The Heiwa High School Summer Festival Conspiracy!

The second semester began without a hitch. It seems that Tatsuya’s prayers had been answered. Everything was as normal as they were before the summer. The only new news worth noting was Takara’s enrollment to the school as a first-year in the same class as Shurai. And if there was one thing that Tatsuya didn’t necessarily enjoy about this new semester—his only complaint of the term—is how hectic his breaks and lunches have become with the new addition of the Lindworm princess.

Besides adding to Tatsuya’s already crowded school harem of dragon princesses and increasing the already antagonistic behavior every other single boy had against the Dragonborn, Takara’s presence had two unexpected effects at school. The first, due to her rather diminutive and childlike body and looks, people initially didn’t take her seriously about being the same age as the other dragon princesses. But with Shurai’s help in confirming the truth of her age, people began to show her more respect as a high school student. The effect of this resulted in a group of guys establishing a fan club for her. Tatsuya wasn’t the least bit awed when he first caught wind of it—in fact, he was more worried for her more than anything. ‘I need to do everything I can to protect her from those guys,’ he told himself.

The second effect was something so unexpected that it really made everyone question the reality of the situation. Takara’s presence at school had transformed one of the worst offenders into a respectable member of the student body. Manami, the one deemed the enemy of all women with an incorrigible perverted mind, had miraculously blossomed into a fine gentleman. His perverted actions had dramatically reduced by seventy percent and he has become more respectable and chivalrous towards women. It all started ever since Takara’s first day here, and everyone was dumbfounded to see him become a totally different person, a complete improvement! Tatsuya, himself, was beyond astounded when he found out from Manami himself that this change was brought upon by the Lindworm’s princess mere presence at the school. According to him (Manami), he couldn’t possibly engage in unacceptable behavior that will harm or damage the image and reputation of his princess and his tribe.

It was now lunch break and everyone had gathered to eat in the club room. Takara had already been initiated into the club since her first day here, courtesy of Mr. Urushihara. Everyone ate and chatted together like a true club of happy friends. Tatsuya, however, couldn’t help but feel stifled from all of the girls trying to feed him and engage in ‘lovey-dovey’ situations with him.

“Say, Tatsuya, have you had a chance to play the new game yet?” asked Sasuke.

“W-What was that?” responded Tatsuya, pushing away the legion of spoons from his face.

“‘Overlord IV: The War of Fire and Ice’,” answered Daiki. “It came out two weeks ago.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that,” said Tatsuya. “I couldn’t get it though.”

“Why?” asked Sasuke.

Tatsuya let out a heavy sigh and said, “I was saving up money to buy it, but I had to get rid of all of it two days ago. I went out grocery shopping with Shurai and Takara since they both didn’t have anything to do that day and wanted to go out with me. When we arrived at the store, Shurai wanted to buy a box of cereal, the expensive kind mind you. Apparently, the box came with a toy inside. The toy itself was a collectible action figure from the recent magical girl anime: ‘Ruella Ruella Magi Mahou Senshi’. Takara then ordered me to buy everything off the shelf; the toy was part of a series, you see, and she apparently wanted all of them. When I asked her why, she simply talked about probability and chance and things along those lines that I couldn’t care less to listen to, much less understand. And so, in order to prevent her from throwing a tantrum in the store, I used all of my money to buy the groceries, plus fifty boxes of cereal. Shurai finished them all the next day and Takara now has seven completed collections with many copies left over.”

“You have it tough, don’t you?” consoled Sasuke.

“Apologies for making you live through that again,” said Daiki.

“Why do talk of that experience as if I was a burden on you?” asked Takara with a raised eyebrow.

“Because it was a waste of money,” answered back Tatsuya scathingly.

“Hah! Elites like me never waste money! That was not an extravagance, but an investment! Who knows how much the value for these collectibles will rise in the years to come?” declared Takara. She then proceeded to give facts in support of her argument. “‘AnimeReviews’ has written that the series is on its way to becoming a household name everywhere! ‘Figures&Toys’ projected that the values of the toys will rise with the popularity of the show, positing a rise of 36% of their initial value in the next two years! And a poll conducted by ‘Shonen Ace Jump Magazine’ showed that the show is projected to have an increase in viewership, about 27%, in the upcoming cour, and any and all merchandise will additionally see an increase in consumption with a theorized increase of 43% in purchases by fans of the show in support of it!”

