And for that reason, I found myself in a rental room with these three otaku. All four of us were sitting at the table. By the way, all the girls in the party were still in their maid outfits. They've already done their little gag, so honestly, they should just take those things off.
To think that they would all be wearing that… even for a party, it was just doing too much. There wasn't any rhyme or reason to our seating order; we just pulled out the rolly chairs randomly and sat wherever we wanted.
There were two 32-inch displays on the table, and they seemed to be connected to game machines and computers.
"We use this space for offline meeting after-parties quite often. There are power sockets, we can use our computers and play games… it really is more useful than a karaoke box would be."
Rias was explaining the rental room to me. I then posed the obvious question to these three.
"So… umm, what do we do now? I thought this was a party for Naruko, but is it just me or at some point, did I become the guest of honor?"
"… It's just you."
"… You're an idiot."
Blake and Naruko threw back those retorts. I looked to Rias for an explanation, but she didn't make any signs of giving me one. She's definitely hiding something…
Rias began to talk, as if trying to change the topic. "Anyways, my turn's up… so Blake-chan is up."
Having the conversation turned towards her, Blake silently nodded. But I still had no idea what was going on.
"What? What's the ordering for?"
"Fufufu… it's a more practical version of the usual 'conversation topic game', Haruto-chan. I said that there would be a show, right? So, one by one, we'll perform something that we prepared for Naruru-chan."
"I see. But, I never knew about that, so I didn't prepare anything."
"Haha, I don't mind. At any rate, I have a feeling that Haruto-chan's reaction will be enough of a performance."
Hey, what the hell does that mean?
"You are all so annoying. It's fine just don't worry about the fine details."
"It's just as Naruru-chan says. This is the party's entertainment, so let's just all have some good, cheerful fun together."
I snorted. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood for that, but…
"If you say so, I'll do that." I shrugged while holding down a bitter smile. I mean, that's what I had wanted to do from the beginning. As much as Naruko annoyed me, I wouldn't do anything that would cause the party organizer to lose face.
What I should do now is to watch these performances you three have prepared, and then to happily join in on the conversations that will follow. Rather, there really wasn't anything else I could do. Alright, got it. I don't know if I can do this or not, but I'll just make the best of it.
"Are we all ready now?" Ready to make her presentation, Blake spoke softly to us. When everyone nodded, she moved the PC mouse that was on the table, and started up a program. "This… is what I'm presenting."
On the screen, there was shown the front cover of what looked to be a manga. There was a girl in a uniform standing there, frowning and with her arms crossed… and behind her, there was the face of an idiotic-looking guy.
The title was "The Curse of the Frozen Angel."
"… This is a manga I drew for today. Please watch my presentation."
It seemed that this was a manga that Blake had drawn for Naruko. She had shown me her art once before, but maybe she had practiced since then, it was clear that she had improved. Maybe she changed the way she drew, but the jaws weren't that pointed anymore. Rather, they were rounded and looked impressively cute. It almost felt like the art could be in an anime.
"… You really got way better at drawing in a short time."
"Thank you. It puts me at ease to hear you say that."
Blake smoothed down her chest. Those words were probably her true feelings.
Just like she had said a while ago, she was probably trying hard at making manga and was practicing. And this much-improved artwork was the fruit of her labors. I mean, she was amazing at games and was really handy at making her own cosplay. So she was probably more suited for drawing manga than writing novels.
At this rate, I felt that the day when she would be able to stare triumphantly down at Ibiki-san wouldn't be too far away. It was great. I really thought it was great, but…
"That's nice. However."
The one who had put my thoughts into words was none other than Naruko, who was standing there frowning and with her arms crossed. She probably was thinking the same thing I was, and muttered with a voice that betrayed none of her feelings.
"Can I just ask you one thing?"
"Go ahead?"
"This character looks exactly like me, doesn't she?"
"And this unfortunate looking guy for some reason really looks like me."
"Hahaha, quite amazing! They certainly look just like Naruru-chan and Haruto-chan!"
Following Naruko, both Rias and I made our points. Having heard what we had to say, Blake nodded.
"Fufu, if the people themselves say so, then I guess I can be a bit more confident in them then."
In quite an unusual turn of events… Blake smiled. Her smile was different from her usual expressionless face, and was more than cute enough to draw me in, but…
"You really did use me as a model!"
"So you used me as a model!?"
There was absolutely no time for that. Naruko and I thrust in our comments at the same time.
"W-what are you trying to do with this…?"
"I'm not trying to do anything."
Blake wasn't fazed by Naruko's glare at all, and shrugged her shoulders.
