Vol 12 Chapter 3 (2/2)

prearranged plan around Christmas ”

”Christmas?”

”Ah, there was also the text I received from a person that I supposedly

know which said something was going to be revived during the winter

solstice and that I should be careful. It was full of some vague matters that

would make anyone feel very confused.”

The purpose of the unspecified delivery address was probably to prevent

the ident.i.ty of the sender from being discovered. However, up until now

there was still no response and the intention to respond probably never

existed.

However, back to the main topic G.o.dou thought of something while

Yuri was talking. At this time, there seems to be someone who can fill in

the blanks for Kusanagi G.o.dou.

Just like Yuri, there also seems to be some sort of other person .

Letting her cover his back and fighting side by side, sometimes she would

bicker while other times she would share opinions and offer advice.

Occasionally she would create complications that would drive people

crazy. However, they would also hang out together at times. What other

instances would there have to be in order for her to be a suitable partner?

G.o.dou desperately reflected upon this bleary memory of his.

However this was insufficient, it was still inadequate. If only there was

some kind of opportunity !

Afterwards, G.o.dou heard Yuri mention a divine revelation.

”Ever since ancient times, the winter solstice has always been an

important sacrificial day for welcoming the G.o.d of bountiful harvests. The

people express grat.i.tude for the b.u.mper harvest in the fall and feel very

joyous towards the arrival of the winter solstice. Furthermore, they

celebrate the coming of spring and request the omnipotent to start storing

power.”

!? G.o.dou looked to his side while Yuri gazed at G.o.dou with a dazed

expression.

”What's wrong G.o.dou-san?”

Just then, did she use her spirit vision to obtain that divine revelation? How

typical of her.

Under situations which lacked awareness of the circ.u.mstances, her ability

would oftentimes be able to grant useful declarations. Even in this

condition where the situation was unclear, as long as they had her power

then .

Like having discovered a beacon illuminating the road ahead, G.o.dou

heavily nodded.

He felt that the suspended hands of a clock have now clicked and once

again started to move at an uptempo.

In the end, G.o.dou and Yuri arrived at the school together.

Walking together within the school is still too great of a difficulty. This was

why the two of them separated at the shoe cabinet located at the front

doors of the school and headed to their respective cla.s.ses.

Tomorrow was already going to be the graduation ceremony and the day

after on the 22nd was the start of winter break. Due to this, a complacent

atmosphere was found within the school. Cla.s.ses were going to end soon

and all the teachers and students within the school were cleaning sort

of like a ma.s.s cleanup. It was probably influenced by this kind of

atmosphere. Speaking of which, today Erica showed up.

She appeared to be in charge of the cleanup group for the science room.

She quickly brought some people who were students that in the same

cla.s.s as her and who had a pretty good relations.h.i.+p with her to go with. Of

course for Erica, displaying her own hard working att.i.tude would probably

be implementing effective commands to instruct other people to quickly

finish cleaning

By the way, G.o.dou was part of the hallway cleanup group while Liliana

was part of her cla.s.s cla.s.s five's cleanup group.

When G.o.dou would occasionally enter the cla.s.sroom, he felt as if the

silver-haired knight was eyeing him with criticism.

But he bypa.s.sed the notion that she was concentrating on him. Believing

he was just overthinking this, G.o.dou focused on his cleaning.

Once they finally finished cleaning, it was time to head home. While G.o.dou

was preparing to leave, the group of three consisting of Nanami,

Sorimachi, and Takagi approached him.

”Hey Kusanagi, you always seem to be involved in these strange rumors.”

”Although I think it's just a joke, I should still do a quick confirmation. You

and Mariya-san this matter regarding the socialization with the

overwhelmingly top ranked girl of the Nades.h.i.+ko section in my school, was

it true?”

”F-Furthermore even though you guys already arranged plans for

marriage, Mariya was depressed because you had an affair!”

G.o.dou frowned and muttered ”huh?”.

”Although I know where this kind of silly rumor came from there has to

be a limit on circ.u.mventing the truth. If lies like these were spread around,

it would create complications for me and Mariya.”

