Infinite Stratos, Volume 5, page 8
“Which one, Dan?”
“Why’re you asking me?”
“C’mon, it’s just a game. Pick one.”
“Um, uhh... Red or blue... Red or blue...”
Hmm. The blue wire reminded me of Cecilia’s Blue Tears. The red... Houki’s Akatsubaki.
“Dan.”
“Huh?”
“Which do you prefer, blondes or brunettes?”
“Blondes, easy!”
“All right.” I clipped the blue wire. Immediately, an alarm screamed. “Whoops. Wrong one.”
“Dude! Why’d you cut the blue one? I hadn’t even decided!”
“You said you liked blondes, right?”
“How does that mean I picked blue?”
“Because of Blue Tears.”
“What the hell are you even talking about?”
As I tried to calm down Dan, I got a lollipop as a consolation prize. A lollipop? In high school? Uh, art club. Really?
“Phew, that worked up a sweat. Let’s go get something to drink, Ichika.”
“Huh? Oh, sure. Why don’t we go see Rin?”
“Her class is doing dim sum, right? Sounds great.”
There wasn’t much left to decide after that. We climbed the stairs and headed to Class 1-B.
“Welcome~!”
“Bwah! Rin, what are you doing?!”
“What’s Dan doing here?!”
“That qipao just looks wrong on you. And why on earth— GAH!” Dan was forcefully silenced, by a flung plate.
Wow... He took it right on the nose...
“Get out of here!”
“What the hell! That hurt! Why can’t you be like the cutie I just met?”
“Like who, now?”
“Hahaha. Like I’m gonna tell you.”
“Ichika, your pet moron is broken.”
“Don’t call me a moron.”
“I mean, she’s right.”
“Don’t agree with her!”
Eventually, the rest of Class B got sick of our triumvirate of old friends squabbling. We took our seats and opened our menus.
“So?”
“So, what?”
“So how’s it going with Rin? C’mon, tell me!”
“Dude, what are you talking about? And what did you mean about the ‘cutie you just met’?”
“Man, that lady was adorable.”
“Lady? Not girl?”
“Well, I think she was older than us.”
“Oh really.”
“Don’t you know her?”
“Who?”
Sometimes I really didn’t understand him.
“Here’s your WATER!”
“Whoa! What’s gotten into you, Rin? You don’t need to slam it down.”
“Yeah.”
“Shut up, Dan, or I’m gonna slam you down.”
“Chill... Didn’t you see that TV show? You’re a cadet. It’d kill me.”
“It sure would. So you’d better watch your mouth.”
“Hahahaha. Good one.”
“I wasn’t joking. Jeez.”
We continued to chat until my phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Where are you, Ichika? All of the customers keep complaining that you’re gone. Can you hurry up and get back here?”
Charl’s frustration was beginning to show in her voice. If that was where she was at, I really had no choice.
“Sorry, I’ll be right there. I’m in the next room over, so it should be quick.”
“Okay. Thanks.” After I hung up, I told Dan and Rin that I’d be leaving.
“Get back to work, butler.”
“Yeah, you heard her.”
“Don’t need that from you, Dan.”
Somehow, this really reminded me of my middle school days. We spent so much time together then... Ah well, that was enough nostalgia. I returned to Class A’s room.
“Oh, there you are, Ichika. Good timing. They’re waiting for a game at Table 3. And can you drop this order off at Table 4 on the way?” Charl passed me a tray as I walked into the room.
“Sure. Where’d Tatenashi go?”
“She said she had student council stuff and left.”
How irresponsible...
“Anyway! It’s a mess here, so get to work!”
“Roger!”
I rushed from table to table.
“My apologies for the wait, madam.”
“Squee! It’s Orimura!”
“Let’s play a game!”
“I ordered the reward set! Sit down!”
I glanced around the room and saw that the others were popular too. Especially Laura, who was usually so unapproachable but in her maid’s uniform was getting called around the room to play games. This is pretty hard work, honestly... I’d gotten overheated as I worked, and began to roll my sleeves up.
“Ichika! No modifying your uniform.”
Houki snapped at me as she carried a tray. She was tied with Charl for second-most-popular, probably because of just how unusual the idea of her dressing as a maid was.
“Houki? Why can’t I?”
“You just can’t. You don’t wear something like that very often, so wear it right when you do.”
“What? Do you like seeing me in it?”
“What are you talking about?! I-I just want you to do your job properly!”
“I was joking.”
“What?!”
“Problem?”
“Hmph! Whatever!” Houki fluffed her skirt and stalked back toward the kitchen. I wondered what set her off.
All right! Just gotta keep at it! An hour of hard work later, I was finally done being pinballed around.
“Good job today, Orimura.”
“You too, Takatsuki.”
Takatsuki Shizune, one of the harder-working students in the class, had put in a lot of effort today.
“Why not take a break? We need to do a bunch of prep before reopening, anyway.”
“You sure?”
“An hour or so should be fine. C’mon, here’s your chance to check out the school festival with a girl.”
Just as I was about to take her up on her offer, I felt a yank on my arm. W-What was going on?