“Spoken like a true Otaku,” muttered Tatsuya under his breath. ‘Shurai’s anime addiction has seriously been rubbing off on Takara. If they both get any deeper into the rabbit hole, my wallet’s seriously going to be murdered.’

Takara clapped her hands and called, “Managi!”

“Yes ma’am!” answered Manami. He immediately rushed up to his princess’ aid. Manami was dressed in a frilly yellow dress with a white apron and white hand gloves and stockings. His face was heavily decorated with makeup: thick eyeliner to make his eyes pop out, long eyelashes to increase his feminine charms, foundation to even out his complexion and bring out his feminine appeal, and rosy red lipstick to tie it all together. When Tatsuya had asked him of this this morning, Manami simply said that it was his princess’ desire for him to appear as so. He didn’t dare to complain nor defy the princess’ orders and complied with dignity. Even while dressed as a girl, Manami still carried himself with the integrity of a man. This surprised everyone and even made the girls in class shun him, not for his pervertedness, but for his inexplicable decision to start cross-dressing out of his own volition. But besides being despised by the female population now as a creep (some even posited he was actually engaging in his pervertedness through some sort of weird cross-dressing fetish), his legion of male admirers only increased.

Tatsuya couldn’t help but feel sorry for his friend. Despite Manami’s insistence that he’s doing it out of loyalty to his princess, Tatsuya believed that his friend was actually dying inside and desperately wanted to escape from this humiliating coercion by his superior; and knowing Takara, this idea of humiliating a scoundrel through coercion for her own amusement is not at all far-fetched. ‘I’m so sorry, Manami,’ thought Tatsuya pityingly, ‘You're still a man to me! I believe in you!’ Manami suddenly turned his head to Tatsuya as if he had heard the latter’s thoughts, prompting Tatsuya to flinch in surprise.

“Managi, tell Boyfriend how much we made this morning during first break,” ordered Takara.

“Yes ma’am!” obeyed Manami.

“What’s this about?” asked Tatsuya curiously.

Manami reached into his dress and pulled out a large roll of cash. To be honest, Tatsuya was more surprised that such a large roll could fit inside the dress in the first place rather than the money itself. “This is how much the princess made this morning after selling a Magi Red figure from the ‘Ruella Ruella Magi Mahou Senshi’ series to a third-year member of the school’s Anime Club,” explained Manami. “This here is 9850 yen (about $75 USD).”

“W-W-What the yen?!” shouted Tatsuya in utter disbelief. “The box of cereal itself only cost 720 yen (about $5.50 USD)!” He turned his attention to Takara and asked accusingly, “What tricks did you use? You didn’t do anything illegal, did you? Or did you coerce them into buying it off of you?”

“How rude!” protested Takara with a scowl.

“How dare you accuse the princess of such acts?!” reprimanded Manami furiously. “My princess conducts her business as moral and ethical as any businessperson!”

“That’s what scares me,” said Tatsuya with a sigh. And Tatsuya’s fears wasn’t at all unwarranted. During the week leading up to the second term and the weeks that followed, Tatsuya had found himself in many awkward situations that were caused by Takara. For example, during one trip to the grocery store, Takara spotted a child with a very valuable collectible figure and attempted to buy it off of him with cash. Of course, the child, who was about four or five years old, after many times telling her no and rejecting her offer, started to cry when Takara’s incessant pestering and solicitation began to scare him. The child’s mother came to his aid and after rebuking Takara (unsuccessfully) for her actions, called the police on her for harassment. Tatsuya couldn’t believe his luck at all. After about an hour or so of clearing the air with the police, Tatsuya forced Takara to apologize and quickly dragged her back home in shame and without buying his groceries.

