Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 2

by Takehaya

  “I see... So this is the girl...”

  It was a picture of Yurika in her magical girl outfit.

  “What a cute girl. Is the outfit an original, I wonder?”

  “The quality of her outfit seems to be pretty high.”

  “Maybe it was custom made. Either way, it must have cost quite a bit...”

  “Look at the staff! It’s really well done!”

  “It seems she’s at least got the determination of a first-rate cosplayer.”

  The members of the society all took peeks at the photograph and stated their impressions.

  “If we just leave her like this, she will eventually cause problems for all of you as well. If she walks around here in this outfit, people will think she’s one of you.”

  “You’re right. People would think that...”

  The club president looked down as she replied to Koutarou. When she did, he noticed that her shoulders were trembling slightly.

  Not good. Did I make her angry?

  It was clear that Yurika would cause problems for the society sooner or later.

  “What will you do?”

  “President!”

  The other members also noticed their president’s behavior and looked at her anxiously.

  “So how about it? Will you do it?”

  A single tear streamed down the president’s cheek and fell onto Yurika’s photograph, distorting the outline. Seeing that, Koutarou naturally assumed the negotiations had ended in failure.

  “Heh... Heh heh... Heh heh heh heh...”

  The president’s shoulders trembled more as she began laughing in what was a small voice at first, but gradually grew louder.

  “Ahahahaha!”

  There was a huge grin on her face as she finally looked up.

  “How could this be?!”

  “...?”

  The president was crying as she laughed gleefully. Koutarou had no idea what was going on and wasn’t sure what to think of her reaction.

  “President, what about his request?”

  “Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! Today is a marvelous day!”

  The president excitedly slammed her hands on the table and kicked her chair away as she stood up.

  “So will we accept?!”

  “Of course! This is love! A very deep love! Satomi-kun wouldn’t make such a request without a true understanding and deep love of cosplayers!”

  “In that case, President...”

  “You all understand, right?! If we don’t respond to Satomi-kun’s deep love, how can we call ourselves true cosplayers? Let’s combine our powers and turn this girl, Yurika-san, into a first-rate cosplayer!”

  “Yes!”

  “Coscluuub!”

  “Fight!”

  The five members responded to the president in chorus. The whole cosplay society was getting fired up.

  “Umm...”

  Initially taken aback by this unexpected development, Koutarou finally regained his composure.

  “...So you’ll do it?”

  “Ah, yes. E-Excuse us, Satomi-kun. We got a bit too excited...”

  Upon realizing Koutarou’s reaction, the president’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

  “I don’t know if it was just a fad, but a shadow has been cast on the cosplay boom lately... On top of that, we have to endure the prejudice and harassment of heartless onlookers. That’s why we were just so happy for a normal person like you to show that you understand...”

  The president’s face was beet red, but the other members were in a similar state. Some were scratching their noses and others scratching their heads. They were each embarrassed in different ways, but they were all looking at Koutarou warmly.

  I see. They’re enduring their own hardships...

  Koutarou sympathized with the girls. When it came to being isolated, the knitting society and the cosclub were in similar situations.

  “Thank you very much, everyone. I won’t forget this. If you ever have problems with something, please let me know.”

  At first, Koutarou had come to them as a countermeasure against the invaders, but before he knew it, his desire to use the cosclub had disappeared. Now he was glad he had decided to consult with them so early. It would have been too late once Yurika had already caused problems for them.

  “In that case, can I ask something of you, Satomi-kun?”

  “Of course. What can I do for you?”

  “Well... could you stop by and play from time to time?”

  The president pressed her hands together and smiled awkwardly.

  “I don’t mind... but why?”

  “W-Well, you see... Our club only has girls in it, right?”

  The president indicated the club members on either side of her. There were six of them in total, all girls.

  “That’s why there are times when we’d love to hear a boy’s thoughts on designs, but it’s hard to ask a normal boy... It’s easier to ask someone like you who doesn’t have any underlying prejudice...”

  The president’s voice gradually grew quieter. By the end of her sentence, her voice had vanished altogether. She just looked at Koutarou with an uneasy glance.

  “I understand. Since you listened to my request, I have no reason not to listen to yours. I would love to help out.”

  Hearing her explanation, Koutarou nodded his head. Since he was asking them to help with Yurika, this seemed like a fair deal to him.

  “Thank you, Satomi-kun!”

  “Then let’s get to it right away, President!”

  “Huh? Now?!”

  “Of course, Satomi-kun! It won’t take long!”

  With Koutarou’s consent, the girls jumped into action straight away. They ran around the room in a tizzy, grabbing outfits from their hangers. It looked like they were having a lot of fun.

  Oh well...

  Koutarou was again taken aback momentarily, but quickly collected himself and relaxed as he straightened his posture in the chair.

  “Well then, I’ll be on my way now.”

  “Thank you, Satomi-kun. Leave Yurika-san to us.”

  “Please come visit again, Satomi-kuuun!”

  “You’re not doing it right!”

  “Oh yeah!”

  “All together now!”

  “Farewell, Master! We’ll be waiting for your return!” they all called.