“So true! Let’s go, Ichika!” Cecilia had spun me around.
Charl, watching us, yelled for the first time in what felt like forever, “Agh! No fair, Cecilia! Ichika, bring me along too!
“W-Wait! I’ll come too, then!” Houki shoved her way in, with a terrifying look in her eyes.
“Let’s go, Ichika.” Laura was already ready to leave.
Umm... It’s gonna be a mess dragging this many people around... Wait, I know! A lightbulb went off over my head and I said, “We’ve got around ten minutes free time for each of you, so why not split it up that way?”
“So we’d each...”
“Get alone time...”
“With Ichika?”
“...Not bad.”
Cecilia, Charl, Houki, and Laura were each nodding. I couldn’t hear exactly what they were whispering to each other, but it seemed like they were down with it.
“So, who goes first?”
“Let’s do rock-paper-scissors!”
They began to play to choose their order. That was quick!
“Three!”
Three had paper. The remaining one had scissors. Charl giggled. Her smile at getting to go first matched the first scissors, now V-sign, of her fingers.
◇
“The cooking club?”
“Yeah. I heard they’re making traditional Japanese cuisine, and I’ve been wanting to learn how.”
“Makes sense. You’re a good cook.”
I’d gotten to try plenty of her lunches, and she always did a great job at bringing out the flavor of the food rather than overpowering it—which was how I liked my meals. I hope she learns it so I get to try her take on Japanese cooking.
“Mm. I’ll have to make it for you sometime.”
“Really? Thanks.” As we spoke, we made our way to the room the cooking club was using. “Wow, they really went all-out.”
They had snacks and side dishes on sale. Mountains of them. A row of plates had everything from beef stew to oden, salads, stews, and barbecue all lined up. All of them looked so good that I felt myself begin to drool.
“So this is Japanese beef stew?”
“Yeah. Making it used to be a vital skill for a housewife.”
“Huh. Why was that?”
“Boys used to get taught to pick a wife who made good stew. I’m not quite sure why.”
“A-A wife?! Hmm... I guess...”
Charl must have been surprised by my explanation, as she spent a few seconds staring at the stew. I was distracted from thinking that she must have wanted to try it by the arrival of the cooking club’s president.
“Oh, Orimura! And Dunois! I heard all about when you used to present as a guy.”
“Oh, hi.”
“Hi.”
“So, what are you two doing? On a date? Have the butler and maid snuck away for a private rendezvous? Don’t worry, I’m not jealous. I’ve got no beef with you— Get it? Beef? Like the stew?”
Ooh! I think I like this person. I was just about to make the same kind of joke, but she beat me to it, and that didn’t just open up the conversation, it put us a triple-jump closer together.
“You were about to say something silly, weren’t you, Ichika.”
How could she tell?
“Anyway, dig in! It’s free this time. As long as you let me get a picture. And maybe vote for us?”
Already playing dirty, I see.
“No, that’s fine, we’ll pay.” That’s Charl for you. Always doing the right thing.
“Anyway, um. The beef stew, right?”
“Yes, please.”
The club president ladled a bowlful from a chafing dish and handed to Charl. I ordered the same thing, and we began to eat.
“Ooh. This is...”
“This is great, Ichika.”
“Yeah, it’s great.”
It was flavorful, without being too heavy. The kind of thing people meant when they said ‘braised perfectly.’ I wished I had some rice to go with it.
“It really is good.”
“For this, we used a pressure cooker. It doesn’t just speed up the cook time, it also improves the flavor.”
Charl listened intently to the club president as we enjoyed our meal. She asked, “A pressure cooker, huh. Any other tricks I should know?”
The club president laughed, “That’s the chef’s secret. If you want to know more, you should join our club.”
“The cooking club, huh... Ichika, you like it when I cook good things, right?”
“Huh? Of course I do. It’s important to enjoy your meals.” Dining is almost its own flavor of salvation. It’s something I thought I’d read somewhere.
“Oh, I see. Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Ehehehe.”
For some reason, Charl was grinning as she stuffed the last of her stew into her cheeks. This really is good. I think I’ll finish mine, too.
And with that, my break with Charl was over.
◇
“You’re late!” An eyepatched maid—Laura—was already waiting for me in the hall with her arms crossed. “You’re never punctual, are you.”
“Come on. Do you want to use up all your time just complaining?”
“Well... That wouldn’t be good...”
“Hey, you wanted to see the tea ceremony club, right? Let’s get going.”
“D-Don’t hold my hand!” Laura’s face seemed a little bit red as she brushed my hand away.
“Huh? Oh, sorry.”
“Well, um... Actually... If you want to, I guess you can?”
“Huh? C’mon, let’s go.”
“.........”
Smack. A karate chop caught me under the ribs. Why...
“Hello. Come in— Oh! It’s Orimura! Can I take a picture?”
Why did people want to take pictures everywhere I went? I didn’t get it. Maybe photography was more fun than I thought.
“We’re doing trial classes in matcha. Here, this will be your tea room.”
“Ooh, tatami mats. You really went all the way with it.”
