Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 6

by Takehaya

  “If it sounds like it, then it’s probably the truth. But I like that kind of person.”

  “Heh, then I’ll take it as a compliment.”

  “Good. If you hadn’t already chosen a man, I think I would have made a move on you.”

  “Quit your lying, Satomi Koutarou. That’s far too transparent.”

  The pair headed towards the roller coaster while continuing to joke around. This was unprecedented territory in their relationship, but everything up until today had led to it.

  A man she wants to be with, huh?

  When they reached the roller coaster, Koutarou stopped moving once more. He turned the thought over in his mind again, then looked towards the sign posted in front of the gate to the ride: “You must be at least 140 centimeters to ride this attraction.” Koutarou then glanced up at the cars running along the rails.

  Hmm, something just feels wrong...

  Something wasn’t quite clicking for Koutarou as he imagined himself and Kiriha riding the roller coaster together.

  “Kiriha-san.”

  So he stopped Kiriha as she was about to cross the entrance to the ride.

  “Yes?”

  Kiriha quickly turned around. Her eyes were sparkling with childlike enchantment and excitement.

  “Let’s not ride this.”

  “...Koutarou?”

  Kiriha’s expression clouded over instantly. After how much she was looking forward to this, she was visibly disappointed.

  “Why would you back out now that we’ve come this far?”

  “Hmm... How should I put it...?”

  Saying “it doesn’t feel right” wouldn’t cut it. Koutarou racked his brain trying to think of a way to explain what he was feeling to Kiriha.

  “I really think you should ride it with your first love.”

  “...Koutarou...”

  Kiriha’s eyes opened wide in surprise as she suddenly became aware of her own feelings.

  Am I confusing Koutarou with him...?

  Until Koutarou said something, Kiriha had felt like she was about to ride the roller coaster with her first love. This was the first she’d realized that she was confusing the two boys. Taken aback by it all, Kiriha looked up at the roller coaster. She couldn’t help thinking the complexly intertwining rails were much like her own feelings right now.

  “That way’d definitely be for the best, no matter how things turn out. Since you’ve waited this long, there’s no need to compromise now.”

  Koutarou walked up beside Kiriha and looked up at the roller coaster with her. But unlike Kiriha, he had no hesitation whatsoever.

  “I’ll help you look for him, so let’s find him for you.”

  “Yes... Thank you, Koutarou.”

  Looking at Koutarou’s smiling face, Kiriha became aware of another possibility.

  No... It might not be that I’m confusing Koutarou with him, but rather that I...

  However, Kiriha couldn’t reach a conclusion just yet. To her, both possibilities seemed simultaneously correct and wrong. Her feelings at the moment were very vague. However, there was one thing she did know for certain.

  “What if, even then, we can’t find him?”

  Kiriha wanted to ride the roller coaster with Koutarou too. She wanted some memorable experiences with her newfound friend. That’s why she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

  “Then ride with me. I’m actually pretty interested in roller coasters too.”

  “All right. Then I’ll endure for today.”

  Satisfied with Koutarou’s answer, Kiriha agreed to his terms.

  Regardless of who I ride this with in the future, I just hope my feelings will be clear by that time...

  Kiriha didn’t know what would happen in the future, but she grew strangely cheerful at her prospects.

  “What to ride next then...”

  Abandoning the roller coaster for now, Kiriha walked around the amusement park looking around for the next attraction to catch her eye. Attractions she’d been on before, attractions she hadn’t been on, and attraction’s she had been on but wanted to get on again. There were seemingly endless options.

  Oh yeah, there was something I had to say...

  Watching Kiriha scope out the area, Koutarou remembered that there was something he needed to tell her. It was something he had been thinking about since he saw her fight Tayuma.

  “Hey, Kiriha-san.”

  “Yes?”

  When Koutarou called out to Kiriha, she continued moving around the area while looking back at him. She walked circles around him almost as if Koutarou himself was one of the attractions she was eying.

  “There’s something I want to apologize for.”

  “Apologize for? What?”

  Kiriha now looked at Koutarou with confusion. She couldn’t remember him having done anything that he needed to apologize to her for. Running down the list, she could come up with several things she could apologize for, but nothing the other way around.

  “When we first met, I said some horrible things to you, didn’t I?”

  Koutarou wanted to apologize for the way he treated her when they met. Having no way of knowing her intentions, he’d called her an idiot among other things. But now that he knew better—knew her and her intentions better—he realized that what he had said back then had probably hurt her.