  “Ahaha, okay. See you later.”

  Koutarou left the club room as he was seen off by the smiling cosplayers. The windowless hallway he entered was dim and chilly, the complete opposite of the cosplay society’s club room.

  “Still, they sure are great. All cosplaying should be disciplined like that.”

  The girls of the cosplay society would never cosplay somewhere without permission. They wouldn’t even walk around school in their costumes. Even when going to the bathroom, they made sure to change first.

  “I absolutely agree.”

  All of a sudden, Sanae spoke up. She had kept quiet during his meeting in order not to disturb Koutarou. Still floating in the air, she clung to Koutarou’s back and poked at his cheeks.

  “But aren’t you a sly one? Trying to pawn off Yurika to the cosplay society like that...”

  “That was my plan at first. But after talking to them, I was glad I did.”

  “Give and take?”

  “Something like that.”

  “...Isn’t it just because you love those maid outfits?”

  “It’s not! ...Well, I certainly don’t hate them.”

  “If you say so... But with this, it looks like there’ll be one less rival, huh?”

  “Heh heh heh, one down...”

  Koutarou grinned and laughed. If Yurika joined the cosplay society, she would no longer need room 106 as a place to express herself. That was Koutarou’s goal, and having one less invader to deal with was worth celebrating.

  “You really are sly, you know?”

  “You think so?”

  And so Koutarou’s negotiations with the cos
play society were concluded successfully. Koutarou and Sanae continued to chat as they left the club building. Once outside, they then headed back towards their classroom as their lunch break was about to end.

  Even though Sanae was floating through the air in broad daylight, none of the students made a commotion. That was because only the residents of room 106 could see Sanae at school. The only exception was Shizuka, who could see Sanae while she was at Corona House or when she wasn’t concealing her presence.

  But since she was hiding now, Kenji and Shizuka only greeted Koutarou.

  “Welcome back, Satomi-kun.”

  “Where’d you go, Kou?”

  “I had an errand to take care of in the club building.”

  “An errand?”

  “Yeah, I went to one of the clubs and introduced Yurika to them.”

  “Introduced Nijino-san? What kind of club was it?”

  At the mention of Yurika’s name, Kenji perked up as he adjusted his glasses. Since she started sitting next to him, Kenji had a lot of interaction with her. He was the type that tended to take care of the people around him, so he couldn’t help himself. She was even more dangerous to leave on her own than Koutarou was.

  “I can’t say. Not even to you. It has to do with her hobby.”

  “Hmm... Well, that’s fine. More importantly, Kou, where did you meet those four?”

  “What four?”

  “Don’t try to play dumb. I’m talking about Nijino-san, Kurano-san, Ruth-san, and Theia-san.”

  “Oh, you mean them.”

  Koutarou really wasn’t trying to play dumb. Including Ruth, there were five invaders, so the mention of “four” just didn’t click for him. But since Kenji didn’t know about Sanae, it was a simple misunderstanding.

  “You were acquainted before they transferred here, right?”

  “Yeah, I met them while I was out shopping once.”

  “Shopping...?”

  Kenji cocked his head to the side. He spent a lot of time with Koutarou, but he didn’t have any recollection of meeting those four girls while they were out shopping. Something seemed fishy to Kenji about Koutarou’s answer.

  “When was this sho—”

  “A-Anyways, those four girls sure stand out, don’t they, Mackenzie-kun?”

  “Huh? Yeah, they do. I guess you could stay they’re rich in variety...”

  Having sensed where the conversation was heading, Shizuka, who knew the truth, diverted Kenji’s attention elsewhere. He didn’t have the will to pursue it any further, so he went along with the change of topic without objection.

  “Phew...”

  That was close. Thank you, Landlord-san.

  With Kenji now focused on Shizuka, Koutarou let out a sigh of relief. When his eyes met hers, they smiled at each other. At the moment, Shizuka was one of Koutarou’s few allies. She would give him a hand every now and then.

  “Mackenzie-kun, which one of them is your type?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, I’m kind of interested.”

  “For Mackenzie, it’s that girl in the drama club, right? You even joined the drama club to chase after her.”

  “You’re wrong. A friend of mine asked me to join to even their numbers.”

  Kenji let out an exasperated sigh at Koutarou’s jab. This wasn’t the first time it had come up.

  “Then tell me, Mackenzie-kun! My friends are always asking what kind of girls you’re interested in!”

  “Hmm... Out of those four...”

  Kenji looked over at the four girls. Koutarou naturally looked over as well. Apart from Sanae, the invaders were all sitting together and chatting with several other students. The girls stuck out when they first arrived at school, but now they had blended in and were a part of the class.

  “Are you dating someone, Kurano-san?”

  “Would you leave it alone? That’s all you boys care about...”

  “Aren’t you curious too?”

  “Th-That’s...”

  “Heehee, I don’t mind. I’m not currently seeing anyone.”

  “All right! Me! Me! I’ll volunteer!”

  “You idiot...”

  “However, there is someone I have chosen.”

  “Really? Who?!”

  “Ahaha, that’s a secret.”

