novelThe Curtain Rises
| ← Ch.69 | Ch.71 → |
It was the day of the cultural festival.
Megutono Academy included an elementary, middle, and high school, so events like this always had tons of participants.
They were blessed with nice weather and the school was filled with students and visitors hoping to enjoy the day.
The helicopter in the sky may have been for publicity purposes. That was how busy it was.
Working your way through the waves of people could be difficult.
"Gwohhhhh, Mutsuki! Mutsuki, I'm gonna be crushed! Get the takoyaki to safety!"
"Yes, yes."
"Okay, okay. Good job, Private Mutsuki-kun! Next up is the crepes by the third years. I hear they're good."
"R-right. Yes, sir."
Mutsuki had been busy visiting stands all morning since Sakae and Saya had dragged him around.
"Ah! They're selling cotton candy over there...and it's cheap!"
"Wait, Miss Round and Jiggly! Cotton candy is as voluminous as you. Try to walk around with it in this crowd...and you'll be in trouble!"
"I- I see. It would be painful to lose my mobility here... Not bad, Tomono-kun."
"Heh. I'm Tomono Sakae, the man with an observant eye. Predicting a friend's future is a simple task."
"For once, your big mouth was actually useful. But."
"Hm?
"
"Who are you calling round and jiggly!?"
Their usual routine was even more energetic than usual.
The three of them worked through the crowd to visit the stands. They were mostly ones Saya's research said had tasty treats.
Ange had gone to do the play and Lucia was with that band, so Mutsuki was alone with Sakae and Saya today.
"Here, Mutsuki-kun. This takoyaki is amazing. Say ah."
"Um, yes. Thanks, Kurikara-san."
"You put too much mayo on it. These are more like mayonnaise balls than octopus balls."
"Shut up. They taste great this way."
Mutsuki ate one of the takoyaki that was indeed covered in mayonnaise. Then they continued on to some other promising stands.
Saya and Sakae were not the only ones enjoying themselves. The entire school was having a blast.
You could really tell that a long-awaited day had finally arrived.
"Oh, Katsue-sensei. Hi!"
Saya noticed someone and waved over at the school building.
There was a map posted at the passageway they came across. The teachers would go on regular patrols to look for anyone needing directions and their homeroom teacher was standing by that one sign.
She seemed to be on the job because she was speaking with a small child in a mask who must have been a visitor from outside the school. It was a girl in a fox mask. Their teacher must have been giving the girl directions because she ignored Saya.
Sakae and Saya continued on without thinking much of it.
But it bothered Mutsuki a bit that Schwarze of all people had not noticed someone calling out to her.
"Phew..."
At midday, Mutsuki went inside their school building.
Saya started helping another class and Sakae said there were some other things he wanted to check out, so they were not with him. He was alone now.
This school building was being used for preparations, so it was off limits for outside visitors and there were not many people inside. It was the perfect place to relax.
Everything felt different while a step removed from all the hustle and bustle of the festival.
Some people said they most enjoyed preparing for a festival and Mutsuki was exactly that type of person.
He did enjoy the actual festival, but he would pour all his energy into the preparations and feel the exhaustion during the festival itself.
Especially this year because there had been some trouble related to the Serpent's Eye and some conflict with the Student Council President.
He wanted to go see Ange's play and Lucia's band, so he used this time to rest. He made his way to their classroom which he assumed would be empty.
However...
"Ibekusa-san?"
Someone was already there.
Machina sat in her usual seat all alone. She was not doing anything and she showed no interest in all the noise out the window. She just stared blankly forward.
"Want to go enjoy the festival?"
"Nn. No...yes."
"?"
She was being unusually noncommittal, so Mutsuki tilted his head.
And the girl closed her mouth.
Mutsuki briefly tensed up. Since they were alone, he thought she would kiss him again.
But she made no attempt today. She just stared quietly at him like she used to.
"Umm."
He did not know why, but he could tell she was not going to do it today. He relaxed and approached.
She said nothing and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. In a way, that was completely ordinary, so he did not think about it too much.
