Chapter 4

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*****

Both Kaho-chan and

I changed into our normal clothes, then sat in the corner cafeteria in the

venue.

Kaho-chan, who’d already

put in her contact lenses, was glued to her phone. I peeked at her screen with

a sour expression.

“It can’t be helped, because I’m terrifically

cute after all!”

On the screen

danced a girl on stage, dressed like Rina-pyon. She imitated bunny ears with

her hand, then jumped around, bearing a forced smile.

Just from that, I

was taking out my white flag. It was so shameful my skin was crawling. It was definitely

a huge embarrassment.

“Umm, Kaho-chan.”

“Uwaa, look at this. This really got a lot of hate. How funny, lol.”

“What kind of self-punishment is this?!”

“Eeh, but don’t you get curious about the comments?”

We were watching

the recording of our show earlier that had been broadcasted online. The

comments were flooding in so fast I couldn’t keep up with the words. It seemed

like Kaho-chan’s eyesight excelled at detecting rapid movement.

Finally, the

cat-eared maid Kaho-chan arrived. The way we moved made it seem like we were

enjoying our work. Like we’d gone through chaotic days together, but also

joyous events.

I’d always

imagined that if I managed to become someone with a bright personality, my days

would turn out to be something like this…

But I ended up

being wrong. Unpleasant things would keep coming no matter what.

Even within the

world of [Anima Maid!], there might

be unpleasant things happening backstage. Alright, if that was the case, then I

felt like I could empathize with Rina-pyon better…

“Ah, this one!”

“Huh? Ah, Perman-san?”

It was only a

split second, but I saw the lady I remembered from before. The special member

from the first photoshoot session, that photographer lady.

“Even Miharu-san

and Ema-san also came, see?”

“I didn’t realize…as expected from Kaho-chan’s fans…”

I see… This time,

I’d managed to show a better version of myself compared to the last time.

When I thought of

it that way, I started to see the girl with rabbit ears who’d tried her best to

become a character from an anime as someone brave.

Once our

performance ended, the screen changed into a polling session. After a 15-minute

break, it was time for the online and in-person attendee vote collection and

count. Then it went straight to the announcement of the winner. Kaho-chan

flicked her finger across the screen to skip to the end.

“Now, the result of this splendid grand

prix—”

It wasn’t us. But

it also wasn’t Serara-chan’s group. I bet the winners were the popular

cosplayers.

I glanced at

Kaho-chan’s face.

“That’s too bad,

huh. The result.”

“Not really though? We placed 7th place among 8 participants, but that’s a

given considering our popularity. Rather than think of it that way, we should

feel grateful for the 854 fans who had voted for us, right!”

Kaho-chan pointed

at the number 854 on her screen with a smile. That way of thinking, so unlike a

comment from a recluse, was really wonderful. That was really what I thought

but…

“What if those

people only chose us because they’re [Anima

Maid!] fans…”

“Why would you think something negative like that?! It’s not a problem right, to

choose the most convenient way to wrap this up nicely!?”

I couldn’t say

anything as Kaho-chan scolded me. Dammit. Even though my standing had been

higher until a few moments ago…!

It seemed like I

could never beat Kaho-chan in her normie cosplay for the rest of my life.

After everything

ended, we stuck around the venue.

It seemed like

Kaho-chan was done with the event now that her purpose was fulfilled. On the

other hand, since I was nervous from the beginning, I thought I’d at least make

some enjoyable memories while I was here.

“Somehow, having

tea while wearing my cosplay like this feels so strange…”

“Nah, doing cosplay at this scale is practically heaven, though. If only school

allowed cosplaying daily, meow…”

“Oozuka Mai would be unbeatable though.”

“It would be awesome though?! As a cosplayer, cosplaying is of course very

enjoyable, but! Seeing the pinnacle of cosplay is the best of the best feeling

ever!”

In contrast to

Kaho-chan’s sparkling eyes that revealed her excitement, I had yet to get used

to this whole situation. I couldn’t shake off the odd feeling of sitting around

while wearing a bunny maid costume.

I looked around me.

Well, there were a lot of cosplayers around, but still… For example, the girls

who sat at the table diagonally from ours……

“Huh? You’re

Satsuki-san, right?!”

