Chapter 91

“Not knowing what’s going on in someone’s head is much scarier to me.” “I have nothing going on in mine, Kiyomizu.” “Get it together, you!!” Kiyomizu, now genuinely angry, gave him a good smack on the face. “Ohhh… I knew it, unfortunate news was waiting for me…” As soon as Tamaki came to the Fuyukura household, she burst into tears. Kokoko, who had come along with her, was acting cool and unaffected. “Ahhh… Terrifying people are coming to attack us… I know I will be the first one to die… And I know I’ll only be killed after being subject to acts that cannot be detailed in a teen-rated novel… Ohhh, maybe I should end it all now while I can…?” A warning had been broadcast to the entirety of the Empire, saying that a terrorist organization called the Virginal Father may soon be attacking, and the news had now even reached civilians like Tamaki. Some time had passed since the Empire was founded, however, so the populace in general was optimistic about the matter. For the most part no one believed that something so dangerous would actually come to pass, and there was no public disorder. The majority had settled back into the daily routines they had been used to in Japan. A dearth of caution was a problem, but it was still much better than devolving into a panic. “Oh no, oh no… What if they target Nine-to-Eleven…? It would cost so much to repair if they destroyed the store… Oh, but I’ll be dead before then. Phew… There’s nothing to worry about after all. How fortunate… I’m so, so fortunate!” That didn’t apply to negative people like Tamaki, though. “Calm down, Tamaki! There’s no need to twist misfortune into fortune like that!” It seemed like she might leave and never return, so Shiren cut in. Since the bad news was also coming from outside Tamaki this time, the negative energy just kept getting thicker. “We don’t even know when the enemy might strike, so it helps no one to start cowering now. And so long as we keep our doors and windows locked, we should be okay…” “But you’ll be taken away from us, Shiren… And then I’ll be slaughtered along with the rest of the background characters… I’ll be like one of those random punks, out in the city in the middle of the night, who gets beaten to death within the first three pages of a manga…” “Don’t worry. Your store shuts at eleven PM, so you’re not going to get killed in the middle of the night on the job.” “Actually, we’re currently testing earlier closing hours, nine PM instead of eleven, to cut back on costs…” “So you’re not much different from a regular supermarket, then…” “The Virginal Father can come whenever they like… It’s the end for me… Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.” Tamaki was despairing, like both a wake and a funeral had come at the same time. She had apparently come over today to bid her final farewells. Pat, pat. Kokoko gently patted her on the shoulder. She was starting to seem a lot more like the older sister in their relationship. Which was actually more accurate age-wise. “Big Sis Tamaki, being so pessimistic about this won’t solve anything.” “I know that, but…even if I do go home, I’ll be faced with a mountain of jam rolls…” That’s right—her hundred-thousand-jam-roll problem still hadn’t been solved. “We already sold ninety thousand copies of Kairakuten, so we’re all right on that front…” “Why are so many Imperial citizens buying that?! In terms of population density, that number is way too high! People are definitely buying more than one, aren’t they?!” Ryouta couldn’t help commenting. The Empire seemed to be quite the hot spot for Kairakuten readers. “Everyone buys six: one to use, one to save, one to look at, one to proselytize, one to offer to the ancestors, and one to place under the bed as a decoy to distract from the truly heinous things farther back.” “That is not suitable to offer to your ancestors! And what are these ‘truly heinous things’?!” “Something like a truly awful fantasy story you wrote in middle school.” “I guess it would really hurt if one of your friends found that!” Ryouta didn’t have anything of that sort, but if he did, he would certainly put it somewhere no one else could find it. “But if you sold so much, didn’t you make a lot of money…?” “No… We came to a difficult decision. Either we would have to shorten operating hours, or try to survive by going against public standards of decency… I even had the idea to change our name to Superb Books and sell only things of that nature…” “I wouldn’t be able to openly support it, but…a person needs income, so I can’t really criticize you, either…” “Personally, I think we should call ourselves Superb Books and make an age-restricted area. Because I’m—” Tamaki brought her arm forward. There was a labelled band around it. “—the class librarian! Perhaps it’s fate that my home is to become a bookstore!” She was surprisingly enthusiastic about it. “Hey, you’re right! You’re our librarian, Shijou! But there’s something a little off about this project! I’m glad you’re excited for once, but something is definitely wrong!” As Ryouta struggled to keep up with this situation, Shiren turned to speak to him. “Ryouta, I have never seen Tamaki shine so brightly before. You should let her do what she wants. Isn’t that the least we can do?” “You’re acting like a mom tenderly encouraging your daughter to follow her dreams and become a manga artist, but this is in no way an inspiring scenario, okay?” “Wh-why