Edited by Ruzenor

“Ahh, I’m so hungry……”

On an afternoon’s holiday, I was on the way to the canteen.

One of the things that I felt most grateful for since coming here was what I was able to eat. The food here was h.e.l.luva delicious.

Of course, included here were dishes that I have never eaten before in my whole life. Even if I had tasted it before I came here, it was of totally different quality from back outside.

Once I take a mouthful of it, I just can’t stop myself from eating more.

Although I felt a little uneasy due to me starting to develop a habit of being picky of food, there were many inconveniences living in school only for girls, so eating was somewhat the only enjoyment I had now.

I could even ask for cup noodles and stuff to be bought and sent here, so there wasn’t really a complaint I had about the food here.

Walking out of the dorm, I headed towards walkway on the wide gra.s.s square.

As rows upon rows of modern-styled buildings entered my eyes, the nearest one to me was the super luxurious canteen.

At this moment——

From the shade of a tree, Karen……jumped out with a whoosh.

If it was the usual situation, I would say a simple ‘Yo’. Yet……it didn’t feel somewhat quite right.

“………”

Karen stood in front of me while staring hard at me. Seems like she’s been waiting for a long time.

The tightly pursed lips of hers was filled with tension.

“What’s up——”

——A blade slashed towards me.

“WHOAA!?!?”

I jumped backwards. Because there was still a distance between us, I managed to save myself from being chopped into two halves.

“The h.e.l.l are you doing!?”

Karen didn’t utter a single word at all as she repositioned herself.

What’s this!? Bak.u.matsu!?

(T/N: Bak.u.matsu refers to the final years of the Edo period, where public disorder led to samurais of opposite factions killing each other even in broad daylight)

Ah. She said something like ‘If I have even a moment of advantage over you then I will kill you immediately’ before this, right? Could it be that she’s making her move now!?

Karen started to move.

“Wait a minute, hold on!!”

“Karen-style sword skill——[Resolution]!!”

As the swinging sword came in contact with the ground, a shock wave emitted from it and headed towards me, destroying stone pavements and raised clouds of dust in its wake.

“UWAAA————!?”

I quickly stumbled and scuttled to the side.

The shock wave pa.s.sed through the place I was standing a second ago, leaving a deep straight line on the ground. The water in the pool flowed out as the sound of tree branches snapping behind me could be heard.

The h.e.l.l is this!? That move was more than enough to kill a human!!! Why don’t you just head into Monster Hunter and kill Amatsu with it!!!

(T/N: A reference to a monster in Monster Hunter.)

Actually, although it may seem that I had evaded it completely, there’s actually a huge cut on my s.h.i.+rt sleeve.

I fell onto the floor as Karen shadowed over me.

She looked at the s.h.i.+rt sleeve that had almost been cut to pieces with a stern pair of eyes——and pointed the blade at me.

It seems that I am going to die——

“KAGURAZAKA!”

“!?”

“MY [SPECIALTY] IS THE SWORD!”

“………Huh?”

“What do you say, wasn’t it great!?”

………..

………The h.e.l.l is going on?

“Wh-why aren’t you saying anything!?”

Karen pointed the blade at the tip of my nose.

“I am asking you! How was it!?”

“Yep! Great! So awesome!”

I squeaked as if I was a defective toy.

“Seeing my specialty, you must think that it’s very cool right!?”

“Yes yes of course of course!!”

“I-Is it so”

Karen said as she put the katana back into its scabbard.

“That’s a relief.”

What’s a relief.

What is h.e.l.l is happening? Why are you unnecessarily showing off your specialty all of a sudden……?

“Hey, what happened to your s.h.i.+rt sleeve, Kagurazaka? It’s torn!”

“Wasn’t it because by you!?”

“It can’t be helped. Let me st.i.tch it up for you!”

Grabbing my hands, she started dragging me.

“Huh?”

Just like that, I was being forcefully dragged along by her.

“I don’t have a sewing set on hand! Let’s come to my room first! Yep, it’s a good chance!

While saying those confusing words, Karen grabbed my hand with a lot of strength.

To be honest, her strength was totally abnormal……

“Ouch……it hurts.”

“——!”

Karen immediately let go of my hand.

Standing there in place, she looked at my hands she was grabbing a moment ago.

And immediately blushed as she stared at her own palms.

“……Erm, it’s okay.”

I said with a quivering voice.

“About the s.h.i.+rt——I was going to get a new one anyways!”

I have to run away——fear was slowly overtaking my mind.

Obviously, there was something wrong with Karen today. So……unnatural.

Saying words like ‘come to my room’, what the h.e.l.l is going on. It’s scary.

In the worst case scenario, I might get killed……?

“This s.h.i.+rt is still wearable, right? Wasting is bad.”

“I-Is that so”

“So, let me——”

“Ah, there’s no need! With a torn sleeve, I actually look more cool anyways! Commoner does it all the time!”

“But——”

“It’s really fine!!”

While saying that, I took a few steps back. At that moment——

Karen……lowered her head disappointingly.

“………Is……that so………”

Her expression told of her extreme disappointment and sadness————

I couldn’t refuse her anymore.

Walking along the corridor of the dormitory, Karen who was obviously nervous kept looking around.

“……Okay, no one’s here……”

Then, she opened her room door and went in.

“What are you waiting for, Kagurazaka? Come in quickly!”

“……?”

I was then half-dragged into the room.