Another example was when she decided to make some money and bought a bunch of small candy and collectible capsule toys (gachapon) from a convenience store. Armed with her materials, she then began to set up shop…right in front of the store. With her butler, Takara set up a table and sold “her” merchandise at a very unbelievable price to the customers walking in and out of the store. It didn’t take long before the store’s manager called the cops on her. Tatsuya, who was coincidentally walking into the same store at that exact moment, had to sacrifice every little dignity he had to save her from being charged with fraud. Once again, he did his best to clear the air and forced the Lindworm princess to apologize before dragging her back home in shame.

“Well, anyway, I heard that your sister returned back to her school, right?” asked Sasuke, doing Tatsuya a solid and changing the subject. “Where does she go to school?”

“To be honest, I’m not so sure,” admitted Tatsuya sheepishly. “I just know that she goes to a school in Kyoto. It’s an all-girls academy that she’s been attending for a while now.”

“Mika-chan goes to an all-girls academy in Kyoto?!” exclaimed Manami. Everyone suddenly turned to look at him with surprised expressions. Manami quickly stood up straight and cleared his throat and said, “I mean, that is good to know.”

Daiki approached him and unleashed a magnificent slap across his face. “I cannot stand a man who cannot stay true to himself and his desires!” announced Daiki bluntly. He then pointed a finger at Manami and added, “You are a disgrace to your tribe for not being your real self!”

“W-W-What the hell are you talking about?” asked Manami with a frown and rubbing his bruised cheek.

“What happened to the perverted bastard who we call our friend and who has made a name for himself as the enemy of all women in the school?! What happened to the lowly scum who is often forced to endure divine punishment at the hands of his targets but never once let it discourage from achieving his perverted goal?! What happened to the Manami we know and love who’s only best quality is his good looks?!” exclaimed Daiki.

“W-Wait, that’s how you all see me?” asked Manami in genuine surprise of the assessment.

“Your makeup is on point!” said Daiki, pointing to Manami’s face. “Your clothes are cute and appealing!” he added, shifting his finger to Manami’s dress. “And your feminine appeal is right now at a hundred!” continued Daiki, bringing his finger back to Manami’s face. “However, what happened your perverted nature?!” he concluded dramatically.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” screamed Manami hysterically.

Daiki immediately turned to Tatsuya and asked, “Hey, Ta-kun, have you read this morning’s school newspaper?” He completely ignored Manami like he was an annoying fly and casually changed the subject. This made the latter completely riled up and furious, yet it was all in vain.

“What about it?” asked Tatsuya.

Daiki produced the school newspaper from his back pocket and handed it over to Tatsuya. Tatsuya opened it and Daiki pointed to a column for him to read. The column’s title read: ‘Heiwa High School Summer Festival Conspiracy?!’ Tatsuya read the subtitle and couldn’t believe what he saw: ‘The incident that happened during the Heiwa High School Summer Festival—what really was it? Questions abound concerning the actual cause of the unexpected event. Could it all be a conspiracy against the school? Is something bigger at play?’

“Why is this happening?” asked Tatsuya aloud to no one in particular.

“We’ve been a little on edge about it too,” said Sasuke.

Tatsuya reread the title and subtitle twice, thrice, four times and couldn’t believe that this was all real. He felt like he was reading his very own obituary! If the truth gets out and everyone learns about what really happened, about their reality and how another realm full of powerful god-tier beings exists, about how they were all going to die because of such creatures planning their extinction…Tatsuya could only imagine chaos. Whoever that wrote this article, whether or not they believe in it, can never learn the truth. “Who wrote this?” Tatsuya asked his friends.

Daiki pointed to the author’s name just under the subtitle: Chihara Hanami. Just one look at the name and Tatsuya let out a defeated sigh. Chihara Hanami is one of Tatsuya’s classmates and she is also the top reporter of the Heiwa Newspaper Society. She is known for being really obsessive about whatever she is currently working on and is always on the prowl for bigger stories. Many of her classmates refer to her as: ‘Chihara Hebi’ (‘Snake Chihara’), aptly named for her sneaky and almost ninja-like behavior and skills that she employs to always score her news. She also has a very infamous reputation for writing big and very successful stories, but at the expense of the stories’ subjects: ‘Science Teacher Caught In Relationship With First-Year! Scandal Uncovered!’; ‘Cafeteria Using Vegetables Just Days Away From Rotting—School Denies Lowering Food Budget!’; ‘Is The Princess Of Heiwa High School Really A Princess? Local Witnesses Say Otherwise!’; ‘Beware The Beast Of Heiwa High School: Tatsumi Manami!’