"Um, if you don't have anything else to do, how about it? Why not go around with me after this?"
He knew he was meddling, but he felt it would be a waste if she stayed here for the entire festival.
"Nn...um."
"Let's go watch Ange's play. And we can get a bite to eat first."
"...Okay."
She did not decline.
Since they had a plan, Mutsuki gestured outside. He was sure to enjoy doing this with Machina, so he was all for it.
"..."
And he failed to notice the tension on the girl's face.
He considered himself lucky.
He knew where all the best stands were after Saya showed him earlier.
He could not imagine what Machina would enjoy at a festival like this, so he decided the food stands were the safest option.
The two of them each held a crepe in one hand as they wandered aimlessly around the festival.
"There sure are a lot of people, huh?"
"Yes."
It had been busy in the morning, but just walking around was difficult now that it was the afternoon. Even when they parted the crowd, more people would press in and they were nearly carried away.
And they had to avoid people even more now that they had crepes.
"Whoops...oh."
"Wait."
When he was nearly swept away by a wave of people, he felt a tug on his elbow.
Machina was pulling on his sleeve.
He naturally followed her guidance and oddly felt like the wave of people had weakened. There were just as many people around, but it felt like she was calculating out the location of the next obstacle and then avoiding it.
"Ha ha. That sure is convenient."
"There is a pattern to the flow of densely-packed people."
It was a lot like a witch's power and it was honestly quite helpful.
That was all well and good, but...
(...Sh-she's a little close. )
Because Machina had pulled him to her, they were now close enough that her hair tickled his face.
(She smells so sweet... Ah, Ibekusa-san uses the same shampoo as Ange. )
His face grew red and he desperately tried to focus on something else.
Just like during the test of courage from before, he could not help but tense up when walking alone with the girl he liked.
"..."
He did not notice that Machina's expression was similarly stiff.
"Th-this crepe sure is good."
The silence was painful, so he attempted some small talk.
"Ibekusa-san, you got apple cinnamon, right? It looks good."
"It is."
"I got blueberry. Ha ha. I had strawberry earlier, but it's amazing how two berries can be so different."
"..."
"Oh, do you want a bite?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah....Ah."
Mutsuki froze up when he realized he had just offered to give her an indirect kiss.
But before he could panic, Machina made a further suggestion.
"Then here."
She took his blueberry crepe and handed him hers.
"Th...thanks."
They had traded crepes.
That did seem to be the natural thing to do after he said hers looked good, so Mutsuki smiled bitterly at his careless suggestion and he took the apple cinnamon that Machina's lips had touched.
"Ahm...yes, it is good."
Machina did not seem bothered as she took a bite.
It would be weird if he focused on it too much, so Mutsuki made up his mind and took a bite.
"Do you like it?"
"Y-yes. It's good. You can really taste the cinnamon, can't you?"
He feigned calm and scolded himself for trying to find the flavor of her lips within the apple and cinnamon.
(I've gotten a lot more daring. )
Until the spring, he would have been too embarrassed to do anything. He smiled bitterly at the thought.
It had been less than half a year since then and he thanked the Serpent's Eye power for allowing him to grow like this.
And...
"Fujita and Miss-...and Ibekusa. You're together?"
"Senpai."
They ran across Shirohara Ren.
She called out to them, but she also could not look them in the eye after the previous kissing incident.
It could be hard to tell when he mostly interacted with her as FeTUS's Lavriel, but she was popular as the Student Council President. A lot of friends were following her as she went around inspecting things.
"Hey, hey. Ren, is this the Fujita boy you're always talking about?"
"Ha ha? He's so cute."
The third years surrounded him. Mutsuki had intended to just greet her without intruding much, but he was trapped now.
"Hmm. I thought Ren wasn't interested in boys at all, but this is the exception, huh?"
"But I understand how she feels~ This looks like just the kind of boy she'd fall for."
"U-um."
Ever since his experience with Micha, Mutsuki had trouble around older girls, so he was overwhelmed while completely surrounded like this. With as popular as Ren was, it was apparently well known that he had been hanging around with her.
