“……?!”
Renko, who had been moving her pencil in time with the music leaking from her headphones, froze. Maina, who had been staring at her problem sheet, snapped her head up. Eiri stifled a yawn. Grumbling leaked from each of their three mouths, respectively.
“…Karaoke.”
“…An amusement park.”
“…Shopping.”
Kyousuke’s vague reply resounded through the almost-silent classroom. “Well, that sure sounds good, but not enough to work like my life depends on it… The hurdle for getting into the top three in our year is extremely high for me, not to mention you, Ayaka!”
The difference in his motivation level between when he first heard about the tests and now was about the same as the difference between heaven and earth. Kyousuke had a mind to give up before the tests even started.
Ayaka encouraged him, “I told you, I’m going to help you! With that attitude, you can forget about top three—you’re in danger of failing!! Don’t you want to go on a date with me, big brother?”
“Well, uhhh…”
“I’ll teach you!” Renko thrust her body forward as Kyousuke struggled to answer. She brought her gas mask near to his face, and raised her voice over the loud sounds of exhaust. “Kksshh! I might act dumb, but I have confidence in my IQ. There’s no reason why you can’t make it into the top three! What do you want me to teach you first? Math? English? Or maybe…physical education? Oh yeah!”
“Don’t say ‘oh yeah’ like that. And anyway, I’m going to get Ayaka to teach me, so I don’t need you.”
“Ehh?! You’re going to learn physical education from your own actual little sister?!”
“Geez, come on, you’re in the way!” Ayaka shouted, pushing Renko’s face aside forcefully. “Back off, Miss Mask!”
But Renko did not give up, and circled around Kyousuke, dragging a chair. “Kksshh. Ah, you’re stuck on this problem, are you? This is—” Sitting next to Kyousuke on his right, she tried explaining it to him.
Ayaka’s face turned bright red and she stood up, moving to pull Renko away from him. “Come oooooon! I’m going to teach my big brother, I toooooold you! Give my brother baaack! Give him back, give him baaaaaack!”
While Ayaka stood shouting, Maina finished the headband she had been making. On the white cloth, in black permanent marker, was written RELEASED ON PAROLE in big letters.
Eyes full of determination, Maina squared off against the problem sheet. “Top three in the class… It’s probably foolish for someone dumb like me to even try. But still, I’m going to do my best! Because Kyousuke told me to ‘follow my feelings’… I won’t give up! I’ll try with all my might and aim for being released on parole!” Maina waved her pencil fiercely. The classroom had grown quite noisy.
Giving the tumult a sidelong glance, Eiri spoke from her separate, single seat. “…Getting released out on parole isn’t worth worrying about. Are you stupid?”
Not determined at all, she yawned slightly. Rather than taking up a pencil, she had started on a pedicure, and was already busy painting her toenails.
“Oh, your calculations are wrong again! Look here, and here. The way to solve it is right there, but it’s no use…you’re not careful enough in the final step, big brother.”
“From now on, we need to check all your work, okay? If you’re aiming for the top three, I think carelessness could be your fatal mistake.”
On his left, Ayaka was checking his answers, while on his right, Renko was giving him advice. Two hours had passed since the start of their study party. Kyousuke had thought that with all the chatting their studies would go nowhere, but they were progressing surprisingly well.
Even Renko and Ayaka, who had argued over which one of them would teach him, especially at the beginning, had struck a compromise, deciding that “for now, our priority is Kyousuke’s education.” They were cooperating to coach him.
But the real surprise was Renko’s scholarly ability.
Unlike Ayaka, who was checking the books as she taught, Renko sat listening to music. She had drawn terrible portraits of each of them in her neglected notebook. And yet, whenever Kyousuke’s pencil would come to a stop on the problem sheet, she would instantly clear up any confusion—“Ah, see, this is…”—and explain the points perfectly.
Even Ayaka was dumbfounded at her intelligence. “I thought, without a doubt, you were feebleminded… It’s a fine line between idiot and genius, I suppose.” It wasn’t clear if she was praising Renko or putting her down.
Renko had said, “It’s because my intelligence quotient is five hundred thirty thousand!” but there was no telling with her.
