Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 8

  The Witches’ Scheme

  Sunday, January 31st

  Several months had passed since Maki first came to Kisshouharukaze City.

  During that time, she had been staying in a room of an apartment building. And though she’d been using it for months now, it still didn’t look like anyone was living there. There was next to no furniture, and there were no clothes or any personal effects a girl her age would normally have. There was only a simple table and chair, and a bed to sleep in. It was a dull room, almost like a prison cell. The winter cold only served to make the room feel even more desolate.

  “Come, Nightwalker!”

  Maki’s sharp voice echoed in the lonely room, and a blue light appeared before her outstretched right hand. The next moment, something mysterious happened.

  The lights were off, and the room was dark. However, Maki’s hand appeared even darker, and a deep indigo mist began to spread sideways from it. After a few seconds, the indigo mist that had grown over a meter in length turned into a staff.

  This staff had been given the name “Nightwalker.” A staff had the ability to amplify mana, making it a necessary tool for a magical girl like Maki. She grabbed the staff floating in the air and held it overhead.

  “Magic Communication Gem: Activate. Open Channel.”

  Maki recited the words to activate a certain set of magical devices set up in the room. She had several like it, but this one in particular let her communicate with her allies from far away.

  Responding to Maki’s voice, the gems embedded in the walls began glowing. In total there were six of them: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. With Maki in the center of the room, the glowing gems surrounded her. The gems were emitting a dark light similar to Maki’s staff, but the light gradually grew stronger and eventually took the shape of a person. Girls wearing outfits matching the colors of the gems they stood before appeared one after another. The gems were convenient magical tools that allowed users to talk face-to-face by creating holographic images.

  “Oh, Maki. Is that your new staff?”

  Before her image fully stabilized, the girl in red called out to Maki. Maki lowered her staff and nodded at the girl.

  “That’s right. It took a while longer than I expected, but it’s finally finished.”

  In her last fight with Yurika, Maki had sacrificed her previous staff. Nightwalker was the replacement that she had made herself.

  “Navy-chan, you should’ve made a cuter staff.”

  The one calling Maki “Navy-chan” was a girl in orange. Unlike Maki and the girl in red, she had an angelic, bright smile.

  “A staff is a tool for fighting. There’s no need for fancy decorations.”

  Maki furrowed her brow in dissatisfaction. She didn’t like being called Navy-chan.

  “Your staff is dull, your room is desolate, and you have no makeup. Navy-chan, you’re wasting your youth!” The girl in orange smiled as she pulled out something small from her bosom. “Navy-chan, use this! I accidentally bought an extra just yesterday, so I was thinking of giving it to someone anyway!”

  The girl in orange tossed the item to Maki. When she did, it passed through the gem and came flying towards her. The magical gems also had the power to transfer objects if they were small enough. Maki snatched it out of the air and looked at it.

  “Nail polish?”

  “You’re wrong, Navy-chan. It might look similar, but this is liquid lipstick. You’re a girl after all, so you should look the part.”

  The girl in orange sighed. She was amazed at Maki’s absolute indifference on the subject.

  “That should do the trick. Use it to make yourself a little cuter, Navy-chan. You’ve already got great features, so with just a little touch-up, I’m sure the boys won’t leave you alone.”

  “That’s none of your business! I don’t want anything to do with a man whose attitude changes just because of some makeup!” Maki shouted in an irritated voice and tossed the lipstick aside.

  Why would I want to hide how I really look?

  Maki hated deceit and betrayal, so she scorned things like makeup and fashion. She considered them to be convenient methods of deception designed to make people look different.

  “My, my...”

  The girl in orange smiled wryly as she watched the lipstick roll across the floor.

  “Navy-chan, you’re so steadfast.”

  “What does it matter? I didn’t contact you to discuss this kind of thing!”

  Maki irritatedly turned away from the girl in orange. She didn’t just hate being called Navy-chan. Maki couldn’t stand the way the girl in orange adorned herself with makeup and fashion.

  “Calm down, Navy. You can’t make a proper report in that state.”

  “I know, Purple.”

  Admonished by the girl in purple, Maki closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to her normal self.

  “I contacted you today because there are three things I wanted to discuss.”

  “One is that your staff is finished, correct?”

  “Yes. As you can see, it’s finally complete. I can now start taking action again.”

  Maki had lost her staff in a fight with Yurika at the end of November. It had taken over two months to create a new one. During that time, she had been too busy working on her staff to do much of anything else. But now that it was complete, she could return to her original mission.

  “What’s the second thing?”

  “That would be the main subject,” Maki said with a serious expression. “It seems the mana in that room—Corona House room 106—has greatly increased.”

  “It’s... increased?”

  The girl in purple’s eyes narrowed. They’d known each other a long time, so Maki could tell how the girl in purple was feeling just based on that subtle change in expression.

  “Yes. I confirmed it via some passive analysis magic when I completed my staff. There are some fluctuations, so I can’t get a precise reading, but it’s increased by at least 30 percent overall.”

