's face for an instant.

A moment later, her face went red as a beet.

"Geez~! You little~! Didn't I tell you to stop throwing those fastballs at me out of nowhere~!?"

"Not sure how else you want me to say it..."

I said, surprised by Rika's reaction.

Rika then said, as though trying to change the subject as soon as possible,

"Ah, look, the next race is starting!"

She then pulled out a pair of binoculars from one of her lab coat's pockets, and looked down at the track again.

As she did, I heard the faint "Bam!" of a starting gun.

Looks like the 200 meter sprint just got started.

"Ah, Sena-senpai's already out there."

Rika said while looking through her binoculars.

I looked down at the track too after hearing that, and sure enough, Sena was down there running.

Sena's hair was easy to spot as it swayed in the wind, even from all the way out here, and it even looked like it was giving off little golden particles.

"Woah~ Those things really can bounce, can't they~...... Tch."

Rika sounded a little jealous as she described what was going on down on the track.

"Where the heck are you looking..."

It wasn't long before Sena reached the goal line, way ahead of the other runners.

She then ran both hands through her hair, as though trying to show off her perfect win to everybody, and took the first place flag from one of the boys helping to run the festival as though it were hers to begin with.

Every single little move she made had a certain flashiness to it.

"Haa~ Sena-senpai really is amazing, isn't she~"

Rika pulled the binoculars away from her eyes, turned away from the track, and leaned back against the rail.

"Yeah, sure is," I said as I continued to look down at the track.

But then, all of a sudden,

"By the way, Kodaka-senpai, how do you feel about Sena-senpai?"

Rika threw that fastball at me out of nowhere like it was nothing.

"W-what do you mean... she's just a fellow club member."

"Even though you're engaged?"

"...That's all in the past now."

"Oh yeah...?"

Rika made a face that looked like she was thinking about something.

"...Doesn't seem like it is for Sena-senpai though."

"Eh? What'd you say?"

I asked Rika, who'd mumbled something under her breath, and then, all of a sudden, Rika looked at me with a scornful, hostile, horribly cold look in her eyes.

She then looked up at the sky, and then whispered in an emotionless voice, as though talking to herself,

"——Always gets lonely, but is scared of having others show they honestly care."

"——Pretends not to notice. Pretends not to hear."

"——Run away. Brushes it off. Avoids the issue. Refuses."

"——Even turns to self-deception, spinning lies such as 'There's no way anybody likes me'."

"...Ahh, you mean Kobato? Yeah, you're right, she does act like that sometimes, doesn't she... She's always been shy. Looks like she still is too, based on what we saw a few days ago."

I said to Rika with a bitter smile on my face, knowing full-well that wasn't what she meant.

I couldn't tell if she was listening to me or not, but she soon lowered her gaze from the sky down to the concrete ground we were standing on. She then made a vague expression on her face that looked like she was both crying and laughing, and said, not as though criticizing me, but rather, as though soothing me, in a gentle, affectionate tone of voice,

"——Don't give me that 'What'd you say?' crap, iii~diot..."

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img02(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

Rika's lips then twisted into a smile as she stared at me with dark, empty eyes as cold as space.

She'd thrown away her mask of being "That weird junior that's always energetic and always saying ridiculous stuff." The Rika before me now was one I've never seen before.

Rika then continued while acting as though she were giggling.

"...If that's what you want, Kodaka-senpai, then Rika will continue acting like she has been. It's not like I don't enjoy BL, mecha, and sexy stuff. And acting hyper, and having you always act so blunt with me is fun in its own way, too. But you know, Kodaka-senpai——"

"Don't you think it's about time we move on? I mean——"

"Stop it!"

I unintentionally let out a wild yell.

I absolutely cannot let her finish that sentence.

If she did, I'd, we'd... have no choice but to move on.

And moving on... means changing.

That is an incredibly scary thing.

It's truly terrifying, like moving from a bright, warm room into a world of darkness that leaves you completely blind.

It's not just me either.

I'm sure it's the same for Yozora, Sena, Yukimura, and Rika too.

Those words are ones that could bring about an irreversible change that would shake the Neighbors Club itself.

That change would truly be irreversible—— it can't even be compared to trivial problems like a memory from 10 years ago, or a pre-arranged marriage.

"...Hahh." Rika let out a fleeting sigh as she went completely silent.

I let out a tiny sigh myself, and said, "...I'm gonna go now," as I walked off.

I'd gotten away from Rika—— and just as I put my hand on the knob to the roof's door,

"I mean, aren't we all——"

Rika whispered something behind me.

In a voice that sounded like it was shaking—— like it was crying.

My entire body shook with terror.

However, that very instant,

Luckily—— whether or not it was truly lucky, I don't know, but——a wind far stronger than before roared across the rooftop, and erased Rika's words.

And I, like the coward I am, signed a breath of relief.

I turned only my head around to face Rika.

"——Eh? What'd you say?"

That's what I told her, playing dumb once again.

However, what I'd said was not a question, it was my answer.

And the girl, who was wiser than anyone else in the Neighbors Club, who could tell what people were thinking——whether she wanted to or not——simply made a sad smile, and said nothing in response.

I opened the door, and left the roof behind me.

All the while telling myself I'd made the right choice.

...But I knew what those words lost in the wind really were.

...I'd known what they were for a long, long time now.

 

The End.

<references />
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Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 7 King Lear

2012-11-07T06:50:32Z

Dan.:

<h2>King Lear</h2>

It was now Friday morning. It's been five days since the middle school festival ended, and Kobato's been filming with us ever since.

Normally we'd all have a short homeroom period right now, but all students of the Saint Chronica high school division were instead lined up on the track in our gym uniforms.

Today is the long-awaited first day of the Saint Chronica Academy high school division's festival—— the day of the athletics festival.

The teams were broken up into five colors: red, white, blue, yellow, and green, and our team, the green team, was made up of classes 1-5, 2-5, and 3-5, with everyone on our team wearing a green headband.

"——We shall begin our athletics festival on this wonderful autumn day without a cloud in the sky. Students, now is the time to show the fruits of all the hard work you've done for this day——"

A beautiful voice rang out across the entire track from a microphone on the stage in front of us.

The person speaking into the microphone right now was the student council president, who was giving her little greeting speech.

However, despite what she'd just said, there were, in fact, several clouds in the sky, the wind was pretty strong, it wasn't very warm, and on top of all that, most students were busy preparing for the cultural festival side of things, not the athletics festival, which is more of a formality than anything. The only people who did any practice for it were the ones who already practice daily anyway, so I doubt that anyone even had any fruits to show, but I guess you're not supposed to point that out.

The speech was pretty much just a template of the same stuff you always hear at these kinds of things, but strangely enough, it had a certain charm to it that made you want to listen.

Come to think of it, I didn't even know our student council president was a girl until now.

I'm a transfer student, so I obviously didn't go to the entrance ceremony, and this school doesn't have ceremonies for the end of each semester either. I've also never had a reason to get involved with the student council, so this was really my first time seeing her.

She had pure black hair, and part of it was tied into braids and bundled up on the back of her head.

She was certainly pretty, and had an air of refinement to her as well, but she didn't have even a hint of the harsh impression Yozora does, nor was she so flashy as to be unapproachable like Sena. She also had, as I mentioned before, a nice clean voice, as well as a nice and friendly atmosphere about her.

To sum it all up—— She had the kind of appearance that anybody, young or old, man or woman, would like the instant they saw her, and honestly, I was pretty jealous of her for that.

I don't really like to get all negative like this, but I couldn't help but think how much easier my life would be if I had that kind of friendly appearance too.

Anyway, the stage she was standing on also had teachers, the event organizers, and the first-aid team on it as well, and among those people was the baby wolf-like girl I'd met a few days ago, the student council treasurer, Aoi Yusa.

Yusa was standing ramrod straight, and the way she was so obviously nervous with her face all stiff was actually kinda funny.

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img01(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

☺

After the StuCo president gave her speech, the chairman came to give his (usually the chairman's speech is a really long and boring one, but he wrapped his up surprisingly quickly), after which the opening ceremony speech was given, and once we'd finished our warm-up stretches, the athletics festival began at long last.

That said, the only events I was participating in were the class vs. class tug-of-war competition and the relay race, so I wouldn't be doing anything soon.

There was a general listless mood in the air among the students as everyone got ready for the first event, the 200 meter sprint, as well, except for the cheering squads, who somehow managed to muster up the energy to get all fired up and beat on their drums and stuff.

It was just like Yozora said before, looks like nobody really gets too excited for the athletics festival here.

Anyway, as I was walking around our class' little area trying to stay quiet, I spotted Yozora standing off on the edge of the track in the shade.

"Yo."

"...Ahghh?"

I was met with a zombie-like groan of a reply after calling out to Yozora, who seemed even more melancholic than usual.

"...Oh, Kodaka......... Hahh... Maybe I should just go home now..."

"Already? Seriously?"

I made a wry smile at Yozora, who was already planning on leaving despite the fact that the festival had just started, and then said,

"I'm kinda surprised you actually even showed up at all."

"Hmph... I only came on a whim."

Yozora said as though she were pouting with her lips pursed.

"...Now that I'm here though, I wish I would've skipped. Having to see that irritating woman first thing in the morning was awful."

"Irritating woman?"

I asked in return, causing Yozora to start twitching with what appeared to be annoyance.

"...The woman who gave the speech at the opening ceremony."

"Umm... Do you mean the student council president? What'd she do to you?"

"Just hearing about her pisses me off."

"Eh? Do you not get along with her?"

Yozora doesn't even seem to do anything where she'd run into her.

"...I've never talked to her, but I hate her to death."

"Huh?"

Yozora's expression filled with even more hatred after she gave me her nonsense answer.

"...Hinata Hidaka, a senior. She's incredibly popular, and has been the student council president for two years now. She's incredibly athletic, and often serves as a stand-in for several of the sports clubs at their matches and such. She's also very kind, and people say that she hardly ever turns down requests for her help, despite how busy she is. Of course, she's loved by both her juniors and fellow classmates as well."

"She sounds like a friggin' great person! Hell, you could probably call her a saint."

Yozora nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that's exactly right. Hinata Hidaka... She is what it means to be a true normal... Back when I was a freshman, I thought that both her and Meat were the two peerless normals of this school, and thus viewed them as my enemies. However, unlike Meat, that woman is incredibly popular with girls as well. And, seeing as how I now know that Meat is unmatched in how pathetic she is, it is Hinata Hidaka alone who stands at the top of the world of normals—— she truly is befitting of being called King Lear."<ref>King Lear is pronounced, "Ria Ou" in Japanese, which also sounds like "King of the Normals" (Normals = Riajuu, Ou = King).</ref>

"King Lear...? Wait, isn't that the title of some book?"

I asked, to which Yozora gave a small nod, and then casually explained,

"It's one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. It's a story about an old king who is betrayed by the ones he loved, and then lives out his final years as a vagrant, ultimately meeting a pathetic end after experiencing many tragedies. Aside from Lear, most of the other characters in the story die too."

"That's a terrible nickname to give somebody!"

That might even be worse than Sena's "Meat".

"...I came up with it in the hopes that her life would end like his. ...Anyway, it's awful just being in the same school as her. Every time I see her, I'll wait till she goes by me, and then glare at her from behind, or quietly click my tongue at her, or something like that."

"H-holy crap are you petty..."

Oh man... this is just... pathetic.

I kinda wanted to start crying at how my once-manly childhood friend (who was actually a girl) had changed so much.

Actually, now that I think about it, she's only been getting worse recently...

She's always had plenty of pathetic habits, like talking to her air friend, but I get the feeling that she isn't even trying to hide them anymore now.

Back when I'd just transferred in, she at least looked perfect. I mean, she was like an intelligent, hard-to-approach cool beauty to me, but now... It's strange... When did she turn into such a hopeless case...

"...Arghh, just talking about her is pissing me off and making my stomach hurt and making me wanna throw up. I'm gonna go rest in the nurse's office."

Yozora's complexion actually did seem a little worse as she walked off.

"Just how much do you hate normals anyway..."

Anyway, I decided to leave as well, taken aback by Yozora's attitude, and headed over to our class' tent.

But then, all of a sudden, at the edge of my vision—— I saw something white flapping on roof of the school building.

It was a lab coat—— a girl in a lab coat, to be precise.

"...What the heck is she doing way up there?"

☺

Generally speaking, students aren't allowed into the building during the athletics festival, but I got in quite easily on account of having spotted sister Kate walking around nearby.

"Please try to refrain from stealing girls' underwear and uniforms, getting dressed in them, putting them on your head, and then splooging all over them, Onii-chan," was the moronic warning she gave me, which I pretended I didn't even hear, and quickly walked through the halls up to the roof.

The instant I opened the door to the roof, a strong wind blew right at me, causing me to scrunch up my face reflexively.

It was much windier and colder up here on the roof.

I went outside though, and closed the door behind me.

The door made a loud "BANG" as it closed due to the strong wind.

"Owah!?"

The girl in the lab coat leaning against the railing as she looked down at the track—— that is, Rika Shiguma let out a yelp and quickly turned around to face me.

"Huh...? Senpai? Why are you up here?"

"Uh, ya' know... that's mine line here."

I said in response to Rika's question.

"Well~ I just wanted to stand out in the wind a bit," said Rika.

I then saw what Rika was wearing, and made a frown.

"...What the heck are you wearing?"

I couldn't tell from down on the track, but Rika was wearing a gym uniform beneath her lab coat, except she was wearing a pair of black bloomers instead of the black spats that are part of the school's regulation gym uniform.

She didn't have her glasses on, but her hair was in a ponytail, just like it was when I first met her.

Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've seen Rika in her lab coat in a while.

Rika made an embarrassed smile, her cheeks tinged a light shade of red.

"Rika decided to put on a gym uniform too, since it's the athletics festival and all. Does it suit me?"

Honestly she looked incredibly good in it, and I wished she'd take off the lab coat, but instead of telling her that, I said, 

"I'm pretty sure they'd give you a spare gym uniform if you went to the nurse's office. Heck, why don't you just join the festival while you're at it? There's stuff you can sign up for the day of too."

However Rika shook her head, and replied,

"It's OK, I've still work to do. I wouldn't join even if I didn't though."

We just barely managed to finish filming our movie last evening.

We left the editing all up to Rika and went home, but...

"...Did you not go home yesterday? Hell, did you even sleep?"

I noticed that Rika had dark bags under her eyes.

"Ah, you found out, huh? I suppose I should've put on a pair of fake glasses or something."

Rika awkwardly made a wry smile.

"...You know, um..."

Sorry for making you do all the work, is what I was about to say, but I decided to think of something else after remembering what Rika told me before.

In the end, I told her,

"......——Thanks for doing so much stuff for us, Rika.

A surprised expression found its way to Rika's face for an instant.

A moment later, her face went red as a beet.

"Geez~! You little~! Didn't I tell you to stop throwing those fastballs at me out of nowhere~!?"

"Not sure how else you want me to say it..."

I said, surprised by Rika's reaction.

Rika then said, as though trying to change the subject as soon as possible,

"Ah, look, the next race is starting!"

She then pulled out a pair of binoculars from one of her lab coat's pockets, and looked down at the track again.

As she did, I heard the faint "Bam!" of a starting gun.

Looks like the 200 meter sprint just got started.

"Ah, Sena-senpai's already out there."

Rika said while looking through her binoculars.

I looked down at the track too after hearing that, and sure enough, Sena was down there running.

Sena's hair was easy to spot as it swayed in the wind, even from all the way out here, and it even looked like it was giving off little golden particles.

"Woah~ Those things really can bounce, can't they~...... Tch."

Rika sounded a little jealous as she described what was going on down on the track.

"Where the heck are you looking..."

It wasn't long before Sena reached the goal line, way ahead of the other runners.

She then ran both hands through her hair, as though trying to show off her perfect win to everybody, and took the first place flag from one of the boys helping to run the festival as though it were hers to begin with.

Every single little move she made had a certain flashiness to it.

"Haa~ Sena-senpai really is amazing, isn't she~"

Rika pulled the binoculars away from her eyes, turned away from the track, and leaned back against the rail.

"Yeah, sure is," I said as I continued to look down at the track.

But then, all of a sudden,

"By the way, Kodaka-senpai, how do you feel about Sena-senpai?"

Rika threw that fastball at me out of nowhere like it was nothing.

"W-what do you mean... she's just a fellow club member."

"Even though you're engaged?"

"...That's all in the past now."

"Oh yeah...?"

Rika made a face that looked like she was thinking about something.

"...Doesn't seem like it is for Sena-senpai though."

"Eh? What'd you say?"

I asked Rika, who'd mumbled something under her breath, and then, all of a sudden, Rika looked at me with a scornful, hostile, horribly cold look in her eyes.

She then looked up at the sky, and then whispered in an emotionless voice, as though talking to herself,

"——Always gets lonely, but is scared of having others show they honestly care."

"——Pretends not to notice. Pretends not to hear."

"——Run away. Brushes it off. Avoids the issue. Refuses."

"——Even turns to self-deception, spinning lies such as 'There's no way anybody likes me'."

"...Ahh, you mean Kobato? Yeah, you're right, she does act like that sometimes, doesn't she... She's always been shy. Looks like she still is too, based on what we saw a few days ago."

I said to Rika with a bitter smile on my face, knowing full-well that wasn't what she meant.

I couldn't tell if she was listening to me or not, but she soon lowered her gaze from the sky down to the concrete ground we were standing on. She then made a vague expression on her face that looked like she was both crying and laughing, and said, not as though criticizing me, but rather, as though soothing me, in a gentle, affectionate tone of voice,

"——Don't give me that 'What'd you say?' crap, iii~diot..."

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img02(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

Rika's lips then twisted into a smile as she stared at me with dark, empty eyes as cold as space.

She'd thrown away her mask of being "That weird junior that's always energetic and always saying ridiculous stuff". The Rika before me now was one I've never seen before.

Rika then continued while acting as though she were giggling.

"...If that's what you want, Kodaka-senpai, then Rika will continue acting like she has been. It's not like I don't enjoy BL, mecha, and sexy stuff. And acting hyper, and having you always act so blunt with me is fun in its own way, too. But you know, Kodaka-senpai——"

"Don't you think it's about time we move on? I mean——"

"Stop it!"

I unintentionally let out a wild yell.

I absolutely cannot let her finish that sentence.

If she did, I'd, we'd... have no choice but to move on.

And moving on... means changing.

That is an incredibly scary thing.

It's truly terrifying, like moving from a bright, warm room into a world of darkness that leaves you completely blind.

It's not just me either.

I'm sure it's the same for Yozora, Sena, Yukimura, and Rika too.

Those words are ones that could bring about an irreversible change that would shake the Neighbors Club itself.

That change would truly be irreversible—— it can't even be compared to trivial problems like a memory from 10 years ago, or a pre-arranged marriage.

"...Hahh." Rika let out a fleeting sigh as she went completely silent.

I let out a tiny sigh myself, and said, "...I'm gonna go now," as I walked off.

I'd gotten away from Rika—— and just as I put my hand on the knob to the roof's door,

"I mean, aren't we all——"

Rika whispered something behind me.

In a voice that sounded like it was shaking—— like it was crying.

My entire body shook with terror.

However, that very instant,

Luckily—— whether or not it was truly lucky, I don't know, but——a wind far stronger than before roared across the rooftop, and erased Rika's words.

And I, like the coward I am, signed a breath of relief.

I turned only my head around to face Rika.

"——Eh? What'd you say?"

That's what I told her, playing dumb once again.

However, what I'd said was not a question, it was my answer.

And the girl, who was wiser than anyone else in the Neighbors Club, who could tell what people were thinking——whether she wanted to or not——simply made a sad smile, and said nothing in response.

I opened the door, and left the roof behind me.

All the while telling myself I'd made the right choice.

...But I knew what those words lost in the wind really were.

...I'd known what they were for a long, long time now.

 

The End.

<references />
<noinclude>
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Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 7 King Lear

2012-11-07T06:45:03Z

Dan.:

<h2>King Lear</h2>

It was now Friday morning. It's been five days since the middle school festival ended, and Kobato's been filming with us ever since.

Normally we'd all have a short homeroom period right now, but all students of the Saint Chronica high school division were instead lined up on the track in our gym uniforms.

Today is the long-awaited first day of the Saint Chronica Academy high school division's festival—— the day of the athletics festival.

The teams were broken up into five colors: red, white, blue, yellow, and green, and our team, the green team, was made up of classes 1-5, 2-5, and 3-5, with everyone on our team wearing a green headband.

"——We shall begin our athletics festival on this wonderful autumn day without a cloud in the sky. Students, now is the time to show the fruits of all the hard work you've done for this day——"

A beautiful voice rang out across the entire track from a microphone on the stage in front of us.

The person speaking into the microphone right now was the student council president, who was giving her little greeting speech.

However, despite what she'd just said, there were, in fact, several clouds in the sky, the wind was pretty strong, it wasn't very warm, and on top of all that, most students were busy preparing for the cultural festival side of things, not the athletics festival, which is more of a formality than anything. The only people who did any practice for it were the ones who already practice daily anyway, so I doubt that anyone even had any fruits to show, but I guess you're not supposed to point that out.

The speech was pretty much just a template of the same stuff you always hear at these kinds of things, but strangely enough, it had a certain charm to it that made you want to listen.

Come to think of it, I didn't even know our student council president was a girl until now.

I'm a transfer student, so I obviously didn't go to the entrance ceremony, and this school doesn't have ceremonies for the end of each semester either. I've also never had a reason to get involved with the student council, so this was really my first time seeing her.

She had pure black hair, and part of it was tied into braids and bundled up on the back of her head.

She was certainly pretty, and had an air of refinement to her as well, but she didn't have even a hint of the harsh impression Yozora does, nor was she so flashy as to be unapproachable like Sena. She also had, as I mentioned before, a nice clean voice, as well as a nice and friendly atmosphere about her.

To sum it all up—— She had the kind of appearance that anybody, young or old, man or woman, would like the instant they saw her, and honestly, I was pretty jealous of her for that.

I don't really like to get all negative like this, but I couldn't help but think how much easier my life would be if I had that kind of friendly appearance too.

Anyway, the stage she was standing on also had teachers, the event organizers, and the first-aid team on it as well, and among those people was the baby wolf-like girl I'd met a few days ago, the student council treasurer, Aoi Yusa.

Yusa was standing ramrod straight, and the way she was so obviously nervous with her face all stiff was actually kinda funny.

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img01(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

☺

After the StuCo president gave her speech, the chairman came to give his (usually the chairman's speech is a really long and boring one, but he wrapped his up surprisingly quick), after which the opening ceremony speech was given, and once we'd finished our warm-up stretches, the athletics festival began at long last.

That said, the only events I was participating in were the class vs. class tug-of-war competition and the relay race, so I wouldn't be doing anything soon.

There was a general listless mood in the air among the students as everyone got ready for the first event, the 200 meter sprint, as well, except for the cheering squads, who somehow managed to muster up the energy to get all fired up and beat on their drums and stuff.

It was just like Yozora said before, looks like nobody really gets too excited for the athletics festival here.

Anyway, as I was walking around our class' little area trying to stay quiet, I spotted Yozora standing off on the edge of the track in the shade.

"Yo."

"...Ahghh?"

I was met with a zombie-like groan of a reply after calling out to Yozora, who seemed even more melancholic than usual.

"...Oh, Kodaka......... Hahh... Maybe I should just go home now..."

"Already? Seriously?"

I made a wry smile at Yozora, who was already planning on leaving despite the fact that the festival had just started, and then said,

"I'm kinda surprised you actually even showed up at all."

"Hmph... I only came on a whim."

Yozora said as though she were pouting with her lips pursed.

"...Now that I'm here though, I wish I would've skipped. Having to see that irritating woman first thing in the morning was awful."

"Irritating woman?"

I asked in return, causing Yozora to start twitching with what appeared to be annoyance.

"...The woman who gave the speech at the opening ceremony."

"Umm... Do you mean the student council president? What'd she do to you?"

"Just hearing about her pisses me off."

"Eh? Do you not get along with her?"

Yozora doesn't even seem to do anything where she'd run into her.

"...I've never talked to her, but I hate her to death."

"Huh?"

Yozora's expression filled with even more hatred after she gave me her nonsense answer.

"...Hinata Hidaka, a senior. She's incredibly popular, and has been the student council president for two years now. She's incredibly athletic, and often serves as a stand-in for several of the sports clubs at their matches and such. She's also very kind, and people say that she hardly ever turns down requests for her help, despite how busy she is. Of course, she's loved by both her juniors and fellow classmates as well."

"She sounds like a friggin' great person! Hell, you could probably call her a saint."

Yozora nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that's exactly right. Hinata Hidaka... She is what it means to be a true normal... Back when I was a freshman, I thought that both her and Meat were the two peerless normals of this school, and thus viewed them as my enemies. However, unlike Meat, that woman is incredibly popular with girls as well. And, seeing as how I now know that Meat is unmatched in how pathetic she is, it is Hinata Hidaka alone who stands at the top of the world of normals—— she truly is befitting of being called King Lear."<ref>King Lear is pronounced, "Ria Ou" in Japanese, which also sounds like "King of the Normals" (Normals = Riajuu, Ou = King).</ref>

"King Lear...? Wait, isn't that the title of some book?"

I asked, to which Yozora gave a small nod, and then casually explained,

"It's one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. It's a story about an old king who is betrayed by the ones he loved, and then lives out his final years as a vagrant, ultimately meeting a pathetic end after experiencing many tragedies. Aside from Lear, most of the other characters in the story die too."

"That's a terrible nickname to give somebody!"

That might even be worse than Sena's "Meat".

"...I came up with it in the hopes that her life would end like his. ...Anyway, it's awful just being in the same school as her. Every time I see her, I'll wait till she goes by me, and then glare at her from behind, or quietly click my tongue at her, or something like that."

"H-holy crap are you petty..."

Oh man... this is just... pathetic.

I kinda wanted to start crying at how my once-manly childhood friend (who was actually a girl) had changed so much.

Actually, now that I think about it, she's only been getting worse recently...

She's always had plenty of pathetic habits, like talking to her air friend, but I get the feeling that she isn't even trying to hide them anymore now.

Back when I'd just transferred in, she at least looked perfect. I mean, she was like an intelligent, hard-to-approach cool beauty to me, but now... It's strange... When did she turn into such a hopeless case...

"...Arghh, just talking about her is pissing me off and making my stomach hurt and making me wanna throw up. I'm gonna go rest in the nurse's office."

Yozora's complexion actually did seem a little worse as she walked off.

"Just how much do you hate normals anyway..."

Anyway, I decided to leave as well, taken aback by Yozora's attitude, and headed over to our class' tent.

But then, all of a sudden, at the edge of my vision—— I saw something white flapping on roof of the school building.

It was a lab coat—— a girl in a lab coat, to be precise.

"...What the heck is she doing way up there?"

☺

Generally speaking, students aren't allowed into the building during the athletics festival, but I got in quite easily on account of having spotted sister Kate walking around nearby.

"Please try to refrain from stealing girls' underwear and uniforms, getting dressed in them, putting them on your head, and then splooging all over them, Onii-chan," was the moronic warning she gave me, which I pretended I didn't even hear, and quickly walked through the halls up to the roof.

The instant I opened the door to the roof, a strong wind blew right at me, causing me to scrunch up my face reflexively.

It was much windier and colder up here on the roof.

I went outside though, and closed the door behind me.

The door made a loud "BANG" as it closed due to the strong wind.

"Owah!?"

The girl in the lab coat leaning against the railing as she looked down at the track—— that is, Rika Shiguma let out a yelp and quickly turned around to face me.

"Huh...? Senpai? Why are you up here?"

"Uh, ya' know... that's mine line here."

I said in response to Rika's question.

"Well~ I just wanted to stand out in the wind a bit," said Rika.

I then saw what Rika was wearing, and made a frown.

"...What the heck are you wearing?"

I couldn't tell from down on the track, but Rika was wearing a gym uniform beneath her lab coat, except she was wearing a pair of black bloomers instead of the black spats that are part of the school's regulation gym uniform.

She didn't have her glasses on, but her hair was in a ponytail, just like it was when I first met her.

Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've seen Rika in her lab coat in a while.

Rika made an embarrassed smile, her cheeks tinged a light shade of red.

"Rika decided to put on a gym uniform too, since it's the athletics festival and all. Does it suit me?"

Honestly she looked incredibly good in it, and I wished she'd take off the lab coat, but instead of telling her that, I said, 

"I'm pretty sure they'd give you a spare gym uniform if you went to the nurse's office. Heck, why don't you just join the festival while you're at it? There's stuff you can sign up for the day of too."

However Rika shook her head, and replied,

"It's OK, I've still work to do. I wouldn't join even if I didn't though."

We just barely managed to finish filming our movie last evening.

We left the editing all up to Rika and went home, but...

"...Did you not go home yesterday? Hell, did you even sleep?"

I noticed that Rika had dark bags under her eyes.

"Ah, you found out, huh? I suppose I should've put on a pair of fake glasses or something."

Rika awkwardly made a wry smile.

"...You know, um..."

Sorry for making you do all the work, is what I was about to say, but I decided to think of something else after remembering what Rika told me before.

In the end, I told her,

"......——Thanks for doing so much stuff for us, Rika.

A surprised expression found its way to Rika's face for an instant.

A moment later, her face went red as a beet.

"Geez~! You little~! Didn't I tell you to stop throwing those fastballs at me out of nowhere~!?"

"Not sure how else you want me to say it..."

I said, surprised by Rika's reaction.

Rika then said, as though trying to change the subject as soon as possible,

"Ah, look, the next race is starting!"

She then pulled out a pair of binoculars from one of her lab coat's pockets, and looked down at the track again.

As she did, I heard the faint "Bam!" of a starting gun.

Looks like the 200 meter sprint just got started.

"Ah, Sena-senpai's already out there."

Rika said while looking through her binoculars.

I looked down at the track too after hearing that, and sure enough, Sena was down there running.

Sena's hair was easy to spot as it swayed in the wind, even from all the way out here, and it even looked like it was giving off little golden particles.

"Woah~ Those things really can bounce, can't they~...... Tch."

Rika sounded a little jealous as she described what was going on down on the track.

"Where the heck are you looking..."

It wasn't long before Sena reached the goal line, way ahead of the other runners.

She then ran both hands through her hair, as though trying to show off her perfect win to everybody, and took the first place flag from one of the boys helping to run the festival as though it were hers to begin with.

Every single little move she made had a certain flashiness to it.

"Haa~ Sena-senpai really is amazing, isn't she~"

Rika pulled the binoculars away from her eyes, turned away from the track, and leaned back against the rail.

"Yeah, sure is," I said as I continued to look down at the track.

But then, all of a sudden,

"By the way, Kodaka-senpai, how do you feel about Sena-senpai?"

Rika threw that fastball at me out of nowhere like it was nothing.

"W-what do you mean... she's just a fellow club member."

"Even though you're engaged?"

"...That's all in the past now."

"Oh yeah...?"

Rika made a face that looked like she was thinking about something.

"...Doesn't seem like it is for Sena-senpai though."

"Eh? What'd you say?"

I asked Rika, who'd mumbled something under her breath, and then, all of a sudden, Rika looked at me with a scornful, hostile, horribly cold look in her eyes.

She then looked up at the sky, and then whispered in an emotionless voice, as though talking to herself,

"——Always gets lonely, but is scared of having others show they honestly care."

"——Pretends not to notice. Pretends not to hear."

"——Run away. Brushes it off. Avoids the issue. Refuses."

"——Even turns to self-deception, spinning lies such as 'There's no way anybody likes me'."

"...Ahh, you mean Kobato? Yeah, you're right, she does act like that sometimes, doesn't she... She's always been shy. Looks like she still is too, based on what we saw a few days ago."

I said to Rika with a bitter smile on my face, knowing full-well that wasn't what she meant.

I couldn't tell if she was listening to me or not, but she soon lowered her gaze from the sky down to the concrete ground we were standing on. She then made a vague expression on her face that looked like she was both crying and laughing, and said, not as though criticizing me, but rather, as though soothing me, in a gentle, affectionate tone of voice,

"——Don't give me that 'What'd you say?' crap, iii~diot..."

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch16_Img02(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

Rika's lips then twisted into a smile as she stared at me with dark, empty eyes as cold as space.

She'd thrown away her mask of being "That weird junior that's always energetic and always saying ridiculous stuff". The Rika before me now was one I've never seen before.

Rika then continued while acting as though she were giggling.

"...If that's what you want, Kodaka-senpai, then Rika will continue acting like she has been. It's not like I don't enjoy BL, mecha, and sexy stuff. And acting hyper, and having you always act so blunt with me is fun in its own way, too. But you know, Kodaka-senpai——"

"Don't you think it's about time we move on? I mean——"

"Stop it!"

I unintentionally let out a wild yell.

I absolutely cannot let her finish that sentence.

If she did, I'd, we'd... have no choice but to move on.

And moving on... means changing.

That is an incredibly scary thing.

It's truly terrifying, like moving from a bright, warm room into a world of darkness that leaves you completely blind.

It's not just me either.

I'm sure it's the same for Yozora, Sena, Yukimura, and Rika too.

Those words are ones that could bring about an irreversible change that would shake the Neighbors Club itself.

That change would truly be irreversible—— it can't even be compared to trivial problems like a memory from 10 years ago, or a pre-arranged marriage.

"...Hahh." Rika let out a fleeting sigh as she went completely silent.

I let out a tiny sigh myself, and said, "...I'm gonna go now," as I walked off.

I'd gotten away from Rika—— and just as I put my hand on the knob to the roof's door,

"I mean, aren't we all——"

Rika whispered something behind me.

In a voice that sounded like it was shaking—— like it was crying.

My entire body shook with terror.

However, that very instant,

Luckily—— whether or not it was truly lucky, I don't know, but——a wind far stronger than before roared across the rooftop, and erased Rika's words.

And I, like the coward I am, signed a breath of relief.

I turned only my head around to face Rika.

"——Eh? What'd you say?"

That's what I told her, playing dumb once again.

However, what I'd said was not a question, it was my answer.

And the girl, who was wiser than anyone else in the Neighbors Club, who could tell what people were thinking——whether she wanted to or not——simply made a sad smile, and said nothing in response.

I opened the door, and left the roof behind me.

All the while telling myself I'd made the right choice.

...But I knew what those words lost in the wind really were.

...I'd known what they were for a long, long time now.

 

The End.

<references />
<noinclude>
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Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2

2012-10-28T20:53:36Z

Dan.:

== 2-2 Quiz Trial ==

013 - ♣04

The Quiz Trial held by the Kamiyama High School Quiz Study Club... That's like the biggest quiz tournament in Kamiyama City!

This is because I've yet to hear of any other quiz tournament being held elsewhere in this city.

To me, this Quiz Trial would be the highlight for Day 1. There's nothing bigger than this, no one else's database is more real than mine!

But I'm still surprised by this, as I never expected this many people to turn up; there's like 200 people here. While I could see quite a few outsiders amongst the participants, the majority were still Kami High students. So that's nearly 20% of the student body! Man, I'm envious, if only the Handicraft Club and Classics Club could each summon 100 people like that, we could have sold the anthology in no time.

In one corner of the school ground before the podium, I could hear all sorts of mutterings.

"...If it's over how about we go see the Brass Band?..."

"...What about the Movie Study Club? You don't need to be a movie buff in order to watch their show, but..."

"...Really? Hahaha, now that's kind of mean..."

"...But don't you think it sounds kind of ridiculous...?"

To begin with, while I had already imagined a lot of people participating, not even I, who had been looking forward to this since last night, could envision 200 people coming. Such was the effect of their publicity campaign.

It was just past 12:30 when the school PA broadcast went on air. It was the Broadcasting Club's pseudo radio broadcast. With relaxing pop music being played in the background, the broadcast was used to relay the latest hot topics during the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival to the listeners. About 15 minutes had passed when the broadcast went to interview the president of the Quiz Club, which went as follows:

"This year will be our 7th tournament. As usual we are offering very interesting prizes, but this time we've prepared questions that not just people who are good at quiz shows could answer. Naturally speaking, members of the Quiz Club are forbidden from participating, so we believe this is a golden opportunity for these people. So we welcome all to participate... Basically, we'll be holding a true and false questions preliminary involving participants running between circles with each answer on the school grounds. It'll be some great exercise after lunch, no?"

He sure knows how to stir up the event. By advertising via a radio broadcast, I thought they could achieve a moderate success, but I was mistaken. Not counting the audience, there were already 200 participants. (This was just a guesstimate amount of course, as I have no idea exactly how many there were. Still, it was definitely more than a hundred people.)

And I must also mention that the Quiz Club had also gotten themselves mentioned by the Wall Newspaper Club. During the Cultural Festival, the Wall Newspaper Club publishes a Special Edition every two hours. And within the Day 1 12pm edition it was mentioned that the Quiz Club activity today sounds interesting. By pasting these Special Edition copies around the school's notice board, even a fool would be aware of their activity.

It seems the Classics Club would need the assistance of both the Broadcasting Club and Wall Newspaper Club if it is to achieve its objective. I must inform Chitanda-san of this later.

Anyway, that's for me to worry about after the Trial. For now, I must focus on this Quiz Trial, as it's crucial for me to get as high a ranking as possible, since I'm not participating in my favourite event in a personal capacity, but on behalf of the Classics Club. No offense to the others, but the only one in the club capable of winning this would be me. So this would not be an easy task.

The Quiz Club president walked up to the podium. It wasn't someone I knew. If it was a Kamiyama High School student that I knew, then he or she would have to be someone really special or eccentric. In his hand he carried a mic. A short static noise ensued as he tapped the mic and proceeded to speak.

"Welcome to the Quiz Trial. To be honest, we're surprised by the number of participants we have today. This year will be our 7th Quiz Trial, and it is the largest ever held so far..." Blah, blah, blah, followed by, "Now let the tournament begin. First we will have the true and false questions preliminaries. On your left is the true box with a circle, while on your right is the false box with a cross. One of our members will hold up a placard with a question, and you must figure out whether it is true or false, and only those who answer correctly will advance. The preliminaries will continue until only five contestants remain. You have 15 seconds for each question. Now then, may the 7th Quiz Trial begin!"

As he finished, one of the female Quiz Club members stepped up onto the podium and received the mic from the president who stepped down. I was a bit relieved, as this president's words were rather unintelligible to the ears.

The girl took the mic and looked at the cue card in one of her hands and said clearly, "Question 1! If 'diamond' in Japanese is 'kongouseki' (diamond stone), then 'emerald' would be 'ryokuchuugyoku' (green pillar jade). True or false?"

Hmm, now how should I answer this?

Of course it's true. (Since unlike beryl, the chemical composition of emerald does not contain aquamarine, or it would be called 'ryokuchuuseki' (green pillar stone) instead!)

014 - ♦03

Now that I think about it, this place is quite deserted.

The reason I felt that way was because I knew what a real doujinshi festival was like. This was not a doujinshi festival, but a school cultural festival. We're not going to get people interested in manga and anime flocking here. This reminds me of coming here last year before with Fuku-chan back when we were in junior high... and I certainly don't recall that many people coming then either. When I discovered that treasure, I hardly noticed any people around me.

But it's true that there were many club members here with too much time to spare. So free they were that the atmosphere felt a bit strained... As a result, I have yet to request them to sell our anthologies.

As the current batch of customers left, the room went quiet, and we could here a speaker blaring out loud from afar. As this room is situated in the General Block while the central courtyard was adjacent to the Special Block, it was hard to hear what was going on over there.

"Mayaka, what's up?" the girl sitting next to me asked.

"Nothing, just wondering what's going on in the courtyard."

"Oh, that's probably the Quiz Club."

It was then that I remembered there was a radio broadcast mentioning about it. A quiz tournament, huh? If that's the case, then Fuku-chan would definitely join in. Listening intently, I could make out the question being asked via the speakers.

"...Next question! The Japanese word "darui" is derived from the English word "dull." True or false?"

Eh?

I didn't even have time to think. Stop asking such silly questions! But if it's true or false questions, then it's probably used to filter out a large number of contestants. So while I was a bit depressed that I didn't know the answer to that question, I guess I was also relieved at not having to answer.

The girl next to me also listened in.

She smiled and asked me, "So, what do you think?"

"Hmm,"

I know "saboru" came from "sabotage," so "darui" is probably the same, as it didn't feel strange to me.

So I said softly, "True, I guess?"

015 - ♣05

As the 15 second time limit passed, a rope was raised surrounding the contestants choosing the "True" and "False" circles. Looking around me, five had chosen "True" while four chose "False." As a preliminary, this would probably be the final round.

"The answer is............"

The announcer held back her voice in order to raise the suspense.

"............"

You're overdoing this already.

"......FALSE! This ends the preliminaries!"

YES! (Actually, I did not really know what the etymology of the word "darui" was, but I do know that if it can be written in kanji 怠い then it's most likely not a foreign loan-word.) The announcer, who upped her tempo of suspense for every question answered, now waved her arms as though dancing and pointed towards us.

"Congratulations to the four who have chosen 'False' for passing the preliminaries! Please proceed toward the podium for the finals."

Aha, here comes my chance to appeal to the crowd. That's what I'm here for. As I walked toward the podium, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

"Yo, Fukube, so you're through as well, huh?

The person who said that was...

...Just hang on a minute, I'm trying to remember his name. I know this guy, honest. For the moment being I'll try replying.

"Of course."

"You don't remember who I am, do you?"

"Haha, guess I was too focused on the quizzes."

Who was he? I know he's a classmate though.

He wasn't from the General Committee nor the Handicraft Club, so he could only be from my class. The only person I could think of who could stand out from my class was Juumonji-san.

No, wait, I remember. I'm sure of it. I've not completely forsaken my ability to remember names.

"So, how's the Go Club, Tani-kun?"

Tani Koreyuki, besides being a member of the Go Club, he was also unique in having a hard to spell name. We would occasionally have small chats like these in class, though I wasn't particularly that close to him, so he could be counted as one of my "acquaintances." Now that I see his face again, he had quite a firm jaw and a rather round nose. But as he didn't leave much of an impression on me besides those, it means his actions until now were nothing out of the ordinary.

I have more interest in people who surprise me. Chitanda-san interests me somewhat, and Houtarou has been surprising me a lot ever since we entered Kami High. As for people who aren't surprising, unless they have interesting features of club activities, I would barely struggle to remember their names.

Yet here was Tani-kun passing the Quiz Trial preliminaries. And those weren't easy questions either. I see now, Tani-kun, my impression of you as a normal person may not be correct. He was here due to possessing either a great amount of knowledge or luck.

Tani-kun showed no attempt to hide his elation.

"The Go Club? I do have something interesting to tell you, wanna hear?"

Something interesting, huh? If it's something that's changed my impression of Tani-kun, it would be that he's never told me something interesting before, as it did not appeal to me.

"Please step forward to the podium!"

The announcer repeated. Oh yes, my chance at making an appeal. I waved the palm of my hand to gesture to Tani-kun to move to the podium.

On the podium were three guys and one girl. I took a quick glance at them; besides Tani-kun, I didn't know any of them. Had they been the "Empress" Irisu Fuyumi-sempai, President Tanabe Jirou-sempai of the General Committee, or the "New Master of the Library" Juumonji Kaho-san, then I would have to hold my hands up in resignation. While I'm confident that my knowledge is as good as theirs, I just can't feel like beating them. That said, I don't think my database would accept such a fact.

The announcer had interviewed and asked the names for three of the contestants already, including Tani-kun. And now it was my turn. The announcer held up her mic and smiled.

"Okay, our fourth finalist! May we have your class and name please?"

I cleared my throat in order to address the 200 participants as well as the hundreds more listening via the speakers,

"I'm Fukube Satoshi of the Classics Club."

"Huh?"

"The Classics Club, as in classical literature."

The announcer looked confused for a moment. She didn't look the type to know how to deal with unexpected events.

She soon nodded deeply and said, "I see! I never knew we had such a club. Guess we have all sorts of strange clubs, right?"

So far so good. I paid attention not to rush myself and allowed the words to come out naturally. Even without being requested to, I was generally good at saying what I wanted to say.

"Though we call ourselves the Classics Club, we don't exactly cover classic literature like 'Tsurezuregusa<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsurezuregusa Wikipedia - Tsurezuregusa]</ref>.' To be honest, not even I knew what it is that we do exactly, so it's kind of strange. After all, this was a club that came back from the jaws of abolition as it didn't have any members prior to us joining. You could say we're a club that publishes anthologies. So we've published one, you see. And it's an amazing anthology, since we put a lot of effort into it..."

016 - ♠05

"...we put a lot of effort into it..."

Yeah, sure we have.

In terms of quantity.

'''[185 COPIES REMAINING]'''

017 - ♣06

"At any rate, we've managed to solve a great mystery concerning the Kanya Festival."

"Oh, really? And that is?"

Her interest didn't seem to be faked. This was to be expected, as it would be easy to hook them in if I tell them "there's knowledge not even the Quiz Club is aware of." (No, I wasn't intending to make fun of the Quiz Club here. Since I myself am a natural candidate as a Quiz Club member myself, but I just ended up using them as an example.) Feeling confident, I raised my voice.

"And it's none other than the origin of the name of the Kanya Festival. I'll say it here, it is NOT an abbreviation of the 'Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival.' The Classics Club have discovered the real answer to that."

"Really? And that is?"

"Well..."

I teased a bit.

"Obviously, that's a secret. However, we'll be in trouble if no one buys our anthology. So for only 200 yen, which is a great bargain, you can discover the 33-year-old secret of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival! It's all recorded in our essay anthology 'Hyouka'! Now on sale at the Geology Room on the fourth floor of the Special Block with rave reviews!"

I glared at the crowd while pumping my right fist in the air.

I wonder if I overdid this? For a moment, an uneasiness crept through me...

A roar of applause thundered across the court. Just like how I felt in the Opening Ceremony, everyone was particularly receptive to the festive atmosphere. My gamble had worked, the appeal was a success!

Remaining in my victory pose, I felt like crying.

It no longer mattered whether I won this quiz tournament anymore.

018 - ♥04

"Now on sale at the Geology Room on the fourth floor of the Special Block with rave reviews!"

Ehh? We're getting rave reviews already?

I-I didn't even know.

This is fantastic. I have hope for the future.

A roar of excitement could be heard from the direction of the courtyard. Thanks to Fukube-san's smooth-speaking, the crowd seems to have been moved somewhat by his words. Though it sounded like he could have gone on further, before long, the quiz tournament had begun as I heard a loud voice announcing its commencement. I pray for your success, Fukube-san.

I must do my best as well.

Come to think of it, it does seem effective to entrust someone else to sell our anthologies on our behalf. However, just placing copies of "Hyouka" at other people's stalls alone will not increase its appeal. So while it's important to seek new venues to sell our anthology, isn't it also important to raise the appeal of "Hyouka" as well?

I went through this thoroughly as I had my lunch. Take my family business for example, we would normally have decided which market to sell our rice to. Though we would like to expand our market, if our quality is below the standards required by the government, nobody is going to buy our rice.

This is because rice isn't a really sensational product, much like our anthology right now, which wasn't exactly a necessary commodity. So the situation the Classics Club is facing is quite similar to this.

In order for rice to be sold in large quantities, it has to be of "very good quality." This "quality" may be based on its "tastiness," its "safety," or its "affordability."

However, "Hyouka" was already a finished product. Though we were extremely diligent in ensuring its quality, there was no way we could further enhance it anymore than it is. The only variable left that we could manipulate would be its "affordability," but we would prefer not to adjust the price so much that it falls below our break-even point.

In order to improve the quality of "Hyouka," I decided to consider it from the standpoint of the public's awareness of it.

And so, my eyes fell on the Special Edition of the wall newspaper, the Kami High Monthly. Upon reading some of its details, it seems to be published once every two hours. If "Hyouka" gets a mention on here, then everyone would become aware of it. Fortunately, I am acquainted with the president of the Wall Newspaper Club. Even I at least know that having connections can take you a long way.

Anyway, as lunch time had already been over for some time, I was busy looking for the Wall Newspaper Club president...

"Hey, Chitanda-san, wanna go see that?"

"Ehh? I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry."

"All right ladies and gentlemen, the second Magic Club performance will begin in five minutes!"

...Oh, yes, I was heading to the Wall Newspaper Club. I heard someone chatting behind me.

"Have you seen the movie made by Class 2-F yet?"

"Yeah, I have. Pretty interesting, wasn't it?"

Ugh.

All these decorations and all this liveliness is just too captivating. It was at this moment that I envied Oreki-san's ability to not get excited by anything.

Before long, I'd come before the Biology Room on the third floor of the Special Block, where the Wall Newspaper Club room was located. Though right now, their members were in the adjacent Preparation Room instead of the Lecture Room, where they had their pens, scissors, glues and instant cameras laying around. Surrounding a table normally used for school experiments were four members, who didn't seem rather busy as they chatted leisurely. One of them, Toogaito Masashi-san, with whom I was acquainted, noticed my presence and stood up.

Though I'm quite tall for a girl, even I had to look up when looking at Toogaito-san. His father was well-acquainted with mine, which was how I knew him. Though it wasn't until this July that we spoke for the first time.

With a smile, Toogaito-san greeted me.

"Hello there,"

I bowed my head. Careful not to make the same mistake I made with Tanabe-san, I chose my words carefully.

"Good afternoon, Toogaito-san. Can the Wall Newspaper Club please write a story about the Classics Club?"

However, even Toogaito-san's eyes went wide after what I said. I wonder what it was that I said wrong? Frantically recalling what I had just said, I couldn't find anything disrespectful about it.

Oh no... I just realized, did I forget to explain my situation properly again?

Toogaito-san turned to glance at the other club members before turning back to me and said in a lowered voice, "...What's with this all of a sudden? It's not really possible."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would it have been better if I had made an appointment first?"

"No, that's not what I meant,"

Toogaito-san rubbed his forehead and said, "I'm no longer with the Wall Newspaper Club."

"Eh?"

"I'm a third year, so I'm retired already."

Oh.

H-how did I not notice that before? This would of course be natural. It's completely obvious.

"I-I'm sorry."

"No, you don't really have to apologize..."

For a moment, I felt like I was of no help, and was feeling a bit depressed. But soon a fine idea came to my head. If Toogaito-san had retired, then this could work.

"Then, could you introduce me to one of your juniors so that I may make my request to him instead?"

However, Toogaito-san looked even more troubled than before.

"Well, I can introduce you, but I don't think it'll make much of a difference."

"Not much of a difference?"

"Our Special Edition goes up every two hours, so we have to get everything prepared before then. So to ask us to write something about the Classics Club now would be a bit too much, you see."

I see. Indeed, while I thought of the possibility of getting mentioned in a Special Edition every two hours, I totally did not consider the fact that they would need to prepare a draft edition beforehand.

So I said in resignation, "So it's impossible?"

I could hear myself sounding depressed.

"Well, I didn't exactly say it's impossible. As we should still have two more days of news to report, it can be done. However," Toogaito-san said with a tense expression, "We won't publish a story just because we've been asked to. There are over 50 clubs being represented in the Kanya Festival; there's no way we could introduce every one of them, so we have to give priority to those whose activities really stand out. That being said, if you could show us that the Classics Club is engaged in activities that stand out, then we'll write something about it."

It was a strict statement concerning the conditions on having a story written.

"T-then, what about the contents of the activities?"

"The club activities that we cover are all serious in their contents, so if we find a story request that is worthy of our interest like an ad-balloon, then we'll publish it."

But we haven't got any ad-balloons.

A while ago, Fukube-san had clearly emphasized about the origin of the term "Kanya Festival." Yet Toogaito-san said he only covers serious club activities. Yet besides its name, there wasn't really much in its contents which "Hyouka" could really be called attractive...

I'm sorry, Oreki-san and Fukube-san, I also do not know how to face Mayaka-san as well. Once again, I found myself unable to be of much help.

"...I see. Sorry for taking your time..."

As though trying to cheer me up, Toogaito-san said, "You can come back if you can find anything interesting, I'll see what I can do to help."

I think I nodded, but I wasn't even sure if I had the strength to move.

As things were not making any progress, it seemed my body had also lost its strength. But it would not be nice to trudge just because of that, so I tried my best to walk as I normally would. Though I wonder if my discouragement would still show on my face. Walking along the decorated corridor, not knowing where to go next, I heard someone calling out to me.

"What's wrong, Eru? You look quite depressed."

Looking up, I saw a small tent set up on top of the staircase. To be more precise, it looked more like a Native American teepee. The voice came from inside the teepee. The inside of the teepee could be seen from the outside.

"You were drooping your shoulders and looking disappointed. Did something happen?"

Inside of the teepee was a regular classroom desk, and seated on the chair was a person I was familiar with.

I smiled at her and said, "Well, a lot has happened..."

"Hmm?"

She tilted her head and smiled as she caressed an elegant looking crystal ball lying on top of a silk cloth on her des

"Then, how about having your fortune told?"

This person is Juumonji Kaho. Within Kamiyama City is a large and rather old shrine called Arekusu Shrine, and Kaho-san is the daughter of its head priest. While the Chitanda family's annual spring and autumn festival ceremonies aren't held at Arekusu Shrine, as I often meet her a lot, we ended up being well acquainted with each other. She was quite an attractive person, with her silky hair and small glasses. I liked the unique way Kaho-san often looked mature and polite.

Kaho-san had liked visiting the library ever since she was little, and so she was very knowledgeable in many things which I was unaware of. So I was quite surprised when I learned which club she had joined. Since Kaho-san wasn't quite good with hanging out with other people.

"Having my fortune told? That means..."

"Yes, this is the Fortune Telling Association stall."

"Where are the other members?"

Upon hearing that, Kaho-san made a rather cynical smile.

"Oh, it's just me at the moment."

"Eh, that's unexpected. But isn't it supposed to be popular?"

"That would be the Charms Association. They're the more popular club."

Speaking of which, I do recall seeing such a club being mentioned in the notice board.

"Well, how about it?"

As she spoke, Kaho-san began lining up objects on her table.

"If the crystal ball isn't to your fancy, then how about bamboo stick or card divination? Though these are just imitations. There's also coffee grounds divination and of course, the standard Tarot cards..."

As she rummaged through the items in a paper bag beside her feet, she suddenly stopped.

"Oh, we can't do Tarot cards today."

"Eh? Why's that?"

Hearing Kaho-san sound troubled for once piqued my interest. This was due to the Classics Club having once discussed Tarot cards back in the summer holidays, so I was thinking maybe we could have our fortunes told with Tarot cards.

Kaho-san saw my expression and understood right away.

"...Of course, you've always liked stuff like this. Here, have a look at this."

She took out a greeting card from her paper bag. Taking a glance at the card she showed me, I saw everything that was written on it, as it was in a rather large font, which read:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|The Fortune Telling Association has lost its Wheel of Fortune.

Juumoji
|}

"What's this...?"

"It's quite a quick job if this is the work of one person. I only just left for a bit, and when I came back, someone had taken the 'Wheel of Fortune' card from my Tarot deck and left this."

So it was stolen? But the signature at the end of the card...

"It says 'Juumonji'."

"Indeed, I wonder if it's supposed to be addressed to me?"

