Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Volume 3 Chapter 4 Part2

Nyahahahaha~☆!

After reading two pages of Ko Ransom describing the underwear of a model student a beautiful visual landscape, I’ve decided to also structure paragraphs based on how it was in the original j.a.panese text. While these translations won’t be like ultimatemegax’s (where sentences with similar ideas are grouped together), the sentences and ideas should be a bit clearer.

While updating previous chapters to this format, I’ve also corrected some minor TL errors from my editor that I missed out on when making my initial posts (I’m sorry Oracle…).

Next part’s short (5 pages!), so expect it soon(tm).

◆

It was after school.

I was by myself, heading to cla.s.s 1-3 to visit s.h.i.+chimiya.

Although Rikka said, "I'll go with you", I had Rikka stay at the cla.s.sroom since whenever the two of them meet, it creates a mysterious s.p.a.ce where a battle unfolds, derailing the conversation.

Cla.s.s 1-3.

I didn't have a friend who I could ask about s.h.i.+chimiya's whereabouts since I don't know anyone else in that cla.s.s (well, I wasn't friends with anyone in the other cla.s.ses either, so it's not just limited to cla.s.s 1-3…), so I was checking whether s.h.i.+chimiya was here or not from outside the cla.s.sroom.

In the cla.s.sroom, there were a few girls who stayed behind, but no s.h.i.+chimiya.

Looks like cla.s.s 1-3 wasn't one of the cla.s.ses who had lots of people stay behind after school to help with the cultural festival preparations.

Since that's the case, I'm guessing that s.h.i.+chimiya's already gone home as well.

I actually wanted to talk to her in person about it, but it looks like that's impossible.

I pulled out my cellphone from my pocket and called s.h.i.+chimiya.

Speaking of s.h.i.+chimiya's cellphone - and don't criticise me for calling it that, I'm well aware that it's more accurate to call it a smartphone - this was the first time I've called her number since she gave it to me.

Since this is my first time calling her, I'm a bit nervous.

Even though smartphones were spreading at an abnormal rate, I'll remain a believer of gara-keis[1] until the very end!" was the type of worthless chuuni thoughts I was having as I made the call. It only rang once.

It seems that I was connected instantly.

"Ah, hey -"

"Nyahahahaha, O K ☆"

…The call ended.

Wait, wait, even if you were mimicking someone, to suddenly cut the call off like that… D-does, does she hate me?

That'd make me really sad…

I thought about emailing her about the matter, but I decided, as I prepared to feel sad again, to give her another call instead - at that moment.

"My dark scarf is charged with magic power, glistering with the Demon King's destructive power! As you wished, the Magical Demon d.u.c.h.ess Sofia-chan is here!"

Standing behind me with her arms crossed in a daunting pose, all the while laughing "nyahahahaha", s.h.i.+chimiya made her speech. When did she…

More importantly, I'm a bit concerned about how others would see this.

Even though it's true that it's noisier than how it usually is after school since most cla.s.ses were busy preparing for the cultural festival, saying something like that in such a loud voice would still gather the attention of everyone around us.

Well, whatever… I'm already used to things like that by now.

"Since when did you get there…?"

"What a foolish question, Hero. I'm always by your side."

"What a cool line… wait, no, that's not it. Why did you hang up on me? It gave me quite the shock."

"Hero, it's not like that at all. Simply knowing that you're calling for me is enough. In fact, you don't even have to use your phone - even just wis.h.i.+ng "help!" in your heart is enough to make me come right away."

"Doesn't that make you the hero then!?"

Sigh.

s.h.i.+chimiya Satone - she was still as cool as ever.

And as usual, her condition as a chuuninyou patient was in no way inferior to Rikka's …I honestly believe that s.h.i.+chimiya's the ultimate type of chuunibyou patient.

Being self-aware of having chuunibyou, yet persisting with it.

That's why I'm convinced that she could change even the impossible.

