Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 2

by Takehaya

  But even so, she was jealous of what Koutarou had.

  “You can do it, Koutarou. There’s probably no more than ten people in front of you!”

  “Yeah!”

  Koutarou dashed across the road with Sanae cheering for him. With hedges on the coastal side and a neatly arranged line of trees on the inland side, it was actually quite scenic. The area was clean and well maintained, which also made it rather charming. Around this time in the middle of May, the sunlight was strong and the temperature rose as the afternoon came. However, the gentle sea breeze alleviated the heat. Running down the coastal boulevard, Koutarou was relatively comfortable.

  “We might win if we keep going at this pace!”

  “I sure hope so.”

  Koutarou had fallen behind because of the first obstacle, but things had gone smoothly after that. The second obstacle was throwing a ball a certain distance, and the third was carrying a ping pong ball with a spoon. Koutarou had completed both obstacles on the first try, and he was gradually gaining on the other competitors.

  “Koutarou, look! It’s Theia! We’ve caught up!”

  “Great, we’ll get past her on the next obstacle!”

  Koutarou finally managed to catch up to Theia just before the fourth obstacle. She was also doing well, but she had fallen behind on the third obstacle. In reality, being brought up as a princess and having others do things for her meant that she was actually rather clumsy. Moreover, being an alien put her at a disadvantage. She was pretty bad at events she had never done before.

  “Is that you, pleb? Tch, to think you’ve already caught up!”

  “Wahahaha, you’d be better off if you had longer legs!”

  Upon noticing Koutarou, Theia slightly increased her pace. Koutarou followed suit and pursued her. With the fourth obstacle ahead, they both lightly sprinted forward.

  “Even though you’re my vassal, you’re always like this! Why are you always so insolent with me?”

  “Because I don’t want to be your vassal! Isn’t that obvious?!”

  “Why don’t you learn from the cheerleading squad, you incompetent?! They became my vassals well after you did, but they’re already dedicated to me!”

  “I refuse, you spoiled princess!”

  “Whaaat?!”

  “You two never change...” Sanae sighed.

  “As if I would! Koutarou and I are in the middle of an important discussion!”

  “Yeah, this is critical! I’m going to teach this idiot a real lesson!”

  They were cursing at each other, but when Sanae objected, they replied in perfect harmony.

  “...But wouldn’t it be easier to run if you weren’t talking?”

  “I couldn’t run a single step if I threw away my pride!”

  “That’s right! How could I just let this idiot keep blabbering?!”

  “You two really are...”

  Are you sure you don’t get along...?

  If Sanae had said it out loud, they would have both denied it in a heartbeat, but she couldn’t help thinking it.

  “Wahahaha! I win, Tulip!”

  As they reached the fourth obstacle at the ballpark, Koutarou declared his victory.

  “What was that? This can still go either way!”

  “Not this time! Fortune is smiling on me!”

  There was a reason for Koutarou’s bold declaration. The fourth obstacle was speed eating jam-filled bread. Koutarou’s huge appetite gave him the upper hand.

  “Koutarou has an endless stomach after all. This’ll be easy.” Sanae scoffed.

  “So this was an event designed for greedy lower class citizens?!”

  “Shut it!”

  “You are my vassal, right?! I beg you to eat with grace! If you just stuff your mouth, you’ll make me look bad! I don’t mind even waiting here for you while you do if you’d like!”

  “What I do is none of your business!”

  As they entered the ballpark, Koutarou and Theia were each given a jam filled bun. Compared to Koutarou’s, Theia’s was slightly smaller. That was a handicap for the girls.

  “Aaahh! Don’t just stuff it into your mouth! Take smaller bites and eat it graciously!”

  “Are you stupid? As if I’d waste time on that in the middle of a race!”

  Koutarou ignored Theia’s complaints and stuffed his face.

  “Waaah! Would you think of my position for one moment, pleb?! I’m ashamed to have such a barbaric vassal!”

  As if I care...