"It's just as it looks. I drew for you a manga in which I used you as a model for a character. You have a problem with that?"
"… I don't, but for soooome reason I have a bad feeling about this."
What a coincidence, Naruko. Me too.
"My my, to think you would judge it before you've even read it, just based on a 'feeling'… that's so unbecoming of Ruko Sensei, don't you think? I wonder who it was that once said something like 'you aren't qualified to judge something until you've read it until the end'?"
"… Grr." Ruko Sensei, aka Naruko, ground her teeth.
Yes, no matter how much of a bad feeling she had about it, Naruko couldn't bash Blake's manga at this point. You could say she was a consistent person, or maybe she was just inflexible.
Grrrrr… even as she ground her teeth, my sister couldn't respond in any other way.
"… Please continue."
"Why thank you."
Blake sneered triumphantly. At her wicked smile, I felt the sense of impending doom in my chest intensify.
"Well then, let me begin the presentation."
Click. The picture on the screen changed, and the manga began. In the first panel, the girl who looked just like Naruko was sunk deep into the couch, reading a fashion magazine.
Blake read the summary out loud.
"I'm Namikaze Naruko. My head might be super round like a tomato, but I'm a brilliant first year high school student who also works as a magazine model."
"You want to die!?"
"My my my my! Naruru-chan! Keep a hold of yourself!"
"But this… this is just straight libel!"
"No no! This isn't Naruru-chan, but just this character 'Naruko' in the manga!
"She might look just like you but she's a different person, so please keep that in mind! And what's more, kuku… it just started, didn't it!? What comes after is what you should look forward to!"
Even as she held Naruko back by the arms, Rias was smiling. She probably thought it was all pretty interesting, so she wanted to read the rest of the story. Dammit, what happened to sympathy?
"Someone tell this girl that girls with red hairs and round faces are a status symbol!"
Who the hell believes in a crazy theory like that!?
"… Hmph, let me continue then." Blake read the prologue out loud with a gloomy voice.
The story had just started… but it seemed that this manga "The Curse of the Frozen Angel" was told completely from this "Naruko's" point of view. There were a lot of monologues, so it was easy to understand what the protagonist Naruko was thinking and feeling. On the contrary, when it came to the other characters, all that the reader could see was how Naruko saw those situations. Hmm… and this protagonist seemed to interpret each and every one of everyone else's actions in a bad way, so I was getting increasingly impatient.
"It's not like that, idiot!" I wanted to scream at her. Laying out all the details would get a bit tedious, so I'll just give you the summary.
Naruko has a twin brother named Haruto but their relationship was cold as ice, and they were completely indifferent towards each other. Even if they came across each other while at home, they would have nothing to talk about, so they didn't even see each other very often at home. And the only times they talked to each other were when they were hurling insults. There was not even a smidgen of warmth between them. They were two siblings embroiled in a cold war…
"Hey, this setup…"
"What? This is just a manga, remember?"
I had no choice but to shut up at that argument. I might not be Naruko, but even for me it made sense to hear a story out to the very end before passing judgment on it. But, this preliminary setup… I might not like it, but it made me think of myself and Naruko. Could it be that this was a manga that Blake had drawn about how Naruko seemed from her viewpoint…?
Well, whatever. Let's get on with the summary.
Umm… where were we? Ah, right, at the point where I was explaining how the siblings had a very cold relationship towards each other. However, Naruko had a secret that she couldn't tell anybody.
For example, when Haruto went to take a bath… after she checked that her brother had gotten into the bathtub, Naruko would quickly slip into the changing area, and take out a single piece of clothing from the laundry hamper.
"… Haah… haah… haah… haah… Onii-chan's underwear… gulp… sniff sniff sniff…"
"WAIT JUST A DAMM SECOND!" Naruko and I yelled out at the same time.
Having her reading interrupted, Blake sent a nonchalant glance in our direction. "What?"
"Wait wait wait wait wait! Just wait a second here…!" As I motioned for Blake to stop with the palm of my hand, I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked at my sister. "… Y-you… did you really… my underwear…..?"
"I didn't smell your underwear! T-t-t-this is just a manga!"
"Then why the hell are you stuttering!? You scared of something!?"
I-it seems that my idea that this was how Blake saw Naruko from her perspective was completely off the mark! Or rather, please God, let it be off the mark!
"Also, you shitty cat! No matter how much you say it's just a manga, there are just things you can do and things you can't!"
"Why are you taking it so seriously? My intention was to create a work of fiction, but if you react like this, it makes me start to suspect that maybe I've hit on the truth."
"Y-y-you… grrr… just continue, dammit…!"
