Editing Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi:Volume3 Chapter2 (section)

===Part II===




Morning came early at Gora. People were out of bed before dawn, feeling happiness while washing their faces with the much warmer water. The baker picked up fermented dough from the chamber, and the farmer nodded hard at the first ears of wheat that were about to be harvested. The shepherd ran through the field with a dog, and those who had toiled throughout the night finally got to bed while yawning. The entire town had woken up, engulfed in the first wave of ruckus.

Gora Academy, located at the center of the town, was also awake.

"Wake up16:36, 22 November 2021 (CET)~!!!"

The bell rang loudly in the main auditorium, and Mageta fired a salute to the East in gratitude for the rising sun. She then fired a volley to the West to mourn the setting moon, before she stormed down the dormitory, bellowing.

"Alrighty rise and shine, ladies! Don’t ●●! Pull your panties up! Time to comb and apply lipstick! Wash your faces! You look like freshly picked vegetables! Theme of the day is ‘neat and tidy! The theme is "neat and tidy"! Scrub yourself well until those ●●●● on the ●● path will fall for you!"

The students rubbed their sleepy eyes, got up and began to use the short morning time for personal grooming. They absentmindedly take off their pajamas and put on their underwear, which, like their uniforms, were the cute, nondescript underwear. They then put on the crisply ironed shirts and checkered skirts, slipped their feet into the boots, and went to wash their faces. Every single one of them did so in their own order. Some cautious combed their hair, others struggled to look as cute as possible in their tailored outfits.

In the midst of all this, Ai,

"Hey, Ai, wake up!"

"……………Nnuuu…balsa…nova…"

She was asleep.

"Well, this is troublesome. She just wouldn’t wake up! Ai, wake up! You'll anger the dorm supervisor!"

Dee called out with a troubled look. Fortunately, there was an immediate response.

"…I’m already awake…."

"Ah, that’s good. Get changed quickly."

"…Goodness, I’m already awake so don’t wake me up…mnya …"

"Eh? Are you sleeptalking? What’s with this girl? She’s good."

Dee put her hands to her mouth, yelling at Ai by the latter’s bedside, but Ai was in an amazing stupor, and just would not wake up.

"Ai!!!!! Wake up wake up  wake up wake up——!!"

Dee yelled to a point where her face was flushed red.

And finally, Ai got up, and whimpered.

"Oh, you’re awake this time."

Ai bent her stomach as she sat up. She looked around the room in a daze, to her right, then to her left, then to Dee.

"…Toilet…."

"Eh? Ah, yeah. Here…there’s one in the room, over there…"

Bam.

Ai walked out, clearly not hearing anything.




　　　　




In the morning, the washroom was the most crowded place in the dormitory. The basins of the cubicles hardly spat out water at this time of the day, so most of the students who cared about their appearances would head to the bathhouse on the first floor, where they could use the well water. They washed their faces there, rinsed their hair, dabbed powder and applied oil. ‘Makeup is an etiquette ladies should have’, such was the adage of the dorm supervisor they used as their talisman, applying colors to ensure that they were passable and did not need to be scolded. Everyone was already dressed in their uniforms, aiming for a new level.

A sleepy-eyed Ai passed by. Her figure was sluggish, her collar sagging and unbuttoned, and her jacket rolled up such that her navel was exposed.

And for some reason, she was dragging a pillow along with her.

Ai trudged her way weakly past the big sisters and entered the bathroom. "What the?" The students who had been staring into the mirror turned to look at her. They felt that they had seen something incredible there.

"You saw it, right?" "I did." The students engaged in a wordless conversation, and stared at the toilet where the mysterious creature seemed to be headed.

A beat later.

There was a splashing sound of the toilet being flushed, and a half-asleep Ai exited.

"!"

Everyone present had an exclamation mark pop up above their heads. Even without knowledge of the school rules, one would easily understand that Ai’s appearance was a huge exception. Nobody would remain alive if the dorm supervisor spotted her. It was not a joke.

Their next move was swift.

One of the students who had been equipped before boldy checked the hallway beforehand, "coast is clear!" and made such a gesture. A student who was nibbling on her toothbrush reported to the senior, and the other members checked for weapons and abandoned their fuel.

