Labyrinth of the Blue Witch (3 page)

“It’s not pushing it, you’re a total natural in it… If anything, the middle school uniform would suit you better.”

“You see, Natsuki? It’s exactly like I said, isn’t it?”

Misaki smiled proudly and thrust her chest out. Though she was a bit short of a hundred and sixty centimeters in height herself, paired with the tiny Natsuki, they completely looked like parent and child.

Not appreciating this, Natsuki shooed Misaki away. “No one asked you. Besides, I didn’t have any uniforms left over from middle school, so I had no choice.”

“Left over… Wait, you used to wear that uniform, Natsuki?”

Kojou reflexively looked all over Natsuki’s uniform. Now that she mentioned it, the size
was
perfect, even though she was only as tall as an elementary school student. If that was her own personal uniform, it meant Natsuki had graduated from Saikai Academy, which was news to Kojou’s ears.

“Don’t call your homeroom teacher by her first name.” Natsuki’s lips gloomily twisted. “Why are you so respectful to that dumb mutt when you call me by my first name?”

“Guess it’s difference in authority and personality,” said Misaki.

“Stop petting me!”

Misaki was petting Natsuki’s head like she was fawning over a little girl. Natsuki glared at her fellow teacher. Natsuki, whose ego was unparalleled, somehow had a hard time dealing only with Misaki Sasasaki, whom she’d known since her school days. Maybe it was just in their natures.

Kojou spoke up as he watched the two teachers tease each other.

“Well, that’s how it is, so can we go now? We’re already running short on time.”

Misaki glanced at the middle-aged man wrapped in chains and laughed shamelessly at him.

“That’s fine. We caught the real molester, after all.”

Kojou and Yukina made light bows to the pair of lady teachers and walked toward the ticket examiner. It was still morning, but Kojou already felt dead tired.

That was when Natsuki called out to him.

“Kojou Akatsuki.”

“Yes?” Kojou turned to look innocently back, and he saw a strange look come over Natsuki. Not being able to read her emotions was standard, but something about her was different now. She had a smile on her face like one you wore just after meeting an old friend, with longing and heartbreak thrown into the mix.

“It’ll be the Hollow Eve Festival soon.”

“Yeah. It will.” Though thrown off, Kojou managed to keep pace with her.

“Hmph,” went Natsuki through her nostrils. She made the same imperious smile she always did. Then, she spoke with a haughty tone of voice.

“Classes resume normally at the beginning of next week. Make sure you’re not late getting back.”

In the final week of October when the Hollow Eve Festival would begin, Saikai Academy went on school holiday starting the day before the festival.

To the people in clubs that were participating in events like concert band performances and classroom displays, those who would be working on or appearing on floats sponsored by city businesses, those working part-time jobs, or those who simply wanted to enjoy the festival to the fullest, the Hollow Eve Festival was a time of year when the students of Itogami City were frantic with activity.

There were numerous advisories from the school in an effort to keep the students out of trouble. Consequently, here on the day before the school holiday was to begin, homeroom time was extended so that everyone’s homeroom teacher could drill these advisories into them.

But this, too, was a yearly ritual. High schoolers who’d heard it all before were even less likely to pay much attention. And that was when something completely at odds with all common sense occurred in Kojou Akatsuki’s class.

It was a slender, little girl who stood on the teacher’s lectern.

She had indigo-blue hair and blue eyes. Her beautiful visage had a completely artificial symmetry to it. The girl was a homunculus, born through industrial processes wrought by man.

Of course, no student in a Demon Sanctuary like this was going to do a double take over a homunculus. But the fact that she was clad in a very exposing apron dress and that she was reading the list of advisories in the capacity of substitute teacher—
that
was unusual.

“A maid… Hey, that’s Natsuki’s personal maid, isn’t it?”

“Why is a maid teaching?”

“She’s called Astarte, right…? She’s cute.”

“Hey, the bigger deal is this rumor going around that Natsuki was wearing a school uniform at the station.”

“…Yeah, she could totally pull that off.”

Even as the students, who had not yet grasped the situation, fiercely whispered among one another, all eyes were on Astarte’s every word and deed. As a result, she faithfully accomplished her primary mission of conveying the festival time advisories to the class.

“…What the heck was that all about?” Now that she had done her duty, the homunculus girl returned to the teacher’s waiting room. Asagi Aiba posed the question to Kojou as she watched the girl head off. She was a schoolgirl with a gorgeous hairstyle and a uniform scraping by regulations in just the right places.

“She said it herself, didn’t she? Natsuki’s absent and asked her to fill in.”

