Complex Days

by Shūsuke Amagi

  Also by Shūsuke Amagi

  Chrome Shelled Regios series

  Chrome Shelled Regios

  Silent Talk

  Sentimental Voice

  Confidential Call

  Emotional Howl

  Red Nocturne

  White Opera

  Mixing Note

  Blue Mazurka

  Complex Days

  Impact Girls

  Black Arabesque

  Grey Concerto

  Scarlet Oratorio

  Next Bloom

  Spring Burst

  Summer Night Rave

  Crying Autumn

  Initiation Log

  Desire Report

  Winter Fall (Part 1)

  Winter Fall (Part 2)

  Legend of Regios series

  Riggzario Baptism

  Ignasis' Awakening

  The Appearance of the Regios

  Complex Days

  Complex Days

  Chrome Shelled Regios Book Ten

  Shūsuke Amagi

  Tokyo, Japan

  Contents

  Sweet Day: Sweet Morning

  Sweet Day: Sweet Before I

  A Day For You 01

  Sweet Day: Sweet Before II

  A Day For You 02

  Sweet Day: Sweet Before III

  A Day For You 03

  Sweet Day: Sweet Midnight

  To Conquer a Line of Spears Held at the Ready

  Translator's Notes and References

  Appendix

  Regios

  Electronic Fairy

  Filth Monsters/Pollutant Beasts/Contaminiods

  DITE

  Kei

  Novel Illustrations

  Baka-Tsuki

  Project Staff

  Translators

  Editors

  Updates

  Sweet Day

  Sweet Morning

  Pippiroppi pippiroppi pippiroppi~~?

  "Well well well, Selina's cooking class, is a-bout to be-gin"

  Pippiroppi pipiporobbi~?

  "......What in the world is this?"

  Morning. If one were to head down to the dining room, suddenly you would hear background music playing as well as seeing Selina, with a ladle, singing.

  "Because it's finally Van Allen's Day, if we didn't do anything, it wouldn't be interesting, wouldn't it?"

  Selina went out of her way to tease Nina, who was applying pressure to her temples.

  "Nina, If you don't prepare sweets like Leu"

  "Bu"

  Already in the dining hall with an unconcerned expression on her face, Leu, having finished breakfast, blew on her tea.

  "It's an obligation. Obligation!"

  Turning from the shaken Leu to Selina, Nina tilted her head.

  "If Leu is preparing it, isn't there no need for a class?"

  "Really~~, were you listening? Nina-chan will make her sweets."

  "No thanks, it's not necessary."

  "Nina-chan, you're too stoic~. If that's the case, you won't be popular with the opposite sex, you know."

  Nina thought Selina was really interested. However, no matter how many people were swept up in Selina's pace, without fail, they were never enough.

  Since the beginning of breakfast preparations, Nina just let Selina's talking fade away.

  "There's that interesting new student, isn't there? That ace. Wouldn't he be happy if you gave him sweets?"

  Layfon's image surfaced in Nina's mind.

  "That guy, he said he doesn't like sweets. Besides, compared to me, his cooking is better."

  "Sweets made by an unskilled senpai who tried her best! Fingers covered in cuts! With a little less of that usual cool feeling, confess! It's the best, isn't it--"

  "The best is to know one's own weak point."

  Truthfully, it wasn't possible to understand her. Nina followed Leu's lead and quickly finished breakfast, returning to her own room to prepare for class.

  "Morning classes, if we're going to waste some time, let's meet at the gate."

  "Not skipping."

  A thoroughly serene reception. Having entered her room, Nina finished her preparations, grabbed her bag and headed for school. Selina wasn't leaving. It seemed she doesn't have morning classes, judging by her intent to involve Nina with killing time.

  Nina met up with Leu to ride the trolley. At first, there weren't many people due to the dorm being in such a remote area; after a short while however, it quickly became congested.

  The sound of idle banter became clamorous, becoming so clustered in Nina's ears that she considered jumping off. These days, Van Allen's Day's name was well known, but today seemed to be quite the contrary. Rather, specifically today in order for it to make sense, the name became troublesome to bring up. Not just the girls, but also the guys seemed to suggest that today conversation was on hold.

  "Hey, is it true no one is going to give any out?"

  "Ah."

  Leu confirmed it, Nina nodded in agreement.

  (Good Grief, I don't understand)

  Giving sweets, why did it become so important.

  Leu somehow became restless, and next to her, Nina reconsidered jumping off the tram.

  Sweet Day

  Sweet Before I

  Spontaneously escaping her lips, Meishen's humming went unnoticed. Mifi started singing when she did notice, after which Meishen turned to Mifi, who stopped singing. Also, Meishen stopped humming when she noticed Mifi.

  "Wow, sweet! Nice atmosphere!"

  Meishen turned towards that voice to find Mifi in the living room. She had already returned from her part-time job at the editorial department.

  "Ah, welcome home."

  "Mei-chi, you're making it again? Which means you still haven't decided on it?

