Didn’t you just say something about noblewomen not being cowardly?
“Her weakness ...? Why? Shirayuki hasn’t come near us since then.”
“Yes, she has!”
Huh?
“Lately, whenever I’m alone, I can feel the presence of someone behind doors. It feels like someone is watching me from the shadows. Telephone lines have been cut apart as if they were bugged.”
...
“Water is dumped on me when I walk through the hallways on school grounds. Blow darts come flying at me out of nowhere. I tumble into pitfalls!”
…. Whoa. Wait a second ...
“I also received letters with the word “home wrecker” written on them. Anyways, that girl is constantly harassing me! How blind can you be to not have noticed?! You’re so incompetent!”
“So that’s what was going on ...”
“And that’s not the end of it.”
It's not?
“When I opened my locker in the girl’s locker room the other day, there was piano wire strung across inside! She knows that because of ... certain physical limitations, I have to go deep inside my locker to get my clothes, and she set the wire up so it would be level with my neck!”
Now that … I can’t laugh at.
So basically, as soon as Aria dove into her locker, she would have lost her head. The only people who learned how to set up brutal traps like that were seniors in the Assult division or those in the Lezzad (intelligence) division.
“Kinji, the time Shirayuki is supposed to report to the educational affairs department is posted here. Let’s ...” I was knitting my brows when Aria, seething with anger, gave me the most terrifying order out of all those she’d given me since I first met her. “... sneak into the educational affairs department while she’s there.”
There were dangers lurking in every single inch of Butei High, but among them were particularly hazardous areas known as “the three great danger zones.” These would be Assault, Junction (underground warehouse), and the educational affairs department. Why is the educational affairs department (a simple, staff room for teachers) such a dangerous place? The answer is simple. Every single teacher at Butei High is a dangerous person. What do you expect? Teachers at a school this abnormal are guaranteed to be abnormal themselves. To put things into perspective, as far as I know, they were all previously soldiers in the special operation forces for various countries, mercenaries, mafia members ... There are even rumors that some of them were hit men. The list goes on. They’re a band of people with career histories I wish I had never known. Of course, there are some respectable teachers at the Inquesta and Connect (communications) division, but they’re such a minority that it’s really quite sad.
“Kinji, my hands won’t reach. Lift me up,” whispered Lady Aria as she and her slave (me) were infiltrating the lion’s den, a.k.a. the educational affairs department.
“Alright, alright.”
If I had refused go along with her plan, Aria would have given me a thrashing before opening a hole in me. If that were the case, it would be better to have a teacher kill me instead. They would probably make it quick. That sad logic is what propelled me to go along with Aria’s plan of sneaking into the educational affairs department. As I tried to keep my conscience distracted, I helped Aria reach the air duct attached to the ceiling of a hallway. If I had lifted Aria up in my arms, she would have just made comments about me molesting her again, so I put both of my hands on her sides and lifted her up like a little child.
“Ooh, look how tall you are,” I said under my breath, not really caring about the consequences.
“Gonna open a hole!” Aria responded as her knee, covered in black knee socks, dug itself ten inches into the pit of my stomach.
“Ngh!”
Paying no attention to my agony, Aria did a pull-up and climbed into the ceiling. Just when I thought the section of Aria’s legs between her skirt and her knee socks, or what Muto referred to as “absolute territory, flashed by my eyes, her foot used my head as a steppingstone and she crawled all the way inside. Taking Aria’s hand, I climbed up as well, and we noisily crept our way forward. With my master’s pigtails dragging along and her skirt right in front of my face, I became aware of the slight risk of going into hysteria mode, but luckily it was dark inside of the air duct. I couldn't even see the “absolute territory,” let alone the skirt. After proceeding a bit farther, I noticed Aria was crawling awfully fast. I was barely able to keep up with her as she turned the corner.
“Aria.”
“What?”
“Your crawling speed is pretty fast.”
“I’m good at it. I’m the fastest girl in Assault.”
“I figured as much.”
“Why?”
“There’s nothing to get in your way, after all.”
“Like what?”
“Breasts.”
Wham!
From around the corner, Aria’s kangaroo kick found its way to the side of my head. Her foot sank in about ten inches.
We found Shirayuki. She was in the office of the teacher that summoned her. The two of us peered inside from the thin openings of an air vent. Given its size, we wound up peeking into the office with our faces practically pressed against each other. If Aria were to show disgust or get upset at the, shall I say, “joining of our bodies,” I would start feeling awkward too. So I distanced my face from hers a little and cast her a quick glance. The light seeping in from the vent shone on Aria’s face, which I was seeing at point-blank range.
Aah, hell.
She was so cute, I nearly clicked my tongue in resentment. It was infuriating to admit, but Aria really did have an adorable face. It had features as well-formed as that of a doll’s, but it was also rich with expressions. Whether it was a look of happiness, sadness, or even one of concentration like she had on now, they all tugged at your heartstrings. She had the power of a Hollywood child actress. It was so unfair.
“Hotogi ...”