Editing Kämpfer:Volume 2 Chapter 4 (section)

==Part 3: Fallout and The Mysterious Challenge==

"That... Natsuru-san..."

Akane called out to me. After she'd called me about ten times, I finally managed to move my lips.

"What's going on..."

I couldn't see my face, but it must have been pale.

Akane's face was about the same.

"I was shocked... Natsuru-san... A girl named Natsuru actually likes a boy named Natsuru..."

"You knew that a long time ago, right?"

"I heard that girl Natsuru already has someone she likes. I didn't expect..."

My hands finally moved, and I hugged my head.

It was so tragic. It's not enough that nothing good happened after becoming Kämpfer, but it's also not easy to encounter such a tragedy. My already complicated interpersonal relationships have finally reached a point of no return.

And I'm the center of it all. Is this what they call fate? Can I just cry my heart out?

"Does everyone know about this?"

"No one, Lily, suspected that it was exaggerated, because the president isn't one to discuss gossip..."

I looked up. So, Shizuku was the one who spread this rumor.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Asshole, just declare war on me head-on instead of playing such despicable tricks behind my back. This woman is such a disgusting cockroach, and a very beautiful one at that.

"Akane, let's go."

"...Where are we going?"

"To the student council room. I'm going to see the president."

Akane said, "I understand," opened the classroom door, and turned back once she was in the hallway.

"...Aren't you coming with me?"

"The shock is so severe I can't even move. Can you help me?"

I said these insignificant words with a serious expression.

By the time I arrived at the student council president's office, my body had mostly recovered, but the front ends of my arms and legs were still numb, a testament to the severity of the shock.

The girl guarding the office was standing by. I seemed to have seen her before.

"Is the president here?"

I asked quickly.

The girl glared back at me sharply.

"If she is, let me in."

"...The student council president isn't here right now."

"Huh? Taking a leave?"

I was shocked that someone like Shizuku would take a leave. Being neither late nor absent was a given for her, and it seemed like she lived an extremely routine life, like a robot.

"She said no one can go in."

"...So she's here, isn't she?"

"No, she made me say that."

"Let me in."

"No."

No matter how many times I asked her, the girl was stubborn and refused to let me in.

Akane kept tugging at my sleeve, so I had to give in. I said, "Please tell the president to kill her!" and left. Why are the student unions filled with such stubborn people?

"That damn president, hiding away."

"...Why?"

Akane whispered.

"Maybe she has something to hide."

That's what she said, but Shizuku wasn't the kind of person who would avoid me just because of that. There must be a reason, but I really couldn't guess what it was.

"Ah—what should I do?"

There was no point in worrying at this point, so I just had to go to the Girls' Second Grade Class 4 classroom.

"Natsuru... can't you just change back on your own?"

"Still not."

I'd tried occasionally before, but the bracelet on my right hand hadn't responded at all. "Your bracelet is really rebellious!" "No matter how rebellious you are, it's still as exaggerated as you are," Seppuku Tiger said gleefully.

I'm so jealous of people like Akane who can transform whenever they want.

"Let's go back to class. We'll worry about what happens next."

"Hmm..."

We walked to the second-grade classroom together.

Inside the classroom, another commotion awaited me. The classmates possessed by money were still the same as before, but the girls, who were targeting me, started to stir.

"Natsuru-sama, you're so mean! You've abandoned me for the boys!"

"Are you tired of girls?"

"Didn't you read the letter I wrote you?"

Was this an apology to the lord? Or was it a protest of a strike? Tears welled up in the eyes of every girl, and it startled me.

"The rumor has spread that Natsuru likes boys."

"Who told you to betray a girl to get this?"

"But you can make a lot of money."

This time, it was three of my old friends. Akane told me this. It seems they're starting to think, "Natsuru likes boys now, so there's a chance to make money."

This is all Shizuku's fault. Although she's come to this conclusion, she can't get out of this situation.

What should I do?

"What kind of guy is that guy?"

"Natsuru, you must have been fooled by him!"

"How dare he hit on my older sister? I will never forgive him!"

As a boy, I don't have the courage to do that, even if the target was me.

The girls' anger was rising again. If this continued, they might go home and get tools to destroy my castle. I had to calm them down before then.

"Wait a minute."

I spread my hands, calming myself down.

"I didn't betray you..."

Oh, really, why did I have to say that?

"I don't like boys..."

I'm not gay, and I really don't want to say I like girls at this point, but these girls seemed to believe it.

"Can we trust you?"

"...Yeah."

The girls gathered around.

"So, will you be my big sister?"

"Natsuru is going to be my little sister."

"Let me touch you first, breasts or anywhere else."

My classmates were watching, seemingly not trying to use their skills to get the girls to line up obediently. Instead, they were betting on how I would fare. Of course, the bankers were still those three.

"Natsuru, please be patient for a moment. That way the odds will improve."

"I'm betting you'll lose, so it's okay if you lose —"

"If you want to help, give me a reward."

I didn't know whether to call them devils or demons, but that was just the way they were. The coldness of human nature and the feeling of helplessness and uncertainty came over me hand in hand.

"I get it..."

I decided to raise the white flag and surrender.

"I'll do what you say,"

the girls cheered.

"Then please take this!"

"I want one too!"

A flood of gifts and letters was handed to me, so much that even the postal department at the New Tokyo Post Office would be shocked. The flood of boxes and stationery quickly buried me up to my neck.

Ding-dong, ding-dong! The bell rang. Phew, it was over.

"You must see the gift I gave you."

"I'll wait for your reply."

The girls chatted back and forth, slowly dispersing like the receding tide.

"Are you... are you okay, Natsuru-san?"

Akane pushed aside the pile of letters and took my hand. The other students were betting on how many seconds it would take to rescue me, the highest being forty-five. It took me exactly one minute and five seconds to be rescued.

"I... I thought I was going to die."

"Do you want to go... to the infirmary?"

I had no external injuries, but I thought I'd just go to bed. If I went, everyone would probably start betting on "when she'll be back."

As I was about to return to my desk, I realized that most of the letters I'd received were in cute envelopes, still securely sealed. While quite a few girls had asked, "Exchange email addresses," I only had my cell phone, which I used when I was a boy, so I decided to stick to old-fashioned communication methods.

But this one seemed different. It was a white envelope, scentless and blank. There was only a ballpoint pen cross on the sticker, no name written on it.

Turning it over, the words on it startled me.

It said "Challenge" in large letters.

"What happened...?"

I tried my best to avoid the eyes and ears of my classmates and secretly showed it to Akane.

Her eyes widened.

"...What is this..."

"I don't know when something like this would get in there."

"Have you opened it?"

"Not yet."

It wouldn't be a good idea to open it here. If the class monitor and the others saw it, it would probably be considered another way to make money.

I told Akane, "Come to my house later," and put the letter in my pocket. I spent the rest of the class in the health room, not returning to the classroom, but going straight home. Sure enough, the group in Class 2, Grade 4 started gambling again, and the accountant who bet "she won't be back today" won big. I heard all this from Akane later.