  "But........."

  Mifi's shocked expression troubled Meishen.

  Van Allen's Day was just around the corner.

  The intention of that day was to give candy to others with goodwill, the intention that the day represented. Meishen learned of that custom, which had come from another city and established itself in Zuellni, from the coffee shop she worked at.

  The Meishen who loved making sweets pursued the restaurant workers' ideas for the special Van Allen's Day menu.

  Everyday following that, Meishen would, upon returning, try making them herself.

  "Because, he finally invited me out."

  The deliciousness of the food attracted her to look towards that place for employment.

  That shop's chefs were required to have their own work critiqued until they could satisfy the critics.

  With this, if the sweets Meishen made could be acknowledged, she could probably openly work in the kitchen.

  "No, it's ok though."

  Lined up on the table, after the trial products were picked up and tasted, Mifi had a difficult expression on her face.

  "......What is it?"

  "Well, well then......Which one do you feel like giving to Lay-ton?"

  "......Eh?"

  "......Did you forget?"

  After making Meishen completely dumbfounded, Mifi had a shocked expression on her face.

  "N, No. It's not like I forgot. But....................................what should I do?"

  "Well, I don't know. Mei-chi has such a magnificent chance to be able to declare it."

  "Ah, um......"

  That could possibly be true.

  Starting that day, the number of the sweets Meishen made multiplied.

  A Day For You 01

  Whenever she came across those words, Felli would say, without any expression, "Stupid."

  It was the day known as Van Allen's Day. A tradition from a foreign city, it should have no connection to Zuellni. Last year though, every confection
ery knew of Van Allen's Day had gone on a marketing campaign.

  The result was what was happening now.

  Numerous posters with "Van Allen's Day" written in big, bold letters were posted inside every building.

  Beyond that, those poster's had

  "To that person on your mind, send out those special feelings."

  "This is the taste of my feelings."

  "Spend some time together with a mature atmosphere about you."

  written on them, and......it wasn't only coffee shops and confectioneries; restaurants had also put out some of those posters and advertised ahead of time.

  Van Allen's Day......A special day where sweets are given to that special person of the opposite sex, and by those means, one's feelings are shared.

  Of course, this custom came from conversations and gossip about another city.

  Zuellni had no connection.

  Though there was no connection, with an interest in love this season, the students had gathered information, with the fervor expected of an academy city. It was a completely simple matter for such a craze to spread like wildfire.

  "Stupid." Felli muttered again.

  While taking her usual route home, she thought about dinner plans, and suddenly those posters were everywhere. She was fed up with it. In order to increase their revenue, the business department had come up with a list of marketing strategies and tried them out. The ones the majority of them did not like were generally dropped by the campaign committees. Coffee shops, restaurants, and most places with any relation to food and drink were generally advertised with a male audience in mind. Only confectioneries, bookstores, and grocery stores advertised with a female audience in mind.

  Guys made Van Allen's Day reservations and asked girls out. On the other hand, girls were subjected to advertising for classes and things on how to make sweets.

  Guys spend money while girls spend time, or so the saying goes.

  'They're mocking me...'

  without any words, Felli immediately threw an angry glare at the nearest grocery store. If women could spend their time and suddenly make delicious treats, there wouldn't be any trouble. If men could spend money and still be at ease, there would also be no worries.

  'Good grief......'

  The posters were visible all around the city, so one would have to be an idiot to forget about it. Felli discretely let out a sigh.

  And......

  "Fuu, I bought a lot, didn't I~"

  The nonchalant voice, along with its owner, emerged from the store.

  The girl spoke happily and had a carefree expression on her face. Contrary to what she said, she was only using one arm to carry a small bag, but was apparently left with a satisfied expression on her face. But, Felli's eyes weaved their way to the rear of the group.

  "......So, you don't think this amount of food is too much for the dorm, do you?" Seemingly unhappy, with a bag full of cheap lettuce in each hand. It was Nina.

  "But you can finally go out and try lots of different foods. You wanted to make a lot of new things, didn't you?" The girl declared optimistically after turning her head. Nina frowned, feeling a headache forming.

  "......Selina-san, isn't there some sort of misunderstanding?"

  "No~t at all~"

  To the person of the opposite sex you care about, a confession of love...... that intent of Van Allen's Day was disregarded, even to Felli.

  "Whatever I've made before, you said you'd eat everything I placed before you, so I can make a lot of things, can't I~"

  "Selina-san......"

  It appears that she intends to experiment on cooking something. Her uniform was from the Alchemy Department, so there was no way she could be wrong.

  "It's too bad the Heartseer fruit hasn't arrived, isn't it~? The shops had been commissioned to produce something or so I hear, so I thought the market would be caught up in that......cultivation's also failed, I wonder?"

  "That's kind of suspicious."

  "It's nothing like that. We're talking about taste."

  "It doesn't seem suspicious for even a minute?"

  "However even if it's a small amount, when properly made, it has a positive result on proper nourishment, recovery from weariness and promotes an increase in appetite amongst other things."