did you make that comparison…? That would make you and me like husband and wife…” Shiren’s face went red. “No! Why would you misinterpret it like that?! Why did you come to that conclusion?!” “B-because…you’re like the dad who tries to stop her by saying, The manga world is too brutal for a tenderhearted kid like you. I gave up on my dream of becoming a manga artist long ago and decided to become a writer instead. And I’m like the mom who takes her side and says, Our daughter is being serious when she says she wants to do this, so we should let her.” “You’ve put way too much thought into this original setting; I’m not sure what I should comment on first. You didn’t have to add that part about the dad giving up on the path of manga and becoming an author. You could have stuck with a regular office worker or something.” “I wanted to depict the warped feelings of a father trying to stop his daughter from going down the path he gave up on by telling her she has no talent.” “Why do you insist on making it messed up?!” “The mom, by the way, stepped back from her career as a floral arrangement specialist after giving birth, but when she sees how enthusiastic her daughter is, she decides to return to wo—” “Okay, enough! No more adding on to this! Stop making up OCs in your runaway imagination!” It was Shiren’s fault that their conversation had derailed onto another planet. “But I am going to die when the Virginal Father attacks, aren’t I…? Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.” “Oh, phew. There’s the Shijou I know.” Ryouta knew this was a bad thought to have, but he wasn’t really sure how to deal with a positive Tamaki. “Right, Big Sis Tamaki. If you’re going to die, then you should at least do what you’ve always wanted to do before you go,” Kokoko casually suggested. “What I want to do before I die…? I think I want to be able to list off all of Japan’s prime ministers in order.” “You’re not aiming very high for your bucket list, Big Sis.” “Oh, but I can say all fifteen Tokugawa shoguns. Actually, I can list off all the shoguns after the Kamakura period.” “That’s actually pretty incredible. Not a lot of people can list the Sekke or Imperial Family shoguns. Oh, wait, that’s not the point.” Kokoko decided on Tamaki’s behalf, since they weren’t getting anywhere at this rate. “It has to be something more sensual.” “What…?” “Hey, Ryouta Fuyukura, do something sexual with Big Sis Tamaki.” Ryouta had received a most unbelievable request. Shiren’s eyes widened in shock. So did Ryouta’s. His thought processes came to a complete stop for a moment. He heard the words, but he couldn’t interpret the meaning… It took him three whole seconds to boot back up again. “What are you talking about?!” “Yeah, what he said! There’s a time and place for everything! Even if our characters are on the slightly older side, that is way too forward!” “Ah, eep… Kokoko, stop—eek…ah…” Tamaki didn’t know what to say, either. Naturally, everyone besides Kokoko was bewildered. “It’s fine. She’s going to die anyway, right? She should have the experience at least once. Once she dies, she won’t need to worry about shame or reputation.” “Hey, Kokoko, cool it.” Ryouta grabbed one of Kokoko’s ears. “Gah! Stop! That’s not a handle!” “You have gone way too far off topic. You told Shijou to do what she wants before she dies. How would doing something she doesn’t even want to do help her?!” “Sheesh. You’re a moron, Ryouta.” Kokoko huffed. “I know what Big Sis Tamaki wants to do.” Tamaki’s face was almost scarlet. “Kokoko, please don’t make any more jokes… Ah…” She fell silent. It was a silence rich in meaning. Tamaki wasn’t the only one with a flushed face—Ryouta and Shiren had them, too. Shiren, especially… “Oh… Ryouta… Um…ah…um…ah…” “What is it, Shiren…? Calm down…” But Ryouta wasn’t calm, either. The whole atmosphere had gotten very uncomfortable, thanks to Kokoko’s comment. Shiren was staring at Tamaki, and her eyes were brimming with tears. “Sh-Shiren…?” “We’re friends, right? Tamaki…?” “I don’t know if trash like myself could ever have a meaningful existence, but I am happy to hear you think of me that way…” Shiren shut something out in her heart. “Oooh… I-I’m going to go shopping now! I’m going shopping! I’m going out to do shopping! Come on, Kokoko! We won’t be back for a while! Whooo, I’m going to buy some tomatoes at Freshmart Warakia! I’ll buy so many, I won’t even be able to eat them all!” Shiren grabbed Kokoko’s hand and went straight out of the house. Sh-she can’t be…trying to be considerate about this, can she…? His eyes accidentally locked with Tamaki’s; she was the only one left. “Oh—Ry-Ryouta… Kokoko is a pathological liar… Or maybe I’ve had a bad upbringing, and I’ve had a corrupting influence on her, and now she’s saying things like that, um…” Tamaki faltered, unsure what else to say. “That’s not true… You’re not corrupt, Shijou…” “I’m fine being corrupt… Ah—” That may have been a slip of the tongue, but… But once she said it, it seemed like a switch had flipped on inside her. “Ryouta… If you don’t mind a piece of garbage like me, then…let’s do corrupt things together…” Tamaki took one step toward Ryouta. “Um, Shijou…?” Ryouta’s mind went blank. He tried to back up, but soon, he was flush against a pillar. Tamaki was getting closer. “Y-you’re all right with this, right…? J-j-just once is all right, right…? I’m going to die anyway, so it’ll be all right, right…?”