Well, the last story didn’t really do much to harm Manami since his image and perverted personality had already been pretty much well known throughout the entire school. However, it should also be known that Chihara Hanami is also the unofficial leader of the girls in Tatsuya’s class; most of those divine punishments that Manami suffered through was more or less thought up by and executed by Hanami herself.

“We’re in trouble if Chihara Hebi is the one writing this article,” said Tatsuya.

“What’s that?” asked Aika, pointing to the newspaper in his hands.

“It’s the school’s newspaper,” Tatsuya told her.

“This school has a newspaper?!” shouted the princesses in surprise.

“You know, I heard that Chihara Hebi even went to question the Student Body Council about it but only received very vague answers,” revealed Sasuke.

The group finished their lunch break and exited the classroom. As they did, a trio of first-years approached them, specifically Manami. They all bowed their heads and said, “Tatsumi Manami-senpai! Please go out with us!”

Tatsuya and the others quickly turned their heads to Manami and was ready for his reaction. However, what they saw instead surprised them. Manami closed his eyes and took a breath. He then opened his eyes and wore a beaming smile like a bodhisattva. “I’m sorry, but I’m not looking for someone right now. I have a duty to my princess and I cannot ignore it. But I thank you for your kindness and the attention that you've given me,” he told them calmly.

The others couldn’t believe the reaction they were seeing and the words they were hearing. “What the hell?!” they all exclaimed in unison.

The trio of first-years, as depressed as they were about the rejection, quickly understood and excused themselves. Once they were gone, Manami let out a sigh of relief. He brought a hand to his forehead and said, “Geez, these guys never learn, do they? And this dress and makeup isn’t helping me either.” He then turned to the others and saw their surprised faces. “What?” he asked them.

The group walked together down the hallway to class when Tatsuya suddenly excused himself. He really had to use the bathroom and told them that he’ll meet them back in class. He went in and did his business. When he came back out, he was suddenly solicited by a girl with dark honey hair in a braided ponytail and sparkling purple eyes behind a pair of thin circle-framed glasses. Tatsuya automatically knew who she was and couldn’t believe his luck.

“Ch-Chihara Hebi?!” sputtered Tatsuya without thinking.

“Hebi?” questioned Hanami.

Tatsuya had just realized what he had said and quickly tried to cover for it by saying, “H-Hanami! Sorry, I just remembered watching a very weird video on my phone the other day about a snake suddenly appearing on the other side of someone’s front door when they opened it.” And then he processed the words he used and once again tried to cover for it by adding, “Not that I think that you’re one! A snake I mean, heh heh. I mean, of course you’re not a snake! You’re Chihara Hanami, a good classmate of mine!”

“Right,” responded Hanami slowly. “Anyway, Tatsuya, would you let me interview you for a story I’m doing?” she asked him.

“S-Story?” stuttered Tatsuya.

“I’m currently working on a very big story!” she told him excitedly with twinkling eyes.

“Y-You mean the story about the school’s Summer Festival, right?” said Tatsuya.

“Oh, so you’ve read it? That saves me time from explaining,” she said in relief.

“Um, yeah, I did. And it’s a pretty interesting theory you’ve got going,” said Tatsuya with a small awkward smile.

“Soon, I’ll prove that it’s more than just a theory! I'll prove that the conspiracy is in fact reality!” she announced to him boldly.

“U-Uh, y-yeah, sure,” uttered Tatsuya with an awkward laugh. “By the way, why are you interviewing me for your story?” he asked her.

“I have a feeling that you would know something about it,” she told him matter-of-factly.

