Vol 5 Prologue (1/2)

Prologue - Too Long When Si

1 Present: 0km

In the end, it didn't rain To think I had prayed as much as I had, too

My prayer didn’t go through last year either This could onlyfor rain was completely useless Now that I understood this, I suppose I’d be able to peacefully coain If I don’t need to do so, I won’t do it If I absolutely have to, I’llfor rain was so I didn't need to do

Of the thousand or so Kah School students that were initially spread about the school grounds, a third had already disappeared They had set off on a journey to the far reaches of the distant horizon I knew that what they were doing was nothing more than profitless toil, but I felt no sy after the

With an ear-grating howl, the ain, and from it came a command

“That concludes the third-years Class 2-A, come forward”[1]

Fellow students filled into their set positions as if they were being dragged along by so with spirited passion, however, nation on their faces that the tranquility it radiated was almost saintly I probably had the same exact expression on mine

There was a line drawn in chalk on the ground Alongside it stood a General Committee member, pistol in hand He didn’t radiate any bit of the usual no-nonsense severity nore his markedly middle school face, he must be a first-year He stared intently at his stopwatch, itself looking as if it wouldn’t tolerate disorder for even a second At the end of the day, he was just following his orders Most likely, he wasn't even thinking about what kind of special significance his actions towards us held Even if he were to consider it, atthe lines of:

“I didn’t make this decision My superiors told ned to me It’s not like I want to do this, so I hold no responsibility in the matter”

It was precisely this thought process that allowed him to be capable of such incalculable cruelty without even so e in his expression Slowly, he raised the pistol in his hand

Perhaps even now, at this very moment, ill see a torrential rain so violent and so sudden that it will forever change the field of y as we know it And yet, the July sky rely clear that it pissed et married on a day like this[2]

“Ready”

Ah, that’s right Didn’t I realize it just a second ago? Heaven didn't respond to our prayers I had other choice than to find the solution in a way only I could

Even until the very end, the committee er, he pulled the trigger

An explosive noise rang out, and white smoke rose from the barrel

This was Kaaya Cup At last, Class 2-A was ordered to start running

Kah School ell known for the sheer amount of enthusiasm hich it treated club activities on ca just how many clubs there as a pain in and of itself If I recall correctly, there were over fifty of them this year The autumn culture festival took place over the span of three days, and the passion surrounding it was norree that everyone was overdoing it a little

On the other hand, this meant that there was an overabundance of sports events as well Although there were no athletes from our school that looked like they could coh, I heard that the martial arts clubs had a fairly is started to quiet down after the culture festival ended, the sports festival started up right away, and in addition to that, a lot of ht after the start of a new acade It’s not like I was bursting at the seams with the desire to participate either, but I could at least agree to so in a 200 meter relay If I absolutely had to, I could find it in me to work up a little sweat and show everyone a smile

I couldn't summon even that smile, however, hen I was told to run further

…Specifically, when I was told to run 20,000 meters

The Ka tournament takes place every year at the end of May Apparently, its actual nah the event was supposedly naraduate who previously established hi-distance runner, no one calls it that In contrast to how the culture festival was called soh it had no proper naaya Cup” was usually known simply as the “Marathon Event” In my case, however, because my friend Satoshi+ fukube only ever called it the Hoshi+gaya Cup, the na for me as well

Now, it was possible that I should've been happy considering the Marathon Event was shorter than an actual marathon, but in the end, I really wished it would have rained today According to Satoshi+, the notice concerning the use of public roads indicated that, in the event of rain, the marathon was to be stopped immediately and without resumption for the rest of the day

However, then he also added, “But it’s strange, isn’t it? As far as I can tell froaya Cup hasn’t been stopped once to date”

Thereout for the athletes in the Hoshi+gaya Cup

That God is undeniably rotten to the core

I wore a white short-sleeved shi+rt and shorts that were so like a crihts in the same color The school’s emblem was embroidered on the shi+rt’s chest-area, and below that was sewn a paper bib displaying the student’s class and nato turn ragged Sewing it on was a pain, and I ended up doing a half-baked job anyways Not good

It was currently the end of May, so it didn't rain as ht have in subsequent rainy season[3] Considering they wouldn't be able to hold it the next day because of the weekend if it had to be cancelled on Friday, it see Due to the 9:00 AM start, it was still unpleasantly cold As the sun rose, I would almost certainly start to sweat

On the school grounds, there was another entrance aside froates, and all of Class 2-A exited froh School May we ain in 20 kilometers

The Hoshi+gaya Cup course was not very clearly defined in that the only specific instructions were really “Do a lap around the back of the school” The thing was, however, the mountainous area behind the school continued all the way to the distant, snowy Ka-distance run” was so-distance mountain trek

