Chapter 18: Everything Shall Be as Your Grace Wills It
“Fshaaaah!!”
“Easy there, easy…”
After crying once, Kuwajima had become like a feral stray cat with its guard fully raised. Beside her, Meiko was desperately trying to calm her down like an experienced animal trainer soothing a cornered beast.
At this rate, holding a proper conversation with Kuwajima was going to be difficult.
A shame, really.
I had only just confirmed that vague, half-hearted criticism wouldn’t be enough to shatter her heart. From here on, I’d been planning to carefully, methodically break down her emotional defenses one piece at a time.
“…You were seriously planning to keep going?” Taketsuru muttered.
“You were the one who said that was the only way to save her.”
“Ahh, well, I mean… yeah, but…”
Taketsuru’s response lacked conviction.
He wore the face of a man struggling with whether or not he should say what was on his mind.
When I silently urged him to continue, he finally spoke with an awkward look.
“I probably should’ve said this from the start, but… if we already know she’s cursed, shouldn’t we just go to a temple or shrine or something?”
“What are you talking about, Taketsuru?”
“…Why are you saying that like I’m the weird one?”
Taketsuru had suddenly started spouting complete nonsense, so I corrected him with a weary sigh.
“Listen carefully, Taketsuru. A perfectly ordinary college student intentionally doesn’t choose the option that’s obviously the correct answer. Even if they witness an assault, they don’t call the police. Even if they find a girl covered in blood, they don’t take her to a hospital. For some reason, they insist on handling everything themselves. That is what true normalcy looks like. Therefore, if there is a cursed woman before us, naturally we should avoid going to a shrine or temple.”
“I get what you’re trying to say, but you’re insane.”
Taketsuru glared at me in disbelief.
Just because he’d come back from another world, he thought he could say whatever he wanted.
Of course I understood, logically speaking, that the right answer was probably “call the police” or “go to the hospital.”
But that wasn’t how this worked.
If a mysterious beautiful girl collapsed in front of you and whispered, “Please… don’t tell anyone…” with her dying breath, then you had to stay quiet.
And if you did call an ambulance, she’d already be gone by the time it arrived anyway, making the entire effort meaningless.
It was frustrating, but unavoidable.
“So then what? If we’re not going to a temple, are we seriously going with Plan B and helping Kuwajima fully embrace her chuuni phase until she’s satisfied?”
“…Looks like that’s our only option.”
Meiko silently shook her head beside us, clearly invoking another Advisor Stop.
Which meant further emotional destruction of Kuwajima was currently prohibited.
Reluctantly, I turned toward the still-wary Kuwajima and apologized.
“Kuwajima. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I sincerely apologize.”
“…Hmph! As if the words of a mere mongrel like you could shake my heart. However… if you bow your head and repent before me, then perhaps… perhaps I may acknowledge that your earlier words stemmed from concern for my well-being. A fragment’s worth, at least.”
“In Kumamoto dialect, that means ‘It’s okay.’”
“!?”
Meiko.
Were you getting lazy with the translations?
Kuwajima shot her an incredulous stare, but whatever. The important thing was that she’d forgiven me.
That was enough.
“Now then, back to the main issue. Kuwajima, what exactly would make you satisfied? At what point could we say you’ve truly ‘completed’ your chuuni phase? Because it feels like resolving the curse depends entirely on that.”
“…………”
No one had an answer.
Not me.
Not Meiko.
Not even Kuwajima herself.
When asked directly what would finally satisfy her, she couldn’t come up with a response.
Chuuni syndrome was surprisingly difficult to define.
If there was no clear goal line, then the only thing left was to keep climbing endlessly upward.
Still, after thinking quietly for a while, Kuwajima finally muttered:
“There is… perhaps one possibility. Should the dormant power sealed within me finally awaken, perhaps then I shall come to understand the meaning of my birth. My raison d’être may at last be fulfilled, and my soul ascend unto a higher plane.”
“In Kumamoto dialect, she says, ‘If I could use even one special ability or power or something… maybe I’d finally feel satisfied.’”
“I see.”
That actually made sense.
According to Meiko, chuuni syndrome often stemmed from those kinds of desires in the first place.
The fantasy that your true self was special.
That there was hidden power sleeping inside you.
That you were destined for something greater than ordinary life.
And now that she’d witnessed Taketsuru casually using actual magic, it had reignited that longing inside her.
…Did this woman seriously have any intention of graduating from chuuni syndrome at all?
Just as I thought that, the hallucination popped up again, perfectly timed as always.
──────
『Kuwajima Taeko』
Hidden Power: None
Latent Potential: None
Magical Aptitude: None
Otherworld Compatibility: None
Miscellaneous Traits: Nothing noteworthy
──────
“Kuwajima. You have no talent. None whatsoever. No powers, no magic, no hidden abilities, no isekai compatibility. The message says to look elsewhere.”
“Ugyuuuhhh?!”
The verdict was devastatingly absolute.
Kuwajima possessed absolutely nothing special.
Beside me, Meiko looked at her with pity-filled eyes.
Well, Meiko also had “No Otherworld Compatibility,” so perhaps she sympathized.