Wearing her headband, eyes full of determination, Maina groaned. “Oh dear! five hundred thirty thousand is too amazing… I can’t beat that! Oh no…” She stared down at her workbook covered in Xs, stricken with hopelessness.
Kyousuke understood her feelings all too well. Watching Renko—who really seemed to be a genuine genius—made him feel like his own desperate efforts were doomed to awkward inadequacy. Ayaka was likely the only one among them who could keep up with Renko, though there was one other who showed unblinking valor despite knowing Renko’s scholarly ability.
“…I’m sleepy.” With an air of unconcern, Eiri rubbed her eyes. Finished with her nails, she stifled a yawn, and stared out the window. Eiri had barely started on her workbook, which sat buried under various manicure tools.
Ayaka finished checking Kyousuke’s answers. “Aren’t you studying, Miss Washboard?” she asked in apparent surprise.
“…No need.”
Renko looked interested. “Oh?” She stood up from her seat. “Perhaps Eiri is smart, too. What’s your IQ?”
“…I don’t know. I’ve never been tested.”
“Oh, is that so? By the way, mine is five hundred thirty thousand.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Eiri waved her hand, as if to wave off the absurdity.
Maina’s eyes opened into perfect circles. “A-amazing… She’s not even fazed by hearing that number!” Everyone else understood that it was a joke, and no one else was surprised.
“Hmm? So Miss Washboard is also the genius type, huh…? Well, I won’t be bested.”
“…It doesn’t matter. I don’t feel like competing anyway.” Eiri seemed completely unconcerned with Ayaka’s attempts to spark a rivalry. She shook her bare feet, drying her nails.
“Grrrrrr…” Ayaka growled at Eiri, whose calm demeanor remained undisturbed. “What the hell? Are you trying to say that I’m not worthy competition?!”
“Now, now. Eiri is probably a tough opponent, Ayaka! All the nutrition that was supposed to go to her boobs was rerouted to her brain, you see. I estimate her IQ at—one hundred twenty million points!”
At hearing Renko’s words, Maina fell out of her chair. “Eeeeeehhh?! One-one h-h-hundred twenty million?!”
Eiri frowned. “…Huh? You’re annoying. If you have time to chat, study harder.”
“…You really shouldn’t be talking, Eiri…”
“Yeah! Geez!” Ayaka waved Eiri off.
“…Tch. I’m good.” Eiri brushed her hair aside. “There’s no need for me to study. It’s a waste of time—”
“Let me see!” Renko grabbed her workbook. “How’s your progress?”
Instantly, Eiri’s face changed color. “Just a…!!”
She reached out in a panic to try to take the workbook back, but Renko nimbly avoided her grasp. She swiped the workbook out from under the manicure tools, and dashed away from Eiri’s seat.
“……A-amazing.” Flipping through Eiri’s math workbook, Renko let out an astonished murmur. Then she shouted in excitement.
“This is incredible, they’re all wrong!”
“Huh?”
…Her answers aren’t right… They’re all wrong?
Not paying any mind to Kyousuke and the others, who were visibly taken aback, Renko continued. “There aren’t simple arithmetic mistakes; your whole approac
h to solving the problems is weird! Wow…even these basic problems totally crushed you, huh? That’s like…the opposite of amazing! Don’t you pay attention in class?”
“Eiri…”
“Eiri…”
“Miss Washboard…”
“”
Everyone’s gazes fell upon Eiri, who stared out the window.
After a second, she crossed her legs and put one knee up against the desk. “Wh-whatever… This stuff doesn’t have anything to do with murder! And it’s no use in my daily life! Things like this don’t matter to me. What good are equations?” She brushed off their words dismissively.
She spoke confidently, but ultimately she was just being defiant.
“Eiri!” Renko shook her by the shoulders. “You can’t escape from reality! Keep this up and you’re headed for supplementary lessons!! And you’ll probably fail the supplementary exams, too!! A parole date with Kyousuke is a dream within a dream—”
“Shut up!” Shaking off Renko’s arms, Eiri glared at her gas mask. Despite the hard expression in her eyes, large tears welled up in the corners. “I told you, it’s no use… I-I don’t understand any of it! But I don’t want people to think I’m an idiot, and it would be annoying to ask you all to teach me, and there’s less than a week left… Even if I score less than half of the average, I think I’ll be able to manage somehow, so—” Eiri bit her lip and hung her head.
