Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 2 Read online

  “In order to participate in the obstacle marathon for clubs, I’ll need to join a club, but...”

  Her goal was of course the sports festival next month. The specific event they were going to enter was known as the obstacle marathon for clubs. As the name suggested, representatives from a club would pair up to take part in the race. Because of that, the invaders each needed to join a club and be chosen as one of the representatives.

  “Which club should I join...?”

  Kiriha stopped in front of the club building and looked at the club directory. As she stared at the list, Kiriha was plotting out her strategies for the race.

  Since it’s an event that requires us to work in pairs, I’ll need a capable partner in case I get into trouble. Specifically, the foremost requirement is fast legs. Since it is a marathon, picking an athletic club is self-evident. Relying on the legs of a liberal arts club member would be foolish. And since it’s an obstacle course, having a small body would be favorable. Speaking of fast runners with slight builds, the first thing that comes to mind is...

  Having gathered her thoughts, a single club stood out to Kiriha: the girls’ track and field team. When her eyes happened across it on the board, her lips curled into a smile.

  The girls’ track and field team, huh? Not bad. Now all that remains is to see if I’ll be chosen as one of the representatives. I’ll try to talk my way into it, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll just head to a different club. I still have time left...

  “Karama, Korama, you’re here, aren’t you?”

  “We’re here! Ho!”

  “Of course! Ho!”

  Kiriha appeared to be the only one standing there, but the voices of her haniwa servants rang out from somewhere. They had been secretly following Kiriha around using their built-in cloaking devices.

  “Record all the conversations where I’m headed. I need to analyze everyone’s character and their relationships, so record as much as you can.”

  “Understood! Ho!”

  “We’ll do our best! Ho!”

  Kiriha was planning on forcing her way into the girls’ track and field team like she had done with Koutarou and room 106. She would examine the club members and skillfully manipulate them into selecting her as a representative for the obstacle marathon.

  “All right.”

  Kiriha nodded to the haniwas and headed for the door to the club building.

  “Nooooo! I won’t join the cosplay club! I keep telling you I’m not a cosplayer!”

  “She’s struggling more than I thought she would.”

  “Don’t mind that. Just bring her in. Remember this is for our beloved Satomi-kun’s sake.”

  “Roger!”

  “Noooooooo!”

  Kiriha entered crossed paths with a strangely noisy group as she entered, although she paid them no mind. She was exclusively focused on getting the girls’ track and field team to nominate her for the race.

  “Heh, I wonder how the others will manage...”

  Kiriha smiled confidently as she and the two haniwas made their way to the track and field club room.

  But Kiriha wasn’t the only invader at work. As she was meeting with the track and field team, Theia was also trying to join a certain club.

  “So she’s joining the girls’ track and field team?”

  “Yes. I have confirmed that she has entered their club room.”

  “Good work, Ruth. Keep up the observation.”

  “Understood.”

  With a beep, Ruth’s voice cut out over Theia’s bracelet. The device on her right wrist had several functions aside from summoning weapons. Communications being one of them, she was able to freely talk with Ruth through her own bracelet. After hearing Ruth’s report, Theia ended the call and put both of her hands on her hips.

  “Heh heh heh, so Kiriha is joining the girl’s track and field team. That would be the typical way to go about this. However...!”

  There was a glint in Theia’s eyes as she looked up at the building in front of her. It looked rather large that way, but in reality it was simply because of her small stature. The building itself wasn’t really all that big.

  “A competition is all about organizational strength and combined force! I’ll just leave the physical labor to the men! You chose the wrong club, underground dweller! Hahaha!”

  The building in front of her was also a club building, but it was different from the common club building. It was a prefabricated hut that the boys’ cheerleading squad used. Because they made a lot of noise when they practiced, they were put in a separate building.

  “What I seek is complete unity and utter loyalty! I’ll have you lay down your lives for my sake, boys’ cheerleading squad!”

  “Go! Go! Ha-ru-ka-ze!”

  “Go, go, Harukaze! Go, go, Harukaze!”

  As Theia laughed loudly, the boys’ booming voices and an intense drumbeat reverberated from the prefab structure forcefully enough to shake the ground.

  “Good, very good! Enthusiasm befitting my troops! Prepare yourselves!”

  “Go, go, Harukaze! Go, go, Harukaze!”

  Voices thundered and drums roared. They were so fierce that it seemed like they had enough power to blow away Theia’s tiny body. But that did not intimidate her. She walked right up to the door with a determined look and knocked.

  “Greetings!”

  “Who’s there? We’re busy practicing. If you have any business with us, come back later.”

  Shortly after Theia knocked, the door opened and a boy with a rough looking face appeared. The uniform he was wearing was in a more traditional style than the normal Harukaze High uniform. The hems of his coat and pants were longer and they had lots of embroidery. Around his left arm was an armband that read “boss.” This was this club’s leader.

  But the most noteworthy thing about him was his gargantuan figure. He looked like he would get caught in the doorframe. Compared to Theia, he looked like a giant.

  “That won’t happen. From today on, I will be this club’s ruler.”