  “Of course you did. I’m an invader after all.”

  Kiriha smiled as if to say that there was no need to apologize. Since she wanted Koutarou to resist, she was prepared for the consequences.

  “That might be true, but I’m still sorry, Kiriha-san.”

  But even then, Koutarou apologized. When he did, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The apology wasn’t just for Kiriha’s sake. It was for him too.

  “When you put it like that, it sounds like you want to be invaded by me.”

  Kiriha smiled mischievously. Koutarou had been so harsh with Kiriha because he wanted to prevent an invasion. By apologizing, it was almost like telling her he was okay with it. Both the invasion of room 106 and the surface.

  However, Koutarou remained calm, even after seeing the way she was smiling. He had absolute faith in Kiriha.

  “Feel free to invade if you want. The surface, or my room.”

  “Wha...”

  “If you seriously want to, that is.”

  Hearing Koutarou’s response, Kiriha realized how happy she was.

  So you won’t mind if I invade... Koutarou...

  It was almost too much. Deep joy filled her heart to the point it felt like it would burst at any moment. She was so happy that Koutarou had accepted her as a true friend. That was the kind of connection she’d been looking for when she came to the surface. It was what she’d truly wished for. And Koutarou was able to affirm all of that for her with such a simple answer. The intense joy she felt now was so overwhelming that the normally calm Kiriha was only barely able to hold back her tears.

  “Koutarou, in reality, you don’t want me to find him, right?”

  Kiriha wiped the corners of her eyes. Even with her strong will, she had been unable to keep herself from tearing up.

  “Hmm? What do you mean?”

  Koutarou hadn’t noticed her tears since she was still smiling brightly.

  “No, it’s nothing.”

  Kiriha grabbed Koutarou’s hand. He looked at her in confusion, but she pulled him along as she started walking. If she had continued facing him, she would probably have cried.

  “Let’s go, Koutarou!”

  “Yeah.”

  Kiriha was heading for attractions she had never ridden with anyone before to make memories with the first real friend she’d ever made on the surface.

  As the end of the year approached, even though the days were warm, the evenings turned cold in a hurry. So to Koutarou who had gotten another part-time job over winter vacation, they were the worst.

  “How about a cake for Christmas? At Harukaze Bakery, we’re accepting orders for Christmas cakes
!”

  Koutarou’s new part-time was dressing as Santa Claus to hand out flyers. Since the bakery at the shopping street by the station was selling Christmas cakes, they’d hired Koutarou to advertise. Today was December 22nd, and Christmas Eve was right around the corner. The last Christmas cakes would have to be sold today or tomorrow, and the most critical time for street advertising was when people where out shopping or heading home. It was quite cold, but he had to work hard.

  “How about a cake for Christmas? At Harukaze Bakery, we’re accepting orders for Christmas cakes!”

  Koutarou called out to passersby all throughout the shopping street as he distributed flyers.

  There were a lot of ends to make meet at the end of the year, and Koutarou’s part-time job excavating the ruins wasn’t quite enough to cover it all. Because of Yurika, food expenses for the apartment had risen, and because Theia was playing video games so much, the electricity bill had gone up too. Not to mention that as it got colder, the heating bill was increasing. It was all putting a strain on Koutarou’s budget.

  He knew he could ask his father for help if he really needed to, but in order to prove his own independence as a man, he wanted to solve his own problems.

  “How about a cake for Christmas? At Harukaze Bakery, we’re accepting orders for Christmas cakes!”

  But even with so many people on the street, everyone looked busy, and only a few people showed interest in Koutarou’s flyers. He politely handed one to anyone who would accept. But even out of the people who took one, only a few would actually buy a cake. Still, it was important to treat everyone as a potential customer. After Koutarou had been struggling for a while, he unexpectedly heard a girl’s voice calling out to him.

  “Good evening, Santa.”

  “Oh? Sakuraba-senpai?”

  The girl greeting him was indeed Harumi. When he turned in the direction of her voice, he saw Harumi smiling in spite of the cold winds whipping through the shopping street. That smile felt like the spring sun to him. It was a welcome sight that helped him forget about the cold for a while.

  “Heehee, I think I’ve been a good girl this year, so may I have a flyer?”

  Still smiling, Harumi was holding out her hands as if she was asking for a present.