  Maki had finished her new staff just yesterday, and the first thing she’d done with it was investigate the mana in room 106. That’s when she’d noticed the difference.

  “You’ll have to wait for a more accurate analysis. It’s hard to examine without Rainbow Yurika and Satomi Koutarou noticing.”

  In order to perform a thorough examination of the mana, Maki had to cast some powerful spells in the vicinity of room 106. That meant there was a pretty high risk of Yurika or Koutarou noticing. That’s why Maki was biding her time until a good opportunity presented itself.

  “Navy, do you know the reason why the mana’s increased?”

  “I do know of one possible cause.”

  Maki carefully chose her words as she spoke. She wasn’t completely sure of what had happened herself.

  “In the second half of January, they were performing a play at their school. Around the same time, there seems to have been a large-scale battle. I wasn’t there, but I could sense that Rainbow Yurika was using magic.”

  “A large-scale battle?”

  Without her staff, Maki’s ability to sense magic had weakened. The fact that she could still tell something had happened even in her weakened state meant that it was probably serious.

  “A few days afterward, I completed my staff and determined that the mana pool in room 106 had grown stronger.”

  “That battle does sound suspicious. Either their opponent was the cause of the mana increase, or they had no chance of winning without increasing the mana...”

  “I’m thinking the same thing, Purple.”

  As far as Maki knew, Yurika had fough
t in two battles since Maki had lost her staff. Once at the amusement park by the coast, and once during the play. It seemed likely that either of those events was the trigger for the change in room 106, but considering the timing, Maki suspected the play.

  “That said, we can’t determine the exact reason with so many people gathered in that room. Further investigation is needed.”

  “Two foreigners and a woman with black hair. That’s what you said before, right?”

  “Yes. It’s possible that any one of them could be the reason too.”

  Maki nodded at the girl in purple. That was when the girls in red and orange interjected.

  “Maki, what about the martial arts expert?”

  “Yeah. Wasn’t there a ghost too?”

  “I don’t think there’s much of a chance of either one of them being the cause.” Maki shook her head at the suggestion. “A manafist or a lich would be one thing, but those two girls are just a normal martial artist and a ghost.”

  Maki hadn’t sensed any mana from the martial artist or ghost in room 106, so she couldn’t imagine either of them being the reason for the increase in the mana pool.

  “Navy, regardless of who caused it, we need to investigate it as soon as possible.”

  “That’s the third thing I wanted to discuss. My new staff is complete and I’ve investigated what I wanted to, so I want you to let me do a more in-depth investigation now.”

  Soon, the seven evil magical girls of Darkness Rainbow would launch an all-out attack. The battle for room 106 and control of the mana there was drawing near.

  Up until now, Maki had been conducting her reconnaissance covertly. But now that she’d realized the mana had increased, she wanted to do a more thorough investigation. The risk for Maki would increase, but with the battle so close, she wanted to eliminate any uncertain variables. They couldn’t afford to fail like they had in the fight against Rainbow Nana.

  “I agree. If a mere fraction of that mana was enough to fire off ten Inferno Fires, and the mana in question has now increased by 30 percent, I’d want to avoid a direct confrontation too.”

  “Oh, that’s rare coming from someone like you who’s always itching for a fight.”

  Maki smiled. The girl in red practically lived for the thrill of combat, and despite that, she was now agreeing to a more conservative approach.

  “Don’t get me wrong. I still want to fight. I’m especially interested in a battle of great powers, but it’s no fun if the enemy is the one using them all.”

  The girl in red wanted a fight where either both sides used the mana pool, or neither did.

  “I can’t keep up with you.”

  “That goes both ways.”

  Despite saying that, both girls were smiling.

  “I agree too. Our numbers are about the same, and there’s the mana to take into consideration, so it doesn’t look like we have much of a chance unless we wait for the right opportunity.”

  The girl in orange agreed with Maki’s suggestion as well. The remaining magical girls followed suit.

  “What about you, Purple?”

  The only one who hadn’t voiced her opinion yet was the girl in purple, the most mature looking of the girls present. She looked at Maki discerningly.

  “Navy, this isn’t about the investigation, is it?”

  “Huh?”

  Maki was caught off guard by the girl in purple’s question. And while Maki was stammering for a reply, the girl in purple exposed Maki’s true intentions.

  “This is because you’ll end up fighting that man if you conduct a large-scale investigation, isn’t it?”

  That man was the current owner of room 106, Satomi Koutarou. He looked like a normal boy at first glance, but he was the mastermind who’d been toying with Maki all along. He was also a powerful enough magician that he could repel her attacks, and he had access to the power of room 106. To the girl in purple, it looked like Maki was more interested in a fight with him than scouting or investigating.

  “Yes, that’s right!”

  Maki nodded and confessed to her true feelings. Part of that was because Maki hated lies and deception, but it was also because of the nature of the organization that was Darkness Rainbow. Their ultimate goal was to be able to freely use magic to realize their own dreams.

  “If I could perform my investigation and fight that man, I couldn’t be happier!”

