3 bar menu

Summer Phantom – Part 02

Translator: Kell

Whether she heard them or not, Ruri, who had been like a puppet without a soul since her brother’s departure, rose to her feet absently, grabbed her leather bag, and left the classroom without a word to her friends.

Ruri was walking dejectedly down the old but spotless corridor, which had been polished to a high shine by generations of schoolgirls.

Ah, I’m so bored…

A sigh spilled from her glossy, red lips.

Every day is so dull without anyone to poke fun at, tease, or dote on.

Letting out another sigh, she thought about her little brother who had left for a distant foreign country. Whenever she spotted a student wearing the black uniform of the military academy pass by on the street outside, she couldn’t help but look closely. But none of them looked anything like her adorable little brother, leaving Ruri disappointed every single time.

I miss him so much.

While walking down the corridor, she passed by Ms. Fuyou, a young female teacher. Dressed in a stylish Western-style outfit, she was quite the fashionable lady, with her black hair cut short in a modern style.

Ruri stopped in her tracks. “Good morning,” she said.

“Ah, Kujou. Good morning.” Ms. Fuyou returned her greeting with a smile. Ruri had excelled at her studies ever since attending this school. “Oh, actually. May I have a moment of your time?”

“S-Sure.”

Ruri followed Ms. Fuyou to the teachers’ office. It was bright inside.

“Please take a seat on the couch over there.”

“Okay…”

Ruri sat down a little nervously as the teacher served her ruby-colored tea and biscuits. On the pretty round table lay this morning’s paper. It bore a sensational headline: Mysterious Cloaked Man Steals Another Painting!

As Ruri skimmed the article, Ms. Fuyo sat down on the couch across from her.

“Kujou,” the teacher said, tilting her head. Her hair, cut around her chin, swayed. “You’re an outstanding student, and very popular and trusted among the students as well.”

The sudden compliment made Ruri blush. “Thank you.”

“What are your plans after graduating this year?”

“…What?”

“Most of the students’ families have already decided where they will marry, but I haven’t heard anything from you.”

“Uhm…” Ruri bit her lip.

For the past six months, Ruri had been so depressed thinking about her brother that she had completely forgotten that the time for her to decide her future was approaching.

“I, um… I’m not really fond of men in general. I-I don’t think I want to marry…”

While giving a garbled answer, all Ruri could think about was her father and brothers.

Three large men suddenly burst into laughter. They start wrestling out of nowhere, rolling around in the corridor, and then falling into the garden, dragging Kazuya as he happens to pass by. The shishi-odoshi¹ breaks, and the whole house shakes like an earthquake just struck. They glance at Ruri and Kazuya, who are eating dinner slowly, savoring the food, while asking for another helping, one of them bragging about how it’s their third one already.

Ugh, the chills… I can’t believe we’re the same species. They’re hairy, with square jaws…

“Sounds like you really hate men.”

“I-I do…”

“In that case, there’s one option I’d like you to consider.” What she said next shocked Ruri. “How about becoming a teacher here after you graduate? It’s a new age, with lots of western culture and different mindsets coming in. I think students and teachers should learn new things together. You came to mind since you have an excellent academic record, and you’re popular among the students. You’re suited for a teaching position.”

For a while, Ruri just stared at the teacher in puzzlement. Then eventually her face lit up.

I never thought of that!

It felt like the road up ahead just opened wide.

“I’ll go home and talk to my father and brothers about it,” she said.

Ruri left the instructor’s office in high spirits.

Spring in the imperial capital was sunny, and a little restless, filled with falling cherry blossoms and the loud, roaring cars, which were popular these days.

Glancing at her schoolmates being driven home by uniformed drivers in black cars, Ruri jumped on her favorite bicycle and rode off gallantly. Her long, untied black hair and the navy blue hem of her hakama fluttered in the spring breeze.

As she turned a corner, ringing her bicycle bell, she saw a young man running toward her from a brick Western-style building. He was dressed in a casual kimono and stylish geta. He looked to be about twenty years old, with handsome features. But for some reason, he was carrying a large, square object wrapped in a cloth.

“Oops!”

Ruri yelped, quickly applying the brakes.

The young man tried to apologize, but when he saw Ruri’s face, his eyes widened in shock.

“Wh-What is it?” Ruri asked.

“Wow. You’re quite pretty. What’s your name? I’m Kira. I’m Kira Yoshinosuke.”

His compliment was so straightforward. An innocent schoolgirl would have blushed from embarrassment, but Ruri was preoccupied with her brother and her future.

“I don’t give my name to strangers,” she said flatly.

She mounted her bicycle and dashed away, leaving behind the handsome, gaping young man carrying a square-shaped cloth.

“I see. Your sister met a handsome young man on her way home,” Victorique said, yawning widely, not even trying to hide her boredom.

Kingdom of Sauville, far across the sea. In the deserted, second-floor corridor of a boys’ dormitory, standing in a majestic academy nestled among the mountains.

Apart from Kazuya leaning against the door reading a long letter and Victorique sitting on the floor yawning repeatedly, there was no sign of anyone else in the dormitory.

“When does the vase appear and disappear?” Victorique asked.

“Just wait a bit. There’s one more not-handsome person showing up after this. It’ll be a little while before the vase disappears.”

“Then read it quickly.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Back in the small island country in the Orient, across the distant sea. We turn the clock back again to warm spring, evening of the same day.

The Kujou family lived in a quiet residential area on the western edge of the capital. Although Ruri’s dedicated entourage included the daughters of viscounts and high-ranking persons of society, her own family did not hold any noble status, only the renown of a warrior family with a somewhat distinguished history.

The Kujou family’s manor had the atmosphere of an old samurai residence, with jet-black roof tiles and a large, rugged gate. A nameplate bearing the name Kujou painted by her father in ostentatious letters hung on the absurdly huge gatepost.

Ruri sighed as she recalled the Western-style mansion, the chinaware, and the art nouveau furniture that she loved so much when she visited the home of the viscount’s daughter.

This house is like my father and brothers’ personality materialized. Huge, boorish, overbearing. Tsk. I wish we had art nouveau too…

Remembering that she had to discuss her future plans today, Ruri braced herself. Or in the words of her father, tighten your loincloth.

As Ruri opened the sliding door at the entrance, took off her zori, and stepped into the long corridor of the samurai residence, which was dim despite it still being dusk, a dark face, square and bearded and ghastly, suddenly appeared.

Ruri made a strange sound, like a hen about to be strangled by a farmer. The huge, unfamiliar man looked around in search of the voice, then lowered his head and peered far down into Ruri’s porcelain, doll-like face, beautiful and refined.

“Apologies!” the man roared. His voice seemed to shake the very air itself.

Ruri leapt back with a horrified shriek, slamming the back of her head against the corridor wall, and swayed unsteadily. The huge man watched her blankly, then finding her reaction amusing, he threw his head back and guffawed.

Ruri jumped. The man was dressed in the familiar uniform of an imperial army officer—a cap bearing a shiny insignia, a filthy khaki cloak, and a large Japanese sword at his waist. He looked much like his father and brothers, but twice as large. His thick beard was not normal.

“E-E-Excuse me!” Ruri squealed.

She was so shaken that her voice cracked. She then bolted down the hallway, trying to get as far away as possible from the man.