The Juumonji family has two children, but right now, only Kaho-san is attending Kami High, and I've not heard of any other person called Juumonji in this city besides them. So Kaho-san is the only Juumonji in Kamiyama High. It would be incredible for a thief to use Kaho-san's name to steal her things.

It's all very strange. I decided to ask her something which I had meant to ask just now.

"Have you found the card yet?"

Kaho-san smiled bitterly.

"I wouldn't have said we couldn't use Tarot cards today if I had found it."

Oh, yes, of course.

"That's very worrying."

"Yes, though it's cheap, it's still a fortune-telling tool. I really wouldn't want to have to go through the trouble of acquiring another set as a result."

While saying that, instead of rummaging through her paper bag, Kaho-san took out a small memo paper from her pocket.

"But I wouldn't worry too much about that. I do wonder what the thief is up to, as this was also left behind,"

It was a memo paper torn from a notebook, on which was scribbled, "It will be returned after the Cultural Festival." ...This was indeed a strange thing for a thief to do. I do find it very odd. Looking at my expression, Kaho-san smiled.

"You seem to have cheered up a bit."

"Really?"

"Are you curious about this?"

I tilted my head

"...Yes, a bit."

"A bit, huh? Then let me show you one more thing."

From her paper bag, she took out something which I also had, the "Kanya Festival Guide," the official pamphlet for the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival.

Looking at it placed beside the crystal ball, I asked, "What's special about it?"

Kaho-san opened the pamphlet.

"The contents are exactly the same as any other. Though when I found it, it was open with the card placed on the last page of the club comments."

The participating club comments were printed on the last page of the pamphlet. As its name suggests, it displayed a single line of comment from each participating club mentioned by the pamphlet.

Apart from that, there was nothing strange or special written on the page.

"...I wonder what it all means?"

Kaho-san smiled gently and shrugged her shoulders.

"I wonder. It's the Cultural Festival, someone's bound to come up with some strange ideas, so it's nothing out of the ordinary. Personally, I couldn't care less as long as the 'Wheel of Fortune' is returned safely."

019 - ♣07

The finals consist of contestants racing each other in pushing the answer button, first to win seven points wins the race.

Though I did say it no longer mattered whether I won this quiz tournament anymore, this is an arena where I can put my database to good use. So it's a waste to just throw it away like that.

The Quiz Club president did mention on the radio broadcast that they'd "prepared questions that not just people who are good at quiz shows could answer," and now I see why he said that. Besides the usual quiz-show like questions involving show business, sports, social matters and trendy stuff, they've also included local topics as well as high school education related questions. I am of course well-versed in local topics, though the academic questions were a bit... okay, I know what you're thinking. For questions involving mathematical formulas, I was so pathetically hopeless with them that I could not even move my fingers towards the answer button. How on earth did I manage to weather through all these maths tests all these years?

Of the four contestants, three had taken six points, including me, Tani-kun and another girl. (While Tani-kun couldn't answer the strange questions, he was rather fast in answering the more generic ones.) The remaining person had five points. This was quite a fascinating battle; the contestants were all rather capable. For the Quiz Club this was no doubt a successful tournament.

But now it's time to end this. I'll be taking this last point!

"...Now for the next question. Please name the president of Kamiyama..."

A local question, huh? Concentrate...

"...High School's Student Council..."

I know the answer to this question, but I can't push the button just yet. For she may be asking us to name the president's favourite colour or something like that instead.

"...And give his full name please."

Now! At an instant, a light lit up.

"Yes, Shimizu-san?"

What? It's not me?

Shimizu-san, the girl beside me, answered in a calm voice, "Kugayama Muneyoshi."

"......"

Miss Announcer, you don't need to gasp, she's correct.

After a brief pause, the announcer lifted the girl's right arm and declared, "Correct! And the winner of Quiz Trial 7 is Shimizu Noriko-san of Class 3-E!"

Haha. Oh well, too bad.

Only the winner gets to receive the prizes. And as Shimizu Noriko-san (who didn't even bat an eyelid when answering the more odd questions. She's an interesting person, I must try and remember her name) received hers wrapped in paper, I had no idea what it was. Oh well, I didn't feel bad about losing, and I wasn't interested in the prizes anyway.

As the trophy presentation was finished, the Quiz Club president gave his greetings and wrapped up the Quiz Trial tournament. The crowd then began to disperse to all directions of the school campus. It sure was fun, not only did I raise the Classics Club's appeal, I also managed to have some fun as well. Now, I wonder where I should go next. As I was prepared to return with a smile, someone called out to me.

"Hey, Fukube."

It was Tani-kun. Smiling, I raised my arm to greet him.

"Hey, too bad we didn't win."

"Indeed. Guess it's a draw."

A draw, huh? It's not like I'm competing with Tani-kun... Oh well, whatever.

"Guess so," I replied.

"Well, you need something?"

"I did say I had something interesting to tell you before we were interrupted."

Come to think of it, he did say something like that, but I must have forgotten. As I wasn't really intent on hearing what he wanted to say then, this must mean it's something Tani-kun wants me to hear. Since it's no big deal, I decided to hear what he had to say.

"Seems to be so, did something happened with the Go Club?"

Tani-kun nodded satisfyingly.

"Yeah, some of our Go stones have been stolen."

"Oh?"

I wasn't exactly thinking ''"Is that so?"''

"The stones weren't lost but stolen, you say? But what makes you say that?"

"The thief left a note on the Go stone container,"

Tani-kun smiled as he said, "The note read 'The Go Club has lost its Go stones,' it's all really intriguing, as we have no idea whether any stones were stolen at all. As we don't normally use all the stones in the container, so there's no way of knowing if someone were to take away one or two, or even ten stones."

"Why would someone steal the stones?"

"Maybe he wants to play Gomoku?<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomoku Wikipedia - Gomoku]</ref>" Tani-kun said in a rather strange way.

While I didn't find it to be a rather high-class joke, I decided to laugh along with him. If that's the end of this "interesting" story, then he didn't really need to go out of his way to tell me.

I said bluntly with a smile, "Maybe it's a prank by someone from the Go Club?"

Perhaps not happy that I didn't seem interested with his story, Tani-kun looked a bit depressed.

"Yeah, maybe."

"Well, I'm off for now."

"No, wait."

He called out to me before I could move.

Tani-kun said with a strangely stiff smile, "Fukube, will you be participating in other tournaments as well?"

"...Yeah."

As I nodded, Tani-kun raised his right arm and pointed his finger at me.

"I won't lose to you next time. It's not over since we only drew this time. We'll settle this!"

...I was at a loss for words.

Together with the silence, I could only give him my usual smile as a reply.

Tani-kun looked quite satisfied as he said, "Good. What will you be participating tomorrow?"

Without giving it much thought, I replied in a normal manner, "...The tournament held by The Cooking Club tomorrow, I guess?" 

"Okay, then we'll settle this tomorrow! I'm looking forward to this!"

Tani-kun waved his arms and left looking rather excited.

Phew, that sure was a hard to deal with fellow there.

A score to settle, huh? It never even crossed my mind. I was hardly concerned with how satisfied Tani-kun would be with the outcome anyway.

It's true that I often enjoy myself in many things. Indeed, I would have so much fun that Houtarou would end up staring coldly at me.

But what's most important is for me to experience this personally. I see enjoyment as basically a give-and-take relationship between the provider and receiver of the entertainment. This is why I could never be as fanatical in my interests, be it Sherlock Holmes or herbology, as my best friend (whoa, this is quite embarrassing for me to actually utter it, but his is the first name I could think of) Houtarou or the magnificent Mayaka.

I'm rather naive when it comes to things that I like, find interesting or enjoy. Using a bookshelf as an example, normally a bookshelf would contain reference books or novels used to kill time, but in comparison, my bookshelf is not worth showing to other people. (Though if it's Mayaka, she'd probably want to have a look... But it's unlikely she would ever say it out loud.) Similarly, my relationship with the provider of entertainment is simply to quietly have high expectations and taking it easy as I enjoy myself.

So according to my psuedo-Epicureanism, this talk of "settling scores"...

Well, it's inelegant.

But this is all trivial, as I had no intention of giving it my all. To put it simply, Tani-kun is simply participating in tournaments which I'm participating in out of his own accord.

I meandered to and fro as I left the now rather empty courtyard.

By the way, enjoying oneself and worrying about one's friends are totally different matters altogether.

I wonder how Houtarou's doing now?

And I wonder if Mayaka is doing fine?

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

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| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Has Something Happened With the Classics Club?]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Yet Another Storm]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2

2012-10-28T06:31:00Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=80}}

== 2-2 Quiz Trial ==

013 - ♣04

The Quiz Trial held by the Kamiyama High School Quiz Study Club... That's like the biggest quiz tournament in Kamiyama City!

This is because I've yet to hear of any other quiz tournament being held elsewhere in this city.

To me, this Quiz Trial would be the highlight for Day 1. There's nothing bigger than this, no one else's database is more real than mine!

But I'm still surprised by this, as I never expected this many people to turn up; there's like 200 people here. While I could see quite a few outsiders amongst the participants, the majority were still Kami High students. So that's nearly 20% of the student body! Man, I'm envious, if only the Handicraft Club and Classics Club could each summon 100 people like that, we could have sold the anthology in no time.

In one corner of the school ground before the podium, I could hear all sorts of mutterings.

"...If it's over how about we go see the Brass Band?..."

"...What about the Movie Study Club? You don't need to be a movie buff in order to watch their show, but..."

"...Really? Hahaha, now that's kind of mean..."

"...But don't you think it sounds kind of ridiculous...?"

To begin with, while I had already imagined a lot of people participating, not even I, who had been looking forward to this since last night, could envision 200 people coming. Such was the effect of their publicity campaign.

It was just past 12:30 when the school PA broadcast went on air. It was the Broadcasting Club's pseudo radio broadcast. With relaxing pop music being played in the background, the broadcast was used to relay the latest hot topics during the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival to the listeners. About 15 minutes had passed when the broadcast went to interview the president of the Quiz Club, which went as follows:

"This year will be our 7th tournament. As usual we are offering very interesting prizes, but this time we've prepared questions that not just people who are good at quiz shows could answer. Naturally speaking, members of the Quiz Club are forbidden from participating, so we believe this is a golden opportunity for these people. So we welcome all to participate... Basically, we'll be holding a true and false questions preliminary involving participants running between circles with each answer on the school grounds. It'll be some great exercise after lunch, no?"

He sure knows how to stir up the event. By advertising via a radio broadcast, I thought they could achieve a moderate success, but I was mistaken. Not counting the audience, there were already 200 participants. (This was just a guesstimate amount of course, as I have no idea exactly how many there were. Still, it was definitely more than a hundred people.)

And I must also mention that the Quiz Club had also gotten themselves mentioned by the Wall Newspaper Club. During the Cultural Festival, the Wall Newspaper Club publishes a Special Edition every two hours. And within the Day 1 12pm edition it was mentioned that the Quiz Club activity today sounds interesting. By pasting these Special Edition copies around the school's notice board, even a fool would be aware of their activity.

It seems the Classics Club would need the assistance of both the Broadcasting Club and Wall Newspaper Club if it is to achieve its objective. I must inform Chitanda-san of this later.

Anyway, that's for me to worry about after the Trial. For now, I must focus on this Quiz Trial, as it's crucial for me to get as high a ranking as possible, since I'm not participating in my favourite event in a personal capacity, but on behalf of the Classics Club. No offense to the others, but the only one in the club capable of winning this would be me. So this would not be an easy task.

The Quiz Club president walked up to the podium. It wasn't someone I knew. If it was a Kamiyama High School student that I knew, then he or she would have to be someone really special or eccentric. In his hand he carried a mic. A short static noise ensued as he tapped the mic and proceeded to speak.

"Welcome to the Quiz Trial. To be honest, we're surprised by the number of participants we have today. This year will be our 7th Quiz Trial, and it is the largest ever held so far..." Blah, blah, blah, followed by, "Now let the tournament begin. First we will have the true and false questions preliminaries. On your left is the true box with a circle, while on your right is the false box with a cross. One of our members will hold up a placard with a question, and you must figure out whether it is true or false, and only those who answer correctly will advance. The preliminaries will continue until only five contestants remain. You have 15 seconds for each question. Now then, may the 7th Quiz Trial begin!"

As he finished, one of the female Quiz Club members stepped up onto the podium and received the mic from the president who stepped down. I was a bit relieved, as this president's words were rather unintelligible to the ears.

The girl took the mic and looked at the cue card in one of her hands and said clearly, "Question 1! If 'diamond' in Japanese is 'kongouseki' (diamond stone), then 'emerald' would be 'ryokuchuugyoku' (green pillar jade). True or false?"

Hmm, now how should I answer this?

Of course it's true. (Since unlike beryl, the chemical composition of emerald does not contain aquamarine, or it would be called 'ryokuchuuseki' (green pillar stone) instead!)

014 - ♦03

Now that I think about it, this place is quite deserted.

The reason I felt that way was because I knew what a real doujinshi festival was like. This was not a doujinshi festival, but a school cultural festival. We're not going to get people interested in manga and anime flocking here. This reminds me of coming here last year before with Fuku-chan back when we were in junior high... and I certainly don't recall that many people coming then either. When I discovered that treasure, I hardly noticed any people around me.

But it's true that there were many club members here with too much time to spare. So free they were that the atmosphere felt a bit strained... As a result, I have yet to request them to sell our anthologies.

As the current batch of customers left, the room went quiet, and we could here a speaker blaring out loud from afar. As this room is situated in the General Block while the central courtyard was adjacent to the Special Block, it was hard to hear what was going on over there.

"Mayaka, what's up?" the girl sitting next to me asked.

"Nothing, just wondering what's going on in the courtyard."

"Oh, that's probably the Quiz Club."

It was then that I remembered there was a radio broadcast mentioning about it. A quiz tournament, huh? If that's the case, then Fuku-chan would definitely join in. Listening intently, I could make out the question being asked via the speakers.

"...Next question! The Japanese word "darui" is derived from the English word "dull." True or false?"

Eh?

I didn't even have time to think. Stop asking such silly questions! But if it's true or false questions, then it's probably used to filter out a large number of contestants. So while I was a bit depressed that I didn't know the answer to that question, I guess I was also relieved at not having to answer.

The girl next to me also listened in.

She smiled and asked me, "So, what do you think?"

"Hmm,"

I know "saboru" came from "sabotage," so "darui" is probably the same, as it didn't feel strange to me.

So I said softly, "True, I guess?"

015 - ♣05

As the 15 second time limit passed, a rope was raised surrounding the contestants choosing the "True" and "False" circles. Looking around me, five had chosen "True" while four chose "False." As a preliminary, this would probably be the final round.

"The answer is............"

The announcer held back her voice in order to raise the suspense.

"............"

You're overdoing this already.

"......FALSE! This ends the preliminaries!"

YES! (Actually, I did not really know what the etymology of the word "darui" was, but I do know that if it can be written in kanji 怠い then it's most likely not a foreign loan-word.) The announcer, who upped her tempo of suspense for every question answered, now waved her arms as though dancing and pointed towards us.

"Congratulations to the four who have chosen 'False' for passing the preliminaries! Please proceed toward the podium for the finals."

Aha, here comes my chance to appeal to the crowd. That's what I'm here for. As I walked toward the podium, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

"Yo, Fukube, so you're through as well, huh?

The person who said that was...

...Just hang on a minute, I'm trying to remember his name. I know this guy, honest. For the moment being I'll try replying.

"Of course."

"You don't remember who I am, do you?"

"Haha, guess I was too focused on the quizzes."

Who was he? I know he's a classmate though.

He wasn't from the General Committee nor the Handicraft Club, so he could only be from my class. The only person I could think of who could stand out from my class was Juumonji-san.

No, wait, I remember. I'm sure of it. I've not completely forsaken my ability to remember names.

"So, how's the Go Club, Tani-kun?"

Tani Koreyuki, besides being a member of the Go Club, he was also unique in having a hard to spell name. We would occasionally have small chats like these in class, though I wasn't particularly that close to him, so he could be counted as one of my "acquaintances." Now that I see his face again, he had quite a firm jaw and a rather round nose. But as he didn't leave much of an impression on me besides those, it means his actions until now were nothing out of the ordinary.

I have more interest in people who surprise me. Chitanda-san interests me somewhat, and Houtarou has been surprising me a lot ever since we entered Kami High. As for people who aren't surprising, unless they have interesting features of club activities, I would barely struggle to remember their names.

Yet here was Tani-kun passing the Quiz Trial preliminaries. And those weren't easy questions either. I see now, Tani-kun, my impression of you as a normal person may not be correct. He was here due to possessing either a great amount of knowledge or luck.

Tani-kun showed no attempt to hide his elation.

"The Go Club? I do have something interesting to tell you, wanna hear?"

Something interesting, huh? If it's something that's changed my impression of Tani-kun, it would be that he's never told me something interesting before, as it did not appeal to me.

"Please step forward to the podium!"

The announcer repeated. Oh yes, my chance at making an appeal. I waved the palm of my hand to gesture to Tani-kun to move to the podium.

On the podium were three guys and one girl. I took a quick glance at them; besides Tani-kun, I didn't know any of them. Had they been the "Empress" Irisu Fuyumi-sempai, President Tanabe Jirou-sempai of the General Committee, or the "New Master of the Library" Juumonji Kaho-san, then I would have to hold my hands up in resignation. While I'm confident that my knowledge is as good as theirs, I just can't feel like beating them. That said, I don't think my database would accept such a fact.

The announcer had interviewed and asked the names for three of the contestants already, including Tani-kun. And now it was my turn. The announcer held up her mic and smiled.

"Okay, our fourth finalist! May we have your class and name please?"

I cleared my throat in order to address the 200 participants as well as the hundreds more listening via the speakers,

"I'm Fukube Satoshi of the Classics Club."

"Huh?"

"The Classics Club, as in classical literature."

The announcer looked confused for a moment. She didn't look the type to know how to deal with unexpected events.

She soon nodded deeply and said, "I see! I never knew we had such a club. Guess we have all sorts of strange clubs, right?"

So far so good. I paid attention not to rush myself and allowed the words to come out naturally. Even without being requested to, I was generally good at saying what I wanted to say.

"Though we call ourselves the Classics Club, we don't exactly cover classic literature like 'Tsurezuregusa<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsurezuregusa Wikipedia - Tsurezuregusa]</ref>.' To be honest, not even I knew what it is that we do exactly, so it's kind of strange. After all, this was a club that came back from the jaws of abolition as it didn't have any members prior to us joining. You could say we're a club that publishes anthologies. So we've published one, you see. And it's an amazing anthology, since we put a lot of effort into it..."

016 - ♠05

"...we put a lot of effort into it..."

Yeah, sure we have.

In terms of quantity.

'''[185 COPIES REMAINING]'''

017 - ♣06

"At any rate, we've managed to solve a great mystery concerning the Kanya Festival."

"Oh, really? And that is?"

Her interest didn't seem to be faked. This was to be expected, as it would be easy to hook them in if I tell them "there's knowledge not even the Quiz Club is aware of." (No, I wasn't intending to make fun of the Quiz Club here. Since I myself am a natural candidate as a Quiz Club member myself, but I just ended up using them as an example.) Feeling confident, I raised my voice.

"And it's none other than the origin of the name of the Kanya Festival. I'll say it here, it is NOT an abbreviation of the 'Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival.' The Classics Club have discovered the real answer to that."

"Really? And that is?"

"Well..."

I teased a bit.

"Obviously, that's a secret. However, we'll be in trouble if no one buys our anthology. So for only 200 yen, which is a great bargain, you can discover the 33-year-old secret of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival! It's all recorded in our essay anthology 'Hyouka'! Now on sale at the Geology Room on the fourth floor of the Special Block with rave reviews!"

I glared at the crowd while pumping my right fist in the air.

I wonder if I overdid this? For a moment, an uneasiness crept through me...

A roar of applause thundered across the court. Just like how I felt in the Opening Ceremony, everyone was particularly receptive to the festive atmosphere. My gamble had worked, the appeal was a success!

Remaining in my victory pose, I felt like crying.

It no longer mattered whether I won this quiz tournament anymore.

018 - ♥04

"Now on sale at the Geology Room on the fourth floor of the Special Block with rave reviews!"

Ehh? We're getting rave reviews already?

I-I didn't even know.

This is fantastic. I have hope for the future.

A roar of excitement could be heard from the direction of the courtyard. Thanks to Fukube-san's smooth-speaking, the crowd seems to have been moved somewhat by his words. Though it sounded like he could have gone on further, before long, the quiz tournament had begun as I heard a loud voice announcing its commencement. I pray for your success, Fukube-san.

I must do my best as well.

Come to think of it, it does seem effective to entrust someone else to sell our anthologies on our behalf. However, just placing copies of "Hyouka" at other people's stalls alone will not increase its appeal. So while it's important to seek new venues to sell our anthology, isn't it also important to raise the appeal of "Hyouka" as well?

I went through this thoroughly as I had my lunch. Take my family business for example, we would normally have decided which market to sell our rice to. Though we would like to expand our market, if our quality is below the standards required by the government, nobody is going to buy our rice.

This is because rice isn't a really sensational product, much like our anthology right now, which wasn't exactly a necessary commodity. So the situation the Classics Club is facing is quite similar to this.

In order for rice to be sold in large quantities, it has to be of "very good quality." This "quality" may be based on its "tastiness," its "safety," or its "affordability."

However, "Hyouka" was already a finished product. Though we were extremely diligent in ensuring its quality, there was no way we could further enhance it anymore than it is. The only variable left that we could manipulate would be its "affordability," but we would prefer not to adjust the price so much that it falls below our break-even point.

In order to improve the quality of "Hyouka," I decided to consider it from the standpoint of the public's awareness of it.

And so, my eyes fell on the Special Edition of the wall newspaper, the Kami High Monthly. Upon reading some of its details, it seems to be published once every two hours. If "Hyouka" gets a mention on here, then everyone would become aware of it. Fortunately, I am acquainted with the president of the Wall Newspaper Club. Even I at least know that having connections can take you a long way.

Anyway, as lunch time had already been over for some time, I was busy looking for the Wall Newspaper Club president...

"Hey, Chitanda-san, wanna go see that?"

"Ehh? I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry."

"All right ladies and gentlemen, the second Magic Club performance will begin in five minutes!"

...Oh, yes, I was heading to the Wall Newspaper Club. I heard someone chatting behind me.

"Have you seen the movie made by Class 2-F yet?"

"Yeah, I have. Pretty interesting, wasn't it?"

Ugh.

All these decorations and all this liveliness is just too captivating. It was at this moment that I envied Oreki-san's ability to not get excited by anything.

Before long, I'd come before the Biology Room on the third floor of the Special Block, where the Wall Newspaper Club room was located. Though right now, their members were in the adjacent Preparation Room instead of the Lecture Room, where they had their pens, scissors, glues and instant cameras laying around. Surrounding a table normally used for school experiments were four members, who didn't seem rather busy as they chatted leisurely. One of them, Toogaito Masashi-san, with whom I was acquainted, noticed my presence and stood up.

Though I'm quite tall for a girl, even I had to look up when looking at Toogaito-san. His father was well-acquainted with mine, which was how I knew him. Though it wasn't until this July that we spoke for the first time.

With a smile, Toogaito-san greeted me.

"Hello there,"

I bowed my head. Careful not to make the same mistake I made with Tanabe-san, I chose my words carefully.

"Good afternoon, Toogaito-san. Can the Wall Newspaper Club please write a story about the Classics Club?"

However, even Toogaito-san's eyes went wide after what I said. I wonder what it was that I said wrong? Frantically recalling what I had just said, I couldn't find anything disrespectful about it.

Oh no... I just realized, did I forget to explain my situation properly again?

Toogaito-san turned to glance at the other club members before turning back to me and said in a lowered voice, "...What's with this all of a sudden? It's not really possible."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would it have been better if I had made an appointment first?"

"No, that's not what I meant,"

Toogaito-san rubbed his forehead and said, "I'm no longer with the Wall Newspaper Club."

"Eh?"

"I'm a third year, so I'm retired already."

Oh.

H-how did I not notice that before? This would of course be natural. It's completely obvious.

"I-I'm sorry."

"No, you don't really have to apologize..."

For a moment, I felt like I was of no help, and was feeling a bit depressed. But soon a fine idea came to my head. If Toogaito-san had retired, then this could work.

"Then, could you introduce me to one of your juniors so that I may make my request to him instead?"

However, Toogaito-san looked even more troubled than before.

"Well, I can introduce you, but I don't think it'll make much of a difference."

"Not much of a difference?"

"Our Special Edition goes up every two hours, so we have to get everything prepared before then. So to ask us to write something about the Classics Club now would be a bit too much, you see."

I see. Indeed, while I thought of the possibility of getting mentioned in a Special Edition every two hours, I totally did not consider the fact that they would need to prepare a draft edition beforehand.

So I said in resignation, "So it's impossible?"

I could hear myself sounding depressed.

"Well, I didn't exactly say it's impossible. As we should still have two more days of news to report, it can be done. However," Toogaito-san said with a tense expression, "We won't publish a story just because we've been asked to. There are over 50 clubs being represented in the Kanya Festival; there's no way we could introduce every one of them, so we have to give priority to those whose activities really stand out. That being said, if you could show us that the Classics Club is engaged in activities that stand out, then we'll write something about it."

It was a strict statement concerning the conditions on having a story written.

"T-then, what about the contents of the activities?"

"The club activities that we cover are all serious in their contents, so if we find a story request that is worthy of our interest like an ad-balloon, then we'll publish it."

But we haven't got any ad-balloons.

A while ago, Fukube-san had clearly emphasized about the origin of the term "Kanya Festival." Yet Toogaito-san said he only covers serious club activities. Yet besides its name, there wasn't really much in its contents which "Hyouka" could really be called attractive...

I'm sorry, Oreki-san and Fukube-san, I also do not know how to face Mayaka-san as well. Once again, I found myself unable to be of much help.

"...I see. Sorry for taking your time..."

As though trying to cheer me up, Toogaito-san said, "You can come back if you can find anything interesting, I'll see what I can do to help."

I think I nodded, but I wasn't even sure if I had the strength to move.

As things were not making any progress, it seemed my body had also lost its strength. But it would not be nice to trudge just because of that, so I tried my best to walk as I normally would. Though I wonder if my discouragement would still show on my face. Walking along the decorated corridor, not knowing where to go next, I heard someone calling out to me.

"What's wrong, Eru? You look quite depressed."

Looking up, I saw a small tent set up on top of the staircase. To be more precise, it looked more like a Native American teepee. The voice came from inside the teepee. The inside of the teepee could be seen from the outside.

"You were drooping your shoulders and looking disappointed. Did something happen?"

Inside of the teepee was a regular classroom desk, and seated on the chair was a person I was familiar with.

I smiled at her and said, "Well, a lot has happened..."

"Hmm?"

She tilted her head and smiled as she caressed an elegant looking crystal ball lying on top of a silk cloth on her des

"Then, how about having your fortune told?"

This person is Juumonji Kaho. Within Kamiyama City is a large and rather old shrine called Arekusu Shrine, and Kaho-san is the daughter of its head priest. While the Chitanda family's annual spring and autumn festival ceremonies aren't held at Arekusu Shrine, as I often meet her a lot, we ended up being well acquainted with each other. She was quite an attractive person, with her silky hair and small glasses. I liked the unique way Kaho-san often looked mature and polite.

Kaho-san had liked visiting the library ever since she was little, and so she was very knowledgeable in many things which I was unaware of. So I was quite surprised when I learned which club she had joined. Since Kaho-san wasn't quite good with hanging out with other people.

"Having my fortune told? That means..."

"Yes, this is the Fortune Telling Association stall."

"Where are the other members?"

Upon hearing that, Kaho-san made a rather cynical smile.

"Oh, it's just me at the moment."

"Eh, that's unexpected. But isn't it supposed to be popular?"

"That would be the Charms Association. They're the more popular club."

Speaking of which, I do recall seeing such a club being mentioned in the notice board.

"Well, how about it?"

As she spoke, Kaho-san began lining up objects on her table.

"If the crystal ball isn't to your fancy, then how about bamboo stick or card divination? Though these are just imitations. There's also coffee grounds divination and of course, the standard Tarot cards..."

As she rummaged through the items in a paper bag beside her feet, she suddenly stopped.

"Oh, we can't do Tarot cards today."

"Eh? Why's that?"

Hearing Kaho-san sound troubled for once piqued my interest. This was due to the Classics Club having once discussed Tarot cards back in the summer holidays, so I was thinking maybe we could have our fortunes told with Tarot cards.

Kaho-san saw my expression and understood right away.

"...Of course, you've always liked stuff like this. Here, have a look at this."

She took out a greeting card from her paper bag. Taking a glance at the card she showed me, I saw everything that was written on it, as it was in a rather large font, which read:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|The Fortune Telling Association has lost its Wheel of Fortune.

Juumoji
|}

"What's this...?"

"It's quite a quick job if this is the work of one person. I only just left for a bit, and when I came back, someone had taken the 'Wheel of Fortune' card from my Tarot deck and left this."

So it was stolen? But the signature at the end of the card...

"It says 'Juumonji'."

"Indeed, I wonder if it's supposed to be addressed to me?"

The Juumonji family has two children, but right now, only Kaho-san is attending Kami High, and I've not heard of any other person called Juumonji in this city besides them. So Kaho-san is the only Juumonji in Kamiyama High. It would be incredible for a thief to use Kaho-san's name to steal her things.

It's all very strange. I decided to ask her something which I had meant to ask just now.

"Have you found the card yet?"

Kaho-san smiled bitterly.

"I wouldn't have said we couldn't use Tarot cards today if I had found it."

Oh, yes, of course.

"That's very worrying."

"Yes, though it's cheap, it's still a fortune-telling tool. I really wouldn't want to have to go through the trouble of acquiring another set as a result."

While saying that, instead of rummaging through her paper bag, Kaho-san took out a small memo paper from her pocket.

"But I wouldn't worry too much about that. I do wonder what the thief is up to, as this was also left behind,"

It was a memo paper torn from a notebook, on which was scribbled, "It will be returned after the Cultural Festival." ...This was indeed a strange thing for a thief to do. I do find it very odd. Looking at my expression, Kaho-san smiled.

"You seem to have cheered up a bit."

"Really?"

"Are you curious about this?"

I tilted my head

"...Yes, a bit."

"A bit, huh? Then let me show you one more thing."

From her paper bag, she took out something which I also had, the "Kanya Festival Guide," the official pamphlet for the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival.

Looking at it placed beside the crystal ball, I asked, "What's special about it?"

Kaho-san opened the pamphlet.

"The contents are exactly the same as any other. Though when I found it, it was open with the card placed on the last page of the club comments."

The participating club comments were printed on the last page of the pamphlet. As its name suggests, it displayed a single line of comment from each participating club mentioned by the pamphlet.

Apart from that, there was nothing strange or special written on the page.

"...I wonder what it all means?"

Kaho-san smiled gently and shrugged her shoulders.

"I wonder. It's the Cultural Festival, someone's bound to come up with some strange ideas, so it's nothing out of the ordinary. Personally, I couldn't care less as long as the 'Wheel of Fortune' is returned safely."

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Has Something Happened With the Classics Club?]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Yet Another Storm]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2

2012-10-15T16:38:38Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=58}}

== 2-2 Quiz Trial ==

013 - ♣04

The Quiz Trial held by the Kamiyama High School Quiz Study Club... That's like the biggest quiz tournament in Kamiyama City!

This is because I've yet to hear of any other quiz tournament being held elsewhere in this city.

To me, this Quiz Trial would be the highlight for Day 1. There's nothing bigger than this, no one else's database is more real than mine!

But I'm still surprised by this, as I never expected this many people to turn up; there's like 200 people here. While I could see quite a few outsiders amongst the participants, the majority were still Kami High students. So that's nearly 20% of the student body! Man, I'm envious, if only the Handicraft Club and Classics Club could each summon 100 people like that, we could have sold the anthology in no time.

In one corner of the school ground before the podium, I could hear all sorts of mutterings.

"...If it's over how about we go see the Brass Band?..."

"...What about the Movie Study Club? You don't need to be a movie buff in order to watch their show, but..."

"...Really? Hahaha, now that's kind of mean..."

"...But don't you think it sounds kind of ridiculous...?"

To begin with, while I had already imagined a lot of people participating, not even I, who had been looking forward to this since last night, could envision 200 people coming. Such was the effect of their publicity campaign.

It was just past 12:30 when the school PA broadcast went on air. It was the Broadcasting Club's pseudo radio broadcast. With relaxing pop music being played in the background, the broadcast was used to relay the latest hot topics during the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival to the listeners. About 15 minutes had passed when the broadcast went to interview the president of the Quiz Club, which went as follows:

"This year will be our 7th tournament. As usual we are offering very interesting prizes, but this time we've prepared questions that not just people who are good at quiz shows could answer. Naturally speaking, members of the Quiz Club are forbidden from participating, so we believe this is a golden opportunity for these people. So we welcome all to participate... Basically, we'll be holding a true and false questions preliminary involving participants running between circles with each answer on the school grounds. It'll be some great exercise after lunch, no?"

He sure knows how to stir up the event. By advertising via a radio broadcast, I thought they could achieve a moderate success, but I was mistaken. Not counting the audience, there were already 200 participants. (This was just a guesstimate amount of course, as I have no idea exactly how many there were. Still, it was definitely more than a hundred people.)

And I must also mention that the Quiz Club had also gotten themselves mentioned by the Wall Newspaper Club. During the Cultural Festival, the Wall Newspaper Club publishes a Special Edition every two hours. And within the Day 1 12pm edition it was mentioned that the Quiz Club activity today sounds interesting. By pasting these Special Edition copies around the school's notice board, even a fool would be aware of their activity.

It seems the Classics Club would need the assistance of both the Broadcasting Club and Wall Newspaper Club if it is to achieve its objective. I must inform Chitanda-san of this later.

Anyway, that's for me to worry about after the Trial. For now, I must focus on this Quiz Trial, as it's crucial for me to get as high a ranking as possible, since I'm not participating in my favourite event in a personal capacity, but on behalf of the Classics Club. No offense to the others, but the only one in the club capable of winning this would be me. So this would not be an easy task.

The Quiz Club president walked up to the podium. It wasn't someone I knew. If it was a Kamiyama High School student that I knew, then he or she would have to be someone really special or eccentric. In his hand he carried a mic. A short static noise ensued as he tapped the mic and proceeded to speak.

"Welcome to the Quiz Trial. To be honest, we're surprised by the number of participants we have today. This year will be our 7th Quiz Trial, and it is the largest ever held so far..." Blah, blah, blah, followed by, "Now let the tournament begin. First we will have the true and false questions preliminaries. On your left is the true box with a circle, while on your right is the false box with a cross. One of our members will hold up a placard with a question, and you must figure out whether it is true or false, and only those who answer correctly will advance. The preliminaries will continue until only five contestants remain. You have 15 seconds for each question. Now then, may the 7th Quiz Trial begin!"

As he finished, one of the female Quiz Club members stepped up onto the podium and received the mic from the president who stepped down. I was a bit relieved, as this president's words were rather unintelligible to the ears.

The girl took the mic and looked at the cue card in one of her hands and said clearly, "Question 1! If 'diamond' in Japanese is 'kongouseki' (diamond stone), then 'emerald' would be 'ryokuchuugyoku' (green pillar jade). True or false?"

Hmm, now how should I answer this?

Of course it's true. (Since unlike beryl, the chemical composition of emerald does not contain aquamarine, or it would be called 'ryokuchuuseki' (green pillar stone) instead!)

014 - ♦03

Now that I think about it, this place is quite deserted.

The reason I felt that way was because I knew what a real doujinshi festival was like. This was not a doujinshi festival, but a school cultural festival. We're not going to get people interested in manga and anime flocking here. This reminds me of coming here last year before with Fuku-chan back when we were in junior high... and I certainly don't recall that many people coming then either. When I discovered that treasure, I hardly noticed any people around me.

But it's true that there were many club members here with too much time to spare. So free they were that the atmosphere felt a bit strained... As a result, I have yet to request them to sell our anthologies.

As the current batch of customers left, the room went quiet, and we could here a speaker blaring out loud from afar. As this room is situated in the General Block while the central courtyard was adjacent to the Special Block, it was hard to hear what was going on over there.

"Mayaka, what's up?" the girl sitting next to me asked.

"Nothing, just wondering what's going on in the courtyard."

"Oh, that's probably the Quiz Club."

It was then that I remembered there was a radio broadcast mentioning about it. A quiz tournament, huh? If that's the case, then Fuku-chan would definitely join in. Listening intently, I could make out the question being asked via the speakers.

"...Next question! The Japanese word "darui" is derived from the English word "dull." True or false?"

Eh?

I didn't even have time to think. Stop asking such silly questions! But if it's true or false questions, then it's probably used to filter out a large number of contestants. So while I was a bit depressed that I didn't know the answer to that question, I guess I was also relieved at not having to answer.

The girl next to me also listened in.

She smiled and asked me, "So, what do you think?"

"Hmm,"

I know "saboru" came from "sabotage," so "darui" is probably the same, as it didn't feel strange to me.

So I said softly, "True, I guess?"

015 - ♣05

As the 15 second time limit passed, a rope was raised surrounding the contestants choosing the "True" and "False" circles. Looking around me, five had chosen "True" while four chose "False." As a preliminary, this would probably be the final round.

"The answer is............"

The announcer held back her voice in order to raise the suspense.

"............"

You're overdoing this already.

"......FALSE! This ends the preliminaries!"

YES! (Actually, I did not really know what the etymology of the word "darui" was, but I do know that if it can be written in kanji 怠い then it's most likely not a foreign loan-word.) The announcer, who upped her tempo of suspense for every question answered, now waved her arms as though dancing and pointed towards us.

"Congratulations to the four who have chosen 'False' for passing the preliminaries! Please proceed toward the podium for the finals."

Aha, here comes my chance to appeal to the crowd. That's what I'm here for. As I walked toward the podium, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

"Yo, Fukube, so you're through as well, huh?

The person who said that was...

...Just hang on a minute, I'm trying to remember his name. I know this guy, honest. For the moment being I'll try replying.

"Of course."

"You don't remember who I am, do you?"

"Haha, guess I was too focused on the quizzes."

Who was he? I know he's a classmate though.

He wasn't from the General Committee nor the Handicraft Club, so he could only be from my class. The only person I could think of who could stand out from my class was Juumonji-san.

No, wait, I remember. I'm sure of it. I've not completely forsaken my ability to remember names.

"So, how's the Go Club, Tani-kun?"

Tani Koreyuki, besides being a member of the Go Club, he was also unique in having a hard to spell name. We would occasionally have small chats like these in class, though I wasn't particularly that close to him, so he could be counted as one of my "acquaintances." Now that I see his face again, he had quite a firm jaw and a rather round nose. But as he didn't leave much of an impression on me besides those, it means his actions until now were nothing out of the ordinary.

I have more interest in people who surprise me. Chitanda-san interests me somewhat, and Houtarou has been surprising me a lot ever since we entered Kami High. As for people who aren't surprising, unless they have interesting features of club activities, I would barely struggle to remember their names.

Yet here was Tani-kun passing the Quiz Trial preliminaries. And those weren't easy questions either. I see now, Tani-kun, my impression of you as a normal person may not be correct. He was here due to possessing either a great amount of knowledge or luck.

Tani-kun showed no attempt to hide his elation.

"The Go Club? I do have something interesting to tell you, wanna hear?"

Something interesting, huh? If it's something that's changed my impression of Tani-kun, it would be that he's never told me something interesting before, as it did not appeal to me.

"Please step forward to the podium!"

The announcer repeated. Oh yes, my chance at making an appeal. I waved the palm of my hand to gesture to Tani-kun to move to the podium.

On the podium were three guys and one girl. I took a quick glance at them; besides Tani-kun, I didn't know any of them. Had they been the "Empress" Irisu Fuyumi-sempai, President Tanabe Jirou-sempai of the General Committee, or the "New Master of the Library" Juumonji Kaho-san, then I would have to hold my hands up in resignation. While I'm confident that my knowledge is as good as theirs, I just can't feel like beating them. That said, I don't think my database would accept such a fact.

The announcer had interviewed and asked the names for three of the contestants already, including Tani-kun. And now it was my turn. The announcer held up her mic and smiled.

"Okay, our fourth finalist! May we have your class and name please?"

I cleared my throat in order to address the 200 participants as well as the hundreds more listening via the speakers,

"I'm Fukube Satoshi of the Classics Club."

"Huh?"

"The Classics Club, as in classical literature."

The announcer looked confused for a moment. She didn't look the type to know how to deal with unexpected events.

She soon nodded deeply and said, "I see! I never knew we had such a club. Guess we have all sorts of strange clubs, right?"

So far so good. I paid attention not to rush myself and allowed the words to come out naturally. Even without being requested to, I was generally good at saying what I wanted to say.

"Though we call ourselves the Classics Club, we don't exactly cover classic literature like 'Tsurezuregusa<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsurezuregusa Wikipedia - Tsurezuregusa]</ref>.' To be honest, not even I knew what it is that we do exactly, so it's kind of strange. After all, this was a club that came back from the jaws of abolition as it didn't have any members prior to us joining. You could say we're a club that publishes anthologies. So we've published one, you see. And it's an amazing anthology, since we put a lot of effort into it..."

016 - ♠05

"...we put a lot of effort into it..."

Yeah, sure we have.

In terms of quantity.

'''[185 COPIES REMAINING]'''

017 - ♣06

"At any rate, we've managed to solve a great mystery concerning the Kanya Festival."

"Oh, really? And that is?"

Her interest didn't seem to be faked. This was to be expected, as it would be easy to hook them in if I tell them "there's knowledge not even the Quiz Club is aware of." (No, I wasn't intending to make fun of the Quiz Club here. Since I myself am a natural candidate as a Quiz Club member myself, but I just ended up using them as an example.) Feeling confident, I raised my voice.

"And it's none other than the origin of the name of the Kanya Festival. I'll say it here, it is NOT an abbreviation of the 'Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival.' The Classics Club have discovered the real answer to that."

"Really? And that is?"

"Well..."

I teased a bit.

"Obviously, that's a secret. However, we'll be in trouble if no one buys our anthology. So for only 200 yen, which is a great bargain, you can discover the 33-year-old secret of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival! It's all recorded in our essay anthology 'Hyouka'! Now on sale at the Geology Room on the fourth floor of the Special Block with rave reviews!"

I glared at the crowd while pumping my right fist in the air.

I wonder if I overdid this? For a moment, an uneasiness crept through me...

A roar of applause thundered across the court. Just like how I felt in the Opening Ceremony, everyone was particularly receptive to the festive atmosphere. My gamble had worked, the appeal was a success!

Remaining in my victory pose, I felt like crying.

It no longer mattered whether I won this quiz tournament anymore.

018 - ♥04

"Now on sale at the Geology Room on the fourth floor of the Special Block with rave reviews!"

Ehh? We're getting rave reviews already?

I-I didn't even know.

This is fantastic. I have hope for the future.

A roar of excitement could be heard from the direction of the courtyard. Thanks to Fukube-san's smooth-speaking, the crowd seems to have been moved somewhat by his words. Though it sounded like he could have gone on further, before long, the quiz tournament had begun as I heard a loud voice announcing its commencement. I pray for your success, Fukube-san.

I must do my best as well.

Come to think of it, it does seem effective to entrust someone else to sell our anthologies on our behalf. However, just placing copies of "Hyouka" at other people's stalls alone will not increase its appeal. So while it's important to seek new venues to sell our anthology, isn't it also important to raise the appeal of "Hyouka" as well?

I went through this thoroughly as I had my lunch. Take my family business for example, we would normally have decided which market to sell our rice to. Though we would like to expand our market, if our quality is below the standards required by the government, nobody is going to buy our rice.

This is because rice isn't a really sensational product, much like our anthology right now, which wasn't exactly a necessary commodity. So the situation the Classics Club is facing is quite similar to this.

In order for rice to be sold in large quantities, it has to be of "very good quality." This "quality" may be based on its "tastiness," its "safety," or its "affordability."

However, "Hyouka" was already a finished product. Though we were extremely diligent in ensuring its quality, there was no way we could further enhance it anymore than it is. The only variable left that we could manipulate would be its "affordability," but we would prefer not to adjust the price so much that it falls below our break-even point.

In order to improve the quality of "Hyouka," I decided to consider it from the standpoint of the public's awareness of it.

And so, my eyes fell on the Special Edition of the wall newspaper, the Kami High Monthly. Upon reading some of its details, it seems to be published once every two hours. If "Hyouka" gets a mention on here, then everyone would become aware of it. Fortunately, I am acquainted with the president of the Wall Newspaper Club. Even I at least know that having connections can take you a long way.

Anyway, as lunch time had already been over for some time, I was busy looking for the Wall Newspaper Club president...

"Hey, Chitanda-san, wanna go see that?"

"Ehh? I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry."

"All right ladies and gentlemen, the second Magic Club performance will begin in five minutes!"

...Oh, yes, I was heading to the Wall Newspaper Club. I heard someone chatting behind me.

"Have you seen the movie made by Class 2-F yet?"

"Yeah, I have. Pretty interesting, wasn't it?"

Ugh.

All these decorations and all this liveliness is just too captivating. It was at this moment that I envied Oreki-san's ability to not get excited by anything.

Before long, I'd come before the Biology Room on the third floor of the Special Block, where the Wall Newspaper Club room was located. Though right now, their members were in the adjacent Preparation Room instead of the Lecture Room, where they had their pens, scissors, glues and instant cameras laying around. Surrounding a table normally used for school experiments were four members, who didn't seem rather busy as they chatted leisurely. One of them, Toogaito Masashi-san, with whom I was acquainted, noticed my presence and stood up.

Though I'm quite tall for a girl, even I had to look up when looking at Toogaito-san. His father was well-acquainted with mine, which was how I knew him. Though it wasn't until this July that we spoke for the first time.

With a smile, Toogaito-san greeted me.

"Hello there,"

I bowed my head. Careful not to make the same mistake I made with Tanabe-san, I chose my words carefully.

"Good afternoon, Toogaito-san. Can the Wall Newspaper Club please write a story about the Classics Club?"

However, even Toogaito-san's eyes went wide after what I said. I wonder what it was that I said wrong? Frantically recalling what I had just said, I couldn't find anything disrespectful about it.

Oh no... I just realized, did I forget to explain my situation properly again?

Toogaito-san turned to glance at the other club members before turning back to me and said in a lowered voice, "...What's with this all of a sudden? It's not really possible."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would it have been better if I had made an appointment first?"

"No, that's not what I meant,"

Toogaito-san rubbed his forehead and said, "I'm no longer with the Wall Newspaper Club."

"Eh?"

"I'm a third year, so I'm retired already."

Oh.

H-how did I not notice that before? This would of course be natural. It's completely obvious.

"I-I'm sorry."

"No, you don't really have to apologize..."

For a moment, I felt like I was of no help, and was feeling a bit depressed. But soon a fine idea came to my head. If Toogaito-san had retired, then this could work.

"Then, could you introduce me to one of your juniors so that I may make my request to him instead?"

However, Toogaito-san looked even more troubled than before.

"Well, I can introduce you, but I don't think it'll make much of a difference."

"Not much of a difference?"

"Our Special Edition goes up every two hours, so we have to get everything prepared before then. So to ask us to write something about the Classics Club now would be a bit too much, you see."

I see. Indeed, while I thought of the possibility of getting mentioned in a Special Edition every two hours, I totally did not consider the fact that they would need to prepare a draft edition beforehand.

So I said in resignation, "So it's impossible?"

I could hear myself sounding depressed.

"Well, I didn't exactly say it's impossible. As we should still have two more days of news to report, it can be done. However," Toogaito-san said with a tense expression, "We won't publish a story just because we've been asked to. There are over 50 clubs being represented in the Kanya Festival; there's no way we could introduce every one of them, so we have to give priority to those whose activities really stand out. That being said, if you could show us that the Classics Club is engaged in activities that stand out, then we'll write something about it."

It was a strict statement concerning the conditions on having a story written.

"T-then, what about the contents of the activities?"

"The club activities that we cover are all serious in their contents, so if we find a story request that is worthy of our interest like an ad-balloon, then we'll publish it."

But we haven't got any ad-balloons.

A while ago, Fukube-san had clearly emphasized about the origin of the term "Kanya Festival." Yet Toogaito-san said he only covers serious club activities. Yet besides its name, there wasn't really much in its contents which "Hyouka" could really be called attractive...

I'm sorry, Oreki-san and Fukube-san, I also do not know how to face Mayaka-san as well. Once again, I found myself unable to be of much help.

"...I see. Sorry for taking your time..."

As though trying to cheer me up, Toogaito-san said, "You can come back if you can find anything interesting, I'll see what I can do to help."

I think I nodded, but I wasn't even sure if I had the strength to move.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Has Something Happened With the Classics Club?]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Yet Another Storm]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2

2012-10-10T14:55:25Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=35}}

== 2-2 Quiz Trial ==

013 - ♣04

The Quiz Trial held by the Kamiyama High School Quiz Study Club... That's like the biggest quiz tournament in Kamiyama City!

This is because I've yet to hear of any other quiz tournament being held elsewhere in this city.

To me, this Quiz Trial would be the highlight for Day 1. There's nothing bigger than this, no one else's database is more real than mine!

But I'm still surprised by this, as I never expected this many people to turn up; there's like 200 people here. While I could see quite a few outsiders amongst the participants, the majority were still Kami High students. So that's nearly 20% of the student body! Man, I'm envious, if only the Handicraft Club and Classics Club could each summon 100 people like that, we could have sold the anthology in no time.

In one corner of the school ground before the podium, I could hear all sorts of mutterings.

"...If it's over how about we go see the Brass Band?..."

"...What about the Movie Study Club? You don't need to be a movie buff in order to watch their show, but..."

"...Really? Hahaha, now that's kind of mean..."

"...But don't you think it sounds kind of ridiculous...?"

To begin with, while I had already imagined a lot of people participating, not even I, who had been looking forward to this since last night, could envision 200 people coming. Such was the effect of their publicity campaign.

It was just past 12:30 when the school PA broadcast went on air. It was the Broadcasting Club's pseudo radio broadcast. With relaxing pop music being played in the background, the broadcast was used to relay the latest hot topics during the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival to the listeners. About 15 minutes had passed when the broadcast went to interview the president of the Quiz Club, which went as follows:

"This year will be our 7th tournament. As usual we are offering very interesting prizes, but this time we've prepared questions that not just people who are good at quiz shows could answer. Naturally speaking, members of the Quiz Club are forbidden from participating, so we believe this is a golden opportunity for these people. So we welcome all to participate... Basically, we'll be holding a true and false questions preliminary involving participants running between circles with each answer on the school grounds. It'll be some great exercise after lunch, no?"

He sure knows how to stir up the event. By advertising via a radio broadcast, I thought they could achieve a moderate success, but I was mistaken. Not counting the audience, there were already 200 participants. (This was just a guesstimate amount of course, as I have no idea exactly how many there were. Still, it was definitely more than a hundred people.)

And I must also mention that the Quiz Club had also gotten themselves mentioned by the Wall Newspaper Club. During the Cultural Festival, the Wall Newspaper Club publishes a Special Edition every two hours. And within the Day 1 12pm edition it was mentioned that the Quiz Club activity today sounds interesting. By pasting these Special Edition copies around the school's notice board, even a fool would be aware of their activity.

It seems the Classics Club would need the assistance of both the Broadcasting Club and Wall Newspaper Club if it is to achieve its objective. I must inform Chitanda-san of this later.

Anyway, that's for me to worry about after the Trial. For now, I must focus on this Quiz Trial, as it's crucial for me to get as high a ranking as possible, since I'm not participating in my favourite event in a personal capacity, but on behalf of the Classics Club. No offense to the others, but the only one in the club capable of winning this would be me. So this would not be an easy task.

The Quiz Club president walked up to the podium. It wasn't someone I knew. If it was a Kamiyama High School student that I knew, then he or she would have to be someone really special or eccentric. In his hand he carried a mic. A short static noise ensued as he tapped the mic and proceeded to speak.

"Welcome to the Quiz Trial. To be honest, we're surprised by the number of participants we have today. This year will be our 7th Quiz Trial, and it is the largest ever held so far..." Blah, blah, blah, followed by, "Now let the tournament begin. First we will have the true and false questions preliminaries. On your left is the true box with a circle, while on your right is the false box with a cross. One of our members will hold up a placard with a question, and you must figure out whether it is true or false, and only those who answer correctly will advance. The preliminaries will continue until only five contestants remain. You have 15 seconds for each question. Now then, may the 7th Quiz Trial begin!"

As he finished, one of the female Quiz Club members stepped up onto the podium and received the mic from the president who stepped down. I was a bit relieved, as this president's words were rather unintelligible to the ears.

The girl took the mic and looked at the cue card in one of her hands and said clearly, "Question 1! If 'diamond' in Japanese is 'kongouseki' (diamond stone), then 'emerald' would be 'ryokuchuugyoku' (green pillar jade). True or false?"

Hmm, now how should I answer this?

Of course it's true. (Since unlike beryl, the chemical composition of emerald does not contain aquamarine, or it would be called 'ryokuchuuseki' (green pillar stone) instead!)

014 - ♦03

Now that I think about it, this place is quite deserted.

The reason I felt that way was because I knew what a real doujinshi festival was like. This was not a doujinshi festival, but a school cultural festival. We're not going to get people interested in manga and anime flocking here. This reminds me of coming here last year before with Fuku-chan back when we were in junior high... and I certainly don't recall that many people coming then either. When I discovered that treasure, I hardly noticed any people around me.

But it's true that there were many club members here with too much time to spare. So free they were that the atmosphere felt a bit strained... As a result, I have yet to request them to sell our anthologies.

As the current batch of customers left, the room went quiet, and we could here a speaker blaring out loud from afar. As this room is situated in the General Block while the central courtyard was adjacent to the Special Block, it was hard to hear what was going on over there.

"Mayaka, what's up?" the girl sitting next to me asked.

"Nothing, just wondering what's going on in the courtyard."

"Oh, that's probably the Quiz Club."

It was then that I remembered there was a radio broadcast mentioning about it. A quiz tournament, huh? If that's the case, then Fuku-chan would definitely join in. Listening intently, I could make out the question being asked via the speakers.

"...Next question! The Japanese word "darui" is derived from the English word "dull." True or false?"

Eh?

I didn't even have time to think. Stop asking such silly questions! But if it's true or false questions, then it's probably used to filter out a large number of contestants. So while I was a bit depressed that I didn't know the answer to that question, I guess I was also relieved at not having to answer.

The girl next to me also listened in.

She smiled and asked me, "So, what do you think?"

"Hmm,"

I know "saboru" came from "sabotage," so "darui" is probably the same, as it didn't feel strange to me.

So I said softly, "True, I guess?"

015 - ♣05

As the 15 second time limit passed, a rope was raised surrounding the contestants choosing the "True" and "False" circles. Looking around me, five had chosen "True" while four chose "False." As a preliminary, this would probably be the final round.

"The answer is............"

The announcer held back her voice in order to raise the suspense.

"............"

You're overdoing this already.

"......FALSE! This ends the preliminaries!"