“Eiri…” Renko whispered, sympathetic. “You don’t have boobs or smarts… Just where did your nutrition go?”
“Can’t even understand first-year middle school material… Miss Washboard, you are too stupid.”
“Eiri…it’s not that you didn’t want to aim for release on parole, it’s that you couldn’t.”
“Stop it, you guys! She has, well…all kinds of reasons.”
Like her family situation. Born and raised in a family of assassins, if Eiri had been given any time to study, she’d surely spent it polishing her killing techniques. Like Kyousuke, who had no time for studying in between fighting and bodybuilding—probably.
“Wh-what the hell… All of you, stop looking at me like that! Math’s my weakest subject, so other subjects will be better, or rather, what I mean, ummm…”
“That’s enough.”
“…Huh?”
Renko spoke in a sorrowful voice, and placed a hand on Eiri’s shoulder. “You don’t have to put on a brave face anymore, Eiri. I’ll teach you. I’ll melt away all of your doubts, and ease all of your anxiety. So cheer up, okay? Study for the tests with me.”
“Renko…” Her eyes wide, Eiri turned away.
When she spoke, it was with apparent difficulty and a small nod. “I’d…appreciate that.”
Noon chimes resounded through the Saturday classroom, empty of its usual occupants due to the off day. Kyousuke finished scribbling in his English vocabulary notebook, put his pencil down, and sighed. Stretching stiff muscles, he checked to see how everyone else was doing.
Renko was fervently instructing Eiri at her desk, now connected to the others. Standing with a textbook grasped in both hands, Eiri read English sentences aloud.
“The death of one is a tragedy.”
“No, no, your voice is too quiet. Again!”
“The death of one is a tragedy!”
“Not even close, your feelings are not coming through at all!”
“The death of one is a tragedy!!”
“That’s it! ‘The death of one is a tragedy’! However—”
“The death of a million is just a statistic!!!”
“Finally, you got it! You memorized the English sentence!”
“Yay, good job! Congratulations!”
Though only an hour had passed, Eiri’s studies were progressing well. Maina was also paying attention to Renko’s instruction, so Ayaka had Kyousuke all to herself.
“…Tee-hee. It’s a good thing that Miss Washboard is an idiot.” Gloating, Ayaka moved closer to her brother.
But then her stomach growled, causing her to shriek and dart away, her face turning red. “Eee?! Uh…c-could you pretend like you didn’t hear that just now?”
“Don’t push yourself, dummy! This is a good stopping place anyway, so why don’t we take a break here?”
“…Oooh…” Ayaka hung her head and held her stomach, looking ashamed.
We’ve lived together our whole lives, but she’s embarrassed by a rumbling stomach? Kyousuke smiled and stood up. “Hey, what are you all doing about lunch? I’m going to the school store now.”
“Hm?” Renko looked up at the wall clock. “…Aha, it’s lunchtime already!”
“Yeah. You all seem busy, so I’ll go buy food. What do you want me to get you?” Technically there was yakisoba bread available, but since only one load was delivered each day, it usually sold out quickly. There was no way he would make it in time to get some.
“No food for me. I’ve got my usual jelly packs, but you can get me something to drink!”
“…I’ll have rice balls. And tea to drink.”
“I’ll have, ummm…bread and strawberry milk!” Maina chirped.
“Aha! There we go! Strawberry milk, typical Crafty Cat.” Ayaka’s reaction was laced with sarcasm.
Maina sank, uncomfortable. “N-not that typical…”
“Got it. Well, we’re off on a little errand.”
“We probably won’t come back the same as we are now, though. Don’t take it the wrong way!”
After checking everyone’s orders, Kyousuke and Ayaka left the classroom. They walked side by side down the deserted hallway, headed for the school store on the first floor.
“—Oh, Mr. Kamiya!”
As they were descending the stairs, they met a familiar student. She was six feet tall and three feet wide. Her massive frame filled their entire field of vision like a brick wall.