  Afterword

  Long time no see everyone. It’s the author, Takehaya.

  The heat this summer has been overwhelming, and I wrote this novel in the middle of all of it. It’s now October and it’s gradually getting colder, so I think I’ll be able to catch up on the sleep I missed over the summer.

  This sixth volume centered around Kiriha. Her reasons for taking command of the surface invasion were finally revealed.

  With this, we’ve gone through a volume for each of the four invaders and their stories are beginning to take form. Thanks to that, I bet your impression of the each character has changed some from when the story first began. Having come this far, we’re finally at the starting point, and I’d like to keep the story going. I’m really glad the series has gotten on the right track. This is all thanks to you, the readers. Thank you very much, and I hope you will continue to support me in the future.

  And regarding that anime PV, it should have reached the hands of all those who applied for it by the time this novel is released... It did reach you, right?

  Two points regarding this PV surprised me. The first was that it has been voiced. Since it was going to be used by HobbyJapan’s sales department as a promotion, it was only planned to have video and music. However, the anime studio that was hired to produce it, SilverLink, showed their motivation by creating a short story and adding voice actors to it. Since it was different from what they had told me it would be, I was surprised when I saw it.

  The second point was that a portion of the lines have mistakes in them. Since there were no lines planned for this PV, SilverLink showed a great deal of goodwill in adding them. But since there weren’t detailed notes on the characters for such an occasion, it lead to some natural mistakes. So I hope you could just laugh it off and forgive them. This was all possible because of SilverLink’s hard work. And if this novel really does get adapted into an anime, this kind of mistake wouldn’t happen, so it’s quite a rare scenario.

  I would be quite happy if those who received the PV enjoyed it. And for those of who you didn’t apply for it, a portion of it is being showed on HobbyJapan’s website, so please feel free to check it out.

  For me, it’s like I’m watching my younger sister’s sports meet. I’m half having fun, half nervous. Could this be an author’s fate? Personally, I found Karama and Korama cuter than I had imagined them. I wanted to see them move around energetically some more! Ho! Ho, ho!

  With the PV complete, project Invaders of the Rokujouma!? has kicked into high gear. The moment of truth for determining whether this work gets an anime or not is upon us. I hope for even more support from my readers.

  And now for an anecdote. Recently when I go out to eat, I encounter a cat from time to time. It seems like it lives in one of the houses I pass by, but for some reason, it begins meowing whenever it sees me. When I paid attention, I noticed that the cat wouldn’t do anything when other people passed by. It’s almost as if it’s trying to tell me something. I’m not sure if it’s because it really likes me or really dislikes me. When I see it next, I’ll try to establish contact. Will it let me pet it, or will it scratch me? I’m anxiously awaiting our next meeting, cat.

  On another note, I had my air conditioner running the entire summer. Since I use my computer for work during the day, it was a necessity. And during the warm nights, it had to be on for me to be able to sleep. Thanks to that, my jaw dropped when I saw the electric bill. It was more than twice as expensive as normal. Even though it’s required for my work, I got to thinking about ecology. However, by the time the novel is released, it should be cooler, so I guess I’m safe for now.

  The other day I saw a certain movie. That said, I didn’t see it in theaters. I bought the Blu-ray. The title of the movie was Moon. It was a low-budget film, but it was interesting with all the ingenious tricks they used. This was more my type of movie, and I preferred it over District 9, which I bought at the same time. I want to try writing a work set in space someday. I don’t know when that day will come though.

  There’s actually room for quite a bit more this afterword, but since I’m already out of things to write about, it seems like an impossible challenge. I’ll wrap things up here.

  I’d like to thank everyone at the editorial department; Poco-san who always draws cute illustrations for me; everyone at SilverLink who made the PV; my friends who give me advice; and all of my readers who bought this novel.

  Let us meet again in the afterword of the seventh volume.

  September, 2010

  Takehaya

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  Copyright

  Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 6

  by Takehaya

  Translated by Warnis

  Edited by Morgan Dreher

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2010 Takehaya

  Illustrations Copyright © 2010 Poco

  Cover illustration by Poco

  All rights reserved.

  Original Japanese edition published in 2010 by Hobby Japan

  This English edition is published by arrangement with Hobby Japan, Tokyo

  English translation © 2017 J-Novel Club LLC

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book witho
ut the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

  J-Novel Club LLC

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  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Ebook edition 1.0: September 2017