  But even then, Theia’s smile never wavered. Her confident grin was quite fitting for such a ruler. She pointed directly in the giant’s face.

  “Hand over rulership of the cheerleading squad to me immediately. All of the members are to obey my every command!”

  “What?! Are you challenging us?! You think you could do anything against the glory of our squad with that tiny body of yours?!”

  “That’s the spirit! However, current boss, I won’t let you off so easily! I’ll properly discipline you and make you regret calling your new master tiny!”

  “Rubbish! Don’t get ahead of yourself, shrimp! Men, to arms! Don’t hold back, even if she’s a tiny girl! She insulted our squad!”

  Rallying to their boss, the whole squad streamed out of the club room. Each and every member that swarmed around Theia was huge. They towered over her so staggeringly that it literally looked like she disappeared in the crowd.

  “Very good! That’s the behavior I expect from my vassals!”

  “Cut the crap!”

  “Don’t think you’ll make it out of this alive!”

  The squad members flew into a fit of rage and threatened Theia. It was almost like a pack of fierce animals hunting a rabbit.

  “Of course I will! That’s simply the nature of victory! Behold the seventh princess of the Holy Forthorthe Galactic Empire, Theiamillis Gre Forthorthe!

  As it turns out, the fiercest animal among them was the tiny rabbit herself.

  Roughly an hour later, Theia’s figure could be seen through the window of the prefabricated hut. She calmly sat upon an elegant wooden chair in the back of the building. She now had the boss’ armband around her left arm. There was also a flag bearing the same crest as her bracelet hanging behind her. What had originally belonged to Kisshouharukaze High School was now property of the Forthorthe Empire.

  The cheerleading squad assembled before Theia. Strangely enough, they all were all injured to one exten
t or another. Bruises and sprains aside, some had burns, some blue bruises, and some even had scorched hair. Yet these iron-willed men were not the type to complain. They all stood up straight with their chests sticking out. The sight of ten boys in black uniforms lined up in military fashion left quite an impression. The only exception was the boy who had been the boss an hour ago. He had been roughed up and was now lying in the corner of the room.

  “Nooooo! I don’t want to wear that and take part in the sports festival! Please forgive meeeee!”

  “Just give up, Yurika-chan.”

  Voices could be heard from outside, but the men inside didn’t pay any attention. The same was true for Theia. She flashed a satisfied smile as she observed the squad members fall in line.

  She stood up, put her hands on her hips, and declared in a dignified manner, “Listen up. Starting today, the cheerleading squad will be reborn! You won’t be cheering from something as vague as a school anymore. From this point on, you are the royal cheerleading squad, and you will only cheer for me! This is the first time in the long history of the Forthorthe Empire that royalty has ever had a direct cheering squadron! I want you to be fully aware of that significance and pour your heart and soul into your work!”

  “Hail to the princess! Hail to the princess!”

  The ten men roared in response to Theia’s declaration. Their powerful voices, cultivated by daily training, shook the building. However, what they did could no longer be called cheering. It was more a raw demonstration of loyalty to Theia.

  “Boast and praise my noble name! Defeat is not permitted in Forthorthe! Don’t forget Forthorthe is synonymous with victory!”

  “Victory for Her Highness Theiamillis! Glory to the royal families of Forthorthe!”

  Theia had seized the cheerleading squad through military force. Kiriha’s way of gradually taking control didn’t suit Theia.

  As Theia took over the cheerleading squad, she radically changed its nature. It was molded into a force that existed solely for her sake. She was going to take on the sports festival with this reformed squad.

  “Fight the enemies of the royal families! Bleed for my sake! Complete discipline, trust in your companions, and—most importantly—utter loyalty to me will lead us to victory!”

  “Hail to the princess! Hail to the princess!”

  “Ahahaha! What will you do, pleb, now that I have obtained an invincible army?!”

  The excited Theia was thinking of Koutarou.

  Just you watch, pleb. I’ll show you how powerful loyalty and unity can be!

  She hadn’t fully realized that part of her reason for staging a coup of the cheerleading squad was to get back at Koutarou for refusing to swear his loyalty to her.

  While Theia was busy seizing control of the cheerleading squad, Koutarou was in the middle of his own club activities and was blissfully unaware of Theia’s and Kiriha’s tactics. In fact, he had completely forgotten about his normally chaotic life. When he was knitting with Harumi after school, he felt a strange sense of peaceful satisfaction similar to when he was sleeping.

  “Satomi-kun, you’ve gotten better.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Your stitches no longer show any hesitation.”

  “Hahaha, I’ve just used the same method since I started. I guess even someone as clumsy as me is bound to get better that way.”

  Koutarou hadn’t realized what he’d accomplished until Harumi mentioned it. But she was right. Even though he claimed it was muscle memory, his hands moved with a certain confidence now.

  It’s gradually gotten longer...

  Koutarou paused to inspect his progress for the day. What he was knitting was already over thirty centimeters long. If he kept up at this rate, he’d have completed a muffler shortly.

  This part here is pretty poorly done...

  His stitches at the start were a mess. They were puckered here or there and the finish was uneven, but the quality of the knitting gradually increased every ten centimeters or so. He was still no match for Harumi, but there was a big difference in his work from when he’d first started.