Ayaka let out a scream—“Wah?!”—and jumped into Kyousuke’s arms.
From the two eyeholes in the flour sack covering her head, a pair of round, gentle eyes looked down at Ayaka. “This lovely girl is your transfer student sister, is she?”
“B-big brother…who is this person?” Still clinging to Kyousuke’s arms, Ayaka looked up at the strange female student. “Or should I ask…what?”
She was clearly frightened.
“Oh, this is Bob. She’s in the same Class B as Renko. She may look scary, but she’s a good person on the inside, so don’t worry. —And this is my little sister, Ayaka.”
“Yes. This is our first time meeting, isn’t it? How do you do, Ayaka dear?!”
“…P-pleased to meet you…” Ayaka timidly accepted the friendly, outstretched hand.
“Oh-ho-ho!” Bob laughed as they shook hands.
“…Kyousuke’s…sister.”
Another girl suddenly peeked her face out from behind Bob. She was petite, with long hair, and her blood-red eyes were fixed on Ayaka. Saliva dripped from the corners of her partly open mouth. “She’s not very meaty…but she looks delicious…gulp.” Baring her well-developed canines, the girl licked her lips.
Ayaka screamed again—“Wah?!”—and hid behind Kyousuke anew.
“Ah…come on! What kind of an introduction is that, Chihiro? How vulgar!” In a panic, Bob picked up her tiny classmate—Chihiro Andou. Wiping away her drool with a handkerchief, Bob quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Ayaka dear. Chihiro…well, she is extremely fond of human flesh.”
“Eh?! H-human…flesh?”
“…Yeah. It’s fatty and delicious! Cheek meat, thigh meat…slurp!”
“B-big brother…this girl is a little scary.”
Ayaka trembled as Chihiro hungrily looked her over. She seemed likely to attack at any moment, were she not restrained by Bob.
Chihiro’s blood-red eyes sparkled as Bob rummaged through her handbag. “My goodness! You’re really hungry, aren’t you? I’ve got something for you, so be patient!” From her bag she pulled none other than the famed yakisoba bread. Beholding this rare article, the sel
dom-eaten food of legends, Chihiro’s eyes sparkled.
“Chomp.”
“Ah, owwwwwwwww!!”
Ignoring the bread, she bit down on Bob’s fingers. Sinking her fangs into the thick skin, she began to chew. “…Nom, nom, nom.”
“Really now,” Bob sighed, and picked up the discarded loaf of bread. “…Well, whatever. Anyway, are you studying for the exams, too, Kyousuke?”
“Y-yeah…” Kyousuke nodded as Chihiro continued to gnaw on Bob’s fingers. “In one of the open classrooms upstairs, with Renko and the others. Right now we’re on our way to buy lunch.”
“My goodness, is that so? In that case, sorry for keeping you so long! Chihiro and I are studying in the Class B room, if you feel like coming over.”
“Sure, I’ll let Renko and the others know. Oh…is Michirou there, too?”
Michirou Suzuki. Otherwise known as Kuuga Makyouin. Something was strange about his left arm; “Azrael,” as it was called, could be quite noisy. He did not seem like the ideal study partner.
“I wonder…” Bob tilted her head. “I don’t know. Michirou is quite the lone wolf.”
“R-really…” It sounded like they had only stuck together during the camping trip because they’d been assigned to the same squad.
“…A friend of yours?” Ayaka asked.
“Friends…? No, I wouldn’t say so…”
“My goodness!” Bob laughed sarcastically. “Michirou really is pitiful…” She scooped Chihiro back up. “Well, we’re going to head on back now! Study hard! Bye-bye, Ayaka dear. When you have some free time, let’s have a nice leisurely tea together, shall we? Oh-ho-ho!”
“Yeah, see you later. You guys work hard, too.”
“Good-bye. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll get the chance to have tea, though.”
Bob waved a hand at Kyousuke and Ayaka as she set off up the stairs. As they left, Chihiro yelled, “Bye-bye!” and her bloodstained canine teeth sparkled.
Murder Maiden and the Fatal Final Page 8