The indignant G.o.dou said this while in a sour mood.

Afterwards, the three idiots suddenly nodded their heads and displayed a

smile on their faces.

”Ha ha ha, I guess you are right.”

”I just knew that you and Mariya-san becoming a couple had to be a joke.”

”There is eye-witness information saying you two were arguing on the way

to school. However the result was that you guys happily arrived at school

walking side by side after reconciling. This kind of strange information was

broadcasted everywhere and we unwittingly came across this unconfirmed

report which instigated some suspicion towards you.”

”Ah, no, the arguing and coming to school together was true.”

What.. .Did. ..You. ..Say!?

After G.o.dou announced this fact, the expression of the three idiots

changed for some reason.

”The person telling this kind of nonsense was probably someone at the

location and witnessed me and Mariya quarreling. However, the

relations.h.i.+p is definitely not the same as what they said, I'm

serious. Oh yeah, there is something I want to request from Nanami.”

G.o.dou spoke to his startled friend who had a frozen expression.

”It's pretty tough to complete that game I borrowed from before, is it ok if I

continue borrowing it?”

”U-Uh huh. It would be fine even if you borrowed it for a year or two as

long as you put your heart into it as you play. But Kusanagi, the things you

just said can we believe in them?”

”Huh?”

”What he means is, we still have faith in you as our comrade, being

one of the men who gallantly fights in solitude during Christmas against an

empty reality, how could we not believe!?”

”No, I don't have any plans to battle anyone during Christmas, none at

all ?”

Having no plans, for some reason he hesitated right after he finished

speaking. It seemed as if he had the feeling that something was awaiting

him.

Part 4

Afterwards, on the way back home, G.o.dou headed towards the

supermarket.

The purpose of this was to carry out the obligations of his cooking

responsibilities. For lunch, he simply tended to that by eating an onigiri

bought from a convenience store.

Ok then, what should I eat for tonight? I could eat the leftovers from this

morning, but that will definitely not be enough. I have a lot of free time right

now compared to my busy morning.

While G.o.dou started to reflect on the few dishes he could adeptly cook,

one problem came to mind. After considering this matter, tonight's dinner

menu had to be prudently selected. How should he go about doing this?

In the vegetable aisle of the supermarket, the perplexed G.o.dou heard a

voice.

”I happened to notice that you are doing something rarely seen from you in

a place you infrequently visit.”

G.o.dou looked back and saw Liliana standing there wearing her uniform

and holding a backpack. She probably just departed from school as well.

”I hardly ever see you shopping in these kinds of stores.”

”Grandpa isn't here right now and today is my responsibility to prepare

dinner. Did Liliana come here to go shopping as well?”

When Liliana's maid Karen was on vacation in her home country, it would

not be strange to see Liliana going shopping by herself. However she

responded by shaking her head.

”No, I actually wanted to confirm something so that is why I came here to

see you.”

”Confirm?”

”I heard you ruthlessly plucked the j.a.panese hime-miko Mariya Yuri and

made her your possession. Furthermore, you even had an affair and

abandoned her. What is this all about?”

”P-Plucked?”

G.o.dou stared blankly at Liliana who suddenly started talking incessantly.

”This is the only time where I won't a.s.sess you as wrong. Mhmm, no

matter how negligent you are on the battlefield like a monster, you are

always appropriately conscientious during everyday life.”

”A-Appropriately?”

”At best considered a person who became accustomed to living in society,

yet still retaining a rather flawed notion of common sense this kind of

person not only possesses many traits that cause other people

complications but is also someone who pulls one's punches. This is exactly

how I feel!”

”Is this how you see me Liliana ?”

”However, the actions you did towards Mariya Yuri were indeed too

excessive. Unlike a gentleman, you lack the proper morality of a human

being. I was really wrong about you.”

”No, although I can a.s.sume where you heard this kind of rumor from.”

G.o.dou used an indifferent tone to express his opinion to the aggressive

Liliana.

”You probably should've diligently double-checked this rumor against the

facts before coming to find me. How about you try giving a call to Mariya,

she will definitely refute this claim and say there is no truth behind it.”