There she was.

Satsuki-san, who was still in her cosplay, had precisely the same appearance

when she stood on the stage.

“I have no idea

who you are talking about. My name is Moon.”

“I see. It’s my bad, sorry! But why are you here?”

She had her legs

crossed and an open book in front of her. The girl sitting across from her

didn’t look like Serara-chan.

“Serara went home

first. With my change of clothes.”

“Eh?!”

The frown on

Moon-san’s face strangely suited her.

“It’d been a bad

idea to come here with only one bag. I tried to call her but she won’t pick up.

Everything’s kind of messed up. I guess that’s what people mean when they say

the world is an ephemeral place.”

“So ephemeral, with a quality like the overwhelming presence of yours.”

“That Serara ・Lalaland girl, why would she

behave like a flustered Santa Clause like that?” Kaho-chan asked her.

“I don’t know

exactly why but it seemed like not getting first place shocked her. She was

stupefied, then started weeping uncontrollably.”

“Aa…”

As if she came up

with an idea, Kaho-chan folded her arms.

“That girl, she’s

quite an individualist after all. I wonder if she’s never participated in an

event with a ranking system like this.”

“Ah, as expected, you two interact a lot, eh.”

“Yup. I was the one who showed her the basics at her first event. During those

times, she kept following after me, “Senpai,

senpai♪” like a little puppy, just an adorable girl, meow.”

“Eh, really?!”

Holding her anime

collaboration pine juice with both of her hands like a cup of warm beverage, Kaho-chan

muttered, “But then, not long after, her attitude became arrogant… In this

industry, as expected, the most valuable thing is youth and visuals after all.

Of course those two aren’t the only factors, but the moment people start to

think, ‘Ah this one already surpassed my popularity,’ that person can end up being

in a risky position.”

“Scary…”

It was a women’s

world I had no knowledge of. It was great that I attended Ashigaya. As long as

I held my position as a member of Quintet, our leader would never be overthrown

from her position.

“It’s just—she

really does cosplay seriously. It seems like it’s because she’s serious about

her dream to become a model. It’s not like I hate her guts, even though we’re at

each other’s throats like this. Well, since the beginning, we’d never really

had the same views about our impression and interpretation about anime though!”

Kaho-chan flashed

a smile that made her look like a senpai.

It was like her

body emitted an aura of composure. I honestly thought that she was incredible

from the depths of my heart. I’d like to believe that Serara-chan also didn’t

hate this reliable part of Kaho-chan. Rather than feeling underestimated, maybe

it was more like the annoyance of getting treated as a child, I guess.

“I also don’t

hate her, but I’d prefer if she gave me back my clothes at least.”

“About that, what are you going to do, Moon-san? You can’t just board a train

home in that outfit, right? Ah, should I get you a shirt?”

Still in her

soldier costume, Moon-san adjusted her assault rifle that rested on top of the

table while showing a troubled expression.

“It’s…kind of a

waste to buy a shirt.”

Uuh…if Moon-san

with her frugal living was saying that. It felt a bit weird if I offered to buy

it for her. This was complicated.

“It’s alright. You

don’t have to be so considerate of me. I’ve got my own plans. For now, I’ll

just kill time here until her performance is over.”

“Ah, I see, it’s good then. Is your cosplayer acquaintance performing?”

“...she’s not really a cosplayer acquaintance.”

That was an odd answer

from Moon-san.

I tilted my head.

Now that I thought about it, I was having a conversation with Moon-san while

ignoring the girl sitting across from her that positioned between us. I

naturally apologized, “Ah, I’m sorry,” and bowed my head at the person before

me.

“N-no, it’s

okay…”

She looked uneasy

and didn’t turn towards us.

…huh?

My usually

dysfunctional sixth sense had picked up on something. This girl… She hurriedly moved

behind Moon-san.

The girl was

wearing a gorgeous Chinese dress that was daring, but suited her very well.

“Eh, ah.”

The girl turned

her face away. Her ears were red.

“Hm……?”

I moved to face

her, and then observed her face more carefully. This time, she turned her whole

body around and covered her face. We kept repeating these movements, circling

around Moon-san.

“The heck are you

doing, Rena-chin…?”