For some reason, it feels like a scene in the movies where the wife cheats on the husband……

Well, bringing a boy into her room is a pretty big thing, no?

“This is my room.”

The moment I stepped in, the smell of tatami mats filled my nose.

It’s a j.a.panese-styled room.

The floor was laden with tatami mats. There was also a wardrobe and scroll hanging on the wall with the words [質實剛健] written on it.

(T/N: 質實剛健 means something like simplicity and fort.i.tude)

If it weren’t for the cla.s.sy wooden wardrobe and the dressing table that was covered with a cloth, you wouldn’t even guess this to be a girl’s room.

It’s just a very simple room.

“How can I put it……it’s very simple.”

“Of course. For pract.i.tioners of the way of the sword, c.u.mbersome accessories are unnecessary. Namely, s.h.i.+tsu-jitsu-goken.”

(T/N: Literally simplicity and fort.i.tude)

She said while pointing at the scroll.

“I see…”

“Sit there. I’ll bring tea.”

“Okay.”

Karen started soaking the tea leaves. Including the thermos flask, she had all the stuff needed to make tea.

It’s as if she had expected guests. Does she do this all the time?

That tea kettle is a Nambu ironware, right? It’s looks so traditional, and gives off a feeling of broadness.

The hemispherical teacup had the faint yet elegant colour of pottery.

(T/N: Nambu ironware is a traditional craft that combines beautiful form with practical function. Read more here->http://web-j.a.pan.org/atlas/crafts/cra01.html )

I see……although it seems that she was only fond of cute things, she still liked these kind of things, huh. I’ll have to reevaluate how I thought of her till now.

“Drink this.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

(TLN: He says this in Engrish)

I received the teacup and held it by my hands.

No automatic alt text available.

(TLN: Words in teacup: Hop-pity Hop, so warm and fluffy~~~)

“What’s the matter, Kagurazaka?”

Karen asked me without a change in her tone.

“Uhh……well……inside……”

“Inside?——!!”

Karen was shocked.

“There’s dirt inside!?”

“No. There’s no dirt inside. Just that…umm…….”

“What is it? How vexing.”

Karen held her own teacup up. The bunny ill.u.s.tration inside the cup——that was around the same as mine——could be seen vaguely.

………Eh………?

“What wrong? Aren’t you going to drink it?”

“Oh. Uhh…..itadakimasu……”

I took a sip.

It’s lukewarm, yet so delicious and sweet.

“You might think that it’s too warm. But you have to serve good tea with water of lukewarm temperature. If not, a bitter taste permeates, only to ruin the tea.”

Karen exhibited her knowledge earnestly.

“For this bamboo shoot tea, the best temperature for it was 50℃. At this point of time, it should be close to that of human skin.”

Everytime I take a sip, I could see the presence of the bunny.

Actually, the bunny would actually seem to smile with a ‘warm warm pyon’ in this temperature.

“Are you surprised about my knowledge of tea leaves? As one who wishes to be a warrior, serving guests with tea is also a vital skill to learn.

“………”

“What’s wrong? Are you interested in the teacup?”

“Eh…because——”

“Right right, it’s interesting right?

Karen nodded her head happily.

“Actually, I sculpted this teacup myself.”

——As expected, it turned out to be something like this.

“Sometimes, I do things like this too. As I face clay while turning the spinning wheel, my mind calms down. This is actually a very good way to sharpen your mind. Walking the path of the martial arts needs more than the sword alone. You must seek the way of a Man as well.”

“…………”

Currently in my mind, two options popped out. The first was ‘Quickly stop her with a retort!’, and the second one was ‘It’s too much of a pain. Let’s just leave her alone’.

Both of them intertwined with each other, making me conflicted as what to do next.

“——I’ll bring the sewing set.”

Karen stood up and headed towards the closet.

Standing in front of it, she pulled the door open.

Shaa

And a complete set of the Sylvanian Family comes into view.

(T/N: Sylvanian Family is a line of collectible anthropomorphic animal figurines made of flocked plastic, popular in j.a.pan for almost 30 years since it’s inception)

The cute bunny figurines were relaxing in a western hotel toy set, giving off a feeling of [Sylvanian Family, Our Home].

“Eh, it has to be somewhere around here…….”

Karen calmly searched for the sewing kit.

In order to look around easier, she pushed the [Our Home] hard to the side.

Is it on purpose!? Are you doing it on purpose……!?

“……Wh-what’s the matter, Kagurazaka?”

“Huh?”

Karen turned her body towards me.

“……I can feel your eyes behind my back.”

She glared at me a little as her legs fidgeted.

“N-no. You must be imagining things. I was just looking around.”

“I-Is that so?”

Karen said with a somewhat dissatisfied face.

“Gee, what a weird person.”

Then, she took out the sewing kit that she found.

On top of it was a bunny sewn using pink metal thread.

You’re the weird one here——————!!

“Give me your s.h.i.+rt.”

“Uh, okay……”

I didn’t retort back.

I don’t know why, but it’s as if I set a rule in my heart saying ‘You’ll lose if you do.”

“Actually, sewing is my specialty too.”

Laying my s.h.i.+rt on her knees, Karen then said:

“Hehe, is it laughable to you that I, who is walking the path of the sword, enjoy a delicate skill such as sewing?”

Ugh, don’t retort! I’ll never ever retort……!!

Taking out the thread, she inserted it into the pinhole with just one try.

“Good. Let’s get started.”

“Hey! Why is the thread pink!?”

I couldn’t hold it in.