The students looked at each other.

"Shall we?"

"Let's do it."

The decision was quick and uncompromising.




　　　　




"Hah!"

Ai felt that there was something delicious in her mouth, and suddenly woke up.

She usually would not wake up under such extraordinary circumstances, but her consciousness was still calm. She did not choke on her food, nor did she panic, and instead, she munched away calmly.

—Is this a trout? Yes, and then there was this crunchy feeling, so it was deep fried. For every gulp she made, the basil aroma escaped her nostrils. So it seemed the smell and taste of basil was mixed into the flour, adding to the fragrance of the bread…

No, that was not the issue.

"Huh?"

She looked around and found herself in the same cafeteria as she saw the previous day. The seats were the same, the people were the same. Everyone was eating their rainbow trout and steamed sweet potatoes with proper manners.

As for herself, she was holding a knife in her right hand and a fork in her left, and was just about to say "I’m digging in". She had no idea as to how she ended up in this state.

In addition, her clothes were changed.

The pajamas she wore the previous night had been replaced by a uniform. Her hair was also braided in a way she never did, dangling behind her.

Who, and when…?

She analyzed the situation. Why did this happen? Who changed my clothes? She had a feeling something like this happened to her recently. She had been stripped a little way too way, and was dressed up too often. What was going on here? Who was the mastermind?

And then,

Ai, who turned her head around, casually stabbed her fork at a piece of trout, and slowly brought it to her mouth to chew.

Nom.

The first meal she had after an entire night was really delicious.

That was why she decided not to sweat the details.

 

After mealtime was over, the students in the cafeteria gradually dwindled in numbers. They all seemed to know what they had to do, just like the day before, and no one paid attention to Ai.

No, to be precise, the girl without closed eyes was still eating next to Ai, but Ai did not know if she should wait, and could only sit on the seat. She did not know if she should move or not, and had a feeling that any choice she made would anger anyone.

So she was very happy when Dee spotted her.

"There you are, Ai. Come here, come here."

Dee waved over from outside the cafeteria entrance. From the corner of her eyes, Ai noticed that the girl with closed eyes did not react, so she took the tray, stood up, placed it at the return slot, and went straight to Dee without returning to her seat.

"Wow."

Dee put her hand on her chin and sized up Ai.

"W-What's wrong?"

"Your uniform's cute!"

"I-Is it?"

"Yeah, it's well made."

How is that praise? So Ai wondered as she twirled her upper body about to check herself again. The checkered skirt was green and white and elegant. The similarly green blazer also fitted her well, and she could move her arms freely.

"Miss Dee, did you change my clothes?"

"No, a group of grim looking seniors suddenly barged into the room, stripped you clean, and rummaged your clothes through your clothes…"

"T-That's terrible…it’s bullying after all, isn’t it…?"

"… Bullying, huh?"

"It is bullying."

Dee appeared to have something to say, but chose not to say so.

"These clothes are from…"

"Hmm?"

She twirled her upper body, and the skirt arched and fell softly to her thighs. She kept shaking her hips to enjoy the feeling of the skirt 'clinging' to her.

"I've always worn culottes, so this is a refreshing feeling."

"Is that so?"

Yes. She answered, and then—

Ai felt a sudden sense of confusion. Back when she was in the village, she had the opportunity to wear skirts. Every time there was an event, Anna, Yoki, and the old folks would create some cute clothes and give them to Ai.

However, Ai completely ignored them and only wore the Gravekeeper's clothes, because she insisted at every moment back then that she was a Gravekeeper.

In hindsight, such days were devoid of freedom. She used to restrain herself with clothes and words, only carrying a shovel around to dig holes all the time. As she thought about it, she found herself a little pitiful.

She was stupid.

"!"

Ai pinched the edge of her skirt. If she had known the villagers would be happy seeing her in this, she would have worn it as many times as they would have liked. At this point, this was what she would think.

"What's wrong?"

"…, nothing."

Ai quickly dusted off her skirt and held it by the hem in a ladylike bow.

"I'm very flattered."