Kaho-chan sounded

exasperated. Nah, I definitely wouldn’t ever behave insistently like this under

normal circumstances, you see. But this time…

“Ajisai-san……?” I

muttered.

“!”

The girl let out

a major reaction, her shoulders trembling.

“He? As if

Aa-chan would come to a place like—”

Before Kaho-chan

finished her sentence, the girl raised her face like she was interrupting

Kaho-chan.

As if she was

already resigned to her fate, she timidly raised her hand.

“...yes, this is

Sena Ajisai.”

“――eh?!”

Kaho-chan's eyes

bugged out.

“Why is Aa-chan—?!

In a place where a bunch of gloomies pretend to be normies by wearing their

masks, at the Japan Animation Event—the genuine and pristine normie Aa-chan?!”

“You’ll piss a lot of people off, you know!” I said.

Why on earth did

you yell something like that right in the middle of the event… the people

around us were reacting pensively though. Nah, why were they accepting her

remark?!

“But she’s right.

Why are you…”

“Err, you see. I was kinda invited by my friend.”

So Ajisai-san

would cosplay if she was invited. As long as she was invited, she would wear a

Chinese dress with a thigh slit like that, huh… If so, did that mean that she

would wear cute clothes like that if I invited her…?

“A friend…is it

Moon-san? Huh? Moon-san?”

I really, truly,

completely couldn’t imagine Satsuki-san sending a message toward Ajisai-san,

“I’ll do cosplay so come watch,” after all. In fact, she looked like she would

type something along, “If you come, you die,” instead.

“I wouldn’t say

something like that, though.”

“You’re always reading my mind!”

“You’re just too easy to read. In the first place, I wasn’t the one who invited

her. I just met Sena coincidentally here.”

Out of nowhere,

Moon-san pulled out the Makuhari Summit pamphlet and showed us.

“It’s written

here that a special guest will appear for today’s main event, right?”

“Ajisai-san is the special guest?!”

If so, then I

could understand. If we did a ranking for high-schoolers in Tokyo, I bet

Ajisai-san’s kindness and beauty would place among the top…no wait, she would

be the first. If that was the case, it wouldn’t be weird.

When I became

convinced, Ajisai-san yelped, “You’re wrong! Listen, it’s not me, it really is

not me, err you see…”

As if she was

troubled, Ajisai-san threaded her fingers together. As expected, her cuteness was

incredible.

“Satsuki-chan,

what should I do…?” She looked at Satsuki-san for help with a disheartened gaze.

But suddenly, that desperate look disappeared from her face. “Ah, sorry, it’s

not Satsuki-chan…right, umm, Moon-chan? Right now, it’s bad if I call you by

your name, right?”

“...it’s not like I really mind.”

This was

completely different from her usual vicious smile. She looked a bit embarrassed

with that expression.

“You’re okay to

call me by that name.”

“Really? Well, Satsuki-chan…?”

“Yes.”

Moon-san nodded

her head slightly at a meek Ajisai-san. Then, Ajisai-san laughed, “Ehehe.” As

if she was hiding her embarrassment, Moon-san directed her gaze on the book

before her.

Kaho-chan and I

traded a look.

…somehow, the way

she treated us was completely different, no?

Kaho-chan pointed

her finger at Moon-san, and then immediately filed her objection. “Why,

Moon-chan?! You favour Aa-chan too much!”

“I don’t.”

“Then, it’s alright if we also call you by Satsuki-san right, Satsuki-san?! I’m

not someone who understands that well about cosplaying after all! Hey,

Satsuki-san, are you listening, Satsuki-san?!”

Bam, bam. She struck us with her

book in order.

“Shut your trap,

idiot #1 and idiot #2.”

“How cruel!” we shrieked in unison, clapping our hands over our heads.

Satsuki-san gazed

at us like we were teammates who burdened her. Then she opened her mouth. “From

your perspective, with your unrefined level of vocabulary, you might say it’s

favoritism, but it’s not that. There’s a difference here. The value of words

isn’t solely based on the words themselves; it also depends on the person

saying those words. Since Sena was the one who said it, I can accept that.

There’s nothing more to it.”

“In that case, it’s

favoritism, right…?”