While the basis of my confidence happened to be really evil-eye chuunibyou-like, but if she was going to change something, you would probably be able to feel the enormous power that she'll be pouring into the change.

Undoubtedly, she's the sort of person who would leave her name behind in the world when she pa.s.ses away.

Even though s.h.i.+chimiya's only transferred in recently, she seems to already be fitting in with the rest of the cla.s.s.

In the olden days, she was fine with being a loner, but it seems that's no longer the case anymore.

Since I was only familiar with how she was like in her first year of middle school, I'm not sure what caused her to change, but I think that it's good that she did.

Maybe meeting Nibutani and me had something to do with it. If that's the case, then I'm glad we met.

'My school life's a lot of fun' was the sort of feeling I got from s.h.i.+chimiya now.

Speaking of change, s.h.i.+chimiya's uniform, like Rikka's, was remodelled.

I'm surrounded by people with remodelled uniforms. It's to the point where I'm worried about how a particular disciplinary member would see this.

In addition, although it's still hot, she's wearing a black scarf.

Needless to say, it's because she thinks it's cool.

Well, she's probably fine with wearing it in this type of weather. One time, when I asked her if she felt hot wearing that, she replied: "Hot? Nyahaha~, what a foolish question, it's actually rather refres.h.i.+ng to wear. My heart which loves the world is a million degrees after all~☆"

Seriously, she's more of a hero than I am.

"Anyways, Hero. What exactly is it that you wanted me to help you with? Well, then again, even without knowing what it's about I'm already more or less willing to help Hero out."

"I'm really grateful about the fact that you're already willing to help me out, but I… I'm pretty sure that I haven't asked for you to help me out yet."

"Hm? But it could only be a call for help if Hero was trying to contact me so urgently."

What a cool line.

However, if that's the case then it means I can't just casually call s.h.i.+chimiya…

"That's not true, but, well, you're right about me needing help. If it's okay with you, I'd like for you to help me out for a bit. By the way s.h.i.+chimiya, what's your cla.s.s doing for the cultural festival?  It doesn't seem like there's any sort of preparation going on for it.

"What's my cla.s.s doing? My cla.s.s is the only one in our year level that's doing a food stall. Preparations for it will probably start right before the cultural festival begins."

"Eh, so that's what your cla.s.s is doing. What are you going to sell at your food stall?"

"We'll be making parfaits, sundaes, Manga Time Ki*ra, stuff like that[2]. Hm? Is there something wrong with that?"

"If there's nothing wrong, doesn't that mean that you're just selling regular magazines!?"

"Nyahaha, thanks for the retort. It was a slip of the tongue, I meant to say crepe☆"

"It was a slip of the tongue… Umm, so you'll only be busy on the day of the cultural festival, right?"

"Yep, that's right! By the way, since I'll only be transformed as the Magical Demon d.u.c.h.ess to serve parfaits for only a short while, please come visit me then!"

"Oh, of course I'll come over! I want to eat the parfait!"

"Nyahaha, looks like Hero's still got a sweet tooth. Yep, Hero's sweet!"

"Wait, isn't the meaning completely different if you phrase it like that…?"

There doesn't seem like there's much of a correlation between liking sweet things and being a sweet person…

Me… I wonder if I'm sweet.

"Anyways, you probably want to hear a bit more about the request - ah, but if you want to refuse, please feel free to do so, it's not a -"

"It's okay. I definitely won't refuse ☆"

"O, oh. Thanks. Err, let's see, a certain uppercla.s.sman of mine wants to perform a play for the cultural festival, but since there aren't enough actors, I was wondering if you could lend a hand. So that's why, s.h.i.+chimiya, I'm asking if it's you could help her out."

"There aren't enough actors… I see. Nyahaha, giving me a request like that feels a bit off! It's too easy. Since it was a request from Hero, I was expecting it to be about saving the world, or something like that."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk", said s.h.i.+chimiya as she wagged her finger with a triumphant look on her face.

