Volume 4 Chapter 6 – Shutou Household – 1

| Kyosuke Todou

Since Shutou-san went to the same elementary school as me, her house was just as close by as I’d thought.

An old shop called “Rampage Model Shop”—turns out, that’s her family’s business.

I never knew that. When I first heard the name, I couldn’t figure out what it meant.

Back then, Aika, who was all about having the right accessories for pretend play, often asked me to make things. I’d buy plastic sheets here to craft all kinds of items for her.

I’ve been coming to this shop for those sheets since elementary school.

The shop owner, Shutou-san’s grandfather, usually runs the place on autopilot, but he and her grandmother have gone off for a town association retreat today and tomorrow. Her parents, on the other hand, seem to have decided to start taking trips only after she started high school. To avoid the busy summer season, they left yesterday for a three-day vacation.

In other words, no one’s home.

Or at least, there shouldn’t be… But Shutou-san’s eyes didn’t show any signs of lying.

“Please, come in.”

“Thank you for having us!”

“Thank you for having us.”

The room furthest from the entrance was Shutou-san’s.

So this is the place. This is where it all started for me…

The room was decorated primarily in shades of green, with a lot of four-leaf clover motifs. The desk, bed, table, cushions, mirror, closet…it was a fairly typical girl’s room…

…If there weren’t someone hiding under the bed.

Is this some kind of surprise prank?

Well, there’s no hostile intent. And it’s a girl, so…

“Haruharu threatened me.”

“…Huh?”

As I was thinking this, Shutou-san closed the door behind us and suddenly said something alarming. Immediately, Mamiya-san chimed in.

The person under the bed seemed tense as well.

“She made me do it, this despicable woman.”

“Do you want to leave?”

“No way! I wasn’t threatened! Everything I saw, heard, and experienced today will stay sealed in my heart, Haruharu promises.”

“Good.”

“…Even though, as a second-year, my chest is bigger than Kinue’s, who’s in high school…”

“Get out.”

“It’s the truth!”

Aren’t you two getting along a bit too well? On the way here, you kept saying you were clear rivals, yet it doesn’t seem that way to me. Besides, people don’t normally throw around the word “rival.”

The person under the bed was nodding along, too.

“Come on now, both of you. Could we move this along?”

“…Kyosuke-kun’s secret is safe from the forest. Only the Round Table and his underling, Haruharu, know.”

“…I don’t know what this secret is, but if it involves the forest, that’s a wise decision. I’m glad I get along with Kinue. But please, don’t call me your underling.”

Hm? The “Round Table”? The “Forest”? Are they part of some group? The person under the bed seems to be getting more tense.

“Nope. From today, you’re an underling, or you’re going home.”

“Don’t block my escape from the start! I’m not going anywhere!”

“Then, underling, answer and swear, quickly.”

With a sigh, Mamiya-san glanced at me, then reluctantly began her oath. Shutou-san’s pretty forceful. Was she always like this?

Ah, the person under the bed looks excited, too!

“Ugh… okay… I, Mamiya Haruka, will…be Kinue’s…underling…no, that’s not it…”

“Are you leaving?”

“I swear!”

“Good.”

I want to sort all this out because they keep leaving me behind in this conversation.

But what concerns me the most is what’s under the bed.

There’s a bit of movement going on…?

“…Um? First of all, what exactly do you mean by the ‘Round Table’ and the ‘Forest’?”

Shutou-san and Mamiya-san looked at each other in shock. No way.

“Please don’t ask us that!”

Once again, in perfect synchronization, they slowly knelt down and bowed deeply.

You two really do get along… Go ahead and bow as much as you like until you’re satisfied.

And as for the person under the bed… I think they’ve started… something. There’s a pair of underwear under the desk, after all.

Double kneeling and bed-under intrigue.

I let out a single, deep sigh.