YES! (Actually, I did not really know what the etymology of the word "darui" was, but I do know that if it can be written in kanji 怠い then it's most likely not a foreign loan-word.) The announcer, who upped her tempo of suspense for every question answered, now waved her arms as though dancing and pointed towards us.

"Congratulations to the four who have chosen 'False' for passing the preliminaries! Please proceed toward the podium for the finals."

Aha, here comes my chance to appeal to the crowd. That's what I'm here for. As I walked toward the podium, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

"Yo, Fukube, so you're through as well, huh?

The person who said that was...

...Just hang on a minute, I'm trying to remember his name. I know this guy, honest. For the moment being I'll try replying.

"Of course."

"You don't remember who I am, do you?"

"Haha, guess I was too focused on the quizzes."

Who was he? I know he's a classmate though.

He wasn't from the General Committee nor the Handicraft Club, so he could only be from my class. The only person I could think of who could stand out from my class was Juumonji-san.

No, wait, I remember. I'm sure of it. I've not completely forsaken my ability to remember names.

"So, how's the Go Club, Tani-kun?"

Tani Koreyuki, besides being a member of the Go Club, he was also unique in having a hard to spell name. We would occasionally have small chats like these in class, though I wasn't particularly that close to him, so he could be counted as one of my "acquaintances." Now that I see his face again, he had quite a firm jaw and a rather round nose. But as he didn't leave much of an impression on me besides those, it means his actions until now were nothing out of the ordinary.

I have more interest in people who surprise me. Chitanda-san interests me somewhat, and Houtarou has been surprising me a lot ever since we entered Kami High. As for people who aren't surprising, unless they have interesting features of club activities, I would barely struggle to remember their names.

Yet here was Tani-kun passing the Quiz Trial preliminaries. And those weren't easy questions either. I see now, Tani-kun, my impression of you as a normal person may not be correct. He was here due to possessing either a great amount of knowledge or luck.

Tani-kun showed no attempt to hide his elation.

"The Go Club? I do have something interesting to tell you, wanna hear?"

Something interesting, huh? If it's something that's changed my impression of Tani-kun, it would be that he's never told me something interesting before, as it did not appeal to me.

"Please step forward to the podium!"

The announcer repeated. Oh yes, my chance at making an appeal. I waved the palm of my hand to gesture to Tani-kun to move to the podium.

On the podium were three guys and one girl. I took a quick glance at them; besides Tani-kun, I didn't know any of them. Had they been the "Empress" Irisu Fuyumi-sempai, President Tanabe Jirou-sempai of the General Committee, or the "New Master of the Library" Juumonji Kaho-san, then I would have to hold my hands up in resignation. While I'm confident that my knowledge is as good as theirs, I just can't feel like beating them. That said, I don't think my database would accept such a fact.

The announcer had interviewed and asked the names for three of the contestants already, including Tani-kun. And now it was my turn. The announcer held up her mic and smiled.

"Okay, our fourth finalist! May we have your class and name please?"

I cleared my throat in order to address the 200 participants as well as the hundreds more listening via the speakers,

"I'm Fukube Satoshi of the Classics Club."

"Huh?"

"The Classics Club, as in classical literature."

The announcer looked confused for a moment. She didn't look the type to know how to deal with unexpected events.

She soon nodded deeply and said, "I see! I never knew we had such a club. Guess we have all sorts of strange clubs, right?"

So far so good. I paid attention not to rush myself and allowed the words to come out naturally. Even without being requested to, I was generally good at saying what I wanted to say.

"Though we call ourselves the Classics Club, we don't exactly cover classic literature like 'Tsurezuregusa<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsurezuregusa Wikipedia - Tsurezuregusa]</ref>.' To be honest, not even I knew what it is that we do exactly, so it's kind of strange. After all, this was a club that came back from the jaws of abolition as it didn't have any members prior to us joining. You could say we're a club that publishes anthologies. So we've published one, you see. And it's an amazing anthology, since we put a lot of effort into it..."

016 - ♠05

"...we put a lot of effort into it..."

Yeah, sure we have.

In terms of quantity.

'''[185 COPIES REMAINING]'''

017 - ♣06

"At any rate, we've managed to solve a great mystery concerning the Kanya Festival."

"Oh, really? And that is?"

Her interest didn't seem to be faked. This was to be expected, as it would be easy to hook them in if I tell them "there's knowledge not even the Quiz Club is aware of." (No, I wasn't intending to make fun of the Quiz Club here. Since I myself am a natural candidate as a Quiz Club member myself, but I just ended up using them as an example.) Feeling confident, I raised my voice.

"And it's none other than the origin of the name of the Kanya Festival. I'll say it here, it is NOT an abbreviation of the 'Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival.' The Classics Club have discovered the real answer to that."

"Really? And that is?"

"Well..."

I teased a bit.

"Obviously, that's a secret. However, we'll be in trouble if no one buys our anthology. So for only 200 yen, which is a great bargain, you can discover the 33-year-old secret of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival! It's all recorded in our essay anthology 'Hyouka'! Now on sale at the Geology Room on the fourth floor of the Special Block!"

I glared at the crowd while pumping my right fist in the air.

I wonder if I overdid this? For a moment, an uneasiness crept through me...

A roar of applause thundered across the court. Just like how I felt in the Opening Ceremony, everyone was particularly receptive to the festive atmosphere. My gamble had worked, the appeal was a success!

Remaining in my victory pose, I felt like crying.

It no longer mattered whether I won this quiz tournament anymore.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Has Something Happened With the Classics Club?]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Yet Another Storm]]|-
|}
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Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2

2012-09-30T21:28:15Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=10}}

== 2-2 Quiz Trial ==

013 - ♣04

The Quiz Trial held by the Kamiyama High School Quiz Study Club... That's like the biggest quiz tournament in Kamiyama City!

This is because I've yet to hear of any other quiz tournament being held elsewhere in this city.

To me, this Quiz Trial would be the highlight for Day 1. There's nothing bigger than this, no one else's database is more real than mine!

But I'm still surprised by this, as I never expected this many people to turn up; there's like 200 people here. While I could see quite a few outsiders amongst the participants, the majority were still Kami High students. So that's nearly 20% of the student body! Man, I'm envious, if only the Handicraft Club and Classics Club could each summon 100 people like that, we could have sold the anthology in no time.

In one corner of the school ground before the podium, I could hear all sorts of mutterings.

"...If it's over how about we go see the Brass Band?..."

"...What about the Movie Study Club? You don't need to be a movie buff in order to watch their show, but..."

"...Really? Hahaha, now that's kind of mean..."

"...But don't you think it sounds kind of ridiculous...?"

To begin with, while I had already imagined a lot of people participating, not even I, who had been looking forward to this since last night, could envision 200 people coming. Such was the effect of their publicity campaign.

It was just past 12:30 when the school PA broadcast went on air. It was the Broadcasting Club's pseudo radio broadcast. With relaxing pop music being played in the background, the broadcast was used to relay the latest hot topics during the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival to the listeners. About 15 minutes had passed when the broadcast went to interview the president of the Quiz Club, which went as follows:

"This year will be our 7th tournament. As usual we are offering very interesting prizes, but this time we've prepared questions that not just people who are good at quiz shows could answer. Naturally speaking, members of the Quiz Club are forbidden from participating, so we believe this is a golden opportunity for these people. So we welcome all to participate... Basically, we'll be holding a true and false questions preliminary involving participants running between circles with each answer on the school grounds. It'll be some great exercise after lunch, no?"

He sure knows how to stir up the event. By advertising via a radio broadcast, I thought they could achieve a moderate success, but I was mistaken. Not counting the audience, there were already 200 participants. (This was just a guesstimate amount of course, as I have no idea exactly how many there were. Still, it was definitely more than a hundred people.)

And I must also mention that the Quiz Club had also gotten themselves mentioned by the Wall Newspaper Club. During the Cultural Festival, the Wall Newspaper Club publishes a Special Edition every two hours. And within the Day 1 12pm edition it was mentioned that the Quiz Club activity today sounds interesting. By pasting these Special Edition copies around the school's notice board, even a fool would be aware of their activity.

It seems the Classics Club would need the assistance of both the Broadcasting Club and Wall Newspaper Club if it is to achieve its objective. I must inform Chitanda-san of this later.

Anyway, that's for me to worry about after the Trial. For now, I must focus on this Quiz Trial, as it's crucial for me to get as high a ranking as possible, since I'm not participating in my favourite event in a personal capacity, but on behalf of the Classics Club. No offense to the others, but the only one in the club capable of winning this would be me. So this would not be an easy task.

The Quiz Club president walked up to the podium. It wasn't someone I knew. If it was a Kamiyama High School student that I knew, then he or she would have to be someone really special or eccentric. In his hand he carried a mic. A short static noise ensued as he tapped the mic and proceeded to speak.

"Welcome to the Quiz Trial. To be honest, we're surprised by the number of participants we have today. This year will be our 7th Quiz Trial, and it is the largest ever held so far..." Blah, blah, blah, followed by, "Now let the tournament begin. First we will have the true and false questions preliminaries. On your left is the true box with a circle, while on your right is the false box with a cross. One of our members will hold up a placard with a question, and you must figure out whether it is true or false, and only those who answer correctly will advance. The preliminaries will continue until only five contestants remain. You have 15 seconds for each question. Now then, may the 7th Quiz Trial begin!"

As he finished, one of the female Quiz Club members stepped up onto the podium and received the mic from the president who stepped down. I was a bit relieved, as this president's words were rather unintelligible to the ears.

The girl took the mic and looked at the cue card in one of her hands and said clearly, "Question 1! If 'diamond' in Japanese is 'kongouseki' (diamond stone), then 'emerald' would be 'ryokuchuugyoku' (green pillar jade). True or false?"

Hmm, now how should I answer this?

Of course it's true. (Since unlike beryl, the chemical composition of emerald does not contain aquamarine, or it would be called 'ryokuchuuseki' (green pillar stone) instead!)

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1

2012-09-30T20:54:14Z

Dan.:

== 2-1 Has Something Happened With the Classics Club? ==

005 - ♠02

Saying "I enjoyed this a lot" may sound easy, but is actually a pretty difficult task. Rather than the possibility of the difference in one's level of understanding, a more important factor would be the difference in one's level of interest. When watching a magic performance, a dense person would not even understand even a hundredth of what was going on. On the other hand, if one had the ability to see through a magician's trick, then no matter how much entertainment he may see, while he may try to enjoy to his heart's content, there's no way he could have enjoyed it sufficiently.

It was morning, and I was walking to school earlier than usual, as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival starts today. Seeing Fukube Satoshi constantly repeating "Ohh, I'm so looking forward to enjoying this," I felt compelled to mischievously tell him the above, to which Satoshi responded with a frightful smile and slowly shook his head.

"An excellent idea, was what I wanted to say, but you're too naive, Houtarou,"

"Oh? How so?"

"For a person like you who was raised on nothing but boorishness to even think of lecturing me on my enjoyment, you're too naive," he said as he raised his index finger and swung it left and right as though acting.

"Of course I already knew that it was useless to try to enjoy myself deep down, within the marrow of my bones. The most important aspect of Epicureanism is to be able to separate one's senses. It's just as important as the day when you finally give up your energy-saving ways and actually work hard on a test."

"Like hell that day would arrive. Anyway, what's this about separation of your senses? What does that have to do with you being able to say you'll enjoy yourself?"

"All right, then let me enlighten you. First, I wouldn't think of saying something like "I'm gonna enjoy a lot," as I'm a fairly easy to please person. You know what I'm good at resigning myself to? Just from the point of view of Houtarou the Boorish."

''Do you know?'' Satoshi gestured as he finished his sentence. Fleeting a glimpse at him, as I had no intention of bursting his bubble, I said nothing. Sensing I had no intention to answer, he lowered his voice as though informing me of a secret and said, "Even if I'm not good at enjoying myself......"

"......"

He gave a broad smile.

"I could still look forward to people giving me their enjoyment!"

Oh boy.

Ignoring my cold expression, Satoshi continued with his talk of how he's still "gonna enjoy this." I could do nothing but keep quiet and smile bitterly.

Fukube Satoshi. I have been hanging out with this fellow since junior high.

From his appearance, Satoshi was a person with brown eyes and a slim figure that might be mistaken as that of a girl when seen from afar. And while he may seem like a weakling, he has developed some amazing leg muscles due to his penchant for cycling.

Though his real features lie with his mental state. You may have caught a glimpse of that from our conversation just now; he can be pretty forceful in abandoning his studies and social life casually. Already a member of the Handicraft Club and the General Committee, he decided to join the Classics Club as well simply because "it sounded interesting."

He is never seen without his drawstring bag in his hand, though I have no idea of its contents. All I can say is that it contains all sorts of stuff.

In the road ahead, we could see Kamiyama High School appearing. The outer walls weren't painted pink due to the Cultural Festival, and seen from afar, it looked no different from any other regular high school. However, within its grounds were flourishing all sorts of activities concerning the Cultural Festival. In order to prepare for the festival, classes were suspended since yesterday.

The body of students heading towards school looked different today. While there were many in their uniforms, there were also many from other clubs in their casual wear. And there were many who did not carry any bag with them, as there was no need to bring any scholastic equipment. Due to such discrepancies, even I could feel the expectation that something different from usual was about to start.

Though Kamiyama High School is a school geared towards students entering university, it didn't have that many supplementary classes, neither did it have a particularly high record of students entering famous universities. If you were to ask the students of Kamiyama High School what its specialty was, only one in ten would have said it specializes in university entrance exams. The other nine would answer "It's a school known for its vibrant Arts-related club activities." There are many kinds of arts-related clubs in Kami High, and its activities too are various. And the highlight of these activities would of course be the Cultural Festival, which was rare amongst high schools for its number of days, with one day for preparation and three whole days for the main event.

Satoshi suddenly raised his voice cheerfully.

"And besides... Why, Houtarou, isn't that Mayaka?"

He pointed to a girl in front of us. She was dressed in casual wear comprising of a red cardigan and white brocade trousers, but I couldn't tell whether she was Ibara Mayaka from behind. Though I've known her since elementary school, I've rarely seen her in casual wear since junior high. But if Satoshi says it's her, then it has to be.

For many times Ibara had confessed her love to Satoshi, yet while Satoshi was not one to fall into self-loathing, he had chosen to evade her advances time and time again. I couldn't figure out why he's done so even if I wanted to.

"I'll be going on ahead."

He turned and said that before running off towards that girl ahead of us.

006 - ♣02

As I moved forward, I was certain that it was indeed Mayaka. Though seeking Houtarou out in a crowd was like trying to look for a needle in a haystack, there was no way I could miss Mayaka. I ran up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Mayaka. Morning!"

Knowing her, she would have stared at me and said "Hey! That hurts!" Which was why I only tapped her softly. Though it seemed Mayaka didn't seem to be in that mood today, as she became stiff and turned her head slowly.

"...Morning."

She muttered only that and turned back forward. ''Ahh, I see.'' I exclaimed to myself and smiled (which was what I'm good at; I've long forgotten how to make a serious face), and I answered Mayaka's anxiety.

"Your costume suits you."

"R-really?"

"So, who are you cospla..."

I could not finish my sentence, as I could feel a jab into my stomach. Great aim. Due to that hit, my abdominal muscles quickly lost their strength, so its effect was immediate.

Mayaka murmured with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes, "Don't use that term in front of normal people."

Well, I don't think "costume play" would be considered taboo nowadays. Though I do get that Mayaka's feeling pretty embarrassed about it, so I wouldn't say anything. By the way, I already knew that she was planning to cosplay today. Mayaka's Manga Studies Club had asked for permission from the General Committee to turn up in casual clothing. As there were not enough changing rooms at school, the General Committee granted that permission.

Mayaka wore off-white brocade trousers and a scarlet cardigan. It was a pragmatic costume that was able to withstand the cool autumn winds of early October. Some accessories were attached to her cardigan, and inside she wore a white collared shirt, and a thick looking belt was wrapped around her abdomen. The main point would probably be this belt.

I looked at her costume from top to bottom. Hmm, I just don't have a clue. Guess I'll ask her again.

"So, what costume is this?"

Like a rat trying not to alert the cat, I carefully chose the right words so that Mayaka may accept my question. She quickly looked forward and said in a detached manner,

"Frol,"

"Frol? Frolbericheri Frol<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Were_Eleven Wikipedia - They Were Eleven]</ref>? You're wearing her costume?"

"Yeah... I also brought this handbag."

I wouldn't get what she was referring to even if she said so. Well, that's what Mayaka wanted to wear after all. When she learned that her club required her to come in cosplay, being the shy person that she is, she would definitely choose a character that was hard to recognize.

Ibara Mayaka. As I was a guy, she was way shorter than me, but then as a girl she was way shorter than others. If she wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform, she would no doubt be mistaken as an elementary schoolkid. And right now, Mayaka wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform. And it's not just her figure that's small, just observing from the features of her face alone, one could say Mayaka was baby-faced.

Yet it was hard to figure out Mayaka's vigorous sense of justice from her childish expression emanating from her childish face. For example, when she's angry, she would simply bite her lips. Naturally, nothing can replace the smile that she was born with. (On the other hand, from my years of hanging out with him, Houtarou sure has bad eyes for not being able to notice that.)

I'd better stop looking into someone cosplaying a character she didn't feel like cosplaying, so I began spinning my drawstring bag and said, "Well, anyway, good luck with your role. I'll pop in at the Manga Studies Club later."

Mayaka showed some shyness as she nodded softly.

"You have to contribute articles for the Manga Club as well, right?"

"Yeah."

"I read it... Must be tough, to hold similar positions in both the Classics Club and Manga Club."

"It is tough. Since nobody else was willing to contribute."

I was originally planning to congratulate her for her hard work, but all of a sudden her gaze suddenly became sharp. Oops, looks like the conversation is headed in the wrong direction. For the Classics Club manuscript to arrive so late, no matter how one looks at it, I couldn't offer any excuse. So I decided to change the topic.

"Ah... so, Mayaka, you'll be with the Manga Studies Club all day then?"

Though she didn't look pleased that the topic was changed, she nodded.

"Will you be stopping by the Classics Club?"

"Nah, it's probably impossible for me to leave the Manga Club in the morning. And besides, it's not worth it for me to just stop by... I really ought to have followed things through."

I deepened my smile and patted Mayaka on the back.

"Try not to think too much about it! It can't be helped once you wake up from it!"

Mayaka gave an ambiguous smile and nodded at my words. No, this doesn't look right. Such a grey-looking smile wouldn't be what makes Mayaka look great.

Even though Mayaka said she's fine with it, there are occasions when Houtarou expresses doubt at my evasion of her advances. Well, Houtarou was never one to flatter people. I could tell him the reason, but I wasn't sure if he would understand even a tenth of it. To begin with, this is a problem between me and Mayaka alone, so it doesn't matter whether Houtarou understands it or not.

Before we realized, we had arrived at the school gates. I turned to have a look at the gates, which had huge, colourful flowers hanging over them. This was the hard work of the General Committee, made to welcome visitors to the Cultural Festival. A banner hung from the outside of one of the windows of the school building, which read "The 42nd Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival."

And so it begins.

I wonder if I'm making a face that's trying to enjoy all this. As I was in a trance looking at the school grounds, Mayaka suddenly jabbed her elbow at me.

"Fuku-chan... Try not to do anything silly during the Cultural Festival, okay? While you may not find it embarrassing, it'd be embarrassing enough for me."

Heh, guess I'm not trusted at all, eh?

But that doesn't mean I won't do anything!

007 - ♠03

There's this hard object resting in my pocket, and for some time it's been bothering me.

It was the fountain pen, or to be more precise, the trash known as the unusable fountain pen. The ink had long run out, and I was entrusted by my sis to take care of it. Last night, as I didn't want to just toss it on the floor, I brought it to my room, intending to throw it away there. But it seemed I ended up bringing it along with my handkerchief. While it's pretty much useless now, who knows what role it would play as time goes on.

I toyed with the pen by flipping its cap on and off, making a clicking sound as I walked up the stairs. My destination was the Classics Club room on the fourth floor.

Seen from above, Kamiyama High School appears as an H-shape. On one side was the General Block with its regular classrooms, while on the other side would be the Special Block with its arts and science related classrooms. They are joined in the middle by a connecting corridor. When seen from further above, one would see the corridor from the General Block extending towards the Gymnasium.

The Geology Lecture Room, which is used by the Classics Club as their club room, is located in the Special Block. And it's all the way in the corner at the end of the corridor. If Kamiyama High School was the whole world, then this would be its periphery. Normally, we'd curse about how far the club room was while also feeling grateful for how serene it was. Yet with the Cultural Festival upon us, we had to consider another factor, the fact that being located in such a remote corner of the school means we're doubtful of getting any visitors.

In every floor, you would see posters, mascots and advertising boards in all different shades of colour, though that's only up to the third floor. In the fourth floor, all you get is a barren landscape. You won't even see any ads for shopping malls or chain stores. To begin with, there aren't many clubs based up here anyway.

Still, we've put up a few posters in some hard to miss spots promoting the Classics Club, but even that was not enough to enliven the mood of this god-forsaken place. Personally, I prefer this sort of tranquility, but it's troublesome for the Classics Club as an organization, particularly for its president, who sees it as something quite worrying.

I slid open the door of the Geology Room. The girl sitting in the centre of this dreary room stood up upon seeing me enter.

"Good morning, Oreki-san," she said and bowed deeply, her long black hair flowing as she did. This was Chitanda, president of the Classics Club. I reckoned she was probably the first to arrive.

Chitanda Eru is a girl with jet black hair extending all the way to her back as well as pupils of the same colour. Gentle in her demeanor, she was rather tall and well-proportioned for a girl. Her calm way of speaking gives one the impression that she's an elegant lady with a prestigious upbringing. In fact, she is the only daughter of the Chitanda clan, known for being the owners of large tracts of farmland.

However, if you ask me, this elegant Japanese lady image is not Chitanda's true nature.

Amongst her mature features, only her large eyes betray her true character. Possessing a sense of curiosity which has exploded many times before and will continue to explode in the future, this was Chitanda Eru. Ever since I entered school, I and the Classics Club have been involved in many bothersome events thanks to her curiosity. My life motto has always been "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick." But so far I have been unable to adhere to it, and it's all her fault.

Chitanda lifted her head and made a soft smile. Though she wears her heart on her sleeve, she would rarely express her feelings in an exaggerated way. Rather, she does it in moderation.

"The day has finally arrived."

"So it seems."

"Let's give it our all!"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

Looking at the pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda, I groaned.

"...You say give it our all, but do you have any idea how we're gonna get this sorted?"

We're talking about none other than the Classics Club essay anthology, "Hyouka." A rather queer name for a title; as for why it had such a queer name, that's a long story. Each volume was bound nicely in a vinyl coating which went through adhesive surface treatment, on its dark brown cover was an illustration of a dog and rabbit biting each other. This cover design was derived from the first ever volume of "Hyouka," which was made in a water-paint style, though this year Ibara decided to draw it in a cute style. Objectively speaking, it didn't look bad at all.

The people working on this anthology included me and Chitanda, and while Satoshi did contribute, he only participated in writing his part of the manuscript. Of course, even after the manuscript was completed, the anthology wouldn't be finished right away. There would still be work involving confirming the number of pages, choosing the right font and paper type, arranging the manuscripts, placing the page numbers, etc, before submitting to the publisher for printing. All that was left to Ibara, who also worked on the other illustrations as well.

While we were consulted on matters concerning the design of the anthology, we were merely confirming Ibara's choices. Seeing how troublesome it looked for her to have to work on so many details, both Chitanda and I had offered to help her many times.

Yet Ibara had turned our offers down, saying she's used to doing such stuff, so it's no big deal to her, and how she can easily handle this amount of work. Besides, she said it would be quite bothersome to teach an amateur from scratch. Hearing her say that, Chitanda decided to relent on helping.

And so, the anthology "Hyouka" is finally complete. In fact, it was a job well done. Very well done, indeed.

Upon seeing the final product, Ibara went speechless.

When she brought them over to us the day before yesterday, we too became speechless.

...The pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda were the "Hyouka" anthologies. Rather than "pile," "stack" would be a more appropriate description. Even "mountain" would not sound far-fetched.

Before, we had only planned on making an order to print thirty copies of "Hyouka". Taking one for ourselves, as well as one each for our supervisor and one to keep for archiving, it would leave us with twenty-four left to sell, which was how many we expected to sell.

However, the number of copies somehow ended up being more than we expected.

About seven times more.

I learned that even for a thin anthology like this, two hundred copies of them stacked together was enough to form a "mountain."

To ask us to give our all selling all these is an extremely tall task. Upon hearing my grumble, Chitanda became lost for words as her smile went stiff.

"...Umm, while giving our all may not guarantee everything, I'm sure we'll still achieve something!"

The problem would be how much effort we should be giving then, but...

The door behind us opened; it was Satoshi. Lifting his right arm, he greeted us.

"Hi there, I see you're all worried about our excessive stock!"

Well, so are you.

While still at a loss for words to address the predicament we were in, Chitanda still bowed deeply like she had to me.

"G-good morning, Fukube-san... How is Mayaka-san?"

"Oh, she said she'll try and come, but she probably won't make it."

"I see...," she muttered regretfully. That was to be expected.

While Chitanda and I aren't affiliated with any other club save the Classics Club, Satoshi has his hands tied with the General Committee and Handicraft Club, while Ibara spends time as a librarian and with the Manga Studies Club. During the Cultural Festival, Satoshi would be busy patrolling the grounds as a member of the General Committee, while I hear Ibara is required to stay with the Manga Club for some time.

"Then, shall we begin?"

Satoshi and I nodded. Looking at us one by one, Chitanda slowly spoke.

"There's not much time until the Opening Ceremony starts... So does anyone have any ideas on how we could sell this many copies of 'Hyouka?'"

The price of "Hyouka" was set at 200 yen.

This was the price decided by Ibara and Chitanda after much calculation. We originally wanted to sell 30 copies at 400 yen each. As we were expecting to sell them all, the proceeds made along with our own club funding would be just enough to cover the printing costs.

But now we have 200 copies of "Hyouka". It's not exactly an extremely tragic mistake, and the printing of excessive copies also meant we actually paid far less for each volume as a result. If we were to sell all 200 volumes, then we could lower the price down to 120 yen per copy and still break even.

But it was impractical to expect all of them to be sold, so taking that into consideration, we settled for 200 yen apiece, though we would need to sell 120 copies in order to break even. Chitanda eventually decided on this price, though selling 120 copies still seems rather optimistic... Still, as I kept quiet, I wasn't planning on complaining afterwards anyway. Surely 200 yen is pretty cheap for an anthology sold at a Cultural Festival, after all.

By the way, even if we were to sell them all, we would not be able to profit from it anyway. As the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival expressly forbids clubs from profiteering. While I've heard of stories where　people would occasionally get away with pocketing 1000 yen for themselves, any amount more than that would end up in the national treasury, sorry, I mean the school treasury.

There are about a thousand students in Kamiyama High School, so in order to break even, we would need to sell to 12% of the student body. In order to sell all copies, we would need to target 20%. This was a pretty difficult task. To use TV ratings as an analogy, even a lay person would know how hard it is for a programme to achieve 20% ratings.

To begin with, our market is not limited to these thousand people. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival is free for all, so even regular townspeople would come. As the Cultural Festival takes place from Thursday to Saturday, most visitors would opt to visit on Saturday, the third day. But I have no way of guessing how much they would contribute to the sales.

Besides...

"The problem lies with the Classics Club's name recognition and its poor geographical location."

"Yes, I agree this is the biggest obstacle."

I felt the same way with both of their opinions.

I have already mentioned above about how disadvantageous the Geology Room's location was. For the Classics Club's name recognition, it's even worse. Nearly all of the students in Kami High wouldn't even know of the existence of the Classics Club. In fact, if I hadn't applied to join this year, the club would have been abolished altogether. Unlike the Tea Ceremony Club, which was known for its open air tea ceremonies, or the A Capella Club renowned for its abilities, who's gonna buy the anthology of a club they've not even heard of?

So there's the location and the name recognition. I spoke up.

"In other words, we will need to find a more conspicuous place to sell, as well as to advertise our club name."

"Well, obviously," Satoshi said teasingly, as though saying we would sell out if we could achieve both. Of course I know that, but it's because we can't achieve them that we're at a loss for what to do.

Meanwhile, Chitanda nodded in admiration.

"Find a new location to sell... And all this time I've been thinking of how to bring customers all the way here. Oreki-san, that's a really innovative idea."

"Erm, it's not exactly innovative..."

"But, will we be able to get permission to move to a new location right away?"

Who knows? That's Satoshi's department, as he's with the General Committee. But he shook his head.

"I'm not really sure. While it may be possible to just move to any space, it depends on whether the Classics Club could be granted such a privilege. So you're gonna have to ask the General Committee president, or even the Student Council president himself."

"Who's the General Committee president?"

"Tanabe-sempai from second year. The General Committee will be holding meetings in the Conference Room from time to time, so you could try dropping by to have a look."

"Why don't you do it?"

Satoshi bit his lip and nodded ambiguously.

"Well, I could do that... But I'm not really confident in conducting such negotiations. Chitanda-san, it might be better for you to start the conversation with them, and for me to assist you by the side."

I see, that could be a good way of doing it. Yet Chitanda looked somehow uneasy. While she might be a forceful lady, like Satoshi, she probably wouldn't be confident making such an unreasonable request either. Yet she could expect no help from me, for I too am bad at those kinds of things.

The situation at present was nothing to be joyful about. Yet Satoshi looked pretty jolly. Well, that's Fukube Satoshi for you, he might even be relishing such hardship. As though bouncing, he spoke.

"Rather than that, I'd prefer to do the advertising."

"Advertising, huh? So how're you gonna do that?"

"Well, that's a secret."

I have a bad feeling about this. I could not think of any secret plan of Satoshi's that could ever work.

"Huh? Do you have a good idea?"

This got Chitanda interested, to which Satoshi puffed his chest.

"There are many competitions and races held during this Cultural Festival, so I was thinking of joining them under the name of the Classics Club. By achieving a good result, we would increase the club's popularity!"

"T-that's a great idea!"

How's that a great idea anyway? I raised my eyebrows as Chitanda was clearly being fooled. Satoshi basically ''wanted'' to participate in all these competitions and races himself. To begin with, it'll still be Satoshi participating, it's just that the entry name will be that of the Classics Club instead.

But still, it's not a bad method, as we haven't got any other way of advertising our club. It was possible it could actually turn out quite well.

I looked at the clock and said, "So it's roughly decided then? Chitanda will go and request a new selling location, and Satoshi will do the advertising."

"Yes, so we had better make our way now. But what will you do, Oreki-san?"

Me?

Actually, I had a plan. A plan to contribute greatly to the selling of "Hyouka," as well as stay true to my creed.

I cleared my throat and said solemnly, "I will..."

"Yes?"

"Stay and watch the stall."

Chitanda blinked her eyes while Satoshi muttered as though realizing something.

"...In-indeed, or else there won't be anyone left behind."

"Yes, you're right. We would need someone to watch the stall."

Now how's that? No complaints at all.

"Well, now that things are decided, we should get going. We don't have much time," I said while looking at the clock on the wall.

There were only ten minutes left before the Opening Ceremony begins. Even the Cultural Festival and Sports Day were not exempted from attendance taking, but taking into consideration that students would be scattered in their clubrooms overseeing their exhibits, attendance would be taken during the morning assembly every day. In other words, we'll be counted as late if we don't get to the Opening Ceremony on time.

Nodding greatly, Chitanda cleared her throat. Taking a deep breath, she said in one go, "Then let us proceed with our allotted tasks. We should try to sell as many volumes as possible. Our target is to sell all 200 copies of 'Hyouka'! Let's give it our all!"

...Well, let's just say I wasn't even thinking of whether we could sell all 200 copies.

['''200 COPIES REMAINING''']

008 - ♥02

About a thousand students were packed within the dark gymnasium, which had its windows covered by curtains, and due to today being a rather hot October day, the gymnasium ended up being stuffy. Inside the gymnasium was a light that shines onto the stage, but even now that light was turned off, so it was pitch black inside. But it only lasted for a moment, for in the next moment a spotlight shone on a male student; it was the Student Council president. He was a rather tall and intrepid looking person who was said to speak eloquently as befitting of a Student Council president.

The president walked towards the mic and looked around the hall as he took a deep breath. He then declared loudly, omitting any prefix altogether, "I declare the 42nd Kanya Festival open!"

As the voice from deep within his abdomen flowed out, the thousand Kami High students instantly burst into an uproar. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival opening ceremony had begun.

According to the "Kanya Festival Guide" published by the General Committee, the Breakdancing Club will lead the opening ceremony with their performance. I'm ashamed to admit that I've not seen people perform breakdancing before. While I know it has something to do with dancing, I don't exactly know how dances can be broken. I wonder if it has something to do with the performers breaking something on the stage?

As red, yellow, blue and green lights shone on the stage, the bewildering performance had begun. I looked up wondering where the lights shone from, and saw people busy moving the lighting equipment around in the catwalk above the stage. It probably takes lots of practice to be able to move such lights so quickly in an orderly pattern. If I get the chance, I must inquire how they mastered this pattern.

Smoke was emitted from behind the stage as the rumble briefly quieted down. As the smoke dispersed, two people from each side came flying from left and right, and at the same time booming background music was played. It was a vibrating electronic sound. I wonder if the image it conveys was that of space? In tune with the music, four people began dancing.

So this is breakdancing? The dancers looked as though they were turning a key in a doorknob, and they swung their arms and kicked their legs as though swimming in breast stroke. Dancing in a variety of moves, they looked very active indeed. Would it be rude to call them non-human? As their inorganic dance moves looked really fascinating.

Oh! They jumped!

Oh! They spun!

Oh! They stood on their hands!

This time they begun spinning around while standing on their hands. But would they be fine with all the heat caused by the friction of their heads rubbing against the ground? Wouldn't their hair be scratched off from too much rubbing? I'm curious about it.

The dance then stepped up its tempo, becoming faster and faster; I could no longer tell how they moved their arms and legs. This is amazing. The music also went into full burst... Umm, this loud sound is starting to hurt my ears. I'm not that good with loud sounds.

Before long, as the cocktail of spotlights converged in the centre of the stage, the four dancers stopped in perfect stillness just as the music ended. The crowd gave a loud response; I too gave the Breakdancing Club my overwhelming approval.

The second song began playing, which was in the rhythm of some African-like folk music. It was quite different from the previous song. I was quite curious as to how they would dance to that tune. Besides, I would also be interested in watching the performance of the Rakugo Club afterwards... No, I mustn't be tempted.

Having come to my senses, I noticed quite a number of students trickling out of the hall. They're probably in charge of watching their stalls or preparing for their club events. Without disturbing the performance of the Breakdancing Club, I too quietly left the hall.

I hurried down the corridor, walking in longer strides than I normally do. I saw some students decorating their classroom door with gold and silver paper while there doesn't seem to be much time left. I wonder what club they're from? They looked so frantic that I feel like helping them. No, I mustn't! The Classics Club itself is in a grave situation.

As I pondered how to say my lines, I reached the Conference Room. According to the "Kanya Festival Guide," the General Committee seems to be based here.

The Conference Room is situated on the second floor of the General Block. As the Gymnasium is directly connected to the General Block, it wasn't a long walk at all. So before long, here I was before the Conference Room. It was like any other classroom, save that it had a sign pasted on its sliding door that read "General Committee Room." I knocked on the door.

"......"

Huh?

"Is anybody in?"

There was no response. I tried opening the door, but it was locked.

Yes, now that I think about it, as I had left midway through the Opening Ceremony, it was not strange that no one from the General Committee had yet returned. It seems like I came too early.

Somehow, I became a bit anxious as I didn't want to waste any time. In such a situation, I should do some deep breathing. So I inhaled deeply and breathed out slowly. One more time, breathe in, breathe out.

I looked around me, there didn't seem to be anyone from the General Committee coming this way.

On the notice board beside the door was a catchy Cultural Festival promotion poster. I've seen many other Cultural Festival posters within the school grounds and around the neighbourhood, but this was the first time I'd seen this one. It was drawn in a manga-like style which Mayaka-san might be familiar with. It showed two students, a boy and girl preparing for the Cultural Festival. The characters looked cute while the clothes they wore looked real, one could feel the amazing originality effusing from it.

If there was one complaint to make, it would be its title, "The 42nd Kanya Festival." Its official name ought to be the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, as "Kanya Festival" doesn't really evoke a good meaning. As for why, it's rather difficult to explain. On the corner of the poster were written the words "Student Council Executive Committee." Since it's a poster made by the Executive Committee, I feel they ought to avoid using the name "Kanya Festival."

I moved my eyes away from the poster and looked around me once more, but there still wasn't anyone coming. Oh dear, this doesn't look good. Should I just keep waiting here? But we haven't got much time.

No, in such times, I should calm myself down. I once again took a deep breath, breathe in, breathe out... Okay, one more time...

"...Can I help you?"

"Wah!"

As I had just inhaled a deep breath, I couldn't help but let out a yelp. As I was startled, I couldn't suppress such a strange sound. I tried to wave my arms to explain that I wasn't particularly doing anything suspicious.

I bowed my head to the person that called out to me and said, "Good morning. Are you President Tanabe of the General Committee?"

I've seen this person before in the Wall Newspaper Club's "Kami High Monthly," so he was definitely President Tanabe of the General Committee. Wearing small framed glasses on his oval face, his short and neatly cut hair gave the image of an earnest-looking person. Tanabe-san looked a bit taken aback before politely greeting me in return.

"Oh, good morning. Yes, I'm Tanabe... Can I help you?"

"Yes,"

I nodded and uttered the lines that I'd practiced many times beforehand.

"Please allocate a new stall for the Classics Club."

"...Huh?"

Tanabe-san's eyes went round. Oh no, I neglected my manners. Paying attention to my manners, I repeated my request.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the president of the Classics Club, Chitanda Eru of Class 1-A. We have come here with a request; we would like you to please allocate a new stall for the Classics Club."

Tanabe-san raised his eyebrows as his face looked really troubled. Uneasily, he spoke.

"I don't really understand what's going on but..."

He looked as though he was about to say something difficult.

"As we've already decided on how to run most of the stuff during the Kanya Festival, for you to suddenly come and request a new stall would be a bit difficult."

"...So you aren't able to do it?"

"I'm sorry."

I see. It may be troubling, but it can't be helped if it can't be done. I'm very sorry, Mayaka-san, Fukube-san, Oreki-san. Chitanda Eru was not able to accomplish her task.

''I see, thank you for your information.'' I had wanted to give my regards properly, but I ended up speaking those words softly instead. As I proceeded to leave and ponder what to do next, Tanabe-san called out to me.

"No, wait. That's just the normal procedures anyway. If you have some extenuating circumstance, then we could listen to what you have to say, but I can't promise whether we could grant you your request."

Circumstance.

...Now that I think about it, I've completely neglected to explain my situation. Oreki-san has constantly told me off for my bad habit of skipping straight to the main point without explaining myself properly. I never realized this before... but it seemed like it is indeed true. I must be careful next time.

Anyway, I should not put Tanabe-san's good will to waste. I turned around and stood before him.

I then began to explain my story.

In great detail.

We were supposed to make an order to print 30 copies, but ended up with 200 copies. To begin with, this was not Mayaka-san's fault, as I too had a look at the order sheet, and Mayaka-san also made sure to correctly place the order for 30 copies. However, at the same time, she also made another request to print 200 copies for her own anthology. As to why she would make such a request, I did not know. But the problem arose when it turned out that the publisher had mixed up the order for "Hyouka" and her own anthology. Mayaka-san blamed herself for not double-checking enough, but nobody could have foreseen such an error.

I told Tanabe-san the entire process as well. I wasn't able to keep the story brief, but all this time Tanabe-san simply stood and listened.

"That sure sounds tough."

After much thought, he said prudently, "200 copies huh? Not even the Manga Club could sell that much. I understand the desire to seek a new stall in order to sell more copies, and I would really like to help... But any other club could have faced such a situation, so it's just not possible for us to give the Classics Club a special dispensation, you know?"

Indeed, it would not be just the Classics Club that would encounter such a situation, I had known that fact beforehand but...

"So, it's not possible?"

Tanabe-san nodded softly... "I'm sorry."

But this time, after giving my regards and turning to leave, Tanabe-san uttered some advice from behind.

"But you know, if you were to entrust other clubs to sell your anthologies on your behalf at their stalls, that we don't really mind."

I- I see, I never knew such a method existed! How could I not have thought of this before? Indeed, if we were to place our anthologies at existing stalls, it would not be counted as the Classics Club receiving special treatment.

"That's a brilliant idea."

Without realizing, I became relieved.

"Thank you very much. I will consider it!"

I said and bowed deeply.

...Come to think of it, back at the Geology Room, Fukube-san had promised to accompany me to the General Committee and help me out in our request. I wonder whatever happened to him?

009 - ♣03

Hahahahahaha.

Oh, oh boy. This is too hilarious, I just can't withhold my laughter. My rationality tells me this joke is rather silly, but I still ended up laughing loudly. I think I could go on all day.

I knew the two fellows on stage, they were from the Rakugo Study Club. (Speaking of which, its name is merely an official front, as rather than the study of Rakugo, the Kamiyama High School Rakugo Study Club was more focused on Manzai<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzai Wikipedia - Manzai]</ref> and stand-up comedy. I have no idea if there are any clubs that actually studied the art of Rakugo.

"Wow, it's sure been a long time since we've had a sushi dinner in a tatami room. We've spent quite some time there, we'd better get home quick, or we'll be late.

"'Kay."

"By the way, I don't mind giving you a ride, but when are you gonna to get off? Ever since I started driving, you've been giggling while looking at me all this time."

"You know, you've got quite a huge ''johnny''..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, look I'm really worried about you. We'd better get you home quick... What're you grinning at?"

"Heh heh, and then?"

"You know, you were sobbing and giggling while saying 'My leg's gone limp, you think I'm able to step on the brakes?' It'd be dangerous for you to drive, no?"

"I guess."

"Oh dear, I've stepped on the accelerator by mistake."

"''You're'' the one driving dangerously!"

Hahahahahaha.

010 - ♦02

I left the gymnasium as soon as the Opening Ceremony entered into intermission once the breakdancing performance was over. Before exiting, I turned to look back at the dark and stuffy gymnasium, and saw only half the students had remained behind.

To be honest, I feel like joining up with the others at the Classics Club. It was a failure for me to not double check with the publisher, so I feel like I have to take responsibility. On the other hand, I also realized it was also partly due to me not wanting to go to the Manga club.

It's not like I dislike the Manga Club. Though my expectations of the Manga Studies Club were different from before I entered school, I like the Manga Club the way it is now. Since manga is something you ought to like from the bottom of your heart. However, just because people with the same interest are gathered together does not mean there will be no friction between them.

...This heavy feeling I've been having since the start isn't so good. I'm probably the glass half-empty type of person. I'm supposed to be enjoying the privilege granted to me by the Cultural Festival of wearing this cardigan and brocade trousers within the school premises.

The Manga Club room is located in Preparation Room No. 1 on the second floor of the General Block. Compared to the Geology Room of the Classics Club, its location was a blessing as it's right next to the regular classrooms. Outside on the corridor was a non-flashy signboard that read "Manga Study Club". It was designed by our president Yuasa Naoko-sempai.

The sliding door was left open as we were soon to expect customers coming in to visit our stall.

"Good morning."

Not wanting to sound too much like Chi-chan's polite way of greeting people, I tend to pronounce it as "Good MORNing." It's not exactly special or anything like that, only that I've yet to see anyone pronounce it that way in mangas and novels.

"Oh, Ibara, you came."

Greeting me open-heartedly was Kouchi Ayako-sempai from second year. Not only is she very active and knowledgeable, her works are also of a high level, thus making her a central figure within the Manga Club. It was she who suggested that the Manga Club should randomly pick members to cosplay. Since she was the one who proposed it, she too was cosplaying today.

Her Chinese-style costume was probably self-made. It was neither a cheongsam<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheongsam Wikipedia - Cheongsam]</ref> nor a Mao suit<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_suit Wikipedia - Mao Suit]</ref>, but more like that of a Taoist priest. She wore fluffy-looking purple trousers and a gown with long yellow sleeves flowing all the way down to the floor. The sleeves were cut from the sides, allowing the arms to come out from within. The gown she wore was generally red in colour, though the colour around the chest area was slightly different. An original Chinese gown like that would have been more fluffy, so this was simply an imitation. On her head was a wide hat, from which a talisman hung in front, covering her right eye. Wrapped around her body was a yellow sash, though it's probably made of a large ribbon. As Kouchi-sempai had short-hair to begin with, her sharp gaze and average build means she looked just right for this character.

"Is that a Jiangshi<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiang_Shi Wikipedia - Jiang Shi]</ref>?"

"Officially, it should be called a Chinese Ghost."

Kouchi-sempai examined my costume from top to bottom, and upon seeing my feet clad in the usual indoor shoes used within the school premises said, "You need to put more effort into the shoes."

And suddenly the conversation shifted towards me. Though I didn't intend to wear this costume just to look nice, I didn't want her of all people to tell me that. For a moment, the atmosphere became tense... Since I was the only one who resisted doing any cosplay towards the bitter end.

"Oh, good morning," a voice called out from beside us; it was President Yuasa.

Rather than a costume, the president was dressed in Kamiyama High School's sailor school uniform. It was only intended for the five members in charge of the clubroom stall to cosplay to begin with, and the president was not one of them. Even though I was the only one who didn't cosplay properly, I could sense President Yuasa's generosity due to her being an open-minded person. To put it another way, from time to time she could be an easy to read person, a bit like watching a cat sitting on a porch. On her soft face were two big eyes with double-eyelids. Taking a look at my costume, she said, "Did you spend a lot making that?"

"No, I only paid for the belt, that's all."

"Do make sure to send us the receipt so you can claim your expense."

"Oh, it's okay, I'm fine with it."

Our president laughed gently, but I just could not bring myself to use the club's funds. While it was much more than what the Classics Club had, it wasn't exactly abundant.

Actually there was still some time before customers would arrive. I was looking around the First Preparation Room, in which the desks were lined up in a C-shape. The Manga Club's showpiece is "Zeamis<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeami_Motokiyo Wikipedia - Zeami Motokiyo]</ref>," the manga review anthology of 100 manga titles past and present. As for why it's called "Zeamis," I was told it was because last year it was called "Kanamis<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanami Wikipedia - Kanami]</ref>". As for why it was called "Kanamis" last year, I didn't bother to ask as it sounded too silly. Besides that, members can bring their own published work, which will be distributed for free here to be sold as well. If they're going to sell these for money, they should have just set up a doujinshi stall to being with.

"Hey."

"Mornin'."

As time passed, more and more Manga Club members showed up.

It seems there were some members who were cosplaying despite not being required to help out. As we had twenty or so members, it was natural that cliques would be formed.

The first would be the boys. I don't know about the other clubs, but the boys actually form a minority in the Kami High Manga Club. As a result, they would gravitate towards people who were like them in order to figure out what they should be doing. They're generally harmless.

The other group was centred around Kouchi-sempai. While not particularly numerous, their outspokenness means they're considered the mainstream faction. The cosplaying members gathered around Kouchi-sempai, the proponent of the idea, to discuss how to greet the customers, and sometimes, the sound of some war cry could be heard.

"Alright! Let's get this going!"

Something like that.

And then there's the third group, which somehow could not bring themselves to follow Kouchi-sempai. It may be because they aren't fond of her boisterous nature, or they felt her actions don't match her words. And for some reason, this group...

"Hey, Mayaka, what's with that costume?"

"Mayaka, do I just leave the change here?"

"...Man, wonder when this will end?"

Was centred around me.

As for why, it was because it seemed like I was the only one who had spoken out against Kouchi-sempai.

The atmosphere was not exactly strained, neither was it explosive. Everyone is here due to their love of manga. Yet, in all this time, I didn't feel like coming to the Manga Club. The least I could do for the Classics Club was to at least request that the Manga Club sell "Hyouka" on behalf of the Classics Club. If "Hyouka" could be sold at the Manga Club, then considering the Manga Club's name recognition, we might sell around 20 copies. Right now it's a bit hard due to the atmosphere, so I was hoping the mood would change for the better, as soon as possible.

I wonder what Fuku-chan and the others at the Classics Club are doing now? I wonder who's watching the stall?

...Argh, I didn't even think about who should watch the stall!

No one would want to buy from such a neglectful club.

"Umm, are you guys open?"

A voice called out. Standing at the open entrance were two male students. Making a business-like smile, I stood up diligently and said with excessive enthusiasm, "Yes, welcome! Congratulations on becoming our first customer!"

011 - ♠04

It was just as I had expected, there was nobody coming to the Geology Room.

It's so quiet, so peaceful, so idle. All that could be heard was the remnant of some sort of commotion emanating from the central courtyard towards the General Block. This is excellent, long live being the stall keeper.

...... I shut my eyes and open them again, and saw a brownish "mountain" before me. This must be an illusion. In order to maintain the tranquility within my heart, I thought it best to keep my eyes shut again.

Of course, I had no intention of having to personally clear this mountain away. Within "Hyouka" was a manuscript written by me. For some reason, as it was none other than me that managed to compile all the clues with regards to the "Hyouka" incident, it was decided that I would contribute the bulk of the column space concerning that.

As a result of no one knowing exactly what the Classics Club does, the contents of "Hyouka" ended up being quite disorderly. You don't even need to open it to figure out what's inside. Chitanda and I contributed to writing about the "Hyouka" incident, Ibara wrote something about some manga that she respected, while Satoshi's column was about some joke concerning a classical paradox.

As it was something that had to be done, it was natural for me to want to finish it quickly, but it doesn't exactly mean I haven't got any attachment for the anthology that I wrote. If possible, I'd rather not want to throw all these 200 copies away as some bothersome trash once the Cultural Festival ends.

Even if I were to ignore my attachment, upon looking at the mountain of eccentric anthologies I thought of how Chitanda and Ibara would react if they saw those turn to trash, I couldn't help but feel depressed about it.

That's why I have expectations for Chitanda and Satoshi on their endeavors. If they could somehow think up of some amazing publicity campaign which I could not think of, I wouldn't exactly begrudge them if it meant the chaotic inflow of customers disrupting my peaceful task of watching over the stall as a result.

Which was why I decided to indulge in my moment of peace for the time being. I allowed my body to relax, feeling at ease as I shut my eyes and bob my head as I give in to my drowsiness and bent myself over the table.

The sound of music could be heard.

It was a rich harmonious tune.

Compared to the techno and tribal music of the Breakdancing Club, I much prefer this A Capella music. This means the music was being sung by the A Capella Club at the central courtyard. I gently sat upright and leaned towards the window. Perhaps they were used to singing like that, as their first harmony was enough to attract students coming to watch from various windows around the school building.

There were five students in uniform lined up in a row. One of them stepped forward and looked around the central courtyard, bowing towards us who have come to watch them from our windows. This was followed by the sound of people clapping their hands as he returned to the column and resumed singing.

So that was just a rehearsal just now, huh? When I first heard their music, it felt quite soothing to the year, enough to "make a lion sleep".

Yawn.

...... Man, as expected of them with their amazing singing. My already sleepy body was slowly being hypnotized by their gentle music, which sounded like a lullaby......

Leaning by the window sill, I struggled to stay awake, just when I thought it wouldn't be bad to just fall asleep here, the song had ended. Another round of applause emanated from the General and Special Blocks. I opened my eyes and clapped my hands as well. One of the A Capella Club members came forward to bow again before joining his club members towards a cooler box besides them, which was opened by another member. I couldn't see quite clearly from here, but it looked like they were drinking some bottled drinks. No doubt they were refreshing themselves between each song.

"......?"

Hmm?

Some sort of commotion was stirring amongst the A Capella Club members. They were pointing at the cooler box and shouting something repeatedly. They shook their heads and looked into the cooler box suspiciously. Has something happened?

At any rate, looks like they wouldn't be singing their second song anytime soon, it was pointless to look any further. So I moved away from the window and back towards my seat, yawning as I began waiting for visitors again.

Amidst my yawning, I could feel my jaw aching.

Someone appeared outside the opened door. Whoa, now that's some visitor we have here. He wore a tattered shirt which was held together by safety pins and had silver accessories all over his fingers and head. It was a punk. For some reason his eyes looked hesitant, I wonder what he came here for.

As I looked on suspiciously, the punk asked reservedly, "Umm, so what's being set up here?"

"This? ...Oh, we're selling an anthology."

"Anthology?"

The punk moved his eyes towards the mountain of "Hyouka." It was only now that he noticed this brownish mountain of anthologies stacked up.

"Sure is some amazing amount you're selling here."

"...It's a long story, we didn't exactly plan on selling this many."

"I'll have one then."

Whoa, a customer! My manners, I'd better put up some manners.

"That'll be 200 yen please."

Darn, I'm not looking courteous at all. This is asking too much of me.

The punk didn't seem to mind that though, and took out his wallet. For some reason he lowered his head as though looking apologetic as he received the copy of "Hyouka" from me. Maybe he was just killing time walking around? Just when I was thinking that, he suddenly changed his demeanor.

"Hey, w-what is this!?"

Huh? Wha-? Is there a cockroach inside your "Hyouka?"

Instead, the punk was looking at the piece of trash I placed beside the mountain of "Hyouka" copies, the broken fountain pen. As though finding a piece of treasure, he picked it up and looked at it reverently.

"Yes, this! This should do!"

He suddenly became delighted, while I could only look on with indifference.

Forgetting my attempt to look polite, I asked him bluntly, "Is something special about that piece of trash?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry."

The punk returned to his senses.

"I'm with the Fashion Study Club, so we do fashion design, you see? And I've sort of forgotten to bring some chest pocket accessory for my formal costume. While a white handkerchief would normally suffice, it'll just look too normal. But I'm running out of time, so I was walking around wondering what to do. So, here, what do you think of sticking it in my chest pocket? Looks good, doesn't it?"

The punk grinned while fondling and examining the fountain pen. Well, if he likes it so much, this piece of trash perhaps does have its use after all.

"You can have it."

"R-really?"

As he said this, he searched for something in his pockets.

"Then, here, you can have this in return."

He took out a badge from his pocket. Rather than a badge, it looked more like a plastic numbered tag with a safety pin behind it. A simple design.

While I was wondering what this was, the punk pointed to it and said, "That's a VIP badge for our fashion show. Just bring that and come to the Fashion Room if you're interested. Don't worry, we'll take care of coordinating your costume. Though we call it a fashion show, you don't need to do any special catwalk moves. So anyway, see ya."

He said it as though he was escaping. Even if you didn't say it so frantically, I wasn't planning on replying. Then again, even if he's in such a hurry, would that costume of his even be considered formal?

I held the badge in my hand and put together what the punk had said so far. Basically, if I take this and go to the Fashion Study Club's stage, they'll make me into a model.

Nope, not interested. I placed it on the middle of the table.

...Anyway, he was our cherished first customer after all. In light of events, each of us Classics Club members took two copies each, plus one copy for our supervising teacher and one copy to preserve, which makes ten copies. So this means we now have 189 copies remaining.

Some progress that was. Feeling satisfied, I opened my mouth and yawned again as the A Capella Club resumed singing again. This time they were singing some up-tempo pop song. Hmm, this time it won't be a lullaby, huh?