“I already told you that’s not it. Speaking hypothetically—well, it’s

impossible for Oozuka Mai to discriminate against others, but this is a

what-if. If by any chance you and Sena both have the same degree of

virtuousness, and then the other side received a more favorable treatment, in a

sense it might be favoritism, but actually it’s not as simple as that, right?”

“U-uh-huh.”

Well, as

expected, there wouldn’t be a single homo

sapiens who insisted they were on par with Ashigaya’s angel when being

compared.

Moon-san relaxed

her cheek and formed a cold smile.

“I’m happy you

finally seem to get it. Listen, Amaori. You’ve been getting ahead of yourself

lately, but don’t misunderstand. As for me, I personally harbor nothing towards

you, whether it’s a feeling of like or anything else.”

“Satsuki-chan.” Ajisai-san

furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Satsuki-san, seeming displeased. “I’m sorry.

I really am happy when I know you cherish me that much, so thank you. But saying

something like that is…you said too much, don’t you think?”

“That’s right.”

WIthout missing a

beat, Moon-san bowed her head.

Moon-san bowed

her head?!

“Apologies, I

ended up saying something rude and hurt your feelings. You’re my dear friend,

Amaori. Please take care of me from now on.”

“Are you some sort of a spoiled brat?!”

The effect of

seeing Satsuki-san who earnestly did everything that Ajisai-san said shocked me

so much that I had no time to feel hurt… Eh, what was that? What was the

meaning of this? Were the two of them dating? You two? Was there a possibility

of AjiSatsu?

As if the shock

was not enough, Ajisai-san smiled warmly while looking at Satsuki-san. “You apologized.

That’s remarkable.”

Satsuki-san

averted her gaze while looking shy, her cheeks reddening. “It’s nothing…”

“I do get it that

Saa-chan respects Aa-chan very much based on what’s happening right now, but…I

can’t be fully convinced by this situation yet meow…” Kaho-chan murmured.

I wanted to nod

my head along with her statement like fans banging their heads at some heavy

rock metal festival.

And so, errr…

“If it wasn’t

Moon-san who invited you here, then who did, Ajisai-san?”

I returned to the

topic. By doing this, I could erase the discomfort I’d felt earlier for the

sake of calming my mind. This was one of my high-level techniques.

For a moment,

Ajisai-san held her breath…or that was my impression of what she was doing.

After looking

like she was brooding over something, she opened her mouth. “Un, you see.”

At that moment,

the room turned dark.

Oho…I looked around. The screen at

the center stage unfolded and started playing the event video. After the

introduction of the performers, they announced the special guest for today’s

event.

The screen showed

a girl backstage, in the middle of having her makeup done.

Long blonde hair.

Amidst the flickering sea of light, there was only a single light that didn’t

budge. A true star.

A woman as if she

was the sun.

“Take care of me for today.”

When she flashed

a wink, everyone let out a shriek, “Kyaaa!”

from every nook and cranny, filling the whole venue.

My mouth hung

open. I was completely taken aback by the situation. While fixated on the

screen, I murmured, “O-Oozuka Mai…”

“It’s MaiMai!” Kaho-chan yelped without a moment’s delay, absorbed into the

venue’s enthusiasm.

“Y-yup, so this

is why.” Ajisai-san nodded slightly.

I see, so

Ajisai-san was invited by Mai… Huh? Ajisai-san was invited by Mai? But why…on

what grounds? Wait, they were friends after all so getting invited to hang out

wasn’t something so odd… But still, just two of them?

“Well, that’s the

case.”

I could

understand Satsuki-san’s circumstances. Since Mai would definitely bring a lot

of outfits, Satsuki-san, who’d heard from Ajisai-san that Mai was coming today,

perhaps thought that she could head home together with Mai after. They lived

relatively close to each other after all.

But the huge

question that resounded in my head was quickly overwritten by the excitement

from the venue’s atmosphere.

An excited and

cheerful Kaho-chan clenched her fist.

“Hey, hey! Let’s

quickly go to the stage! MaiMai is performing, right?! I definitely want to

watch her! From the front row!”

“Eh, ah, okay.”

People from other

tables also headed towards the main stage. I stood up, flustered, while

Kaho-chan hurried us along.

“Then, um, ah!

Ajisai-san too, let’s go!”

“Eh, eh, okay, you’re right.”

