Gin no Juujika to Draculea - LightNovelsOnl.com
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"Not so fast."
His tone of voice was very casual without enthusiasm. But because he seldom spoke out in cla.s.s, all the cla.s.smates all turned one after another to look at Hisui in the back row. With the entire cla.s.s gazing at him, Hisui scratched his head with an annoyed expression. Of course he found it annoying. It was absolutely annoying to the extreme. But he had no choice but to say it. "All the other cla.s.ses are probably going to send a boy as the final leg, right? Isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to send Cla.s.s Rep there as the only girl? Even though she's fine in terms of speed." He did not refute the cla.s.s' approval of Reina's abilities but simply told them the truth. He was not sure if this would change their minds, but at least it slowed them down to ponder. Asking Reina to be the final leg was not a problem. But that did not mean she must take on the role. Although she could run very fast, but against other fast boys—what would the result be like? Supposing Reina was the fastest runner in the cla.s.s, but if there was no decisive lead before the baton pa.s.sed to her, asking her to be the final leg was meaningless. She was just one candidate at most. Everyone returned to the discussion stage again. This was exactly Hisui's goal. He simply hoped to s.h.i.+ft people's view slightly and avoid having Reina as the sole target. "Anyway, let's write down the names of the candidates first and decide by voting or recommendation? A secret ballot is fine too. Worse comes to worst, we can simply decide it with rock-paper-scissors." "Don't make things so complicated." Hisui hurriedly covered Rush.e.l.la's mouth and stopped her sudden speech. "(Stop it, what are you doing!?)" "Fine, be quiet then." Rush.e.l.la struggled desperately while Hisui m.u.f.fled her with all his strength. Then the entire cla.s.s smiled while watching their little farce. Before their battle could be decided, the bell rang to signal the end of the period. "Ah......" In the end, the decision still was not made. An uncomfortable atmosphere hung in the cla.s.sroom. Just as everyone looked at one another, Reina resolved herself and spoke: "Well... Uh, let's tentatively have the final leg... as me, okay? As for the rest of the sequence, I'm going to pa.s.s out a form. Everyone please fill in your name and pa.s.s it along. If there's any conflicts, please discuss peacefully... Otherwise resort to rock-paper-scissors to decide. Anyway, it's all decided." She smiled and offered an appropriate suggestion. Although her smile was a bit stiff, at least there was a conclusion. All the cla.s.smates nodded in agreement. "Then... I'll make the form and pa.s.s it out next time during break." Thus homeroom ended. During the afternoon break between periods, everyone was pa.s.sing Reina's form around, writing their names down next to their desired number in the sequence. The form was very simple. Apart from the first and final legs that were already decided, the numbers from two to thirty-nine were listed out. Once everyone wrote their name next to their desired position, the ordering was set for now. If the position desired was already taken, negotiation was needed... But to be honest, that was kind of meaningless. In actual fact, people simply wrote down their name where they saw a blank and were not really particular about the order. Because the most troublesome position was already decided. Hence, when Hisui received the form from Rush.e.l.la, he simply wrote down his name in a blank spot without looking carefully. "...Hey, there's only one spot left!? Are you bullying me!?" "Shut up, I wanted to choose another spot too! Besides, this can't be helped, right? The people at the end are always left with no choice." "...That's true. Since you're the one who handed it to me, that means you only had two choices available. Oh well, it actually doesn't matter." Saying that, Hisui looked down at where he had written his name. It was the position of the second leg. On the other hand, Rush.e.l.la was thirty-ninth. Immediately preceding the final leg. To think the cla.s.s left the first and last spots open, it felt a little malicious. Although he could try negotiating another position, Hisui decided to leave it. In terms of pressure, this was nothing compared to the first and final legs. "A mere sports festival, winning and losing are as irrelevant as clouds in the sky"—People were not that liberated in their ways of thinking. Hence, Hisui was a bit worried about Reina in the last leg. Hisui handed the completed form over to her in the neighboring seat. "Here you go. I guess it's sort of settled now." "...Yes. Thank you. Also during homeroom......" Reina bowed her head and thanked him. But Hisui did not think he had done anything worth thanking for. Neither was he that capable. "...At the time, I'd look more cool if I said 'Let me do it.' But I don't have the courage. Besides, others probably won't approve if I'm the one doing it." Despite making his words sound like the truth, Hisui knew clearly in his heart that he was just being a hypocrite. Having sensed that Reina did not want to be the final leg... He should have offered himself instead. In the end, he simply s.h.i.+fted people's perspective to push the burden onto others apart from Reina. What he did was not villainous but neither can it be called justice. Most importantly, the burden of the final leg still ended up on her shoulders. "Is it really okay? Although you can run fast... This isn't obligatory. No matter which order you're running, you're still contributing to the overall victory, right?" "...It's already decided. Someone has to do it after all." Reina smiled. But Hisui knew that her smile did not come truly from the heart. "Then I'll hand this sequence report to the teacher... Eh, strange......" "What's the problem?" Seeing Reina's puzzlement, Hisui curiously looked at the form. Rush.e.l.la also crowded over. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. "No one was missed, right? Is there something strange?" "Well... It's completely filled in. How odd, Kida-kun is absent today..." Reina looked over to the desk that had remained empty all day since morning. Hearing her explanation, Hisui also noticed what was strange. A cla.s.smate was definitely absent. If everyone only wrote down their own name, there should be one blank remaining. "Who helped Kida write his name...? Or did someone write their name twice?" "Hmm, it's quite strange indeed. Very well, let's check it!" Rush.e.l.la gave the orders and Hisui pointed to the names on the form, checking them one by one. Halfway through, his hand stopped. His face twisted uncontrollably. Then he exchanged looks with Rush.e.l.la. Naturally, Rush.e.l.la was also displeased. "What's the matter, have you discovered the problem?" Reina looked over to where Hisui was pointing. Seeing that name, her face instantly turned gloomy.
Fuwa Touko.
Who knew if it was by chance or deliberate—The name, written in red ballpoint pen, made Hisui and Rush.e.l.la shudder in horror. "Kyah......" Reina also trembled and took a few steps back, accidentally b.u.mping into a boy behind her. "What's up, Cla.s.s Rep?" The boy asked. "O-Over there......!" Reina pointed to the empty seat. All the students still lingering in the cla.s.sroom noticed the commotion and looked at where she was pointing. In the seat which was supposed to be empty... There sat a girl. Long black hair. An old-fas.h.i.+oned uniform. Translucent body, vague outline—objects can be seen through her body on the other side. Feeling the student's gazes, she—Fuwa Touko—smiled lightly.
"Eh, no way, you can see me!?"
"A GHOST———!!" ...After that, screams filled the cla.s.sroom as the students scattered and fled. Leaving only Hisui and Reina who had fainted in his arms. As well as Rush.e.l.la standing there in shock. With a displeased expression, she asked the familiar earthbound spirit: "...What are you doing here?"
"I have arrived❤"
"This girl——!!"[1] Hisui could not help but spit out the same words someone used to comment on Rush.e.l.la a long time ago. After that, of the Seven Wonders of Seidou High, the "Touko-san" tale quickly rose to the top in prominence due to sighting incidents that were to follow. Translator's Notes and References Jump up↑ This girl(彼女): this is a repeat of the Volume 1 Chapter 1 scene when Rush.e.l.la made her entrance in the cla.s.s. Kanojo(彼女) in j.a.panese is used as a third person reference for females (her/she/this girl) as well as meaning "girlfriend."