  Now that I look at it, I really have gotten better.

  When it came to knitting, hard work paid off with visible results. Koutarou could see for himself how much he’d improved.

  “...You really are seriously knitting, Satomi-kun.”

  “Huh?”

  When Koutarou looked up, Harumi’s gentle eyes were looking over his work.

  “Looking at your knitting, I can tell.”

  Harumi reached over and softly stroked Koutarou’s knitting as if she were petting a puppy.

  “You must really love knitting, Senpai.”

  “Oh...”

  Harumi was gentle even as she touched the knitting with the tips of her fingers. Seeing that, Koutarou could tell just how much she adored it. But when he pointed that out, Harumi slightly blushed and looked down.

  “Yes, I love it. That’s why... um... it makes me really happy to see you being so serious about it...”

  “In that case, I better live up to your expectations.”

  Koutarou smiled at Harumi and began moving his knitting needles again. Lately, he’d started to enjoy knitting, but he did even more so now that he was aware he was actually improving.

  “N-No, there’s no need to be in such a hurry... Let’s talk some mo—”

  “Hmm?”

  “Oh, n-nothing! Nothing at all!”

  When Koutarou looked back up at Harumi, her face was bright red and she was knitting away furiously. Her stitches were much rougher than normal and Koutarou couldn’t see any of her usual thoroughness in her work.

  I wonder what’s up...

  Koutarou tilted his head to the side and observed Harumi, who was acting rather unlike herself. But Koutarou staring at her only made Harumi’s face turn even redder and her hands move even faster.

  “Please stop taking my clothes off! I change clothes myself!”

  “It’ll be all right. Just relax.”

  “Stop fooling around and take this seriously. This is so we can get the measurements for the outfit she’ll be wearing for the obstacle marathon at the sports festival.”

  “Okay.”

  “I don’t want tooooo!”

  Ah, I completely forgot!

  Hearing the voices from outside reminded Koutarou of something.

  “By the way, Senpai, I have something I’d like to ask you.”

  “Y-Yes?”

  Harumi sat up straight as if she had been startled. While Koutarou found it strange, he continued talking.

  “Would you mind participating with me in the upcoming obstacle marathon for clubs?”

  “In the obstacle marathon...?”

  As she repeated his words, she seemed to return to her normal self. Shortly thereafter, she furrowed her brow and looked a little wistful.

  “But I’m not good with sports, so... I’ll probably just get in your way.”

  “That’s fine. It doesn’t matter.” Koutarou shook his head. “Actually, I made a bet with some friends over the race. The first one to reach the goal gets to order the others around. But since it requires groups of two, I can’t just enter it on my own.”

  “With your friends...?”

  “Besides, even though you work in pairs, they only take the best time of the two. So even if you retire right after the race starts, I won’t mind. All I need is for you to participate.”

  The obstacle marathon for clubs required two representatives from every participating club, but only one of them actually had to cross the finish line. Koutarou wouldn’t be able to enter the race on his own, but he could run it on his own as long as Harumi entered with him.

  “Now that you mention it, I do remember that in the rules... I understand. If that’s how it is, I’ll gladly accompany you.”

  “Thank you very much, Senpai.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  In the end, Harumi accepted Koutarou’s request with a smile
. Harumi had only hesitated because she didn’t want to hold Koutarou back. But if that wasn’t a problem, she had no qualms about entering.

  Koutarou and Sanae didn’t leave Harukaze High until 4:30 PM.

  “The knitting society sure is a bore...”

  “Just leave it be.”

  The hour was still relatively early for concluding club activities, but Harumi had an appointment at the hospital today. Whenever she did, the knitting society would either adjourn early or just postpone their club activities.

  “But is it really okay to partner up with that weak looking girl? If you have to retire too, we’ll get last place, you know...”

  “But it’s all good if I win. Heh heh, fortunately for you, I’ve always been the star of the sports festival.”

  “I’m starting to get uneasy all of a sudden...”

  The two were joking around as they headed for the school’s front gate. Other people couldn’t see Sanae, so Koutarou would stay silent in crowded places. That held true even now. Passing through the gate, he didn’t say a word back to Sanae. Sanae understood and didn’t really seem to mind, but they began talking again once they had gotten through the crowd.

  “...Don’t play around, Koutarou. We’re in the same boat this time.”

  “Just leave it to me.”

  “I’m starting to get really worried...”

  “Just wait and see. I’m going to start practicing tomorrow. I’m gonna blow you away, Sanae.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  “...”

  At that point Koutarou stopped talking again, but it wasn’t because there were people nearby. Koutarou was just normally walking along the fence around the school. When Sanae followed his line of sight, she realized that he was staring into the schoolyard.

  “What are you looking at?”

  “Hmm? Oh, nothing much.”

  Koutarou was watching the baseball club practicing. The field was equipped with stadium lighting, so they’d keep going well after the sun went down. Their practice had only just begun.

  “The baseball club, huh? You were in the baseball club too, weren’t you?”

  “Hmm? Yeah. I was until I graduated middle school.”