Sometimes, I really hate that biichii I call a best friend.
Madi-san has been hopping and humming to the tune of "she doesn't know" all the way back, as Val-sama asked me some courtesy questions about my hometown in the Old Continent. It wasn't long before we reached the drawbridge that leads into New Coimbra.
Yamero, Madi-san, what DON'T I know?!
Madi-san doesn't answer and continues skipping on the wooden pnking. The city of New Coimbra is surrounded by tall grey bricked walls that lead outside through the drawbridge we are passing through now. The gully which is being bridged over has long dried up, ferns and other vegetation growing upwards from below. Long heavy chains set the wooden bridge in pce, there is very little rust on the chains, which to your detective's keen eye shows that someone comes here to maintain it quite often! New Coimbra is built into a high pteau, sloping red-roofed architecture rising upwards to the sky like yers of a cake.
"Stop gawking at the sky, Aya-chan!"
...
Oh, sumimasen. [1]
Are we in a hurry, Madi-san?
What, this fine morning??
Here, I'll walk slower just to spite you!
Ahhhh, the greenery is soothing to my tired eyes!
"Go be a Jxjx vilin elsewhere!
Its been literally four chapters!"
Hai, and...?
"... and we haven't run into any conspiracies yet!!"
This Madi-san...
... do you just bump into
evil people plotting to rule the world all day?!
"Yes."
Don't look at me with those expectant eyes!
It would be our great fortune if we didn't find any!
Please don't let us run into evil women today.
Please, great-grans, please!
Please!
Val-sama is looking onto our ongoing conversation as we pass through the gatehouse interior, quizzically looking at the Madi-san and me arguing. I'm sure that to an outsider, it seems like Madi-san is talking to herself, but I'm standing right here! Its this madwoman who is reading my thoughts from god knows where!
"You two are really close," Val-sama ughs while wistfully toying with her long sidetail, "... I wish me and Senior were the same."
"Ehhhh, but Annalie's great to be with!" Madi-san retorts, not believing that anyone would dislike the prank-loving Annalie. Well, Madi-san, you don't have to look any further, because your neighborhood detective right here isn't too fond of her! I bet Val-sama has been on the receiving end of one too many of Annalie's 'spicy hands' too!
"Not Nana-chi, but rather..."
"But rather who?"
That voice! It didn't come from either of the three of us, but from a sidepath within the gatehouse! Scanning my eyes for this familiar voice, I meet eyes with a pink-haired girl standing in the half-darkness!
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
"Well, Aya-chan's got the screamin' part of being a veetuba down!"
Long messy pink hair trailing behind her like a specter's shawl, her long bangs part naturally over the left side of her face. The only part of her hair that is done is a crown braid that adorns the back of her head. Half her face is obscured by the darkness, but I can make out the pink glint in her eyes well enough!
This time, Val-sama didn't ugh with us.
Instead, she deferentially lowers her head for a moment,
"Senior Oracion."
I couldn't see the face Val-sama was making when she put her head down, but when it came back up, the nature of her smile changed. Instead of the natural and vibrant smile she was sharing with us a few moments ago, what is pstered on can only be described a forced grimace.
"You've healed your injuries."
"Yes. And you?"
"Didn't have many. Annalie had a cast on the past month though."
"I... am sorry to hear that."
Val-sama shifts uncomfortably with her legs underneath her long skirt, like she had done something wrong.
Oracion has always been a girl of very little words. This exchange however was icy cold even by her standards! Suddenly I am reminded of how she treated me when we first met; she literally accused me of walking straight outta a shounen manga magazine and threw a dagger at my face!
In short, this autistic dork doesn't get along well with people.
"Did you say something, Ayano?"
The pink-haired one shifts her gaze over to me! Even in the half-shadow she hides herself in, I can visibly see the crosshair shaped irises glinting silver within her eyes! Just as I was about to raise my hands to repeat the words of a famous anime song, Madi-san stepped in between Oracion and us---
"Hurr durr, I'm the Baxman!"
...
...
...
wut?
Madi-san points right at Oracion, starting one of her continent-famous Frxnchwoman tirades,
"I'm going to speak in a deep voice, because its cool and edgy to do so!
Then I'll hide in the shadows to scare my friends,
maybe climb a gargoyle or two and hang upside down,
because that's what the Baxman would do!