['''189 COPIES REMAINING''']

012 - ♥03

No matter which of the six songs they sang, the A Capella Club was just amazing. They were so good that I clapped my hands so hard that they were hurting.

There was no doubt that choosing to sing in the central courtyard allowed their wonderful voices to reverberate across the school grounds. Perhaps they were rehearsing in different places beforehand to find out which place had the best acoustics? I feel a bit curious about it.

Feeling satisfied, I moved away from the window. It was then that I realized something and looked at my wristwatch.

...Eh?

Oh no, is it this late already? It's nearly noon! How did time pass so quickly? I must really stop getting distracted by whatever thing attracts my interest, or I won't be able to finish my task.

Hardening my resolve, I walked away from the window.

Looking back towards the corridor, I saw a strange sign curtain for the Charms Association, the signboard for the Handicraft Club which Fukube-san had put some effort into making, and a rather interesting poster of a composite photo by the Photography Club......

Are there any glasses which would allow me to only see what's ahead and not get distracted!?

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

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| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]|-
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Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1

2012-09-28T19:18:46Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=83}}

== 2-1 Has Something Happened With the Classics Club? ==

005 - ♠02

Saying "I enjoyed this a lot" may sound easy, but is actually a pretty difficult task. Rather than the possibility of the difference in one's level of understanding, a more important factor would be the difference in one's level of interest. When watching a magic performance, a dense person would not even understand even a hundredth of what was going on. On the other hand, if one had the ability to see through a magician's trick, then no matter how much entertainment he may see, while he may try to enjoy to his heart's content, there's no way he could have enjoyed it sufficiently.

It was morning, and I was walking to school earlier than usual, as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival starts today. Seeing Fukube Satoshi constantly repeating "Ohh, I'm so looking forward to enjoying this," I felt compelled to mischievously tell him the above, to which Satoshi responded with a frightful smile and slowly shook his head.

"An excellent idea, was what I wanted to say, but you're too naive, Houtarou,"

"Oh? How so?"

"For a person like you who was raised on nothing but boorishness to even think of lecturing me on my enjoyment, you're too naive," he said as he raised his index finger and swung it left and right as though acting.

"Of course I already knew that it was useless to try to enjoy myself deep down, within the marrow of my bones. The most important aspect of Epicureanism is to be able to separate one's senses. It's just as important as the day when you finally give up your energy-saving ways and actually work hard on a test."

"Like hell that day would arrive. Anyway, what's this about separation of your senses? What does that have to do with you being able to say you'll enjoy yourself?"

"All right, then let me enlighten you. First, I wouldn't think of saying something like "I'm gonna enjoy a lot," as I'm a fairly easy to please person. You know what I'm good at resigning myself to? Just from the point of view of Houtarou the Boorish."

''Do you know?'' Satoshi gestured as he finished his sentence. Fleeting a glimpse at him, as I had no intention of bursting his bubble, I said nothing. Sensing I had no intention to answer, he lowered his voice as though informing me of a secret and said, "Even if I'm not good at enjoying myself......"

"......"

He gave a broad smile.

"I could still look forward to people giving me their enjoyment!"

Oh boy.

Ignoring my cold expression, Satoshi continued with his talk of how he's still "gonna enjoy this." I could do nothing but keep quiet and smile bitterly.

Fukube Satoshi. I have been hanging out with this fellow since junior high.

From his appearance, Satoshi was a person with brown eyes and a slim figure that might be mistaken as that of a girl when seen from afar. And while he may seem like a weakling, he has developed some amazing leg muscles due to his penchant for cycling.

Though his real features lie with his mental state. You may have caught a glimpse of that from our conversation just now; he can be pretty forceful in abandoning his studies and social life casually. Already a member of the Handicraft Club and the General Committee, he decided to join the Classics Club as well simply because "it sounded interesting."

He is never seen without his drawstring bag in his hand, though I have no idea of its contents. All I can say is that it contains all sorts of stuff.

In the road ahead, we could see Kamiyama High School appearing. The outer walls weren't painted pink due to the Cultural Festival, and seen from afar, it looked no different from any other regular high school. However, within its grounds were flourishing all sorts of activities concerning the Cultural Festival. In order to prepare for the festival, classes were suspended since yesterday.

The body of students heading towards school looked different today. While there were many in their uniforms, there were also many from other clubs in their casual wear. And there were many who did not carry any bag with them, as there was no need to bring any scholastic equipment. Due to such discrepancies, even I could feel the expectation that something different from usual was about to start.

Though Kamiyama High School is a school geared towards students entering university, it didn't have that many supplementary classes, neither did it have a particularly high record of students entering famous universities. If you were to ask the students of Kamiyama High School what its specialty was, only one in ten would have said it specializes in university entrance exams. The other nine would answer "It's a school known for its vibrant Arts-related club activities." There are many kinds of arts-related clubs in Kami High, and its activities too are various. And the highlight of these activities would of course be the Cultural Festival, which was rare amongst high schools for its number of days, with one day for preparation and three whole days for the main event.

Satoshi suddenly raised his voice cheerfully.

"And besides... Why, Houtarou, isn't that Mayaka?"

He pointed to a girl in front of us. She was dressed in casual wear comprising of a red cardigan and white brocade trousers, but I couldn't tell whether she was Ibara Mayaka from behind. Though I've known her since elementary school, I've rarely seen her in casual wear since junior high. But if Satoshi says it's her, then it has to be.

For many times Ibara had confessed her love to Satoshi, yet while Satoshi was not one to fall into self-loathing, he had chosen to evade her advances time and time again. I couldn't figure out why he's done so even if I wanted to.

"I'll be going on ahead."

He turned and said that before running off towards that girl ahead of us.

006 - ♣02

As I moved forward, I was certain that it was indeed Mayaka. Though seeking Houtarou out in a crowd was like trying to look for a needle in a haystack, there was no way I could miss Mayaka. I ran up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Mayaka. Morning!"

Knowing her, she would have stared at me and said "Hey! That hurts!" Which was why I only tapped her softly. Though it seemed Mayaka didn't seem to be in that mood today, as she became stiff and turned her head slowly.

"...Morning."

She muttered only that and turned back forward. ''Ahh, I see.'' I exclaimed to myself and smiled (which was what I'm good at; I've long forgotten how to make a serious face), and I answered Mayaka's anxiety.

"Your costume suits you."

"R-really?"

"So, who are you cospla..."

I could not finish my sentence, as I could feel a jab into my stomach. Great aim. Due to that hit, my abdominal muscles quickly lost their strength, so its effect was immediate.

Mayaka murmured with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes, "Don't use that term in front of normal people."

Well, I don't think "costume play" would be considered taboo nowadays. Though I do get that Mayaka's feeling pretty embarrassed about it, so I wouldn't say anything. By the way, I already knew that she was planning to cosplay today. Mayaka's Manga Studies Club had asked for permission from the General Committee to turn up in casual clothing. As there were not enough changing rooms at school, the General Committee granted that permission.

Mayaka wore off-white brocade trousers and a scarlet cardigan. It was a pragmatic costume that was able to withstand the cool autumn winds of early October. Some accessories were attached to her cardigan, and inside she wore a white collared shirt, and a thick looking belt was wrapped around her abdomen. The main point would probably be this belt.

I looked at her costume from top to bottom. Hmm, I just don't have a clue. Guess I'll ask her again.

"So, what costume is this?"

Like a rat trying not to alert the cat, I carefully chose the right words so that Mayaka may accept my question. She quickly looked forward and said in a detached manner,

"Frol,"

"Frol? Frolbericheri Frol<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Were_Eleven Wikipedia - They Were Eleven]</ref>? You're wearing her costume?"

"Yeah... I also brought this handbag."

I wouldn't get what she was referring to even if she said so. Well, that's what Mayaka wanted to wear after all. When she learned that her club required her to come in cosplay, being the shy person that she is, she would definitely choose a character that was hard to recognize.

Ibara Mayaka. As I was a guy, she was way shorter than me, but then as a girl she was way shorter than others. If she wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform, she would no doubt be mistaken as an elementary schoolkid. And right now, Mayaka wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform. And it's not just her figure that's small, just observing from the features of her face alone, one could say Mayaka was baby-faced.

Yet it was hard to figure out Mayaka's vigorous sense of justice from her childish expression emanating from her childish face. For example, when she's angry, she would simply bite her lips. Naturally, nothing can replace the smile that she was born with. (On the other hand, from my years of hanging out with him, Houtarou sure has bad eyes for not being able to notice that.)

I'd better stop looking into someone cosplaying a character she didn't feel like cosplaying, so I began spinning my drawstring bag and said, "Well, anyway, good luck with your role. I'll pop in at the Manga Studies Club later."

Mayaka showed some shyness as she nodded softly.

"You have to contribute articles for the Manga Club as well, right?"

"Yeah."

"I read it... Must be tough, to hold similar positions in both the Classics Club and Manga Club."

"It is tough. Since nobody else was willing to contribute."

I was originally planning to congratulate her for her hard work, but all of a sudden her gaze suddenly became sharp. Oops, looks like the conversation is headed in the wrong direction. For the Classics Club manuscript to arrive so late, no matter how one looks at it, I couldn't offer any excuse. So I decided to change the topic.

"Ah... so, Mayaka, you'll be with the Manga Studies Club all day then?"

Though she didn't look pleased that the topic was changed, she nodded.

"Will you be stopping by the Classics Club?"

"Nah, it's probably impossible for me to leave the Manga Club in the morning. And besides, it's not worth it for me to just stop by... I really ought to have followed things through."

I deepened my smile and patted Mayaka on the back.

"Try not to think too much about it! It can't be helped once you wake up from it!"

Mayaka gave an ambiguous smile and nodded at my words. No, this doesn't look right. Such a grey-looking smile wouldn't be what makes Mayaka look great.

Even though Mayaka said she's fine with it, there are occasions when Houtarou expresses doubt at my evasion of her advances. Well, Houtarou was never one to flatter people. I could tell him the reason, but I wasn't sure if he would understand even a tenth of it. To begin with, this is a problem between me and Mayaka alone, so it doesn't matter whether Houtarou understands it or not.

Before we realized, we had arrived at the school gates. I turned to have a look at the gates, which had huge, colourful flowers hanging over them. This was the hard work of the General Committee, made to welcome visitors to the Cultural Festival. A banner hung from the outside of one of the windows of the school building, which read "The 42nd Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival."

And so it begins.

I wonder if I'm making a face that's trying to enjoy all this. As I was in a trance looking at the school grounds, Mayaka suddenly jabbed her elbow at me.

"Fuku-chan... Try not to do anything silly during the Cultural Festival, okay? While you may not find it embarrassing, it'd be embarrassing enough for me."

Heh, guess I'm not trusted at all, eh?

But that doesn't mean I won't do anything!

007 - ♠03

There's this hard object resting in my pocket, and for some time it's been bothering me.

It was the fountain pen, or to be more precise, the trash known as the unusable fountain pen. The ink had long run out, and I was entrusted by my sis to take care of it. Last night, as I didn't want to just toss it on the floor, I brought it to my room, intending to throw it away there. But it seemed I ended up bringing it along with my handkerchief. While it's pretty much useless now, who knows what role it would play as time goes on.

I toyed with the pen by flipping its cap on and off, making a clicking sound as I walked up the stairs. My destination was the Classics Club room on the fourth floor.

Seen from above, Kamiyama High School appears as an H-shape. On one side was the General Block with its regular classrooms, while on the other side would be the Special Block with its arts and science related classrooms. They are joined in the middle by a connecting corridor. When seen from further above, one would see the corridor from the General Block extending towards the Gymnasium.

The Geology Lecture Room, which is used by the Classics Club as their club room, is located in the Special Block. And it's all the way in the corner at the end of the corridor. If Kamiyama High School was the whole world, then this would be its periphery. Normally, we'd curse about how far the club room was while also feeling grateful for how serene it was. Yet with the Cultural Festival upon us, we had to consider another factor, the fact that being located in such a remote corner of the school means we're doubtful of getting any visitors.

In every floor, you would see posters, mascots and advertising boards in all different shades of colour, though that's only up to the third floor. In the fourth floor, all you get is a barren landscape. You won't even see any ads for shopping malls or chain stores. To begin with, there aren't many clubs based up here anyway.

Still, we've put up a few posters in some hard to miss spots promoting the Classics Club, but even that was not enough to enliven the mood of this god-forsaken place. Personally, I prefer this sort of tranquility, but it's troublesome for the Classics Club as an organization, particularly for its president, who sees it as something quite worrying.

I slid open the door of the Geology Room. The girl sitting in the centre of this dreary room stood up upon seeing me enter.

"Good morning, Oreki-san," she said and bowed deeply, her long black hair flowing as she did. This was Chitanda, president of the Classics Club. I reckoned she was probably the first to arrive.

Chitanda Eru is a girl with jet black hair extending all the way to her back as well as pupils of the same colour. Gentle in her demeanor, she was rather tall and well-proportioned for a girl. Her calm way of speaking gives one the impression that she's an elegant lady with a prestigious upbringing. In fact, she is the only daughter of the Chitanda clan, known for being the owners of large tracts of farmland.

However, if you ask me, this elegant Japanese lady image is not Chitanda's true nature.

Amongst her mature features, only her large eyes betray her true character. Possessing a sense of curiosity which has exploded many times before and will continue to explode in the future, this was Chitanda Eru. Ever since I entered school, I and the Classics Club have been involved in many bothersome events thanks to her curiosity. My life motto has always been "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick." But so far I have been unable to adhere to it, and it's all her fault.

Chitanda lifted her head and made a soft smile. Though she wears her heart on her sleeve, she would rarely express her feelings in an exaggerated way. Rather, she does it in moderation.

"The day has finally arrived."

"So it seems."

"Let's give it our all!"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

Looking at the pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda, I groaned.

"...You say give it our all, but do you have any idea how we're gonna get this sorted?"

We're talking about none other than the Classics Club essay anthology, "Hyouka." A rather queer name for a title; as for why it had such a queer name, that's a long story. Each volume was bound nicely in a vinyl coating which went through adhesive surface treatment, on its dark brown cover was an illustration of a dog and rabbit biting each other. This cover design was derived from the first ever volume of "Hyouka," which was made in a water-paint style, though this year Ibara decided to draw it in a cute style. Objectively speaking, it didn't look bad at all.

The people working on this anthology included me and Chitanda, and while Satoshi did contribute, he only participated in writing his part of the manuscript. Of course, even after the manuscript was completed, the anthology wouldn't be finished right away. There would still be work involving confirming the number of pages, choosing the right font and paper type, arranging the manuscripts, placing the page numbers, etc, before submitting to the publisher for printing. All that was left to Ibara, who also worked on the other illustrations as well.

While we were consulted on matters concerning the design of the anthology, we were merely confirming Ibara's choices. Seeing how troublesome it looked for her to have to work on so many details, both Chitanda and I had offered to help her many times.

Yet Ibara had turned our offers down, saying she's used to doing such stuff, so it's no big deal to her, and how she can easily handle this amount of work. Besides, she said it would be quite bothersome to teach an amateur from scratch. Hearing her say that, Chitanda decided to relent on helping.

And so, the anthology "Hyouka" is finally complete. In fact, it was a job well done. Very well done, indeed.

Upon seeing the final product, Ibara went speechless.

When she brought them over to us the day before yesterday, we too became speechless.

...The pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda were the "Hyouka" anthologies. Rather than "pile," "stack" would be a more appropriate description. Even "mountain" would not sound far-fetched.

Before, we had only planned on making an order to print thirty copies of "Hyouka". Taking one for ourselves, as well as one each for our supervisor and one to keep for archiving, it would leave us with twenty-four left to sell, which was how many we expected to sell.

However, the number of copies somehow ended up being more than we expected.

About seven times more.

I learned that even for a thin anthology like this, two hundred copies of them stacked together was enough to form a "mountain."

To ask us to give our all selling all these is an extremely tall task. Upon hearing my grumble, Chitanda became lost for words as her smile went stiff.

"...Umm, while giving our all may not guarantee everything, I'm sure we'll still achieve something!"

The problem would be how much effort we should be giving then, but...

The door behind us opened; it was Satoshi. Lifting his right arm, he greeted us.

"Hi there, I see you're all worried about our excessive stock!"

Well, so are you.

While still at a loss for words to address the predicament we were in, Chitanda still bowed deeply like she had to me.

"G-good morning, Fukube-san... How is Mayaka-san?"

"Oh, she said she'll try and come, but she probably won't make it."

"I see...," she muttered regretfully. That was to be expected.

While Chitanda and I aren't affiliated with any other club save the Classics Club, Satoshi has his hands tied with the General Committee and Handicraft Club, while Ibara spends time as a librarian and with the Manga Studies Club. During the Cultural Festival, Satoshi would be busy patrolling the grounds as a member of the General Committee, while I hear Ibara is required to stay with the Manga Club for some time.

"Then, shall we begin?"

Satoshi and I nodded. Looking at us one by one, Chitanda slowly spoke.

"There's not much time until the Opening Ceremony starts... So does anyone have any ideas on how we could sell this many copies of 'Hyouka?'"

The price of "Hyouka" was set at 200 yen.

This was the price decided by Ibara and Chitanda after much calculation. We originally wanted to sell 30 copies at 400 yen each. As we were expecting to sell them all, the proceeds made along with our own club funding would be just enough to cover the printing costs.

But now we have 200 copies of "Hyouka". It's not exactly an extremely tragic mistake, and the printing of excessive copies also meant we actually paid far less for each volume as a result. If we were to sell all 200 volumes, then we could lower the price down to 120 yen per copy and still break even.

But it was impractical to expect all of them to be sold, so taking that into consideration, we settled for 200 yen apiece, though we would need to sell 120 copies in order to break even. Chitanda eventually decided on this price, though selling 120 copies still seems rather optimistic... Still, as I kept quiet, I wasn't planning on complaining afterwards anyway. Surely 200 yen is pretty cheap for an anthology sold at a Cultural Festival, after all.

By the way, even if we were to sell them all, we would not be able to profit from it anyway. As the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival expressly forbids clubs from profiteering. While I've heard of stories where　people would occasionally get away with pocketing 1000 yen for themselves, any amount more than that would end up in the national treasury, sorry, I mean the school treasury.

There are about a thousand students in Kamiyama High School, so in order to break even, we would need to sell to 12% of the student body. In order to sell all copies, we would need to target 20%. This was a pretty difficult task. To use TV ratings as an analogy, even a lay person would know how hard it is for a programme to achieve 20% ratings.

To begin with, our market is not limited to these thousand people. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival is free for all, so even regular townspeople would come. As the Cultural Festival takes place from Thursday to Saturday, most visitors would opt to visit on Saturday, the third day. But I have no way of guessing how much they would contribute to the sales.

Besides...

"The problem lies with the Classics Club's name recognition and its poor geographical location."

"Yes, I agree this is the biggest obstacle."

I felt the same way with both of their opinions.

I have already mentioned above about how disadvantageous the Geology Room's location was. For the Classics Club's name recognition, it's even worse. Nearly all of the students in Kami High wouldn't even know of the existence of the Classics Club. In fact, if I hadn't applied to join this year, the club would have been abolished altogether. Unlike the Tea Ceremony Club, which was known for its open air tea ceremonies, or the A Capella Club renowned for its abilities, who's gonna buy the anthology of a club they've not even heard of?

So there's the location and the name recognition. I spoke up.

"In other words, we will need to find a more conspicuous place to sell, as well as to advertise our club name."

"Well, obviously," Satoshi said teasingly, as though saying we would sell out if we could achieve both. Of course I know that, but it's because we can't achieve them that we're at a loss for what to do.

Meanwhile, Chitanda nodded in admiration.

"Find a new location to sell... And all this time I've been thinking of how to bring customers all the way here. Oreki-san, that's a really innovative idea."

"Erm, it's not exactly innovative..."

"But, will we be able to get permission to move to a new location right away?"

Who knows? That's Satoshi's department, as he's with the General Committee. But he shook his head.

"I'm not really sure. While it may be possible to just move to any space, it depends on whether the Classics Club could be granted such a privilege. So you're gonna have to ask the General Committee president, or even the Student Council president himself."

"Who's the General Committee president?"

"Tanabe-sempai from second year. The General Committee will be holding meetings in the Conference Room from time to time, so you could try dropping by to have a look."

"Why don't you do it?"

Satoshi bit his lip and nodded ambiguously.

"Well, I could do that... But I'm not really confident in conducting such negotiations. Chitanda-san, it might be better for you to start the conversation with them, and for me to assist you by the side."

I see, that could be a good way of doing it. Yet Chitanda looked somehow uneasy. While she might be a forceful lady, like Satoshi, she probably wouldn't be confident making such an unreasonable request either. Yet she could expect no help from me, for I too am bad at those kinds of things.

The situation at present was nothing to be joyful about. Yet Satoshi looked pretty jolly. Well, that's Fukube Satoshi for you, he might even be relishing such hardship. As though bouncing, he spoke.

"Rather than that, I'd prefer to do the advertising."

"Advertising, huh? So how're you gonna do that?"

"Well, that's a secret."

I have a bad feeling about this. I could not think of any secret plan of Satoshi's that could ever work.

"Huh? Do you have a good idea?"

This got Chitanda interested, to which Satoshi puffed his chest.

"There are many competitions and races held during this Cultural Festival, so I was thinking of joining them under the name of the Classics Club. By achieving a good result, we would increase the club's popularity!"

"T-that's a great idea!"

How's that a great idea anyway? I raised my eyebrows as Chitanda was clearly being fooled. Satoshi basically ''wanted'' to participate in all these competitions and races himself. To begin with, it'll still be Satoshi participating, it's just that the entry name will be that of the Classics Club instead.

But still, it's not a bad method, as we haven't got any other way of advertising our club. It was possible it could actually turn out quite well.

I looked at the clock and said, "So it's roughly decided then? Chitanda will go and request a new selling location, and Satoshi will do the advertising."

"Yes, so we had better make our way now. But what will you do, Oreki-san?"

Me?

Actually, I had a plan. A plan to contribute greatly to the selling of "Hyouka," as well as stay true to my creed.

I cleared my throat and said solemnly, "I will..."

"Yes?"

"Stay and watch the stall."

Chitanda blinked her eyes while Satoshi muttered as though realizing something.

"...In-indeed, or else there won't be anyone left behind."

"Yes, you're right. We would need someone to watch the stall."

Now how's that? No complaints at all.

"Well, now that things are decided, we should get going. We don't have much time," I said while looking at the clock on the wall.

There were only ten minutes left before the Opening Ceremony begins. Even the Cultural Festival and Sports Day were not exempted from attendance taking, but taking into consideration that students would be scattered in their clubrooms overseeing their exhibits, attendance would be taken during the morning assembly every day. In other words, we'll be counted as late if we don't get to the Opening Ceremony on time.

Nodding greatly, Chitanda cleared her throat. Taking a deep breath, she said in one go, "Then let us proceed with our allotted tasks. We should try to sell as many volumes as possible. Our target is to sell all 200 copies of 'Hyouka'! Let's give it our all!"

...Well, let's just say I wasn't even thinking of whether we could sell all 200 copies.

['''200 COPIES REMAINING''']

008 - ♥02

About a thousand students were packed within the dark gymnasium, which had its windows covered by curtains, and due to today being a rather hot October day, the gymnasium ended up being stuffy. Inside the gymnasium was a light that shines onto the stage, but even now that light was turned off, so it was pitch black inside. But it only lasted for a moment, for in the next moment a spotlight shone on a male student; it was the Student Council president. He was a rather tall and intrepid looking person who was said to speak eloquently as befitting of a Student Council president.

The president walked towards the mic and looked around the hall as he took a deep breath. He then declared loudly, omitting any prefix altogether, "I declare the 42nd Kanya Festival open!"

As the voice from deep within his abdomen flowed out, the thousand Kami High students instantly burst into an uproar. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival opening ceremony had begun.

According to the "Kanya Festival Guide" published by the General Committee, the Breakdancing Club will lead the opening ceremony with their performance. I'm ashamed to admit that I've not seen people perform breakdancing before. While I know it has something to do with dancing, I don't exactly know how dances can be broken. I wonder if it has something to do with the performers breaking something on the stage?

As red, yellow, blue and green lights shone on the stage, the bewildering performance had begun. I looked up wondering where the lights shone from, and saw people busy moving the lighting equipment around in the catwalk above the stage. It probably takes lots of practice to be able to move such lights so quickly in an orderly pattern. If I get the chance, I must inquire how they mastered this pattern.

Smoke was emitted from behind the stage as the rumble briefly quieted down. As the smoke dispersed, two people from each side came flying from left and right, and at the same time booming background music was played. It was a vibrating electronic sound. I wonder if the image it conveys was that of space? In tune with the music, four people began dancing.

So this is breakdancing? The dancers looked as though they were turning a key in a doorknob, and they swung their arms and kicked their legs as though swimming in breast stroke. Dancing in a variety of moves, they looked very active indeed. Would it be rude to call them non-human? As their inorganic dance moves looked really fascinating.

Oh! They jumped!

Oh! They spun!

Oh! They stood on their hands!

This time they begun spinning around while standing on their hands. But would they be fine with all the heat caused by the friction of their heads rubbing against the ground? Wouldn't their hair be scratched off from too much rubbing? I'm curious about it.

The dance then stepped up its tempo, becoming faster and faster; I could no longer tell how they moved their arms and legs. This is amazing. The music also went into full burst... Umm, this loud sound is starting to hurt my ears. I'm not that good with loud sounds.

Before long, as the cocktail of spotlights converged in the centre of the stage, the four dancers stopped in perfect stillness just as the music ended. The crowd gave a loud response; I too gave the Breakdancing Club my overwhelming approval.

The second song began playing, which was in the rhythm of some African-like folk music. It was quite different from the previous song. I was quite curious as to how they would dance to that tune. Besides, I would also be interested in watching the performance of the Rakugo Club afterwards... No, I mustn't be tempted.

Having come to my senses, I noticed quite a number of students trickling out of the hall. They're probably in charge of watching their stalls or preparing for their club events. Without disturbing the performance of the Breakdancing Club, I too quietly left the hall.

I hurried down the corridor, walking in longer strides than I normally do. I saw some students decorating their classroom door with gold and silver paper while there doesn't seem to be much time left. I wonder what club they're from? They looked so frantic that I feel like helping them. No, I mustn't! The Classics Club itself is in a grave situation.

As I pondered how to say my lines, I reached the Conference Room. According to the "Kanya Festival Guide," the General Committee seems to be based here.

The Conference Room is situated on the second floor of the General Block. As the Gymnasium is directly connected to the General Block, it wasn't a long walk at all. So before long, here I was before the Conference Room. It was like any other classroom, save that it had a sign pasted on its sliding door that read "General Committee Room." I knocked on the door.

"......"

Huh?

"Is anybody in?"

There was no response. I tried opening the door, but it was locked.

Yes, now that I think about it, as I had left midway through the Opening Ceremony, it was not strange that no one from the General Committee had yet returned. It seems like I came too early.

Somehow, I became a bit anxious as I didn't want to waste any time. In such a situation, I should do some deep breathing. So I inhaled deeply and breathed out slowly. One more time, breathe in, breathe out.

I looked around me, there didn't seem to be anyone from the General Committee coming this way.

On the notice board beside the door was a catchy Cultural Festival promotion poster. I've seen many other Cultural Festival posters within the school grounds and around the neighbourhood, but this was the first time I'd seen this one. It was drawn in a manga-like style which Mayaka-san might be familiar with. It showed two students, a boy and girl preparing for the Cultural Festival. The characters looked cute while the clothes they wore looked real, one could feel the amazing originality effusing from it.

If there was one complaint to make, it would be its title, "The 42nd Kanya Festival." Its official name ought to be the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, as "Kanya Festival" doesn't really evoke a good meaning. As for why, it's rather difficult to explain. On the corner of the poster were written the words "Student Council Executive Committee." Since it's a poster made by the Executive Committee, I feel they ought to avoid using the name "Kanya Festival."

I moved my eyes away from the poster and looked around me once more, but there still wasn't anyone coming. Oh dear, this doesn't look good. Should I just keep waiting here? But we haven't got much time.

No, in such times, I should calm myself down. I once again took a deep breath, breathe in, breathe out... Okay, one more time...

"...Can I help you?"

"Wah!"

As I had just inhaled a deep breath, I couldn't help but let out a yelp. As I was startled, I couldn't suppress such a strange sound. I tried to wave my arms to explain that I wasn't particularly doing anything suspicious.

I bowed my head to the person that called out to me and said, "Good morning. Are you President Tanabe of the General Committee?"

I've seen this person before in the Wall Newspaper Club's "Kami High Monthly," so he was definitely President Tanabe of the General Committee. Wearing small framed glasses on his oval face, his short and neatly cut hair gave the image of an earnest-looking person. Tanabe-san looked a bit taken aback before politely greeting me in return.

"Oh, good morning. Yes, I'm Tanabe... Can I help you?"

"Yes,"

I nodded and uttered the lines that I'd practiced many times beforehand.

"Please allocate a new stall for the Classics Club."

"...Huh?"

Tanabe-san's eyes went round. Oh no, I neglected my manners. Paying attention to my manners, I repeated my request.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the president of the Classics Club, Chitanda Eru of Class 1-A. We have come here with a request; we would like you to please allocate a new stall for the Classics Club."

Tanabe-san raised his eyebrows as his face looked really troubled. Uneasily, he spoke.

"I don't really understand what's going on but..."

He looked as though he was about to say something difficult.

"As we've already decided on how to run most of the stuff during the Kanya Festival, for you to suddenly come and request a new stall would be a bit difficult."

"...So you aren't able to do it?"

"I'm sorry."

I see. It may be troubling, but it can't be helped if it can't be done. I'm very sorry, Mayaka-san, Fukube-san, Oreki-san. Chitanda Eru was not able to accomplish her task.

''I see, thank you for your information.'' I had wanted to give my regards properly, but I ended up speaking those words softly instead. As I proceeded to leave and ponder what to do next, Tanabe-san called out to me.

"No, wait. That's just the normal procedures anyway. If you have some extenuating circumstance, then we could listen to what you have to say, but I can't promise whether we could grant you your request."

Circumstance.

...Now that I think about it, I've completely neglected to explain my situation. Oreki-san has constantly told me off for my bad habit of skipping straight to the main point without explaining myself properly. I never realized this before... but it seemed like it is indeed true. I must be careful next time.

Anyway, I should not put Tanabe-san's good will to waste. I turned around and stood before him.

I then began to explain my story.

In great detail.

We were supposed to make an order to print 30 copies, but ended up with 200 copies. To begin with, this was not Mayaka-san's fault, as I too had a look at the order sheet, and Mayaka-san also made sure to correctly place the order for 30 copies. However, at the same time, she also made another request to print 200 copies for her own anthology. As to why she would make such a request, I did not know. But the problem arose when it turned out that the publisher had mixed up the order for "Hyouka" and her own anthology. Mayaka-san blamed herself for not double-checking enough, but nobody could have foreseen such an error.

I told Tanabe-san the entire process as well. I wasn't able to keep the story brief, but all this time Tanabe-san simply stood and listened.

"That sure sounds tough."

After much thought, he said prudently, "200 copies huh? Not even the Manga Club could sell that much. I understand the desire to seek a new stall in order to sell more copies, and I would really like to help... But any other club could have faced such a situation, so it's just not possible for us to give the Classics Club a special dispensation, you know?"

Indeed, it would not be just the Classics Club that would encounter such a situation, I had known that fact beforehand but...

"So, it's not possible?"

Tanabe-san nodded softly... "I'm sorry."

But this time, after giving my regards and turning to leave, Tanabe-san uttered some advice from behind.

"But you know, if you were to entrust other clubs to sell your anthologies on your behalf at their stalls, that we don't really mind."

I- I see, I never knew such a method existed! How could I not have thought of this before? Indeed, if we were to place our anthologies at existing stalls, it would not be counted as the Classics Club receiving special treatment.

"That's a brilliant idea."

Without realizing, I became relieved.

"Thank you very much. I will consider it!"

I said and bowed deeply.

...Come to think of it, back at the Geology Room, Fukube-san had promised to accompany me to the General Committee and help me out in our request. I wonder whatever happened to him?

009 - ♣03

Hahahahahaha.

Oh, oh boy. This is too hilarious, I just can't withhold my laughter. My rationality tells me this joke is rather silly, but I still ended up laughing loudly. I think I could go on all day.

I knew the two fellows on stage, they were from the Rakugo Study Club. (Speaking of which, its name is merely an official front, as rather than the study of Rakugo, the Kamiyama High School Rakugo Study Club was more focused on Manzai<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzai Wikipedia - Manzai]</ref> and stand-up comedy. I have no idea if there are any clubs that actually studied the art of Rakugo.

"Wow, it's sure been a long time since we've had a sushi dinner in a tatami room. We've spent quite some time there, we'd better get home quick, or we'll be late.

"'Kay."

"By the way, I don't mind giving you a ride, but when are you gonna to get off? Ever since I started driving, you've been giggling while looking at me all this time."

"You know, you've got quite a huge ''johnny''..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, look I'm really worried about you. We'd better get you home quick... What're you grinning at?"

"Heh heh, and then?"

"You know, you were sobbing and giggling while saying 'My leg's gone limp, you think I'm able to step on the brakes?' It'd be dangerous for you to drive, no?"

"I guess."

"Oh dear, I've stepped on the accelerator by mistake."

"''You're'' the one driving dangerously!"

Hahahahahaha.

010 - ♦02

I left the gymnasium as soon as the Opening Ceremony entered into intermission once the breakdancing performance was over. Before exiting, I turned to look back at the dark and stuffy gymnasium, and saw only half the students had remained behind.

To be honest, I feel like joining up with the others at the Classics Club. It was a failure for me to not double check with the publisher, so I feel like I have to take responsibility. On the other hand, I also realized it was also partly due to me not wanting to go to the Manga club.

It's not like I dislike the Manga Club. Though my expectations of the Manga Studies Club were different from before I entered school, I like the Manga Club the way it is now. Since manga is something you ought to like from the bottom of your heart. However, just because people with the same interest are gathered together does not mean there will be no friction between them.

...This heavy feeling I've been having since the start isn't so good. I'm probably the glass half-empty type of person. I'm supposed to be enjoying the privilege granted to me by the Cultural Festival of wearing this cardigan and brocade trousers within the school premises.

The Manga Club room is located in Preparation Room No. 1 on the second floor of the General Block. Compared to the Geology Room of the Classics Club, its location was a blessing as it's right next to the regular classrooms. Outside on the corridor was a non-flashy signboard that read "Manga Study Club". It was designed by our president Yuasa Naoko-sempai.

The sliding door was left open as we were soon to expect customers coming in to visit our stall.

"Good morning."

Not wanting to sound too much like Chi-chan's polite way of greeting people, I tend to pronounce it as "Good MORNing." It's not exactly special or anything like that, only that I've yet to see anyone pronounce it that way in mangas and novels.

"Oh, Ibara, you came."

Greeting me open-heartedly was Kouchi Ayako-sempai from second year. Not only is she very active and knowledgeable, her works are also of a high level, thus making her a central figure within the Manga Club. It was she who suggested that the Manga Club should randomly pick members to cosplay. Since she was the one who proposed it, she too was cosplaying today.

Her Chinese-style costume was probably self-made. It was neither a cheongsam<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheongsam Wikipedia - Cheongsam]</ref> nor a Mao suit<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_suit Wikipedia - Mao Suit]</ref>, but more like that of a Taoist priest. She wore fluffy-looking purple trousers and a gown with long yellow sleeves flowing all the way down to the floor. The sleeves were cut from the sides, allowing the arms to come out from within. The gown she wore was generally red in colour, though the colour around the chest area was slightly different. An original Chinese gown like that would have been more fluffy, so this was simply an imitation. On her head was a wide hat, from which a talisman hung in front, covering her right eye. Wrapped around her body was a yellow sash, though it's probably made of a large ribbon. As Kouchi-sempai had short-hair to begin with, her sharp gaze and average build means she looked just right for this character.

"Is that a Jiangshi<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiang_Shi Wikipedia - Jiang Shi]</ref>?"

"Officially, it should be called a Chinese Ghost."

Kouchi-sempai examined my costume from top to bottom, and upon seeing my feet clad in the usual indoor shoes used within the school premises said, "You need to put more effort into the shoes."

And suddenly the conversation shifted towards me. Though I didn't intend to wear this costume just to look nice, I didn't want her of all people to tell me that. For a moment, the atmosphere became tense... Since I was the only one who resisted doing any cosplay towards the bitter end.

"Oh, good morning," a voice called out from beside us; it was President Yuasa.

Rather than a costume, the president was dressed in Kamiyama High School's sailor school uniform. It was only intended for the five members in charge of the clubroom stall to cosplay to begin with, and the president was not one of them. Even though I was the only one who didn't cosplay properly, I could sense President Yuasa's generosity due to her being an open-minded person. To put it another way, from time to time she could be an easy to read person, a bit like watching a cat sitting on a porch. On her soft face were two big eyes with double-eyelids. Taking a look at my costume, she said, "Did you spend a lot making that?"

"No, I only paid for the belt, that's all."

"Do make sure to send us the receipt so you can claim your expense."

"Oh, it's okay, I'm fine with it."

Our president laughed gently, but I just could not bring myself to use the club's funds. While it was much more than what the Classics Club had, it wasn't exactly abundant.

Actually there was still some time before customers would arrive. I was looking around the First Preparation Room, in which the desks were lined up in a C-shape. The Manga Club's showpiece is "Zeamis<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeami_Motokiyo Wikipedia - Zeami Motokiyo]</ref>," the manga review anthology of 100 manga titles past and present. As for why it's called "Zeamis," I was told it was because last year it was called "Kanamis<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanami Wikipedia - Kanami]</ref>". As for why it was called "Kanamis" last year, I didn't bother to ask as it sounded too silly. Besides that, members can bring their own published work, which will be distributed for free here to be sold as well. If they're going to sell these for money, they should have just set up a doujinshi stall to being with.

"Hey."

"Mornin'."

As time passed, more and more Manga Club members showed up.

It seems there were some members who were cosplaying despite not being required to help out. As we had twenty or so members, it was natural that cliques would be formed.

The first would be the boys. I don't know about the other clubs, but the boys actually form a minority in the Kami High Manga Club. As a result, they would gravitate towards people who were like them in order to figure out what they should be doing. They're generally harmless.

The other group was centred around Kouchi-sempai. While not particularly numerous, their outspokenness means they're considered the mainstream faction. The cosplaying members gathered around Kouchi-sempai, the proponent of the idea, to discuss how to greet the customers, and sometimes, the sound of some war cry could be heard.

"Alright! Let's get this going!"

Something like that.

And then there's the third group, which somehow could not bring themselves to follow Kouchi-sempai. It may be because they aren't fond of her boisterous nature, or they felt her actions don't match her words. And for some reason, this group...

"Hey, Mayaka, what's with that costume?"

"Mayaka, do I just leave the change here?"

"...Man, wonder when this will end?"

Was centred around me.

As for why, it was because it seemed like I was the only one who had spoken out against Kouchi-sempai.

The atmosphere was not exactly strained, neither was it explosive. Everyone is here due to their love of manga. Yet, in all this time, I didn't feel like coming to the Manga Club. The least I could do for the Classics Club was to at least request that the Manga Club sell "Hyouka" on behalf of the Classics Club. If "Hyouka" could be sold at the Manga Club, then considering the Manga Club's name recognition, we might sell around 20 copies. Right now it's a bit hard due to the atmosphere, so I was hoping the mood would change for the better, as soon as possible.

I wonder what Fuku-chan and the others at the Classics Club are doing now? I wonder who's watching the stall?

...Argh, I didn't even think about who should watch the stall!

No one would want to buy from such a neglectful club.

"Umm, are you guys open?"

A voice called out. Standing at the open entrance were two male students. Making a business-like smile, I stood up diligently and said with excessive enthusiasm, "Yes, welcome! Congratulations on becoming our first customer!"

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

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| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]|-
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</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1

2012-09-27T17:58:30Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=70}}

== 2-1 Has Something Happened With the Classics Club? ==

005 - ♠02

Saying "I enjoyed this a lot" may sound easy, but is actually a pretty difficult task. Rather than the possibility of the difference in one's level of understanding, a more important factor would be the difference in one's level of interest. When watching a magic performance, a dense person would not even understand even a hundredth of what was going on. On the other hand, if one had the ability to see through a magician's trick, then no matter how much entertainment he may see, while he may try to enjoy to his heart's content, there's no way he could have enjoyed it sufficiently.

It was morning, and I was walking to school earlier than usual, as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival starts today. Seeing Fukube Satoshi constantly repeating "Ohh, I'm so looking forward to enjoying this," I felt compelled to mischievously tell him the above, to which Satoshi responded with a frightful smile and slowly shook his head.

"An excellent idea, was what I wanted to say, but you're too naive, Houtarou,"

"Oh? How so?"

"For a person like you who was raised on nothing but boorishness to even think of lecturing me on my enjoyment, you're too naive," he said as he raised his index finger and swung it left and right as though acting.

"Of course I already knew that it was useless to try to enjoy myself deep down, within the marrow of my bones. The most important aspect of Epicureanism is to be able to separate one's senses. It's just as important as the day when you finally give up your energy-saving ways and actually work hard on a test."

"Like hell that day would arrive. Anyway, what's this about separation of your senses? What does that have to do with you being able to say you'll enjoy yourself?"

"All right, then let me enlighten you. First, I wouldn't think of saying something like "I'm gonna enjoy a lot," as I'm a fairly easy to please person. You know what I'm good at resigning myself to? Just from the point of view of Houtarou the Boorish."

''Do you know?'' Satoshi gestured as he finished his sentence. Fleeting a glimpse at him, as I had no intention of bursting his bubble, I said nothing. Sensing I had no intention to answer, he lowered his voice as though informing me of a secret and said, "Even if I'm not good at enjoying myself......"

"......"

He gave a broad smile.

"I could still look forward to people giving me their enjoyment!"

Oh boy.

Ignoring my cold expression, Satoshi continued with his talk of how he's still "gonna enjoy this." I could do nothing but keep quiet and smile bitterly.

Fukube Satoshi. I have been hanging out with this fellow since junior high.

From his appearance, Satoshi was a person with brown eyes and a slim figure that might be mistaken as that of a girl when seen from afar. And while he may seem like a weakling, he has developed some amazing leg muscles due to his penchant for cycling.

Though his real features lie with his mental state. You may have caught a glimpse of that from our conversation just now; he can be pretty forceful in abandoning his studies and social life casually. Already a member of the Handicraft Club and the General Committee, he decided to join the Classics Club as well simply because "it sounded interesting."

He is never seen without his drawstring bag in his hand, though I have no idea of its contents. All I can say is that it contains all sorts of stuff.

In the road ahead, we could see Kamiyama High School appearing. The outer walls weren't painted pink due to the Cultural Festival, and seen from afar, it looked no different from any other regular high school. However, within its grounds were flourishing all sorts of activities concerning the Cultural Festival. In order to prepare for the festival, classes were suspended since yesterday.

The body of students heading towards school looked different today. While there were many in their uniforms, there were also many from other clubs in their casual wear. And there were many who did not carry any bag with them, as there was no need to bring any scholastic equipment. Due to such discrepancies, even I could feel the expectation that something different from usual was about to start.

Though Kamiyama High School is a school geared towards students entering university, it didn't have that many supplementary classes, neither did it have a particularly high record of students entering famous universities. If you were to ask the students of Kamiyama High School what its specialty was, only one in ten would have said it specializes in university entrance exams. The other nine would answer "It's a school known for its vibrant Arts-related club activities." There are many kinds of arts-related clubs in Kami High, and its activities too are various. And the highlight of these activities would of course be the Cultural Festival, which was rare amongst high schools for its number of days, with one day for preparation and three whole days for the main event.

Satoshi suddenly raised his voice cheerfully.

"And besides... Why, Houtarou, isn't that Mayaka?"

He pointed to a girl in front of us. She was dressed in casual wear comprising of a red cardigan and white brocade trousers, but I couldn't tell whether she was Ibara Mayaka from behind. Though I've known her since elementary school, I've rarely seen her in casual wear since junior high. But if Satoshi says it's her, then it has to be.

For many times Ibara had confessed her love to Satoshi, yet while Satoshi was not one to fall into self-loathing, he had chosen to evade her advances time and time again. I couldn't figure out why he's done so even if I wanted to.

"I'll be going on ahead."

He turned and said that before running off towards that girl ahead of us.

006 - ♣02

As I moved forward, I was certain that it was indeed Mayaka. Though seeking Houtarou out in a crowd was like trying to look for a needle in a haystack, there was no way I could miss Mayaka. I ran up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Mayaka. Morning!"

Knowing her, she would have stared at me and said "Hey! That hurts!" Which was why I only tapped her softly. Though it seemed Mayaka didn't seem to be in that mood today, as she became stiff and turned her head slowly.

"...Morning."

She muttered only that and turned back forward. ''Ahh, I see.'' I exclaimed to myself and smiled (which was what I'm good at; I've long forgotten how to make a serious face), and I answered Mayaka's anxiety.

"Your costume suits you."

"R-really?"

"So, who are you cospla..."

I could not finish my sentence, as I could feel a jab into my stomach. Great aim. Due to that hit, my abdominal muscles quickly lost their strength, so its effect was immediate.

Mayaka murmured with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes, "Don't use that term in front of normal people."

Well, I don't think "costume play" would be considered taboo nowadays. Though I do get that Mayaka's feeling pretty embarrassed about it, so I wouldn't say anything. By the way, I already knew that she was planning to cosplay today. Mayaka's Manga Studies Club had asked for permission from the General Committee to turn up in casual clothing. As there were not enough changing rooms at school, the General Committee granted that permission.

Mayaka wore off-white brocade trousers and a scarlet cardigan. It was a pragmatic costume that was able to withstand the cool autumn winds of early October. Some accessories were attached to her cardigan, and inside she wore a white collared shirt, and a thick looking belt was wrapped around her abdomen. The main point would probably be this belt.

I looked at her costume from top to bottom. Hmm, I just don't have a clue. Guess I'll ask her again.

"So, what costume is this?"

Like a rat trying not to alert the cat, I carefully chose the right words so that Mayaka may accept my question. She quickly looked forward and said in a detached manner,

"Frol,"

"Frol? Frolbericheri Frol<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Were_Eleven Wikipedia - They Were Eleven]</ref>? You're wearing her costume?"

"Yeah... I also brought this handbag."

I wouldn't get what she was referring to even if she said so. Well, that's what Mayaka wanted to wear after all. When she learned that her club required her to come in cosplay, being the shy person that she is, she would definitely choose a character that was hard to recognize.

Ibara Mayaka. As I was a guy, she was way shorter than me, but then as a girl she was way shorter than others. If she wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform, she would no doubt be mistaken as an elementary schoolkid. And right now, Mayaka wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform. And it's not just her figure that's small, just observing from the features of her face alone, one could say Mayaka was baby-faced.

Yet it was hard to figure out Mayaka's vigorous sense of justice from her childish expression emanating from her childish face. For example, when she's angry, she would simply bite her lips. Naturally, nothing can replace the smile that she was born with. (On the other hand, from my years of hanging out with him, Houtarou sure has bad eyes for not being able to notice that.)

I'd better stop looking into someone cosplaying a character she didn't feel like cosplaying, so I began spinning my drawstring bag and said, "Well, anyway, good luck with your role. I'll pop in at the Manga Studies Club later."

Mayaka showed some shyness as she nodded softly.

"You have to contribute articles for the Manga Club as well, right?"

"Yeah."

"I read it... Must be tough, to hold similar positions in both the Classics Club and Manga Club."

"It is tough. Since nobody else was willing to contribute."

I was originally planning to congratulate her for her hard work, but all of a sudden her gaze suddenly became sharp. Oops, looks like the conversation is headed in the wrong direction. For the Classics Club manuscript to arrive so late, no matter how one looks at it, I couldn't offer any excuse. So I decided to change the topic.

"Ah... so, Mayaka, you'll be with the Manga Studies Club all day then?"

Though she didn't look pleased that the topic was changed, she nodded.

"Will you be stopping by the Classics Club?"

"Nah, it's probably impossible for me to leave the Manga Club in the morning. And besides, it's not worth it for me to just stop by... I really ought to have followed things through."

I deepened my smile and patted Mayaka on the back.

"Try not to think too much about it! It can't be helped once you wake up from it!"

Mayaka gave an ambiguous smile and nodded at my words. No, this doesn't look right. Such a grey-looking smile wouldn't be what makes Mayaka look great.

Even though Mayaka said she's fine with it, there are occasions when Houtarou expresses doubt at my evasion of her advances. Well, Houtarou was never one to flatter people. I could tell him the reason, but I wasn't sure if he would understand even a tenth of it. To begin with, this is a problem between me and Mayaka alone, so it doesn't matter whether Houtarou understands it or not.

Before we realized, we had arrived at the school gates. I turned to have a look at the gates, which had huge, colourful flowers hanging over them. This was the hard work of the General Committee, made to welcome visitors to the Cultural Festival. A banner hung from the outside of one of the windows of the school building, which read "The 42nd Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival."

And so it begins.

I wonder if I'm making a face that's trying to enjoy all this. As I was in a trance looking at the school grounds, Mayaka suddenly jabbed her elbow at me.

"Fuku-chan... Try not to do anything silly during the Cultural Festival, okay? While you may not find it embarrassing, it'd be embarrassing enough for me."

Heh, guess I'm not trusted at all, eh?

But that doesn't mean I won't do anything!

007 - ♠03

There's this hard object resting in my pocket, and for some time it's been bothering me.

It was the fountain pen, or to be more precise, the trash known as the unusable fountain pen. The ink had long run out, and I was entrusted by my sis to take care of it. Last night, as I didn't want to just toss it on the floor, I brought it to my room, intending to throw it away there. But it seemed I ended up bringing it along with my handkerchief. While it's pretty much useless now, who knows what role it would play as time goes on.

I toyed with the pen by flipping its cap on and off, making a clicking sound as I walked up the stairs. My destination was the Classics Club room on the fourth floor.

Seen from above, Kamiyama High School appears as an H-shape. On one side was the General Block with its regular classrooms, while on the other side would be the Special Block with its arts and science related classrooms. They are joined in the middle by a connecting corridor. When seen from further above, one would see the corridor from the General Block extending towards the Gymnasium.

The Geology Lecture Room, which is used by the Classics Club as their club room, is located in the Special Block. And it's all the way in the corner at the end of the corridor. If Kamiyama High School was the whole world, then this would be its periphery. Normally, we'd curse about how far the club room was while also feeling grateful for how serene it was. Yet with the Cultural Festival upon us, we had to consider another factor, the fact that being located in such a remote corner of the school means we're doubtful of getting any visitors.

In every floor, you would see posters, mascots and advertising boards in all different shades of colour, though that's only up to the third floor. In the fourth floor, all you get is a barren landscape. You won't even see any ads for shopping malls or chain stores. To begin with, there aren't many clubs based up here anyway.

Still, we've put up a few posters in some hard to miss spots promoting the Classics Club, but even that was not enough to enliven the mood of this god-forsaken place. Personally, I prefer this sort of tranquility, but it's troublesome for the Classics Club as an organization, particularly for its president, who sees it as something quite worrying.

I slid open the door of the Geology Room. The girl sitting in the centre of this dreary room stood up upon seeing me enter.

"Good morning, Oreki-san," she said and bowed deeply, her long black hair flowing as she did. This was Chitanda, president of the Classics Club. I reckoned she was probably the first to arrive.

Chitanda Eru is a girl with jet black hair extending all the way to her back as well as pupils of the same colour. Gentle in her demeanor, she was rather tall and well-proportioned for a girl. Her calm way of speaking gives one the impression that she's an elegant lady with a prestigious upbringing. In fact, she is the only daughter of the Chitanda clan, known for being the owners of large tracts of farmland.

However, if you ask me, this elegant Japanese lady image is not Chitanda's true nature.

Amongst her mature features, only her large eyes betray her true character. Possessing a sense of curiosity which has exploded many times before and will continue to explode in the future, this was Chitanda Eru. Ever since I entered school, I and the Classics Club have been involved in many bothersome events thanks to her curiosity. My life motto has always been "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick." But so far I have been unable to adhere to it, and it's all her fault.

Chitanda lifted her head and made a soft smile. Though she wears her heart on her sleeve, she would rarely express her feelings in an exaggerated way. Rather, she does it in moderation.

"The day has finally arrived."

"So it seems."

"Let's give it our all!"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

Looking at the pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda, I groaned.

"...You say give it our all, but do you have any idea how we're gonna get this sorted?"

We're talking about none other than the Classics Club essay anthology, "Hyouka." A rather queer name for a title; as for why it had such a queer name, that's a long story. Each volume was bound nicely in a vinyl coating which went through adhesive surface treatment, on its dark brown cover was an illustration of a dog and rabbit biting each other. This cover design was derived from the first ever volume of "Hyouka," which was made in a water-paint style, though this year Ibara decided to draw it in a cute style. Objectively speaking, it didn't look bad at all.

The people working on this anthology included me and Chitanda, and while Satoshi did contribute, he only participated in writing his part of the manuscript. Of course, even after the manuscript was completed, the anthology wouldn't be finished right away. There would still be work involving confirming the number of pages, choosing the right font and paper type, arranging the manuscripts, placing the page numbers, etc, before submitting to the publisher for printing. All that was left to Ibara, who also worked on the other illustrations as well.

While we were consulted on matters concerning the design of the anthology, we were merely confirming Ibara's choices. Seeing how troublesome it looked for her to have to work on so many details, both Chitanda and I had offered to help her many times.

Yet Ibara had turned our offers down, saying she's used to doing such stuff, so it's no big deal to her, and how she can easily handle this amount of work. Besides, she said it would be quite bothersome to teach an amateur from scratch. Hearing her say that, Chitanda decided to relent on helping.

And so, the anthology "Hyouka" is finally complete. In fact, it was a job well done. Very well done, indeed.

Upon seeing the final product, Ibara went speechless.

When she brought them over to us the day before yesterday, we too became speechless.

...The pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda were the "Hyouka" anthologies. Rather than "pile," "stack" would be a more appropriate description. Even "mountain" would not sound far-fetched.

Before, we had only planned on making an order to print thirty copies of "Hyouka". Taking one for ourselves, as well as one each for our supervisor and one to keep for archiving, it would leave us with twenty-four left to sell, which was how many we expected to sell.

However, the number of copies somehow ended up being more than we expected.

About seven times more.

I learned that even for a thin anthology like this, two hundred copies of them stacked together was enough to form a "mountain."

To ask us to give our all selling all these is an extremely tall task. Upon hearing my grumble, Chitanda became lost for words as her smile went stiff.

"...Umm, while giving our all may not guarantee everything, I'm sure we'll still achieve something!"

The problem would be how much effort we should be giving then, but...

The door behind us opened; it was Satoshi. Lifting his right arm, he greeted us.

"Hi there, I see you're all worried about our excessive stock!"

Well, so are you.

While still at a loss for words to address the predicament we were in, Chitanda still bowed deeply like she had to me.

"G-good morning, Fukube-san... How is Mayaka-san?"

