Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 6

by Takehaya

  Five pairs of eyes stared at Koutarou and Kiriha as they got ready to go. They belonged to Sanae, Yurika, Theia, Ruth, and Shizuka who had come over to play. None of the five girls were quite sure what they were watching unfold.

  Sanae, Yurika, and Theia sat in front of the TV playing a game, but instead of concentrating on the game, they were stealing glances at Koutarou and Kiriha. Ruth and Shizuka sat across from each other at the table having tea. Ruth, however, seemed to be in a bad mood. Her lips were lightly pursed into a frown. In contrast, Shizuka was in a great mood. Her eyes were sparkling as she pretended to drink tea while watching Koutarou and Kiriha.

  “All right. Then let’s go, Kiriha-san.”

  “Yes. Well then, everyone, we’ll be going now.”

  After finishing getting ready to leave, Koutarou and Kiriha moved towards the front door. None of the remaining five girls so much as moved. Even Sanae, who normally would have made a fuss and asked to go too, was sitting still in front of the TV.

  “Kiriha-san, do you need the shoehorn?”

  “Thank you. Heh, Koutarou, the heel of your shoe looks like it’s collapsed.”

  “That’s why I won’t need the shoehorn.”

  However, once they were sure Koutarou and Kiriha had reached the front door, all five girls made a move. They gathered at the other end of the hallway leading to the front door, and one by one, their heads peeked around the corner like an odd totem pole. From the top to bottom was Sanae, Shizuka, Yurika, Ruth, and finally Theia.

  “Koutarou, you haven’t forgotten anything, have you?”

  “You handed me my cell phone, handkerchief, and wallet just a moment ago.”

  “Right, of course. It’s just a habit that kicks in whenever I’m about to leave.”

  “That sounds like a really roundabout way of telling me how forgetful you think I am.”

  What the group of five saw as they peered around the corner was Koutarou and Kiriha happily getting ready to leave together. And at that sight, four of the five of them were glaring. But the next moment, each of them hurriedly pulled their head back. Koutarou had put his hand on the door and turned around to say goodbye.

  “I’m off!”

  “See you later!”

  It was a close call. If they hadn’t pulled their heads back when they did, they would have been caught.

  “Bye!” all five girls called in harmony.

  If Koutarou or Kiriha had been paying more attention, it would have been pretty obvious the girls were up to something based on their voices. But neither Koutarou nor Kiriha seemed too concerned about it as they turned back towards the door.

  When they did, five heads reappeared in totem pole fashion again. They watched Koutarou and Kiriha leave the apartment. The twenty-five year old door creaked slightly as it shut behind them. As it did, the five girls lost sight of Koutarou and Kiriha, but they remained where they were for a few more moments, motionless and silent.

  “It’s a date! There’s no doubt about it!”

  The first one to speak up was Shizuka, the only one of the five that was smiling. As a teenage girl, she had a vested interest in this sort of thing, and her eyes were sparkling with excitement at the prospect.

  “When did they end up in that kind of relationship? I’m dying to know!”

  She then began muttering her suspicions about Koutarou and Kiriha’s relationship.

  “I won’t forgive him for this betrayal when he has Sakuraba-senpai! Th-This is an offense to Sakuraba-senpai and me!”

  Shizuka was thoroughly enjoying herself, but just below her was Yurika, shaking with anger. The gentle Yurika was—unusually enough—quite outraged. Both her trembling fists were clenched in resentment.

  “He’s going on a date with the wrong person! Satomi-san should be going out to play with Sakuraba-senpai and me!”

  Yurika felt that if Koutarou was going to date someone, it had to be Harumi. Yet when Yurika imagined Koutarou and Harumi on dates together, she was always with them for some reason. Yurika, however, thought nothing of it and ultimately didn’t understand half the reason she was so angry.

  “Koutarou, you stupid idiot! How can you not see all this is part of that woman’s trap?!”

  Sanae was also angry that Koutarou had gone out with Kiriha, but unlike Yurika, she was mostly concerned about his safety. She was worried that Koutarou had fallen for her temptations.