“M-Me? T-That’s absurd!” he told her. Sweat began to collect around his temples and stream down his face as he silently prayed for some kind of escape from this situation. At the same time, he pleaded the universe to prevent Chihara Hebi from digging deeper into this and discovering something that should never be revealed to the public. ‘Please don’t find out! Please don’t find out! Please don’t find out!’ he echoed in his mind in desperation.

“You see, Tatsuya, I am a very observant person,” said Hanami, pushing in her glasses with a smug smile. “That’s how I’ve always been able to write my stories and become the top reporter of the school’s Newspaper Society!”

‘Yet another scary fact about Chihara Hebi,’ thought Tatsuya to himself. ‘I guess they weren’t wrong when they called her a snake. She’s one scary girl.’

“Owatatsumi Tatsuya, a second-year high school student of Heiwa High School, lives by himself and has only three close friends: Nanami Sasuke, the school’s prince who’s beyond oblivious to his effect on the female students; Hamada Daiki, the strong and silent type with a sharp tongue who is not afraid to tell things bluntly; and Tatsumi Manami, the enemy of all women and object of admiration by all men,” began Hanami. “Once a normal, uninteresting high school student, you suddenly became flocked left and right by pretty girls and has earned the ire of every other male student at school. How did this happen? Why are they drawn to you? What is it about you that made those goddesses become attached to you like glue? Firstly, you have Hiryu Aika, a beautiful girl with a friendly and bubbly personality but can also become quite dangerous and fiery when things concern you. Secondly, you have Suiryu Kanjomizu, a kind and meek beautiful girl with a slightly neurotic streak who is quick to take things to the extremes for you. Thirdly, you have Kazeryu Arashi, a childhood friend with killer looks and a devil-may-care attitude who loves to derive enjoyment from teasing you to varying extremes. Fourthly, you have Denkoryu Shurai, a cute first-year student with an equally cute airheaded personality and a very monstrous appetite. Fifthly, you have Chikyuryu Sunaji, a friendly and proper lady-like figure with beautiful looks and a very classy air about her who speaks using antiquated terms. And now you have Unryu Takara, a first-year student with a doll-like appearance and a very elite personality who has become the object of many students’ affection ever since her first day here.”

Tatsuya couldn’t argue with everything she had just said. Many times before, he had also asked himself these questions. Besides being the Dragonborn, what other reason was there for these princesses to stick with him all this time?

“Oh, and there’s also Natsume Torahime,” added Hanami.

“What does Natsume Torahime have to do with this?” asked Tatsuya in surprise.

“She’s another beautiful girl with an obsession for you,” she told him.

‘I’m pretty sure that’s for a different reason, though,’ commented Tatsuya with a shudder.

“Anyway, how about it, Tatsuya?” asked Hanami. “Since you yourself have been at the center of strange occurrences—,”

‘You’re calling me strange?!’ exclaimed Tatsuya.

“—I believe that you could very well help me with my story.”

“What do you mean?” he asked her.

“I believe that you know something about it,” she told him with a wide smile. “If you think about it, it all started on the day Hiryu Aika first transferred to our school. Ever since she came here, a lot of things have happened. The most obvious thing is the other girls’ transference to this school. And then there’s also the establishment of that weird club, I think it was something like the Super Culture Mythology Club.”

‘Close enough,’ commented Tatsuya.

“And if I remember correctly, you’re a member of that club, aren’t you?” realized Hanami.

Tatsuya couldn’t believe just how close she was getting to the truth. “Uh, I-I got to go!” he told her. Hanami was about to stop him when Tatsuya immediately dashed down the hallway to the classroom.

Hanami watched as Tatsuya escaped from her and pushed her glasses in with a creepily confident smile. “I will get to the bottom of this, Owatatsumi Tatsuya,” she said.

The weekend had finally arrived. In the days that followed his initial encounter with Chihara Hanami, Tatsuya had found himself stalked, coerced, blackmailed, and even forced into compromising situations by her in order to get him to comply with the interview. Each and every time, Tatsuya managed to escape her grasp by coming up with some excuse and running away before she could stop him in any way. And now that, with the arrival of the weekend, he could finally relax.