I knew the exact course

You run a bit alongside the river that flows in front of the school and then go up hilly road to the right at the first intersection The slope starts off gently at first but quickly ramps up in steepness As you approach the very top, it becomes a slope that mercilessly breaks one's body

Once you’ve climbed it, the road immediately drops Just like the upward slope, the decline is ht expect, and your overworked knees will surely cry out in pain

The end of the decline opens up a bit into a large expanse of countryside You should be able to see the occasional house here and there While there’s little inclination in the road at this point, it continues in a straight line for what seems like eternity, so this stretch tends to do the e

Once you reach the end of the flat section, you have to overcome another hill, but unlike the previous slope, the cli is, however, the road becomes extremely windy at this point, and the constant hairpin turns co one after another tend to ruin one's rhythm

Ahead of that is an area in the north-eastern section of Kamiyama City called Jinde, the place where Chitanda’s house is located At this point, you follow a thin river downhill

Continue h the valley like this, and you will eventually return to the town area Though, in saying this, it’s not exactly like we can run alongside the dead center of a street used by cars, so, as a result, you use a back road Once you pass by in front of Arekusa Shrine and look past the stereotypically white Rengō Hospital, you will begin to see Kah School

How did I know this? Well, you see, I ran it last year as well I knew every length of the track froe wouldn't shorten the distance one bit While I understood where it e had to go, I felt it was necessary to oh it was probably iy at the sa to cover a 20km distance, one should at least be allowed to choose between using a bus or a bike Unfortunately however, this extreht process of iven much consideration

Up first was the river in front of the caan to crop up The majority of the course took place in areas that had little traffic, however this section alone connected to a city bypass, so there were a considerable nu like a curb separating the pedestrian and le white line The only reason we had to start running this early was so we didn’t cause any congestion in the streets

The students of Class 2-A ran in a single-file line inside the area marked off by the white line This was the only point in the entire 20k which both the fast students and the slow students had to run at the exact sa out into the roadway Last year ere le-file line, however this year, it was strictly prohibited It was a measure that the school took to prevent any accidents as a third-year was hit by a car in this area yesterday Thanks to that, ere allowed the i packed into a line that was difficult to run in

So I guess I wouldn't be walking this kiloht, easy pace The road ahead ofto be next-level walking instead, I suppose I could tolerate it

We finished the kiloht We veered away fro into town and approached the school’s rear Thus began the upward slope

The single-file line cru frustration of not being allowed to run at their own pace, those in the class that were roup Several groups of girls, side each other, also began to move up

And as for me, I slowed down

…And slowed down even more

I was essentially walking at that point, but I continued to ardless

Sorry to all the Hoshi+gaya athletes out there, but I can’t afford to be happy-go-lucky like you In the span of this 20k I absolutely had to find out, and I only had 19khly 100m into the upward slope, I heard a voice call out from behind me

“Ah, there he is”

I didn’t turn around The owner of the voice popped out in front of me anyways

He, Satoshi+ fukube, then got off the bicycle he had been riding

Froynous gentleman, but up close his face looked so different froht have expected had you looked at his old middle school yearbook that it surprised even me Of course, the trouble was not that his face had actually changed that much, but rather, that over the course of the previous year, he had come to lock up all of his emotions behind that façade I didn’t realize it, however, because I hadn't been face-to-face with him for almost three days

This year around, Satoshi+ became the General Co the Hoshi+gaya Cup, its members didn't need to run After all, they set up before the race started and were expected to be distributed around the course He wore a yellow helmet and pushed his usual lance and said, “You sure it’s fine to be slacking off like this?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine I alreadyto come back until the last runner passes the finish line”

“Must be tough”

I understood that the General Committee didn’t have to run as thanks for their efforts in supervising every aspect of the Hoshi+gaya Cup, but now this guy was going to be flying all over the 20km course on his mountain bike to report if any unforeseen situations should ever occur Satoshi+ dropped his shoulders

“Well, it’s not like I hate cycling, so it’s not all that bad, but I wouldn’t need to do this if I could only use my cellphone”

“How about you tell them that?”

“None of the students on campus are technically allowed to carry cellphones, but in reality, if soet hurt you would use a cellphone to call for help, right? They seriously need to re-evaluate their rules, I swear”

With this he laanizational structure, but then a serious expression suddenly came over him

“In any case, do you think you have an idea yet?”