When it came to arguments, it seemed like Naruko was only good when there was shouting involved. Is it just me, or was she a pushover there?
"Geez. Please stop interrupting me at every little thing. If you do that, you won't be able to appreciate the manga."
Click. The page flipped, and Blake continued to read aloud.
But in any case, it seemed that the Naruko in the manga, unlike the real-life Naruko, was a complete brocon. On the outside, she acted as if she hated him, but on the inside she was lovey dovey towards her brother.
Honestly, it was a disgusting setup. Seriously, just cut me some slack here. Having carefully satisfied herself with her brother's underwear, Naruko withdrew from the changing room, and this time went up the stairs. Her brother's room was on top. Her brother's room didn't have a lock, so Naruko could freely enter the room.
"What the hell!? This is too real! How do you know my door is unlocked!?"
"Research."
"Now that I think about, you came over before, right!? So, don't tell me that at that time, you were taking a look at my house's layout and specifications!?"
"Hmph, naturally. Don't underestimate the power of my devil eyes."
It was just a pointless skill… what the hell do you mean "devil eyes," you idiot? Well, it's not like I care if she knew that my door didn't have a lock on it. It wasn't like she had intruded on my privacy, so I didn't mind.
"… Just continue."
"Of course."
With her butt sticking out in an erotic way, Naruko was fishing for something under her brother's bed. And what ended up popping out was none other than Haruto's secret ero book collection.
"… Tch, why does he only have girls with huge boobs…? Get some little sister ones, dammit."
Right then, Naruko—by which I mean the real-life Naruko—stood up and almost looked like she was trying to hide the screen.
"I-I never said that, okay!? I've never said anything like that!"
"More importantly, why the hell does Blake know where I hide my ero books!?"
"Eh? Because I told her."
"So you went into my room and fished under my bed!?"
"Wha—why the hell are you throwing around false accusations!? Mom told me, Mom did!"
"Mom is the source of the leak!?"
Dammit! When it came to the women in my family, each and every damn one of them was…
Alright, fine! I should just change the hiding spot, right!? Dammit, just you remember! I'm going to find a hiding spot that'll never be found!
Naruko and I continued our noisy argument. At a pause in the argument, Blake sighed and mumbled. "… Can I continue now?"
"Whatever, do whatever you want."
Click. Onto the next page.
The closet brocon Naruko had what you could call an arch-enemy. That arch-enemy was Haruto's girlfriend, Weiss. On the surface, Weiss was a beautiful foreigner girl from Norway, but in reality she was the avatar of the ice angel Laufey, and was trying to corrupt Haruto's soul. Because even if Haruto didn't know it himself, he was the legendary warrior king Loki's reincarnation, a destined hero that was tasked to save the world from Laufey's evil… etc. etc.
What the hell was this!?
"… Grrr… grrrrrrrrr…"
I can't do this. I'm reaching my limit… ! Don't lash out, Haruto…! Just bear it!
As my face twitched in irritation, right next to me…
"Kwaah… kuwaah… gnnngg… aghhhh… grnghhhh…"
Naruko was biting her lower lip, her eyes were bloodshot, and she was trying to not go on a rampage. She also seemed to getting incredibly annoyed at the brocon setup and the chuunibyou setup.
"… Kukuku. The climax is coming up."
After that, the story devolved further into bizarro fantasy world called Midgar… Naruko's love towards her brother impressed Blake, the Princess of Mjolnir, and gave Naruko a demonslaying sword Laevantein to defeat Weiss, after that Naruko headed for the final battle with Weiss.
Having been pushed into a corner by Naruko's new sword, Weiss released Laufey from her seal and sent Earth into an eternal winter. In a moment, an almost indescribable amount of magical energy blew out from Weiss' body like a hurricane, and the world was frozen solid. The pure air changed to poisonous hazard, and the bountiful earth was transformed into a carpet of ice. It was nothing other than a reappearance of hell on earth. Even the Naruko character couldn't suppress a shiver, and muttered one line in despair. "… No way… Weiss had brought Ragnarok upon the world…?"
"To be continued."
"What the hell!? What kind of ending is that when you built it up so much!?"
"You built it up and couldn't close it out, so you just ended it like that, didn't you!? That's why you'll never be more than a wannabe!"
"Hmph, I just didn't have enough time. I'm not Kishibe Rohan, so I can't draw that much manga in only one or two days." But Blake's cheeks flushed just a little bit. "… But to think you would want a sequel that much… it really makes me happy."
All the energy drained out of my and Naruko's bodies, and we crumbled to the ground.
… By the way, it seemed that Rias had laughed so hard that she was in pain, and for a while now she's been lying down over there in agony.