”Eh ?”

Suddenly, Liliana's imposing manner waned as she sank deep into

thought. After contemplating this over, she displayed a ”oh c.r.a.p” kind of

expression.

”Well, let me ask you again, Liliana did you come here to go shopping?”

”J-Just forget about everything regarding this matter Kusanagi G.o.dou.”

Liliana let out a sigh as she spoke.

The red-faced Liliana pretty much reverted back to her serious demeanor.

”I'm sorry, after hearing the rumor, for some reason this kind of 'Kusanagi

G.o.dou likes feminine charms and carelessly establishes relations.h.i.+ps with

other girls very quickly' impression surfaced and I very naturally believed

this rumor.”

”You were probably going off baseless facts!”

In the end the two of them selected the ingredients together. To some

degree, this scene involving a devil king and knight selecting ingredients in

the fresh food section could be considered as some sort of parody.

”Going beyond that explanation, it's time to worry about tonight's menu.”

”Buy cheap ingredients that are exceptionally discounted. Using those to

cook dishes should be fine, right?”

G.o.dou shook his head in response to the prevailing method Liliana

offered.

”In fact, I did that yesterday as well as the day before. Don't you think that

conveniently cutting meat, fish, vegetables, and putting them all in a pot

would be a very easy way to make them delicious? The tastes of most

types of foods are acceptable just by doing some minor cooking I would

think” said G.o.dou.

However, while he still had more to say, an inconceivable feeling

developed within him.

”As a result, two days ago I made chanko and saved the leftovers to

simmer in udon for yesterday's breakfast. After that, while I was making

pickled cabbages yesterday night s.h.i.+zuka started to become agitated. So

for this morning, I guess you can say the things I made were more

cuisine-like.”

Once he recalled the expression of dissatisfaction on his sister again,

G.o.dou became irritated.

He thought, how annoying can a girl get.

”So tonight's menu has to be selected carefully. However, because I'm

unsure what kind of dishes are acceptable to a little girl I'm feeling quite

distressed.”

Liliana sighed for some reason.

G.o.dou cringed. He felt his counterpart wanted to say ”you are a person

who always needs someone else to take care of you”.

”Overall, I think I understand that you are definitely a loser instead of a

winner in this domestic life battlefield.”

G.o.dou cowered at this criticism that he was completely unable to refute.

”This is why I suggested the appointment of a butler and maid.”

”Whether it is yesterday or today, I will most likely never arrange such a

thing. Well, let's just say I will not approve of this even beyond five years

from now.”

”Then that exhausts all your options. Looks like you need a charitable

counterpart.”

The moment he heard this, G.o.dou blinked repeatedly in surprise.

Liliana said charitable? Does that mean .

Afterwards, an hour had pa.s.sed.

The silhouette of the fairy-like silver-haired European beauty could be seen

skillfully making dishes at the Kusanagi household.

Taking the cut up pieces of white radish, cuc.u.mbers, carrots, celery, etc.

she turned the components into a salad and included some cream and

cheese as dessert.

Furthermore there were crunchy deep fried pumpkins, fried sweet

potatoes, fried lotus roots, and egg rolls made out of shrimp and avocado.

She was able to create many vegetable and meat dishes in a concise

amount of time. Plus, she took G.o.dou's leftover miso soup from earlier this

morning and added it to the curry powder. Following that, other ingredients

such as bacon, lettuce, tomato, and so on were included. The result was

the creation of a BLT (the abbreviation stands for Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato)

soup that tasted like curry.

When seeing those ingredients ama.s.sed together, at the time there was a

certain curiosity as to what it was going to be morphed into.

After giving it a quick taste, a brilliantly created Western style flavor could

be detected. As expected, the workmans.h.i.+p could only be considered

admirable if this kind of sensation was induced to others.

”I'm very sorry that these are only some casually made food.”

After finis.h.i.+ng her cooking, Liliana apologized.

”At the very least I do believe my cooking isn't as atrocious as yours.”

