Vol 1 Chapter 19 (1/2)

VOLUME 1-2

Chapter 19

Homura and Misasagi-senpai’s arrival point was neither the Transport Room nor anywhere else within the club building.

It was on the roof of the club building. Several meters in the air above it, that is.

The first one to greet them was Ameno, who just happened to be on the roof at the time.

After hearing Homura’s shriek and looking out from the door of the astronomical observation dome, Ameno ran over at a trot and spoke in a voice that lacked any urgency or tension.

“Welcome back. You guys returned a lot earlier than planned. But why here?”

Homura stood up while rubbing her b.u.t.t.

The club president was on her knees in a sunken state beside her.

“W-We’re back, Ame-chan… Call sensei. I-It’s an emergency.”

“Ye~s. I’m sending her a wake-up call right now. Please wait a little bit.”

Ameno tilted her head in puzzlement.

“…Only you and the club president, Homura-san? Where’s Tak.u.mi-san?”

Ameno looked around the rooftop restlessly and then leaned over the railing to look down at the schoolyard.

This late at night, there was no one to be seen on the school grounds. The only illumination to be seen came from the club building.

Neither Homura nor senpai answered Ameno’s question.

“Something happened, huh?”

The sound of running footsteps approached from the staircase, and Fujimori-sensei jumped onto the rooftop. She apparently hadn’t gone to bed yet, this time.

Looking over the exhausted and battered Homura and senpai with several pieces of their equipment missing, Fujimori immediately understood that they had done an emergency withdrawal.

She pursed her lips and looked over the two of them with a tense expression.

“Sensei, Touya-kun was—!”

Homura turned to Fujimori imploringly.

“Well done returning home, Hinooka…… Misasagi?”

Fujimori looked over at the club president, who was still on her knees and hanging her head.

She finally looked up at Fujimori and gave her report with a pained expression.

“Hinooka-san, and I, were the, only ones, to return…”

Ameno gasped.

“Please send out, a recuse request. Touya-kun is, in danger.”

“Understood. Do you know the specific location where he’s been stranded?”

“I know—ah, the camera…”

When she looked over her shoulder, Homura realized that she had lost her bag. It must have fallen off when she ran down the hill.

“Umm~, I think it was near the center of the unmapped territory we were supposed to investigate…”

“All right. Tell me the details while we move.”

Fujimori was also aware that they couldn’t waste even a second of time right now.

The four of them left the club building and headed to the school parking lot, where they then got into Fujimori’s Mini-Cooper.

“Hinooka, contact Koma—club president Kamikoma and tell her we’re going to pick her up. It’s faster if we only have to stop by there briefly.”

Fujimori tossed a terminal into the backseats where Homura and senpai were sitting, and Homura frantically caught it.

“Y-Yes.”

“Ameno, call Professor Tanakura at Hiyos.h.i.+zaka High.”

“Hirosuke-san, right? Well, it’s true that I can act as a hands-free phone using my internal functions, but it’s not exactly pleasant for—”

“Just hurry up and call him.”

“Doing so now.”

Ameno connected the call to the other party while grumbling, “I guess this makes me a true Android phone.”

Meanwhile, the Mini-Cooper dashed through the roadway at night.

Club president Kamikoma’s home was apparently on the way to Hiyos.h.i.+zaka High.

“……”

Homura was worried about senpai beside her, who had been hanging her head without speaking a word since they got in the car.

“…Ah, Koma-senpai? The truth is—”

Homura managed to reach Kamikoma and explained the request to rescue Touya, who had been left behind on Nutella, and Kamikoma understood and agreed to it in a shockingly calm manner.

Fujimori-sensei also contacted the advisor for the Hiyos.h.i.+zaka club and seemed to have arranged a plan to meet up at their school.

Next, Ameno pa.s.sed a handheld game console to Homura.

“Hmm? What’s this?”

