Vol. 5 Ch. 1 Ep. 20: The Bard of Nature's Beauty 2

...Geez.

Don'tcha know it's rude to shoot at people with no warning? If it'd been someone else, they would've gotten hurt!

C'mon! I was in the middle of gloating.

You would think a teacher would know what manners are. Hm?

I won't let you do as you please.

Sensei and the Inner Discipline Club don't owe criminals who disturb Hyakkiyako's peace any manners.

We're proper ladies, and we'll protect our home no matter what.

Heck yeah!

You're up against the Inner Discipline Club now!

You three...

How admirable.

So loud with nothing worth saying...

You interrupted me right in the middle of my big speech!

Idiots like you with no respect for artistry or drama...

Are you really going to keep trying that? It's obviously not working.

I thought Hyakkaryouran's kitty cat would be a little smarter than that.

The Inner Discipline Club reminds me of our purpose. The Hyakkaryouran's duty is to protect Hyakkiyako against evil such as you.

No matter how fantastical or terrifying our enemy may be.

Renge, stop idling.

Y-You don't have to tell me! Geez!

Nagusa...

...

I've gathered that she is the mastermind behind this plot.

Yes. This inane behavior is befitting of that child.

I wouldn't say that twice, if I were you.

Don't threaten me. Why were our attacks ineffective?

Like I've been SAYING.

Ino's Phantom Records keeps me and all the monsters safe and sound. You couldn't give me a papercut if you tried.

Ah! Ayame could've though.

Let's see, let's see... Is Ayame here? Hm... I see a crybaby, an idiot, and a coward. What an ensemble! No Ayame though!

...

Hm.

It appears to me you are the cowardly one. Not Nagusa.

Maybe I should call you the mean one instead!

Well, if it makes you feel better, insult away!

Keep that cool, calm exterior while you panic on the inside.

The cast has gathered, and the curtains are drawn. You're already in the thick of it.

There's nothing you can do to stop my ghost story from reaching its conclusion.

Hahaha! You're finally asking the good stuff!

I'm a good person, so I'll answer you.

Everything I do is for my vision of elegance!

I'll create my own, beautiful ghost story! I am Nature's Beauty's glorious bard!

You sound so proud of such trivialities.

Perhaps you should find something better to fill your obviously immense amount of free time.

Aha.

Ahahaha!

Hahahahaha!

What the hell is so funny?

I'm laughing at your utter idiocy.

That's what you got out of that?

Do you think this is it? That my ghost story is a paltry handful of monsters and some fire?

You look down on me, but with such stupid, stupid eyes.

I've been here since the beginning. Creating, weaving, threading the inception of my stories.

You imbeciles didn't even see it coming. Still don't see it.

All it takes is one rumor here, another little whisper there.

Yup! Rumors! No one ever knows where they come from, but they get stuck in your head like a bad pop song.

You just need one person to believe it, to murmur it over breakfast to their fellow student.

Maybe just one naive little girl hearing about a succession contest?

Or maybe it was suggesting to a stupid girl going through an identity crisis that she should find her youth...

...M-Me?

Oh, another one! Another one!

Once upon a time, there was a mean, arrogant strategist who let herself get manipulated into believing the best thing to do for her precious underclassman was to send her far, far away.

"Every single thing that's happened here..."

How was any of this even possible?!

Well, it's all thanks to the arrival of our one and only Sensei.

Now then, surely you don't still think your arrival here was a coincidence.

"...The letter from Nature's Beauty to the Yin-Yang Club."

Got it! Ahahaha!

One thing I've learned about people is that they'll always act in their best self-interest.

But there's no such thing as happy endings, not in this world.

And they're so stupid they don't even realize they're walking towards disaster!

Ah, how unfortunate.

For you at least! This is a stupid and exhilarating story where the heroes all lose!

Hahaha! I have nothing but gratitude towards each and every one of you.

Thank you for being so stupid! Because now I can finally recreate the legends from twenty years ago.

They're here!

Kaede, behind me! Now!

O-Okay!

Try, try, try your hearts out. The die is already cast.

This is the climax of the story, the epitome of our elegance!

You see, I've finally chosen my leading actress for my story. All thanks to you.

You should be happy! You know her very, very well.

...Yukari? What did you do to her?

Y-Yukari?!

Heehee. Even you can put that much together!

Yes, Yukari. I have to thank you. After all, you were the ones who pushed her into isolation and loneliness, exposed her worst insecurities.

Your precious Yukari will be the focal point of my recreation of the Lantern Festival of twenty years past.

I can hardly contain my excitement... She will be the very personification of elegance.

She will be my greatest Phantom Fable!

You...just like...Ayame...

Well, this was fun. Bye-bye now!

"No! Stop! Get back here!"

It's futile.

The book is open. It won't close until the conclusion has been read.

That should be it for all the live stream equipment.

Let's see, what's next?

...A phone call? Oh, it's from the Yin-Yang Club.

Hello? Hello? ...They hung up?

Maybe it was a butt dial.

I'm going to go make sure all the recording equipment is ready, Pina, Umika! Can you do a last check on staging and props?

You can count on me, President.

I'll ensure everything is up to your standards, Boss!

You really need to stop calling me Boss!

Urgh! A-Anyways!

I'll be back, okay?

All right! We've got a lot to get done before midnight!

Let's do it, Pina!

At long last, my lady.

We will finally finish the story the Kadenokoujis began twenty years ago.

I'm so thrilled we are righting the family's history.

I can't help but to be curious... Twenty years ago...

I heard that a Kadenokouji miko was meant to conduct the ritual and dance, as I am today.

But misfortune befell the festival, and it was ruined.

Why? What happened?

Um... Well, it's all rather hush hush...

I'd like to know, please. After all, I now find myself in the same position they were all those years ago.

I can hardly argue that.

It happened so long ago, and you've embraced your role as our lady. I don't see why not.

As you said, the Kadenokouji family was meant to host the ritual twenty years ago.

The preparations were in place. But the day of the festival...

The Kadenokouji miko disappeared.

Perhaps they folded under the pressure and refused to attend.

...Or perhaps the many conflicts within the family got in the way.

We can only speculate on what exactly happened that day.

But the effects of it were certain. We have not had another miko since then.

That must've been...

Yes... It was unbelievable.

She brought dishonor upon the family. The Kadenokouji name and disgrace went hand-in-hand for a very long time.

...Disgrace?

Ah, but none of that matters anymore.

After all, tonight you will finally cleanse the Kadenokouji name.

That's why?

Hm?

The reason I'm to perform on stage, to endure all of this, is simply due to...

Ta-da! The stage is ready for you!

Right this way, Lady Kadenokouji!

Ah. It's time...

We're all counting on you, my lady! Please regain our honor!

Your performance will finally wash away the stain of disgrace from twenty years ago!

(This was the reasoning behind my presence here?)

(My presence here as a Kadenokouji miko was simply...for this?)

(Over an incident dating back twenty years ago...)

(I cannot comprehend it.)

Me, being here...

..Why am I here?

Poor, poor little Kadenokouji.

They claimed you were valued. You gave up everything you cared about for them. But all they wanted was to use you to clear the Kadenokouji name.

It could've been anyone. They don't care about you, as a person. Your suffering matters to them as much as a fly landing on their haori.

My heart bleeds for you! The tragedy!

All that pain, all that indignation...

Make them suffer, the way you have suffered.

I...