What do you want, Oracion?! Huggies? Baneposting?!?!"
I don't know who this Baxman is, he probably isn't an /a/ character. I also don't think its a good idea to make Oracion mad, but just for safety (mine), I'll be hiding right behind you, Madi-san!
"... Madison Deroux."
There is no trace of emotion from Oracion, but Val-sama instead caught the full meaning of whatever drivel Madi-san spewed out and is holding Madi-san's shoulder to prop herself up while stifling 'ohohohos' with her other hand!
"I didn't know you knew Valerie."
"It's called networking, Oracion, maybe you should try veetubaing sometime!"
Okay, Madi-san, that's enough antagonizing Oracion for the day! You can see a visible vein pop up under those messy bangs of hers already! Besides, the idea that some evil pink woman with a killer's gre becoming a famous veetuba is about as impusible and hirious as those conspiracies that rattle around in your head!
...
Oracion closes her eyes.
Then opens them again.
Too bad, because Madi-san and I are still here!
Sighing outwardly, Oracion decides to pretend that we don't exist!
"Master just left the city, he left this for the two of us."
Flicking a small greeting card to Val-sama like a thrown pying card,
our golden-haired ojou-sama deftly catches it with three fingers,
opening it up with two curious onlookers on her side,
THE RESTORATIONIST FACTION
HUMBLY INVITES
VIRGINIA TORRES
TO A CHARITABLE NIGHT OF
FINE DINING, FRATERNITY AND
MUTUAL BENEFITS
Ah, a party invitation. How nice. That's very nice. I don't know what the 'Restorationist Faction' is, but that's an obviously fake and Old Continental name that's printed on there.
"Our idiot master wants us to investigate this pce tonight..."
Oracion flips open an identical copy of the invitation in her hand, but it is addressed to a "Misai Aguirs".
The names get more ridiculous with each one.
"Wait... these invitations aren't addressed to you two..."
"Of course they aren't, Ayano-dono." Val-sama tucks the invitation inside her deep blue bzer and pushes the side of her gsses up. "The Restorationists would have a fit if they found out that [Trono Palido] was investigating them."
This is getting more and more suspicious.
"Investigating? What are you investigating them for? Tax evasion?"
"Honestly, I have no idea either. But this isn't your business, Ayano---",
Oracion is cut off in mid-sentence,
"Its a conspiracy!!!"
There it is.
Madi-san's patented tagline. We can't go a visual novel arc without her shouting that line and having everything sucked into a whirlpool of her madness. Sometimes a charity dinner is just a charity dinner, Madi-san! Judging by how the [Trono Palido] girls have their eyes shrunk into dots now, I think they agree with me!
"Hmm hmm! But why would Avalon get you guys to creep around this party if they dindu nuffink?! tl;dr They're guilty! Of something...! There's GOT to be some sort of backwater deal happening that involves the trading of organs, somehow! There probably are ping pong tables in the basement!"
Can we... can we get a gag for this madwoman? One of those big red ones please!
"Why do your conspiracies have to be so outndish? Maybe they're just running a cabaret club and evading taxes..."
"Non non, that's too simple! What do you think this is, the plot of Yxkuza?!"
"Look, Madi-san, be reasonable. There are two invitations and four of us here." I try to py the sensible middle fence-sitting girl, but Madi-san being Madi-san has to have an answer for everything...
"So we'll sneak in! Problemo finito! You gusta?" Madi-san spreads her arms wide, hands open and fingers close; like she had just solved an unsolvable mathematics equation that involved finding the lower bound in the number of ways one could watch an anime with a jumbled broadcast order.
"Do we even get a say in this?" Oracion is quite flummoxed already, two arms hanging downwards in resignation.
"Non! It's OUR business now!"
Your business? OUR business!
That's how Madi-san rolls.
Get used to it, Oracion!
I get this ALL the time!
Even Val-sama started giggling again, but she was quickly silenced by a gre from her senior.
"... do as you wish. You won't get past the main gates anyway."
"You heard that, Aya-chan?! That's a 'yes'!"
As Oracion turns around to fade back into the darkness,
I realize that something was wrong.
"Wait... you all... Aren't going to a party dressed like that are you?"
Go Go And Learn Moonrunes With Aya-chan![1]sumimasen, すみません, it means 'I''m sorry', but obviously I am using it sarcastically here.