"Oh, she said she'll try and come, but she probably won't make it."

"I see...," she muttered regretfully. That was to be expected.

While Chitanda and I aren't affiliated with any other club save the Classics Club, Satoshi has his hands tied with the General Committee and Handicraft Club, while Ibara spends time as a librarian and with the Manga Studies Club. During the Cultural Festival, Satoshi would be busy patrolling the grounds as a member of the General Committee, while I hear Ibara is required to stay with the Manga Club for some time.

"Then, shall we begin?"

Satoshi and I nodded. Looking at us one by one, Chitanda slowly spoke.

"There's not much time until the Opening Ceremony starts... So does anyone have any ideas on how we could sell this many copies of 'Hyouka?'"

The price of "Hyouka" was set at 200 yen.

This was the price decided by Ibara and Chitanda after much calculation. We originally wanted to sell 30 copies at 400 yen each. As we were expecting to sell them all, the proceeds made along with our own club funding would be just enough to cover the printing costs.

But now we have 200 copies of "Hyouka". It's not exactly an extremely tragic mistake, and the printing of excessive copies also meant we actually paid far less for each volume as a result. If we were to sell all 200 volumes, then we could lower the price down to 120 yen per copy and still break even.

But it was impractical to expect all of them to be sold, so taking that into consideration, we settled for 200 yen apiece, though we would need to sell 120 copies in order to break even. Chitanda eventually decided on this price, though selling 120 copies still seems rather optimistic... Still, as I kept quiet, I wasn't planning on complaining afterwards anyway. Surely 200 yen is pretty cheap for an anthology sold at a Cultural Festival, after all.

By the way, even if we were to sell them all, we would not be able to profit from it anyway. As the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival expressly forbids clubs from profiteering. While I've heard of stories where　people would occasionally get away with pocketing 1000 yen for themselves, any amount more than that would end up in the national treasury, sorry, I mean the school treasury.

There are about a thousand students in Kamiyama High School, so in order to break even, we would need to sell to 12% of the student body. In order to sell all copies, we would need to target 20%. This was a pretty difficult task. To use TV ratings as an analogy, even a lay person would know how hard it is for a programme to achieve 20% ratings.

To begin with, our market is not limited to these thousand people. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival is free for all, so even regular townspeople would come. As the Cultural Festival takes place from Thursday to Saturday, most visitors would opt to visit on Saturday, the third day. But I have no way of guessing how much they would contribute to the sales.

Besides...

"The problem lies with the Classics Club's name recognition and its poor geographical location."

"Yes, I agree this is the biggest obstacle."

I felt the same way with both of their opinions.

I have already mentioned above about how disadvantageous the Geology Room's location was. For the Classics Club's name recognition, it's even worse. Nearly all of the students in Kami High wouldn't even know of the existence of the Classics Club. In fact, if I hadn't applied to join this year, the club would have been abolished altogether. Unlike the Tea Ceremony Club, which was known for its open air tea ceremonies, or the A Capella Club renowned for its abilities, who's gonna buy the anthology of a club they've not even heard of?

So there's the location and the name recognition. I spoke up.

"In other words, we will need to find a more conspicuous place to sell, as well as to advertise our club name."

"Well, obviously," Satoshi said teasingly, as though saying we would sell out if we could achieve both. Of course I know that, but it's because we can't achieve them that we're at a loss for what to do.

Meanwhile, Chitanda nodded in admiration.

"Find a new location to sell... And all this time I've been thinking of how to bring customers all the way here. Oreki-san, that's a really innovative idea."

"Erm, it's not exactly innovative..."

"But, will we be able to get permission to move to a new location right away?"

Who knows? That's Satoshi's department, as he's with the General Committee. But he shook his head.

"I'm not really sure. While it may be possible to just move to any space, it depends on whether the Classics Club could be granted such a privilege. So you're gonna have to ask the General Committee president, or even the Student Council president himself."

"Who's the General Committee president?"

"Tanabe-sempai from second year. The General Committee will be holding meetings in the Conference Room from time to time, so you could try dropping by to have a look."

"Why don't you do it?"

Satoshi bit his lip and nodded ambiguously.

"Well, I could do that... But I'm not really confident in conducting such negotiations. Chitanda-san, it might be better for you to start the conversation with them, and for me to assist you by the side."

I see, that could be a good way of doing it. Yet Chitanda looked somehow uneasy. While she might be a forceful lady, like Satoshi, she probably wouldn't be confident making such an unreasonable request either. Yet she could expect no help from me, for I too am bad at those kinds of things.

The situation at present was nothing to be joyful about. Yet Satoshi looked pretty jolly. Well, that's Fukube Satoshi for you, he might even be relishing such hardship. As though bouncing, he spoke.

"Rather than that, I'd prefer to do the advertising."

"Advertising, huh? So how're you gonna do that?"

"Well, that's a secret."

I have a bad feeling about this. I could not think of any secret plan of Satoshi's that could ever work.

"Huh? Do you have a good idea?"

This got Chitanda interested, to which Satoshi puffed his chest.

"There are many competitions and races held during this Cultural Festival, so I was thinking of joining them under the name of the Classics Club. By achieving a good result, we would increase the club's popularity!"

"T-that's a great idea!"

How's that a great idea anyway? I raised my eyebrows as Chitanda was clearly being fooled. Satoshi basically ''wanted'' to participate in all these competitions and races himself. To begin with, it'll still be Satoshi participating, it's just that the entry name will be that of the Classics Club instead.

But still, it's not a bad method, as we haven't got any other way of advertising our club. It was possible it could actually turn out quite well.

I looked at the clock and said, "So it's roughly decided then? Chitanda will go and request a new selling location, and Satoshi will do the advertising."

"Yes, so we had better make our way now. But what will you do, Oreki-san?"

Me?

Actually, I had a plan. A plan to contribute greatly to the selling of "Hyouka," as well as stay true to my creed.

I cleared my throat and said solemnly, "I will..."

"Yes?"

"Stay and watch the stall."

Chitanda blinked her eyes while Satoshi muttered as though realizing something.

"...In-indeed, or else there won't be anyone left behind."

"Yes, you're right. We would need someone to watch the stall."

Now how's that? No complaints at all.

"Well, now that things are decided, we should get going. We don't have much time," I said while looking at the clock on the wall.

There were only ten minutes left before the Opening Ceremony begins. Even the Cultural Festival and Sports Day were not exempted from attendance taking, but taking into consideration that students would be scattered in their clubrooms overseeing their exhibits, attendance would be taken during the morning assembly every day. In other words, we'll be counted as late if we don't get to the Opening Ceremony on time.

Nodding greatly, Chitanda cleared her throat. Taking a deep breath, she said in one go, "Then let us proceed with our allotted tasks. We should try to sell as many volumes as possible. Our target is to sell all 200 copies of 'Hyouka'! Let's give it our all!"

...Well, let's just say I wasn't even thinking of whether we could sell all 200 copies.

['''200 COPIES REMAINING''']

008 - ♥02

About a thousand students were packed within the dark gymnasium, which had its windows covered by curtains, and due to today being a rather hot October day, the gymnasium ended up being stuffy. Inside the gymnasium was a light that shines onto the stage, but even now that light was turned off, so it was pitch black inside. But it only lasted for a moment, for in the next moment a spotlight shone on a male student; it was the Student Council president. He was a rather tall and intrepid looking person who was said to speak eloquently as befitting of a Student Council president.

The president walked towards the mic and looked around the hall as he took a deep breath. He then declared loudly, omitting any prefix altogether, "I declare the 42nd Kanya Festival open!"

As the voice from deep within his abdomen flowed out, the thousand Kami High students instantly burst into an uproar. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival opening ceremony had begun.

According to the "Kanya Festival Guide" published by the General Committee, the Breakdancing Club will lead the opening ceremony with their performance. I'm ashamed to admit that I've not seen people perform breakdancing before. While I know it has something to do with dancing, I don't exactly know how dances can be broken. I wonder if it has something to do with the performers breaking something on the stage?

As red, yellow, blue and green lights shone on the stage, the bewildering performance had begun. I looked up wondering where the lights shone from, and saw people busy moving the lighting equipment around in the catwalk above the stage. It probably takes lots of practice to be able to move such lights so quickly in an orderly pattern. If I get the chance, I must inquire how they mastered this pattern.

Smoke was emitted from behind the stage as the rumble briefly quieted down. As the smoke dispersed, two people from each side came flying from left and right, and at the same time booming background music was played. It was a vibrating electronic sound. I wonder if the image it conveys was that of space? In tune with the music, four people began dancing.

So this is breakdancing? The dancers looked as though they were turning a key in a doorknob, and they swung their arms and kicked their legs as though swimming in breast stroke. Dancing in a variety of moves, they looked very active indeed. Would it be rude to call them non-human? As their inorganic dance moves looked really fascinating.

Oh! They jumped!

Oh! They spun!

Oh! They stood on their hands!

This time they begun spinning around while standing on their hands. But would they be fine with all the heat caused by the friction of their heads rubbing against the ground? Wouldn't their hair be scratched off from too much rubbing? I'm curious about it.

The dance then stepped up its tempo, becoming faster and faster; I could no longer tell how they moved their arms and legs. This is amazing. The music also went into full burst... Umm, this loud sound is starting to hurt my ears. I'm not that good with loud sounds.

Before long, as the cocktail of spotlights converged in the centre of the stage, the four dancers stopped in perfect stillness just as the music ended. The crowd gave a loud response; I too gave the Breakdancing Club my overwhelming approval.

The second song began playing, which was in the rhythm of some African-like folk music. It was quite different from the previous song. I was quite curious as to how they would dance to that tune. Besides, I would also be interested in watching the performance of the Rakugo Club afterwards... No, I mustn't be tempted.

Having come to my senses, I noticed quite a number of students trickling out of the hall. They're probably in charge of watching their stalls or preparing for their club events. Without disturbing the performance of the Breakdancing Club, I too quietly left the hall.

I hurried down the corridor, walking in longer strides than I normally do. I saw some students decorating their classroom door with gold and silver paper while there doesn't seem to be much time left. I wonder what club they're from? They looked so frantic that I feel like helping them. No, I mustn't! The Classics Club itself is in a grave situation.

As I pondered how to say my lines, I reached the Conference Room. According to the "Kanya Festival Guide," the General Committee seems to be based here.

The Conference Room is situated on the second floor of the General Block. As the Gymnasium is directly connected to the General Block, it wasn't a long walk at all. So before long, here I was before the Conference Room. It was like any other classroom, save that it had a sign pasted on its sliding door that read "General Committee Room." I knocked on the door.

"......"

Huh?

"Is anybody in?"

There was no response. I tried opening the door, but it was locked.

Yes, now that I think about it, as I had left midway through the Opening Ceremony, it was not strange that no one from the General Committee had yet returned. It seems like I came too early.

Somehow, I became a bit anxious as I didn't want to waste any time. In such a situation, I should do some deep breathing. So I inhaled deeply and breathed out slowly. One more time, breathe in, breathe out.

I looked around me, there didn't seem to be anyone from the General Committee coming this way.

On the notice board beside the door was a catchy Cultural Festival promotion poster. I've seen many other Cultural Festival posters within the school grounds and around the neighbourhood, but this was the first time I'd seen this one. It was drawn in a manga-like style which Mayaka-san might be familiar with. It showed two students, a boy and girl preparing for the Cultural Festival. The characters looked cute while the clothes they wore looked real, one could feel the amazing originality effusing from it.

If there was one complaint to make, it would be its title, "The 42nd Kanya Festival." Its official name ought to be the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, as "Kanya Festival" doesn't really evoke a good meaning. As for why, it's rather difficult to explain. On the corner of the poster were written the words "Student Council Executive Committee." Since it's a poster made by the Executive Committee, I feel they ought to avoid using the name "Kanya Festival."

I moved my eyes away from the poster and looked around me once more, but there still wasn't anyone coming. Oh dear, this doesn't look good. Should I just keep waiting here? But we haven't got much time.

No, in such times, I should calm myself down. I once again took a deep breath, breathe in, breathe out... Okay, one more time...

"...Can I help you?"

"Wah!"

As I had just inhaled a deep breath, I couldn't help but let out a yelp. As I was startled, I couldn't suppress such a strange sound. I tried to wave my arms to explain that I wasn't particularly doing anything suspicious.

I bowed my head to the person that called out to me and said, "Good morning. Are you President Tanabe of the General Committee?"

I've seen this person before in the Wall Newspaper Club's "Kami High Monthly," so he was definitely President Tanabe of the General Committee. Wearing small framed glasses on his oval face, his short and neatly cut hair gave the image of an earnest-looking person. Tanabe-san looked a bit taken aback before politely greeting me in return.

"Oh, good morning. Yes, I'm Tanabe... Can I help you?"

"Yes,"

I nodded and uttered the lines that I'd practiced many times beforehand.

"Please allocate a new stall for the Classics Club."

"...Huh?"

Tanabe-san's eyes went round. Oh no, I neglected my manners. Paying attention to my manners, I repeated my request.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the president of the Classics Club, Chitanda Eru of Class 1-A. We have come here with a request; we would like you to please allocate a new stall for the Classics Club."

Tanabe-san raised his eyebrows as his face looked really troubled. Uneasily, he spoke.

"I don't really understand what's going on but..."

He looked as though he was about to say something difficult.

"As we've already decided on how to run most of the stuff during the Kanya Festival, for you to suddenly come and request a new stall would be a bit difficult."

"...So you aren't able to do it?"

"I'm sorry."

I see. It may be troubling, but it can't be helped if it can't be done. I'm very sorry, Mayaka-san, Fukube-san, Oreki-san. Chitanda Eru was not able to accomplish her task.

''I see, thank you for your information.'' I had wanted to give my regards properly, but I ended up speaking those words softly instead. As I proceeded to leave and ponder what to do next, Tanabe-san called out to me.

"No, wait. That's just the normal procedures anyway. If you have some extenuating circumstance, then we could listen to what you have to say, but I can't promise whether we could grant you your request."

Circumstance.

...Now that I think about it, I've completely neglected to explain my situation. Oreki-san has constantly told me off for my bad habit of skipping straight to the main point without explaining myself properly. I never realized this before... but it seemed like it is indeed true. I must be careful next time.

Anyway, I should not put Tanabe-san's good will to waste. I turned around and stood before him.

I then began to explain my story.

In great detail.

We were supposed to make an order to print 30 copies, but ended up with 200 copies. To begin with, this was not Mayaka-san's fault, as I too had a look at the order sheet, and Mayaka-san also made sure to correctly place the order for 30 copies. However, at the same time, she also made another request to print 200 copies for her own anthology. As to why she would make such a request, I did not know. But the problem arose when it turned out that the publisher had mixed up the order for "Hyouka" and her own anthology. Mayaka-san blamed herself for not double-checking enough, but nobody could have foreseen such an error.

I told Tanabe-san the entire process as well. I wasn't able to keep the story brief, but all this time Tanabe-san simply stood and listened.

"That sure sounds tough."

After much thought, he said prudently, "200 copies huh? Not even the Manga Club could sell that much. I understand the desire to seek a new stall in order to sell more copies, and I would really like to help... But any other club could have faced such a situation, so it's just not possible for us to give the Classics Club a special dispensation, you know?"

Indeed, it would not be just the Classics Club that would encounter such a situation, I had known that fact beforehand but...

"So, it's not possible?"

Tanabe-san nodded softly... "I'm sorry."

But this time, after giving my regards and turning to leave, Tanabe-san uttered some advice from behind.

"But you know, if you were to entrust other clubs to sell your anthologies on your behalf at their stalls, that we don't really mind."

I- I see, I never knew such a method existed! How could I not have thought of this before? Indeed, if we were to place our anthologies at existing stalls, it would not be counted as the Classics Club receiving special treatment.

"That's a brilliant idea."

Without realizing, I became relieved.

"Thank you very much. I will consider it!"

I said and bowed deeply.

...Come to think of it, back at the Geology Room, Fukube-san had promised to accompany me to the General Committee and help me out in our request. I wonder whatever happened to him?

009 - ♣03

Hahahahahaha.

Oh, oh boy. This is too hilarious, I just can't withhold my laughter. My rationality tells me this joke is rather silly, but I still ended up laughing loudly. I think I could go on all day.

I knew the two fellows on stage, they were from the Rakugo Study Club. (Speaking of which, its name is merely an official front, as rather than the study of Rakugo, the Kamiyama High School Rakugo Study Club was more focused on Manzai<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzai Wikipedia - Manzai]</ref> and stand-up comedy. I have no idea if there are any clubs that actually studied the art of Rakugo.

"Wow, it's sure been a long time since we've had a sushi dinner in a tatami room. We've spent quite some time there, we'd better get home quick, or we'll be late.

"'Kay."

"By the way, I don't mind giving you a ride, but when are you gonna to get off? Ever since I started driving, you've been giggling while looking at me all this time."

"You know, you've got quite a huge ''johnny''..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, look I'm really worried about you. We'd better get you home quick... What're you grinning at?"

"Heh heh, and then?"

"You know, you were sobbing and giggling while saying 'My leg's gone limp, you think I'm able to step on the brakes?' It'd be dangerous for you to drive, no?"

"I guess."

"Oh dear, I've stepped on the accelerator by mistake."

"''You're'' the one driving dangerously!"

Hahahahahaha.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

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| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]|-
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</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1

2012-09-27T17:57:08Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=70}}

== 2-1 Has Something Happened With the Classics Club? ==

005 - ♠02

Saying "I enjoyed this a lot" may sound easy, but is actually a pretty difficult task. Rather than the possibility of the difference in one's level of understanding, a more important factor would be the difference in one's level of interest. When watching a magic performance, a dense person would not even understand even a hundredth of what was going on. On the other hand, if one had the ability to see through a magician's trick, then no matter how much entertainment he may see, while he may try to enjoy to his heart's content, there's no way he could have enjoyed it sufficiently.

It was morning, and I was walking to school earlier than usual, as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival starts today. Seeing Fukube Satoshi constantly repeating "Ohh, I'm so looking forward to enjoying this," I felt compelled to mischievously tell him the above, to which Satoshi responded with a frightful smile and slowly shook his head.

"An excellent idea, was what I wanted to say, but you're too naive, Houtarou,"

"Oh? How so?"

"For a person like you who was raised on nothing but boorishness to even think of lecturing me on my enjoyment, you're too naive," he said as he raised his index finger and swung it left and right as though acting.

"Of course I already knew that it was useless to try to enjoy myself deep down, within the marrow of my bones. The most important aspect of Epicureanism is to be able to separate one's senses. It's just as important as the day when you finally give up your energy-saving ways and actually work hard on a test."

"Like hell that day would arrive. Anyway, what's this about separation of your senses? What does that have to do with you being able to say you'll enjoy yourself?"

"All right, then let me enlighten you. First, I wouldn't think of saying something like "I'm gonna enjoy a lot," as I'm a fairly easy to please person. You know what I'm good at resigning myself to? Just from the point of view of Houtarou the Boorish."

''Do you know?'' Satoshi gestured as he finished his sentence. Fleeting a glimpse at him, as I had no intention of bursting his bubble, I said nothing. Sensing I had no intention to answer, he lowered his voice as though informing me of a secret and said, "Even if I'm not good at enjoying myself......"

"......"

He gave a broad smile.

"I could still look forward to people giving me their enjoyment!"

Oh boy.

Ignoring my cold expression, Satoshi continued with his talk of how he's still "gonna enjoy this." I could do nothing but keep quiet and smile bitterly.

Fukube Satoshi. I have been hanging out with this fellow since junior high.

From his appearance, Satoshi was a person with brown eyes and a slim figure that might be mistaken as that of a girl when seen from afar. And while he may seem like a weakling, he has developed some amazing leg muscles due to his penchant for cycling.

Though his real features lie with his mental state. You may have caught a glimpse of that from our conversation just now; he can be pretty forceful in abandoning his studies and social life casually. Already a member of the Handicraft Club and the General Committee, he decided to join the Classics Club as well simply because "it sounded interesting."

He is never seen without his drawstring bag in his hand, though I have no idea of its contents. All I can say is that it contains all sorts of stuff.

In the road ahead, we could see Kamiyama High School appearing. The outer walls weren't painted pink due to the Cultural Festival, and seen from afar, it looked no different from any other regular high school. However, within its grounds were flourishing all sorts of activities concerning the Cultural Festival. In order to prepare for the festival, classes were suspended since yesterday.

The body of students heading towards school looked different today. While there were many in their uniforms, there were also many from other clubs in their casual wear. And there were many who did not carry any bag with them, as there was no need to bring any scholastic equipment. Due to such discrepancies, even I could feel the expectation that something different from usual was about to start.

Though Kamiyama High School is a school geared towards students entering university, it didn't have that many supplementary classes, neither did it have a particularly high record of students entering famous universities. If you were to ask the students of Kamiyama High School what its specialty was, only one in ten would have said it specializes in university entrance exams. The other nine would answer "It's a school known for its vibrant Arts-related club activities." There are many kinds of arts-related clubs in Kami High, and its activities too are various. And the highlight of these activities would of course be the Cultural Festival, which was rare amongst high schools for its number of days, with one day for preparation and three whole days for the main event.

Satoshi suddenly raised his voice cheerfully.

"And besides... Why, Houtarou, isn't that Mayaka?"

He pointed to a girl in front of us. She was dressed in casual wear comprising of a red cardigan and white brocade trousers, but I couldn't tell whether she was Ibara Mayaka from behind. Though I've known her since elementary school, I've rarely seen her in casual wear since junior high. But if Satoshi says it's her, then it has to be.

For many times Ibara had confessed her love to Satoshi, yet while Satoshi was not one to fall into self-loathing, he had chosen to evade her advances time and time again. I couldn't figure out why he's done so even if I wanted to.

"I'll be going on ahead."

He turned and said that before running off towards that girl ahead of us.

006 - ♣02

As I moved forward, I was certain that it was indeed Mayaka. Though seeking Houtarou out in a crowd was like trying to look for a needle in a haystack, there was no way I could miss Mayaka. I ran up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Mayaka. Morning!"

Knowing her, she would have stared at me and said "Hey! That hurts!" Which was why I only tapped her softly. Though it seemed Mayaka didn't seem to be in that mood today, as she became stiff and turned her head slowly.

"...Morning."

She muttered only that and turned back forward. ''Ahh, I see.'' I exclaimed to myself and smiled (which was what I'm good at; I've long forgotten how to make a serious face), and I answered Mayaka's anxiety.

"Your costume suits you."

"R-really?"

"So, who are you cospla..."

I could not finish my sentence, as I could feel a jab into my stomach. Great aim. Due to that hit, my abdominal muscles quickly lost their strength, so its effect was immediate.

Mayaka murmured with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes, "Don't use that term in front of normal people."

Well, I don't think "costume play" would be considered taboo nowadays. Though I do get that Mayaka's feeling pretty embarrassed about it, so I wouldn't say anything. By the way, I already knew that she was planning to cosplay today. Mayaka's Manga Studies Club had asked for permission from the General Committee to turn up in casual clothing. As there were not enough changing rooms at school, the General Committee granted that permission.

Mayaka wore off-white brocade trousers and a scarlet cardigan. It was a pragmatic costume that was able to withstand the cool autumn winds of early October. Some accessories were attached to her cardigan, and inside she wore a white collared shirt, and a thick looking belt was wrapped around her abdomen. The main point would probably be this belt.

I looked at her costume from top to bottom. Hmm, I just don't have a clue. Guess I'll ask her again.

"So, what costume is this?"

Like a rat trying not to alert the cat, I carefully chose the right words so that Mayaka may accept my question. She quickly looked forward and said in a detached manner,

"Frol,"

"Frol? Frolbericheri Frol<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Were_Eleven</ref>? You're wearing her costume?"

"Yeah... I also brought this handbag."

I wouldn't get what she was referring to even if she said so. Well, that's what Mayaka wanted to wear after all. When she learned that her club required her to come in cosplay, being the shy person that she is, she would definitely choose a character that was hard to recognize.

Ibara Mayaka. As I was a guy, she was way shorter than me, but then as a girl she was way shorter than others. If she wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform, she would no doubt be mistaken as an elementary schoolkid. And right now, Mayaka wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform. And it's not just her figure that's small, just observing from the features of her face alone, one could say Mayaka was baby-faced.

Yet it was hard to figure out Mayaka's vigorous sense of justice from her childish expression emanating from her childish face. For example, when she's angry, she would simply bite her lips. Naturally, nothing can replace the smile that she was born with. (On the other hand, from my years of hanging out with him, Houtarou sure has bad eyes for not being able to notice that.)

I'd better stop looking into someone cosplaying a character she didn't feel like cosplaying, so I began spinning my drawstring bag and said, "Well, anyway, good luck with your role. I'll pop in at the Manga Studies Club later."

Mayaka showed some shyness as she nodded softly.

"You have to contribute articles for the Manga Club as well, right?"

"Yeah."

"I read it... Must be tough, to hold similar positions in both the Classics Club and Manga Club."

"It is tough. Since nobody else was willing to contribute."

I was originally planning to congratulate her for her hard work, but all of a sudden her gaze suddenly became sharp. Oops, looks like the conversation is headed in the wrong direction. For the Classics Club manuscript to arrive so late, no matter how one looks at it, I couldn't offer any excuse. So I decided to change the topic.

"Ah... so, Mayaka, you'll be with the Manga Studies Club all day then?"

Though she didn't look pleased that the topic was changed, she nodded.

"Will you be stopping by the Classics Club?"

"Nah, it's probably impossible for me to leave the Manga Club in the morning. And besides, it's not worth it for me to just stop by... I really ought to have followed things through."

I deepened my smile and patted Mayaka on the back.

"Try not to think too much about it! It can't be helped once you wake up from it!"

Mayaka gave an ambiguous smile and nodded at my words. No, this doesn't look right. Such a grey-looking smile wouldn't be what makes Mayaka look great.

Even though Mayaka said she's fine with it, there are occasions when Houtarou expresses doubt at my evasion of her advances. Well, Houtarou was never one to flatter people. I could tell him the reason, but I wasn't sure if he would understand even a tenth of it. To begin with, this is a problem between me and Mayaka alone, so it doesn't matter whether Houtarou understands it or not.

Before we realized, we had arrived at the school gates. I turned to have a look at the gates, which had huge, colourful flowers hanging over them. This was the hard work of the General Committee, made to welcome visitors to the Cultural Festival. A banner hung from the outside of one of the windows of the school building, which read "The 42nd Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival."

And so it begins.

I wonder if I'm making a face that's trying to enjoy all this. As I was in a trance looking at the school grounds, Mayaka suddenly jabbed her elbow at me.

"Fuku-chan... Try not to do anything silly during the Cultural Festival, okay? While you may not find it embarrassing, it'd be embarrassing enough for me."

Heh, guess I'm not trusted at all, eh?

But that doesn't mean I won't do anything!

007 - ♠03

There's this hard object resting in my pocket, and for some time it's been bothering me.

It was the fountain pen, or to be more precise, the trash known as the unusable fountain pen. The ink had long run out, and I was entrusted by my sis to take care of it. Last night, as I didn't want to just toss it on the floor, I brought it to my room, intending to throw it away there. But it seemed I ended up bringing it along with my handkerchief. While it's pretty much useless now, who knows what role it would play as time goes on.

I toyed with the pen by flipping its cap on and off, making a clicking sound as I walked up the stairs. My destination was the Classics Club room on the fourth floor.

Seen from above, Kamiyama High School appears as an H-shape. On one side was the General Block with its regular classrooms, while on the other side would be the Special Block with its arts and science related classrooms. They are joined in the middle by a connecting corridor. When seen from further above, one would see the corridor from the General Block extending towards the Gymnasium.

The Geology Lecture Room, which is used by the Classics Club as their club room, is located in the Special Block. And it's all the way in the corner at the end of the corridor. If Kamiyama High School was the whole world, then this would be its periphery. Normally, we'd curse about how far the club room was while also feeling grateful for how serene it was. Yet with the Cultural Festival upon us, we had to consider another factor, the fact that being located in such a remote corner of the school means we're doubtful of getting any visitors.

In every floor, you would see posters, mascots and advertising boards in all different shades of colour, though that's only up to the third floor. In the fourth floor, all you get is a barren landscape. You won't even see any ads for shopping malls or chain stores. To begin with, there aren't many clubs based up here anyway.

Still, we've put up a few posters in some hard to miss spots promoting the Classics Club, but even that was not enough to enliven the mood of this god-forsaken place. Personally, I prefer this sort of tranquility, but it's troublesome for the Classics Club as an organization, particularly for its president, who sees it as something quite worrying.

I slid open the door of the Geology Room. The girl sitting in the centre of this dreary room stood up upon seeing me enter.

"Good morning, Oreki-san," she said and bowed deeply, her long black hair flowing as she did. This was Chitanda, president of the Classics Club. I reckoned she was probably the first to arrive.

Chitanda Eru is a girl with jet black hair extending all the way to her back as well as pupils of the same colour. Gentle in her demeanor, she was rather tall and well-proportioned for a girl. Her calm way of speaking gives one the impression that she's an elegant lady with a prestigious upbringing. In fact, she is the only daughter of the Chitanda clan, known for being the owners of large tracts of farmland.

However, if you ask me, this elegant Japanese lady image is not Chitanda's true nature.

Amongst her mature features, only her large eyes betray her true character. Possessing a sense of curiosity which has exploded many times before and will continue to explode in the future, this was Chitanda Eru. Ever since I entered school, I and the Classics Club have been involved in many bothersome events thanks to her curiosity. My life motto has always been "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick." But so far I have been unable to adhere to it, and it's all her fault.

Chitanda lifted her head and made a soft smile. Though she wears her heart on her sleeve, she would rarely express her feelings in an exaggerated way. Rather, she does it in moderation.

"The day has finally arrived."

"So it seems."

"Let's give it our all!"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

Looking at the pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda, I groaned.

"...You say give it our all, but do you have any idea how we're gonna get this sorted?"

We're talking about none other than the Classics Club essay anthology, "Hyouka." A rather queer name for a title; as for why it had such a queer name, that's a long story. Each volume was bound nicely in a vinyl coating which went through adhesive surface treatment, on its dark brown cover was an illustration of a dog and rabbit biting each other. This cover design was derived from the first ever volume of "Hyouka," which was made in a water-paint style, though this year Ibara decided to draw it in a cute style. Objectively speaking, it didn't look bad at all.

The people working on this anthology included me and Chitanda, and while Satoshi did contribute, he only participated in writing his part of the manuscript. Of course, even after the manuscript was completed, the anthology wouldn't be finished right away. There would still be work involving confirming the number of pages, choosing the right font and paper type, arranging the manuscripts, placing the page numbers, etc, before submitting to the publisher for printing. All that was left to Ibara, who also worked on the other illustrations as well.

While we were consulted on matters concerning the design of the anthology, we were merely confirming Ibara's choices. Seeing how troublesome it looked for her to have to work on so many details, both Chitanda and I had offered to help her many times.

Yet Ibara had turned our offers down, saying she's used to doing such stuff, so it's no big deal to her, and how she can easily handle this amount of work. Besides, she said it would be quite bothersome to teach an amateur from scratch. Hearing her say that, Chitanda decided to relent on helping.

And so, the anthology "Hyouka" is finally complete. In fact, it was a job well done. Very well done, indeed.

Upon seeing the final product, Ibara went speechless.

When she brought them over to us the day before yesterday, we too became speechless.

...The pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda were the "Hyouka" anthologies. Rather than "pile," "stack" would be a more appropriate description. Even "mountain" would not sound far-fetched.

Before, we had only planned on making an order to print thirty copies of "Hyouka". Taking one for ourselves, as well as one each for our supervisor and one to keep for archiving, it would leave us with twenty-four left to sell, which was how many we expected to sell.

However, the number of copies somehow ended up being more than we expected.

About seven times more.

I learned that even for a thin anthology like this, two hundred copies of them stacked together was enough to form a "mountain."

To ask us to give our all selling all these is an extremely tall task. Upon hearing my grumble, Chitanda became lost for words as her smile went stiff.

"...Umm, while giving our all may not guarantee everything, I'm sure we'll still achieve something!"

The problem would be how much effort we should be giving then, but...

The door behind us opened; it was Satoshi. Lifting his right arm, he greeted us.

"Hi there, I see you're all worried about our excessive stock!"

Well, so are you.

While still at a loss for words to address the predicament we were in, Chitanda still bowed deeply like she had to me.

"G-good morning, Fukube-san... How is Mayaka-san?"

"Oh, she said she'll try and come, but she probably won't make it."

"I see...," she muttered regretfully. That was to be expected.

While Chitanda and I aren't affiliated with any other club save the Classics Club, Satoshi has his hands tied with the General Committee and Handicraft Club, while Ibara spends time as a librarian and with the Manga Studies Club. During the Cultural Festival, Satoshi would be busy patrolling the grounds as a member of the General Committee, while I hear Ibara is required to stay with the Manga Club for some time.

"Then, shall we begin?"

Satoshi and I nodded. Looking at us one by one, Chitanda slowly spoke.

"There's not much time until the Opening Ceremony starts... So does anyone have any ideas on how we could sell this many copies of 'Hyouka?'"

The price of "Hyouka" was set at 200 yen.

This was the price decided by Ibara and Chitanda after much calculation. We originally wanted to sell 30 copies at 400 yen each. As we were expecting to sell them all, the proceeds made along with our own club funding would be just enough to cover the printing costs.

But now we have 200 copies of "Hyouka". It's not exactly an extremely tragic mistake, and the printing of excessive copies also meant we actually paid far less for each volume as a result. If we were to sell all 200 volumes, then we could lower the price down to 120 yen per copy and still break even.

But it was impractical to expect all of them to be sold, so taking that into consideration, we settled for 200 yen apiece, though we would need to sell 120 copies in order to break even. Chitanda eventually decided on this price, though selling 120 copies still seems rather optimistic... Still, as I kept quiet, I wasn't planning on complaining afterwards anyway. Surely 200 yen is pretty cheap for an anthology sold at a Cultural Festival, after all.

By the way, even if we were to sell them all, we would not be able to profit from it anyway. As the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival expressly forbids clubs from profiteering. While I've heard of stories where　people would occasionally get away with pocketing 1000 yen for themselves, any amount more than that would end up in the national treasury, sorry, I mean the school treasury.

There are about a thousand students in Kamiyama High School, so in order to break even, we would need to sell to 12% of the student body. In order to sell all copies, we would need to target 20%. This was a pretty difficult task. To use TV ratings as an analogy, even a lay person would know how hard it is for a programme to achieve 20% ratings.

To begin with, our market is not limited to these thousand people. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival is free for all, so even regular townspeople would come. As the Cultural Festival takes place from Thursday to Saturday, most visitors would opt to visit on Saturday, the third day. But I have no way of guessing how much they would contribute to the sales.

Besides...

"The problem lies with the Classics Club's name recognition and its poor geographical location."

"Yes, I agree this is the biggest obstacle."

I felt the same way with both of their opinions.

I have already mentioned above about how disadvantageous the Geology Room's location was. For the Classics Club's name recognition, it's even worse. Nearly all of the students in Kami High wouldn't even know of the existence of the Classics Club. In fact, if I hadn't applied to join this year, the club would have been abolished altogether. Unlike the Tea Ceremony Club, which was known for its open air tea ceremonies, or the A Capella Club renowned for its abilities, who's gonna buy the anthology of a club they've not even heard of?

So there's the location and the name recognition. I spoke up.

"In other words, we will need to find a more conspicuous place to sell, as well as to advertise our club name."

"Well, obviously," Satoshi said teasingly, as though saying we would sell out if we could achieve both. Of course I know that, but it's because we can't achieve them that we're at a loss for what to do.

Meanwhile, Chitanda nodded in admiration.

"Find a new location to sell... And all this time I've been thinking of how to bring customers all the way here. Oreki-san, that's a really innovative idea."

"Erm, it's not exactly innovative..."

"But, will we be able to get permission to move to a new location right away?"

Who knows? That's Satoshi's department, as he's with the General Committee. But he shook his head.

"I'm not really sure. While it may be possible to just move to any space, it depends on whether the Classics Club could be granted such a privilege. So you're gonna have to ask the General Committee president, or even the Student Council president himself."

"Who's the General Committee president?"

"Tanabe-sempai from second year. The General Committee will be holding meetings in the Conference Room from time to time, so you could try dropping by to have a look."

"Why don't you do it?"

Satoshi bit his lip and nodded ambiguously.

"Well, I could do that... But I'm not really confident in conducting such negotiations. Chitanda-san, it might be better for you to start the conversation with them, and for me to assist you by the side."

I see, that could be a good way of doing it. Yet Chitanda looked somehow uneasy. While she might be a forceful lady, like Satoshi, she probably wouldn't be confident making such an unreasonable request either. Yet she could expect no help from me, for I too am bad at those kinds of things.

The situation at present was nothing to be joyful about. Yet Satoshi looked pretty jolly. Well, that's Fukube Satoshi for you, he might even be relishing such hardship. As though bouncing, he spoke.

"Rather than that, I'd prefer to do the advertising."

"Advertising, huh? So how're you gonna do that?"

"Well, that's a secret."

I have a bad feeling about this. I could not think of any secret plan of Satoshi's that could ever work.

"Huh? Do you have a good idea?"

This got Chitanda interested, to which Satoshi puffed his chest.

"There are many competitions and races held during this Cultural Festival, so I was thinking of joining them under the name of the Classics Club. By achieving a good result, we would increase the club's popularity!"

"T-that's a great idea!"

How's that a great idea anyway? I raised my eyebrows as Chitanda was clearly being fooled. Satoshi basically ''wanted'' to participate in all these competitions and races himself. To begin with, it'll still be Satoshi participating, it's just that the entry name will be that of the Classics Club instead.

But still, it's not a bad method, as we haven't got any other way of advertising our club. It was possible it could actually turn out quite well.

I looked at the clock and said, "So it's roughly decided then? Chitanda will go and request a new selling location, and Satoshi will do the advertising."

"Yes, so we had better make our way now. But what will you do, Oreki-san?"

Me?

Actually, I had a plan. A plan to contribute greatly to the selling of "Hyouka," as well as stay true to my creed.

I cleared my throat and said solemnly, "I will..."

"Yes?"

"Stay and watch the stall."

Chitanda blinked her eyes while Satoshi muttered as though realizing something.

"...In-indeed, or else there won't be anyone left behind."

"Yes, you're right. We would need someone to watch the stall."

Now how's that? No complaints at all.

"Well, now that things are decided, we should get going. We don't have much time," I said while looking at the clock on the wall.

There were only ten minutes left before the Opening Ceremony begins. Even the Cultural Festival and Sports Day were not exempted from attendance taking, but taking into consideration that students would be scattered in their clubrooms overseeing their exhibits, attendance would be taken during the morning assembly every day. In other words, we'll be counted as late if we don't get to the Opening Ceremony on time.

Nodding greatly, Chitanda cleared her throat. Taking a deep breath, she said in one go, "Then let us proceed with our allotted tasks. We should try to sell as many volumes as possible. Our target is to sell all 200 copies of 'Hyouka'! Let's give it our all!"

...Well, let's just say I wasn't even thinking of whether we could sell all 200 copies.

['''200 COPIES REMAINING''']

008 - ♥02

About a thousand students were packed within the dark gymnasium, which had its windows covered by curtains, and due to today being a rather hot October day, the gymnasium ended up being stuffy. Inside the gymnasium was a light that shines onto the stage, but even now that light was turned off, so it was pitch black inside. But it only lasted for a moment, for in the next moment a spotlight shone on a male student; it was the Student Council president. He was a rather tall and intrepid looking person who was said to speak eloquently as befitting of a Student Council president.

The president walked towards the mic and looked around the hall as he took a deep breath. He then declared loudly, omitting any prefix altogether, "I declare the 42nd Kanya Festival open!"

As the voice from deep within his abdomen flowed out, the thousand Kami High students instantly burst into an uproar. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival opening ceremony had begun.

According to the "Kanya Festival Guide" published by the General Committee, the Breakdancing Club will lead the opening ceremony with their performance. I'm ashamed to admit that I've not seen people perform breakdancing before. While I know it has something to do with dancing, I don't exactly know how dances can be broken. I wonder if it has something to do with the performers breaking something on the stage?

As red, yellow, blue and green lights shone on the stage, the bewildering performance had begun. I looked up wondering where the lights shone from, and saw people busy moving the lighting equipment around in the catwalk above the stage. It probably takes lots of practice to be able to move such lights so quickly in an orderly pattern. If I get the chance, I must inquire how they mastered this pattern.

Smoke was emitted from behind the stage as the rumble briefly quieted down. As the smoke dispersed, two people from each side came flying from left and right, and at the same time booming background music was played. It was a vibrating electronic sound. I wonder if the image it conveys was that of space? In tune with the music, four people began dancing.

So this is breakdancing? The dancers looked as though they were turning a key in a doorknob, and they swung their arms and kicked their legs as though swimming in breast stroke. Dancing in a variety of moves, they looked very active indeed. Would it be rude to call them non-human? As their inorganic dance moves looked really fascinating.

Oh! They jumped!

Oh! They spun!

Oh! They stood on their hands!

This time they begun spinning around while standing on their hands. But would they be fine with all the heat caused by the friction of their heads rubbing against the ground? Wouldn't their hair be scratched off from too much rubbing? I'm curious about it.

The dance then stepped up its tempo, becoming faster and faster; I could no longer tell how they moved their arms and legs. This is amazing. The music also went into full burst... Umm, this loud sound is starting to hurt my ears. I'm not that good with loud sounds.

Before long, as the cocktail of spotlights converged in the centre of the stage, the four dancers stopped in perfect stillness just as the music ended. The crowd gave a loud response; I too gave the Breakdancing Club my overwhelming approval.

The second song began playing, which was in the rhythm of some African-like folk music. It was quite different from the previous song. I was quite curious as to how they would dance to that tune. Besides, I would also be interested in watching the performance of the Rakugo Club afterwards... No, I mustn't be tempted.

Having come to my senses, I noticed quite a number of students trickling out of the hall. They're probably in charge of watching their stalls or preparing for their club events. Without disturbing the performance of the Breakdancing Club, I too quietly left the hall.

I hurried down the corridor, walking in longer strides than I normally do. I saw some students decorating their classroom door with gold and silver paper while there doesn't seem to be much time left. I wonder what club they're from? They looked so frantic that I feel like helping them. No, I mustn't! The Classics Club itself is in a grave situation.

As I pondered how to say my lines, I reached the Conference Room. According to the "Kanya Festival Guide," the General Committee seems to be based here.

The Conference Room is situated on the second floor of the General Block. As the Gymnasium is directly connected to the General Block, it wasn't a long walk at all. So before long, here I was before the Conference Room. It was like any other classroom, save that it had a sign pasted on its sliding door that read "General Committee Room." I knocked on the door.

"......"

Huh?

"Is anybody in?"

There was no response. I tried opening the door, but it was locked.

Yes, now that I think about it, as I had left midway through the Opening Ceremony, it was not strange that no one from the General Committee had yet returned. It seems like I came too early.

Somehow, I became a bit anxious as I didn't want to waste any time. In such a situation, I should do some deep breathing. So I inhaled deeply and breathed out slowly. One more time, breathe in, breathe out.

I looked around me, there didn't seem to be anyone from the General Committee coming this way.

On the notice board beside the door was a catchy Cultural Festival promotion poster. I've seen many other Cultural Festival posters within the school grounds and around the neighbourhood, but this was the first time I'd seen this one. It was drawn in a manga-like style which Mayaka-san might be familiar with. It showed two students, a boy and girl preparing for the Cultural Festival. The characters looked cute while the clothes they wore looked real, one could feel the amazing originality effusing from it.

If there was one complaint to make, it would be its title, "The 42nd Kanya Festival." Its official name ought to be the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, as "Kanya Festival" doesn't really evoke a good meaning. As for why, it's rather difficult to explain. On the corner of the poster were written the words "Student Council Executive Committee." Since it's a poster made by the Executive Committee, I feel they ought to avoid using the name "Kanya Festival."

I moved my eyes away from the poster and looked around me once more, but there still wasn't anyone coming. Oh dear, this doesn't look good. Should I just keep waiting here? But we haven't got much time.

No, in such times, I should calm myself down. I once again took a deep breath, breathe in, breathe out... Okay, one more time...

"...Can I help you?"

"Wah!"

As I had just inhaled a deep breath, I couldn't help but let out a yelp. As I was startled, I couldn't suppress such a strange sound. I tried to wave my arms to explain that I wasn't particularly doing anything suspicious.

I bowed my head to the person that called out to me and said, "Good morning. Are you President Tanabe of the General Committee?"

I've seen this person before in the Wall Newspaper Club's "Kami High Monthly," so he was definitely President Tanabe of the General Committee. Wearing small framed glasses on his oval face, his short and neatly cut hair gave the image of an earnest-looking person. Tanabe-san looked a bit taken aback before politely greeting me in return.

"Oh, good morning. Yes, I'm Tanabe... Can I help you?"

"Yes,"

I nodded and uttered the lines that I'd practiced many times beforehand.

"Please allocate a new stall for the Classics Club."

"...Huh?"

Tanabe-san's eyes went round. Oh no, I neglected my manners. Paying attention to my manners, I repeated my request.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the president of the Classics Club, Chitanda Eru of Class 1-A. We have come here with a request; we would like you to please allocate a new stall for the Classics Club."

Tanabe-san raised his eyebrows as his face looked really troubled. Uneasily, he spoke.

"I don't really understand what's going on but..."

He looked as though he was about to say something difficult.

"As we've already decided on how to run most of the stuff during the Kanya Festival, for you to suddenly come and request a new stall would be a bit difficult."

"...So you aren't able to do it?"

"I'm sorry."

I see. It may be troubling, but it can't be helped if it can't be done. I'm very sorry, Mayaka-san, Fukube-san, Oreki-san. Chitanda Eru was not able to accomplish her task.

''I see, thank you for your information.'' I had wanted to give my regards properly, but I ended up speaking those words softly instead. As I proceeded to leave and ponder what to do next, Tanabe-san called out to me.

"No, wait. That's just the normal procedures anyway. If you have some extenuating circumstance, then we could listen to what you have to say, but I can't promise whether we could grant you your request."

Circumstance.

...Now that I think about it, I've completely neglected to explain my situation. Oreki-san has constantly told me off for my bad habit of skipping straight to the main point without explaining myself properly. I never realized this before... but it seemed like it is indeed true. I must be careful next time.

Anyway, I should not put Tanabe-san's good will to waste. I turned around and stood before him.

I then began to explain my story.

In great detail.

We were supposed to make an order to print 30 copies, but ended up with 200 copies. To begin with, this was not Mayaka-san's fault, as I too had a look at the order sheet, and Mayaka-san also made sure to correctly place the order for 30 copies. However, at the same time, she also made another request to print 200 copies for her own anthology. As to why she would make such a request, I did not know. But the problem arose when it turned out that the publisher had mixed up the order for "Hyouka" and her own anthology. Mayaka-san blamed herself for not double-checking enough, but nobody could have foreseen such an error.

I told Tanabe-san the entire process as well. I wasn't able to keep the story brief, but all this time Tanabe-san simply stood and listened.

"That sure sounds tough."

After much thought, he said prudently, "200 copies huh? Not even the Manga Club could sell that much. I understand the desire to seek a new stall in order to sell more copies, and I would really like to help... But any other club could have faced such a situation, so it's just not possible for us to give the Classics Club a special dispensation, you know?"

Indeed, it would not be just the Classics Club that would encounter such a situation, I had known that fact beforehand but...

"So, it's not possible?"

Tanabe-san nodded softly... "I'm sorry."

But this time, after giving my regards and turning to leave, Tanabe-san uttered some advice from behind.

"But you know, if you were to entrust other clubs to sell your anthologies on your behalf at their stalls, that we don't really mind."

I- I see, I never knew such a method existed! How could I not have thought of this before? Indeed, if we were to place our anthologies at existing stalls, it would not be counted as the Classics Club receiving special treatment.

"That's a brilliant idea."

Without realizing, I became relieved.

"Thank you very much. I will consider it!"

I said and bowed deeply.

...Come to think of it, back at the Geology Room, Fukube-san had promised to accompany me to the General Committee and help me out in our request. I wonder whatever happened to him?

009 - ♣03

Hahahahahaha.

Oh, oh boy. This is too hilarious, I just can't withhold my laughter. My rationality tells me this joke is rather silly, but I still ended up laughing loudly. I think I could go on all day.

I knew the two fellows on stage, they were from the Rakugo Study Club. (Speaking of which, its name is merely an official front, as rather than the study of Rakugo, the Kamiyama High School Rakugo Study Club was more focused on Manzai<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzai]</ref> and stand-up comedy. I have no idea if there are any clubs that actually studied the art of Rakugo.

"Wow, it's sure been a long time since we've had a sushi dinner in a tatami room. We've spent quite some time there, we'd better get home quick, or we'll be late.

"'Kay."

"By the way, I don't mind giving you a ride, but when are you gonna to get off? Ever since I started driving, you've been giggling while looking at me all this time."

"You know, you've got quite a huge ''johnny''..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, look I'm really worried about you. We'd better get you home quick... What're you grinning at?"

"Heh heh, and then?"

"You know, you were sobbing and giggling while saying 'My leg's gone limp, you think I'm able to step on the brakes?' It'd be dangerous for you to drive, no?"

"I guess."

"Oh dear, I've stepped on the accelerator by mistake."

"''You're'' the one driving dangerously!"

Hahahahahaha.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

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| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]|-
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Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1

2012-09-27T01:41:32Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=52}}

== 2-1 Has Something Happened With the Classics Club? ==

005 - ♠02

Saying "I enjoyed this a lot" may sound easy, but is actually a pretty difficult task. Rather than the possibility of the difference in one's level of understanding, a more important factor would be the difference in one's level of interest. When watching a magic performance, a dense person would not even understand even a hundredth of what was going on. On the other hand, if one had the ability to see through a magician's trick, then no matter how much entertainment he may see, while he may try to enjoy to his heart's content, there's no way he could have enjoyed it sufficiently.

It was morning, and I was walking to school earlier than usual, as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival starts today. Seeing Fukube Satoshi constantly repeating "Ohh, I'm so looking forward to enjoying this," I felt compelled to mischievously tell him the above, to which Satoshi responded with a frightful smile and slowly shook his head.

"An excellent idea, was what I wanted to say, but you're too naive, Houtarou,"

"Oh? How so?"

"For a person like you who was raised on nothing but boorishness to even think of lecturing me on my enjoyment, you're too naive," he said as he raised his index finger and swung it left and right as though acting.

"Of course I already knew that it was useless to try to enjoy myself deep down, within the marrow of my bones. The most important aspect of Epicureanism is to be able to separate one's senses. It's just as important as the day when you finally give up your energy-saving ways and actually work hard on a test."

"Like hell that day would arrive. Anyway, what's this about separation of your senses? What does that have to do with you being able to say you'll enjoy yourself?"

"All right, then let me enlighten you. First, I wouldn't think of saying something like "I'm gonna enjoy a lot," as I'm a fairly easy to please person. You know what I'm good at resigning myself to? Just from the point of view of Houtarou the Boorish."

''Do you know?'' Satoshi gestured as he finished his sentence. Fleeting a glimpse at him, as I had no intention of bursting his bubble, I said nothing. Sensing I had no intention to answer, he lowered his voice as though informing me of a secret and said, "Even if I'm not good at enjoying myself......"

"......"

He gave a broad smile.

"I could still look forward to people giving me their enjoyment!"

Oh boy.

Ignoring my cold expression, Satoshi continued with his talk of how he's still "gonna enjoy this." I could do nothing but keep quiet and smile bitterly.

Fukube Satoshi. I have been hanging out with this fellow since junior high.

From his appearance, Satoshi was a person with brown eyes and a slim figure that might be mistaken as that of a girl when seen from afar. And while he may seem like a weakling, he has developed some amazing leg muscles due to his penchant for cycling.

Though his real features lie with his mental state. You may have caught a glimpse of that from our conversation just now; he can be pretty forceful in abandoning his studies and social life casually. Already a member of the Handicraft Club and the General Committee, he decided to join the Classics Club as well simply because "it sounded interesting."

He is never seen without his drawstring bag in his hand, though I have no idea of its contents. All I can say is that it contains all sorts of stuff.

In the road ahead, we could see Kamiyama High School appearing. The outer walls weren't painted pink due to the Cultural Festival, and seen from afar, it looked no different from any other regular high school. However, within its grounds were flourishing all sorts of activities concerning the Cultural Festival. In order to prepare for the festival, classes were suspended since yesterday.

The body of students heading towards school looked different today. While there were many in their uniforms, there were also many from other clubs in their casual wear. And there were many who did not carry any bag with them, as there was no need to bring any scholastic equipment. Due to such discrepancies, even I could feel the expectation that something different from usual was about to start.

Though Kamiyama High School is a school geared towards students entering university, it didn't have that many supplementary classes, neither did it have a particularly high record of students entering famous universities. If you were to ask the students of Kamiyama High School what its specialty was, only one in ten would have said it specializes in university entrance exams. The other nine would answer "It's a school known for its vibrant Arts-related club activities." There are many kinds of arts-related clubs in Kami High, and its activities too are various. And the highlight of these activities would of course be the Cultural Festival, which was rare amongst high schools for its number of days, with one day for preparation and three whole days for the main event.

Satoshi suddenly raised his voice cheerfully.

"And besides... Why, Houtarou, isn't that Mayaka?"

He pointed to a girl in front of us. She was dressed in casual wear comprising of a red cardigan and white brocade trousers, but I couldn't tell whether she was Ibara Mayaka from behind. Though I've known her since elementary school, I've rarely seen her in casual wear since junior high. But if Satoshi says it's her, then it has to be.

For many times Ibara had confessed her love to Satoshi, yet while Satoshi was not one to fall into self-loathing, he had chosen to evade her advances time and time again. I couldn't figure out why he's done so even if I wanted to.

"I'll be going on ahead."

He turned and said that before running off towards that girl ahead of us.

006 - ♣02

As I moved forward, I was certain that it was indeed Mayaka. Though seeking Houtarou out in a crowd was like trying to look for a needle in a haystack, there was no way I could miss Mayaka. I ran up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Mayaka. Morning!"

Knowing her, she would have stared at me and said "Hey! That hurts!" Which was why I only tapped her softly. Though it seemed Mayaka didn't seem to be in that mood today, as she became stiff and turned her head slowly.

"...Morning."

She muttered only that and turned back forward. ''Ahh, I see.'' I exclaimed to myself and smiled (which was what I'm good at; I've long forgotten how to make a serious face), and I answered Mayaka's anxiety.

"Your costume suits you."

"R-really?"

"So, who are you cospla..."

I could not finish my sentence, as I could feel a jab into my stomach. Great aim. Due to that hit, my abdominal muscles quickly lost their strength, so its effect was immediate.

Mayaka murmured with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes, "Don't use that term in front of normal people."

Well, I don't think "costume play" would be considered taboo nowadays. Though I do get that Mayaka's feeling pretty embarrassed about it, so I wouldn't say anything. By the way, I already knew that she was planning to cosplay today. Mayaka's Manga Studies Club had asked for permission from the General Committee to turn up in casual clothing. As there were not enough changing rooms at school, the General Committee granted that permission.

