Chapter 4

CHAPTER 2 Rintarou Magami The scene was the international city of Avalonia. In the coastal waters of the archipelago of Japan, this futuristic city was built on the vast man-made island of New Avalon. This artificial island had originally been built as a foothold to reach new forms of energy reserves, lying in vast amounts at the bottom of the waters nearby. But thanks to its location, New Avalon encouraged the rapid accumulation of foreign currencies and served as a convenient place to make deals and distribute goods, which caused companies from countries around the world to set up shop and invest in the city. This further expanded the need for other businesses and marketplaces, accelerating the upward spiral of supply and demand. As a result, people of all races and cultures mingled and mixed together there—aptly earning it the label of an international city. If Adam Smith were still alive, his eyes would have sprung out of his head had he seen the pervasive effect of these energy reserves on the economy. He might have even fainted. The more money was poured into the city, the more it profited… It was a modern-day gold rush, or so sang the choir. With dreams of getting rich quick, the endless stream of young businesspeople and investors never petered out. It was the hottest city in the world, an island made of fantasies—where dreams could become reality. It was the gathering place for the vigor and energy of people around the globe. Let us raise the curtain in this international city of Avalonia. “Phew! Yesterday’s demonstration went perfectly!” It was morning in Area Three of Avalonia. Rintarou Magami was in an upbeat mood as he walked along a large road, littered with a handful of pedestrians. He was dressed in a new school uniform—a blazer, leather shoes, and a bag. These were issued by Camelot International High School, where he was transferring that day. He’d gone as far as to move and transfer from mainland Japan to this island to participate in the King Arthur Succession Battle, held by a collective of part-human, part-fairy women called the Dame du Lac. “Hmph, well…the King Arthur Succession Battle, huh?” It was the same King Arthur who’d spearheaded the knights of the Round Table in the fight for his people and the world. This legend was not a folktale but an irrefutable historical fact. After reaching his end, exhausted from battle, King Arthur’s soul continued to slumber in the legendary Avalon Island… It’s said someday in the future, when the human world falls into chaos, he will wake from his sleep to save the world once again. The King Arthur Succession Battle was a magical ceremony to revive King Arthur. “Eleven people from the bloodline of King Arthur, the Kings, will participate with eleven knights of the Round Table, their respective Jacks, in a fierce, all-out battle to succeed the King. “The four Queens will sequentially announce four quests, which the participants need to complete to collect King Arthur’s four treasures… In other words, the holy sword known as the Treasure of the Spade, the holy grail known as the Treasure of the Heart, the holy lance known as the Treasure of the Club, and the holy stone known as the Treasure of the Diamond. The King with all four will be named King Arthur’s successor—the Last Round Arthur. “They’ll inherit his soul to become the second King Arthur, holding the entire world in the palm of their hands and earning the honor of becoming the rightful King of all… What an exciting prospect. It’d be a waste not to stick my head into this fun.” As he muttered to himself, Rintarou let out a contained chuckle. “Anyway, I’m not a King carrying his bloodline or a Jack summoned from Camlann Hill. In order to get my teeth in this fight, I need to join forces with one of the Kings, but…” In that case, which of the eleven Kings would he serve? “Hmph…that much is obvious. Yeah, Luna Artur… I’ve decided she’s my king.” That’s why he’d made contact with her the previous night—to flaunt his power. It went without saying that Rintarou Magami wasn’t a normal person. To tell you the truth, he’d been born with unimaginable power beyond any human being. In layman’s terms, he was what one could call a reincarnation. And he had enough power to cheat the system. He’d use his powers in this peaceful world to get even with those blasted Dame du Lac jerks. He’d have his fun with them… That was his ulterior motive. That’s right… I’m not good or bad… I’m a Joker. Rintarou grinned and raised his head. Spread out in front of him were plain buildings inspired by Western aesthetics. In the distance, he could see the gate to Camelot International High School, enclosed by a wrought iron fence. Based off Western castles and noble estates, the school buildings towered over the campus in pride. For some reason, during the early planning stages for Avalonia, the European—particularly English—corporations placed the majority of their bids to lobby for a distinctly European cityscape. Anyone who entered this castle-esque campus would feel as though they were wandering straight into a novel. “Now then…Luna Artur was in Class 2-C, wasn’t she?” Of course, Rintarou was a natural. He didn’t miss a beat. He’d already laid the groundwork by falsifying his documents to guarantee he’d transfer into the same class as Luna. This was a piece of cake for Rintarou. After all, life was rigged in his favor. “Heh-heh-heh… I bet she’ll be surprised when she sees me, huh? I wonder how dumb her face is gonna look. I’m so looking forward to it.” As he chuckled to himself, he calmly stepped onto the school grounds. Right as Rintarou passed through the school gate and entered the front yard, he saw something before him. “What the hell is thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis—?!” Rintarou