  And as Koutarou was still chewing, a different voice called out to him.

  “Satomi-kun!”

  “Safurafahmmpai!”

  It was Harumi. She was tearing off small bits of the bread and putting them in her mouth.

  “Like that! Such delicacy is how the upper class— Hey, I’m not done talking to you, pleb!”

  “Fmmphpai!”

  The moment Koutarou saw Harumi, he ran over to her and left Theia behind.

  “Ugh! That woman again? Curse you, Sakuraba Harumi! That man is my vassal!”

  Theia angrily stomped her feet and grit her teeth.

  “There’s no need to be so jealous”

  “Who are you calling jealous? That pleb belongs to me! I’m just angry he’s been taken away!”

  “Yeah, that’s what they call jealousy.”

  “You’re wrong!”

  Theia got so worked up that her face turned bright red and she clenched her fist, accidentally crushing her bread. Insensible to Theia’s feelings, Koutarou made his way to Harumi.

  “Mghm!” He swallowed the bread he was chewing on before talking to Harumi. “Senpai, it looks like you’re putting up quite the fight.”

  “I had a hard time throwing the ball, but I’ve managed so far...”

  Though Harumi was weak, she was able to clear the third obstacle without any problems thanks to her dexterous, careful, and deliberate hands. The lead she had gained there made up for her slow speed, and she had reached the fourth obstacle before Theia.

  “But I’m not very good at this one...”

  “Yeah, you look like you’d be bad with this kind of thing, Senpai.”

  While things had been going well for Harumi, the speed eating had stopped her in her tracks. On top of having a weak constitution and being slow to eat, she had no appetite after running for so long. Because of that, despite having arrived at the fourth obstacle some time ago, she still had more than half of her bread left.

  “How about you, Satomi-kun?”

  “I just finished mine.”

  “Boys really are amazing...”

  “It is my only good point...”

  “Heehee, I’m quite envious.”

  Harumi gave him a small smile and showed her remaining bread to Koutarou.

  “Satomi-kun, don’t mind me and go on ahead. It’s going to take me a while yet.”

  “But—”

  “That was our promise, Satomi-kun.”

  That was indeed what Koutarou had promised when he made Harumi go ahead of him at the first obstacle.

  That’s right. I should let Senpai go at her own pace. If I rush her, she might not be able to finish.

  “Got it, Senpai. Please make sure you catch up later, okay?”

  “I promise.”

  Harumi gave an emphatic nod and continued eating her bread.

  “Then I’m off.”

  “Good luck, Satomi-kun.”

  “You too, Senpai.”

  “Ah, wait up, Koutarou,” Sanae called after him.

  “Don’t leave me behind, pleb!”

  And so Koutarou left Harumi and the fourth obstacle behind.

  Harumi didn’t leave the fourth obstacle until several minutes after Koutarou did. During that time, she watched as several other participants moved on and she fell further and further behind.

  “I figured this would happen...”

  Even after she began running along the promenade again, several more participants passed her. By the time she had cleared th
e fifth obstacle, she was in last place.

  “But I decided that I would finish the race, so I need to give it my all! I promised Koutarou too!”

  However, Harumi was still cheerful and she steadily ran along at her own pace.

  “Only half of the course left! I can do this!”

  While she had fallen in rankings, she was still in high spirits.

  Satomi-kun will be waiting for me at the goal!

  The newest member of the knitting society would be waiting for her. With that thought in her mind, Harumi felt like she would be able to complete the second half of the race as well.

  “Hhnnn... I... I can’t run anymore...”

  Unlike Harumi, who was brimming with willpower, the person next to her looked like she was about to give up any moment now. She was overcome with gloom, and her body was teetering as she trudged along. Despite sharing last place, they were complete opposites.

  “R-Retire... That’s right... I just need to bow out and this will all be over...! B-But if I do that, my points will...! But there’s no way I can catch up now! I can just drop out and rest, right? I did my best...”

