“Did you… just peer into my heart? F-fufu… what an amusing joke. Don’t think you can deceive me so easily. Answer honestly. That was merely a random guess, was it not?”
Rather than speaking to Meiko, Kuwajima turned directly toward me, her voice carrying a strange mixture of suspicion and excitement.
Well, “peering into her heart” was a bit inaccurate.
A hallucination had simply popped up, that was all.
──────
Inner Thoughts:
“N-no, it was just a coincidence, right? Wait… seriously? Can he actually hear me? H-hold on. If he really can hear me, then umm, umm… your mom has an outie bellybutton!”
──────
“My mother doesn’t have an outie bellybutton. Picking a fight with my mother takes courage, Kuwajima.”
“H-hwoaaaaaah?!”
Kuwajima let out a shriek so intense it sounded as though her emotions had exploded past their limit.
Immediately, the surrounding students turned toward us, drawn by the commotion.
Under the weight of countless curious stares, Kuwajima glared sharply at me.
“You have piqued my interest. Come. This is no time to waste oneself on lectures. There are matters I wish to discuss with you.”
Those words caused a noticeable stir among the onlookers—Meiko included.
According to Meiko, Kuwajima had become famous almost overnight due to her extraordinary beauty, yet just as famous for never opening her heart to anyone. She had become something distant and untouchable, a flower admired from afar.
So hearing that girl openly say she wanted to talk with a specific male student was enough to send waves through the crowd.
However, I merely checked the time.
“I refuse.”
“…Hweh?”
Kuwajima made a bewildered noise, as though the very possibility of rejection had never once occurred to her.
But from the perspective of common sense, refusing was the obvious choice.
“Kuwajima. Ordinary people don’t skip lectures merely because someone says, ‘I wish to speak with you for a moment.’ University students attend university in order to attend lectures. As an ordinary human being, I prioritize class over your conversation. Whatever you wish to discuss can wait until afterward.”
“Eh… ah?”
“Ahh… yep. That’s definitely Gouto-kun, alright.”
If the fate of the world or the lives of many people had been at stake, then perhaps it would have been different.
But prioritizing Kuwajima’s mood over a lecture wasn’t normal behavior.
Class was starting in only five minutes.
And so, leaving behind the utterly stunned Kuwajima, I headed toward the classroom for my next lecture.
Behind me, I could hear Meiko hurriedly trying to smooth things over with Kuwajima.
As expected of my childhood friend.
I entrusted the rest to her while I went off to attend class like a perfectly ordinary student.
Because I was, after all, an utterly ordinary college student one could find anywhere.
As usual, I selected the seat at the very back beside the window.
Ninety minutes passed.
After properly concentrating on the lecture the entire time, I found myself wondering what had become of Kuwajima.
But before I could make any effort to seek her out myself, she came stomping directly toward me instead.
“I have awaited this moment for countless ages! Now then — you’re prepared to journey to Valhalla, are you not?!”
Valhalla was the hall in Norse mythology where warriors went after death.
Why exactly was I being invited to the afterlife?
Was this some elaborate way of threatening to kill me?
“Meiko.”
“In Kumamoto dialect, that means, ‘I’ve been waiting forever. Let’s hurry and go already.’”
“You’re a lifesaver.”
The words of Kuwajima Taeko, a chuunibyou sufferer from Kumamoto, contained many mysteries.
Fortunately, however, I possessed a dependable “childhood friend.”
There would be no trouble as long as I had her to translate.
Really, childhood friends were superior to hallucinations in every conceivable way.
Hallucinations only popped up occasionally and were completely useless in human relationships.
Honestly, I wished they would disappear already.
──────
“Kuwajima Taeko”
Friends: 0
──────
There was no need for the hallucinations to show me depressing information like that.
Since Kuwajima wanted to talk, we did what we usually did and asked Meiko to guide us somewhere secluded.
According to her:
“The number-one hidden spot became a tourist attraction after the Holy Sword incident, but because of that, the other spots are emptier now. So it’s got pros and cons.”
Incidentally, the university administration was currently trying to remove the Holy Sword because they considered it dangerous.
Unfortunately for them, the thing refused to budge no matter what they tried, and they were apparently at their wits’ end.
Taketsuru really needed to do something about that.
Following Meiko’s lead, we eventually arrived behind some random lecture building, dragging along a visibly nervous Kuwajima.
The place was little more than a strange dead zone packed with old outdoor AC units that rattled noisily without pause.
A perfect hidden corner.
And there, for the time being, we decided to begin with introductions.