  Kiriha was known as the class honor student. At school, she changed her tone and behavior. She was active and had a quick mind, but she was also kind to everyone. Because of that, she always had people around her. Most of the students gathered around the invaders now were Kiriha’s friends and acquaintances. She put on quite the act, but for Koutarou who knew the real Kiriha, he couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for his oblivious classmates.

  “Ah, there’s only five minutes left! I still have six problems left! I won’t make it! Um... Ah...! Waaaaah!”

  “Yurika-san, do you want me to show you my homework again?”

  “Is that okay?!”

  “If you buy me juice.”

  “...That’s fine. I’ll solve them myself. Waaah...”

  Compared to Kiriha, Yurika was known as a lost cause. She was always restless and acted suspiciously. She failed a lot, and was often late. Forgetting her homework was an everyday occurrence. Even now, she was desperately toiling away to get her math homework done. She also often hung out with Kiriha, which only made her hopelessness stand out even more. Yurika, however, hadn’t realized that at all.

  “I’m not fond of rock.”

  “Then what do you listen to, Theia-chan?”

  “Normally classical music, although I’m interested in enka. Last year’s big hit ‘The Festival’s Flame Drum’ utterly impressed me.”

  “That was a huge hit in the enka world, wasn’t it?”

  “So cool... As expected from a princess.”

  The most conspicuous of the four was Theia. Unlike Kiriha, Theia was simply being herself. That said, she had changed her backstory from that of an alien princess to an international student from Europe. She announced herself as a princess from a country that still had a monarchy.

  Her manner of speaking and origin were strange, but everything she said was still plausible. Surprisingly, she also was well-versed in popular artists and comedians. The truth was that her translation device was capable of supplementing on such topics, so she wasn’t having much trouble adjusting. Thanks to that, the class simply accepted her as high society.

  “Hmm, so do you make Theia-chan’s bentou too, Ruth-san?”

  “Yes, but I’m still studying native cuisine here.”

  “That’s nice. I wish I could cook...”

  “You’re envious, aren’t you? Ruth is a childhood friend I can boast about. Isn’t that right, Ruth?”

  “Yes.”

  Compared to how unique the other girls were, Ruth lacked impact. She never spoke out of line and, apart from her fitness, she had no noteworthy flaws. She always blended in with the background, gently smiling next to Theia. Even so, there were plenty of people who were attracted to her modest personality, so she was secretly quite popular. Although she didn’t stand out among the four, she still attracted attention.

  “Hmm...”

  “Don’t act like you have to think about it, Mackenzie. Out of those four, you’d pick Yurika.”

  As Kenji was deep in thought, Koutarou called him out with a grin.

  “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

  “No, I know I’m right. You’ve always been like that. You have a thing for girls who can’t do anything on their own.”

  “Ahaha, is that so, Mackenzie-kun?”

  “It’s not, Kasagi-san. Kou’s just spouting crap.”

  Kenji was quick to deny Koutarou’s accusation.

  “Then who is it?”

  “...”

  But when Koutarou pursued the question even further, Kenji fell silent. The truth was that Yurika was his type out of the four.

  “See? It is Yurika.”

  “But it’s not like that! It’s just a coi
ncidence!”

  “Now that you mention it, Satomi-kun is pretty helpless too. That’s really what you fall for, isn’t it?”

  “Please don’t say something so terrifying, Kasagi-san.”

  “Don’t blush now.”

  “You just shut up, Kou! It’s really not like that, Kasagi-san...”

  After scolding Koutarou, Kenji desperately tried to explain himself to Shizuka. At that point, Sanae, who had been floating in the air nearby, started hanging off of Koutarou’s back.

  “Hey, Koutarou, what about you?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Which of us is your type?”

  Sanae hung on to Koutarou and whispered into his ear. Koutarou whispered back to her.

  “...You don’t even need to ask.”

  “You mean it’s me?! I’m always with you, after all! The innocent, energetic, brave, beautiful ghost, Sanae-chan!”

  Sanae’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as she leaned in more. However, Koutarou emphatically shook his head.

  “No way. It’s Ruth-san. Out of the five of you, it’s not even a contest.”

  To Koutarou who struggled day in and day out, the clear choice to him was the only girl he didn’t have to fight—Ruth.

  “Don’t even joke about that! I’m obviously the cutest!”

  “Gweh...”

  Sanae strengthened the grip around Koutarou’s neck and choked him.

  “I’m always right next to you! Can’t you say something like in those romantic comedies? How about that your heart is always throbbing near me and that you think I’m cute?!”

  “N-No, I don’t really feel anything...”

  “I’m even rooting for you in the sports festival! I’ve had it!”

  In her excitement, Sanae tightened her grip on Koutarou even more.

  “I-In the end you just want to chase me out of the room too...” Koutarou coughed.

  “I don’t care! It’s still unfair!”

  With the pressure around his neck, Koutarou felt like he was about to pass out. But to the others it looked like Koutarou was just sitting there normally, so nobody noticed anything. Really, it wasn’t just the four invaders; Koutarou and Sanae’s odd relationship was already a normal part of the class as well.

  After school, Kiriha went to the club building on her own.