  This girl had only experienced misfortune since the starting line. She had fallen over and several participants had trampled her. She had struggled with the calculations at the first obstacle. She had set a new low record of two meters at the second obstacle. She had dropped the ping pong ball five times at the third obstacle. She had dropped her bread in the dirt at the fourth obstacle. And at the fifth obstacle, vaulting, she had flubbed her landing and planted her face right into the ground.

  “I’m at my limit... It’s just not possible... Aha, ahahaha...”

  It was Nijino Yurika, the self-proclaimed magical girl. She was doing her best on her own, but Yurika was wobbling so much that she was unable to run straight. Her sweat had messed up her makeup and her maid outfit was covered in dirt. None of her initial beauty had survived. She was at her limit both physically and mentally. She looked like she might fall apart at any moment.

  “I can’t...”

  “Hang in there.”

  “...?”

  As Yurika was about to fall over, Harumi gently held her up.

  “Th-Thank you very much. B-But it’s fine. I’ll just retire here...”

  “Please don’t give up. You’ve already completed half of the course.”

  Harumi desperately tried to encourage Yurika while keeping her from falling over. She had to help her last place comrade.

  “I can’t win. Besides, nobody is cheering for me and no one is going to care...”

  “But you can’t. If you give up here, you will have lost to yourself too. Even if nobody else is rooting for you, you have to root for yourself... Besides, I’m here with you. If you stop, I’ll be sad.”

  “Ah...”

  After hearing those powerful and kind words, Yurika began to see a small glimmer of hope. Having gone for so long without anyone listening to her, Harumi’s gentle voice worked wonders.

  “Now, please stand up! If you give up here, you’ll lose to yourself in the future too.”

  I’ll lose to myself again...? I can’t have that!

  Yurika clenched her jaw and poured power into her body. Doing that, she began to feel light again.

  “I-I...?!”

  It was a mysterious feeling for Yurika. Harumi hadn’t used any magic, and yet Yurika’s strength had returned.

  “Hang in there. Now put power into your legs!”

  “Y-Yes!”

  With Harumi’s voice in her ears and Harumi’s hand on her back, Yurika was able to pick herself up. She was ready to give up before, but now she felt like she could try for a little while longer.

  “Um, thank you very much.”

  Yurika deeply bowed to Harumi. She was grateful from the bottom of her heart. She was only able to continue thanks to Harumi.

  “That’s okay. When we’re in trouble, we’ll help each other out.”

  To Harumi, who had a weak constitution, this kind of setback was normal for her. Since she knew how painful it could be better than anyone, she wasn’t going to leave Yurika alone.

  She’s so strong... She’s probably several times stronger than me...

  That was how Yurika felt as she looked at the smiling Harumi. Although Harumi had no power, Yurika felt she would lose to her right now. She admired Harumi. She wanted to be like her.

  “I’m Sakuraba Harumi. May I ask your name?”

  “I-I’m Yurika! Nijino Yurika!”

  And so Harumi and Yurika met. Though they had barely missed each other a couple of times before, this was the first chance they had to introduce themselves.

  As Harumi and Yurika were meeting, the lead group was reaching the eighth obstacle. The first one there was Kiriha. She had managed to preserve the lead she’d gained at the start for the whole race so far. Being so well-rounded, this event played to her strengths.

  “The eighth obstacle is...”

  But as Kiriha looked around the eighth obstacle, a few other students came running up.

  “There she is! That girl is the frontrunner!”

  “We finally caught up!”

  “Not good. They’ve finally closed the gap...”

  As the race reached the final stages, Kiriha had lost steam and her speed had dropped. That was why the participants with stamina to spare had been able to catch up to her. The soccer club, the boys’ track and field team, and other clubs that required endurance were on her heels now.

  “Oh, it’s Kurano-san.”

  “Kurano-san? Ah, you’re right.”