Tatsuya was walking down the sidewalk in town on a trip to the convenience store for some snacks when he suddenly felt a mysterious presence from behind him. He didn’t know what it could be, but he had a pretty bad feeling about it. As he continued on forward, he could hear the sound of footsteps following him. He came to an intersection and stopped. And then, without warning, he quickly turned around in an attempt to catch the stalker. “Ah ha!” he said.

“Yo, Owatatsumi-kun!” greeted Nekoyashi.

“T-Toki Nekoyashi?!” exclaimed Tatsuya in surprise. This was the most unexpected surprise he had had for a while now. Tatsuya seriously thought that he was being followed by Chihara Hanami, or even Torahime, but Nekoyashi?! “Why were you following me?” he asked her once he recovered from his surprise.

“What are you talking about, nyan?” asked Nekoyashi, tilting her head in confusion.

“Um, er, um, ah, never mind,” he replied back sheepishly.

“I was walking by when I saw you here, nyan, and thought that I’ll come and say hello, nyan,” she told him.

“H-How thoughtful of you,” he said awkwardly with a nervous smile.

“What are you out doing right now? I see that the others aren’t with you,” she asked him.

“Just going to the convenience store to buy some snacks,” he answered.

“Oh, nyan, Owatatsumi-kun, have you read the school newspaper yesterday, nyan?” asked Nekoyashi.

“Yesterday’s paper?” asked Tatsuya in reply. He hadn’t read the paper at all. In fact, he was actually scared of anything relating to the school paper after all of those situations he was forced into by Hanami. “What about it?” he asked Nekoyashi.

“There’s a story about how you might be linked to the Heiwa High School Summer Festival incident, nyan,” she told him.

“What?! Really?!” exclaimed Tatsuya.

“I don’t know how Chihara Hebi could’ve known about it, nyan, but it looks like it’s only speculation right now, nyan,” said Nekoyashi. “Nyan, I don’t know if I should be telling you this, but be careful, nyan,” she told him with a laugh. “Besides, if this gets out, both Torahime and I will have our identities revealed, nyan. And this is not something that we want, nyan.”

“I understand,” agreed Tatsuya.

“Anyway, see you later, nyan. I don’t want to hold you up any longer, nyan,” said Nekoyashi with a wave.

“R-Right,” said Tatsuya. He turned back around and left.

Now that Nekoyashi was alone, she turned around and said, “You can come out now.”

From behind a light pole, Chihara Hanami stepped out with a camera hanging around her neck and a notepad and pen in one hand. “How did you know?” she asked with an intrigued smile.

“As expected from someone with the nickname ‘Hebi’, nyan,” said Nekoyashi with a friendly smile.

“Who gave me that nickname?!” shouted Hanami offendedly.

“Now, now, that’s not why you’re here, nyan?” dismissed Nekoyashi with a wave of her hand.

“Ugh—You’re right,” said Hanami with a nod. She cleared her throat and brought back her smile from before. “Toki Nekoyashi, just what were you discussing with Owatatsumi Tatsuya?” she asked the dragon slayer,

“He just told me that he was going to the convenience store to buy some snacks, nyan,” answered Nekoyashi honestly.

“And you spent that entire twenty minutes together talking about going to the convenience store to buy snacks?” asked Hanami suspiciously.

“Nyan!” confirmed Nekoyashi with a nod of her head.

“Do you really expect me to believe that?!” shouted Hanami defiantly.

“You’re right,” said Nekoyashi, her expression turning a little more pensive. And then, quicker than the flick of a light switch, she put on a beaming smile and said, “We also talked about the school newspaper, nyan!”

“What about the paper?” inquired Hanami.

“The story you’re working on is full of crap, nyan,” Nekoyashi told her bluntly with the same smile.

“M-M-My story is f-f-full of c-c-crap?” stuttered Hanami, turning into stone. The surprise quickly transformed into pure fury. “I won’t let my story be called a piece of crap by the likes of you!” she boldly declared. “Hmph! I don’t have time to argue with you, I need to follow my story,” said Hanami. She then ran past Nekoyashi to chase after Tatsuya.