“I’m Kirishiro Gouto. As you can plainly see, I’m a completely ordinary college student one could find anywhere.”
“I’m Nekoyanagi Meiko. Gouto-kun’s ‘childhood friend.’ Nice to meet you.”
For some reason, Kuwajima tilted her head slightly at my self-introduction.
But only until her own turn arrived.
With an exaggerated flourish of her cloak-like sleeves, she dramatically declared:
“My true name is ‘Goetheschwarz Sanzen Sanbyaku Sanjuuin’! I shall grant you the honor of speaking it!”
“No, your name is Kuwajima Taeko. What are you talking about?”
“Uguuuuhhhhhh…!”
The moment I pointed that out, Kuwajima began shaking her head repeatedly with tears practically forming in her eyes.
──────
Inner Thoughts:
“Every time I try to introduce myself as Kuwajima Taeko, ‘Sanzenin’ just comes flying out of my mouth on its ownnnn!!”
──────
It seemed the symptoms of the curse were more severe than I had initially imagined.
Perhaps it was some kind of curse that restricted her speech and behavior itself.
For now, we decided we would continue calling her “Kuwajima.”
“So then, Kuwajima. There’s one thing I want to confirm first. Are you actually cursed?”
Well, regardless of everything else, it was best to verify the facts directly with the person involved.
“!? K-kukuku… To think there exists one in this world capable of perceiving the shackles engraved upon my soul. Indeed. At present, countless curses suppress the majority of my power. Even the words that escape my lips are tainted by malediction, and the influence of the seal prevents them from ever reaching the purity of true speech. Though naturally, even in such a diminished state, I remain overwhelmingly powerful.”
“Meiko.”
“In Kumamoto dialect, I think that means, ‘Yes, I’m cursed and can’t speak normally. It doesn’t massively interfere with daily life, but…’ Damn, she’s actually cursed…”
“Indeed. A hateful shackle.”
Apparently, Kuwajima herself was fully aware of her condition.
Still, it was genuinely impressive how Meiko could decipher the true meaning hidden inside Kuwajima’s absurd ramblings.
As expected of her overwhelming insight.
“Then let me ask bluntly… Have you been thinking that if this curse can’t be removed, you might as well die?”
“!? K-kukuku… You rush too eagerly toward the truth. The light that seeks to illuminate reality may at times devour all things more savagely than darkness itself.”
“In Kumamoto dialect: ‘That’s kind of hard to answer when you ask so suddenly, but… yes, I do think like that sometimes.’”
The “Curse of Chuunibyou” sounded ridiculous on paper.
But for the person actually suffering beneath it, there was nothing funny about it at all.
Despite her over-the-top speech, the feelings underneath were painfully sincere.
As Meiko and I quietly absorbed the weight of that realization, Kuwajima hesitantly continued.
“…You believe my words? Even across endless ages, not once has there appeared one capable of understanding my true intentions. Why, then, can you trust what I say? Every insignificant fool who approached me before could neither perceive the curse corroding my existence nor speak of anything beyond their desire for my body.”
Even without a translator, I could more or less understand what she meant.
After all, I had personally witnessed yesterday’s pickup attempt.
No one believed her.
And the only men who approached her were shallow people after her appearance.
Well, considering the way she spoke, that outcome was hardly surprising.
If my hallucinations hadn’t suddenly begun displaying things like “Curse of Chuunibyou,” I too would have dismissed her as merely a beautiful but deranged woman speaking nonsense.
Perhaps some people had pretended to humor her, but they had never successfully hidden the ulterior motive of wanting to get close to her.
And little by little, Kuwajima had fallen into distrust of humanity itself.
Eventually, she began longing for someone who would respond even to her inner thoughts—
Someone who would understand the feelings she truly wished to convey.
And so she closed her heart.
If I had to say one thing to her in response, then it would be this:
“To be honest, I still think this sounds incredibly stupid, but the hallucinations say otherwise.”
“Hall… ucinations…?”
“Wait, Gouto-kun. If she shuts herself off again, this’ll become a disaster, so let me explain first.”
Meiko immediately activated what could only be described as an Advisor Stop.
And so I was forced to stand there silently while Meiko carefully explained my hallucinations to Kuwajima instead.
Meanwhile, despite me doing absolutely nothing—
The hallucinations continued popping up on their own anyway.
We don’t use ads!
If you enjoyed our translation, please consider buying us a cup…
Thanks!!!
Become a Patron!
We don’t use ads!
If you enjoyed our translation, please consider buying us a cup…
Thanks!!!
Become a Patron!