by Takehaya
“...Huh?”
When Yurika snapped out of it, she was alone by the front door. There was still an uproar coming from the inner room, and the whole apartment was filled with a burning smell.
“Oh... Oh no! The magic is about to lose effect!”
Yurika quickly stood up and raised her broom over her head.
“If I don’t cast a more powerful spell, the room won’t last! Return to normal, Angel Halo!”
As she spoke, her broom was wreathed in white smoke. When the smoke cleared, the broom was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was now a long staff in her hands. Like with the broom, the staff was covered in decorations, clearly designed with form over function in mind. No matter how you looked at it, it clearly wasn’t intended to be used as a walking staff.
“Now to cast it one more time!”
Yurika grabbed the staff with both hands and closed her eyes to concentrate.
“Force Field! Modifier: Area Effect! End: Effective Time, Twice!”
With the last word out of her mouth, a yellow light started shooting out from her staff. The light grew larger and larger, slowly extending to the floor and walls of the room. It was a defensive spell that would protect the room, as well as Koutarou and the others, from damage.
“Phew, that should do it... Now we should be okay for a little while longer.”
Once the light extended to cover the entire room, Yurika opened her eyes and wiped the sweat off her brow.
“Maybe I should cast Elemental Shield too, just in case...”
Yurika timidly peeked into the inner room where the battle was still going.
That was when the front door opened without warning.
“Huh?!”
“Just what is going on, Satomi-kun?!”
Standing in the door was the landlord of Corona House, Kasagi Shizuka. She had come to check on things since the commotion from room 106 had continued well past midnight.
“Th-This place is a complete mess! Just what is going on?!”
Shizuka could tell what a horrible state the inner room was in from the entrance. The moment she saw it, she looked shocked.
“What are you doing, Satomi-kun?!”
Shizuka kicked off her sandals and dashed towards the inner room.
“Ah, stop, it’s dangerous to go there!”
“Outsiders should keep quiet!”
“Kyaaah!”
Shizuka pushed right past Yurika who was trying to stop her, then jumped into the inner room.
“Eeek!”
After being pushed aside, Yurika tumbled into the wall and stopped moving as usual. Shizuka saw it, but her immediate priorities were elsewhere.
“Just what exactly are you people doing?!”
The room was charred and riddled with holes. And inside, Koutarou and few other people were practically rioting. Shizuka could tell right away that they were responsible for what had happened to the room.
“Landlord-san! It’s dangerous! Don’t come over here!”
“Wh-What did you do to my precious Corona House—this beloved building that my mom and dad left for me?!”
However, Koutarou’s attempts to stop her didn’t even reach Shizuka’s ears. She was beside herself with rage.
There probably wasn’t a soul that could see Shizuka’s attack coming.
“Hyaaaaaaaah!”
The moment after entering the room, Shizuka caught sight of Sanae and struck her with all of her might.
“Kyaaaaah! Whyyy?!”
The lighting fast attack easily sent Sanae flying, despite her invulnerability to normal attacks. With her guard down, Sanae didn’t even have a chance to protect herself.
“Hahh...”
However, Shizuka didn’t stop there. She exhaled sharply and used the momentum from her strike to spin around and unleash a roundhouse kick.
“Hah!”
“Aaaaah!”
The blow connected with Kiriha and knocked her away as well. She slammed into Koutarou, but that didn’t slow her down any. Instead, they fell down together next to the wall.
“Wh-Who are you!?”
Theia was petrified by Shizuka’s sudden appearance and swift defeat of Sanae and Kiriha.
“I’m this building’s landlord. I won’t accept any more of this ruckus that’s bothering the neighbors!”
Her harsh tone and determined posture showed none of Shizuka’s normal kindness. That was just how angry she was.
“I don’t take orders from anyone! Attack her, Blue Kni—”
“You’re too slow!”
Sensing that Theia was about to attack, Shizuka mercilessly thrust her palm forward.
“Gyah?!”
Theia was unable to finish her attack orders as she was sent flying by the fast and heavy attack. She landed on the tatami mat in defeat.
“L-Landlord-san...?”
Koutarou couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He had really struggled with the invading girls, but Shizuka was able to dispatch them in a matter of seconds. And without using any weapons.
“I... I can’t believe it...”
“What is she?! Is she really human?!”
“She could hit me?! She could touch me even though she’s not Koutarou!”
Of course, the same was true for the girls. They were each in disbelief at the swift defeat. But whether they were ready to accept it or not, they had taken enough damage to be rendered incapacitated.
“Phewww...”
Her attack complete, Shizuka now exhaled and turned towards Koutarou and the others as if nothing had happened.
“Eep!”
Her piercing gaze caused all four to freeze. They were all convinced she was about to finish them off.
“Satomi-kun.”
“Y-Yes!”
Shizuka looked at Koutarou.
I had a good life...
As the other girls huddled together, they were truly relieved that they weren’t getting Shizuka’s attention.
“Wh-What can I do for you, Landlord-san?”