Now then.
With Kuwajima’s “hidden power awakening” route effectively destroyed, we needed another strategy.
“…Fine. Then we’ll try something else.”
“Fweh?”
I made my decision.
“We’ll go all-in on hyping Kuwajima up.”
The next day, a trio clad entirely in black strode dramatically across the campus of our humble university.
At the center walked a stunning beauty in an elegant black dress.
Flanking her on both sides were a man and woman dressed in matching black suits and sunglasses.
To outside observers, we likely resembled a wealthy young heiress escorted by elite bodyguards.
Naturally, whispers spread throughout campus in our wake.
After analyzing the reactions around us, I determined the comments included things like:
“What the hell is that?”
“Chuuni syndrome?”
“Cosplay?”
“Some kind of event?”
“…Wait, isn’t that Cat-yan? What’s she doing?”
Incidentally, “Cat-yan” was apparently one of Meiko’s nicknames among her friends.
Yes, Meiko actually had friends besides me.
Very admirable.
“Gouto-kun… I’m dying from embarrassment right now.”
“Why, Meiko?”
“The fact that you’re asking why is exactly the problem.”
“What is there to be embarrassed about? This is simply our proper form. Adjust your mindset accordingly.”
“…Do you maybe just not possess shame?”
Behind us walked the beautiful woman.
Meanwhile, the suited man and woman—namely me and Meiko—held our conversation as we escorted her.
At present, we were the loyal servants and blades of devotion belonging to the jet-black beauty known as Sanzensanzen’in Goetheschwarz-sama.
We existed solely to shield her from the world’s scorn and ensure she could continue living as her true self.
To that end, we would devote ourselves completely as manifestations of unconditional support.
The gazes of curiosity stabbing into us from every direction were fierce, but none of that mattered.
Everything we did was for the sake of Sanzensanzen’in Goetheschwarz-sama.
Therefore, all shame was nullified.
A flawless formation.
We protected Goetheschwarz-sama’s heart, and in return, Goetheschwarz-sama protected ours.
A perfect mutual defense system.
“No matter what anyone says, this is for Goetheschwarz-sama,” was the core principle behind the No Damage Theory.
“My servant.”
“Hah! Did you call for me, my lady?!”
“…………”
The moment her voice reached me, I instantly spun around and dropped to one knee.
Looking up, I saw Sanzensanzen’in Goetheschwarz-sama glaring at us in complete silence, her face crimson red from either rage or unbearable embarrassment.
Hmm.
Hallucination.
Interpret Her Ladyship’s divine thoughts for me.
──────
『Sanzensanzen’in Goetheschwarz-sama』
Inner Thoughts:
“This is so humiliating I could literally die!! Does this actually have a point?! It does, right?!”
──────
“Meiko! Our lady says she is ‘dying from embarrassment!’ Your half-hearted attitude is clearly the problem! Show proper dedication!”
“Seriously?”
Having deciphered our mistress’s heart, I immediately reprimanded Meiko.
At first glance, it almost sounded as though Goetheschwarz-sama was embarrassed by the entire situation itself—
but if that were true, our plan would collapse completely.
Therefore, such an interpretation was unacceptable.
Goetheschwarz-sama violently shook her head back and forth, but I interpreted this as righteous fury directed toward Meiko’s lack of commitment.
How merciful. How noble.
Deeply moved by her benevolence, I lowered myself fully into a respectful bow.
Naturally, in the middle of a crowded university campus.
The countless stares around us intensified even further, but again—
everything was for Sanzensanzen’in Goetheschwarz-sama.
Therefore, I remained completely immune to psychological damage.
Meanwhile, Goetheschwarz-sama trembled silently from head to toe.
──────
Inner Thoughts:
“This is mortifying beyond belief!!!!! Why am I being subjected to this humiliation?! Why?! If nothing comes of this, I’m going to kill you and then kill myself too!!”
──────
How strange.
We had just established that such a thing could not possibly be the case.
Maintaining my role as the loyal servant who had dared interpret his master’s heart, I respectfully addressed her directly.
“All of this was decided by Your Ladyship herself. Was it not written within the ‘Book of Truth’ you left behind—that this is your genuine form? Everything unfolds according to your sacred will.”
“I should have burned it all! I should never have loosened the thorns of rejection! Across tens of thousands of possible futures, this servant has proven himself the single most troublesome man of them all! I should have sought salvation from the Buddha insteadtttt!!”
At last, Sanzensanzen’in Goetheschwarz-sama clutched her head, on the verge of tears.
…How odd.
I was only acting with perfect loyalty.
Exactly as described in the “Chuuni Notebook” Meiko had discovered—
faithfully portraying the role of the devoted familiar serving Sanzensanzen’in Goetheschwarz.
“…I should’ve run away with Taketsuru-kun.”
“Futile, Meiko. There is nowhere for you to escape. In the end, you will always return to my side.”
“I really didn’t want to hear a yandere line like that in public…”
Incidentally, Taketsuru had fled before the strategy meeting even ended, saying:
“Welp, time for my part-time job.”
A truly cold-hearted man.