As I sluggishly walked on, I responded carefully

“Not yet”

“Mayaka is…”

He started to speak, but faltered I had an idea of what he wanted to say, so I started talking instead

“It’s clear that she suspects me”

“No, I don’t think that’s the case It actually see someone told me, but apparently she said, ‘I don’t think Hōtarō did anything After all, he literally does nothing’”

A bitter smile crept acrossIbara would say, but it had been like that in reality as well I did absolutely nothing yesterday

If that’s what she really thought however, things became quite problematic

“If it’s not me…”

“Exactly,” replied Satoshi+ with a deep sigh

If it wasn’t me, there was only one other person it could be I remembered what had happened yesterday

Translator's Notes and References

Juh school, and the 'A' indicates their specific class within that year

Ju to a sunshower

Juins in early June and lasts through mid-July

2 Past: 1 Day Ago

I was reading a paperback in the clubroo the early days of a man who became a master spy later on in his life, and it was so ridiculously interesting that I had becorossed in it[1]

At Ka with various clubs, several of which disband and are then replaced by newer ones each year, it was quite common for clubrooms to be switched around at the start of a new academic term That said, the Classics Club remained in the same Earth Sciences lecture room It's not like I was particularly attached to it, but because I'd been in this rooularly over the course of the previous year, I ended up sitting in my ”usual seat” It was the chair positioned, as always, third row fro the school grounds

As I reached the end of one of the chapters and raiseddoor suddenly opened Ibara walked in, her eyebrows furrowed and her face betraying a concerned expression

Mayaka Ibara was a second-year now, and she had changed slightly She had quit the Manga Research Society she was once a part of alongside the Classics Club She herself said it was because she “just got tired of it” Judging by Satoshi+’s conflicted face, it seemed there were other circumstances involved as well, but I didn’t ask

It’s not like I thought her appearance had changed or anything If you tossed Ibara into a group of new students and told a hundred people to pick out the second-year, I doubt a single person would have chosen her She had recently started wearing clips in her hair, however had Satoshi+ and the others not brought it up, I would have never even noticed

There was only me and one other person in the clubrooo, there had been three of us

Ibara spoke

“Hey, did so happen?”

“No”

The one who muttered that was Chitanda

Eru Chitanda was the recurring Classics Club president She hadn’t cut her hair in a while, so it had grown a bit

Ibara looked back towards the hallway and then spoke in a somewhat concealed voice

“I just passed by Hina-chan over there She said she wasn’t going to join”

“What?”

“Her eyes were kind of red Was she crying?”

Chitanda was at a loss for words Without responding to the question, she muttered to herself

“I see”

I didn’t knohat had happened

A year passed, and as we became second-years, naturally so were there new first-years We opened up the Classics Club for new students to join, and while there were a lot of coed to recruit one member

Tomoko Ōhinata had turned in a provisional club enrollment form, and all that was left was for her to submit the actual club entry form Not only had she become extremely attached to Ibara, but she see her discussions with Chitanda She could be a bit annoying at times, but it’s not like I was cold towards her because of that Everyone thought she would join the club without a probleot you were even required to turn in an actual club enrollment form after the provisional one in the first place

And noere being told that she wouldn’t be joining Had all of this collapsed in the short ti my book?

Chitanda faced Ibara and spoke oncelips

”I see,” she repeated as best she could Even though Ibara didn't knohat had happened, she listened carefully and asked, “Are you okay, Chi-chan?”

“I knew it Because of me…”

“What do youabout Hina-chan, you’re wrong She even said it wasn’t your fault”

“No, I’o”

Chitana forcibly ended the conversation and left the Earth Sciences roo

All I could do was stare

Ibara watched Chitanda as she left and then turned around to face me With an expressionless, monotone voice, she spoke

“So, what happened?”

All I could do was shake my head, mouth wide-open

Translator's Notes and References

Ju to the novel Rasputin Came 『ラスプーチンが来た』 by Fūtarō Yamada The book is about a famous WWI-era japanese spy, Motojirō Akashi+, and his confrontations with Russian ”er days

Hyouka:Voluue-3

3 Present: 12km

While there were tons of clubs, there were only sostudents reached peak ferocity every April Last year, I didn’t really have any reason to join the other clubs so I ignored the whole thing, however this ti it, I experienced so for the first time; it was my first true bloodbath

New students I had never seen before were being snatched away left and right in recruiting attean to crop up to some extent While it was probably true that the new students who couldn’t turn down the incessant soliciting of a club they had no interest in had mostly themselves to blaathered massive a Using high-handed tactics like this was so that simply did not work, however The reason behind the two-step process requiring students to submit both a provisional club entry form and an actual club entry form was to make sure the students joined of their own volition If a student didn’t turn in the actual club entry form later, they were automatically dropped

The deadline to turn it in was this weekend, so essentially, the deadline was today

Before anything, there was so I wanted to confirm