  "Which energy drink is that......?"

  "Well~, that is something we'll have another chance to try, won't we~? It'll be OK~. Since I'll properly think of something so that Nina can give a present."

  "No, that kind of thing I wasn't planning on......"

  "No~ way, it would be bad if you didn't give anything to the guy on your own platoon, wouldn't it?"

  "No, that's because......"

  From then on, whatever conversation unfolded, Felli, whose legs had stopped, became unable to hear them.

  Felli stood still until she lost sight of Nina's dismayed figure weaving in and out of the crowd. Meanwhile, she also glared at the newly discovered rival before her.

  He heard a clanking sound.

  "Felli, what're you doing? This is......"

  Having returned to the room just now, his nose assaulted by an offensive smell, Karian entered the kitchen after blocking his nose with a handkerchief.

  His younger sister was standing in the kitchen. Just because of that, there was already trouble.

  Going through the handkerchief, the irritating smell that had been entering his nose once again managed to enter.

  The clanking noise that was heard was from the pot. Why was it coming from the pot? Together, they were siblings who couldn't cook. Thus as one would expect, he couldn't believe that the sound came from cooking.

  "Felli......?"

  "Be quiet"

  Gazing at the saucepan, Felli's eyes were tinged with an earnest light. Karian couldn't help but swallow his question as he held his breath.

  "Just a little bit longer......"

  With the clock grasped firmly in one hand, she alternated between checking it and the pot, as well as adding a few drops from a small bottle of liquid. The sound of the liquid vaporizing mingled with the other sounds, and the irritating smell had changed.

  "It's ready......"

  "W, what......is?" A trace of ominous, black smoke rose from the saucepan. If the ventilation fan were not ventilating, the entire kitchen would be filled with a black haze. As Felli lifted the pot cautiously, it was obvious that something had been burnt black through over heating.

  "Elder brother, please sample this."

  What was placed onto a plate was then cut up with a kitchen knife, and after placing some on a smaller plate, was presented in front of Karian's nose without hesitation.

  "Unh......"

  "Please sample this."

  Repeatedly. He had the strength to not say any words of disinterest. Karian had, after taking several steps back, lost the ability to move his legs.

  "Please wait a moment. That's it! I remembered. I have unfinished work in the student council room, really urgent, that is......"

  With his own words, he pushed himself back and could finally move his legs. In order to run from that strange black object releasing a strangely irritating odor, Karian quickly turned around from his right.

  However, his legs had stopped once more. Before you knew it, Karian's surroundings filled with flakes.

  "Sample this......"

  Looking back, he could see Felli standing with her silver hair shining.

  "If that talent were to fully manifest itself in another place, it would greatly please me, wouldn't it?"

  "Sample this."

  As though to completely turn a deaf ear to his words, everything on the small plate was being forced to him. From that smoke emitting, strange, dark matter, Karian averted his eyes.

  Van Allen's Day.

  Until recently, that name, which held no particular import, had in that mind, rose to its surface.

  (F, For the love of......)

  Last year had Felli coldly disregarding the Business Department's campa
igns, and yet this year doesn't seem to be the case. The younger sister who harbored no interest in others was currently interested in the opposite sex. It made him lonely, but happy at the same time. Now, if I were to eat this thing, I would draw closer to my cold demise.

  (Remember this. Layfon-kun)

  "Come now......Sample this."

  "Urgh, erm."

  Felli stabbed a piece with the fork. Some charred portions had, under that pressure, broken off. She could possibly force it into his frantically shut lips.

  No escape. The surroundings continued to fill with flakes, enveloping him to the point where not even an insect had room to squeeze through. Light was let loose like lightning. A flake mine? Felli could make explosions herself, and in addition, there was only a short distance between them. Just taking into account these factors, he couldn't come out of this unscathed. Karian's time to sample drew near.

  (I've resigned myself to this, haven't I......)

  That's right. If this one bite is finished, it would be all over. The anxiety about the thought of those prepared ingredients entering a person's mouth shouldn't be felt much longer. In it existed the special qualifications necessary to label it as food, but to obtain those things today was impossible for his younger sister.

  (How's the taste? It seems edible!)

  Upon realizing, Karian opened his mouth.

  On top of his tongue, that morsel flopped down and rolled.

  "Fgah-, Guo-!

  He couldn't control himself from letting out the words he spat out. An impact was delivered to the crown of his head. As he was losing consciousness, Karian braced his arm on the table. Still, something on the inside of his mouth continued to feel like it was splitting open. Each time he felt that small breaking feeling inside his mouth, his tongue became weak. No, wait. This......This feeling, could it be the taste buds on his tongue making up the palate breaking down one by one!?

  "Ha, Ha......"

  It was said that the taste buds on the tongue numbered about ten thousand......why in the world would you lose them to that extent......? After thinking about it, his body trembled in terror.

  "......It appears that it's failed, hasn't it?"