“Hmm. I guess an Attack Mage would be busier right before the festival?” Asagi murmured back, seeming to tentatively buy it. Kojou had been on the fence but kept quiet about Natsuki going around town looking like she was cosplaying a high school girl. She’d get scary if she heard he’d damaged her reputation in any way.

Besides, school was going to be out in short order, well before noon. All that was left was putting their things together and heading home.

The monorail’s probably a lot less packed by now
, Kojou thought to himself as he prepared to leave, when he met Asagi’s eyes. She looked like she wanted to say something.

What?
Kojou wondered, casually tilting his head a bit. Asagi seemed resolute as she opened her mouth.

The very next instant, Kojou was suddenly surrounded by a mob of noisy male classmates.

“Hey, Akatsuki. You scheduled to get into any Hollow Eve Festival events?”

“Nah. Hadn’t decided on anything.”

The classmates had dubious looks on their faces as Kojou replied to the question. Hearing his answer, the boys’ eyes seemed to glimmer. They were like a pack of carnivorous beasts with prey in their sights.

“That so. Why don’t you work part-time, then? We’ve got an open café scheduled in town, but we’re a few people short. Of course, you’ll get paid for it. How’s 250 yen an hour sound?”

“Wait, Kojou! If you’re gonna be working, be a salesboy at our booth! We’ll give you a commission of ten…no, twenty percent of sales!”

“Hold on, Kojou! Don’t forget there’s the legendary Hollow Eve Festival beach volleyball tournament!

“Don’t you wanna work up a sweat with us with all that sand and fresh air?”

“Stop right there! Beauty pageants are the soul of any festival. We want you as a special judge. So come to Thetis Mall today like your life depends on it!!”

“Uh…umm?”

A guarded look came over Kojou in the face of his classmates’ coercive invitations. Seeing them like that, Asagi appeared displeased. She called over to a good friend. “Hey, Rin…what’s all that?” she asked in a low voice.

“Hee-hee. Akatsuki’s very popular, you see.” Rin Tsukishima narrowed her eyes and laughed mischievously. Her teasing tone brought an “ugh” from Asagi as her cheek twitched. She was a tall, stylish girl with the air of an adult, classifying Rin as a “cool beauty” type, but she was surprisingly talkative and had razor-sharp intuition. She seemed perfectly well aware of
why
Asagi was in a foul mood.

“Well, it’s not so much Kojou as it is Himeragi, y’see,” Motoki Yaze interjected in his eternally flippant tone of voice.

He was Kojou’s “bad” friend, as well as an old friend of Asagi’s from back when they were primary schoolers.

Asagi’s mood worsened further upon hearing the girl’s name from Yaze’s lips.

“Himeragi—you mean the middle school transfer student?”

Noticing the change in Asagi, Yaze made a worldly looking nod.

“It’s well-known that for whatever reason, wherever Kojou goes, she goes. If Kojou gets into
X
, Himeragi gets into
X
, too, and that’s a big deal. They’ll get lots of customers for sure, then.”

Asagi voiced her low opinion of the matter. “They’re all a complete pack of idiots.”

Essentially, they were inviting Kojou as bait for getting Yukina Himeragi to join in. It was true that Yukina was a lovely and captivating girl, and any event she participated in would have customers flock over to get a good look at her.

As Asagi put her chin in her palms and sulked, Rin asked with a look of even greater pleasure, “You’re all right with this, Asagi?”

Asagi looked back in annoyance. “With what?”

“The Hollow Eve Festival. You wanted to go to it with Akatsuki, didn’t you?”

“Um…” Asagi froze on reflex as the sudden question hit the mark.

Like festivals in general, the Hollow Eve Festival was a serious matter for couples. There were haunted houses, fireworks displays, as well as fortune-telling, stalls selling charms for deepening bonds—the Demon Sanctuary was just full of stuff like that. The reason Asagi was hesitating about inviting Kojou was that it was hard to make it sound casual.

Meanwhile, the boys in class continued to invite Kojou to their various events.

“Ah…er, thanks for the invitations, but I’ve gotta say no.”

There was a minor uproar within the classroom as Kojou declined with unexpected firmness. “What?! What’s the problem with this?! We’ll even let you drink coffee for free!”

“How about twenty-f— No, thirty percent, you jerk!”

“You don’t get it, Akatsuki! You still do not grasp the profoundness of beach volleyball!!”

“If being a judge isn’t enough for you, how about being one of the male contestants?!”

The classmates pressed Kojou to change his mind. But Kojou scratched his languid-looking face.

“Er, I made a promise to go out to the festival with someone this year, so I can’t. Sorry.”

All at once, bloodlust surged in various people as they heard Kojou’s words.

“A promise to go out with someone…?! You mean the transfer student in middle school?! Is that it?!”

“The transfer student? Ah no, nothing to do with Himeragi here.”