was taken aback, and a dumb look came over his face. It was hard to believe the sight in front of him: A giant stage had been constructed in the middle of that yard, and a large crowd of students—chiefly boys—was pushing toward the stage. On top of it was a familiar girl. “Hey, everyone! WHOO-HOO! Thanks for coming so early in the morning—!” Those flaming-blue eyes and hair were unmistakable—it was the girl who’d been dressed in a bunny suit the night before: Luna’s Jack, Sir Kay. Well, she wasn’t in a bunny girl outfit now but a sparkly, frilly, cutesy costume fit for an idol. Of course, the boys were incredibly receptive to it. Coupled with her nonpareil good looks, she gave off the illusion that she was a real-life idol who’d come to campus to perform. “YAAAH! ♪ How are you all doing today?! ” Sir Kay energetically yelled in a flirtatious voice with the mic in one hand while she waved the other. The students surrounding the stage each lifted a fist into the air and went into a frenzy. ““““YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”””” ““““Li’l Kay!”””” ““““Li’l Kay!”””” ““““We L-O-V-E you, li’l Kay!”””” ““““YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”””” They were filled with fantastic passion and consumed by zeal. In fact, their enthusiasm was enough to rival the live performances of a certain idol group in Japan. With bloodshot eyes and excitement cranked up to the maximum, the audience and their over-the-top delirium…to put it mildly, they were terrifying. “Ah-ha! ♪ Yeah! You’re a great crowd, and you make me so happy! I can really feel your energy! ” Facing chaos and reckless passion, Sir Kay turned around on the stage, her skirt flaring up, to make way for her signature pose… “Sniffle… Why am I, a proud knight, doing…this…?” Upon closer examination, her face was red from embarrassment, seemingly on the brink of tears, and her whole body shook. No matter how anyone looked at it, she was apparently pushing herself to her limits. Despite that… ““““YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”””” “I love when you act like you don’t want to do this! It’s HOTTTTTTTTTTT!” “Like, it makes me want to be even meaner! You’re GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!” ““““Li’l Kay! Keep it going! Keep it up!”””” ““““YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”””” It seemed the students didn’t mind at all. “Ugh…th-then I’m gonna do it! You make my heart throb…and I’m gonna make sure to spread it to the ends of the earth! Here’s a new song! ‘The Knight of My Love’!” With that, a pop song came on the speakers, and Sir Kay despairingly started to sing. ““““YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”””” The whole courtyard was dominated by a roar of excited cheering. Well, they couldn’t even catch the lyrics of the song, much less hear it, as their earth-shattering screams surged through the campus. “…What the hell is this?” Rintarou was flabbergasted by the uproar threatening to rupture his eardrums. “Huh…? You’ve really done it this time, President Luna.” “…Yeah. Another big hit.” He noticed a booth set up a little ways from him in a tent labeled STUDENT COUNCIL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. It was probably the managers of the curious live performance. Or rather, the several students on standby were the ones pulling the invisible strings behind this whole operation. In the middle of the group was a certain girl. As if a king on his throne, she was cockily lounging in a plastic folding chair with her legs crossed, drinking from a wineglass filled with a deep crimson beverage (probably grape juice). That was unmistakably Luna Artur. “So anyway… How were the ticket sales?” she asked, sipping out of her wineglass. “We sold out, of course!” “We were pretty aggressive about the price this time around. But it made the tickets go even faster, never mind hurt ticket sales!” joyfully reported one of the henchmen (an officer of the student council) around her. “Heh… Next time, let’s make VIP seats three times the price!” “Yes, that’d definitely work! We could even price them five times, no, ten times higher!” “I’m sure fans of Kay will be scrambling for them no matter what the price!” “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaa! Just as I thought! Kay’s a money tree! Felicia hasn’t got an eye for anything if she thinks my talented Jack was the short straw!” “Huh? What’s a Jack? What are you talking about?” “Just talking to myself! Don’t worry about it, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaa!” Luna laughed loudly, basking in comfort and luxury. “At the end of the show, Kay will push me as a candidate for the next student council election, and I’ll have the votes of all these pigs. The presidency is as good as mine… Mwa-ha-ha, it’s the perfect plan!” “Yes, perfect. Plus, the current student council Executive Committee is the only reason these people can even see Kay’s live performances. And we can only do this because you lead the committee, President Luna… Hee-hee-hee…” Luna and her flunkies emitted incredibly evil cackles. “By the way, President Luna… The soccer club asked if they could borrow Kay for a day to serve as their manager and boost morale. They basically groveled… How would you like to proceed?” “Hmph. Ask them to figure out how many votes that would get us. And research how many votes we got last month when we gave her over as a cheerleader for the basketball club.” “Roger that! Then I’ll get to it right away—” They’re all corrupt… I hate this school already… Rintarou grimaced as he watched their exchange, running thick with the dark side of politics and entertainment, and he found himself unimpressed. “Hmm?” “Oh.” Rintarou’s and Luna’s eyes met. “You’re that guy from