”I guess so it definitely felt like the workload didn't really change.”

”I'm afraid you carry an 'as long as it is edible it is fine' kind of att.i.tude while

haphazardly cooking. However, I believe the art of cooking parallel to

romance, some degree of pa.s.sion is still needed.”

”Uh ”

While criticizing G.o.dou's careless nature, Liliana appeared to have

become a fearless speaker.

This was probably self-inflicted. G.o.dou cringed as a result.

”O-Overall you really helped me out a great deal, thank you. If it's not too

much trouble, would you like to also stay here for dinner Liliana?”

”I don't have any plans for today but disturbing your family gathering is

not ideal, please forgive my refusal.”

Liliana used the perfect excuse to decline G.o.dou's invitation.

Well, there will always be some conflict no matter how many times a

person suddenly eats at someone else's house. In fact, the level of G.o.dou

and Liliana's relations.h.i.+p was also inadequate..

G.o.dou thought about this while nodding. However, he was really incapable

of comprehending this situation. For some reason, seeing Liliana stand in

the kitchen of his house made him feel nostalgic. She was wearing a

uniform and a scarf, using a kitchen knife, while lighting the fire on the

stove .

Nevertheless, it was quite unimaginable as to how the European beauty

felt at home in an aged j.a.panese house that was unsuited for her. She

a.s.similated to the setting of the Kusanagi household, making G.o.dou feel

very nostalgic.

”Oh yeah, Liliana, this is your first time coming to my house right?”

”Eh? Yeah it should be, ah, no eh?”

Liliana tilted her head and looked completely puzzled by G.o.dou's inquiry.

”Today is certainly the first time, I think?”

”I also feel that is the case ”

The two of them were facing one another with their expressions aligned as

they were pondering.

Although this should be the case, something feels very suspicious.

Burdened with doubt, G.o.dou looked directly at Liliana who possessed a

pure and beautiful complexion. Afterwards, Liliana shyly casted down her

eyes and nervously looked around the kitchen.

”P-Please don't look at me like this, it'll make me feel very

embarra.s.sed ”

”l-I'm sorry. I don't mean it like that.”

The fl.u.s.tered silver-haired beauty moved away from his line of sight.

Seemingly wanting to change the subject, Liliana decided to speak up.

”Kusanagi G.o.dou, you haven't really tidied up these past couple of days

have you? There is a dirt stain in the corner.”

”Ah I did remember contemplating wanting to straighten up the place a

few times.”

”Still as carefree as ever. I understand now, coming to disturb you today

could be considered as fate's doing to bring us together.”

Liliana suddenly went to the hallway, opened the storage room, and took

out the vacuum that was placed in there as well as a duster and cleaning

rag.

She was promptly on the move as if she knew in advance where the

cleaning tools were.

”Ah, I didn't intend to impress you with cleaning duties too!”

”Don't worry about it, the longer someone sees the stains in this house the

more disgusted they would feel.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Liliana swiftly commenced cleaning.

She first tidied up the things scattered along the hallway, bed and so on.

Afterwards, it was of course time for the vacuum and duster to take the

stage. They could reach places to clean that was inaccessible to a

cleaning rag.

”No don't, I didn't intend to trouble you to this extent.”

”Don't worry, I might as well do it while I'm here.”

Dressed up in a uniform and ap.r.o.n, Liliana was hard at work with the

cleanup.

This kind of routine-esque appearance gave people the impression that

she was a newly-wed wife who undertakes the household duties all by

herself. Not only that, a mysterious magical force arising from her enduring

att.i.tude made G.o.dou's heart skip endlessly.

In short, he was unable to just let her clean alone.

As a result, G.o.dou also helped clean in all quarters of the Kusanagi

household. In G.o.dou's point of view, Liliana seemed to behave as if she

was instructed by the King's request or something along those lines.

Because of that, he decided to join her in the cleanup.

During this occasional rest day, he sank into the awkward situation

undertaking the role of a husband helping the wife of the house in tidying

up.

This type of impression emerged in G.o.dou.

At its conclusion, Liliana went home upon completing one hour of cleaning.