  But Shizuka and Kenji were also among the participants that had caught up. The two of them seemed to have struggled quite a bit along the way. Kenji’s stage outfit and Shizuka’s apron were both dirtied, but they approached Kiriha with smiles nonetheless.

  “Welcome, you two.”

  “I finally caught up to you, Kurano-san.”

  “To think I’m almost losing to girls... Kurano-san, Kasagi-san, you two are amazing.”

  Kenji found himself impressed with the two girls. He was confident in his stamina since he had been in the baseball club together with Koutarou. But in spite of that, two of his female classmates had consistently kept in front of him.

  “Heh, but you did catch up.”

  Kiriha smiled at Kenji, but she was actually relieved.

  As I thought, Kasagi Shizuka is not normal. I’m glad she’s not my opponent...

  Unaware of how Kiriha felt about her, Shizuka happily looked over the obstacle.

  At the halfway point of the marathon course, it had looped back around towards the start. Because of that, the eighth obstacle was in a vacant lot not too far from the school.

  “So this one is balance beams, huh? But it seems pretty long...”

  The eighth obstacle was a row of five balance beams. They were on average thirty meters long, but they were all specially made for the event. From here, the participants needed to select one of the beams and cross over, but that choice was a difficult one.

  The five beams varied in thickness. The middle was considered standard, and there were two thicker and two thinner beams. It went without saying that the thinner the beam, the harder it would be to cross. But the choice wasn’t as simple as that. There was an additional catch depending on the thickness of the beam. The thicker the beam, the longer the detour. If a participant fell off a beam, they would be covered in white powder and forced to run a track longer than the thickest beam.

  Ultimately, choosing the right balance beam was a critical decision. Would the racers pick a thinner beam to try and gain a lead, or play it safe and pick a thicker beam? Their choices would influence the outcome of the marathon.

  “I’m at a loss. Mackenzie-kun, which beam will you cross?”

  “Hmm... I’m thinking of the middle one. It’s not too hard and it’s not too long.”

  “You’re quite the careful one, Matsudaira-san.”

  “Well—”

 
; As Kenji flashed an embarrassed smile, loud and energetic voices could be heard in the distance. Hearing those voices, the three participants who were already on the way to their chosen balance beams stopped.

  “Why would you swear loyalty to that weak woman over me?!”

  “It’s because of your lack of humanity! How about you show a bit of self-awareness, Tulip?”

  “What? Try saying that again, you stupid vassal with nothing but muscles to show for yourself!”

  “I’ll say it as many times as I have to! Your height, breasts, and humanity are all lacking! You useless princess!”

  “My height and breasts have nothing to do with it! Take back those insults!”

  “I’m so sorry, you useless princess! The only thing you’re missing is humanity! There! Are you satisfied now?!”

  “You’re not putting any feeling into it! It doesn’t sound like an apology at all!”

  “Of course it doesn’t! I have no intention of actually apologizing!”

  “You... You always have something to say, you hateful vassal! Take this! And that!”

  “Ow! Owowow! You wanna fight?!”

  Koutarou and Theia came around the corner in the middle of screaming at each other. Sanae was with them too, but Kenji and Shizuka were unable to see her. Koutarou and Theia bumped shoulders and kicked at each other as they ran.

  It was clear that they could go faster if they didn’t do that, but being as stubborn as they were, they continued nonetheless. Despite that, however, they were both going at a good clip. With an enemy putting up such a fight, they completely forgot about their exhaustion.

  “Kou? That idiot’s already caught up! And Theia-san is with him?!”

  “Hah, as expected from Satomi-kun.”

  “All he’s got is strength and stamina, after all...”

  The moment he saw Koutarou, Kenji decided to pick a different beam.

  Koutarou is just reckless. He’ll definitely pick the thinnest beam! So I’ll pick the second thinnest one! So much for playing it safe!

  Kenji had planned on taking the middle beam, but with Koutarou’s arrival, he didn’t have the time to waste on that. Instead, he decided to take the balance beam next to the one Koutarou would chose and cross it as fast as he could.