…Then again, it's true that if she's able to do something like that, then something like acting should be a cinch.

Still, if I asked you to then the world will be saved, huh.

But, then again, since it's s.h.i.+chimiya, it'd end up being something like sacrificing herself to save the world, so I can't really ask that of her.

If such a time does come, then I'd save the world together with her.

After all, there's no reason to not save the world.

"I see, so you're willing to help out; that's good to hear. In that case, let's go greet my uppercla.s.sman together. I was planning on visiting her place now anyway."

"Oh, please wait a minute."

Right as I pivoted around and I started walking, s.h.i.+chimiya suddenly grasped onto the hem of my uniform.

Since my uniform was being pulled, I turned around.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"Umm… even if we don't hurry, it should be fine, right? Nyahahahaha: after all, Hero, you don't usually come to my cla.s.s."

"Is, is that so?"

Although what she said was troubling, it was true.

Normally, breaks between cla.s.ses are for moving between cla.s.srooms. And if there was no need to change cla.s.srooms, then I usually chat with someone like Rikka or Iss.h.i.+ki.

In addition, since we're in different cla.s.ses, it's a bit hard to just go in like that.

But, then again, she always comes to my cla.s.s to have a chat with me.

"That's, that's right …why, my friend, you coming over to talk about stuff such as plans for world domination or BanBan[3] would be like a dream come true!"

"s.h.i.+chimiya, what exactly is it that you want to do with the world…?"

Please be clear about whether you wanted to save or conquer the world.

…Well, putting that aside.

I noticed. No - that's a bad way of putting it.

I didn't just notice it, I've already noticed it. I couldn't have not noticed it.

That s.h.i.+chimiya's smile was a façade masking her feeling of awkwardness.

I think that it was good that I noticed.

If I didn't know why she may have been feeling awkward, then I probably wouldn't have noticed it.

I couldn't completely fathom what she was feeling, so I might be slightly off the mark, but I think I can sort of imagine what she's feeling.

That is, a feeling of awkwardness as a result of being recently rejected by me in a rather grandiose way.

Between the two of us - there's this subtle sense of distance.

That's why I wasn't sure about how I should act around her.

I mean, I might be overthinking things.

Still, I definitely didn't want to trample over s.h.i.+chimiya's feelings for a second time.

Because of all that - I contacted s.h.i.+chimiya normally.

I contacted s.h.i.+chimiya, who couldn't help but smile despite feeling troubled, normally.

I don't know if that was the right thing to do. It may have just been my ego.

I mean, I don't even know what s.h.i.+chimiya thinks of me now.

Still, for s.h.i.+chimiya and I - I want us to always be happy when we are together.

"Well, in that case, let's talk about how we can save the world, since I have no interest in conquering it."

"Nyahaha~, I'm always available for a consultation! …Yeah, in that case, I too will also get into chat-time mode! Come now, it's time to chat!"

"……"

Looks like she really wanted to just have a chat…

No no, that can't be right. It's definitely s.h.i.+chimiya attempt of trying to deal with this awkward mood, or something like that.

"Oh, right, on the topic of protecting the world, that reminds me: I'm pretty certain that Jeanne d'Arc had a severe case of chuunibyou!"

"Hey, apologize to Jeanne d'Arc-san!"

What are you saying all of a sudden!? That's how you start a conversation!?

Still, the topic was a bit interesting…

"No, you got it wrong, I really admire Jeanne d'Arc! Didn't you know, Hero? That Jeanne d'Arc was a saint? A messiah? That her stylish alias was 'The Maid of Orléans'?"

"That certainly does sound a great deal like the vocabulary of a chuunibyou patient! But Jeanne-san never referred to herself like that, right!?"

"Quite the contrary! And she could even listen to the archangel's voice! She's cool!"

"Urgh… that really is chuuni-is.h.!.+"

"And she's a Valkyrie! She's super cool!"