Koutarou, on the other hand, was flustered. Having witnessed Shizuka’s overwhelming prowess, he couldn’t stop sweating.
“If something like this happens again, I will have you leave.”
“Y-Yes, I understand!”
Shizuka’s eyes were sharp and her voice was cold. Shizuka had an overpowering presence that she never normally showed. Witnessing it, Koutarou could feel his life force draining from him.
“And then there’s you three!”
“Waaah!”
When Shizuka’s looked over to the three girls, they started trembling as they embraced each other.
““I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!””
The three girls apologized in choir, dropping all pretenses.
“If you make a mess again... you know what will happen, right?”
“Yes!”
“If you damage this building or cause trouble for the other residents, then—” Shizuka stopped mid-sentence and cracked her knuckles. “I’ll definitely make sure you regret the day you were born.”
Shizuka then gave the girls a big smile.
“Eeeeek!”
The three girls screamed. Even though she was just smiling, Shizuka was exuding uncontrollable bloodlust. Compared to that, she had gone easy on Koutarou.
She’s a devil. This is a devil in human form... I cannot go against her...!
The girls’ instincts screamed at them. But that was when they remembered the existence of Yurika, who was passed out nearby.
Why are you the only one unconscious?!
The girls were envious of Yurika. Being out cold right now seemed preferable.
“So what do you have to say for yourselves?”
Shizuka’s smile grew bigger when the three girls didn’t answer. There are plenty of men who would have found that smile very attractive, but it only instilled fear in the hearts of the three girls.
“I-I understand! I won’t do it again!”
“I am of noble birth. I loathe barbaric methods such as fighting to begin with. R-Rest assured!”
Their responses were all different, but they all amounted to the same thing: a total surrender to Shizuka.
“Well done.”
And just like that, Corona House’s room 106 quieted down for the first time in a while.
Although scorched, the tea table had just barely survived. Including Shizuka, all seven of them were sitting down around it. It was now more cramped than ever before. But nobody complained. And apart from Shizuka, everyone sat up straight and proper. Everyone had a serious expression on their face, and there was no trace of the lighthearted atmosphere from before.
“...I understand the situation.”
After hearing the four girls’ circumstances, Shizuka slowly nodded.
“Ghosts, cosplayers, underground people, and aliens. It’s hard to believe, but it seems I have no choice.”
Shizuka was all business now. Her tone was nothing like it had been when she helped Koutarou move in. The friendly Shizuka was now nothing but harsh.
“Um... I-I’m not a cosplayer. I really am a...” Yurika attempted to object to Shizuka’s choice of words.
“...What was that?”
“N-No, it’s nothing. I’m a cosplayer. That’s right.”
But when Shizuka glared at her, she trembled and easily withdrew. Not sticking to her guns in situations like that was the kind of person Magical Girl Yurika was.
“Again, I understand. But as the landlord, I can’t overlook the commotion. I will have you resolve this situation peacefully.”
As the landlord, Shizuka had to draw a line somewhere.
“We had no intentions of fighting Koutarou, but...”
“We would never be able to come to an agreement! It’s not so easy that we can resolve everything peacefully just because you said so!”
“Yeah! Koutarou aside, I definitely can’t get along with that woman!”
However, the girls who had done nothing but fight were unable to simply accept Shizuka’s proposal.
“Then would you prefer eternal peace right now? I’m fine with that too.”
“That said, nothing would be resolved with fighting...”
“Y-You’re right. It seems the time for us to work together has come...”
“I’ll become a pacifist instead!”
When Shizuka smiled and cracked her knuckles, the girls’ attitudes completely changed. With sweat pouring down their brows, they all agreed to Shizuka’s proposal.
“I’m glad you see it my way. And what about you, Nijino Yurika-san?”
“...”
Yurika didn’t answer.
“Nijino-san?”
“...”
“You’re not saying you’d like to keep fighting, are you?”
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
Sensing danger from Shizuka again, Koutarou looked over at Yurika.
“Yurika, just say you don’t want to fight. You don’t have to put your life on the line for cosplaying.”
Koutarou shook Yurika’s shoulders and whispered to her.
“...”
But even then, Yurika said nothing. She simply fell to the floor after being shaken by Koutarou.
“Waaaaah! Yurika?!”
“She’s unconscious...?”
“Poor thing. She must have been terrified...”
Under Shizuka’s guidance, Koutarou and the others agreed on various rules. These were all quickly put into a document. Mostly, it dictated how to peacefully decide the ownership of the room. The other clauses included covered things like not damaging Corona House, not disturbing the neighbors, not fighting outside of the apartment, and not stirring up trouble at night. Finally, collated together, this document became known as the Corona Convention.
“I’m done. You’re next, Theia.”
“This is humiliating. There could be nothing more humiliating than signing this document...”
Theia took the piece of paper from Sanae and reluctantly removed the cap from the pen.
“Please endure it, Your Highness.”
Next to her was Ruth, smiling wryly.
“You don’t have to sign it.”