Ajisai-san, who

definitely would go along with the flow during moments like this, also stood

up, then she stretched out her hand to Satsuki-san.

“We should go.

Here, Satsuki-chan too, let’s hurry.”

“M-me? I’m alright. I’ve seen her work a lot before, so I—”

Even then, Satsuki-san,

who was sweet towards Ajisai-san, couldn’t do something like shake off her hand.

“I-I get it. I’m

going—I’m really going now.”

“Yup!”

With this, the

four of us rushed to the main stage.

“This is kinda

incredible! To think that the Quintet has assembled completely in this place!”

“Yup. A lovely coincidence like this really could happen, eh!”

“This is nothing though. We always meet at school anyway, so to go out of our

way to meet like this on the weekend isn’t really necessary right…”

“What are you saying, Satsuki-san!”

Watching the

scene before me, I said to her at the top of my voice, “———this is fun ,right!”

After a quiet

effort of pushing and pressing, and also luck, we managed to secure the front

seats right before the main stage. The only thing left to do was to wait for

the show to start in excitement.

Kaho-chan, Ajisai-san,

and then Satsuki-san, and I. Now come to think of it, we’d never really had an

outing together on the weekend before. There was this super busy person who couldn’t

match our schedule after all.

After half a

year, did that mean that the distance between all of us was getting closer, like

I wished?

There were a lot

of spectators around us. Everyone’s eyes sparkled as we waited for Mai’s

arrival.

Waaah. Cheers began to fill the

venue once again.

The spotlight had

fixated on a single point. The one who slowly came out was Queen Rose Apparel’s

star model. She was also wearing cosplay. She really appeared brighter than

anyone else.

She had on a

splendid dress with a touch of the Chinese style. It reminded me of Mai’s

fashion show event during summer break. Her long legs and her high waist

clearly showed off her otherworldly charm as an entertainer. I wondered if the

girl before me was the most beautiful person in the world.

“Hey there, everyone.

Did you have fun at today’s Makuhari Cosplay Summit?”

The Oozuka Mai on

stage, a microphone held in her hand, looked so dignified despite the gazes

that rained down on her.

Well, it wasn’t

really weird since she’d even showed up on television before. And of course,

she’d stood alone on an even more grandiose stage than this, surrounded with a larger

audience. In short, to truly live meant accumulating experiences. It was the

same with RPG.

“Up until today,

I hadn’t really had a chance to experience cosplay and become another person,

but this is quite fun. It feels oddly familiar, but maybe that’s because it’s similar

to the way of enjoying fashion.”

While showing off

her costume to the audience, she smiled.

“This reminds me

of something. When I was a kid, I had special clothes that were bought for me,

and whenever I wore it, it made me feel more glamorous. It was like I could be

more confident and stand up proudly. So I ended up thinking that this is

probably also the same.”

Mai’s voice

sounded calm and gentle as it echoed in the venue and permeated through

everyone’s body.

From the corner

of my eye, I saw Kaho-chan staring at Mai with adoration, dazed.

I perfectly

understood that she shouldn’t be compared to someone like me, but as expected,

Mai really was amazing.

There was one

thing I was aware of: I could faintly pinpoint Mai’s position right now. She

had already walked so far ahead of me.

Whether it was

her academics, her stage experiences, or even confessing her feelings of

affection to someone, she did her best in all of it. Unlike Mai, I couldn’t do

those things smoothly. Nevertheless, it didn't mean that Mai had been good at

everything from the get-go.

“Mai-chan,”

Ajisai-san murmured in a hushed voice. From her voice, I could sense a feeling

of anguish.

I looked at her.

Ajisai-san was

staring at Mai with wide eyes that looked slightly wet. I felt my heart skip a

beat. It reminded me of that summer day when she suddenly cried before me.

“A-Ajisai-san…?”

“Eh?”

Ajisai-san’s

cheeks slowly turned red.

“N-no, it’s

nothing. It’s just—I just thought that Mai-chan sure looks pretty.”

“I-I see.”

At that moment, I

brushed her reaction off with a thought: “Ajisai-san sure is easy to be moved,

eh.” But I might had been so dazzled by Mai’s appearance on stage that my train

of thoughts weren’t working properly.