Kojou’s casual reply threw the invitation makers completely off. Without exception, their gazes shifted in Asagi’s direction.

“…Not…the transfer student?”

“So, you mean Aiba, then?”

“Aiba, huh…? Well, we can settle for Aiba.”

“Yeah, Aiba would work, come to think of it. Can’t be helped. We definitely need Akatsuki in our event now…”

“….She looks really pissed for some reason, though.”

The boys’ not-so-private discussion made Asagi’s lips twitch repeatedly. Rin and Yaze only sighed in apparent pity.

That moment, someone at the classroom entrance called out to Kojou in a loud voice.

“Akatsuki! Visitor for you! A girl from middle school.”

This time, the bizarre timing caused a far larger commotion in the classroom.

“What?!”

“The transfer student?! Then it’s really the transfer student? Aiba’s just for pretend?!”

“No, wait! That’s…!”

“It can’t be! The Saint of Middle School…?!”

The one calling Kojou’s name was Yuuha Tanahara of the same class. A girl with almost translucent silver hair stood behind her back, as if she was hiding behind it.

She wore a long-sleeved, long-necked undershirt under her middle school uniform, which made her come off almost like a nun. In a certain sense, her beautiful visage stood out even more than Yukina’s.

She was Kanon Kanase, a third-year student in middle school. Also known as “the Saint” for her looks and the air of kindness around her, she had many fans even among the high school boys. Though not public knowledge, she was also a princess of the Aldegian royal house. No doubt that accounted for the sublime elegance that made her difficult to approach.

And just like that, Kojou casually spoke to Kanon, not even noticing the looks they were getting. “Kanase? You came to school, huh?”

“Ah yes. I’m sorry to intrude upon your class, but…”

“No, that’s totally all right. You’re feeling better now?”

“Yes, I left the hospital the other day.”

Kojou and Kanon were having an intimate conversation, as if they were old acquaintances. The students in the classroom hung on their every word and action.

Rin Tsukishima lowered her voice and whispered into Asagi’s ear. “How did they become acquainted?”

“There’s no way I’d know something like that!”

Blood rushed into Asagi’s head as she replied. She knew that Kojou and Yukina had gotten wrapped up in some kind of trouble involving Kanon Kanase not long before. However, Kojou’s excuses glossed over all the details; she still didn’t know
why
he’d been involved in an incident like that. And not even noticing that Asagi was glaring at him, there was Kojou, standing next to Kanon and making a frivolous smile.

“So you came all this way to say hi?”

“Yes. Also, there is a favor I wanted to ask you.”

Kojou seemed surprised as he replied. “A favor? Me?”

Kanon bashfully lowered her eyes a little. “Yes, ah…”

As the silver-haired girl’s voice hesitantly trailed off, Kojou’s classmates held their breath, waiting for her to continue. Finally, Kanon strongly raised her face and asked Kojou in a voice full of tension…

“Could I go to your place and…stay over tonight?”

That moment, what seemed like a cold silence came over the classroom. Only Asagi had an expression of complete shock as she raised her voice in a “Wha—?!” Then…

Kojou’s demeanor was casual as he accepted Kanon’s request.

“Sure, I don’t mind at all, but…”

Asagi’s eyes opened wide and froze like that as her shoulders shook as if she was touching a live wire.

“Wh-wha—?!”

Watching from beside her, Yaze made an exasperated-looking shake of his head.

Rin strongly grabbed Asagi’s wrist and dramatically raised both of their hands together.

“Hold it right there!” The classroom was shaken once more as if there was an earthquake happening. Even Kojou and Kanon were compelled to notice the odd aura and look over. Rin grinned as she informed Kojou of the resolution. “We will be joining you. You don’t mind, do you, Akatsuki?”

Kojou had a stupefied look on his face as he replied with a question. “Huh?”

Asagi still had no idea what on earth was going on as she glanced between the bewildered Kojou, the pleasantly smiling Rin and the others, and her own hand raised up high; then, she shouted…

“Whaaaaat?!”

There were two days left until the Hollow Eve Festival. Signs of the rising festive mood came into sharper and sharper perspective.

Island South was Itogami Island’s southern district full of residential neighborhoods. Here the Akatsuki siblings lived in an apartment building built on top of a gentle artificial hill.

Their room number was 704. It was arranged in a standard three-bedroom, kitchen, dining room, living room arrangement. The spectacular view from the window contrasted the evening sky with the Itogami City skyline spread below them and dyed red by the rays of the setting sun.

The large plates on the glass dining table were piled high with food.

Kanon was standing in her school uniform, looking down at the cooking and feeling very out of place. As an expression tinged with tension came over her face, the sound of fireworks erupted, as if meant to make her cower.