“Sheesh, she’s one scary snake, nyan,” said Nekoyashi with a sigh of relief once Hanami was gone.

Hanami ran down the street and scanned her surroundings for any sign of Tatsuya. ‘Crap!’ she cursed with a click of her togue. Just when she thought that she should give up for the day, a chorus of voices caught her ear. She turned towards the source and saw Tatsuya talking to three guys outside the convenience store. She didn’t know why, but the guys were bowing their heads to him for whatever reason. Tatsuya had his hand behind his head and wore a very confused and awkward smile the entire time.

This was her moment. She could use this situation to her advantage and question Tatsuya while he was being held up by those three guys. Determined to get her story, she ran to the convenience store with her pen and notepad ready to take notes. But by the time she got there, Tatsuya was already leaving back for home; he had already reached the crosswalk by now.

“Owatatsumi Tatsuya!” she called out to him, but he was already crossing the street. “Crap!” she cursed.

“Alright boys, let’s go!” said one of the guys.

Hanami turned her head towards them and an idea popped into her mind. “Excuse me!” she called out to the trio, running up to them.

“What is it?” asked the guy from before (Miryu).

“Do you know the guy you were talking with a few minutes ago?” asked Hanami. She assumed that the trio and Tatsuya must know each other. Seeing how they were earnestly bowing their heads to Tatsuya for whatever reason suggested that they had some kind of connection.

The trio exchanged confused glances. “Who are you talking about?” asked Miryu.

“The guy you were just bowing your heads to,” she told them.

“Oh him!” realized Miryu. “I guess we kind of know him.”

“Tell me, what do you know about him?” asked Hanami, getting her notepad and pen ready.

“Well, we at first thought that he was a scary guy,” answered Miryu honestly.

“Why is that?”

“Because he’s a pretty strong and scary guy,” said Kiryu.

“Strong?”

Iwaryu nodded. “He and his group of friends took us out the first time we met. But then again, we were enemies at the time so it was kinda expected,” he signed.

“Yeah, I don’t understand a single thing you’re saying,” said Hanami, shaking her head with a frown.

“But it turns out that he’s not that bad a guy after all, sasasasasasasa!” laughed Miryu heartily to himself.

“He hasn’t done anything to us all this time while we’re here trying to earn enough money for a train ride back home,” added Kiryu.

“But who’s to say that we won’t be fighting each other again as enemies in the future? Once we return back home and rejoin our organization, we will be facing each other on opposing sides once again,” signed Iwaryu. His friends solemnly nodded along to his words.

“Well, hope that works for ya. Sasasasasasa!” said Miryu. The trio then entered the convenience store, leaving Hanami outside by herself.

“What the hell just happened?” she asked herself. “I don’t get it.”

Evening arrived and Hanami sulked as she walked back home. She couldn’t believe how much of a failure today had been. She didn’t get anywhere with her research at all! She had never been so defeated before in her research for a story. “Ugh, forget it!” she groaned miserably to herself. “Four days has already passed and the only developments I wrote for the paper were nothing more than hype pieces for the main story that I thought I was finally going to get today!”

She had approached the front of a shop when she bumped into a man exiting the shop. She was pushed back by the impact and almost fell down.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” apologized the man.

Hanami simply replied back with a grunt. She then looked up at the man and immediately recognized who he was. The flame in her heart that had been extinguished earlier today suddenly reignited brighter and better. “Mr. Urushihara!” she shouted with a big smile on her face. ‘If I remember correctly, he’s the advisor for that Super Myth Club,’ she recalled.

“Ah, you’re Chihara He—er—Hanami,” said Mr. Urushihara.

“Yes, I am,” confirmed Hanami with a nod. “Mr. Urushihara, you’re the advisor for that club, the one with the long name, right?” she asked him.

“You mean the Cultural Mythologies and Supernatural Research Club?” said Mr. Urushihara brightly.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s the one!” said Hanami, nodding furiously.

“What about it?” asked the teacher.

“I wanted to ask you if the club had some connection to the Heiwa High School Summer Festival incident!” she told him. “It’s a story I’m doing for the school paper.”