"Eh…? Now that you mention it… it seems like that's true… I've only know about it from social studies cla.s.ses, so I'm not too familiar with the fine detail, but to disguise herself as a man in order to save Orléans - she really does seem like an amazing person…!"

"And in her last moments she was seen as a witch - well, she probably wasn't very delighted about it, but it once again makes me think that she's cool! A hero who's seen as a witch: that's just like a Magical Demon d.u.c.h.ess!"

"No, I don't think she used magic…"

I couldn't stop myself from groaning that small retort.

No, there's still the matter of treating a hero of the past as a chuunibyou patient, but I guess someone with chuunibyou would definitely interpret it as a luscious setting.

"However, it is sad that she was treated like a heretic."

"Yeah, it definitely was."

A heretic - a distinct existence, right?

For some reason, when I heard the word heretic, I thought of Amaniji-senpai.

But, for her, it feels like she wants to be known as a heretic. I wonder why?

"By the way, Hero: this isn't related to our chat just now, but who exactly is this uppercla.s.sman? What's the story behind her suddenly appearing and asking you for help?"

"Oh, I haven't told you about her yet. I actually don't know her all that well. Still, since you've just transferred, I wonder if you've seen her yet? The uppercla.s.sman who's a year level above us who's known as Rainbow-senpai -"

"Ah, I've seen her. Her aura was terrifying. Since I didn't know what would happen if I saw such an aura up-close, I've been cautious of her and have only seen her from afar."

"Is her aura really that terrifying…?"

It feels fict.i.tious that ability users are able to detect auras.

However, Rikka did say something along those lines as well. Seems like it's something that only another ability user would understand.

"Well, since you've already seen her before, it makes explaining things easier. That person - she's Amaniji-senpai. At first, she only planned on asking Rikka for help, and I get the impression that she went from place to place until she finally ended up at my house. As a result, Rikka ended up agreeing to help, but since there still wasn't enough people for the play I've come to you to ask for your help."

As I said that, s.h.i.+chimiya crossed her arms once again, visibly nodding her head and murmuring 'hmmm' to show that she understood.

"Hmm, I see. Naturally, Hero's also helping this Amaniji-senpai out, right?"

"Ah, yeah, but, well, it's not like I'm helping out that much."

The moment those words left my mouth, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

No, it wasn't just déjà vu - didn't I say something similar to that pretty recently?

"Nyahahahaha, it looks like Hero really does think like a hero! That sort of thing is what I really love about you ☆"

Because of its various implications, I was startled by the words that s.h.i.+chimiya said with a smile. My slightly distraught face seemed to have transmitted my shock to s.h.i.+chimiya.

Realising what her words could have meant, s.h.i.+chimiya's face froze in the exact same way as mine for an instant. Her cheeks were a bit red as she tried to smooth things over:

"Nyahaha, that didn't come out right. …Sorry. No, well, but I really do love Hero's heroic way of thinking! I really admire you - you're my rival after all, since I'm a demon!"

To restore the cheerful mood that we had before, I too replied with a smile on my face.

"Yeah, thanks. I'm not sure what to think after being told that I think heroically, but if it's a compliment then I guess I'll happily accept it."

"Yeah, yeah, it's a compliment! Well then, it's probably good that we hurry, and even if it's bad we should still hurry to that Amaniji-senpai's place!"

In order to gloss over what just happened, s.h.i.+chimiya strengthened her tone.

…Well, it was s.h.i.+chimiya's fault that we started chatting - of course I didn't say that.

After returning to the cla.s.sroom that Rikka was waiting in with s.h.i.+chimiya, we met up with Rikka (sure enough, the moment they met a battle started to unfold, but I'll omit that part) and the three of us headed to the clubroom of the 'Eccentric Drama Club'.

[1] The traditional j.a.panese feature rich flip-phone

[2] A pun about similarly named manga/magazines: Parfait Tic (shoujo manga), Weekly Shounen Sunday, and Manga Time Kirara.

[3] BanBan (バンバン) is an old j.a.panese folkgroup.