Much like the cooking club, the tea ceremony club had done amazing work with their room. I guess after how much effort people from all over the world put in just to be admitted to IS Academy, it made sense.
“Please, sit down.”
Laura and I both took off our shoes and kneeled on the tatami.
“A butler and a maid in a tea room is certainly quite the sight.”
“Hmph. What are you, so worried about clothing? A girl?”
“What, like you weren’t about to melt into the floor when Chifuyu laughed at how you looked in it?”
“Shut up! She’s a different story!”
I savored the memory of Chifuyu, who’d come to check up on the class, cracking up laughing when she saw Laura. At that moment, the hardened soldier looked more like a young conscript sent out to the front lines with a water pistol. But if I said that, she’d be mad, so I stayed quiet.
“Don’t worry about the formalities. Just enjoy.”
“Ah, thanks.”
The club president, wearing a kimono, smiled at Laura and I as she handed us teacakes. I took mine, took a bite, and savored the sweet white bean paste spreading across my tongue.
“These are good.”
“Mm...”
Laura stared, perplexed, at her teacake rather than eating it.
“Is something wrong?”
“H-How am I supposed to eat this?”
The face drawn on the teacake rabbit was adorable. Laura stared at it, squinting, and I wondered whether it was saying to her ‘Eat me!’ or ‘Let me go!’ Judging by her expression, she was leaning toward the former.
“Laura.”
“W-What?!”
“If you don’t eat it, you can’t have your tea.”
“Ugh...”
Prodded along, she came to a decision and swallowed the rabbit in a single bite. She probably didn’t want to see a half-rabbit with toothmarks.
“Mmm. Japanese sweets are delicious.”
Weren’t you just conflicted a moment ago? A look of satisfaction spread over her face as she savored the teacake.
“Here you are.”
Mugs of matcha were then placed in front of us.
“Otemae itadakimasu. Thank you.”
After bowing, we picked up our mugs, swirled them twice, and raised them to our lips. The unique bitterness of matcha filled our mouths, blending perfectly with the sweet aftertaste of the teacakes. The tea left a clean, refreshed feeling in my throat, and both Laura and I let out sighs of satisfaction after drinking.
“Kekkou na otemae de. That was exquisite.”
Repeating the standard words of the ceremony, we bowed again. Normally, we would have spent some time contemplating the empty mugs, but the point of this was less the full ceremony and more just enjoying the tea.
“You’re welcome back anytime.” With that, the club president saw us out of the room.
“That was really good.”
“Mm. Yes, it was. Japanese culture is fascinating.”
“If you’re so fascinated by it, why don’t you try Japanese clothing?”
“Japanese clothing, huh. That’s right, I don’t think I’ve done that.”
I imagined Laura in Japanese clothing. Her flowing silver hair tied up in the traditional manner as she was wrapped in a kimono... Seemed like it would look good on her.
“Would you like to see it?”
“I guess. At least once, to see how it looks on you.”
“Oh!” A rare smile glittered from Laura’s face. When she realized what she looked like, she suddenly spun away from me.
“Well, at least if you ever get the chance.”
“Sure.”
That concluded my break with Laura.
◇
“Hey, Cecilia, you play the violin, right?”
“Yes. The piano somewhat, as well.”
“I’m amazed. I wish I could do that, but I couldn’t even learn kendo.”
“Then—”
Cecilia tugged my arm. She was pointing to a classroom with a sign reading ‘Brass Band - Try an Instrument’ over its door.
“Why not give it a try? Why, I could even help you in your lessons!”
“Do you think we have time? I don’t know how to read music.”
“Music comes from the heart, not from a sheet of paper!”
That was a good line.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Hey, hey, you don’t have to pull me that hard!”
As we opened the door, we saw the leader, apparently having given up for the day, maintaining an instrument in the center of the room. She worked a valve up and down repeatedly, as if trying to ensure it was fully greased.
“Um...”
It felt bad to distract her. As I thought that, though, the brass band leader noticed we were there and her face peeked up, “Ooh! Ooh! Our sixth visitor today! Right this way! Wait, is that you, Orimura? Can I take a picture?”
“Go right ahead.”
“All right!”
Her phone sounded out merrily as she snapped the shutter, and she stared at the screen grinning for a few moments before Cecilia cleared her throat, “So! Which instruments may we try?”
“Hmm. Anything we’ve got! I’d recommend the French horn. I love the shape of it, how it coils back in on itself.”
“C-Coils?”
“Anyway, Ichika, go right ahead!”
She fitted a mouthpiece to the horn she’d been tuning, and handed it to me. Taking it, I was surprised at just how heavy it felt in my arms.
“How do you hold this?”
“Place your right hand here, with your thumb wrapped around. And stuff your left hand into here.”
“Like this?” That seemed like a really awkward way to hold it, but apparently it was what you were supposed to do.
“Now blow into it.”
At her prompting, I blew as hard as I could, “Pfft! Pfft!”
It made no noise...
“Hmm, try pressing your mouth against the mouthpiece, like this.” The leader pressed on her lips to demonstrate.