“Really?!”
Theia’s expression brightened at Shizuka’s unexpected offer.
“But if you don’t sign it, you’ll just get to experience eternal peace right now.”
Shizuka cracked her knuckles again.
“N-No thank you. I agree that we should sign this document!” Theia hurriedly moved the pen. Writing in her native tongue, only she and Ruth could read it. “As royalty, I have to bring about peace! My pride is nothing compared to that!”
While there had been some whining, everyone agreed to sign the document in the end.
“Landlord-san, should I sign it as well?”
“Of course. You might be the current tenant of this room, but if you’re not working under the same rules as everyone else, how could we proceed?”
“But even without this, I already have a contract with you. And I don’t have any laser beams or haniwas either...”
Continuing after Theia, Koutarou signed his name on the document.
“Satomi-san, please give it to me next.”
Waiting for Koutarou to finish writing, Yurika reached out her hand.
“...”
However, Koutarou simply stared at Yurika instead of giving her the pen and paper.
“Wh-What is it?”
“Landlord-san, should Yurika sign it as well?” Koutarou asked.
“She doesn’t need to, right? It’s just Yurika, after all,” Sanae added.
“Well, thinking about it, Nijino-san might not need to. No, I suppose she doesn’t have to.”
“Then finally, I will—”
“I’ll do it! I’ll sign it! Please let me sign it!”
As Koutarou was handing the pen and paper to Kiriha, Yurika hurriedly snatched them away and scribbled down her name: Nijino Yurika. That was her real name.
“You don’t have to cry, Yurika.”
“B-But... I’m serious about this too!”
Finally receiving the document and pen from the tearful Yurika, Kiriha signed her name as well.
“I’m done.”
With everyone’s signature, they returned the document to Shizuka. In total there were five names: Koutarou, Sanae, Yurika, Kiriha, and Theia.
“Excellent. With this, the rules are officially in effect. If you break them... you know what happens, don’t you?”
After looking over the document, Shizuka looked over the group. All six nodded their heads in unison. They all knew exactly what awaited them if they broke the rules.
“Well then, everyone, I really do hope you find a way to resolve this peacefully.”
Huh?
At that moment, Shizuka’s smiling face seemed to distort to Koutarou. Suddenly, it wasn’t just her, but the whole room that looked weird. Eventually he started getting dizzy and lost his balance.
Not good...
With those thoughts running through his mind, Koutarou rapidly started to lose consciousness.
“Satomi-kun?!”
“Waaah! Koutarou collapsed!”
“Hey, now’s not the time to sleep! Wake up!”
“Don’t move him! He has a terrible fever! Get a futon and some ice!”
“I’ll go get the first aid kit!”
“I’ll use h-healing magic!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Get the futon!”
“Auuugh...”
Koutarou’s consciousness sank into darkness.
Hearing the sound of flowing water, Koutarou opened his eyes.
“H-Huh...?”
At first, Koutarou was puzzled to find himself in his futon, but he quickly remembered what had happened.
That’s right. After I signed the document, I suddenl
y began feeling faint, and then...
The clock pointed to 5 AM, which meant that Koutarou had been asleep for several hours.
“Are you awake, Satomi-sama?”
A shadow looked down at Koutarou.
“...Ruth-san?”
“Good morning, Satomi-sama.”
She gave him a mild smile and exchanged the wet towel on his head for a new one. The sound of water from before was the sound of her washing the towel.
“Thank you, Ruth-san.”
The new towel felt nice and cool.
“No, there is no need to thank me over something like this. Besides, you should thank everyone else as well. They were all very worried when you collapsed.”
“Ah...”
Urged on by Ruth, Koutarou looked around and spotted the girls. They were all sitting around the futon, each asleep with an exhausted look on their face.
“So you all helped nurse me back to health...?”
“Yes. Kasagi-sama was here just a moment ago too.”
“Even Landlord-san?”
“Yes. But she said she had to attend school and apologized as she left.”
“I see. I caused a lot of trouble for her...”
Koutarou looked around again. Sanae was sleeping soundly next to his pillow. Kiriha was sleeping on the opposite side. Yurika was holding on to a cushion as she slept, and Theia looked like she was sleeping uncomfortably in her big dress.
Koutarou had only thought of them as troublemakers, but looking at them now, he felt the exact opposite about them.
They might not be all that bad...
It was a feeling of gratitude for their kindness.
“Satomi-sama, please close your eyes again.”
Koutarou wasn’t sure if Ruth knew how he felt, but she smiled at him gently.
“You’re the most fatigued of us all. You’ve been pushing yourself these past few days, haven’t you? Please rest.”
“...I think I’ll do just that.”
Koutarou obediently closed his eyes.
“Goodnight, Satomi-sama.”
Koutarou closed his eyes, but opened his mouth once more.
“...Thank you.”
Those words weren’t just intended for Ruth.
There’s a Spirit of Cooperation
Friday, April 10th
Harumi strained and peeked through the small window in the door to class 1-A.