Machina and Ren were left outside of the circle of girls.
"I do not recommend letting others know about your contact with Fujita-kun."
"I-I know that. I didn't mean to let anyone know. It just kind of came up in conversation."
Machina's tendency to completely shut out others was a problem, but this seemed to be a problem as well.
"...Where are Jiyuuni and the others?"
"At the play. We are on our way to watch it."
"Oh, right. I'll be patrolling around, but you keep him safe, Miss E."
"Positive."
They left no opening as FeTUS members.
"By the way, that crepe looks good."
"Have a bite."
"Yes. Ahhh."
Ren took a bite of the blueberry crepe that had originally been Mutsuki's.
Apparently Saya and Sakae were not the only ones overly excited about the cultural festival.
They walked around, ate, and enjoyed themselves.
That was all there was to do for those like Mutsuki who had finished their jobs in the preparation phase, but the students performing had to take today especially seriously.
"'Wh-where is the crosswalk?'"
Ange was the most prominent example as the lead in the play.
"She's kind of nervous."
Mutsuki watched from an audience seat a short distance away. Machina nodded in the seat next to him.
"But that is not a problem. It is not enough to affect the performance."
"Right....Break a leg, Ange."
It was a short traffic safety play.
But even if it was short, it was nerve-racking when someone he knew was performing. He quietly cheered her on.
It was the standard story of Ange, who was playing an elementary school girl, breaking the traffic rules, having a scary experience, and learning the importance of the rules. But the effort that went into it behind the scenes made it a moving performance for Mutsuki.
It was already hard to find a girl willing to play the part, so Ange may have been the perfect choice since she took any job seriously. The play was performed twice in the morning and thrice in the afternoon. People had enjoyed the two morning performances, so there were more people there for this afternoon one. It was not exactly a play worthy of a standing ovation, but rumors of the lead girl being cute were spreading through the high school.
"Oh, yeah. Ibekusa-san, you adjusted Ange's costume, didn't you?"
Ange had moved off stage for now, so he whispered to Machina.
"Yes."
"Thanks. I could have done it, but Ange wouldn't have asked."
Everyone had been in charge of making adjustments to their own costume. Ange could not sew, so she had let Machina do it. That had probably happened while Machina was helping with her nighttime training.
They were enemies, but those two were training together and looking at clothes together.
"You sure are getting along well with Ange."
"..."
There was no response that time.
As a FeTUS member, she may not have been able to say any more. Still, it made him happy enough that she did not deny it.
"Oh, right. You were with her last night, weren't you? Ange was acting a little weird when she got back, so did something happen?"
"Nn..."
"Oh, Ange is back."
The play's lead was back, so he focused on the stage again.
He failed to notice Machina hanging her head next to him.
There were still two more performances, so Mutsuki only waved to Ange as the curtain lowered and then they moved to the music room.
It was approaching time for the performance by Silvia, the band Lucia was helping. Unlike Ange, Lucia had insisted Mutsuki come watch, so they showed up early and got a good spot.
The band only clumsily played existing songs, which was about what you could expect from a student band, but it was enough to get people excited. It was said the visual was 90% of what mattered at a live performance, so having a cute boy like Lucia in a unisex costume seemed to have gathered a lot of attention.
"That seemed like a success. I'm glad."
He had not been worried, he was glad to see how well it went.
"Lucia-kun is a really good singer....Oh."
He did not know when Lucia had practiced or if he had even needed to practice, but his performance had been incredible for someone who only joined on recently.
"Heyyy, Mutsuki-kuuun!"
"...H-hi."
The way he had readily waved to Mutsuki after spotting him in the middle of a song was adorable, but it had been awkward for Mutsuki when everyone's attention gathered on him.
And that had not lasted long. Niki Hozumi, the bassist, had given him a sign and he had immediately returned to singing. As a classmate, the girl knew how to work with him.
"..."
That scene had made Mutsuki happier than the singing.
The concert had been extended by 5 minutes due to the encore, but they walked outside after watching it through to the end.
"Um, what should we do now?"