  “Now that it’s come to this, I have no choice but to expose that woman for who she really is and protect Koutarou!”

  The whole reason Sanae hadn’t gone with Koutarou was because she knew if she did, Kiriha wouldn’t show her true colors. Instead of getting the tail, she wanted to make sure she got the head.

  “Ruth, can you track them?”

  “I already am. I’m tracking them with Blue Knight’s firing control system.”

  The two bottom heads of the totem pole had already jumped into action. They were using Blue Knight’s monitoring systems to keep tabs on Koutarou and Kiriha.

  “What’s their current location?”

  “They’ve left Corona House and are heading east. I believe they’re heading towards the station.”

  Theia was the one who had a tendency to go overboard, but right now Ruth was just as eager. Normally, she would call something like this an invasion of privacy and prevent Theia from going astray, but this time was different.

  “Her Highness’s knight is meeting with a woman in secret... This kind of scandal cannot be tolerated!”

  With bloodshot eyes, Ruth gave command after command to Blue Knight. In her mind, Koutarou had to be Theia’s knight. He had to be a noble, strong, just, and true hero. Naturally, something like problems with other women would get in the way of that. To Ruth, the most important thing right now was setting Koutarou back on the right path. And to that end, privacy was hardly an obstacle.

  “Curse that Koutarou! Conspiring with the enemy is a serious crime! Does he not even understand that much?!”

  Despite what Theia was shouting, she didn’t really think that Koutarou was conspiring with the enemy. He wasn’t that kind of man, and Theia knew that better than anyone.

  You’re acting too much like a knight this time! You have to look the other way and say no to people sometimes!

  That was Theia’s hunch. Based on Kiriha’s behavior over the last couple of weeks, Theia had a vague idea that she was going through something. Koutarou was just getting himself involved. If Kiriha had a problem, there was no way Koutarou could just ignore it. That was her hunch as a princess, and her desire as a woman.

  “That fool! He really is a fool!”

  Worry and a bit of jealousy tugged at Theia’s heart. However, above all else, she was actually happy.

  “Koutarou and Kiriha are heading towards the station, right? They must be planning on hopping on a train to go somewhere!”

  “Taking the train from here, you can either get to the city or the beach. I wonder which way they’re going...”

  If they were planning on shopping, bowling, or any other kind of urban amusement, the closest place would be to head into the city. But if they took the train in the other direction, they would end up at the coast where there were seaside resorts and large-scale entertainment venues. Since it was now winter, it was unlikely that they were heading for a seaside resort, but there was still the possibility that they were going to the nearby aquarium or amusement park. Either way, based on which train they took, the girls would be able to narrow down Koutarou and Kiriha’s destination.

  “Nothing will come from waiting here! We’re heading for the station too!”

  “Here we go!”

  “W-Wait for meee!”

  Theia dashed out of the room. Sanae quickly followed suit, and Yurika scrambled after them both in a panic.

  “Then I shall go too.”

  Ruth hurriedly stood up and headed for the front door. She had to give Theia backup.

  “See you later then, I guess,” Shizuka said with a
forlorn sigh.

  Hearing that, Ruth stopped and turned around just as she was about to reach the hallway.

  “Aren’t you coming along too, Shizuka-sama?”

  “Nah, I have to work today.”

  “Ah, you did mention that you would be helping out at another show.”

  Shizuka was also interested in what Koutarou and Kiriha were doing, and she would have loved to join the other girls in their investigation. But alas, there was a scheduling conflict with the new part-time job she was offered last week. She’d be starting this weekend, so she had to get ready to go in any minute now.

  “Aaah, if I’d known this was going to happen, I never would have accepted this job!”

  Shizuka gritted her teeth in frustration, but Ruth just smiled wryly.

  “I’ll have a report for you about what happened when you get back.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Just leave it to me!”

  Ruth smiled at Shizuka as she sighed.

  “Then what are you still doing here?”

