My Name Is…

And so, my school festival came to an end.

Tomonori bawled after her ring was stolen, Haruna clutched her head in shock from losing her mana, Eu collapsed with a high fever, and Sera stayed silent. Just like that, Sunday was over.

When Monday came, I saw the usual in the living room.

On the plasma TV, a variety show I had recorded played, one I couldn’t watch during the festival. Eu, dressed in plate armor and gauntlets, was sipping from a teacup.

Beside her, a beautiful woman with black hair tied into a ponytail sat formally, her expression calm and dignified.

The only difference from normal was the kotatsu I had set out.

Two taps on the table, and Eu’s handwriting appeared on her notepad.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, big brother! I love you!”

Ah, the Eu in my head became clearer. Her singing last night was so lovely I couldn’t sleep.

I must have been grinning too much, because Sera suddenly pinched my nose as hard as she could.

“When you’re far away, you look somewhat gross, but up close, you’re unbearably gross. Get lost already.” Her jade eyes were as cold as ever.

“Ayumu! Here, take this. I made another awesome lunch today.”

Out burst a chestnut-haired girl from the kitchen, her cowlick bouncing as she bounded toward me. The season had turned cold, but she still wore a camisole and shorts.

The same old sight, as if the festival had never happened.

I took the lunchbox, then noticed Haruna was holding another one. Before I could ask, she stepped into the living room.

“I made too much, so… you can have it, ‘kay?” Her face turned red as she offered the lunch to Eu.

A lunchbox for Eu, who never left the house? I didn’t really get it.

Sera smiled softly. “Haruna, did you not make one for me?” she joked. She didn’t look like she actually wanted a lunchbox herself.

I got it. Haruna had experienced Eu’s power for herself. She’d learned how painful it was. That’s why she wanted to do something for Eu. The lunch must be her way of showing it.

“Thank you.”

“I love you, Haruna!”

“So, did you girls have fun at the festival?” I asked.

It had been a mess—Chris stealing Haruna’s mana, a storm raging, all sorts of chaos. Haruna had to suppress her emotions too. I wondered if anyone actually enjoyed it.

“Rather than fun, I’d say it was interesting,” Sera said. “Mainly thanks to the pervert.”

I’ll take that as a yes.

“I did not have fun at all,” Haruna said. “Next time we’re doing a SWAT café. I’ll be the producer for every single class!”

So she enjoyed it enough to want to do it again next year.

Tap, tap. I looked over.

“It was the best time of my life.”

When Haruna read that note, she muttered, “I guess I had fun too.”

“You were basically just selling CDs the whole time,” I said.

“Everyone enjoys things their own way! So, Ayumu, what about you?”

“Me? I don’t know. It was… adorable, I guess.”

“Gross! Get out of here already!” Sera spat. Even that side of her was starting to feel cute.

“That’s right,” Haruna said. “Hurry up and go, ‘kay? You too, negamancer, dig in!”

Eu opened her lunchbox. Inside was basically a full-on New Year’s feast.

Wow. If that counted as leftovers, then…

Normally, I liked saving mine until lunchtime, but this time, I opened my own lunchbox right there.

“Hey! Don’t open it now, you idiot!”

Today’s lunchbox was a whole block of dried bonito, unshaved.

“Mine’s the leftovers?!”

“Ugh, seriously!”

Haruna shoved me out the front door, kicked me outside, threw my shoes at me, and locked the door. Oh dear. Guess I’d have to shave the bonito with a chisel today.

They all seemed set on living this way, carefree.

But I was going after Chris. No matter what it took, I’d make her pay.

I would deal with this fate myself.

---

Monday lethargy at school was no joke. A silence worthy of autumn filled the classroom.

“Get this, Aikawa. Kanami…”

Only one girl had the same energy.

I stared out the window, too worried about Saras to pay much attention to Tomonori’s chatter.

“Hey, Aikawa. Are you even listening?”

“I am.”

That reminded me: what would happen with our homeroom teacher? Was he really going to show up at school again in that male form? Ha, if he did, I’d deck him on the spot.

The homeroom bell rang, and Tomonori’s face twisted with disappointment.

“Already? Fine, I’ll swing by again at lunch.”

A curt “Sure,” was all I could manage.

Still dazed, I thought about how I was supposed to track down Chris.

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

“All right, everyone. Take your seats.”

A scruffy man with stubble, dressed in a lab coat, strolled into the classroom. My eyes went wide.

Why… Why is he here?

I thought I was the one most shocked by his sudden entrance. But no. Someone else was even more stunned.

Her cheerful smile was gone, her face hollow with disbelief, as she muttered under her breath, “Wh-What is the chief doing here? H-He’s supposed to be dead.”

The chief? Supposed to be dead?

You’ve got to be kidding me. That guy… that clown was the leader of the Vampire Ninjas?

“Those not from this class, back to your rooms.”

“Tomonori. Hey, Tomonori.

She was just staring at the scruffy man, so I shook her shoulders.

“Ah! Aikawa.”

“Just head back to your classroom for now.”

“O-Okay. Uh-huh. Wow, I guess people really do have doubles, huh?”