  “Wow, Maki, look who’s talking.”

  The girl in red smiled. Maki had laughed at the girl in red because she only wanted to fight, but in the end it was Maki herself trying to pick a fight. It was most amusing.

  “I can’t agree to that. Your magic isn’t suitable for direct combat.”

  “A direct clash isn’t the only way to fight. Have a little faith in me.”

  “If you insist, but...”

  Though she was still worried, the girl in purple relented. It was true that they needed a thorough investigation, and knowing that Maki wasn’t planning on a direct confrontation was enough for her. She decided to leave the rest to Maki’s discretion. Freely using magic to fulfil their desires was the Darkness Rainbow way, so Maki’s desire to fight Koutarou had to be respected.

  “Maki, if you’re going to fight, make sure you win.”

  “Navy-chan, you can do it.”

  “Thank you, everyone. I’ll bring good news with my next report.”

  With those words, Maki powered down the communication gems and the images of the other magical girls vanished.

  “Heh... Heh heh heh...”

  Maki’s quiet laughter echoed in the otherwise silent room.

  “Finally... Finally the time has come...”

  Maki didn’t care if she used a trap, blackmailed him, or fought him directly. She just wanted to give Koutarou a taste of defeat. She wanted him to experience it the same way she had.

  “Don’t think you can fool me over and over again, Satomi Koutarou.”

  Beneath her calm exterior, Maki was all fired up. During the past two months she had spent focused on making her staff, her feelings towards Koutarou had been brewing inside. And now the time to release those feelings had finally come.

  “This time it’s my turn. I’ll make you regret crossing Dark Navy.”

  Maki felt more humiliated about being fooled than she did about losing in a fight. She scorned all forms of deception, and having it used against her burned her blood. All she could think about now was thoroughly beating Koutarou to a pulp and subjecting him to the same humiliation she had felt.

  Maki put her strength into her empty left hand and made a fist, almost as if she was trying to crush Koutarou.

  The High School Life of the Blue Knight

  Monday, February 1st

  It was tradition for the first-year students at Kisshouharukaze High School to take a school trip during their third term. It was a major event that rivaled the third-years’ annual school excursion.

  This year’s destination was going to be a ski resort. With winter sports slowly losing their popularity, it was supposedly quite easy to book for a large group. The trip was scheduled to take place over three days and two nights, between February 3rd and February 5th. Since today was the 1st, the trip was right around the corner.

  “Theiamillis-san, can you ski?”

  “No. This will be the first time for me and Ruth.”

  “In our country, skiing isn’t very popular.”

  “What about you, Kurano-san?”

  “I’ve done it before, though I was a child then. Maybe I should teach you, Theiamillis-san.”

  “Skiing, huh? Mackenzie-kun, you look like you’d be good at it.”

  “Yeah, I know how to ski.”

  “I knew it... It’s a good skill for winning over girls, after all.”

  “Kasagi-san, that’s a baseless accusation!”

  “But Satomi-san said that the reason you’re good at sports is because you want to be popular with girls.”

  “Kou! What the hell are you telling
everyone behind my back?!”

  With the trip just two days away, class 1-A was in a festive mood. They were in the middle of a special homeroom session to discuss the details of the trip, but most of the class wasn’t listening to the teacher.

  “Koutarou, Koutarou! Glasses-kun is calling for you,” Sanae whispered into Koutarou’s ear while clinging to his back.

  “...”

  However, there was no answer from Koutarou. He had his elbow on his desk and was silently gazing out the window.

  “Hey, Koutarou.”

  “Hmm?”

  After Sanae called his name a third time, Koutarou finally noticed.

  “What’s up, Sanae?”

  “Don’t give me that! Glasses-kun is calling for you.”

  “Oh.”

  Koutarou turned his head around towards Kenji. Kenji, however, seemed to have already moved on. He was talking to another classmate and gesturing wildly. Seeing that, Koutarou turned his gaze back outside the window again.

  “What’s wrong, Koutarou? You’re spacing out.”

  “Just thinking.”

  Koutarou stared out the window without saying anything else. He was thinking about the conversation he’d had with Clan a few days ago.

  It was January 24th. Right after the play, Koutarou had called Clan to the empty school roof. There was something he wanted to discuss with her.

  “So, what did you want to talk about?”

  Clan’s long hair reflected the light of the setting sun. The bright orange color contrasted with Koutarou’s blue armor.

  “There are two things I want to ask of you,” Koutarou began seriously.

  “You want to ask me for something?”

  Clan had had a faint smile on her lips, but hearing Koutarou’s voice now, her expression turned more serious.

  “Yeah. Of course, I’m not asking you to do it for free. I’ll do anything I can for you in return.”

  “You’re being awfully reserved, Veltlion.”

  “Really? We were mortal enemies just an hour ago, you know.”

  “Well, that’s true.”

  Koutarou and Clan smiled at each other. Just an hour ago in Earth time, the two of them had been locked in a deadly battle. But for some reason, they were now talking to each other on friendly terms.