"..."
They had already gone to both of the events they were invited to.
It would be sad to just say bye now that that was over, but it would be rude to keep her with him just to wander aimlessly around. He was not sure what to do.
Especially when...
"..."
"Um, Ibekusa-san. That's backstage."
"Oh."
Machina seemed somewhat out of it.
She was acting weird. She had been acting weird a lot lately, but especially today. Even dense Mutsuki had noticed by now.
"You kind of zoned out there."
"Sorry."
With this and the fact that her sudden obsession with kissing had gone away, something had definitely happened. He also realized she had been blatantly avoiding eye contact for a while.
"Wh-what is it? Um, did you feel like I forced you to do all this festival stuff?"
"It isn't that."
She did not seem to be sparing his feelings. She simply would not tell him what it was.
Now he was not sure if he should ask her to keep going. But he was also hesitant to leave her, so they were just kind of stuck there.
"Oh, Mutsuki-kun and Machi-nyan. Perfect timing."
They were saved by a familiar cheerful voice.
"Kurikara-san....What is that?"
Mutsuki sounded puzzled as soon as he turned to face their goddess of salvation.
He could not help himself. That girl had been her usual high-energy self that morning, but she had shed her skin in an odd way this afternoon.
The skin-tight white dress was certainly part of it, but she wore wings that strapped onto her shoulders and a halo made of wire that floated over her head. On her back, she wore a bow and arrow seemingly made of silver paper. The arrowhead was shaped like a heart.
"Eh heh heh~ Amazing, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is...but what is it?"
"You can't tell?"
"Not a bit."
"I'm Cupid. Cupid of Love."
"..."
It could be easy to forget when you lived with angels, but the wings strapped to her shoulders did indeed look like the usual depiction of an angel.
"The wings are small so they won't be a danger when I move around, but this café is so amazing. It's called the Cupid Café and it's for couples only."
She pointed to the café with one of her usual over-the-top poses.
There were a lot of places with showy exteriors for the festival, but one place still managed to stand out. The entrance was made into a heart-shaped papier mache gate and the inside was almost entirely pink. There were lamé heart stickers all over and the tablecloths were pink.
"Cute, isn't it?"
"It looks like a brothel."
"They asked me for some help and I said yes since the outfit is so cute. It's an amazing place. There's a jinx that says a couple will have a lifetime of happiness if they overcome the embarrassment of the Cupid name and go in."
"Even though it's only open today?"
"This is perfect. I'll take you to a table for two."
She forcibly pulled on their hands.
Mutsuki and Machina were both unable to fight back at times like this.
"There's a special seat called the miracle happy spot, but no one was willing to sit there. But it's so great. Just sitting there makes you happy~"
She even designated a specific table for them.
Entering the café was fine given the atmosphere with Machina. It gave him a reason to continue the conversation. But...
"I'll show you two to your miracle happy seats."
That was a "recommendation" based on this café's style. True to the bad feeling in Mutsuki's gut, they were taken to an incredible table indeed.
A small heart-shaped table sat on a large space built a step higher than the rest of the café. The chairs were close enough together that their knees would touch while they sat across from each other and everything was of course pink.
Worst of all, it was right next to the window, so everyone passing by outside could see them.
Mutsuki gave Saya a look that said this simply was not going to work.
"Please use it~ They spent a lot on this, but the festival is going to end without a single couple sitting here."
Saya clapped her hands together.
Mutsuki had to wonder why they spent so much on punishing their customers, but...
"Then I will have the recommended tea."
"Yes!"
Machina generally could not refuse any request, so she sat down.
There was no escaping it now. The boy had no choice but to sit down across from her.
...Their knees were even closer together than he thought, so he turned his a bit to the side.
"Thank you too, Mutsuki-kun? I'll pay, so order whatever you want."
"Sure. Then I'll have the café's most expensive drink and a bunch of other stuff that will leave your wallet hurting for a while."
"...Gh."
The waitress obediently wrote down his order and left.
Mutsuki and Machina now had to obediently wait.