yesterday!” exclaimed Luna, who’d been slurping her grape juice. Under the collective gaze of the student council members trying to grasp the situation, Luna approached Rintarou. “What?! Rintarou Magami! You go to my school?!” “Starting today. I’m a transfer student.” “I see. That makes sense… What a surprise!” “I’m the one who’s surprised. About all this stuff.” He glanced at the stage with a half-vacant expression. “Hey, everyone! How did you like the new song? ” ““““It was AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING!”””” “Then make sure you’ve got my manager’s back! Luna’s running again for president, so make sure to V-O-T-E, okay?” ““““Leave it to UUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!”””” “Ugh… Sniff… This level of embarrassment… My self-respect as a knight, long gone… K-kill me.” ““““SO KYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE!”””” Rintarou plugged his ears and winced. “What kind of place is this? What are you trying to do to this school?” “God, you’re so annoying. I’m the student council president… In other words, I’m the king of this school. Basically, this school belongs to me. What I do with what’s mine is my own business, isn’t it?” declared Luna, unremorseful and practically glowing with smugness as she puffed out her chest. Wow, this girl’s scum… Not that I should be the one talking. Rintarou’s head was starting to hurt. “Well, whatever. Doesn’t matter to me what goes on here.” Changing gears, he stared straight at her. “Now then, how ’bout we have a little discussion about my business.” “Oh!” Her expression sharpened slightly in response to his cold, small smile. “Do you know the reason why I transferred and came to this school…the reason I appeared in front of you, a King?” “Yeah, of course I do, Rintarou Magami!” Luna nodded vigorously, putting the pieces together, and boldly looked over Rintarou. “Heh… Saves me time.” He smirked, an icy little grin of someone who’d walked the underside of the world. “I want to become your—,” he started sharply. “You came here to become my vassal, didn’t you?!” she pridefully interjected, puffing out her chest grandly with full self-confidence. “Huh? …Wha—?” He hadn’t caught on. He blinked. “Oh, it must be because I’m overflowing with charisma, right?! One look at me, and you wanted to dedicate your body and soul to me as my manservant— I get it! God! It’s hard being so charismatic sometimes!” Luna continued rambling nonsensically. She dragged the folding chair over and set it up in front of him, parking herself right into it, crossing her legs, and finally leaned back into the seat. “A ceremony to bind master and servant. Go on. Lick it.” With an arrogant look, she thrust her shoe at Rintarou. “…” “Heh, what’s wrong? I just told you I’ll let you become my vassal. Now, Rintarou… Kneel before me and lick it—” “ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” With all his might, Rintarou clocked Luna in the face with his bag. With leftover momentum, she fell backward and rolled over. “That hurt! Wh-what do you think you’re doing?! You rude lout!” “SHUDDUP—!! You think I’m the one who’s rude?! Are you just naturally condescending?! What kind of idiot acts like this?! Are you crazy?!” Luna and Rintarou were going head-to-head, glaring at each other in close quarters. “I couldn’t have said it better myself, Mr. Transfer Student!” Following this lively voice, a group of students surrounded Rintarou and Luna. At the group’s forefront stood a beautiful girl, both incredibly serious and fit. She wore an armband that read ETHICS COMMITTEE. “Luna Artur is an evildoer who brings chaos and disorder to our school! You can’t serve her! Now, let us join forces, Mr. Transfer Student!” “Gah?! Tsugumi Mimori?! I’ve got to deal with you now, too?!” Anger flashed in Tsugumi’s eyes as she pointed straight at her target. “Luna! What is that?! What is with that shady show wreaking havoc on our public moral?!” “Huh? It’s just my political campaign. Isn’t that obvious? The student council presidential election is coming up.” “Hooooow is that a political campaign?! How much money did you make from this show?! That’s obviously a violation of the school rules—” “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaa! Tsugumi, you fool! I am the rules!” “Ugh! Just because you’ve got a grip on the administration’s weak spot and no one opposes you! Did you really think I’d simply stand by and allow this to happen?! I definitely won’t accept this! Ever!” “Oh. This is totally a battle between the evil dictator versus the noble uprising,” narrated Rintarou, totally exasperated. “Too late! Conversation over! I’m going to have you in cuffs this time! You’ll be in the guidance counseling room writing up reflection essays on all the crimes you’ve committed up until now!” “What?! Like I’d ever do that! It’s practically the same as giving up my presidency! A student with a record can’t become president!” “That’s the goal! King Airhead! I’ll force you out of the presidency and bring order back to this school!” “Heh, you really are an idiot! Don’t you get it?! I, Luna Artur, am the one and only King of this school! Now and forever!” “There’s no use arguing with her! Everyone, follow after meeeeeeeeeee!” ““““YEAAAAAAAAHHHH! DOWN WITH THE TYRAAAAAAAAAANT!”””” ““““FOR FREEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!”””” With Tsugumi at the head, the revolutionaries—er, students—rushed Luna all at once. “EVERYONE! ENGAGE, ENGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!” ““““COME ON, YOU LOT! PROTECT OUR KIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!”””” ““““GET RID OF THAT TREASONOUS REBELLLLLLLLLL!”””” With Luna leading the raging student council officers, they started a scuffle. ““““WE SUPPORT PRESIDENT LUUUUUNAAAAAA!””””