  “Yes, of course! Very well then, Shizuka-sama! I will take my leave!”

  “Hahh... See you later then.”

  And so Theia and the other girls left the despondent Shizuka behind in room 106 to chase after Koutarou and Kiriha.

  Koutarou and Kiriha boarded the train headed towards the coast. Once they did, Theia and the others got on the next express train to chase after them. Because of that, Theia and the others actually arrived at the station where they believed Koutarou and Kiriha were going to get off first.

  “Your Highness, as we expected, Satomi-sama and Kiriha-sama got off at this station.”

  “I thought so...”

  Hearing Ruth’s report, Theia nodded.

  “This is a definitely a date.”

  “Grrrrr, if we don’t do something fast, Koutarou will fall prey to Kiriha!”

  Theia, Ruth, Yurika, and Sanae hid in a small alley and kept an eye on the entrance to the station.

  “However, it seems the two of them have entered a roofed area, so the unmanned craft has lost track of them.”

  As the four girls followed them, they had an unmanned craft from Blue Knight follow Koutarou and Kiriha from above. The only problem was that once Koutarou and Kiriha entered the station building after getting off the train, it was no longer possible to track them from the air.

  “No problem. They’ll have to leave eventually.”

  “But with that many people, how are we going to spot Satomi-san?”

  Yurika pointed her finger at a huge crowd leaving the station. Since it was the weekend, there were plenty of people out and about. Even if Koutarou and Kiriha appeared, they would be hard to pick out of a crowd.

  “Heh, leave this to Sanae-chan!”

  But Sanae stepped forward full of confidence and volunteered to handle the situation. She stood in front of everyone and squinted her eyes.

  “Don’t forget that I, Sanae-chan, have a special bond with Koutarou!”

  Sanae was looking for Koutarou’s aura in the crowd. Since she was always clinging to him, she knew exactly what it looked and felt like. And it paid off. Sanae was quickly able to spot Koutarou and Kiriha without any problems.

  “I found them! They’re over there! Just in front of the convenience store!”

  “Ruth!”

  “I’ve got a lock on them! The unmanned craft is following them again!”

  Thanks to Sanae, the unmanned craft began tailing Koutarou and Kiriha once more. With that, Theia and the others didn’t need to worry about accidently losing him.

  “Sanae-chan, that’s amazing!”

  “Praise me some more, you jerk!”

  Sanae boasted proudly as Yurika complimented her. However, since Koutarou wasn’t there to pat her on the head, she didn’t feel as fulfilled as she normally did.

  “Satomi-sama and Kiriha-sama are on the move.”

  “Where are they going?”

  “Let’s see... According to the map, there’s a zoo in the direction they’re heading.”

  Once Koutarou and Kiriha left the station, they continued in the same direction. Further that way still was the Harukaze Zoo, the largest zoo in the prefecture. Going right after leaving the station would have taken them to an amusement park, and on the left would have been an aquarium. The area was so crowded because all of those attractions were so close to each other.

  “All right, let’s keep following them at a safe distance.”

  “Don’t we need to get a little closer?”

  “The zoo is mostly open air, so we should be fine with the craft, right?”

  “Aaahh! H-How could this be?!” Ruth loudly stammered just as the other girls started to follow after Koutarou and Kiriha again. She sounded like she was about to scream.

  “What’s wrong?!”

  “They’re holding hands!”

  Smack in the middle of the footage relayed by the unmanned craft was the image of Koutarou and Kiriha holding hands as they walked.

  “Wh-Whaaaaat?!”

  “Satomi-san! Are you serious?!”

  “You’re being tricked, Koutarou! Tricked, I tell you!”

  In reality, Koutarou and Kiriha were only holding hands so they wouldn’t lose each other in the crowd, but that’s not what it looked like to the other girls.

  “We’re going to close in! I want to know what they’re talking about!”

  “Roger!”

  “I’m glad we followed them... I never imagined it would turn out like this...”

  “Once we get home, he’s going to be punished. This behavior is shameful and unworthy of a knight!”