Perhaps luckily, the people walking by could tell how bizarre the café was just by looking at the entrance sign, so no one gave any curious looks to the special seat. It was only the other customers and the staff that gave them weird looks.
"Here's your Darjeeling, Machi-nyan. For both of you, I have our most expensive item: the Lovey-Dovey Mixed Parfait with everything on it. And here's my recommendation: the Angel Mayonnaise Toast."
They were served more and more and the small table was quickly filled.
"Okay, Machi-nyan, Mutsuki-kun. You take your time. I wish you some lovey-dovey happiness. Bakyuuun?"
It was not clear what that meant, but it was apparently required. She mimicked shooting them with her bow and then left.
"Okay...we sure got a lot of stuff."
Was she apologizing for this or did they have a lot of extra ingredients? The parfait was especially amazing.
The large glass container contained melon juice with ice cream floating on top and it was decorated with lots of sweets and fruits arranged like a parfait.
"It's big and looks tasty."
"Y-yes."
There was no way they could eat it all, but Machina readily started on it.
The ice cream and fruits were store-bought, so the sweetness and tartness were just right. They both used their spoons to bring down the mountain of ice cream.
In a way, this gave them a chance to talk.
"I had completely forgotten that angels are supposed to look like that."
Mutsuki smiled bitterly as he looked over at Saya and the other waitresses.
"It is unclear how they ended up like that as Cupid is supposed to be a god, but that is the general image of an angel."
"Yet Ange would look completely normal if she didn't shoot out fire."
"Angels are a shape that forms around a human's Fruit of Knowledge, so their view of themselves greatly influences how they look. There are apparently some that do have wings."
"Really...? Ha ha. When I first met her, I just assumed that meant angels don't actually have wings."
Fortunately, they were blessed with something to talk about.
"...It's been nearly half a year since I met Ange."
"Yes."
That meant it had been that long since heaven, earth, and hell had started fighting over him.
...And since Ibekusa Machina had become more than a classmate he was interested in.
"It went by so fast. It doesn't feel nearly that long."
"A lot of it had to have been spent in danger."
"That's true, but now that I think back on it..."
"?"
Machina did not seem to understand.
"Time always moves at a fixed rate."
"Well, yes." He smiled bitterly at that nearly emotionless response that was so much like her."But I can't help but think about it. In spring, I never would have imagined I would be eating a parfait with you like this, but it feels like almost no time has passed since then."
He took a bite of creamy ice cream.
"..."
When he changed his phrasing, Machina must have somewhat understood because she stopped eating for a moment.
"Oh, this is really cold."
Then he changed the subject. The ice cream was sherbet and it made his tongue tingle.
Machina had tea, but Mutsuki had juice. And the toast was covered in mayonnaise. He looked around for something to warm his mouth.
"There are wafers over here."
"Oh, I'll take that."
There was something good by Machina, so he reached out for it.
"Here."
"Uuh..."
But the girl took the stick-like object and held it out towards his mouth.
Mutsuki briefly hesitated, but she was only being nice, so it would be weird to get too worked up over it.
"Th-thanks."
He let her feed it to him.
It really did feel like no time since spring.
Back then, he could not even speak to his crush, but now she was feeding him sweets.
"Um."
She returned to the parfait as if nothing had happened, but the boy was blushing. He reached for the salty toast.
"I-if only things could stay like this."
He returned to the previous topic.
"Ange and Lucia-kun are getting more and more used to life here. I hope nothing happens..."
The play and the band had nothing at all to do with their jobs as an angel and a demon, but the two of them were enjoying their everyday lives. Watching them had become one of Mutsuki's favorite things to do lately.
He wished nothing ever had to change.
From the bottom of his heart.
"..."
"Ibekusa-san?"
But when he said that, something changed with Machina.
She stopped eating the parfait.
She stared at him with a troubled look on her usually expressionless face.
"...You would prefer that nothing happens?"
"Eh?"
"Sorry. But I must cause a change soon."
She spoke quietly.
Mutsuki was confused. She usually agreed with anything he said, but now this.
He could tell this was no trivial matter.
