"Dekomori Sanae?"
Sato calmly scanned the terminally delusional blonde twin-tail. The name sounded nice… but the girl clearly didn't have all her screws tightened.
"So... don't tell me you were actually doing all this with them?"
He turned to look at Shouko Nishimiya, who fell silent with a shy look.
Honestly, she did feel a bit embarrassed by what was going on, but since everyone else in the clubroom had taken it seriously, she went along with it too.
And to be fair… it was kind of fun. She'd never experienced anything like this before.
Her gaze met Sato's. He let out a helpless sigh and gave a slight nod.
"Hmph!"
"We were doing nothing boring! This is a very serious ritual, death!"
Dekomori bared her teeth at him defiantly.
"A ritual?"
Sato's eyes drifted to the figure lying inside the glowing hexagram. Even after all the noise, she remained fast asleep.
He crouched down for a closer look and noticed the tie on her chest, she was wearing a senior student uniform.
"She's an upperclassman?"
"MMmmm. I'm Tsuyuri Kumin , nice to meet you!"
Just as he asked, a sleepy voice replied from beside him.
"?!"
Sato jumped a little, surprised to see the girl rubbing her eyes and sitting up.
"When did you wake up?"
"Hmm? Just now... when you were talking."
The short-haired upperclassman yawned, then picked up a soft, fluffy pillow and nuzzled it blissfully.
"Mmm... Arigato~"
...Was she thanking the pillow?
She seemed like a harmless airhead, Sato thought.
Then Kumin suddenly looked at him curiously.
"Are you here to join the Nap Club too?"
"No, you're mistaken."
Sato shook his head lightly, then glanced out the window. The sky was already tinged with the colors of sunset.
It's practically evening… that nap may have gone a bit too far.
"Ehh? What a shame!"
Kumin sighed in disappointment.
Crash!
"You brat! When are you giving my book back?!"
At that moment, the door to the Far Eastern Magical Nap Society of Summer burst open, and in stormed a furious girl.
That little delusional freak!
Nibutani Shinka's expression was dark as she shoved open the clubroom door. But the moment her eyes landed on Sato, her beautiful face froze and her expression turned stiff.
Why is there someone else here?!
No one else should've been in this club. The name alone was enough to scare any sane person away!
The two locked eyes.
Silence fell over the room.
Suddenly!
Dekomori leapt behind Sato, peeking out warily from behind his back. She whispered to him with a serious face,
"I hereby acknowledge your status as Master's second servant. As the first servant, I command you to stop that imposter and protect the Mabinogion, death!"
Mabinogion? What now?
Sato frowned slightly at the delusional girl tugging on his shirt from behind.
Then, he turned to look at the girl who had stormed in.
She was still in cheer squad practice clothes, with her bangs pinned by a pink hair clip. Her long, light brown hair flowed down to her waist, tied into a short side ponytail, radiating youthful energy.
From her appearance alone, Sato couldn't quite tell what year she was in, but since she was here, she was probably in the same grade.
The girl glared though not at him, but at the delusional twin-tail behind him.
"What's the Mabinogion?"
Sato quietly asked Dekomori.
"Hmph! The Mabinogion is the ultimate tome left to me by Mori Summer-sama! Only the most powerful archmages can comprehend its secrets… it's the last legacy she left behind…"
Dekomori declared proudly, then seeing Sato still look confused, sighed and said,
"Fine, I'll let you take a peek."
She lifted a flap of her clothing, reached inside, and pulled out a small black notebook, handing it to Sato.
Sato: "?!"
Where the hell were you keeping that?!
He hesitated, unsure if he even wanted to touch it.
Dekomori frowned. "Didn't you say you wanted to see the Mabinogion, death?"
This guy's so weird! Does he want to see it or not?!
After a brief moment of indecision, Sato finally took the notebook from her.
It was still warm to the touch.
"Wait! What are you doing?!"
Just then, the storming girl noticed what was happening. She glanced over, saw the notebook, and immediately froze in horror.
Her expression changed drastically the moment she saw Sato start to open it.
"Wait! No! Don't!"
But it was too late…
Sato had already flipped it open and was reading the neatly written lines inside:
"Though I have lost my memories, I truly have lived for 1,500 years. For four hundred years, I have observed the hearts of men through the tides of time. I, who have been watching over this world for more than four centuries, alone understand. This is the story I recorded, guided by the faeries. My name is... Mori Summer!"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Like a volcano finally erupting, a blood-curdling scream tore through the Far Eastern Magical Nap Society of Summer's clubroom.
Adding a new layer to the school's infamous legend of the Howling Banshee.
Sato turned in time to see the girl who had just entered collapse into existential despair.
Her back hunched, her eyes hollow, she staggered toward Sato like a zombie, completely broken.
The dead-eyed stare was terrifying, and she murmured like a demon whispering from the abyss:
"You saw it… you saw it…"
Ah… now it all made sense.
Sato finally understood.
Mabinogion? More like a record of dark, humiliating middle school history...