  Having entered a rather incredible misunderstanding about Koutarou and Kiriha’s relationship, the four girls chased after them in hot pursuit.

  Although the streets were quite packed, once they actually got inside the zoo, the crowd thinned out. There was no longer any risk of losing track of each other, so Koutarou and Kiriha let go of each other’s hands.

  “Koutarou, there’s a giraffe over there.”

  “Oh, hey.”

  And because Kiriha tended to walk off on her own, there wasn’t even another chance for them to hold hands anyway.

  “What’s up with her today...?”

  Koutarou scratched his head as he chased after her.

  Normally Kiriha gave off the composed impression of a mature woman. She was by far the most mature of the residents of room 106.

  “Koutarou, is it true that giraffes sleep standing up?”

  “Supposedly. I hear they have no problems standing and sleeping for short periods of time.”

  “I see.”

  However, as Kiriha stared at the animals, she had none of her normal mature appeal. In fact, rather the opposite, she seemed like an innocent child.

  The answer to that question might be around here...

  When Koutarou had asked Kiriha about her intentions regarding the surface invasion, she’d said there was somewhere she wanted to go with him. This was where they’d ended up, and here Koutarou was seeing a whole new side of Kiriha. Not even Koutarou was dull enough to think they were unrelated.

  “Koutarou, where are the penguins?”

  “The penguins would be in the aquarium section.”

  She had an honest smile, her eyes darted back and forth as she looked at all the unusual animals, she spoke her mind without hesitation, and she had her hands pressed together in childlike excitement.

  I guess I’ll play along for a while.

  Seeing Kiriha like this, Koutarou was overcome with a feeling of gentleness. He wanted to let her do as she pleased for now.

  “Even though the flamingos are there?”

  “Yup, they’re still in the aquarium. The polar bears should be in there as well.”

  “I see... Their classifications are surprisingly vague.”

  “Do you want to go to the aquarium later?”

  “Please! I really want to go!”

  Today was the fi
rst time Koutarou really felt like he and Kiriha were the same age.

  “So this is how it tastes...”

  Kiriha had a satisfied look on her face as she bit down on her red candy apple. Koutarou was sitting next to her on the bench as the two of them had lunch.

  “Is this your first one?”

  Koutarou stopped eating his yakisoba and looked at Kiriha. She nodded in response as she munched on her candy apple.

  “Yes, this is my first time eating one. I saw them once here in the past, and I’ve been interested in trying one ever since.”

  Koutarou and Kiriha were sitting in a resting area located in one of the corners of the zoo. There were snack shops, stalls, and candy stores lining the area, which gave it the feeling of a festival. They’d even gotten Kiriha’s candy apple from one of the small stores.

  “Hmm, so how is it? Is it as good as you thought? Or is it disappointing?”

  “If it’s just the one, it’s delicious.”

  “Hahaha, that’s true for most street food like this.”

  “Including the yakisoba?”

  Kiriha looked at what Koutarou was holding as he laughed.

  “Yeah. Want a taste?”

  “Please. I’m quite curious.”

  Kiriha had an intrigued look on her face as she borrowed Koutarou’s chopsticks and lifted some of the noodles to her mouth. And after chewing on it for a while, she looked back at Koutarou.

  “It’s greasy and sticks with you... but it’s not bad.”

  “Yeah, you can’t eat too much of it at one time.”

  “Heehee, I understand now.”

  The yakisoba had been altered in order to make it cool slower and so that the taste would remain unchanged even if it did get cold. They used plenty of oil and cooked it at a lower temperature to keep it from drying out, but it definitely affected the taste and made the dish heavier. It was fundamentally different from yakisoba that had been made fresh and was meant to be eaten that way. But lots of street and carnival foods were like that, and the bottom line was that it was difficult to eat so much of it.

  “So it’s only meant for special occasions...”

  Kiriha smiled and went back to eating her candy apple. Meanwhile, Koutarou nodded and lifted some more noodles to his mouth.