Mayaka wore off-white brocade trousers and a scarlet cardigan. It was a pragmatic costume that was able to withstand the cool autumn winds of early October. Some accessories were attached to her cardigan, and inside she wore a white collared shirt, and a thick looking belt was wrapped around her abdomen. The main point would probably be this belt.

I looked at her costume from top to bottom. Hmm, I just don't have a clue. Guess I'll ask her again.

"So, what costume is this?"

Like a rat trying not to alert the cat, I carefully chose the right words so that Mayaka may accept my question. She quickly looked forward and said in a detached manner,

"Frol,"

"Frol? Frolbericheri Frol<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Were_Eleven</ref>? You're wearing her costume?"

"Yeah... I also brought this handbag."

I wouldn't get what she was referring to even if she said so. Well, that's what Mayaka wanted to wear after all. When she learned that her club required her to come in cosplay, being the shy person that she is, she would definitely choose a character that was hard to recognize.

Ibara Mayaka. As I was a guy, she was way shorter than me, but then as a girl she was way shorter than others. If she wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform, she would no doubt be mistaken as an elementary schoolkid. And right now, Mayaka wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform. And it's not just her figure that's small, just observing from the features of her face alone, one could say Mayaka was baby-faced.

Yet it was hard to figure out Mayaka's vigorous sense of justice from her childish expression emanating from her childish face. For example, when she's angry, she would simply bite her lips. Naturally, nothing can replace the smile that she was born with. (On the other hand, from my years of hanging out with him, Houtarou sure has bad eyes for not being able to notice that.)

I'd better stop looking into someone cosplaying a character she didn't feel like cosplaying, so I began spinning my drawstring bag and said, "Well, anyway, good luck with your role. I'll pop in at the Manga Studies Club later."

Mayaka showed some shyness as she nodded softly.

"You have to contribute articles for the Manga Club as well, right?"

"Yeah."

"I read it... Must be tough, to hold similar positions in both the Classics Club and Manga Club."

"It is tough. Since nobody else was willing to contribute."

I was originally planning to congratulate her for her hard work, but all of a sudden her gaze suddenly became sharp. Oops, looks like the conversation is headed in the wrong direction. For the Classics Club manuscript to arrive so late, no matter how one looks at it, I couldn't offer any excuse. So I decided to change the topic.

"Ah... so, Mayaka, you'll be with the Manga Studies Club all day then?"

Though she didn't look pleased that the topic was changed, she nodded.

"Will you be stopping by the Classics Club?"

"Nah, it's probably impossible for me to leave the Manga Club in the morning. And besides, it's not worth it for me to just stop by... I really ought to have followed things through."

I deepened my smile and patted Mayaka on the back.

"Try not to think too much about it! It can't be helped once you wake up from it!"

Mayaka gave an ambiguous smile and nodded at my words. No, this doesn't look right. Such a grey-looking smile wouldn't be what makes Mayaka look great.

Even though Mayaka said she's fine with it, there are occasions when Houtarou expresses doubt at my evasion of her advances. Well, Houtarou was never one to flatter people. I could tell him the reason, but I wasn't sure if he would understand even a tenth of it. To begin with, this is a problem between me and Mayaka alone, so it doesn't matter whether Houtarou understands it or not.

Before we realized, we had arrived at the school gates. I turned to have a look at the gates, which had huge, colourful flowers hanging over them. This was the hard work of the General Committee, made to welcome visitors to the Cultural Festival. A banner hung from the outside of one of the windows of the school building, which read "The 42nd Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival."

And so it begins.

I wonder if I'm making a face that's trying to enjoy all this. As I was in a trance looking at the school grounds, Mayaka suddenly jabbed her elbow at me.

"Fuku-chan... Try not to do anything silly during the Cultural Festival, okay? While you may not find it embarrassing, it'd be embarrassing enough for me."

Heh, guess I'm not trusted at all, eh?

But that doesn't mean I won't do anything!

007 - ♠03

There's this hard object resting in my pocket, and for some time it's been bothering me.

It was the fountain pen, or to be more precise, the trash known as the unusable fountain pen. The ink had long run out, and I was entrusted by my sis to take care of it. Last night, as I didn't want to just toss it on the floor, I brought it to my room, intending to throw it away there. But it seemed I ended up bringing it along with my handkerchief. While it's pretty much useless now, who knows what role it would play as time goes on.

I toyed with the pen by flipping its cap on and off, making a clicking sound as I walked up the stairs. My destination was the Classics Club room on the fourth floor.

Seen from above, Kamiyama High School appears as an H-shape. On one side was the General Block with its regular classrooms, while on the other side would be the Special Block with its arts and science related classrooms. They are joined in the middle by a connecting corridor. When seen from further above, one would see the corridor from the General Block extending towards the Gymnasium.

The Geology Lecture Room, which is used by the Classics Club as their club room, is located in the Special Block. And it's all the way in the corner at the end of the corridor. If Kamiyama High School was the whole world, then this would be its periphery. Normally, we'd curse about how far the club room was while also feeling grateful for how serene it was. Yet with the Cultural Festival upon us, we had to consider another factor, the fact that being located in such a remote corner of the school means we're doubtful of getting any visitors.

In every floor, you would see posters, mascots and advertising boards in all different shades of colour, though that's only up to the third floor. In the fourth floor, all you get is a barren landscape. You won't even see any ads for shopping malls or chain stores. To begin with, there aren't many clubs based up here anyway.

Still, we've put up a few posters in some hard to miss spots promoting the Classics Club, but even that was not enough to enliven the mood of this god-forsaken place. Personally, I prefer this sort of tranquility, but it's troublesome for the Classics Club as an organization, particularly for its president, who sees it as something quite worrying.

I slid open the door of the Geology Room. The girl sitting in the centre of this dreary room stood up upon seeing me enter.

"Good morning, Oreki-san," she said and bowed deeply, her long black hair flowing as she did. This was Chitanda, president of the Classics Club. I reckoned she was probably the first to arrive.

Chitanda Eru is a girl with jet black hair extending all the way to her back as well as pupils of the same colour. Gentle in her demeanor, she was rather tall and well-proportioned for a girl. Her calm way of speaking gives one the impression that she's an elegant lady with a prestigious upbringing. In fact, she is the only daughter of the Chitanda clan, known for being the owners of large tracts of farmland.

However, if you ask me, this elegant Japanese lady image is not Chitanda's true nature.

Amongst her mature features, only her large eyes betray her true character. Possessing a sense of curiosity which has exploded many times before and will continue to explode in the future, this was Chitanda Eru. Ever since I entered school, I and the Classics Club have been involved in many bothersome events thanks to her curiosity. My life motto has always been "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick." But so far I have been unable to adhere to it, and it's all her fault.

Chitanda lifted her head and made a soft smile. Though she wears her heart on her sleeve, she would rarely express her feelings in an exaggerated way. Rather, she does it in moderation.

"The day has finally arrived."

"So it seems."

"Let's give it our all!"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

Looking at the pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda, I groaned.

"...You say give it our all, but do you have any idea how we're gonna get this sorted?"

We're talking about none other than the Classics Club essay anthology, "Hyouka." A rather queer name for a title; as for why it had such a queer name, that's a long story. Each volume was bound nicely in a vinyl coating which went through adhesive surface treatment, on its dark brown cover was an illustration of a dog and rabbit biting each other. This cover design was derived from the first ever volume of "Hyouka," which was made in a water-paint style, though this year Ibara decided to draw it in a cute style. Objectively speaking, it didn't look bad at all.

The people working on this anthology included me and Chitanda, and while Satoshi did contribute, he only participated in writing his part of the manuscript. Of course, even after the manuscript was completed, the anthology wouldn't be finished right away. There would still be work involving confirming the number of pages, choosing the right font and paper type, arranging the manuscripts, placing the page numbers, etc, before submitting to the publisher for printing. All that was left to Ibara, who also worked on the other illustrations as well.

While we were consulted on matters concerning the design of the anthology, we were merely confirming Ibara's choices. Seeing how troublesome it looked for her to have to work on so many details, both Chitanda and I had offered to help her many times.

Yet Ibara had turned our offers down, saying she's used to doing such stuff, so it's no big deal to her, and how she can easily handle this amount of work. Besides, she said it would be quite bothersome to teach an amateur from scratch. Hearing her say that, Chitanda decided to relent on helping.

And so, the anthology "Hyouka" is finally complete. In fact, it was a job well done. Very well done, indeed.

Upon seeing the final product, Ibara went speechless.

When she brought them over to us the day before yesterday, we too became speechless.

...The pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda were the "Hyouka" anthologies. Rather than "pile," "stack" would be a more appropriate description. Even "mountain" would not sound far-fetched.

Before, we had only planned on making an order to print thirty copies of "Hyouka". Taking one for ourselves, as well as one each for our supervisor and one to keep for archiving, it would leave us with twenty-four left to sell, which was how many we expected to sell.

However, the number of copies somehow ended up being more than we expected.

About seven times more.

I learned that even for a thin anthology like this, two hundred copies of them stacked together was enough to form a "mountain."

To ask us to give our all selling all these is an extremely tall task. Upon hearing my grumble, Chitanda became lost for words as her smile went stiff.

"...Umm, while giving our all may not guarantee everything, I'm sure we'll still achieve something!"

The problem would be how much effort we should be giving then, but...

The door behind us opened; it was Satoshi. Lifting his right arm, he greeted us.

"Hi there, I see you're all worried about our excessive stock!"

Well, so are you.

While still at a loss for words to address the predicament we were in, Chitanda still bowed deeply like she had to me.

"G-good morning, Fukube-san... How is Mayaka-san?"

"Oh, she said she'll try and come, but she probably won't make it."

"I see...," she muttered regretfully. That was to be expected.

While Chitanda and I aren't affiliated with any other club save the Classics Club, Satoshi has his hands tied with the General Committee and Handicraft Club, while Ibara spends time as a librarian and with the Manga Studies Club. During the Cultural Festival, Satoshi would be busy patrolling the grounds as a member of the General Committee, while I hear Ibara is required to stay with the Manga Club for some time.

"Then, shall we begin?"

Satoshi and I nodded. Looking at us one by one, Chitanda slowly spoke.

"There's not much time until the Opening Ceremony starts... So does anyone have any ideas on how we could sell this many copies of 'Hyouka?'"

The price of "Hyouka" was set at 200 yen.

This was the price decided by Ibara and Chitanda after much calculation. We originally wanted to sell 30 copies at 400 yen each. As we were expecting to sell them all, the proceeds made along with our own club funding would be just enough to cover the printing costs.

But now we have 200 copies of "Hyouka". It's not exactly an extremely tragic mistake, and the printing of excessive copies also meant we actually paid far less for each volume as a result. If we were to sell all 200 volumes, then we could lower the price down to 120 yen per copy and still break even.

But it was impractical to expect all of them to be sold, so taking that into consideration, we settled for 200 yen apiece, though we would need to sell 120 copies in order to break even. Chitanda eventually decided on this price, though selling 120 copies still seems rather optimistic... Still, as I kept quiet, I wasn't planning on complaining afterwards anyway. Surely 200 yen is pretty cheap for an anthology sold at a Cultural Festival, after all.

By the way, even if we were to sell them all, we would not be able to profit from it anyway. As the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival expressly forbids clubs from profiteering. While I've heard of stories where　people would occasionally get away with pocketing 1000 yen for themselves, any amount more than that would end up in the national treasury, sorry, I mean the school treasury.

There are about a thousand students in Kamiyama High School, so in order to break even, we would need to sell to 12% of the student body. In order to sell all copies, we would need to target 20%. This was a pretty difficult task. To use TV ratings as an analogy, even a lay person would know how hard it is for a programme to achieve 20% ratings.

To begin with, our market is not limited to these thousand people. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival is free for all, so even regular townspeople would come. As the Cultural Festival takes place from Thursday to Saturday, most visitors would opt to visit on Saturday, the third day. But I have no way of guessing how much they would contribute to the sales.

Besides...

"The problem lies with the Classics Club's name recognition and its poor geographical location."

"Yes, I agree this is the biggest obstacle."

I felt the same way with both of their opinions.

I have already mentioned above about how disadvantageous the Geology Room's location was. For the Classics Club's name recognition, it's even worse. Nearly all of the students in Kami High wouldn't even know of the existence of the Classics Club. In fact, if I hadn't applied to join this year, the club would have been abolished altogether. Unlike the Tea Ceremony Club, which was known for its open air tea ceremonies, or the A Capella Club renowned for its abilities, who's gonna buy the anthology of a club they've not even heard of?

So there's the location and the name recognition. I spoke up.

"In other words, we will need to find a more conspicuous place to sell, as well as to advertise our club name."

"Well, obviously," Satoshi said teasingly, as though saying we would sell out if we could achieve both. Of course I know that, but it's because we can't achieve them that we're at a loss for what to do.

Meanwhile, Chitanda nodded in admiration.

"Find a new location to sell... And all this time I've been thinking of how to bring customers all the way here. Oreki-san, that's a really innovative idea."

"Erm, it's not exactly innovative..."

"But, will we be able to get permission to move to a new location right away?"

Who knows? That's Satoshi's department, as he's with the General Committee. But he shook his head.

"I'm not really sure. While it may be possible to just move to any space, it depends on whether the Classics Club could be granted such a privilege. So you're gonna have to ask the General Committee president, or even the Student Council president himself."

"Who's the General Committee president?"

"Tanabe-sempai from second year. The General Committee will be holding meetings in the Conference Room from time to time, so you could try dropping by to have a look."

"Why don't you do it?"

Satoshi bit his lip and nodded ambiguously.

"Well, I could do that... But I'm not really confident in conducting such negotiations. Chitanda-san, it might be better for you to start the conversation with them, and for me to assist you by the side."

I see, that could be a good way of doing it. Yet Chitanda looked somehow uneasy. While she might be a forceful lady, like Satoshi, she probably wouldn't be confident making such an unreasonable request either. Yet she could expect no help from me, for I too am bad at those kinds of things.

The situation at present was nothing to be joyful about. Yet Satoshi looked pretty jolly. Well, that's Fukube Satoshi for you, he might even be relishing such hardship. As though bouncing, he spoke.

"Rather than that, I'd prefer to do the advertising."

"Advertising, huh? So how're you gonna do that?"

"Well, that's a secret."

I have a bad feeling about this. I could not think of any secret plan of Satoshi's that could ever work.

"Huh? Do you have a good idea?"

This got Chitanda interested, to which Satoshi puffed his chest.

"There are many competitions and races held during this Cultural Festival, so I was thinking of joining them under the name of the Classics Club. By achieving a good result, we would increase the club's popularity!"

"T-that's a great idea!"

How's that a great idea anyway? I raised my eyebrows as Chitanda was clearly being fooled. Satoshi basically ''wanted'' to participate in all these competitions and races himself. To begin with, it'll still be Satoshi participating, it's just that the entry name will be that of the Classics Club instead.

But still, it's not a bad method, as we haven't got any other way of advertising our club. It was possible it could actually turn out quite well.

I looked at the clock and said, "So it's roughly decided then? Chitanda will go and request a new selling location, and Satoshi will do the advertising."

"Yes, so we had better make our way now. But what will you do, Oreki-san?"

Me?

Actually, I had a plan. A plan to contribute greatly to the selling of "Hyouka," as well as stay true to my creed.

I cleared my throat and said solemnly, "I will..."

"Yes?"

"Stay and watch the stall."

Chitanda blinked her eyes while Satoshi muttered as though realizing something.

"...In-indeed, or else there won't be anyone left behind."

"Yes, you're right. We would need someone to watch the stall."

Now how's that? No complaints at all.

"Well, now that things are decided, we should get going. We don't have much time," I said while looking at the clock on the wall.

There were only ten minutes left before the Opening Ceremony begins. Even the Cultural Festival and Sports Day were not exempted from attendance taking, but taking into consideration that students would be scattered in their clubrooms overseeing their exhibits, attendance would be taken during the morning assembly every day. In other words, we'll be counted as late if we don't get to the Opening Ceremony on time.

Nodding greatly, Chitanda cleared her throat. Taking a deep breath, she said in one go, "Then let us proceed with our allotted tasks. We should try to sell as many volumes as possible. Our target is to sell all 200 copies of 'Hyouka'! Let's give it our all!"

...Well, let's just say I wasn't even thinking of whether we could sell all 200 copies.

['''200 COPIES REMAINING''']

008 - ♥02

About a thousand students were packed within the dark gymnasium, which had its windows covered by curtains, and due to today being a rather hot October day, the gymnasium ended up being stuffy. Inside the gymnasium was a light that shines onto the stage, but even now that light was turned off, so it was pitch black inside. But it only lasted for a moment, for in the next moment a spotlight shone on a male student; it was the Student Council president. He was a rather tall and intrepid looking person who was said to speak eloquently as befitting of a Student Council president.

The president walked towards the mic and looked around the hall as he took a deep breath. He then declared loudly, omitting any prefix altogether, "I declare the 42nd Kanya Festival open!"

As the voice from deep within his abdomen flowed out, the thousand Kami High students instantly burst into an uproar. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival opening ceremony had begun.

According to the "Kanya Festival Guide" published by the General Committee, the Breakdancing Club will lead the opening ceremony with their performance. I'm ashamed to admit that I've not seen people perform breakdancing before. While I know it has something to do with dancing, I don't exactly know how dances can be broken. I wonder if it has something to do with the performers breaking something on the stage?

As red, yellow, blue and green lights shone on the stage, the bewildering performance had begun. I looked up wondering where the lights shone from, and saw people busy moving the lighting equipment around in the catwalk above the stage. It probably takes lots of practice to be able to move such lights so quickly in an orderly pattern. If I get the chance, I must inquire how they mastered this pattern.

Smoke was emitted from behind the stage as the rumble briefly quieted down. As the smoke dispersed, two people from each side came flying from left and right, and at the same time booming background music was played. It was a vibrating electronic sound. I wonder if the image it conveys was that of space? In tune with the music, four people began dancing.

So this is breakdancing? The dancers looked as though they were turning a key in a doorknob, and they swung their arms and kicked their legs as though swimming in breast stroke. Dancing in a variety of moves, they looked very active indeed. Would it be rude to call them non-human? As their inorganic dance moves looked really fascinating.

Oh! They jumped!

Oh! They spun!

Oh! They stood on their hands!

This time they begun spinning around while standing on their hands. But would they be fine with all the heat caused by the friction of their heads rubbing against the ground? Wouldn't their hair be scratched off from too much rubbing? I'm curious about it.

The dance then stepped up its tempo, becoming faster and faster; I could no longer tell how they moved their arms and legs. This is amazing. The music also went into full burst... Umm, this loud sound is starting to hurt my ears. I'm not that good with loud sounds.

Before long, as the cocktail of spotlights converged in the centre of the stage, the four dancers stopped in perfect stillness just as the music ended. The crowd gave a loud response; I too gave the Breakdancing Club my overwhelming approval.

The second song began playing, which was in the rhythm of some African-like folk music. It was quite different from the previous song. I was quite curious as to how they would dance to that tune. Besides, I would also be interested in watching the performance of the Rakugo Club afterwards... No, I mustn't be tempted.

Having come to my senses, I noticed quite a number of students trickling out of the hall. They're probably in charge of watching their stalls or preparing for their club events. Without disturbing the performance of the Breakdancing Club, I too quietly left the hall.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

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| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 7 In The Rika Room

2012-09-27T01:34:01Z

Dan.: /* On the sign */

==On the sign==
''"There was a door where she stopped, and it had a nameplate on it that had the words "Rika Prep Room" crossed out, and "Sect Σ" written above them. "Please ignore that little bit." Rika said in a shy tone of voice after noticing my gaze."''

Sorry if I'm wrong, but isn't the Japanese pronunciation of Sigma, "Shiguma?" In other words, Rika's surname?

I'm not sure what you wanted to ask, but yes, I believe that wordplay was intended. Which is what Rika was referring to. [[User:Florza|Florza]] ([[User talk:Florza|talk]]) 21:34, 24 September 2012 (CDT)
:I added a note to the text pointing this out. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] ([[User talk:Dan.|talk]]) 20:34, 26 September 2012 (CDT)

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1

2012-09-22T04:42:22Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=43}}

== 2-1 Has Something Happened With the Classics Club? ==

005 - ♥02

Saying "I enjoyed this a lot" may sound easy, but is actually a pretty difficult task. Rather than the possibility of the difference in one's level of understanding, a more important factor would be the difference in one's level of interest. When watching a magic performance, a dense person would not even understand even a hundredth of what was going on. On the other hand, if one had the ability to see through a magician's trick, then no matter how much entertainment he may see, while he may try to enjoy to his heart's content, there's no way he could have enjoyed it sufficiently.

It was morning, and I was walking to school earlier than usual, as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival starts today. Seeing Fukube Satoshi constantly repeating "Ohh, I'm so looking forward to enjoying this," I felt compelled to mischievously tell him the above, to which Satoshi responded with a frightful smile and slowly shook his head.

"An excellent idea, was what I wanted to say, but you're too naive, Houtarou,"

"Oh? How so?"

"For a person like you who was raised on nothing but boorishness to even think of lecturing me on my enjoyment, you're too naive," he said as he raised his index finger and swung it left and right as though acting.

"Of course I already knew that it was useless to try to enjoy myself deep down, within the marrow of my bones. The most important aspect of Epicureanism is to be able to separate one's senses. It's just as important as the day when you finally give up your energy-saving ways and actually work hard on a test."

"Like hell that day would arrive. Anyway, what's this about separation of your senses? What does that have to do with you being able to say you'll enjoy yourself?"

"All right, then let me enlighten you. First, I wouldn't think of saying something like "I'm gonna enjoy a lot," as I'm a fairly easy to please person. You know what I'm good at resigning myself to? Just from the point of view of Houtarou the Boorish."

''Do you know?'' Satoshi gestured as he finished his sentence. Fleeting a glimpse at him, as I had no intention of bursting his bubble, I said nothing. Sensing I had no intention to answer, he lowered his voice as though informing me of a secret and said, "Even if I'm not good at enjoying myself......"

"......"

He gave a broad smile.

"I could still look forward to people giving me their enjoyment!"

Oh boy.

Ignoring my cold expression, Satoshi continued with his talk of how he's still "gonna enjoy this." I could do nothing but keep quiet and smile bitterly.

Fukube Satoshi. I have been hanging out with this fellow since junior high.

From his appearance, Satoshi was a person with brown eyes and a slim figure that might be mistaken as that of a girl when seen from afar. And while he may seem like a weakling, he has developed some amazing leg muscles due to his penchant for cycling.

Though his real features lie with his mental state. You may have caught a glimpse of that from our conversation just now; he can be pretty forceful in abandoning his studies and social life casually. Already a member of the Handicraft Club and the General Committee, he decided to join the Classics Club as well simply because "it sounded interesting."

He is never seen without his drawstring bag in his hand, though I have no idea of its contents. All I can say is that it contains all sorts of stuff.

In the road ahead, we could see Kamiyama High School appearing. The outer walls weren't painted pink due to the Cultural Festival, and seen from afar, it looked no different from any other regular high school. However, within its grounds were flourishing all sorts of activities concerning the Cultural Festival. In order to prepare for the festival, classes were suspended since yesterday.

The body of students heading towards school looked different today. While there were many in their uniforms, there were also many from other clubs in their casual wear. And there were many who did not carry any bag with them, as there was no need to bring any scholastic equipment. Due to such discrepancies, even I could feel the expectation that something different from usual was about to start.

Though Kamiyama High School is a school geared towards students entering university, it didn't have that many supplementary classes, neither did it have a particularly high record of students entering famous universities. If you were to ask the students of Kamiyama High School what its specialty was, only one in ten would have said it specializes in university entrance exams. The other nine would answer "It's a school known for its vibrant Arts-related club activities." There are many kinds of arts-related clubs in Kami High, and its activities too are various. And the highlight of these activities would of course be the Cultural Festival, which was rare amongst high schools for its number of days, with one day for preparation and three whole days for the main event.

Satoshi suddenly raised his voice cheerfully.

"And besides... Why, Houtarou, isn't that Mayaka?"

He pointed to a girl in front of us. She was dressed in casual wear comprising of a red cardigan and white brocade trousers, but I couldn't tell whether she was Ibara Mayaka from behind. Though I've known her since elementary school, I've rarely seen her in casual wear since junior high. But if Satoshi says it's her, then it has to be.

For many times Ibara had confessed her love to Satoshi, yet while Satoshi was not one to fall into self-loathing, he had chosen to evade her advances time and time again. I couldn't figure out why he's done so even if I wanted to.

"I'll be going on ahead."

He turned and said that before running off towards that girl ahead of us.

006 - ♣02

As I moved forward, I was certain that it was indeed Mayaka. Though seeking Houtarou out in a crowd was like trying to look for a needle in a haystack, there was no way I could miss Mayaka. I ran up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Mayaka. Morning!"

Knowing her, she would have stared at me and said "Hey! That hurts!" Which was why I only tapped her softly. Though it seemed Mayaka didn't seem to be in that mood today, as she became stiff and turned her head slowly.

"...Morning."

She muttered only that and turned back forward. ''Ahh, I see.'' I exclaimed to myself and smiled (which was what I'm good at; I've long forgotten how to make a serious face), and I answered Mayaka's anxiety.

"Your costume suits you."

"R-really?"

"So, who are you cospla..."

I could not finish my sentence, as I could feel a jab into my stomach. Great aim. Due to that hit, my abdominal muscles quickly lost their strength, so its effect was immediate.

Mayaka murmured with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes, "Don't use that term in front of normal people."

Well, I don't think "costume play" would be considered taboo nowadays. Though I do get that Mayaka's feeling pretty embarrassed about it, so I wouldn't say anything. By the way, I already knew that she was planning to cosplay today. Mayaka's Manga Studies Club had asked for permission from the General Committee to turn up in casual clothing. As there were not enough changing rooms at school, the General Committee granted that permission.

Mayaka wore off-white brocade trousers and a scarlet cardigan. It was a pragmatic costume that was able to withstand the cool autumn winds of early October. Some accessories were attached to her cardigan, and inside she wore a white collared shirt, and a thick looking belt was wrapped around her abdomen. The main point would probably be this belt.

I looked at her costume from top to bottom. Hmm, I just don't have a clue. Guess I'll ask her again.

"So, what costume is this?"

Like a rat trying not to alert the cat, I carefully chose the right words so that Mayaka may accept my question. She quickly looked forward and said in a detached manner,

"Frol,"

"Frol? Frolbericheri Frol<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Were_Eleven</ref>? You're wearing her costume?"

"Yeah... I also brought this handbag."

I wouldn't get what she was referring to even if she said so. Well, that's what Mayaka wanted to wear after all. When she learned that her club required her to come in cosplay, being the shy person that she is, she would definitely choose a character that was hard to recognize.

Ibara Mayaka. As I was a guy, she was way shorter than me, but then as a girl she was way shorter than others. If she wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform, she would no doubt be mistaken as an elementary schoolkid. And right now, Mayaka wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform. And it's not just her figure that's small, just observing from the features of her face alone, one could say Mayaka was baby-faced.

Yet it was hard to figure out Mayaka's vigorous sense of justice from her childish expression emanating from her childish face. For example, when she's angry, she would simply bite her lips. Naturally, nothing can replace the smile that she was born with. (On the other hand, from my years of hanging out with him, Houtarou sure has bad eyes for not being able to notice that.)

I'd better stop looking into someone cosplaying a character she didn't feel like cosplaying, so I began spinning my drawstring bag and said, "Well, anyway, good luck with your role. I'll pop in at the Manga Studies Club later."

Mayaka showed some shyness as she nodded softly.

"You have to contribute articles for the Manga Club as well, right?"

"Yeah."

"I read it... Must be tough, to hold similar positions in both the Classics Club and Manga Club."

"It is tough. Since nobody else was willing to contribute."

I was originally planning to congratulate her for her hard work, but all of a sudden her gaze suddenly became sharp. Oops, looks like the conversation is headed in the wrong direction. For the Classics Club manuscript to arrive so late, no matter how one looks at it, I couldn't offer any excuse. So I decided to change the topic.

"Ah... so, Mayaka, you'll be with the Manga Studies Club all day then?"

Though she didn't look pleased that the topic was changed, she nodded.

"Will you be stopping by the Classics Club?"

"Nah, it's probably impossible for me to leave the Manga Club in the morning. And besides, it's not worth it for me to just stop by... I really ought to have followed things through."

I deepened my smile and patted Mayaka on the back.

"Try not to think too much about it! It can't be helped once you wake up from it!"

Mayaka gave an ambiguous smile and nodded at my words. No, this doesn't look right. Such a grey-looking smile wouldn't be what makes Mayaka look great.

Even though Mayaka said she's fine with it, there are occasions when Houtarou expresses doubt at my evasion of her advances. Well, Houtarou was never one to flatter people. I could tell him the reason, but I wasn't sure if he would understand even a tenth of it. To begin with, this is a problem between me and Mayaka alone, so it doesn't matter whether Houtarou understands it or not.

Before we realized, we had arrived at the school gates. I turned to have a look at the gates, which had huge, colourful flowers hanging over them. This was the hard work of the General Committee, made to welcome visitors to the Cultural Festival. A banner hung from the outside of one of the windows of the school building, which read "The 42nd Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival."

And so it begins.

I wonder if I'm making a face that's trying to enjoy all this. As I was in a trance looking at the school grounds, Mayaka suddenly jabbed her elbow at me.

"Fuku-chan... Try not to do anything silly during the Cultural Festival, okay? While you may not find it embarrassing, it'd be embarrassing enough for me."

Heh, guess I'm not trusted at all, eh?

But that doesn't mean I won't do anything!

007 - ♥03

There's this hard object resting in my pocket, and for some time it's been bothering me.

It was the fountain pen, or to be more precise, the trash known as the unusable fountain pen. The ink had long run out, and I was entrusted by my sis to take care of it. Last night, as I didn't want to just toss it on the floor, I brought it to my room, intending to throw it away there. But it seemed I ended up bringing it along with my handkerchief. While it's pretty much useless now, who knows what role it would play as time goes on.

I toyed with the pen by flipping its cap on and off, making a clicking sound as I walked up the stairs. My destination was the Classics Club room on the fourth floor.

Seen from above, Kamiyama High School appears as an H-shape. On one side was the General Block with its regular classrooms, while on the other side would be the Special Block with its arts and science related classrooms. They are joined in the middle by a connecting corridor. When seen from further above, one would see the corridor from the General Block extending towards the Gymnasium.

The Geology Lecture Room, which is used by the Classics Club as their club room, is located in the Special Block. And it's all the way in the corner at the end of the corridor. If Kamiyama High School was the whole world, then this would be its periphery. Normally, we'd curse about how far the club room was while also feeling grateful for how serene it was. Yet with the Cultural Festival upon us, we had to consider another factor, the fact that being located in such a remote corner of the school means we're doubtful of getting any visitors.

In every floor, you would see posters, mascots and advertising boards in all different shades of colour, though that's only up to the third floor. In the fourth floor, all you get is a barren landscape. You won't even see any ads for shopping malls or chain stores. To begin with, there aren't many clubs based up here anyway.

Still, we've put up a few posters in some hard to miss spots promoting the Classics Club, but even that was not enough to enliven the mood of this god-forsaken place. Personally, I prefer this sort of tranquility, but it's troublesome for the Classics Club as an organization, particularly for its president, who sees it as something quite worrying.

I slid open the door of the Geology Room. The girl sitting in the centre of this dreary room stood up upon seeing me enter.

"Good morning, Oreki-san," she said and bowed deeply, her long black hair flowing as she did. This was Chitanda, president of the Classics Club. I reckoned she was probably the first to arrive.

Chitanda Eru is a girl with jet black hair extending all the way to her back as well as pupils of the same colour. Gentle in her demeanor, she was rather tall and well-proportioned for a girl. Her calm way of speaking gives one the impression that she's an elegant lady with a prestigious upbringing. In fact, she is the only daughter of the Chitanda clan, known for being the owners of large tracts of farmland.

However, if you ask me, this elegant Japanese lady image is not Chitanda's true nature.

Amongst her mature features, only her large eyes betray her true character. Possessing a sense of curiosity which has exploded many times before and will continue to explode in the future, this was Chitanda Eru. Ever since I entered school, I and the Classics Club have been involved in many bothersome events thanks to her curiosity. My life motto has always been "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick." But so far I have been unable to adhere to it, and it's all her fault.

Chitanda lifted her head and made a soft smile. Though she wears her heart on her sleeve, she would rarely express her feelings in an exaggerated way. Rather, she does it in moderation.

"The day has finally arrived."

"So it seems."

"Let's give it our all!"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

Looking at the pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda, I groaned.

"...You say give it our all, but do you have any idea how we're gonna get this sorted?"

We're talking about none other than the Classics Club essay anthology, "Hyouka." A rather queer name for a title; as for why it had such a queer name, that's a long story. Each volume was bound nicely in a vinyl coating which went through adhesive surface treatment, on its dark brown cover was an illustration of a dog and rabbit biting each other. This cover design was derived from the first ever volume of "Hyouka," which was made in a water-paint style, though this year Ibara decided to draw it in a cute style. Objectively speaking, it didn't look bad at all.

The people working on this anthology included me and Chitanda, and while Satoshi did contribute, he only participated in writing his part of the manuscript. Of course, even after the manuscript was completed, the anthology wouldn't be finished right away. There would still be work involving confirming the of number of pages, choosing the right font and paper type, arranging the manuscripts, placing the page numbers, etc, before submitting to the publisher for printing. All that was left to Ibara, who also worked on the other illustrations as well.

While we were consulted on matters concerning the design of the anthology, we were merely confirming Ibara's choices. Seeing how troublesome it looked for her to have to work on so many details, both Chitanda and I had offered to help her many times.

Yet Ibara had turned our offers down, saying she's used to doing such stuff, so it's no big deal to her, and how she can easily handle this amount of work. Besides, she said it would be quite bothersome to teach an amateur from scratch. Hearing her say that, Chitanda decided to relent on helping.

And so, the anthology "Hyouka" is finally complete. In fact, it was a job well done. Very well done, indeed.

Upon seeing the final product, Ibara went speechless.

When she brought them over to us the day before yesterday, we too became speechless.

...The pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda were the "Hyouka" anthologies. Rather than "pile," "stack" would be a more appropriate description. Even "mountain" would not sound far-fetched.

Before, we had only planned on making an order to print thirty copies of "Hyouka". Taking one for ourselves, as well as one each for our supervisor and one to keep for archiving, it would leave us with twenty-four left to sell, which was how many we expected to sell.

However, the number of copies somehow ended up being more than we expected.

About seven times more.

I learned that even for a thin anthology like this, two hundred copies of them stacked together was enough to form a "mountain."

To ask us to give our all selling all these is an extremely tall task. Upon hearing my grumble, Chitanda became lost for words as her smile went stiff.

"...Umm, while giving our all may not guarantee everything, I'm sure we'll still achieve something!"

The problem would be how much effort we should be giving then, but...

The door behind us opened; it was Satoshi. Lifting his right arm, he greeted us.

"Hi there, I see you're all worried about our excessive stock!"

Well, so are you.

While still at a loss for words to address the predicament we were in, Chitanda still bowed deeply like she had to me.

"G-good morning, Fukube-san... How is Mayaka-san?"

"Oh, she said she'll try and come, but she probably won't make it."

"I see...," she muttered regretfully. That was to be expected.

While Chitanda and I aren't affiliated with any other club save the Classics Club, Satoshi has his hands tied with the General Committee and Handicraft Club, while Ibara spends time as a librarian and with the Manga Studies Club. During the Cultural Festival, Satoshi would be busy patrolling the grounds as a member of the General Committee, while I hear Ibara is required to stay with the Manga Club for some time.

"Then, shall we begin?"

Satoshi and I nodded. Looking at us one by one, Chitanda slowly spoke.

"There's not much time until the Opening Ceremony starts... So does anyone have any ideas on how we could sell this many copies of 'Hyouka?'"

The price of "Hyouka" was set at 200 yen.

This was the price decided by Ibara and Chitanda after much calculation. We originally wanted to sell 30 copies at 400 yen each. As we were expecting to sell them all, the proceeds made along with our own club funding would be just enough to cover the printing costs.

But now we have 200 copies of "Hyouka". It's not exactly an extremely tragic mistake, and the printing of excessive copies also meant we actually paid far less for each volume as a result. If we were to sell all 200 volumes, then we could lower the price down to 120 yen per copy and still break even.

But it was impractical to expect all of them to be sold, so taking that into consideration, we settled for 200 yen apiece, though we would need to sell 120 copies in order to break even. Chitanda eventually decided on this price, though selling 120 copies still seems rather optimistic... Still, as I kept quiet, I wasn't planning on complaining afterwards anyway. Surely 200 yen is pretty cheap for an anthology sold at a Cultural Festival, after all.

By the way, even if we were to sell them all, we would not be able to profit from it anyway. As the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival expressly forbids clubs from profiteering. While I've heard of stories where　people would occasionally get away with pocketing 1000 yen for themselves, any amount more than that would end up in the national treasury, sorry, I mean the school treasury.

There are about a thousand students in Kamiyama High School, so in order to break even, we would need to sell to 12% of the student body. In order to sell all copies, we would need to target 20%. This was a pretty difficult task. To use TV ratings as an analogy, even a lay person would know how hard it is for a programme to achieve 20% ratings.

To begin with, our market is not limited to these thousand people. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival is free for all, so even regular townspeople would come. As the Cultural Festival takes place from Thursday to Saturday, most visitors would opt to visit on Saturday, the third day. But I have no way of guessing how much they would contribute to the sales.

Besides...

"The problem lies with the Classics Club's name recognition and its poor geographical location."

"Yes, I agree this is the biggest obstacle."

I felt the same way with both of their opinions.

I have already mentioned above about how disadvantageous the Geology Room's location was. For the Classics Club's name recognition, it's even worse. Nearly all of the students in Kami High wouldn't even know of the existence of the Classics Club. In fact, if I hadn't applied to join this year, the club would have been abolished altogether. Unlike the Tea Ceremony Club, which was known for its open air tea ceremonies, or the A Capella Club renowned for its abilities, who's gonna buy the anthology of a club they've not even heard of?

So there's the location and the name recognition. I spoke up.

"In other words, we will need to find a more conspicuous place to sell, as well as to advertise our club name."

"Well, obviously," Satoshi said teasingly, as though saying we would sell out if we could achieve both. Of course I know that, but it's because we can't achieve them that we're at a loss for what to do.

Meanwhile, Chitanda nodded in admiration.

"Find a new location to sell... And all this time I've been thinking of how to bring customers all the way here. Oreki-san, that's a really innovative idea."

"Erm, it's not exactly innovative..."

"But, will we be able to get permission to move to a new location right away?"

Who knows? That's Satoshi's department, as he's with the General Committee. But he shook his head.

"I'm not really sure. While it may be possible to just move to any space, it depends on whether the Classics Club could be granted such a privilege. So you're gonna have to ask the General Committee president, or even the Student Council president himself."

"Who's the General Committee president?"

"Tanabe-sempai from second year. The General Committee will be holding meetings in the Conference Room from time to time, so you could try dropping by to have a look."

"Why don't you do it?"

Satoshi bit his lip and nodded ambiguously.

"Well, I could do that... But I'm not really confident in conducting such negotiations. Chitanda-san, it might be better for you to start the conversation with them, and for me to assist you by the side."

I see, that could be a good way of doing it. Yet Chitanda looked somehow uneasy. While she might be a forceful lady, like Satoshi, she probably wouldn't be confident making such an unreasonable request either. Yet she could expect no help from me, for I too am bad at those kinds of things.

The situation at present was nothing to be joyful about. Yet Satoshi looked pretty jolly. Well, that's Fukube Satoshi for you, he might even be relishing such hardship. As though bouncing, he spoke.

"Rather than that, I'd prefer to do the advertising."

"Advertising, huh? So how're you gonna do that?"

"Well, that's a secret."

I have a bad feeling about this. I could not think of any secret plan of Satoshi's that could ever work.

"Huh? Do you have a good idea?"

This got Chitanda interested, to which Satoshi puffed his chest.

"There are many competitions and races held during this Cultural Festival, so I was thinking of joining them under the name of the Classics Club. By achieving a good result, we would increase the club's popularity!"

"T-that's a great idea!"

How's that a great idea anyway? I raised my eyebrows as Chitanda was clearly being fooled. Satoshi basically ''wanted'' to participate in all these competitions and races himself. To begin with, it'll still be Satoshi participating, it's just that the entry name will be that of the Classics Club instead.

But still, it's not a bad method, as we haven't got any other way of advertising our club. It was possible it could actually turn out quite well.

I looked at the clock and said, "So it's roughly decided then? Chitanda will go and request a new selling location, and Satoshi will do the advertising."

"Yes, so we had better make our way now. But what will you do, Oreki-san?"

Me?

Actually, I had a plan. A plan to contribute greatly to the selling of "Hyouka," as well as stay true to my creed.

I cleared my throat and said solemnly, "I will..."

"Yes?"

"Stay and watch the stall."

Chitanda blinked her eyes while Satoshi muttered as though realizing something.

"...In-indeed, or else there won't be anyone left behind."

"Yes, you're right. We would need someone to watch the stall."

Now how's that? No complaints at all.

"Well, now that things are decided, we should get going. We don't have much time," I said while looking at the clock on the wall.

There were only ten minutes left before the Opening Ceremony begins. Even the Cultural Festival and Sports Day were not exempted from attendance taking, but taking into consideration that students would be scattered in their clubrooms overseeing their exhibits, attendance would be taken during the morning assembly every day. In other words, we'll be counted as late if we don't get to the Opening Ceremony on time.

Nodding greatly, Chitanda cleared her throat. Taking a deep breath, she said in one go, "Then let us proceed with our allotted tasks. We should try to sell as many volumes as possible. Our target is to sell all 200 copies of 'Hyouka'! Let's give it our all!"

...Well, let's just say I wasn't even thinking of whether we could sell all 200 copies.

['''200 COPIES REMAINING''']

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1

2012-09-21T17:46:11Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=33}}

== 2-1 Has Something Happened With the Classics Club? ==

005 - ♥02

Saying "I enjoyed this a lot" may sound easy, but is actually a pretty difficult task. Rather than the possibility of the difference in one's level of understanding, a more important factor would be the difference in one's level of interest. When watching a magic performance, a dense person would not even understand even a hundredth of what was going on. On the other hand, if one had the ability to see through a magician's trick, then no matter how much entertainment he may see, while he may try to enjoy to his heart's content, there's no way he could have enjoyed it sufficiently.

It was morning, and I was walking to school earlier than usual, as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival starts today. Seeing Fukube Satoshi constantly repeating "Ohh, I'm so looking forward to enjoying this," I felt compelled to mischievously tell him the above, to which Satoshi responded with a frightful smile and slowly shook his head.

"An excellent idea, was what I wanted to say, but you're too naive, Houtarou,"

"Oh? How so?"

"For a person like you who was raised on nothing but boorishness to even think of lecturing me on my enjoyment, you're too naive," he said as he raised his index finger and swung it left and right as though acting.

"Of course I already knew that it was useless to try to enjoy myself deep down, within the marrow of my bones. The most important aspect of Epicureanism is to be able to separate one's senses. It's just as important as the day when you finally give up your energy-saving ways and actually work hard on a test."

"Like hell that day would arrive. Anyway, what's this about separation of your senses? What does that have to do with you being able to say you'll enjoy yourself?"

"All right, then let me enlighten you. First, I wouldn't think of saying something like "I'm gonna enjoy a lot," as I'm a fairly easy to please person. You know what I'm good at resigning myself to? Just from the point of view of Houtarou the Boorish."

''Do you know?'' Satoshi gestured as he finished his sentence. Fleeting a glimpse at him, as I had no intention of bursting his bubble, I said nothing. Sensing I had no intention to answer, he lowered his voice as though informing me of a secret and said, "Even if I'm not good at enjoying myself......"

"......"

He gave a broad smile.

"I could still look forward to people giving me their enjoyment!"

Oh boy.

Ignoring my cold expression, Satoshi continued with his talk of how he's still "gonna enjoy this." I could do nothing but keep quiet and smile bitterly.

Fukube Satoshi. I have been hanging out with this fellow since junior high.

From his appearance, Satoshi was a person with brown eyes and a slim figure that might be mistaken as that of a girl when seen from afar. And while he may seem like a weakling, he has developed some amazing leg muscles due to his penchant for cycling.

Though his real features lie with his mental state. You may have caught a glimpse of that from our conversation just now; he can be pretty forceful in abandoning his studies and social life casually. Already a member of the Handicraft Club and the General Committee, he decided to join the Classics Club as well simply because "it sounded interesting."

He is never seen without his drawstring bag in his hand, though I have no idea of its contents. All I can say is that it contains all sorts of stuff.

In the road ahead, we could see Kamiyama High School appearing. The outer walls weren't painted pink due to the Cultural Festival, and seen from afar, it looked no different from any other regular high school. However, within its grounds were flourishing all sorts of activities concerning the Cultural Festival. In order to prepare for the festival, classes were suspended since yesterday.

The body of students heading towards school looked different today. While there were many in their uniforms, there were also many from other clubs in their casual wear. And there were many who did not carry any bag with them, as there was no need to bring any scholastic equipment. Due to such discrepancies, even I could feel the expectation that something different from usual was about to start.

Though Kamiyama High School is a school geared towards students entering university, it didn't have that many supplementary classes, neither did it have a particularly high record of students entering famous universities. If you were to ask the students of Kamiyama High School what its specialty was, only one in ten would have said it specializes in university entrance exams. The other nine would answer "It's a school known for its vibrant Arts-related club activities." There are many kinds of arts-related clubs in Kami High, and its activities too are various. And the highlight of these activities would of course be the Cultural Festival, which was rare amongst high schools for its number of days, with one day for preparation and three whole days for the main event.

Satoshi suddenly raised his voice cheerfully.

"And besides... Why, Houtarou, isn't that Mayaka?"

He pointed to a girl in front of us. She was dressed in casual wear comprising of a red cardigan and white brocade trousers, but I couldn't tell whether she was Ibara Mayaka from behind. Though I've known her since elementary school, I've rarely seen her in casual wear since junior high. But if Satoshi says it's her, then it has to be.

For many times Ibara had confessed her love to Satoshi, yet while Satoshi was not one to fall into self-loathing, he had chosen to evade her advances time and time again. I couldn't figure out why he's done so even if I wanted to.

"I'll be going on ahead."

He turned and said that before running off towards that girl ahead of us.

006 - ♣02

As I moved forward, I was certain that it was indeed Mayaka. Though seeking Houtarou out in a crowd was like trying to look for a needle in a haystack, there was no way I could miss Mayaka. I ran up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Mayaka. Morning!"

Knowing her, she would have stared at me and said "Hey! That hurts!" Which was why I only tapped her softly. Though it seemed Mayaka didn't seem to be in that mood today, as she became stiff and turned her head slowly.

"...Morning."

She muttered only that and turned back forward. ''Ahh, I see.'' I exclaimed to myself and smiled (which was what I'm good at; I've long forgotten how to make a serious face), and I answered Mayaka's anxiety.

"Your costume suits you."

"R-really?"

"So, who are you cospla..."

I could not finish my sentence, as I could feel a jab into my stomach. Great aim. Due to that hit, my abdominal muscles quickly lost their strength, so its effect was immediate.

Mayaka murmured with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes, "Don't use that term in front of normal people."

Well, I don't think "costume play" would be considered taboo nowadays. Though I do get that Mayaka's feeling pretty embarrassed about it, so I wouldn't say anything. By the way, I already knew that she was planning to cosplay today. Mayaka's Manga Studies Club had asked for permission from the General Committee to turn up in casual clothing. As there were not enough changing rooms at school, the General Committee granted that permission.

Mayaka wore off-white brocade trousers and a scarlet cardigan. It was a pragmatic costume that was able to withstand the cool autumn winds of early October. Some accessories were attached to her cardigan, and inside she wore a white collared shirt, and a thick looking belt was wrapped around her abdomen. The main point would probably be this belt.

I looked at her costume from top to bottom. Hmm, I just don't have a clue. Guess I'll ask her again.

"So, what costume is this?"

Like a rat trying not to alert the cat, I carefully chose the right words so that Mayaka may accept my question. She quickly looked forward and said in a detached manner,

"Frol,"

"Frol? Frolbericheri Frol<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Were_Eleven</ref>? You're wearing her costume?"

"Yeah... I also brought this handbag."

I wouldn't get what she was referring to even if she said so. Well, that's what Mayaka wanted to wear after all. When she learned that her club required her to come in cosplay, being the shy person that she is, she would definitely choose a character that was hard to recognize.

Ibara Mayaka. As I was a guy, she was way shorter than me, but then as a girl she was way shorter than others. If she wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform, she would no doubt be mistaken as an elementary schoolkid. And right now, Mayaka wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform. And it's not just her figure that's small, just observing from the features of her face alone, one could say Mayaka was baby-faced.

Yet it was hard to figure out Mayaka's vigorous sense of justice from her childish expression emanating from her childish face. For example, when she's angry, she would simply bite her lips. Naturally, nothing can replace the smile that she was born with. (On the other hand, from my years of hanging out with him, Houtarou sure has bad eyes for not being able to notice that.)

I'd better stop looking into someone cosplaying a character she didn't feel like cosplaying, so I began spinning my drawstring bag and said, "Well, anyway, good luck with your role. I'll pop in at the Manga Studies Club later."

Mayaka showed some shyness as she nodded softly.

"You have to contribute articles for the Manga Club as well, right?"

"Yeah."

"I read it... Must be tough, to hold similar positions in both the Classics Club and Manga Club."

"It is tough. Since nobody else was willing to contribute."

I was originally planning to congratulate her for her hard work, but all of a sudden her gaze suddenly became sharp. Oops, looks like the conversation is headed in the wrong direction. For the Classics Club manuscript to arrive so late, no matter how one looks at it, I couldn't offer any excuse. So I decided to change the topic.

"Ah... so, Mayaka, you'll be with the Manga Studies Club all day then?"

Though she didn't look pleased that the topic was changed, she nodded.

"Will you be stopping by the Classics Club?"

"Nah, it's probably impossible for me to leave the Manga Club in the morning. And besides, it's not worth it for me to just stop by... I really ought to have followed things through."

I deepened my smile and patted Mayaka on the back.

"Try not to think too much about it! It can't be helped once you wake up from it!"

Mayaka gave an ambiguous smile and nodded at my words. No, this doesn't look right. Such a grey-looking smile wouldn't be what makes Mayaka look great.

Even though Mayaka said she's fine with it, there are occasions when Houtarou expresses doubt at my evasion of her advances. Well, Houtarou was never one to flatter people. I could tell him the reason, but I wasn't sure if he would understand even a tenth of it. To begin with, this is a problem between me and Mayaka alone, so it doesn't matter whether Houtarou understands it or not.

Before we realized, we had arrived at the school gates. I turned to have a look at the gates, which had huge, colourful flowers hanging over them. This was the hard work of the General Committee, made to welcome visitors to the Cultural Festival. A banner hung from the outside of one of the windows of the school building, which read "The 42nd Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival."

And so it begins.

I wonder if I'm making a face that's trying to enjoy all this. As I was in a trance looking at the school grounds, Mayaka suddenly jabbed her elbow at me.

"Fuku-chan... Try not to do anything silly during the Cultural Festival, okay? While you may not find it embarrassing, it'd be embarrassing enough for me."

Heh, guess I'm not trusted at all, eh?

But that doesn't mean I won't do anything!

007 - ♥03

There's this hard object resting in my pocket, and for some time it's been bothering me.

It was the fountain pen, or to be more precise, the trash known as the unusable fountain pen. The ink had long run out, and I was entrusted by my sis to take care of it. Last night, as I didn't want to just toss it on the floor, I brought it to my room, intending to throw it away there. But it seemed I ended up bringing it along with my handkerchief. While it's pretty much useless now, who knows what role it would play as time goes on.

I toyed with the pen by flipping its cap on and off, making a clicking sound as I walked up the stairs. My destination was the Classics Club room on the fourth floor.

Seen from above, Kamiyama High School appears as an H-shape. On one side was the General Block with its regular classrooms, while on the other side would be the Special Block with its arts and science related classrooms. They are joined in the middle by a connecting corridor. When seen from further above, one would see the corridor from the General Block extending towards the Gymnasium.

The Geology Lecture Room, which is used by the Classics Club as their club room, is located in the Special Block. And it's all the way in the corner at the end of the corridor. If Kamiyama High School was the whole world, then this would be its periphery. Normally, we'd curse about how far the club room was while also feeling grateful for how serene it was. Yet with the Cultural Festival upon us, we had to consider another factor, the fact that being located in such a remote corner of the school means we're doubtful of getting any visitors.

In every floor, you would see posters, mascots and advertising boards in all different shades of colour, though that's only up to the third floor. In the fourth floor, all you get is a barren landscape. You won't even see any ads for shopping malls or chain stores. To begin with, there aren't many clubs based up here anyway.

Still, we've put up a few posters in some hard to miss spots promoting the Classics Club, but even that was not enough to enliven the mood of this god-forsaken place. Personally, I prefer this sort of tranquility, but it's troublesome for the Classics Club as an organization, particularly for its president, who sees it as something quite worrying.

I slid open the door of the Geology Room. The girl sitting in the centre of this dreary room stood up upon seeing me enter.

"Good morning, Oreki-san," she said and bowed deeply, her long black hair flowing as she did. This was Chitanda, president of the Classics Club. I reckoned she was probably the first to arrive.

Chitanda Eru is a girl with jet black hair extending all the way to her back as well as pupils of the same colour. Gentle in her demeanor, she was rather tall and well-proportioned for a girl. Her calm way of speaking gives one the impression that she's an elegant lady with a prestigious upbringing. In fact, she is the only daughter of the Chitanda clan, known for being the owners of large tracts of farmland.

However, if you ask me, this elegant Japanese lady image is not Chitanda's true nature.

Amongst her mature features, only her large eyes betray her true character. Possessing a sense of curiosity which has exploded many times before and will continue to explode in the future, this was Chitanda Eru. Ever since I entered school, I and the Classics Club have been involved in many bothersome events thanks to her curiosity. My life motto has always been "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick." But so far I have been unable to adhere to it, and it's all her fault.

Chitanda lifted her head and made a soft smile. Though she wears her heart on her sleeve, she would rarely express her feelings in an exaggerated way. Rather, she does it in moderation.

"The day has finally arrived."

"So it seems."

"Let's give it our all!"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

Looking at the pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda, I groaned.

"...You say give it our all, but do you have any idea how we're gonna get this sorted?"

We're talking about none other than the Classics Club essay anthology, "Hyouka." A rather queer name for a title; as for why it had such a queer name, that's a long story. Each volume was bound nicely in a vinyl coating which went through adhesive surface treatment, on its dark brown cover was an illustration of a dog and rabbit biting each other. This cover design was derived from the first ever volume of "Hyouka," which was made in a water-paint style, though this year Ibara decided to draw it in a cute style. Objectively speaking, it didn't look bad at all.