"No, no, no, it’s the truth."

"I'm sure you look good in uniform too, Miss Dee…huh? But."

Ai pointed to Dee's upper and lower body.

"Why do you have a different uniform?"

"Hmm?"

Dee’s body was hidden by the bed the previous day, and at this moment, one could see that the uniform she was wearing did not belong to this school.

She was wearing a blazer with a dark blue base.

"Oh, this? Erm, well…I'm a transfer student."

Ah, is that so? Ai decided to leave it be for now. She had a feeling being a transfer student was not a proper reason, but since Dee said so, it was probably the case.

"Well, well, don't worry about that. Just follow me."

"Where are we going?"

"The school building."

Dee quickly walked away. Ai hurriedly followed her.

They left the cafeteria and joined the crowd of students heading outside.

Dee walked briskly, bathed in the morning light with a pleasant 'mmm'.

"Today's morning is elective. That's why everyone has a different morning class."

"Elective?"

"Elective classes. You can take two free classes per week. I don't think you’ll understand though, Ai. Maybe you should watch and learn first."

I see.

So Dee would be acting as guide?

Ai started to feel a little bolder upon knowing so. She felt that it would be great if Mageta and the closed eyed girl could explain to her."

"That's the boys' dormitory. This is the sports field. There’s a cliff, and it’s off limits."

Dee explained every single thing they saw, and it was basically carpet bombing, not the best explanation, but very helpful to Ai.

They arrived at the school building.

"… It's big…"

There was a gray building in front of her, the same color as the cliffs of Lagoon. The school resembled a swan with its wings spread out, and there was a large clock tower in the middle and a number of smaller towers on either side. Arches connected each of them, and contained within them were small classrooms to a large auditorium.

"The school is rather small for a college. It’s said that the students at Queens’ Academy have five thousand students at any one time, I don't know how it’s like now though. There used to be about 500 students here, but now it's less than a tenth of that."

Ai was not listening. "haeee~?" and made such a weird sound as she entered the school building with her head lifted. In contrast to the massive stone exterior, the interior of the building was made of a hundred year old oak wood that shone brightly, and there were stone statues here and there that would give anyone the urge to bow and give respect while entering.

"This way."

Dee walked slowly to allow Ai to look around. The U-shaped school building had a stage and a flower garden in the center that was blooming radiantly, to a point where someone had tended to it. It was really a tempting place to bask in the sun.

Then, the bell chimed.

It came from the clock tower at the highest point of the school building in front of the cliff. One had to wonder if it was the start of class, for students in the corridors were rushing into the classrooms. Ai was worried, and wondered if she should join them. Dee remained unperturbed however, and was confident enough to walk up the now-empty stairs to the top floor.

It seemed none of the classrooms on the third floor were in use. Every classroom was empty, and the corridor resembled a storeroom, filled with paintings or sculptures made by students. Dee ignored them as she strode forth.

"We’re here—Ai, please open the door ."

Dee took her to a room at the far end of the school building,  right beneath the clock tower. There was a rugged wooden door there.

What kind of class is in here? So Ai wondered as she grabbed the worn brass knob and twisted it.

It was a place where gears and wires roamed.

The room was filled with the rough and rugged atmosphere of an attic. Stone and wood were bare, the walls and ceiling still bore the rough markings of the craftsmen who had built it. Every single inch was dusty, the floors, beams, drawers, dust cloths, clay statues made by some students, cobwebs, gecko shells, and mummified carcesses. Everything was covered in dust, showing the years they had been here.

The heart of the clock was the only thing that refused to be dusted. The jagged gears moved as if they were biting the stagnant air, and the wires transmitted their power crisply, keeping the dust at bay.

Tick, tick, tick, tick.

That room was the organ of a clock.

"Hmmm~, where did he go~~?"

Bouncing up and down, Dee stepped over the junk and headed for the back.

"Ah, he’s here. Ai, come here."

Ai sniveled hard and went over as she was called.




There was a male student.


[[Image:Kamisama v03 Illustration 06.jpg|thumb]]

Surrounded by all this junk, this boy was dozing off while looking up. He was not simply napping away as students would do in class while the teacher was not paying attention, but actually took a book as a pillar, and a bag of emergency supplies as bedding.