“That contains a conjectural map of the unmapped territory you went to. We showed it to you before you departed, remember? If you can recall the route you took through it and the spot where you did an emergency withdrawal, please mark it there.”

“All right. I’ll mark everything I can remember. What will we do with the map afterwards?”

“We’ll give the data to the Hiyos.h.i.+zaka High Exploration Club.”

Homura nodded in understanding, but when she thought of how she might end up entrusting Touya’s rescue to someone else, she felt lonely despite understanding the necessity.

While zooming down the highway, Fujimori looked into her rear-view mirror.

“Misasagi, how are your injuries?”

Hearing those words, Homura was startled as she recalled senpai’s state.

“T-That’s right, senpai. Your injuries… just who on earth treated them?”

Homura looked at the bandages around senpai’s abdomen painfully.

“…I’m, fine. For the, time being, anyway. There’s no sign, of infection, either.”

“When we arrive, go see Tanakura. Wounds from beast claws can be quite troublesome. Even if your body’s resistance increases when you’re on Nutella, there have been cases where investigators became ill after returning here.”

“…Yes.”

“Sensei, senpai’s injuries aren’t from the wolves. It’s from when she protected me from the explosion.”

“Either way, she has to get herself looked at and treated.”

“Hirosuke-san is a doctor, after all.”

“…Is Hirosuke-san the advisor of the Exploration Club at Hiyos.h.i.+zaka High?”

“That’s right. He’s a former investigator who was part of the same group as Chiayu-san. He’s also Chiayu-san’s ex-boyfriend.”

Fujimori did a spit take.

Homura grabbed the back of the seat in front of her and leaned forward as she questioned Ameno dubiously.

“…By ex-boyfriend… you mean Mori-chan is a divorcee?”

“He was never my boyfriend or my spouse! Don’t get sidetracked at a time of emergency like this.”

While they chatted like this, the Mini-Cooper arrived at a residential district and stopped in front of Kamikoma’s home.

Kamikoma, illuminated by the car’s headlights, had already finished preparing and was waiting for them at her front door.

“We’re indebted to you for this, Koma.”

“No, no, we’re in the same boat here.”

Kamikoma gallantly climbed into the back seats, carrying a big and st.u.r.dy-looking instrument case on her back.

“Thanks for coming. Koma-senpai—is that your saxophone?”

“No, this is a lute. It’s my personal weapon.”

“You want me to open the trunk to put it in?” Fujimori asked.

“Ah, no, I’ll carry it on me. Chiayu-san’s trunk is a complete mess, after all.”

“I can stuff you into the trunk instead, you know.”

“I’m not that curious.”

Smiling wryly, Kamikoma handed the case to Ameno.

After Kamikoma crossed over Homura’s knees and sat in the center of the back seats, the car resumed driving.

Kamikoma worried over the completely depressed Misasagi.

“Mayo, are you okay?”

Misasagi nodded weakly.

“…All right. Then, Homura, can you explain the situation as best as you can?”

“Y-Yes. What happened was—”

During their short drive to Hiyos.h.i.+zaka High, Homura summarized the series of events starting from when they had received the surprise attack up to when they had to regretfully do an emergency withdrawal.

She explained how their base camp had been thoroughly destroyed and they’d been caught in a trap while the enemy lay in wait.

She explained how they’d suddenly been attacked by wolves, how those wolves had been led by a young girl, and how senpai had been injured and then kidnapped by them.

She explained how she thought that girl might be a missing child who disappeared three years ago.

She explained how they’d taken a completely different route than they’d planned and entered the unmapped area.

She explained how they’d encountered a Nutellan, a hostile witch within the unmapped area.

And she explained how, after being attacked by the witch and running away from her, Homura ended up being forced to leave Touya behind on Nutella and return to Earth with senpai, who had managed to safely escape her capture.

Both Kamikoma and Fujimori-sensei listened closely to Homura’s fast-paced report without interjecting, merely asking the minimum-required questions every once in a while.

“Haaah…”