”That said, people in j.a.pan would thoroughly clean their house during the

end of year ”

In the end, G.o.dou muttered to himself.

Although she was still far away from the meticulously cleaned first and

second floor of the Kusanagi household, G.o.dou still decided to wait for the

return of s.h.i.+zuka inside the sublimely transformed house along with

Liliana's diligently prepared dinner.

Soon after, the night had finally ushered in .

”Onii-chan the situation regarding Mariya-senpai today was already a

problematic issue and now you bring a girl home!? There's no use playing

dumb! Whether it's the dinner or the house that has become sparkling

clean, it's obvious that it isn't Onii-chan who did it! Who did you bring over?

It was Mariya-senpai wasn't it? Or was it another girl? It would probably be

in your best interest to plead guilty!”

That night, G.o.dou's house was filled with the affectionate conversation

between brother and sister.

According to s.h.i.+zuka, the silhouettes of girls had recently congregated

around G.o.dou. Don't be silly, I'm not the same as grandpa. G.o.dou retorted

in this way numerous times before finally driving away s.h.i.+zuka.

After returning to his room, G.o.dou sighed in relief.

At this time there was an incoming call on his cellphone. It was Yuri calling,

G.o.dou instantly picked up.

”h.e.l.lo, is this Mariya?”

”Yes, I'm sorry for calling this late at night. If I may ask, are you free at the

moment?”

After the polite greetings the conversation got underway.

This kind of etiquette and adherence to discipline is a trait of Yuri's. G.o.dou

was surrept.i.tiously happy to be able to talk to her.

After hearing her voice through the phone, G.o.dou immediately focused his

attention.

”In regards to that situation up until now, there is one thing to report.”

”That situation concerning Santa Clauses turning grey?”

”Yes, that phenomenon manifested itself this afternoon in the following

seven locations which seem to have all been confirmed: Yotsuya, Mejiro,

Nakano, Yoyogi, Roppongi, Nakameguro, Yurakucho right now

Amakasu-san is currently on his way to investigate.”

”It's still recurring?”

In the end, the Grey One committing ”suicide” at Odaiba did not conclude

this matter.

Plus the event had occurred in an imposing manner where it appears to be

playing catchup for the last couple of days.

”After whatever you did was all said and done, were there any

breakthroughs? If only Amakasu-san had information to pa.s.s along ”

”In regards to this situation, I have an idea what it is.”

”Eh!?”

G.o.dou was stunned at Yuri's sudden admission.

”After hearing the reports, I was bestowed with a divine revelation through

my spirit vision. At long last I saw it. Although, I'm not sure whether or not

this is accurate it's Erica-san.”

”Huh, why that person?”

Could Erica really be the culprit? What does this all equate to?

”Even though she is a bit deceitful, she isn't the type of person who would

carry out these sort of pranks.”

”I agree. However, I have a very strong feeling that the crux for solving this

situation at least focuses around Erica-san.”

Erica Blandelli, out of all the people G.o.dou knew, she was the most

gorgeous and the most talented girl.

What information was she withholding? Without any clues, G.o.dou nodded

his head. Either call it quits or go through with it till the end no, since

matters have reached this stage, it would be best to bravely advance

towards the finale.

References

1 . t The yuzu bath, known commonly as yuzuyu, but also as

yuzuburo, is said to guard against colds, treat the roughness of skin,

warm the body, and relax the mind. Consuming pumpkins during the

Winter Solstice supposedly helps prevent sicknesses as well.

2. t Guanyin is the bodhisattva a.s.sociated with compa.s.sion as

venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. The name

Guanyin is short for Guans.h.i.+yin, which means ”Observing the Sounds

(or Cries) of the World”.

3. t Acala (literally ”immovable” one.) is one of fierce, angry-faced

guardian deities of Vajrayana Buddhism, otherwise known as esoteric

Buddhism, and is particularly revered by Buddhists in j.a.pan.

4. t Natto is a traditional j.a.panese food made from fermented

soybeans. It is popular especially as a breakfast food.

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