The people working on this anthology included me and Chitanda, and while Satoshi did contribute, he only participated in writing his part of the manuscript. Of course, even after the manuscript was completed, the anthology wouldn't be finished right away. There would still be work involving confirming the of number of pages, choosing the right font and paper type, arranging the manuscripts, placing the page numbers, etc, before submitting to the publisher for printing. All that was left to Ibara, who also worked on the other illustrations as well.

While we were consulted on matters concerning the design of the anthology, we were merely confirming Ibara's choices. Seeing how troublesome it looked for her to have to work on so many details, both Chitanda and I had offered to help her many times.

Yet Ibara had turned our offers down, saying she's used to doing such stuff, so it's no big deal to her, and how she can easily handle this amount of work. Besides, she said it would be quite bothersome to teach an amateur from scratch. Hearing her say that, Chitanda decided to relent on helping.

And so, the anthology "Hyouka" is finally complete. In fact, it was a job well done. Very well done, indeed.

Upon seeing the final product, Ibara went speechless.

When she brought them over to us the day before yesterday, we too became speechless.

...The pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda were the "Hyouka" anthologies. Rather than "pile," "stack" would be a more appropriate description. Even "mountain" would not sound far-fetched.

Before, we had only planned on making an order to print thirty copies of "Hyouka". Taking one for ourselves, as well as one each for our supervisor and one to keep for archiving, it would leave us with twenty-four left to sell, which was how many we expected to sell.

However, the number of copies somehow ended up being more than we expected.

About seven times more.

I learned that even for a thin anthology like this, two hundred copies of them stacked together was enough to form a "mountain."

To ask us to give our all selling all these is an extremely tall task. Upon hearing my grumble, Chitanda became lost for words as her smile went stiff.

"...Umm, while giving our all may not guarantee everything, I'm sure we'll still achieve something!"

The problem would be how much effort we should be giving then, but...

The door behind us opened; it was Satoshi. Lifting his right arm, he greeted us.

"Hi there, I see you're all worried about our excessive stock!"

Well, so are you.

While still at a loss for words to address the predicament we were in, Chitanda still bowed deeply like she had to me.

"G-good morning, Fukube-san... How is Mayaka-san?"

"Oh, she said she'll try and come, but she probably won't make it."

"I see...," she muttered regretfully. That was to be expected.

While Chitanda and I aren't affiliated with any other club save the Classics Club, Satoshi has his hands tied with the General Committee and Handicraft Club, while Ibara spends time as a librarian and with the Manga Studies Club. During the Cultural Festival, Satoshi would be busy patrolling the grounds as a member of the General Committee, while I hear Ibara is required to stay with the Manga Club for some time.

"Then, shall we begin?"

Satoshi and I nodded. Looking at us one by one, Chitanda slowly spoke.

"There's not much time until the Opening Ceremony starts... So does anyone have any ideas on how we could sell this many copies of 'Hyouka?'"

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1

2012-09-19T17:07:20Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=33}}

== 2-1 Has Something Happened With the Classics Club? ==

005 - ♥02

Saying "I enjoyed this a lot" may sound easy, but is actually a pretty difficult task. Rather than the possibility of the difference in one's level of understanding, a more important factor would be the difference in one's level of interest. When watching a magic performance, a dense person would not even understand even a hundredth of what was going on. On the other hand, if one had the ability to see through a magician's trick, then no matter how much entertainment he may see, while he may try to enjoy to his heart's content, there's no way he could have enjoyed it sufficiently.

It was morning, and I was walking to school earlier than usual, as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival starts today. Seeing Fukube Satoshi constantly repeating "Ohh, I'm so looking forward to enjoying this," I felt compelled to mischievously tell him the above, to which Satoshi responded with a frightful smile and slowly shook his head.

"An excellent idea, was what I wanted to say, but you're too naive, Houtarou,"

"Oh? How so?"

"For a person like you who was raised on nothing but boorishness to even think of lecturing me on my enjoying, you're too naive," he said as he raised his index finger and swung it left and right as though acting.

"Of course I already knew that it was useless to try to enjoy myself deep within the marrow of my bones. The most important aspect of Epicureanism is to be able to separate one's senses. It's just as important as the day when you finally give up your energy-saving ways and actually work hard on a test."

"Like hell that day would arrive. Anyway, what's this about separation of your senses? What does that have to do with you being able to say you'll enjoy yourself?"

"All right, then let me enlighten you. First, I wouldn't think of saying something like "I'm gonna enjoy a lot," as I'm a fairly easy to please person. You know what I'm good at resigning myself to? Just from the point of view of Houtarou the Boorish."

''Do you know?'' Satoshi gestured as he finished his sentence. Fleeting a glimpse at him, as I had no intention of bursting his bubble, I said nothing. Sensing I had no intention to answer, he lowered his voice as though informing me of a secret and said, "Even if I'm not good at enjoying myself......"

"......"

He gave a broad smile.

"I could still look forward to people giving me their enjoyment!"

Oh boy.

Ignoring my cold expression, Satoshi continued with his talk of how he's still "gonna enjoy this." I could do nothing but keep quiet and smile bitterly.

Fukube Satoshi. I have been hanging out with this fellow since junior high.

From his appearance, Satoshi was a person with brown eyes and a slim figure that might be mistaken as that of a girl when seen from afar. And while he may seem like a weakling, he has developed some amazing leg muscles due to his penchant for cycling.

Though his real features lie with his mental state. You may have caught a glimpse of that from our conversation just now; he can be pretty forceful in abandoning his studies and social life casually. Already a member of the Handicraft Club and the General Committee, he decided to join the Classics Club as well simply because "it sounded interesting."

He is never seen without his drawstring bag in his hand, though I have no idea of its contents. All I can say is that it contains all sorts of stuff.

In the road ahead, we could see Kamiyama High School appearing. The outer walls weren't painted pink due to the Cultural Festival, and seen from afar, it looked no different from any other regular high school. However, within its grounds were flourishing all sorts of activities concerning the Cultural Festival. In order to prepare for the festival, classes were suspended since yesterday.

The body of students heading towards school looked different today. While there were many in their uniforms, there were also many from other clubs in their casual wear. And there were many who did not carry any bag with them, as there was no need to bring any scholastic equipment. Due to such discrepancies, even I could feel the expectation that something different from usual was about to start.

Though Kamiyama High School is a school geared towards students entering university, it didn't have that many supplementary classes, neither did it have a particularly high record of students entering famous universities. If you were to ask the students of Kamiyama High School what its specialty was, only one in ten would have said it specializes in university entrance exams. The other nine would answer "It's a school known for its vibrant Arts-related club activities." There are many kinds of arts-related clubs in Kami High, and its activities too are various. And the highlight of these activities would of course be the Cultural Festival, which was rare amongst high schools for its number of days, with one day for preparation and three whole days for the main event.

Satoshi suddenly raised his voice cheerfully.

"And besides... Why, Houtarou, isn't that Mayaka?"

He pointed to a girl in front of us. She was dressed in casual wear comprising of a red cardigan and white brocade trousers, but I couldn't tell whether she was Ibara Mayaka from behind. Though I've known her since elementary school, I've rarely seen her in casual wear since junior high. But if Satoshi says it's her, then it has to be.

For many times Ibara had confessed her love to Satoshi, yet while Satoshi was not one to fall into self-loathing, he had chosen to evade her advances time and time again. I couldn't figure out why he's done so even if I wanted to.

"I'll be going on ahead."

He turned and said that before running off towards that girl ahead of us.

006 - ♣02

As I moved forward, I was certain that it was indeed Mayaka. Though seeking Houtarou out in a crowd was like trying to see a needle in a haystack, there was no way I could miss Mayaka. I ran up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Mayaka. Morning!"

Knowing her, she would have stared at me and said "Hey! That hurts!" Which was why I only tapped her softly. Though it seemed Mayaka didn't seem to be in that mood today, as she became stiff and turned her head slowly.

"...Morning."

She muttered only that and turned back forward. ''Ahh, I see.'' I exclaimed to myself and smiled (which was what I'm good at; I've long forgotten how to make a serious face), and I answered Mayaka's anxiety.

"Your costume suits you."

"R-really?"

"So, who are you cospla..."

I could not finish my sentence, as I could feel a jab into my stomach. Great aim. Due to that hit, my abdominal muscles quickly lost their strength, so its effect was immediate.

Mayaka murmured with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes, "Don't use that term in front of normal people."

Well, I don't think "costume play" would be considered taboo nowadays. Though I do get that Mayaka's feeling pretty embarrassed about it, so I wouldn't say anything. By the way, I already knew that she was planning to cosplay today. Mayaka's Manga Studies Club had asked for permission from the General Committee to turn up in casual clothing. As there were not enough changing rooms at school, the General Committee granted that permission.

Mayaka wore off-white brocade trousers and a scarlet cardigan. It was a pragmatic costume that was able to withstand the cool autumn winds of early October. Some accessories were attached to her cardigan, and inside she wore a white collared shirt, and a thick looking belt was wrapped around her abdomen. The main point would probably be this belt.

I looked at her costume from top to bottom. Hmm, I just don't have a clue. Guess I'll ask her again.

"So, what costume is this?"

Like a rat trying not to alert the cat, I carefully chose the right words so that Mayaka may accept my question. She quickly looked forward and said in a detached manner,

"Frol,"

"Frol? Frolbericheri Frol<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Were_Eleven</ref>? You're wearing her costume?"

"Yeah... I also brought this handbag."

I wouldn't get what she was referring to even if she said so. Well, that's what Mayaka wanted to wear after all. When she learned that her club required her to come in cosplay, being the shy person that she is, she would definitely choose a character that was hard to recognize.

Ibara Mayaka. As I was a guy, she was way shorter than me, but then as a girl she was way shorter than others. If she wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform, she would no doubt be mistaken as an elementary schoolkid. And right now, Mayaka wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform. And it's not just her figure that's small, just observing from the features of her face alone, one could say Mayaka was baby-faced.

Yet it was hard to figure out Mayaka's vigorous sense of justice from her childish expression emanating from her childish face. For example, when she's angry, she would simply bite her lips. Naturally, nothing can replace the smile that she was born with. (On the other hand, from my years of hanging out with him, Houtarou sure has bad eyes for not being able to notice that.)

I'd better stop looking into someone cosplaying a character she didn't feel like cosplaying, so I began spinning my drawstring bag and said, "Well, anyway, good luck with your role. I'll pop in at the Manga Studies Club later."

Mayaka showed some shyness as she nodded softly.

"You have to contribute articles for the Manga Club as well, right?"

"Yeah."

"I read it... Must be tough, to hold similar positions in both the Classics Club and Manga Club."

"It is tough. Since nobody else was willing to contribute."

I was originally planning to congratulate her for her hard work, but all of a sudden her gaze suddenly became sharp. Oops, looks like the conversation is headed in the wrong direction. For the Classics Club manuscript to arrive so late, no matter how one looks at it, I couldn't offer any excuse. So I decided to change the topic.

"Ah... so, Mayaka, you'll be with the Manga Studies Club all day then?"

Though she didn't look pleased that the topic was changed, she nodded.

"Will you be stopping by the Classics Club?"

"Nah, it's probably impossible for me to leave the Manga Club in the morning. And besides, it's not worth it for me to just stop by... I really ought to have followed things through."

I deepened my smile and patted Mayaka on the back.

"Try not to think too much about it! It can't be helped once you wake up from it!"

Mayaka gave an ambiguous smile and nodded at my words. No, this doesn't look right. Such a grey-looking smile wouldn't be what makes Mayaka look great.

Even though Mayaka said she's fine with it, there are occasions when Houtarou expresses doubt at my evasion of her advances. Well, Houtarou was never one to flatter people. I could tell him the reason, but I wasn't sure if he would understand even a tenth of it. To begin with, this is a problem between me and Mayaka alone, so it doesn't matter whether Houtarou understands it or not.

Before we realized, we had arrived at the school gates. I turned to have a look at the gates, which had huge, colourful flowers hanging over them. This was the hard work of the General Committee, made to welcome visitors to the Cultural Festival. A banner hung from the outside of one of the windows of the school building, which read "The 42nd Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival."

And so it begins.

I wonder if I'm making a face that's trying to enjoy all this. As I was in a trance looking at the school grounds, Mayaka suddenly jabbed her elbow at me.

"Fuku-chan... Try not to do anything silly during the Cultural Festival, okay? While you may not find it embarrassing, it'd be embarrassing enough for me."

Heh, guess I'm not trusted at all, eh?

But that doesn't mean I won't do anything!

007 - ♥03

There's this hard object resting in my pocket, and for some time it's been bothering me.

It was the fountain pen, or to be more precise, the trash known as the unusable fountain pen. The ink had long run out, and I was entrusted by my sis to take care of it. Last night, as I didn't want to just toss it on the floor, I brought it to my room, intending to throw it away there. But it seemed I ended up bringing it along with my handkerchief. While it's pretty much useless now, who knows what role it would play as time goes on.

I toyed with the pen by flipping its cap on and off, making a clicking sound as I walked up the stairs. My destination was the Classics Club room on the fourth floor.

Seen from above, Kamiyama High School appears as an H-shape. On one side was the General Block with its regular classrooms, while on the other side would be the Special Block with its arts and science related classrooms. They are joined in the middle by a connecting corridor. When seen from further above, one would see the corridor from the General Block extending towards the Gymnasium.

The Geology Lecture Room, which is used by the Classics Club as their club room, is located in the Special Block. And it's all the way in the corner at the end of the corridor. If Kamiyama High School was the whole world, then this would be its periphery. Normally, we'd curse about how far the club room was while also feeling grateful for how serene it was. Yet with the Cultural Festival upon us, we had to consider another factor, the fact that being located in such a remote corner of the school means we're doubtful of getting any visitors.

In every floor, you would see posters, mascots and advertising boards in all different shades of colour, though that's only up to the third floor. In the fourth floor, all you get is a barren landscape. You won't even see any ads for shopping malls or chain stores. To begin with, there aren't many clubs based up here anyway.

Still, we've put up a few posters in some hard to miss spots promoting the Classics Club, but even that was not enough to enliven the mood of this god-forsaken place. Personally, I prefer this sort of tranquility, but it's troublesome for the Classics Club as an organization, particularly for its president, who sees it as something quite worrying.

I slid open the door of the Geology Room. The girl sitting in the centre of this dreary room stood up upon seeing me enter.

"Good morning, Oreki-san," she said and bowed deeply, her long black hair flowing as she did. This was Chitanda, president of the Classics Club. I reckoned she was probably the first to arrive.

Chitanda Eru is a girl with jet black hair extending all the way to her back as well as pupils of the same colour. Gentle in her demeanor, she was rather tall and well-proportioned for a girl. Her calm way of speaking gives one the impression that she's an elegant lady with a prestigious upbringing. In fact, she is the only daughter of the Chitanda clan, known for being the owners of large tracts of farmland.

However, if you ask me, this elegant Japanese lady image is not Chitanda's true nature.

Amongst her mature features, only her large eyes betray her true character. Possessing a sense of curiosity which has exploded many times before and will continue to explode in the future, this was Chitanda Eru. Ever since I entered school, I and the Classics Club have been involved in many bothersome events thanks to her curiosity. My life motto has always been "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick." But so far I have been unable to adhere to it, and it's all her fault.

Chitanda lifted her head and made a soft smile. Though she wears her heart on her sleeve, she would rarely express her feelings in an exaggerated way. Rather, she does it in moderation.

"The day has finally arrived."

"So it seems."

"Let's give it our all!"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

Looking at the pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda, I groaned.

"...You say give it our all, but do you have any idea how we're gonna get this sorted?"

We're talking about none other than the Classics Club essay anthology, "Hyouka." A rather queer name for a title; as for why it had such a queer name, that's a long story. Each volume was bound nicely in a vinyl coating which went through adhesive surface treatment, on its dark brown cover was an illustration of a dog and rabbit biting each other. This cover design was derived from the first ever volume of "Hyouka," which was made in a water-paint style, though this year Ibara decided to draw it in a cute style. Objectively speaking, it didn't look bad at all.

The people working on this anthology included me and Chitanda, and while Satoshi did contribute, he only participated in writing his part of the manuscript. Of course, even after the manuscript was completed, the anthology wouldn't be finished right away. There would still be work involving confirming the of number of pages, choosing the right font and paper type, arranging the manuscripts, placing the page numbers, etc, before submitting to the publisher for printing. All that was left to Ibara, who also worked on the other illustrations as well.

While we were consulted on matters concerning the design of the anthology, we were merely confirming Ibara's choices. Seeing how troublesome it looked for her to have to work on so many details, both Chitanda and I had offered to help her many times.

Yet Ibara had turned our offers down, saying she's used to doing such stuff, so it's no big deal to her, and how she can easily handle this amount of work. Besides, she said it would be quite bothersome to teach an amateur from scratch. Hearing her say that, Chitanda decided to relent on helping.

And so, the anthology "Hyouka" is finally complete. In fact, it was a job well done. Very well done, indeed.

Upon seeing the final product, Ibara went speechless.

When she brought them over to us the day before yesterday, we too became speechless.

...The pile of objects lined up between me and Chitanda were the "Hyouka" anthologies. Rather than "pile," "stack" would be a more appropriate description. Even "mountain" would not sound far-fetched.

Before, we had only planned on making an order to print thirty copies of "Hyouka". Taking one for ourselves, as well as one each for our supervisor and one to keep for archiving, it would leave us with twenty-four left to sell, which was how many we expected to sell.

However, the number of copies somehow ended up being more than we expected.

About seven times more.

I learned that even for a thin anthology like this, two hundred copies of them stacked together was enough to form a "mountain."

To ask us to give our all selling all these is an extremely tall task. Upon hearing my grumble, Chitanda became lost for words as her smile went stiff.

"...Umm, while giving our all may not guarantee everything, I'm sure we'll still achieve something!"

The problem would be how much effort we should be giving then, but...

The door behind us opened; it was Satoshi. Lifting his right arm, he greeted us.

"Hi there, I see you're all worried about our excessive stock!"

Well, so are you.

While still at a loss for words to address the predicament we were in, Chitanda still bowed deeply like she had to me.

"G-good morning, Fukube-san... How is Mayaka-san?"

"Oh, she said she'll try and come, but she probably won't make it."

"I see...," she muttered regretfully. That was to be expected.

While Chitanda and I aren't affiliated with any other club save the Classics Club, Satoshi has his hands tied with the General Committee and Handicraft Club, while Ibara spends time as a librarian and with the Manga Studies Club. During the Cultural Festival, Satoshi would be busy patrolling the grounds as a member of the General Committee, while I hear Ibara is required to stay with the Manga Club for some time.

"Then, shall we begin?"

Satoshi and I nodded. Looking at us one by one, Chitanda slowly spoke.

"There's not much time until the Opening Ceremony starts... So does anyone have any ideas on how we could sell this many copies of 'Hyouka?'"

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1

2012-09-18T17:16:25Z

Dan.:

== 1 - A Sleepless Night ==
 
001 - ♥01

As I couldn't sleep, I decided to take a walk outside.

The history of the Chitanda clan can be traced back to the beginning of the Edo period.

The large fields in the north of Kamiyama City used to be a farm village. As the leaders of the village, the Chitanda clan has maintained, farmed and rented out the land around here. As representatives of the village, they were charged with negotiating the taxes with the feudal lords as well as acting as the local magistrates. They were also involved in projects for improving farming products. And of course, they would represent the village and take part in the annual festivals in spring and autumn.

The land here isn't truly blessed by nature. Though the soil is rich, the area is vulnerable to typhoons as well as blizzards. After all, this land wasn't really well irrigated until irrigation works were carried out during the Edo period. Just a minor change in the climate would result in crop failure, so it was natural for the previous farmers to fear and worship the gods.

As people of prestigious wealth, the Chitanda clan would represent the mortals in carrying out the rituals during the festivals. As they would be offering their wealth to the gods in the shrine on behalf of everyone else, before the laying of the crops and after harvest, as well as during Obon and New Year, they would go around collecting food and drink from the village folk. It would seem that this was considered a form of payment in lieu of money for renting land from the Chitanda clan. In turn, the leasing of land would form the basis of their wealth.

After the war, as part of the land reforms, the Chitanda clan, like all other large landowners, were compelled to sell most of the land they held to the government. Yet, Chitanda Shounosuke, the leader of the clan then, saw this as an opportunity to use the money from the land sales to modernize the farming equipment as quickly as possible, and profit from the new farming techniques. As such, Shounosuke was able to slowly buy back the land that was sold off, and by the time my father became head of the clan, the Chitandas had reclaimed nearly half of what was once their land, which was considered to be quite large during the late Showa period.

This may sound like me boasting, but Chitanda Shounosuke was not simply a man with business acumen, he was also a trustworthy man, as well as my grandfather. Though as he died early on, I do not remember much of him.

Anyway, the Chitanda clan had managed to weather the chaos during and after the war and maintained their status. As a result, they are still in charge of representing the local community during the festivals.

To begin with, contrary to what Fukube-san had said, the Chitanda clan aren't exactly so rich as to tower above everyone else. As a result, the annual festivities were reduced from four times a year to just twice, during spring and autumn, and the symbolic "payment" these days was merely a bottle of wine. As such, the ritual was merely an excuse for everyone to gather and have a feast. Though as I can't drink, I can't take part in the feast myself.

The spring and autumn festivals would take place in a small shrine worshiping the "village god", which was a minor deity. There would be the usual rituals of a lion dance and carrying of the mikoshi <ref>A small, portable Shinto shrine - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoshi Wikipedia]</ref>. A person from the Chitanda clan would act as representative for the shrine pilgrims and pray for a peaceful year during the spring festival, as well as give thanks during the autumn festival.

And I too have been participating in such a festival ever since I was old enough to remember. I often get asked by my friends living nearby as well as visitors to the shrine as to what it is that I do during such a ritual, though I didn't exactly have to do much. There wasn't much to notice besides having to pay attention not to make many sounds until the end of the praying ceremony. So it's just the usual clapping your hands during a prayer.

As for me, I'm not a particularly religious person. To some degree, I'm not too different from my schoolmates. Maybe it has something to do with my experience in such festivals. Though it may be bothersome, whenever I visit a shrine, I make it a habit to hide what I'm wishing. I'm not sure whether this meant I had faith in the gods, or whether this is just my systematic way of calming myself whenever I'm feeling insecure. From time to time, I feel curious about it, but I have never found an answer.

Recently, my wish had been granted during the high school entrance exams. It had also been granted during the "Hyouka Incident", as it was named by Fukube-san.

And once again, tonight I find myself heading towards the shrine.

The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival begins tomorrow. And for our Classics Club, which is just one of the many illustrious arts-based clubs in Kamiyama High School, a troubling situation awaits us, and we can find no solution to it. Though we intend to give it our best... it would seem we still need luck on our side.

After placing a 100 yen coin into the offering box within the confines of the moon-lit shrine, I clapped my hands together and closed my eyes as my thoughts for my friends in the Classics Club appeared.

Ibara Mayaka-san, Fukube Satoshi-san, Oreki Houtarou-san.

I wonder if Mayaka-san is sleeping well tonight?

Right now, she must be blaming herself for the predicament the Classics Club has found itself in. But that was not the case. Compared to Mayaka-san, I was totally of no help. If only I had been able to give my all and help out with her work, we could have avoided this altogether. So I too must bear some of the responsibility.

I wonder if Fukube-san is sleeping well tonight?

Sometimes I do suspect whether Fukube-san's hedonistic-like behaviour comes from the bottom of his heart. At the very least, he sure wasn't acting selfishly, as there's no way I could imagine him just laughing away at Mayaka-san's pain.

I wonder if Oreki-san is sleeping well tonight?

...He probably is sleeping well. If he wasn't, I would be very worried.

From time to time, I often find Oreki-san being able to sharply observe things that are out of the ordinary. I might even say that I was moved by it. But most of the time Oreki-san, how should I put it, tends to be slow in getting things done. So it's hard to determine whether he's a reliable person or not.

I prayed for everyone's well-being.

I prayed for luck to befall us for the next three days. Please let us overcome this "mountain".

As I opened my eyes, I still felt rather uneasy about it, so I took out another 50 yen from my purse.

002 - ♣01

As I couldn't sleep, I took out the pamphlet from underneath my pillow.

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fefefe; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
|'''Participating Club Comments (By Order of Registration):''' 
'''Kendo Club''' Exhibition Match: Kamiyama High School vs Kamiyama Industrial High. Highlights include the showdown between the prefecture's ace captains. 
'''Breakdancing Club''' Leave the Opening Ceremony to us. The quality of our new members is quite high, so please look forward to it. 
'''Social Dance Club''' Floor dancing in the Gymnasium on Day 2 at 3pm. All are welcome. 
'''Chorus Club''' Performing in the Gymnasium on Day 2 starting at 10am. Seeking new recruits. (lol) 
'''Drama Club''' Original play on Day 3 at 9am, featuring improvised script from the Prefectural Competition version. 
'''Detective Fiction Study Club''' Mystery Lunch on Day 1 at 11:30am. 
'''Fashion Study Club''' Fashion show at the Fashion Room every day from 1am to 2pm. Recruiting models. 
'''Manga Study Club''' Selling anthology in Preparation Room No. 1. Review of 100 manga, old and new. Do come visit. 
'''Chemistry Club''' Behold the power of sodium. Dangerous, so we will not be responsible for injuries caused. Chemistry Room. 
'''Class 2-F''' Movie ''The Blind Spot of 10,000 People''. Can you guess its surprise ending? Airing schedules on separate page. 
'''Cheering Club and Cheerleading Club''' Combined performance on the School Grounds on Day 1 at 2pm. 
'''Tea Ceremony Club''' The traditional Kanya Festival open air tea ceremony will be held as usual at Shiroyama Park! 
'''Art Club''' Prefectural Art Exhibition winner ''The Eulogy of Blue'' now on display in the Art Room. Please do come have a look! 
'''Marching Band''' Floor Drill in the Gymnasium on Day 3 at 2pm. 
'''Ink Painting Club''' Exhibition held together with the Art Club in the rt Room. 
'''Charms Association''' In the Class 2-E classroom. We do all sorts of charms. Freebies available! 
'''Literature Club''' Anthology ''Kodama'' on sale in Preparation Room No. 3. 200yen per volume. 
'''Hyakunin Isshu Club<ref>A traditional Japanese style of poetry anthology of 100 waka poems where each contributor writes one poem - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyakunin_Isshu Wikipedia]</ref>''' P, please...... Won't anyone play with us...... 
'''Occult Studies Club''' Exhibition in the Class 1-F classroom. This is serious research, so please think twice if you're merely coming out of interest. 
'''Quiz Study Club''' Quiz Contest on the School Grounds on Day 1 at 1pm. We await your participation. Prizes available. 
'''Astronomy Club''' The Kanya Festival is only held during the daytime, man. We can't see no stars, man. So we ended up doing models of the Solar System instead. 
'''Class 1-C''' Theatrical play ''Happy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen'' on the Gymnasium Stage on Day 1 at 2pm. 
'''Broadcast Club''' Introducing the latest happenings in the Kanya Festival every day from 12:30pm via the school's PA broadcast. You'll have to hear it even if you don't want to. 
'''Abacus Club''' Featuring speed abacus calculations as seen on TV in Preparation Room No. 4, Special Block. 
'''Debate Club''' English debate competition from Day 1, 11am to Day 3, 2pm in the Class 3-B classroom. 
'''Koto Club<ref>A traditional Japanese string instrument - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koto_%28instrument%29 Wikipedia]</ref>''' Recital performances held twice every morning and once every afternoon. More detailed schedules posted in front of the Japanese-style Room. 
'''Rakugo Study Club<ref>A traditional Japanese storytelling style where the storyteller sits seiza style on the stage with a paper fan and tells a story that is usually long and comical - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakugo Wikipedia]</ref>''' Performance on the Stage from Day 1 at 9am. Just when we thought we were the first to perform, the Breakdancing Club had... (T_T) 
'''Calligraphy Club''' Exhibition in the Calligraphy Room. 
'''Kado Club<ref>Japanese flower arranging - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikebana Wikipedia]</ref>''' Exhibition in the 1st floor corridor. Please stop by to have a look...... 
'''Biology Club''' Model of natural habitat of Kamiyama. As a self-made diorama, this is a bit too grandiose that people can't tell which club it came from. 
'''Shogi Club''' Kanya Cup tournament. Waiting time per player is 30 minutes. Grand prizes await. In Class 1-G. 
'''Miniature Club''' Exhibition in the Physics Lecture Room. Featuring the battleship USS Enterprise. We also sell cute replicas. 
'''Film Studies Club''' Self-made movie ''Completion''. In the Audio-Visual Room. Schedules on separate page. 
'''Photography Club''' Exhibition in Class 3-G classroom. Also featuring demonstration of old-fashioned flash-powder photography. 
'''Movie Study Club''' Showing of movie ''Cinema Paradiso''<ref>An Italian film - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_Paradiso Wikipedia]</ref> (1989 Italy) in the Audio-Visual Room. 
'''Sci-Fi Studies Club''' Featuring last year's Seiun Award<ref>An award for the best sci-fi literature published in the preceding year - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiun_Award Wikipedia]</ref> Best Media Winner in the Audio-Visual Room. Title is... 
'''Physics Club''' We made a robot. A bipedal one. Though he can only push a baby pram. 
'''Global Act Club''' Exhibition in Class 3-E classroom. Please come visit. 
'''History Club''' Reconstruction of model of Kamaiyama Castle, aka "Shiroyama" (Castle Hill). Come marvel at its defense and discover how it ultimately fell. 
'''Handicraft Club''' Featuring the Mandala carpet. Though this may come from me, it does seem to emit some sort of divine ambiance. 
'''Confectionery Studies Club''' We will be selling confectionery "within the confines of the school rules concerning club activities" in the home economics room. Please do come! 
'''Light Music Club''' Though we're more of a band, this time we'll be registering as the Light Music Club. All day in the Martial Arts Dojo. 
'''Go Club''' Beginners Seminar in Preparation Room No. 2. There will of course be tutorial matches as well. 
'''A Capella Club''' Stationed at Class 3-C. Will be performing in the School Courtyard on Day 1 at 11am. Please come listen! 
'''Wall Newspaper Club''' Special Edition published every two hours during Kanya Festival. Featuring the latest and hottest topics being discussed. 
'''The Cooking Club'''  Cooking battle "Wild Fire" on the School Grounds on Day 2 at 11am! Seeking participants. 
'''Gardening Club''' Cooking harvested sweet potatoes...... But this isn't gardening, it's farming! Are you sure this is okay, prez? 
'''Brass Band Club''' Performing a different song everyday from 1pm in the Gymnasium. 
'''Magic Club''' Stall at 2-D classroom. Stage performance Day 1 at 11:30am. Please look forward to it. 
'''Fortune Telling Association''' Next to the stairs on the 3rd floor. 
'''Classics Club''' Why is the Kami High Cultural Festival called the "Kanya Festival"? The answer is in our anthology ''Hyouka''. 200yen per volume in the Geology Lecture Room. 

'''Organizing Committee''' 
'''Kugayama Muneyoshi (Student Council President, Kanya Festival Executive Committee President)''' You guys are overdoing this. That's all I'll say. 
'''Yazaki Keita (Student Council Vice President)''' The Organizing Committee can be found in the Student Council Room. Do visit us if there's anything you wish to discuss. 
'''Shoukawa Harumi (Student Council Vice President)''' At last a job well done... I get that feeling a lot. Guys, let's see this through without regrets. 
'''Funabashi Masaharu (Cultural Committee President)''' On top of the Kanya Prize Awards, we'll be adding a Best Club Award this year. Compete with all you've got, young ones! 
'''Tanabe Jirou (General Committee President)''' We've prepared plenty of rubbish and recycle bins, but please make sure you put everything in the right bins.
|}

After reading them in one go, I placed them back on my pillow satisfactorily. On the cover of the pamphlet were big words in Gothic font that read "Kanya Festival Guide", and underneath it a smaller caption which read "The 42nd Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival". This was created by the Council General Committee, of which I, Fukube Satoshi, was a member.

By the way, besides being a member of the General Committee, I'm also a member of the dexterous Handicraft Club as well as the prestigious Classics Club. As to which club was the busiest for me... I guess it'd have to be the Classics Club.

When I was drafted by the Committee President into the making of the festival pamphlet, I thought it would have been a simple job of merely copying last year's pamphlet format. But on the contrary, it was a rather difficult task. Though it was hard work, it is quite interesting when one puts in the effort to work on it.

As something of a reward, one of the privileges of dealing with such a difficult task was that I got to decide what materials to use, which was pretty interesting to say the least. As a result, I decided to play a little prank with the last section of this pamphlet, "Participating Club Comments".

For last year's pamphlet, the clubs were ordered according to the Japanese hiragana spelling, but I decided to change it into the order in which the clubs registered with us. When I made the proposal to the Committee President, saying that "For an official guidebook, it's not really fair that the A Capella Club always gets to start every year in such a conspicuous starting position", my motive was quite simple, really. At the very least, I would arrange to have the comments of one of my clubs, the Classics Club, placed in a noticeable position. Though the Committee President was doubtful to begin with, he soon agreed and the motion was passed unanimously. Under the official pretext of "registration order", the Kendo Club was the first to register, so there was no way I could move that from the starting position. But in turn, I get to mix up the order at the end. After all, it's much more noticeable if you're standing out "right in the middle".

Well, it's not exactly a grand PR effort. So rather than being pleased for advertising for the Classics Club, I was more pleased at my superiority in making such minor manipulation of the materials.

And so, to quote from Vice President Shoukawa, "At last a job well done". Besides work in the General Committee, work in the Handicraft Club was tough too. Just who was it that proposed making a Mandala carpet to begin with? Though as it was enjoyable, I guess I can't complain too much, but it was tiring for the eyes, sewing that stuff. With so much time spent on the General Committee and the Handicraft Club, my time with the Classics Club was brief in contrast. Conclusions cannot be made from databases alone, after all. With so little time left, I do wonder sometimes how on earth I wrote such an interesting essay for the anthology.

I Wonder where I should go tomorrow. At any rate, the Quiz Contest is a must. As it's held by the Quiz Study Club, their members can't participate in the competition, so that's got my attention. As for Day 2, the Cooking Contest looked quite interesting. I've decided on making a seafood fried rice dish, as I won't lose to anyone in that department.

I'm more worried about Mayaka being depressed about it. Well, she's a strong girl. Objectively speaking, her responsibility was relatively light. Though Chitanda-san may be quite worried, I'm pretty optimistic about it. We may not be able to do anything now, but somehow we'll get by.

Oh, I'm so looking forward to this Cultural Festival. And thus, the Classics Club will attempt to claw back from the jaws of failure.

How fantastic to have to face such a challenge which we have to climb through!

Anyway, I'd better get some sleep and prepare for tomorrow. It would be a serious blunder for Fukube Satoshi if he were to run out of energy for such an event.

003 - ♠01

As the owls outside kept on hooting, I ended up not feeling sleepy at all.

I was thinking about whether I should read a book, but I couldn't find anything that interested me on the bookshelf. So I went down to the living room, picking up the remote control to see what was on TV, but there wasn't anything interesting on. With no other choice left, I went to the dust-covered desktop PC in the corner of the room and turned it on.

This PC used to belong to my sis. Now it's become the Oreki family's common web hub. In practice I'm the only one that ever uses it, even though I'm not really that interested in spending time on the net. This machine was no old model, and was equipped with the ability to do calculations and store memory that I could never emulate, yet all I ever used it for was to check the web once or twice a week for any news. In other words, it was quite a pitiful machine.

The search engine website popped up. At first I thought of clicking on the news... but I changed my mind and entered "Kamiyama High School" in the search box. A number of links appeared, and I duly entered my school's website. This wasn't the first time I've visited the site, as besides the usual stuff about the origins of the school and description of its activities, it's also got a chatroom for current students, which was where I went before.

As for what I was looking for, it was of course the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival. There's bound to be something about it found on the net. And as I expected, on the top of the website was a banner written in large typeface font "1 Day Remaining till Kanya Festival". At the side of the screen was an animation of a pair of male and female Kamiyama High students in uniform carrying stuff around. Other stuff on the page included the festival schedule, participating groups, traffic access, notice to visitors, and web store.

I have no idea how many groups have participated, but the site sure listed quite a lot. The page was full of photos, illustrations and handmade maps with loads of information on them, making navigation pretty easy. After seeing all of these in one glance, I decided to have a look at my own club, the Classics Club, but it was at this moment that the connection went off. I don't know where the problem came from, but from time to time, this PC just seems to have quite an unstable connection. Ah well, as I decided to go back to sleep, I heard someone coming down the stairs. As the footsteps were quite soft, I knew it was my sis right away. As it's quite bothersome to have to squeeze past each other in a narrow staircase, I decided to sit on the chair and wait for her to come down.

The footsteps entered the kitchen nearby, and the fridge door could be heard being opened, as well as the sound of glasses being taken out.

As I was about to make my way to my room, a voice called out, "Houtarou,"

My guess of who the footsteps belonged to was spot on. It was my sister's voice, which sounded half asleep.

"You have a Cultural Festival tomorrow, right?"

I turned my face towards the kitchen.

"Yeah."

"Better get to sleep soon."

"Wha?"

I made an idiotic exclamation. I sure didn't want to have her tell me to go to sleep the same way she would nag at me about eating with my mouth closed or remind to bring my tissues when I go out. Though I didn't want to say it out loud, because if I did, it would just lead to more trouble.

For some reason, she didn't seem to care as she poured something into her glass and drank it in one gulp and said, "...You seem to be having some problem anyway."

I didn't answer.

Once again, she poured a bit more of what she was drinking into her glass.

"I can tell what you're thinking just from your reaction. Anyway, the Classics Club is bound to encounter some trouble during the Cultural Festival. Think of it as something of a tradition."

Hmph, a curse huh?

"You sure have entered some troublesome club, really."

"Really?"

I so felt like retorting her right away, as she was the one who asked me to enter the Classics Club in the first place.

Upon enrolling in Kamiyama High School this year, I received a request from my sis, who was an alumnus of the Classics Club, to keep the club alive even if it meant just filling my name in. I originally expected to fully enjoy being the sole member of a club that does nothing, but it was not to be, as a girl called Chitanda joined the Classics Club for a purpose. Upon solving that "purpose" of hers, the Classics Club had ended up with four members. That chain of bothersome events was named the "Hyouka Incident" by Satoshi, and I ended up having to write an anthology essay about it.

By the way, I still don't know what the Classics Club does exactly. Normally one would expect a club called the Classics Club to involve the study of classic literature, but none of its current members seem to be that sort of people. As we have no seniors to tell us what kind of club it used to be, we've somehow lost our raison d'être. But personally speaking, I'm thankful it's ended up that way.

So, besides filling in the members' names, in order for a club to continue its existence, club activities must be held. As one of the officially recognized school clubs, we have a meagre club activity budget allocated to us for the purpose of "Anthology Compilation". And making use of these funds, we ended up publishing the essay anthology ''Hyouka''. There were many twists and turns along the way, but we've finally completed it.

And we will be selling them during the Cultural Festival, which starts tomorrow.

...Well, it was here that we encountered some problem. So my sis was totally spot on when she said "You seem to be having some problem anyway."

By the way, since it's my sis, she's bound to know what kind of activities the Classics Club is involved in. Yet lately she's been away from the country until just a while ago. By the time she returned, it didn't really matter anymore whether I asked her what kind of club the Classics Club was.

Anyway, subjectively speaking, I didn't particularly hate this club that I had joined. So instead of retorting to my sis, I said, "If there is such a cursed tradition, why don't you give me some charm or something, sis?"

"Are you trying to extort me?"

After being speechless for a while, I felt something flying towards me from behind. Just when I thought was she really handing some sort of charm to me, the thing I caught didn't have anything divine about it. It was a fountain pen. Though it wasn't divine, it sure had style, being deep black in colour with a dull silver lining along its sides. It's probably not cheap.

"You can take that."

"...Should I say thanks?"

"By the way, it's out of ink, and the nib's broken."

Stop throwing garbage around! After hearing her place something back in the fridge, her footsteps left the kitchen and went into the corridor, where she said, "...I'll come over to visit if I have time!"

"No, don't," I replied immediately.

Even if we're going to have loads of cases, having her come would just make things unbearable. I heard no reply from her as she walked up the stairs.

I lay on my bed.

Since I was waiting to fall asleep, I wasn't particularly thinking anything. Before long I closed my eyes and sighed deeply.

Today, or to be more precise, yesterday, we wasted a whole day preparing for the Cultural Festival. Currently the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival officially spans four days, but as the first day was basically preparations, it was really only open for three days. The real thing starts tomorrow.

Satoshi seemed intent on having fun. That was to be expected, so it's not surprising. However, "enjoying the Cultural Festival" was definitely not something that "I have to do". I would have simply taken a nap in some corner of the school until the whole thing was over. So, even though I won't say something uncooperative like "This Cultural Festival business is boring", I would still stay true to my creed and utter my motto: "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick". I did not participate much anyway.

To be frank, even if I did nothing, it would still be counted as me having "participated". Since all we'll be doing is sitting there all day and selling the anthologies which we worked so hard writing. That was the original plan anyway.

Naturally, when the problem arose, we did not blame anyone. If there was someone to blame, then all of us were to blame. So as it's partly my fault, in order to cover my own ass, it became something that "I have to do".

The problem was, would I be able to "do it quickly"?

That said, even if the problem was not solved, it could be said that it was mere small potatoes. It was not something that must be undone. So Chitanda's worrying too much about this. She ought to think more like a happy energy-saver.

Neither pessimistic nor optimistic, like ''Que Sera, Sera'', I was calmly facing come what may as I waited to fall asleep.

004 - ♦01

I woke up in the middle of the night and got to thinking.

Oreki may have guessed incorrectly, but I'm not a perfectionist. While failure is to be expected if one does not prepare or research enough, but failure also occurs even when one has made every preparation possible. So while it's possible for other people to fail, naturally it's also possible for me to fail as well. So if I am to forgive others for their errors, I shouldn't be so unforgiving to myself. Yet I'm feeling angry. Even if everyone has forgiven me, sometimes I can't forgive myself. I can do nothing but be angry at my own failure. But why?

A while ago, Fuku-chan told me this: "Well, Mayaka, if you think calmly about it, it's no big matter. So you shouldn't worry too much."

"I'm not worrying. And it's not like I want to hear such common reasoning."

Fuku-chan crossed his arms and looked down while grunting deeply. Even though he was doing it on purpose, I didn't dislike that part of him.

"...From how I see it, I don't think you've ever been this angry regardless of whether you succeeded or failed, as well as whether you're a perfectionist or not."

"Really?"

Feeling interested, I stretched myself forward and asked, "Then why am I angry?"

"It's hard for me to explain. Though I may have a rich vocabulary, my knowledge of useful words is rather limited."

"So you know a lot of useless terms?"

"Well, there's 'tank desant' <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_desant Tank desant - Wikipedia]</ref> and 'dumb luck'... No, that's not the point. For example, you know Houtarou's 'energy-saving' creed, right?"

I nodded honestly.

"That's what he calls it anyway. When Oreki is doing something, it's hard to tell whether he's doing it to 'save energy'."

"Even though you've known him for so long?"

"As if I would observe him all the time."

Fuku-chan smiled bitterly.

"Anyway, leaving Houtarou aside, in some way, if that creed were applied to you, then you're neither 'correct' nor 'perfect'. Now I'm not saying this to incur your wrath, as I mean something else altogether."

So that's what he's going on about, I thought to myself. To begin with, I never liked conversations involving myself, and so the conversation shifted to something else altogether.

Anyway, what's important now is that I could not sleep since I'm still feeling quite pissed off. Seriously, even though I've double-checked so many times, how on earth could I have neglected something so basic? And why didn't I notice the error being made after it had happened?

What was even more infuriating was that I would be unable to help out in rectifying the mistake come the Cultural Festival, as there was no way I could leave my activities with the Manga Study Club aside. Even though Fuku-chan did say "It's not really a big mistake, so don't think too much about it."

Argh, this pisses me off. I'm so angry at my own carelessness.

But, as infuriating as it may sound, Oreki was absolutely right when he said, in that buoyant manner of his, while avoiding my gaze when we were alone, "This isn't something you should fuss over. If you keep fussing over it, then not only Satoshi, but even Chitanda will have to fuss over it for you, right?"

It was just as he had put it. Even though I was the one being careless, when Chi-chan came, her face went pale as though it were her own responsibility. At the very least, I don't want to see Chi-chan spend the entire Cultural Festival with such a face.

So, for just a little bit, I tried to forgive myself. Try as I may, upon being reminded of that scene, I just couldn't calm myself down!

Guess I have no choice.

I must be so personally involved with the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival that I've become too stressed out. Yet it was not good for me to lose sleep like this.

I got out of my futon and took out the bottle of sleeping pills from the first aid box, though I didn't really like taking those.

I took out one pill and cut it in half, and swallowed that piece of white medicine.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 2 Afterword|Volume 2: Afterword]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Has Something Happened With the Classics Club?]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1

2012-09-18T17:16:05Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=20}}

== 2-1 Has Something Happened With the Classics Club? ==

005 - ♥02

Saying "I enjoyed this a lot" may sound easy, but is actually a pretty difficult task. Rather than the possibility of the difference in one's level of understanding, a more important factor would be the difference in one's level of interest. When watching a magic performance, a dense person would not even understand even a hundredth of what was going on. On the other hand, if one had the ability to see through a magician's trick, then no matter how much entertainment he may see, while he may try to enjoy to his heart's content, there's no way he could have enjoyed it sufficiently.

It was morning, and I was walking to school earlier than usual, as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival starts today. Seeing Fukube Satoshi constantly repeating "Ohh, I'm so looking forward to enjoying this," I felt compelled to mischievously tell him the above, to which Satoshi responded with a frightful smile and slowly shook his head.

"An excellent idea, was what I wanted to say, but you're too naive, Houtarou,"

"Oh? How so?"

"For a person like you who was raised on nothing but boorishness to even think of lecturing me on my enjoying, you're too naive," he said as he raised his index finger and swung it left and right as though acting.

"Of course I already knew that it was useless to try to enjoy myself deep within the marrow of my bones. The most important aspect of Epicureanism is to be able to separate one's senses. It's just as important as the day when you finally give up your energy-saving ways and actually work hard on a test."

"Like hell that day would arrive. Anyway, what's this about separation of your senses? What does that have to do with you being able to say you'll enjoy yourself?"

"All right, then let me enlighten you. First, I wouldn't think of saying something like "I'm gonna enjoy a lot," as I'm a fairly easy to please person. You know what I'm good at resigning myself to? Just from the point of view of Houtarou the Boorish."

''Do you know?'' Satoshi gestured as he finished his sentence. Fleeting a glimpse at him, as I had no intention of bursting his bubble, I said nothing. Sensing I had no intention to answer, he lowered his voice as though informing me of a secret and said, "Even if I'm not good at enjoying myself......"

"......"

He gave a broad smile.

"I could still look forward to people giving me their enjoyment!"

Oh boy.

Ignoring my cold expression, Satoshi continued with his talk of how he's still "gonna enjoy this." I could do nothing but keep quiet and smile bitterly.

Fukube Satoshi. I have been hanging out with this fellow since junior high.

From his appearance, Satoshi was a person with brown eyes and a slim figure that might be mistaken as that of a girl when seen from afar. And while he may seem like a weakling, he has developed some amazing leg muscles due to his penchant for cycling.

Though his real features lie with his mental state. You may have caught a glimpse of that from our conversation just now; he can be pretty forceful in abandoning his studies and social life casually. Already a member of the Handicraft Club and the General Committee, he decided to join the Classics Club as well simply because "it sounded interesting."

He is never seen without his drawstring bag in his hand, though I have no idea of its contents. All I can say is that it contains all sorts of stuff.

In the road ahead, we could see Kamiyama High School appearing. The outer walls weren't painted pink due to the Cultural Festival, and seen from afar, it looked no different from any other regular high school. However, within its grounds were flourishing all sorts of activities concerning the Cultural Festival. In order to prepare for the festival, classes were suspended since yesterday.

The body of students heading towards school looked different today. While there were many in their uniforms, there were also many from other clubs in their casual wear. And there were many who did not carry any bag with them, as there was no need to bring any scholastic equipment. Due to such discrepancies, even I could feel the expectation that something different from usual was about to start.

Though Kamiyama High School is a school geared towards students entering university, it didn't have that many supplementary classes, neither did it have a particularly high record of students entering famous universities. If you were to ask the students of Kamiyama High School what its specialty was, only one in ten would have said it specializes in university entrance exams. The other nine would answer "It's a school known for its vibrant Arts-related club activities." There are many kinds of arts-related clubs in Kami High, and its activities too are various. And the highlight of these activities would of course be the Cultural Festival, which was rare amongst high schools for its number of days, with one day for preparation and three whole days for the main event.

Satoshi suddenly raised his voice cheerfully.

"And besides... Why, Houtarou, isn't that Mayaka?"

He pointed to a girl in front of us. She was dressed in casual wear comprising of a red cardigan and white brocade trousers, but I couldn't tell whether she was Ibara Mayaka from behind. Though I've known her since elementary school, I've rarely seen her in casual wear since junior high. But if Satoshi says it's her, then it has to be.

For many times Ibara had confessed her love to Satoshi, yet while Satoshi was not one to fall into self-loathing, he had chosen to evade her advances time and time again. I couldn't figure out why he's done so even if I wanted to.

"I'll be going on ahead."

He turned and said that before running off towards that girl ahead of us.

006 - ♣02

As I moved forward, I was certain that it was indeed Mayaka. Though seeking Houtarou out in a crowd was like trying to see a needle in a haystack, there was no way I could miss Mayaka. I ran up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Mayaka. Morning!"

Knowing her, she would have stared at me and said "Hey! That hurts!" Which was why I only tapped her softly. Though it seemed Mayaka didn't seem to be in that mood today, as she became stiff and turned her head slowly.

"...Morning."

She muttered only that and turned back forward. ''Ahh, I see.'' I exclaimed to myself and smiled (which was what I'm good at; I've long forgotten how to make a serious face), and I answered Mayaka's anxiety.

"Your costume suits you."

"R-really?"

"So, who are you cospla..."

I could not finish my sentence, as I could feel a jab into my stomach. Great aim. Due to that hit, my abdominal muscles quickly lost their strength, so its effect was immediate.

Mayaka murmured with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes, "Don't use that term in front of normal people."

Well, I don't think "costume play" would be considered taboo nowadays. Though I do get that Mayaka's feeling pretty embarrassed about it, so I wouldn't say anything. By the way, I already knew that she was planning to cosplay today. Mayaka's Manga Studies Club had asked for permission from the General Committee to turn up in casual clothing. As there were not enough changing rooms at school, the General Committee granted that permission.

Mayaka wore off-white brocade trousers and a scarlet cardigan. It was a pragmatic costume that was able to withstand the cool autumn winds of early October. Some accessories were attached to her cardigan, and inside she wore a white collared shirt, and a thick looking belt was wrapped around her abdomen. The main point would probably be this belt.

I looked at her costume from top to bottom. Hmm, I just don't have a clue. Guess I'll ask her again.

"So, what costume is this?"

Like a rat trying not to alert the cat, I carefully chose the right words so that Mayaka may accept my question. She quickly looked forward and said in a detached manner,

"Frol,"

"Frol? Frolbericheri Frol<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Were_Eleven</ref>? You're wearing her costume?"

"Yeah... I also brought this handbag."

I wouldn't get what she was referring to even if she said so. Well, that's what Mayaka wanted to wear after all. When she learned that her club required her to come in cosplay, being the shy person that she is, she would definitely choose a character that was hard to recognize.

Ibara Mayaka. As I was a guy, she was way shorter than me, but then as a girl she was way shorter than others. If she wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform, she would no doubt be mistaken as an elementary schoolkid. And right now, Mayaka wasn't dressed in her sailor uniform. And it's not just her figure that's small, just observing from the features of her face alone, one could say Mayaka was baby-faced.

Yet it was hard to figure out Mayaka's vigorous sense of justice from her childish expression emanating from her childish face. For example, when she's angry, she would simply bite her lips. Naturally, nothing can replace the smile that she was born with. (On the other hand, from my years of hanging out with him, Houtarou sure has bad eyes for not being able to notice that.)

I'd better stop looking into someone cosplaying a character she didn't feel like cosplaying, so I began spinning my drawstring bag and said, "Well, anyway, good luck with your role. I'll pop in at the Manga Studies Club later."

Mayaka showed some shyness as she nodded softly.

"You have to contribute articles for the Manga Club as well, right?"

"Yeah."

"I read it... Must be tough, to hold similar positions in both the Classics Club and Manga Club."

"It is tough. Since nobody else was willing to contribute."

I was originally planning to congratulate her for her hard work, but all of a sudden her gaze suddenly became sharp. Oops, looks like the conversation is headed in the wrong direction. For the Classics Club manuscript to arrive so late, no matter how one looks at it, I couldn't offer any excuse. So I decided to change the topic.

"Ah... so, Mayaka, you'll be with the Manga Studies Club all day then?"

Though she didn't look pleased that the topic was changed, she nodded.

"Will you be stopping by the Classics Club?"

"Nah, it's probably impossible for me to leave the Manga Club in the morning. And besides, it's not worth it for me to just stop by... I really ought to have followed things through."

I deepened my smile and patted Mayaka on the back.

"Try not to think too much about it! It can't be helped once you wake up from it!"

Mayaka gave an ambiguous smile and nodded at my words. No, this doesn't look right. Such a grey-looking smile wouldn't be what makes Mayaka look great.

Even though Mayaka said she's fine with it, there are occasions when Houtarou expresses doubt at my evasion of her advances. Well, Houtarou was never one to flatter people. I could tell him the reason, but I wasn't sure if he would understand even a tenth of it. To begin with, this is a problem between me and Mayaka alone, so it doesn't matter whether Houtarou understands it or not.

Before we realized, we had arrived at the school gates. I turned to have a look at the gates, which had huge, colourful flowers hanging over them. This was the hard work of the General Committee, made to welcome visitors to the Cultural Festival. A banner hung from the outside of one of the windows of the school building, which read "The 42nd Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival."

And so it begins.

I wonder if I'm making a face that's trying to enjoy all this. As I was in a trance looking at the school grounds, Mayaka suddenly jabbed her elbow at me.

"Fuku-chan... Try not to do anything silly during the Cultural Festival, okay? While you may not find it embarrassing, it'd be embarrassing enough for me."

Heh, guess I'm not trusted at all, eh?

But that doesn't mean I won't do anything!

==Translator's notes and references==

<references />

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| Back to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka

2012-09-18T17:15:55Z

Dan.: /* Volume 3 The Kudryavka Sequence クドリャフカの順番 - Welcome to KANYA FESTA! */

[[Image:Hyouka v01 000.jpg|thumb|Volume 1 Cover]]

'''''Hyouka''''' (氷菓) is a light novel written by Honobu Yonezawa and serialized in Kadokawa Shoten. Currently, the series has 5 volumes. The anime will premiere in April 2012 and there's an ongoing manga written by the original author and illustrated by Task Ohna.