“Well now, going

by the schedule, we’re supposed to have an event to recap everything that

happened today, but before that, the truth is we have another guest for today.

It’s my precious friend, someone who will bring to this stage a beautiful

atmosphere, like a true flower. Let me introduce you.”

From her spot on

the stage, Mai looked in our direction. I wondered if she’d already noticed our

presence since the beginning. We were in the front row anyway.

Mai moved the

microphone away from her mouth and beckoned to us.

“Come here,

Ajisai.”

“Okay.”

Huh?

Ajisai-san stepped

out of her seat, and then started towards the stage.

Could it be that

the reason behind her cosplay was because of this?

I stared at the

back of Ajisai as she went further away from us. There was a feeling like I was

sending her off.

At that moment, Satsuki-san

suddenly grabbed my wrist. She pulled me towards her with all of her might.

“Mue?”

I tumbled forward

and fell onto Satsuki-san’s chest. And then she embraced me. The material of

her costume was firm—no, rather it was stiff and tough.

“W-what is it?”

When I looked up,

for a short second, Satsuki-san seemed like she also hadn’t expected to do that.

She bit her lip.

“You also should

go.”

“Haa?!”

This might have

been the most unreasonable request I’d heard in my entire life.

“What are you

saying, Satsuki-san?!”

I really didn’t

get her. In the first place, it wasn’t like I was the one being called to the

stage. Mai was only standing there because it was her job after all. If I carelessly

got up there, I’d definitely end up in the security guard’s office after they

caught me backstage.

I was about to

make a fuss about that when Satsuki-san stopped me with her gaze.

“Whatever. Just

go.”

“No, no no no no, no no…”

Nah, this was

impossible… Even when I wanted to go back to my seat, Satsuki-san wouldn’t let

go of my hand. But why?

Perhaps it was

because she had heard Satsuki-san’s voice, Ajisai-san stopped walking and turned

around.

“Ah, sorry,

Ajisai-san. Just go ahead without minding us…” I said.

Ajisai had both

hands clutched at her chest.

“Rena-chan…I

also, want you to come,” she said.

“Eeeh…….?”

I was instantly bewildered.

Wh-why…?

Ajisai-san

stretched out her hand.

“Please.”

I didn’t get it.

“For Mai-chan’s

sake.”

No, it was the

opposite, though! I would only trouble her, right?!

“—it would be

meaningless, if it’s not you.” Ajisai-san’s earnest tone made me even more

confused.

“For Mai’s sake, what…”

Standing between

Satsuki-san and Ajisai-san, I still couldn’t understand the situation. In the

first place, even though without someone like me, she could stand by herself

splendidly, magnificently—

As I was still

filled with doubt, I looked up at the stage.

My eyes met Mai’s.

In that moment, I

felt like I could hear voices.

—if that’s what you think, then.

—As for me, I really like you.

Mai always

conducted herself properly. She was strong, and that was why—

That was why

someone like me was…

“I can’t see!”

“Owaa.”

Kaho-chan

suddenly thrusted me out of her way, into the direction of the aisle, towards Ajisai-san.

“I don’t know

what’s happening but, if you need to go, then go! There. Do your best!”

“Something extremely unreasonable like this…!”

Somehow I ended

up grabbing Ajisai-san’s hand. And then—

Ajisai-san,

bursting with what was going on inside her heart, shouted, “Mai-chan is always

waiting, more than anyone. She is always waiting for your answer!”

The memory of

Mai’s face, smiling weakly, flashed inside my head, then scattered.

—aah, geez!

“But that doesn’t

mean that doing this—doing something like this is…! Geez, I’m going though!”

I tugged on

Ajisai-san’s hand.

I could see a

glimmer of pain in her eyes, but it disappeared in an instant. With a blooming

smile, Ajisai-san nodded.

“Yup.”

Whatever. I had

something I needed to tell her anyway. If so, whether it was now or later, I should

still go see her. To confront Mai.

But still, no one

told me that I would have to do it on stage, though!

I get it, alright

then, I’m going now. I’ll just do this, alright!

To the stage, the

place where Mai was waiting for me!

*****

For more detailed info about the novel, click

here

Credit:

TL and everything else: Meatbun

Proofread: Lyra