“Ah, yes, I’ve read your column,” said the teacher. “Now, why would you think that the club had a connection to that incident?”

“Call it coincidence, but I believe that everything that has happened is connected to Owatatsumi Tatsuya and Hiryu Aika,” explained Hanami. “And since both of them are members of the club, it’s only natural for me to assume that the club had a part in it too!”

“I see,” said Mr. Urushihara with a nod. He then began to tell Hanami everything. The words coming out of his mouth were unexpected, but nevertheless juicy. She jotted down his words furiously onto her notepad. This was the story she was looking for; this was her holy grail! And it was all thanks to Mr. Urushihara.

When school came around again, Tatsuya was a little anxious about being stalked and prodded by Chihara Hanami again. However, when he arrived in class, he was presented with surprising news from his friends.

“Look at this, Tatsu-chin!” said Manami excitedly. He handed Tatsuya today’s school paper. Tatsuya read the paper but couldn’t find anything worth celebrating. “Right here, right here!” Manami told him, pointing to a column.

Tatsuya turned to the column and read it: ‘Breaking News! Story On Possible Summer Festival Conspiracy Retracted!’ He looked down and read the subtitles: ‘Further Investigation Reveals That It Was All A Rumor! Please Disregard Any Further Mention Of A Conspiracy!’

“How did this happen?” he asked his friends. The news brought on surprise and relief. A smile swept across his face as he could finally relax with the knowledge of knowing that his secret is still safe.

“I don’t know why, but when Chihara Hebi was asked about it this morning, she simply said that she was told the truth by Mr. Urushihara,” explained Sasuke.

“Mr. Urushihara saved us?!” exclaimed Tatsuya in surprise. He couldn’t believe it. Actually, he could believe it.

Suddenly, Chihara Hanami approached his desk. She didn’t seem mad or disappointed at all. Instead, she wore a very big smile on her face, which kind of made Tatsuya a little bit uneasy. “Tatsuya,” said Hanami.

“Y-Yes?” replied Tatsuya uneasily.

“Would you let me interview you for my next story?” she asked him.

“N-Next story?” he stuttered. ‘Wait a minute, what’s going on here?’ he thought anxiously to himself.

“Mr. Urushihara told me of an even bigger story,” she told him.

“And what story is that?” he asked.

“When Hiryu Aika first transferred here, she told everyone that you both were engaged,” began Hanami. “However, never once had she told us she was royalty. See where this is going?”

Tatsuya gulped and nodded slowly in reply. ‘Crap! This is even worse than I thought!’ he cried.

“I’m going to write a story about how one of our students is actually royalty and how you, Owatatsumi Tatsuya, is engaged to her!” revealed Hanami. “Mr. Urushihara told me that the Summer Festival incident was really a test that Aika’s parents put in place to evaluate your worth as a potential heir to the throne!”

“What the hell?! T-T-That’s absurd!” shouted Tatsuya in disbelief. He couldn’t believe the story that Mr. Urushihara had told her. This was even worse than having his secret revealed to the entire student population! “H-H-How do you know that he’s telling the truth?” he asked her logically.

“Mr. Urushihara told me himself that he’s actually a citizen from the same kingdom as her and was placed here by the king to watch over you both,” she told him.

“That’s….” Tatsuya couldn’t really argue with that. Why? Because it was more or less true. Knowing that he can’t win this, Tatsuya silently stood from his seat with his face looking down. His friends and Hanami were a little confused by his actions. Without a single word or warning, Tatsuya opened the door and rushed out. It took a moment for everyone else to process just what had happened.

“W-W-Wait a minute, Owatatsumi Tatsuya!” shouted Hanami once everything clicked. She ran out of the classroom after him.

Tatsuya’s second semester began without a hitch, that was for sure. But it looks like it won’t be ending the same way. Why is it that just when it looks like his prayers were being answered, his entire life suddenly gets hit with bad luck? But he knew that no matter how much he questions his bad luck, it remains a fact that he can never escape from it. The only thing Tatsuya could do now is persevere and trudge on with his ever hectic life. This was the fate that the universe bestowed upon him.