Hyouka series is also available in the following languages:
*[[Hyouka (Bahasa Indonesia)|Indonesia (Indonesian)]]

==Story Synopsis==

Oreki Houtarou is a self-proclaimed "energy-saver"(reserved battery mode) - that is, he will not actively waste energy doing things that aren't necessary. Though he had no interest whatsoever in joining any clubs upon entering Kamiyama High School, he was commanded by his older sister Tomoka to enter the school's Classics Club, which was in danger of getting abolished as all previous members have graduated. Together with his old friends Fukube Satoshi and Ibara Mayaka, as well as the elegantly ladylike and curiously inquisitive Chitanda Eru, the newly reformed Classics Club find themselves involved in all sorts of mystery-solving escapades. Houtarou soon finds out that the Classics Club, as Tomoka has promised, is actually "quite interesting".

And so begins the "Classics Club Series".

Adapted into an anime series by Kyoto Animation in 2012 under the title "Hyouka".

== Translation ==

=== [[Hyouka:Registration Page|Registration]] ===

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand. Visit the forums [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4708 here] for help.

'''Translators are asked to [[Hyouka:Registration Page|register]] which chapters they're working on'''

===Format Standards===
'''Every Chapter (after editing) must confirm to the general format guidelines.'''
*[[Format_guideline|General Format/Style Guideline]]

== Updates ==
*November 29th, 2011 - Volume 1 Chapter 1 completed
*February 28th, 2012 - Page opened, synopsis added
*March 11th, 2012 - Volume 1 Chapter 2 completed
*March 19th, 2012 - Volume 1 Chapter 3 and 4 completed
*April 22th, 2012 - Volume 1 Chapter 5 completed
*May 2nd, 2012 - Volume 1 Chapter 6 completed
*May 5th, 2012 - Volume 1 Chapter 7, 8, 9 and Afterword completed
*May 8th, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 0 completed
*June 2nd, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 1 completed
*June 10th, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 2 completed
*June 16th, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 3 completed
*June 17th, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 4 completed
*June 19th, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 5 completed
*June 23rd, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 6 completed
*July 1st, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 7 completed
*July 2nd, 2012 - Volume 2 Chapter 8 completed
*July 2nd, 2012 - Volume 2 Afterword completed
*July 19th, 2012 - Volume 3 Chapter 1 completed

==The ''Hyouka (Classics Club)'' series （〈古典部〉シリーズ） by Honobu Yonezawa==
'''You can find the EPUB and MOBI version of the Volumes in the forums [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=5020 here].'''
===Volume 1 Hyouka 氷菓 - You can't escape / The niece of time ([[Hyouka:Volume 1|Full Text]] - [http://www.mediafire.com/?nb2ggs2u4s4ae21 PDF])===
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 1|1 - Letter from Benares]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 2|2 - The Rebirth of the Traditional Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 3|3 - The Activities of the Prestigious Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 4|4 - The Descendants of the Eventful Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 5|5 - The Hidden Seal of the Pedigree Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 6|6 - The Old Days of the Glorious Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 7|7 - The Truth of the Historic Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 8|8 - The Daily Life of the Future Classics Club]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 9|9 - Letter to Sarajevo]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 1 Afterword|Afterword]]

===Volume 2 The Credit Roll of the Fool 愚者のエンドロール - Why didn't she ask EBA? ([[Hyouka:Volume 2|Full Text]] - [http://www.mediafire.com/?wcia9bdvi939jhu PDF])===
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 0|0 - Avant Title]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 1|1 - Let's Watch a Movie Preview!]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 2|2 - "The Murder in the Abandoned Village of Furuoka"]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 3|3 - "The Invisible Intrusion"]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 4|4 - "Bloody Beast"]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 5|5 - Let's Try This]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 6|6 - "The Blind Spot of 10,000 People"]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 7|7 - Do Not End the Show]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Chapter 8|8 - Credit Roll]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 2 Afterword|Afterword]]

===Volume 3 The Kudryavka Sequence クドリャフカの順番 - Welcome to KANYA FESTA!===
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 1|1 - A Sleepless Night]]
::*2 - The Cases That Keep Piling Up
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Has Something Happened With the Classics Club?]] (20%)
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-2|2-2 - Quiz Trial]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Yet Another Storm]]
::*3 - The "Juumoji" Incident
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-1|3-1 - The Morning Landscape]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-2|3-2 - Wild Fire]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 3-3|3-3 - The "Juumoji" Incident]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 4|4 - Yet Another Sleepless Night]]
::*5 - The Kudryavka Sequence
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 5-1|5-1 - Four People, Four Cultural Festivals]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 5-2|5-2 - "Juumoji" vs the Classics Club]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 5-3|5-3 - The Curtain Closes]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 5-4|5-4 - Behind the Stage]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 6|6 - And So It Ends]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 3 Afterword|Afterword]]

===Volume 4 The Doll that Took a Detour 遠まわりする雛 - Little birds can remember===
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 If I Have to Do It, Make It Quick|If I Have to Do It, Make It Quick]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 Committing a Cardinal Sin|Committing a Cardinal Sin]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 Revealing the True Form|Revealing the True Form]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 Those Who Hold Any Clues|Those Who Hold Any Clues]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 Happy New Opening|Happy New Opening]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 The Case of the Hand-made Chocolate|The Case of the Hand-made Chocolate]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 The Doll that Took a Detour|The Doll that Took a Detour]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 4 Afterword|Afterword]]



===Volume 5 The Approximation of the Distance of Two ふたりの距離の概算 - It walks by past===
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Prologue|Prologue - Even Just Walking Feels Long]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Prologue-1|Prologue 1 - Present: 0km]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Prologue-2|Prologue 2 - Past: One Day Ago]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Prologue-3|Prologue 3 - Present: 1.2km]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 1|1 - Reception for Joining the Club is Over Here]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 1-1|1-1 - Present: 1.4km; 18.6km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 1-2|1-2 - Past: 42 Days Ago]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 1-3|1-3 - Present: 4.1km; 15.9km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 2|2 - A Friend Must Be Congratulated]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Present: 5.2km; 14.8km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 2-1|2-1 - Past: 27 Days Ago]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 2-3|2-3 - Present: 6.9km; 13.1km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 3|3 - A Very Beautiful Shop]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 3-1|3-1 - Present: 8.0km; 12.0km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 3-2|3-2 - Past: 13 Days Ago]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 3-3|3-3 - Present: 11.5km; 8.5km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4|4 - Fun for Those Who Left]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4-1|4-1 - Present: 14.3km; 5.7km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4-2|4-2 - Past: Approximately 19 Hours and 30 Minutes Ago]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4-3|4-3 - Present: 14.5km; 5.5km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4-4|4-4 - Present: 14.6km; 5.4km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 4-5|4-5 - Present: 14.6km; 5.4km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5|5 - The Approximation of the Distance of Two]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5-1|5-1 - Present: 17.0km; 3.0km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5-1|5-1 - Present: 17.0km; 3.0km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5-2|5-2 - Present: 18.6km; 1.4km Remaining]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5-3|5-3 - Present: 18.9km; 1.1km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Chapter 5|5 - The Hand that Could Reach Anywhere]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Epilogue|Epilogue - The Approximation of the Distance of Two]]
:::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Epilogue-1|Epilogue-1 - Present: 19.1km; 0.9km Remaining]]
::*[[Hyouka:Volume 5 Afterword|Afterword]]

==Project Staff==

*Project Administrator:
*Project Supervisor:

===Translators===

:*[[user:Kinny_Riddle|Kinny Riddle]]

===Editors===
:*[[User:Dan.|Dan.]]

== Series Overview ==

*氷菓 You can't escape / The niece of time (31 October 2001) ISBN 978-4-04-427101-5
*愚者のエンドロール Why didn't she ask EBA? (31 July 2002) ISBN 978-4-04-427102-2
*クドリャフカの順番 Welcome to KANYA FESTA! (24 May 2008) ISBN 978-4-04-427103-9
*遠まわりする雛 Little birds can remember (24 July 2010) ISBN 978-4-04-427104-6
*ふたりの距離の概算 It walks by past (26 June 2010) ISBN 978-4-04-874075-3

Hyouka:Volume 3 Chapter 2-1

2012-09-18T01:42:58Z

Dan.:

{{Incomplete|percentage=08}}

== 2-1 Has Something Happened With the Classics Club? ==

005 - ♥02

Saying "I enjoyed this a lot" may sound easy, but is actually a pretty difficult task. Rather than the possibility of the difference in one's level of understanding, a more important factor would be the difference in one's level of interest. When watching a magic performance, a dense person would not even understand even a hundredth of what was going on. On the other hand, if one had the ability to see through a magician's trick, then no matter how much entertainment he may see, while he may try to enjoy to his heart's content, there's no way he could have enjoyed it sufficiently.

It was morning, and I was walking to school earlier than usual, as the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival starts today. Seeing Fukube Satoshi constantly repeating "Ohh, I'm so looking forward to enjoying this," I felt compelled to mischievously tell him the above, to which Satoshi responded with a frightful smile and slowly shook his head.

"An excellent idea, was what I wanted to say, but you're too naive, Houtarou,"

"Oh? How so?"

"For a person like you who was raised on nothing but boorishness to even think of lecturing me on my enjoying, you're too naive," he said as he raised his index finger and swung it left and right as though acting.

"Of course I already knew that it was useless to try to enjoy myself deep within the marrow of my bones. The most important aspect of Epicureanism is to be able to separate one's senses. It's just as important as the day when you finally give up your energy-saving ways and actually work hard on a test."

"Like hell that day would arrive. Anyway, what's this about separation of your senses? What does that have to do with you being able to say you'll enjoy yourself?"

"All right, then let me enlighten you. First, I wouldn't think of saying something like "I'm gonna enjoy a lot," as I'm a fairly easy to please person. You know what I'm good at resigning myself to? Just from the point of view of Houtarou the Boorish."

''Do you know?'' Satoshi gestured as he finished his sentence. Fleeting a glimpse at him, as I had no intention of bursting his bubble, I said nothing. Sensing I had no intention to answer, he lowered his voice as though informing me of a secret and said, "Even if I'm not good at enjoying myself......"

"......"

He gave a broad smile.

"I could still look forward to people giving me their enjoyment!"

Oh boy.

Ignoring my cold expression, Satoshi continued with his talk of how he's still "gonna enjoy this." I could do nothing but keep quiet and smile bitterly.

Fukube Satoshi. I have been hanging out with this fellow since junior high.

From his appearance, Satoshi was a person with brown eyes and a slim figure that might be mistaken as that of a girl when seen from afar. And while he may seem like a weakling, he has developed some amazing leg muscles due to his penchant for cycling.

Though his real features lie with his mental state. You may have caught a glimpse of that from our conversation just now; he can be pretty forceful in abandoning his studies and social life casually. Already a member of the Handicraft Club and the General Committee, he decided to join the Classics Club as well simply because "it sounded interesting."

He is never seen without his drawstring bag in his hand, though I have no idea of its contents. All I can say is that it contains all sorts of stuff.

In the road ahead, we could see Kamiyama High School appearing. The outer walls weren't painted pink due to the Cultural Festival, and seen from afar, it looked no different from any other regular high school. However, within its grounds were flourishing all sorts of activities concerning the Cultural Festival. In order to prepare for the festival, classes were suspended since yesterday.

The body of students heading towards school looked different today. While there were many in their uniforms, there were also many from other clubs in their casual wear. And there were many who did not carry any bag with them, as there was no need to bring any scholastic equipment. Due to such discrepancies, even I could feel the expectation that something different from usual was about to start.

Though Kamiyama High School is a school geared towards students entering university, it didn't have that many supplementary classes, neither did it have a particularly high record of students entering famous universities. If you were to ask the students of Kamiyama High School what its specialty was, only one in ten would have said it specializes in university entrance exams. The other nine would answer "It's a school known for its vibrant Arts-related club activities." There are many kinds of arts-related clubs in Kami High, and its activities too are various. And the highlight of these activities would of course be the Cultural Festival, which was rare amongst high schools for its number of days, with one day for preparation and three whole days for the main event.

Satoshi suddenly raised his voice cheerfully.

"And besides... Why, Houtarou, isn't that Mayaka?"

He pointed to a girl in front of us. She was dressed in casual wear comprising of a red cardigan and white cotton trousers, but I couldn't tell whether she was Ibara Mayaka from behind. Though I've known her since elementary school, I've rarely seen her in casual wear since junior high. But if Satoshi says it's her, then it has to be.

For many times Ibara had confessed her love to Satoshi, yet while Satoshi was not one to fall into self-loathing, he had chosen to evade her advances time and time again. I couldn't figure out why he's done so even if I wanted to.

"I'll be going on ahead."

He turned and said that before running off towards that girl ahead of us.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 7 The Fall of Yozora Mikadzuki

2012-09-07T05:35:48Z

Dan.:

===The Fall of Yozora Mikadzuki===

It was now late Sunday, some hours after we all found out about Sena and I being engaged.

We'd finished filming a little bit ago, so I said my goodbyes to everyone, and left the chapel.

As I was walking towards the school gates amidst the sunset, I saw a sister sitting on a bench going "that hits the spot!" like some old man after taking a gulp of her pop.

Apparently she saw me too, because she went, "Yo, Onii-chan," and casually called out to me.

"I've got a bone to pick with you..."

I sighed and knit my brows as I walked over to sister Kate, causing her to go, "Hmm~?" and made a confused look on her face.

"I had a lot of trouble today thanks to you."

"Huh?"

Kate tilted her head as I explained what had happened earlier.

"Ahh, sorry 'bout that."

Kate gave me a light apology along with a wry smile, and added,

"But ya' know, Onii-chan, it's not like I'm the only one who knows about you and Sena being engaged."

".........Eh?"

I could feel my face going stiff as Kate continued on.

"It's 'cause Pegasus blabs about everything. Most of the sisters and the teachers here all know about it, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were some students who get along well with their teachers who know about it too."

Are you kidding me...?

"That old man needs to keep his mouth shut!"

"Haha, I bet it's 'cause he was so happy about it. I doubt he thought there was any need to hide it either."

Kate said along with another wry smile.

"But, I see, so Pegasus was just jumping to conclusions, huh..."

"Eh? What'd you say?"

I asked Kate, who'd started mumbling something in a strangely shy-sounding voice.

"It's nothing~"

Kate made a big happy smile for some reason.

"By the way, Onii-chan, are you guys really filming a movie?"

"Hm? Yeah."

"Sounds fun~ I really like movies too, ya' know. I rent a bunch of 'em to watch when I've got the time."

"Oh?"

"What kind of movie are you guys makin'?"

"Maria didn't tell you?"

I asked Kate, prompting a wry smile to form on her face as she replied,

"She came home one day all happy and told me 'I'm making a movie with Onii-chan,' but... that was all I got out of her."

"Ahh."

I made a wry smile too.

It's true that Maria probably wouldn't really get what the movie's about even if we explained it to her.

Heck, it's pretty doubtful that she even knows what the overall plot is.

"Where to start... Well, the movie we're making is——"

.........

I told Kate all about the movie in pretty fine detail.

Kate seemed to be enjoying herself as she listened, and when I finished, she said,

"I see. Sounds just like The Sun On Top of the Hill."

"The Sun On Top of the Hill?"

I asked Kate, since I'd never heard of it before, to which Kate happily responded,

"Yeah, it's a pretty famous Japanese movie among movie lovers. I like it a lot myself too. I'd love to see your guys' when it's done."

"You don't say. I'll have to go rent it on the way home and check it out then."

"Yeah, you totally should. Let me know what you thought about it after you watch it!"

Kate showed me an incredibly cute smile befitting a girl her age.

☺

On my way home from school I rented The Sun On Top of the Hill from a video rental store I stopped at, and later that night I put it in our DVD player at home to watch it.

I thought watching a famous movie that's similar to ours might come in handy as we finish making it.

According to the summary written on the case, it's a story of friendship where the protagonist is isolated in his class, but then one day he reunites with his old best friend who transfers into his class, and they face many trials and tribulations together.

I see what Kate meant now. This summary is identical to our movie's.

But, it's not like this summary is all that unique. In fact, you could probably say it's more cliché than anything.

It'll be interesting to see how some real movie pros handled the same overall story.

The script Yozora wrote was actually pretty damn good though.

I wonder if maybe our movie's more interesting than the pros'... I began watching the movie with those thoughts in the back of my mind.

——...About an hour and 30 minutes later.

The movie was over.

The movie was, just as Kate said, an incredibly fascinating work of art.

Apparently it was released a whole 10 years ago, but it didn't feel old at all.

The cast didn't have any flashy idols in it, but was instead made up of a group of young actors with some impressive acting skills.

The movie itself wasn't flashy either, but it had meticulous well-done camerawork, and music that always got you pumped up for each of the big scenes.

Of course, the most important part of the movie, the story, was good as well.

The story mostly takes place in the school they go to, and the "various trials and tribulations" feel like things all of us might have experienced, and some are even things that I myself have experienced in the past. They all feel very realistic, and I can understand how the characters feel to an almost painful extent.

However, it's that deep bond of friendship between them that allows them to overcome all those difficulties that's truly moving.

Overall the story is sort of dark, but there are comedy scenes as well, and in the end it's not just the protagonist and his best friend, but the all the people around them too—— including some of the people who tormented them before—— who come together and create an astounding and beautiful happy end to the story.

The movie was practically identical to ours aside from the names of some things, like the characters and the school, and surprisingly, everything from the order of events, to their resolutions, to the flow between them, and even the movie's lines were exactly the same as ours.

"........."

.........Yep.

.........I know... It's OK, I know...

It's not that The Sun On Top of the Hill is just like our movie.

It's our movie that's just like The Sun On Top of the Hill.

.........No... It's not "just like" it...

Basically, the point is,

that Yozora's script,

"IS A DAMN GIANT RIP- OFFFFFFFFFFFF!!"

☺

It was now after school the next day.

By the time I got to the clubroom, everyone aside from Kobato was already there.

Our scriptwriter and director Ms. Mikadzuki had her script on the table, and was mumbling, "...Hrm... How should we do this scene..." while tapping the script with a red ballpoint pen and making a difficult look on her face.

I cautiously started talking to Yozora as she was in the midst of doing all that.

"...Hey, Ms. young writer in distress."

"What is it, Kodaka? I'm busy right now."

Yozora ran a hand through her hair and looked over at me with a grumpy look on her face, to which I responded by taking the DVD for The Sun On Top of the Hill out of my bag.

The case wasn't a colorful one you'd get if you bought it, but rather a simple clear plastic one from the rental store, so I doubt she could easily see what it was.

"......?"

Yozora made a confused look on her face, so I told her,

"This is the DVD for The Sun On Top of the H——"

Clang!! Bam!!

Yozora got up out of her chair and started to make her escape from the clubroom before I could even finish my sentence! 

"Wha- Yozora!?" "Senpai!?" "Anego?" "Wah!?"

I yelled to my fellow club members, who were shocked by Yozora's sudden action,

"Don't let her get away!"

"As you wish." "Yayy!" "I don't really get it, but OK!"

Yukimura, Maria, and Sena all moved to block Yozora's path as soon as I gave the order, and then lunged at her.

Yozora was easily caught by the group of three.

"Ugh! You bunch of little...! ......Kh..."

Yozora gave up soon after, and hung her head in shame.

☺

It was now about two hours after Yozora's little incident.

We made Yozora sit seiza-style on the floor.

A placard that read "I plagiarized someone else's work" was hanging down from her neck.

The placard was actually Maria's beloved(?) one that Kate always makes her wear while sitting in the same seiza-style when she does something bad.

...Anyway, back to right after we captured Yozora.

Once it was clear Yozora wasn't getting away, I explained that it was highly likely Yozora plagiarized the script for our movie from The Sun On Top of the Hill.

Yozora denied any wrongdoing (she said it was only a coincidence they were similar, and that she simply had to go to the bathroom really bad at the same time I showed her the DVD), so we quickly formed a "Yozora Mikadzuki Plagiarism Inspection Team," and compared Yozora's script with copy of the movie I brought.

The verdict: everyone declared her to be guilty.

Even the ever-stubborn Yozora admitted she "used a part of it as a reference."

The remains of my hopes that she didn't actually plagiarize were dashed when I heard that.

"So, why did you try to pull this bullshit? Well?"

Rika interrogated Yozora, who was still sitting seiza-style with her head hanging dejectedly, while loudly chewing some gum and acting like a punk trying to pick a fight.

Incidentally, Rika was dressed in the boy's uniform she was using for the movie, and had her hair all slicked back.

She also had a fake sword with her, although I have no idea where she got it from.

"...I'm sorry."

Smack!!

Rika hit the ground in front of Yozora with her sword as hard as she could after Yozora apologized in a feeble voice.

"Eep..."

[[Image:Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_Vol7_Ch13_Img01(Vexed).jpg|thumb]]

Yozora let out a faint yelp.

"The hell do you mean you're sorry!? You deaf? I'm askin' why the hell you did what you did!!"

"......I thought none of you would ever find out if I copied a little Japanese movie, since you're all a bunch of idiots who've probably never seen any movies aside from some anime or big Hollywood ones."

Yozora said, her lips pursed as though she were pouting.

Smack!!

"Who're you callin' an idiot!? You think it's OK to steal as long as you don't get caught!?"

"Uu..."

"Listen up, ya' goddamn bitch!! Stealin's the one thing an author should never do! That's like pissin' all over the work other authors worked their fuckin' asses off to make! You got that!?"

"...I'm very sorry."

Yozora apologized again, in a near-mumble this time.

Smack!!

"You sure you got it, you fuckin' dumbass!?"

"...Uu... I'm really very sorry..."

"I can't hear you! You at least know how to speak, right!? Then do it for fuck's sake!"

SMACKKKK!!

"I'm sorry!! I'm so sorry I plagiarized!!"

"...Keh, you goddamn worms who only know how to steal other people's works are such a pain in my ass. If you're gonna apologize for it later, then don't do it in the first place you sack of shit! You have any idea how much of a pain in the ass you are? Well!?"

Rika continued to insult Yozora, who was now teary-eyed, with a cold look in her eyes as though she were looking at a pile of trash.

"Haaa... I thought it was weird, too. There's no way you could ever write a script that good."

Sena added, with a let-down look on her face, followed by,

"...Anego... you big idiot..."

"Aghua...!?"

Yukimura stared at Yozora with a sad look in her eyes, causing Yozora to make a pained expression on her face.

I've had it done to me too, so I know that having Yukimura look at you like that hurts way more than any insult.

"Uu... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Yozora continued to mumble out apologies to us.

Rika then went, "Phew..." and let out a sigh.

She then quickly went back to making a serious face, spit out her gum on a piece of paper, and said,

"So, what should we do now?"

I was a little bewildered by the sudden change from insult mode to her now serious tone of voice.

"Eh, what do you mean?"

"I'm talking about the movie, and whether or not we should continue filming using Yozora's plagiarized script or not. Technically speaking, I don't think there's any real problem with it, even if it is a bald-faced rip-off, since we're not trying to make any money off of it. We're not entering it in a contest or putting it online either. The final product would just be an inferior copy of The Sun On Top of the Hill, but we could still keep filming it, if everyone's OK with that."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Sena completely rejected the choice Rika had just explained.

"I, the Sena Kashiwazaki, am not going to make some rip-off movie! We're done with Yozora's script! Let's go with a new one instead!"

In response to Sena's enthusiasm, Rika calmly replied,

"Rika would like to do that too, but making a whole new script now would be..."

"You don't have to worry about that."

"Eh?"

We all looked confused, so Sena puffed out her chest in pride, and declared,

"I secretly prepared a script of my own, just in case that idiot Yozora couldn't write one! I only kept quiet about it up until now to let that idiot Yozora save face!"

"Wow... You're awesome, Sena!"

"Nicely done, Sena-senpai...!"

"I would expect no less from you, Sena-anego."

"Ahaha, Sena's pretty cool~"

Sena made a supremely triumphant look on her face after hearing all the praise we had for her.

"Heheh, that's right! You better be thankful, foolish commoners!"

Sena then looked down at Yozora sitting seiza-style on the floor,

"Heh, heh, heh~" and laughed happily.

"Gh..."

Yozora looked irritated as she frowned and looked away from Sena.

"Heh. Hey hey, Yozoraaa~ What's it feel like~? Come on, tell me, widdle Yozowa~ What's it feel like to have everyone find out you ripped off another movie, and then have your role as scriptwriter stolen away from you by me~? What's our pathetic widdle Yozowa feel like right now~!?"

Wow... Sena's merciless...

"...Ughhh... Aghughah..."

Yozora's face was completely red, she had tears in the corners of her eyes, her veins were popping out on her forehead, and her fists were trembling on top of her knees.

Usually Yozora would have flipped out by now, but she was holding herself back, since she was clearly in the wrong this time.

Sena then stooped over Yozora, and said,

"Everybody, look at her~ It's our failure, widdle Yozowa~♪"

Sena then took it a step further, and started lightly smacking Yozora on the cheek.

"!? <nowiki>~~~~~~</nowiki>!! Ghaugh, Gughhh, Kgogyofgh, Fhoegharghugrraghgouhguoaghooagheghhfrrr!!!!!"

Yozora's bloodshot eyes were opened wider than I thought possible as she let out a sound that no girl... no, a sound so terrible that no human should ever make.

"...Yozora."

Sena said, changing to a serious face all of a sudden.

"You better make up for this mess with your acting in the movie."

"........."

Yozora simply sat there without saying a word.

Sena then got up, and said,

"Heheh, anyway, just do the best you can, OK? In my movie, that is!"

"Kh..."

Yozora groaned in frustration, but I could see there was a light of will in her eyes.

"All right, I'm going home for today! I've gotta fix up the script and all! I'll blow you all away tomorrow!"

Sena said in her usual ridiculously condescending attitude, and then left the room.

And so, that's how the script for the Neighbors Club's movie changed all of a sudden.

We're down to the last two weeks before the school festival.

......Are we really gonna be OK...?

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai:_Volume_7_My Fiancée and Childhood Friend Are At Each Other's Throats?|My Fiancée and Childhood Friend Are At Each Other's Throats?]]
| Return to [[Boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunai|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai:_Volume_7_In The Rika Room|In The Rika Room]]
|-
|}

Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 1

2012-08-25T01:56:14Z

Dan.: Undo revision 181228 by Spectrum (talk) make a new change for the Indonesian version. Do not edit the English version.

==1 - Letter from Benares==

Dear Houtarou,

I am currently staying in Benares. Although in Japan this place is commonly known as Benares, calling it Varanasi is probably more accurate in terms of pronunciation.

Benares is a great town, Houtarou. This is a town of funeral ceremonies - after all, it has been since a long time ago. It seems like whoever dies here can ascend directly to heaven. Or am I wrong?

Oh yes, this place is said to be "free from the wheel of reincarnation." What it means is that dying here is equivalent to becoming an enlightened being in the Buddhist sense. In China, a long austerity is required to reach this state of "release". But here you simply pass away and then everything is okay.

Well, that's a pathetic story for the Chinese.

It might be a bit late, but congratulations for being successfully admitted into high school. It is Kamiyama High School after all, isn't it? What a boring choice. But congratulations anyway.

As your big-sis, let me give you, someone who has safely become a high school student, a piece of advice.

Enter the Classics Club.

The Classics Club is a humanities club in Kami-High with a long tradition. Also, you might already know this, but I also belonged to the club in the past.

I heard this from someone else, but it seems that our tradition-rich club has had no newcomers for three years and currently has no members at all. If no one joins the club this year it will be disbanded. As a former member of the club it is certainly not something I can stand.

However, if there are newcomers in April then the situation will turn out differently. Houtarou, safeguard the Classics Club, the youth of your big-sis. For now you can join the club in name only.

Moreover, it's not really that bad of a club. It's particularly great in autumn.

After all, you don't have anything better to do, do you?

I'll call you after reaching New Delhi.

With love, 
Tomoe

<noinclude>
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|-
| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 2|2 - The Rebirth of the Traditional Classics Club]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai

2012-08-20T07:02:50Z

Dan.: /* Volume 7 missing chapter?? */

== Pls. more & YOU SHALL RECIVE ==
add more chapter
To the person at the top: http://www.mangafox.com/manga/boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunai/ . I'd like to stress though that I'm extremely happy to be able to read the original!
Thanks for your work!

Well; as the above states, this series in addition to it's manga-version is since recently green-lit for a Anime adaption.
As is the mark of the times, more and more LN:s are being adapted in this way and i'd like to have a big applause - since we don't translate anything boring on this page but still make up a pretty small part of the scene it's a big step forward for every one of these titles looking at the interest-level.

In short I hope to see a great influx of interest from the anime-enthusiasts again with this development.
Applause!

== Ch. 10 - 12 ==
Won't those be translated? It's sort of nagging to see only 3 chptrs left untranslated--
[[User:Castor212|Castor212]] 01:41, 1 August 2011 (UCT)

== Color Illustrations ==

Alright, I've been wondering how do i upload illustrations images on this website? It's been 1 month since the project started and i would like to contribute. Please response ASAP. Thank you. -- [[User:Aezile|Aezile]] 08:46, 10 April 2011 (GMT)

I myself am very confused at the organization of the illustrations.

@Big boss, free to explain how you would like the formatting of the illustration page to be done? ^_^

@Aezile Just upload the illustrations using "Upload File" link at the bottom left, and follow the organization for volume 1 for now --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 08:15, 19 May 2011 (UCT)

Can i just name it Illustrations rather than splitting it into 3 parts? and I keep getting this:
Upload warning
It is recommended that files are no larger than 307200; this file is $2.
Please modify the file description below and try again. Need help badly -- [[User:Aezile|Aezile]]18:42, 19 May 2011 (GMT)

== Mikazuki vs Mikaduki ==

Should we stick to Mikazuki for pronunciation rather than Mikaduki for IME typing? --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 16:02, 19 May 2011 (UCT)

I know i'm in no position to say this but I do really think that Mikazuki is more appropriate. [[User:Aezile|Aezile]] 18:10, 19 May 2011 (GMT)

It's not Mikaduki, how does that even make any sense? It's pronounced basically the same as "zu" in most cases, though personally when it comes up I romanize it as "dzu" to keep the difference you'd see in Japanese there. [[User:Vexed|Vexed]] 18:48, 22 September 2011 (GMT)

My two yen: 'Du' is less intuitive than 'Dzu' (in terms of pronunciation), but admittedly is used by some (IME-related) and is similarly relatively unambiguous when used for tsu-with-two-dashes; 'zu' by contrast should almost certainly be only used for su-with-two-dashes, as otherwise it could prompt significant misunderstanding. As such, if the hiragana representation is not in fact みかずき, I humbly request that Mikazuki not be used to represent it (whichever of the other possibilities is in practice chosen/used). [[Special:Contributions/83.104.133.97|83.104.133.97]] 11:36, 23 September 2011 (CDT)

Her name is "三日月" which uses the kanji for moon (月 ''tsuki''). Therefore the hiragana for the syllable in question would be づ. This should probably be romanized as "dzu" to avoid confusion with ず. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 14:04, 25 October 2011 (CDT)

== Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai anime adaptation confirmed ==

Not sure if this is the appropriate place; but for the fans of this series that aren't aware of this yet the 6th volume of the light novel confirms an anime adaption "in the near future" on the front cover. Rejoice!
-[[User:Asteradragon|Asteradragon]] 7:58, 21 May 2011 (EST)

==Kuronika vs Chronica==

volume 1 used Kuronika, and volume 2 chapter 1 (LOL) used Chronica. which one is the right one? though Chronica would make more sense - RandomPasserBy 05:30, 24 May 2011 (UCT)

Should be Chronica, I guess. It sounds more Christian. [[User:Kira0802|Kira]] 10:55, 24 May 2011 (UCT)

The actual spelling is Kuronika´; more specifically that is what it spells out to in japanese. But since this is not a word by word translation i'd go for Chronica every day of the week based on
targeted audience. They sound about the same in spoken jap-english anyway.--[[User:Novium|Novium]] 21:35, 2 June 2011 (UCT)

==Vol. 2 chap. 3: Shiguma Rika==

I think its sad that this chapter isnt translated as well, otherwise this volume would be complete... --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 14:49, 16 August 2011 (CDT)

Its been translated, but seems to be a bit short? Doesn't explain why she joined the club in the next chapter.--[[User:Gabgrave|Gabgrave]] 02:13, 18 October 2011 (CDT)

...I have not finished it yet...[[User:Kira0802|Kira]] ([[User_talk:Kira0802|Talk]]) 11:15, 18 October 2011 (CDT)

Oh i see. Thanks for the great translation!--[[User:Gabgrave|Gabgrave]] 21:10, 18 October 2011 (CDT)

== Volume 1 Chapters 11-12 ==

Are these chapters going to be translated? Just wondering.

== Korean Translation Vol 1~6 ==

I want to upload the korean translation, but im a computer noob, so ive uploaded it onto mediafire. Please let me know if the link is down!
http://www.mediafire.com/?g6jo5alh2nqak87

== Vol 01 Chapter 11 (Swimming Pool) ==

just wondering when this part will be translated

only one chapter left and it's kind of depressing to leave that part untranslated

== Vol 02 Chapter 3-5 ''(Misssing Images)''==
The chapters 3-5 are missing images.

The missing images are "Page 055" and "Page 075".

Please, insert the images and then delete this part.

Thank you.

:Images have been added --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 15:25, 14 March 2012 (CDT)

== Volume 6,7 ==

Please translate the remaining chapters of volume 6 and 7. Those are important chapters in my opinion and i just want to know what happened pleaseeeee

Look, Vexed is going through all of them. The reason why some parts of volume 7 was translated was because they were translated by another translator. Vexed isn't going to go faster if you try to act cute here...--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 04:05, 11 June 2012 (CDT)

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh ?? I'm just saying... It's not like i'm trying to "act cute" or anything \(>o<)/ Btw, how do you know when a chapter is being translated ?? Is there a sign ??

:He's just going in order. He'll be translating whichever chapter is next, in the order they are in the books. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 06:20, 12 June 2012 (CDT)

Thank you Dan. The Vexed guy must be really nice :-D Actually ALL of the translators must be really nice, they are doing something not for their own gain. "Faith in humanity:Restored"

== page names and minor stuff ==
Well, i guess it's just an unimportant matter, but i want to mention it at least. If you guys look onto the page names of the volume chapters, you could notice the inconsistency between those. At first, the series name should always be written with three letters in uppercase, which is not the case for every page. The other thing is the space character between the title an the chapter names which also isn't used at every volume or chapter. Does anyone think that those things should be changed or is it insignificant? --[[User:Unkalibriert|Unkalibriert]] 14:28, 15 June 2012 (CDT)
:Any news on this one? --[[User:Unkalibriert|Unkalibriert]] 16:30, 23 June 2012 (CDT)

== Volume 6 Birthday Party Not Working ==

The Birthday Party Chapters are red linked saying the pages do not exist, but I bet they're already translated, is it possible to correctly link it? --174.51.125.88 01:38, 16 June 2012 (CDT)
:They are not translated, and because of that the pages don't exist yet. Vexed released his translation for the previous chapter a merely two days ago (look on [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunai:Volume6_It%27s_A_Date_No_Matter_How_You_Look_At_It._Seriously,_etc.&action=history version history] for timestamp), so it will take some time before he gets the next chapters done. --[[User:Unkalibriert|Unkalibriert]] 02:31, 16 June 2012 (CDT)

== Volume 6 ==

I was wondering if Volume 6 was truly done since it said Full Text, the reason i'm asking this is since i noticed that not all the illustrations are showing, now obviously this isn't a big deal or anything but i was just curious since I've been waiting till it was fully translated before i start reading it.
:I don't know about the images, but it is fully translated. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 03:23, 13 July 2012 (CDT)
Alright thanks, and the images aren't a big deal, i just noticed that there was one or two pics that show up in the full text but not at the top with the rest of the pics, which is a really minor thing, as long as its fully translated, alls good :D, thanks for the hard work!

== Volume 7 missing chapter?? ==

Hi I just wanted to ask what happened to "In the Rika Room"? I am definately sure i read it in the past, but now its red linked. I read in the talk that Vexed is going through all of them, perhaps he is fixing it or something?

Hmm...I'm also wondering about it. Perhaps they're trying to redo it? Dunno.. - [[User:RasteShelphyd|RasteShelphyd]]
:Vexed is redoing all of them. Here is the old one: [[Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai:_Volume_7_In_the_Rika_room|In the Rika room]]

If Vexed is redoing all of those, are there old versions to all the red chapters? [[User:Wolflordy|Wolflordy]]
:As far as I can tell, none of the chapters without translations (the red links) have been translated yet at all, by Vexed or anyone else. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] ([[User talk:Dan.|talk]]) 02:01, 20 August 2012 (CDT)

Only ''Fourteen year old morning''; ''Things noticed''; ''School Festival ~Activity meeting~''; ''Movie'';
''Yusa Aoi''; ''Born princess'' and ''Is this a date? No it's a Shuraba flag'' were also completed (if the entries in the registration page were correct) --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] ([[User talk:Darklor|talk]]) 01:27, 20 August 2012 (CDT)

Talk:Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai

2012-08-20T07:01:59Z

Dan.: /* Volume 7 missing chapter?? */

== Pls. more & YOU SHALL RECIVE ==
add more chapter
To the person at the top: http://www.mangafox.com/manga/boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunai/ . I'd like to stress though that I'm extremely happy to be able to read the original!
Thanks for your work!

Well; as the above states, this series in addition to it's manga-version is since recently green-lit for a Anime adaption.
As is the mark of the times, more and more LN:s are being adapted in this way and i'd like to have a big applause - since we don't translate anything boring on this page but still make up a pretty small part of the scene it's a big step forward for every one of these titles looking at the interest-level.

In short I hope to see a great influx of interest from the anime-enthusiasts again with this development.
Applause!

== Ch. 10 - 12 ==
Won't those be translated? It's sort of nagging to see only 3 chptrs left untranslated--
[[User:Castor212|Castor212]] 01:41, 1 August 2011 (UCT)

== Color Illustrations ==

Alright, I've been wondering how do i upload illustrations images on this website? It's been 1 month since the project started and i would like to contribute. Please response ASAP. Thank you. -- [[User:Aezile|Aezile]] 08:46, 10 April 2011 (GMT)

I myself am very confused at the organization of the illustrations.

@Big boss, free to explain how you would like the formatting of the illustration page to be done? ^_^

@Aezile Just upload the illustrations using "Upload File" link at the bottom left, and follow the organization for volume 1 for now --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 08:15, 19 May 2011 (UCT)

Can i just name it Illustrations rather than splitting it into 3 parts? and I keep getting this:
Upload warning
It is recommended that files are no larger than 307200; this file is $2.
Please modify the file description below and try again. Need help badly -- [[User:Aezile|Aezile]]18:42, 19 May 2011 (GMT)

== Mikazuki vs Mikaduki ==

Should we stick to Mikazuki for pronunciation rather than Mikaduki for IME typing? --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 16:02, 19 May 2011 (UCT)

I know i'm in no position to say this but I do really think that Mikazuki is more appropriate. [[User:Aezile|Aezile]] 18:10, 19 May 2011 (GMT)

It's not Mikaduki, how does that even make any sense? It's pronounced basically the same as "zu" in most cases, though personally when it comes up I romanize it as "dzu" to keep the difference you'd see in Japanese there. [[User:Vexed|Vexed]] 18:48, 22 September 2011 (GMT)

My two yen: 'Du' is less intuitive than 'Dzu' (in terms of pronunciation), but admittedly is used by some (IME-related) and is similarly relatively unambiguous when used for tsu-with-two-dashes; 'zu' by contrast should almost certainly be only used for su-with-two-dashes, as otherwise it could prompt significant misunderstanding. As such, if the hiragana representation is not in fact みかずき, I humbly request that Mikazuki not be used to represent it (whichever of the other possibilities is in practice chosen/used). [[Special:Contributions/83.104.133.97|83.104.133.97]] 11:36, 23 September 2011 (CDT)

Her name is "三日月" which uses the kanji for moon (月 ''tsuki''). Therefore the hiragana for the syllable in question would be づ. This should probably be romanized as "dzu" to avoid confusion with ず. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 14:04, 25 October 2011 (CDT)

== Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai anime adaptation confirmed ==

Not sure if this is the appropriate place; but for the fans of this series that aren't aware of this yet the 6th volume of the light novel confirms an anime adaption "in the near future" on the front cover. Rejoice!
-[[User:Asteradragon|Asteradragon]] 7:58, 21 May 2011 (EST)

==Kuronika vs Chronica==

volume 1 used Kuronika, and volume 2 chapter 1 (LOL) used Chronica. which one is the right one? though Chronica would make more sense - RandomPasserBy 05:30, 24 May 2011 (UCT)

Should be Chronica, I guess. It sounds more Christian. [[User:Kira0802|Kira]] 10:55, 24 May 2011 (UCT)

The actual spelling is Kuronika´; more specifically that is what it spells out to in japanese. But since this is not a word by word translation i'd go for Chronica every day of the week based on
targeted audience. They sound about the same in spoken jap-english anyway.--[[User:Novium|Novium]] 21:35, 2 June 2011 (UCT)

==Vol. 2 chap. 3: Shiguma Rika==

I think its sad that this chapter isnt translated as well, otherwise this volume would be complete... --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 14:49, 16 August 2011 (CDT)

Its been translated, but seems to be a bit short? Doesn't explain why she joined the club in the next chapter.--[[User:Gabgrave|Gabgrave]] 02:13, 18 October 2011 (CDT)

...I have not finished it yet...[[User:Kira0802|Kira]] ([[User_talk:Kira0802|Talk]]) 11:15, 18 October 2011 (CDT)

Oh i see. Thanks for the great translation!--[[User:Gabgrave|Gabgrave]] 21:10, 18 October 2011 (CDT)

== Volume 1 Chapters 11-12 ==

Are these chapters going to be translated? Just wondering.

== Korean Translation Vol 1~6 ==

I want to upload the korean translation, but im a computer noob, so ive uploaded it onto mediafire. Please let me know if the link is down!
http://www.mediafire.com/?g6jo5alh2nqak87

== Vol 01 Chapter 11 (Swimming Pool) ==

just wondering when this part will be translated

only one chapter left and it's kind of depressing to leave that part untranslated

== Vol 02 Chapter 3-5 ''(Misssing Images)''==
The chapters 3-5 are missing images.

The missing images are "Page 055" and "Page 075".

Please, insert the images and then delete this part.

Thank you.

:Images have been added --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 15:25, 14 March 2012 (CDT)

== Volume 6,7 ==

Please translate the remaining chapters of volume 6 and 7. Those are important chapters in my opinion and i just want to know what happened pleaseeeee

Look, Vexed is going through all of them. The reason why some parts of volume 7 was translated was because they were translated by another translator. Vexed isn't going to go faster if you try to act cute here...--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 04:05, 11 June 2012 (CDT)

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh ?? I'm just saying... It's not like i'm trying to "act cute" or anything \(>o<)/ Btw, how do you know when a chapter is being translated ?? Is there a sign ??

:He's just going in order. He'll be translating whichever chapter is next, in the order they are in the books. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 06:20, 12 June 2012 (CDT)

Thank you Dan. The Vexed guy must be really nice :-D Actually ALL of the translators must be really nice, they are doing something not for their own gain. "Faith in humanity:Restored"

== page names and minor stuff ==
Well, i guess it's just an unimportant matter, but i want to mention it at least. If you guys look onto the page names of the volume chapters, you could notice the inconsistency between those. At first, the series name should always be written with three letters in uppercase, which is not the case for every page. The other thing is the space character between the title an the chapter names which also isn't used at every volume or chapter. Does anyone think that those things should be changed or is it insignificant? --[[User:Unkalibriert|Unkalibriert]] 14:28, 15 June 2012 (CDT)
:Any news on this one? --[[User:Unkalibriert|Unkalibriert]] 16:30, 23 June 2012 (CDT)

== Volume 6 Birthday Party Not Working ==

The Birthday Party Chapters are red linked saying the pages do not exist, but I bet they're already translated, is it possible to correctly link it? --174.51.125.88 01:38, 16 June 2012 (CDT)
:They are not translated, and because of that the pages don't exist yet. Vexed released his translation for the previous chapter a merely two days ago (look on [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunai:Volume6_It%27s_A_Date_No_Matter_How_You_Look_At_It._Seriously,_etc.&action=history version history] for timestamp), so it will take some time before he gets the next chapters done. --[[User:Unkalibriert|Unkalibriert]] 02:31, 16 June 2012 (CDT)

== Volume 6 ==

I was wondering if Volume 6 was truly done since it said Full Text, the reason i'm asking this is since i noticed that not all the illustrations are showing, now obviously this isn't a big deal or anything but i was just curious since I've been waiting till it was fully translated before i start reading it.
:I don't know about the images, but it is fully translated. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 03:23, 13 July 2012 (CDT)
Alright thanks, and the images aren't a big deal, i just noticed that there was one or two pics that show up in the full text but not at the top with the rest of the pics, which is a really minor thing, as long as its fully translated, alls good :D, thanks for the hard work!

== Volume 7 missing chapter?? ==

Hi I just wanted to ask what happened to "In the Rika Room"? I am definately sure i read it in the past, but now its red linked. I read in the talk that Vexed is going through all of them, perhaps he is fixing it or something?

Hmm...I'm also wondering about it. Perhaps they're trying to redo it? Dunno.. - [[User:RasteShelphyd|RasteShelphyd]]
:Vexed is redoing all of them. Here is the old one: [[Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai:_Volume_7_In_the_Rika_room|In the Rika room]]

If Vexed is redoing all of those, are there old versions to all the red chapters? [[User:Wolflordy|Wolflordy]]

Only ''Fourteen year old morning''; ''Things noticed''; ''School Festival ~Activity meeting~''; ''Movie'';
''Yusa Aoi''; ''Born princess'' and ''Is this a date? No it's a Shuraba flag'' were also completed (if the entries in the registration page were correct) --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] ([[User talk:Darklor|talk]]) 01:27, 20 August 2012 (CDT)
:As far as I can tell, none of the chapters without translations (the red links) have been translated yet at all, by Vexed or anyone else. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] ([[User talk:Dan.|talk]]) 02:01, 20 August 2012 (CDT)

Talk:Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai

2012-08-20T07:01:21Z

Dan.:

== Pls. more & YOU SHALL RECIVE ==
add more chapter
To the person at the top: http://www.mangafox.com/manga/boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunai/ . I'd like to stress though that I'm extremely happy to be able to read the original!
Thanks for your work!

Well; as the above states, this series in addition to it's manga-version is since recently green-lit for a Anime adaption.
As is the mark of the times, more and more LN:s are being adapted in this way and i'd like to have a big applause - since we don't translate anything boring on this page but still make up a pretty small part of the scene it's a big step forward for every one of these titles looking at the interest-level.

In short I hope to see a great influx of interest from the anime-enthusiasts again with this development.
Applause!

== Ch. 10 - 12 ==
Won't those be translated? It's sort of nagging to see only 3 chptrs left untranslated--
[[User:Castor212|Castor212]] 01:41, 1 August 2011 (UCT)

== Color Illustrations ==

Alright, I've been wondering how do i upload illustrations images on this website? It's been 1 month since the project started and i would like to contribute. Please response ASAP. Thank you. -- [[User:Aezile|Aezile]] 08:46, 10 April 2011 (GMT)

I myself am very confused at the organization of the illustrations.

@Big boss, free to explain how you would like the formatting of the illustration page to be done? ^_^

@Aezile Just upload the illustrations using "Upload File" link at the bottom left, and follow the organization for volume 1 for now --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 08:15, 19 May 2011 (UCT)

Can i just name it Illustrations rather than splitting it into 3 parts? and I keep getting this:
Upload warning
It is recommended that files are no larger than 307200; this file is $2.
Please modify the file description below and try again. Need help badly -- [[User:Aezile|Aezile]]18:42, 19 May 2011 (GMT)

== Mikazuki vs Mikaduki ==

Should we stick to Mikazuki for pronunciation rather than Mikaduki for IME typing? --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 16:02, 19 May 2011 (UCT)

I know i'm in no position to say this but I do really think that Mikazuki is more appropriate. [[User:Aezile|Aezile]] 18:10, 19 May 2011 (GMT)

It's not Mikaduki, how does that even make any sense? It's pronounced basically the same as "zu" in most cases, though personally when it comes up I romanize it as "dzu" to keep the difference you'd see in Japanese there. [[User:Vexed|Vexed]] 18:48, 22 September 2011 (GMT)

My two yen: 'Du' is less intuitive than 'Dzu' (in terms of pronunciation), but admittedly is used by some (IME-related) and is similarly relatively unambiguous when used for tsu-with-two-dashes; 'zu' by contrast should almost certainly be only used for su-with-two-dashes, as otherwise it could prompt significant misunderstanding. As such, if the hiragana representation is not in fact みかずき, I humbly request that Mikazuki not be used to represent it (whichever of the other possibilities is in practice chosen/used). [[Special:Contributions/83.104.133.97|83.104.133.97]] 11:36, 23 September 2011 (CDT)

Her name is "三日月" which uses the kanji for moon (月 ''tsuki''). Therefore the hiragana for the syllable in question would be づ. This should probably be romanized as "dzu" to avoid confusion with ず. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 14:04, 25 October 2011 (CDT)

== Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai anime adaptation confirmed ==

Not sure if this is the appropriate place; but for the fans of this series that aren't aware of this yet the 6th volume of the light novel confirms an anime adaption "in the near future" on the front cover. Rejoice!
-[[User:Asteradragon|Asteradragon]] 7:58, 21 May 2011 (EST)

==Kuronika vs Chronica==

volume 1 used Kuronika, and volume 2 chapter 1 (LOL) used Chronica. which one is the right one? though Chronica would make more sense - RandomPasserBy 05:30, 24 May 2011 (UCT)

Should be Chronica, I guess. It sounds more Christian. [[User:Kira0802|Kira]] 10:55, 24 May 2011 (UCT)

The actual spelling is Kuronika´; more specifically that is what it spells out to in japanese. But since this is not a word by word translation i'd go for Chronica every day of the week based on
targeted audience. They sound about the same in spoken jap-english anyway.--[[User:Novium|Novium]] 21:35, 2 June 2011 (UCT)

==Vol. 2 chap. 3: Shiguma Rika==

I think its sad that this chapter isnt translated as well, otherwise this volume would be complete... --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 14:49, 16 August 2011 (CDT)

Its been translated, but seems to be a bit short? Doesn't explain why she joined the club in the next chapter.--[[User:Gabgrave|Gabgrave]] 02:13, 18 October 2011 (CDT)

...I have not finished it yet...[[User:Kira0802|Kira]] ([[User_talk:Kira0802|Talk]]) 11:15, 18 October 2011 (CDT)

Oh i see. Thanks for the great translation!--[[User:Gabgrave|Gabgrave]] 21:10, 18 October 2011 (CDT)

== Volume 1 Chapters 11-12 ==

Are these chapters going to be translated? Just wondering.

== Korean Translation Vol 1~6 ==

I want to upload the korean translation, but im a computer noob, so ive uploaded it onto mediafire. Please let me know if the link is down!
http://www.mediafire.com/?g6jo5alh2nqak87

== Vol 01 Chapter 11 (Swimming Pool) ==

just wondering when this part will be translated

only one chapter left and it's kind of depressing to leave that part untranslated

== Vol 02 Chapter 3-5 ''(Misssing Images)''==
The chapters 3-5 are missing images.

The missing images are "Page 055" and "Page 075".

Please, insert the images and then delete this part.

Thank you.

:Images have been added --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 15:25, 14 March 2012 (CDT)

== Volume 6,7 ==

Please translate the remaining chapters of volume 6 and 7. Those are important chapters in my opinion and i just want to know what happened pleaseeeee

Look, Vexed is going through all of them. The reason why some parts of volume 7 was translated was because they were translated by another translator. Vexed isn't going to go faster if you try to act cute here...--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 04:05, 11 June 2012 (CDT)

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh ?? I'm just saying... It's not like i'm trying to "act cute" or anything \(>o<)/ Btw, how do you know when a chapter is being translated ?? Is there a sign ??

:He's just going in order. He'll be translating whichever chapter is next, in the order they are in the books. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 06:20, 12 June 2012 (CDT)

Thank you Dan. The Vexed guy must be really nice :-D Actually ALL of the translators must be really nice, they are doing something not for their own gain. "Faith in humanity:Restored"

== page names and minor stuff ==
Well, i guess it's just an unimportant matter, but i want to mention it at least. If you guys look onto the page names of the volume chapters, you could notice the inconsistency between those. At first, the series name should always be written with three letters in uppercase, which is not the case for every page. The other thing is the space character between the title an the chapter names which also isn't used at every volume or chapter. Does anyone think that those things should be changed or is it insignificant? --[[User:Unkalibriert|Unkalibriert]] 14:28, 15 June 2012 (CDT)
:Any news on this one? --[[User:Unkalibriert|Unkalibriert]] 16:30, 23 June 2012 (CDT)

== Volume 6 Birthday Party Not Working ==

The Birthday Party Chapters are red linked saying the pages do not exist, but I bet they're already translated, is it possible to correctly link it? --174.51.125.88 01:38, 16 June 2012 (CDT)
:They are not translated, and because of that the pages don't exist yet. Vexed released his translation for the previous chapter a merely two days ago (look on [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunai:Volume6_It%27s_A_Date_No_Matter_How_You_Look_At_It._Seriously,_etc.&action=history version history] for timestamp), so it will take some time before he gets the next chapters done. --[[User:Unkalibriert|Unkalibriert]] 02:31, 16 June 2012 (CDT)

== Volume 6 ==

I was wondering if Volume 6 was truly done since it said Full Text, the reason i'm asking this is since i noticed that not all the illustrations are showing, now obviously this isn't a big deal or anything but i was just curious since I've been waiting till it was fully translated before i start reading it.
:I don't know about the images, but it is fully translated. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] 03:23, 13 July 2012 (CDT)
Alright thanks, and the images aren't a big deal, i just noticed that there was one or two pics that show up in the full text but not at the top with the rest of the pics, which is a really minor thing, as long as its fully translated, alls good :D, thanks for the hard work!

== Volume 7 missing chapter?? ==

Hi I just wanted to ask what happened to "In the Rika Room"? I am definately sure i read it in the past, but now its red linked. I read in the talk that Vexed is going through all of them, perhaps he is fixing it or something?

Hmm...I'm also wondering about it. Perhaps they're trying to redo it? Dunno.. - [[User:RasteShelphyd|RasteShelphyd]]
:Vexed is redoing all of them. Here is the old one: [[Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai:_Volume_7_In_the_Rika_room|In the Rika room]]

If Vexed is redoing all of those, are there old versions to all the red chapters? [[User:Wolflordy|Wolflordy]]

Only ''Fourteen year old morning''; ''Things noticed''; ''School Festival ~Activity meeting~''; ''Movie'';
''Yusa Aoi''; ''Born princess'' and ''Is this a date? No it's a Shuraba flag'' were also completed (if the entries in the registration page were correct) --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] ([[User talk:Darklor|talk]]) 01:27, 20 August 2012 (CDT)
:As far as I can tell, none of the chapter without translations (the red links) have been translated yet at all, by Vexed or anyone else. --[[User:Dan.|Dan.]] ([[User talk:Dan.|talk]]) 02:01, 20 August 2012 (CDT)