"Wh-What's wrong with him?"

"That’s Alice, he's just an idiot. That's all."

Perhaps Dee really assumed that explanation would suffice. Her eyes were serious.

"A—li—ce! Wake up!"

Dee shouted at the boy’s ear, but this boy seemed to brush her off completely as he continued with his happy sleeptalk.

"……Butter fried hare sounds delicious, but speaking of which, it does seem very pitiful to call it Mr butter fried hare…"

"Don’t get into the details. Hurry up and wake up."

"? I think they're both delicious."

"That irregularity over there can shut up too. Come on Alice, wake up."

"…………...Hmmahh?"

The boy slowly opened his eyes, as if he had given up on something. He however did not seem to be completely awake, and looked at Dee while in his sleeping bag like a cloak.

"…Good morning."

"Good morning. No it’s not! The sun’s already up a long time ago!"

"Shut up…I couldn’t help it. I didn’t sleep at all last night…"

Dee put her hands on her hips while she lashed out at him in a familial manner, and the boy seemed to be used to this as he butted back. Ai watched them with a little bit of admiration, sensing that they were ‘friends’.

"What the hell do you want?"

When the boy opened his mouth like a trash can and yawned away, and Ai had an urge to throw something into it.

"I thought I'd introduce you to Ai."

"Oh?"

Dee gave up her place.

The boy met Ai in the eyes, and they froze for quite a while.

"N-nice to meet you. I'm Ai Astin."

"…I see."

The boy looked at Ai, wriggled like a caterpillar shedding its skin, and crawled out of his sleeping bag. His hair bounced on his scalp as though it was his usual hairstyle to begin with, and the sleeping bag had covered his pitch black school uniform completely. Like Dee's, his uniform was from another school, and was well worn and used. To put it, he looked like a delinquent.

"Alice Color."

"Huh?"

"That’s my name."

Alice mumbled, "time to clear up~♪" and quickly cleaned up the area he was sleeping in.

"So, what do you want? Do you have a request to make?"

A request?

"I'm working on that kind of project right now, so I can include you in this. There’s no limit to the number of people after all on—”

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah?"

Alice, who had been stretching, stopped abruptly. He looked back at Ai and said,

"…Something weird…"

He bounced up and down, and sat down on the belongings next to him.




"You're here to ask me to help you, aren't you?"




Huh?

"You say you're here to help me? I'm the one who helps people."

"???…Say Dee, what's up with her?"




Alice looked annoyed and confused as he asked the person behind him.

"Well, it is what it is. Surprisingly, Ai seems to have entered this school without knowing much about it."

"Huh?"

Alice’s jaw dropped.

"Are you…an idiot?"

"What do you mean idiot?"

"Shut up, you idiot. Why did you do something so stupid? Like, even if you didn't know what you were getting into, you'd know after an hour in this place that something’s wrong with this school, right?"

"?"

Alice looked puzzled and mumbled, "What should I do?"

"Look, you know, this school—"

At that moment.

Creak, the door to the hallway opened.

"I've been looking for you."

There stood Mageta, the demoness of the dorm supervisor. The triangular glasses shone brightly, and the lace-up boots creaked  as she loomed over. All the people in the room tensed up.

"Why are you all here, Alice Color?"

"Just here to observe this class."

Alice held out a handout.

"’'General Mechanical Maintenance by Master Triel'? … This course is no longer offered."

"So it seems. I should have checked before I came."

"What about her? …Mind explaining?"

Mageta glanced at Ai, and Alice answered,

"Alright, I brought her here since we're both transfer students—did I overdo it?"

"No, the spirit of mutual assistance is important. But do report it beforehand. Next time, you'll be punished. "

"I'm sorry." Ai was surprised at Alice’s attitude as the latter bowed, thinking he could be polite if he wanted to.

"Ah, you’re a new student too?"

"Ai Astin, do not start with ‘ah’'."

It was weird that she was the one who was warned.