She let out a dry laugh, then strode out of the room. I could tell from the way she moved that she was trying to hide her panic, but I didn’t say a word.

By the time everyone had taken their seats, the man in the lab coat stood at the podium, sweeping his gaze slowly across the class, checking each face.

When his eyes landed on me, he smiled faintly, then picked up a piece of chalk.

“Mr. Kurisu suddenly had to return home, so I’ll be serving as your temporary homeroom teacher.”

He spun around and rolled up the sleeves of his lab coat.

“My name is…”

He drew a horizontal line on the chalkboard, then, just as he started on a vertical stroke, he coughed up blood.

“Damn it. The doctor told me not to use chalk.”

Then quit being a teacher!

“Teach? Teach!”

The classroom grew noisy. Nobody knew what to do.

“I’ll take him to the nurse’s office. I’m not feeling too great either.” I stood up and walked over to the man in the lab coat.

“It’s Aikawa the pervert.”
“He’s gonna do dirty stuff in the nurse’s office.”
“Yeah, but Aikawa’s a good pervert.”

Thanks to that wedding dress and mannequin incident, I’d been branded the class pervert.

But I didn’t care about weird rumors. I had way too many questions I needed to ask this man.

As I lent him my shoulder and left the classroom, I asked firmly, “Who the hell are you?”

His steps were heavy. Using zombie power, I barely managed to hold him up as we walked through the empty hallway. The nurse’s office was on the first floor.

On the stairs down, he finally answered, “I’m an ally.”

“Sounds fishy to me.”

We went down slowly, one step at a time. He felt heavy either because his strength was gone or because he was faking it.

“So, what are you doing here? You don’t look like someone who dreamed of being a teacher.”

“Ayumu Aikawa. At the school festival, I showed myself to you to verify how much control you had over the Magiclad Weapon.”

“I knew it. You’re the one who set up the washbowl trap.”

“Exactly.”

So he was the one who called Tomonori. He wanted to test how far the ring could control Vinaigrette, and whether I could really stop the Magiclad Weapon.

Yeah. I figured.

When we entered the nurse’s office, it was empty. Well, it was too early in the morning for students to be sick, and the nurse probably wasn’t expecting anyone either. Perfect. Just the two of us to talk.

“Just answer the question already. Who are you? Tomonori said you were the chief of the Vampire Ninjas.”

“Correct. That’s exactly who I am,” he said with a smile, then coughed up more blood as he plopped down on the bed. The frame creaked.

“Are you, by any chance, the same as me? A zombie?” I asked.

“No. Eucliwood never made me a zombie.”

“Good.”

“A hundred years ago, I led hundreds of Vampire Ninjas to Villiers. To help Ariel with her coup.”

Ariel. Big Teach? I knew she was plotting a coup. But what did the head of the Vampire Ninjas have to do with her?

“Why would you do that?”

“Because Ariel and I are childhood friends.”

Childhood friends? Come to think of it, the one who made the Magiclad Weapon wasn’t Big Teach herself, but a male childhood friend of hers. I believe his name was…

“In Villiers, I am known as the Demon Baron.”

He rested both elbows on his knees, interlaced his fingers, and clearly, without hesitation, claimed he was the Demon Baron.

The Demon Baron is the leader of the Vampire Ninjas?

This weirdo was the person Sera and Tomonori were looking for? The one Haruna admired?

And someone capable of receiving Eu’s blood directly. No wonder he could hide the Magiclad Weapon inside Tomonori’s body.

“So, why did someone like you suddenly show up again?”

“Because Chris is back. We have to kill her before she returns to full power.”

I see. Chris also took part in the coup and lost to the Queen.

“Wait a second. You and Big Teach basically have the same goal as her, right? Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Those who lose to the Queen are cursed. I was cursed to always be on the brink of death.”

That explained why he coughed up blood so easily.

“By the way, I have a message for you. Are you worried about me? If not, I’ll kill you.”

“Sharp words. Wait, was it from Saras?”

“Yes. Sarasvati. I saved her when Chris nearly killed her.”

“I see. So you were the one who bailed me out.”

“Correct. I saw how desperately you tried to protect the chainsaw, and I couldn’t stop myself from helping. I wanted to help you sooner, but… unless I made it seem like you died, Chris would have kept chasing you. Hence the timing.”

Right. Chris had sounded like she’d killed Saras.

“Ah, so that pitch-black space was your ability. You could move from shadow to shadow, right? You helped Saras the same way? Thanks.”

“I don’t care for gratitude from men,” he said, scratching his head with a chuckle.

“Wait, Big Teach didn’t look cursed, though.”

“Right. But that’s the main problem.” With a deep sigh, the Demon Baron shook his head.

“I don’t follow.”

“Chris received the curse meant for her. She’s thought to be the mastermind.”

“Well, she’s supposed to be the most powerful Magiclad Girl around, so I can see that. And that means?”

“Don’t you get it? It’s not the Queen Chris wants revenge against.”

Wait… really?

“She’s going after Big Teach?”

The Demon Baron grinned. “Correct,” he said, then coughed up copious amounts of blood.

I’d forgotten that this guy’s doctor forbade him from giving spoilers.