"S-something happened, didn't it? ...You've been acting weird. Are you worried about something?"
He decided now was the time to ask about everything, including the kissing.
She must have been hesitant because she bit her lower lip.
"Um, is it about those people? Those Kurosaki people?"
That group opposed FeTUS and they had attacked before, so he assumed that would be what was worrying her. However...
"Negative. That hastens things, but they are not directly involved."
"Then...what?"
"The problem is FeTUS's...no, it is me."
She spoke calmly.
Her tone was plain, but she was clearly not her usual self. She was usually businesslike and did not allow emotions into even the difficult things she had to say. But now she was hesitating.
This was not like her and she could not hide the emotion of hesitation.
"I must cause a change. To you and to me."
"Wh-what?"
Puzzled by her unusual behavior, Mutsuki told her she could tell him anything.
"..."
But that kindness made her hesitate even more.
"I doubt you will refuse once you have heard everything. You will be unable to. So you should make your decision before you have heard everything. Or at the very least, Miss A thinks so."
Her voice was so quiet he had trouble making it out. And he was not sure what she was talking about.
"I agree with her." Her voice was quiet and she did not sound at all confident."But I am afraid to ask."
"...?"
"I have never felt this way before. It is a necessary thing, but I am afraid to do it."
"..."
She said nothing more.
Mutsuki tilted his head and stared at her hanging head.
She was facing down and her expression was as stiff as a Noh mask.
Her long eyelashes would occasionally waver, so she may have been shaking.
"...Ibekusa-san."
Fortunately, the past half a year had taught the boy what to do at times like this.
"Sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about."
He gently wrapped his hands around hers which had frozen with the spoon still in its grasp.
"But you can tell me anything. I'll help you in any way I can."
He was grateful for how close together the seats were. He could easily hold her hand on the heart-shaped table.
"If something is giving you trouble, I want to help you."
"...Fujita-kun."
She looked up.
She was back to her usual lack of expression, so he could not tell what she was thinking.
That was enough. Having her back to normal was enough.
"Oh, but does this have to do with the recent kissing?"
"A bit."
"Then, um, I can't say I'll do anything, but I'll do what I can."
He did not sound all that reliable anymore, but he got it out there.
Machina thought on his boyish words and then nodded.
She did not seem afraid anymore. Her expressionless face really was back.
She could once more face him more directly than anyone.
"The wind sure is strong."
"Yeah, I can't hear what people are ordering."
Saya held her hair down against the strengthening wind and returned her tray to the kitchen.
A break in the work had just arrived. She set down her bundle of sales slips and took a break with the other Cupid-cosplaying waitresses.
More than just the foot traffic outside, there was apparently a helicopter flying nearby.
"Saya, the two you invited seem to have hit it off."
"Hm? ...Wow, you're right."
"They're holding hands. What's with that? I thought you said they weren't a couple."
"I didn't think they were...but maybe they are."
She had forgotten all about Mutsuki and Machina in the special seat.
They were holding hands and looking each other in the eye.
There was too much noise to hear what they were saying and she did not want to interrupt them by getting closer. Then again, it looked like they were only staring at each other without talking.
(Those two really do make a cute couple. )
The wind grew even stronger, so she narrowed her eyes as she thought.
She had noticed during their summer break camping trip that Mutsuki and Machina had a good atmosphere together.
After all, Mutsuki had always been looking at her since the spring.
(It's a little too late for Ange-chan to join in. Although I personally would have preferred it if he hooked up with Lu-kun. )
She brushed her hair out of her face.
(Those two must already feel the same way about each other...)
"Saya! Run away!"
"Eh?"
Only then did she realize the wind was too strong. It was so strong it was about to blow her away.The sound of a helicopter's rotors was abnormally loud.
And both the wind and the noise were coming from directly overhead.
The helicopter seemed to be military. It was oddly angular and it was flying this way at only 5 meters up.
And the Gatling gun below the cockpit had its three muzzles aimed her way.
The helicopter's rotors, the wind, and the screams were all drowned out by the roar of gunfire.
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