"Alice Color moved in a week ago. You two new students should get along. Now, this is an elective class, and today you will both observe, but by the end of next week you will decide which class you want to take."

Follow me. Then Mageta walked out the door.

"…I've got a lot to say to you."

So Alice said. That's my line.

"Oh well, we'll have 'regular class' first thing in the afternoon. You'll know everything when you get there."

Alice smirks sadistically.

"Don't cry if you can't keep up with the ‘class’."

Ai stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hurry up, both of you!—ugh!! What is your attitude, Ai Astin?"

That’s unreasonable!




　　　　




In the morning, Mageta gave her a tour of each class. They ranged from general etiquette, sewing, music, beauty, art, advanced mathematics, advanced science, sword fighting, accounting, general men's studies, general women's studies, and since it was impossible to visit them all, Ai chose art, advanced mathematics, and general etiquette. Every time she visited a class the students and even the teachers sat upright. The art teacher suddenly stopped teaching abstract painting and switched to practical painting, but Ai could not determine which was the more superficial.

After lunch, the ‘class’ finally awaited her.




They were at a square facing the cliffs of the Lagoon Mountains.

Ai was lined up there with the other students. She was dressed in a cotton shirt and long pants, apparently called a ‘sports uniform’.

One, two, three, four—

Everyone did their warmups. She looked around, and found students that appeared to be from class Q. It took her a while to understand that she seemed to belong to this class. There were not many of them, fewer than ten boys and girls in total. Class P too was at the plaza, and it seemed these twenty people were to have an ‘ordinary class’ here.

Ai cautiously movedher joints, but she had no idea as to what would happen next.

She did not understand what the teacher meant by saying ‘stretch up and down, jump to move about’, so she observed the students around her. Apparently, ‘stretch up and down, jump to move about’ was just to jump a little. Ai thought that the teacher could have said so, so she jumped up and down. She was good at jumping up and down.

—Is this ‘attending class’? Is it really alright?

While it was time to do the ‘wrist exercise’, her heart was still full of anxiety. During the first classes she had ever attended in her life in the morning, she had seen the teachers ask questions to the students several times. If I were in such a situation, would I really be able to answer? Probably not.

—What will happen if I can't answer?

She had a tendency to pay attention to such little details. In the class just now, everyone answered clearly, whether it was correct or incorrect. But what would happen to the students who could not answer the questions? Would there be some kind of punishment?

"I'll make a stew of them and cook them overnight."

In her mind, the imaginary Mageta said so with a smile on her face Ai had never shown before, one so surreal that Ai assumed it might happen. She looked behind with a pale face, and found the demoness dorm supervisor supervising the students, her triangular glasses shining.

Their eyes met.

Ai pretended to do a ‘neck exercise’ and dragged her head forward. The moment she did so, she noticed Alice smiling at her. He did not say anything, but he was an eyesore.

With a big deep breath, Ai inhaled and exhaled hard. She could not imagine any other exercise that was more appropriate for her at this moment.

"Phew————……huh?"

Ai exhaled, and the person in front of her started to walk away. She had hoped that others would tell her beforehand at such moments…

They moved in three separate files.

The class was about to begin. Ai’s heart was pounding, her head felt faint, and the anxiety and nervousness coagulated together, rendering her unsure as to what she was feeling exactly.

It was coming.

It seemed the front row had arrived at their destination. Everyone received something from there. Received? Tools? If it was some kind of competition, she would have to learn the rules first, lest she had no idea what was going on. No, but at the very least, they should tell her what she should do…

After an agonizing wait, it was finally Ai’s turn, and she received it.

It was an oak handle with a steel blade.

In other words, it was a shovel.

"Eh?"

She was then given a helmet and a water bottle. Everyone wore them, looking as though it was expected.

"Huh?"

They walked to the side cave in the cliff of the Lagoon, entered inside, and were taken to their "stations".

The male instructor said, "Begin."

Everyone began to dig.

Ai was alone, holding a shovel, watching. In the dark depths of the earth, everyone dug deeper and deeper into the wall, using headlights to guide their hands. There were no rules or regulations, just shovels.

Ai had no idea what was going on, but…

Digging was her specialty.