Arifureta After II   Mundane School Life ②

AN: Warning: This isn't the resumption of the update.

It's the advertisement for the release of the comic's second volume (25 September)!

Although, I'll feel guilty if it's just advertisement, so I wrote this in a real rush, a brief chapter without any particular content but,

Allow me to post it.

「Everyone! It's sudden, but there will be a school trip tomorrow! All of you must be still unprepared! Let's hurry with it through this day!」

The morning homeroom. The class's homeroom teacher――Hatayama Aiko-sensei was arriving with brisk footsteps that sounded unusually restless. The first voice she said was that sentence that was declared energetically with forced momentum while her face was pale and twitching.

Naturally, an overwhelming silence ruled over the morning classroom.

Even Hajime who was commonly acknowledged as the class's demon king was looking at Aiko with his mouth gaping open. It was extremely unusual for him to look like that.

Shizuku who seemed to guess the situation instantly covered her eyes with her hand and looked up to the ceiling. But, as the common sense person of the class, her status was that of a proper leader, different from Hajime. She immediately raised her hand and took the stance of 「I have question!」.

Aiko jumped.

「……Yaegashi-san.」

「Yes, sensei. Please spit out everything without glossing over anything.」

It wasn't a question, but an interrogation. Aiko was shivering all over like a small animal.

While the fixed gaze of the whole class was directed at her, Aiko averted her gaze with a complicated look before explaining while staring at the stain in the classroom's corner.

According to her, it was somehow overlooked, but the school trip was already finished being carried out.

According to her, due to the disappearance case, it was only this class that didn't have the trip.

According to her, the school officials were going 'If the fact that it's only "them" that haven't gone is leaked to the mass media, won't the school get criticized again? Dealing with that is seriously a pain in the ass y'know. That's why see, let's adjust the schedule in this occasion and shove in "their" school trip in between', and so this event was ordered from the above.

According to Aiko, the order had been given since two months ago.

According to her, there were various things and so she completely forgot to tell them about it and so sorry, seriously sorry!

Aiko-chan-sensei did a beautiful prostration above the teacher desk.

「This is the first time I saw a teacher prostrating on the teacher's desk.」

「In the first place for a teacher to prostrate is already unusual though.」

Tamai Atsushi and Nimura Akito spoke with twitching face.

「We, well, we know that Ai-chan is pretty busy, because the brunt of the "returnee uproar" is directed at her, right?」

「Ye, yep. That's why raise your face already, Ai-chan-sensei.」

After Sonobe Yuuka spoke consolingly with her face was also twitching as expected, Sugawara Taeko also expressed her agreement in hurry.

「Getting on top of the desk like that, she is strangely haughty huh.」

「Hajime-kun, just shut up for a bit!」

Kaori said 「Don't corner Ai-chan even more than this」 to warn Hajime for his statement.

For the time being, in order to do something about Ai-chan who was in the middle of prostrating, the students, mainly the girls did their best to drag her down from the desk before the whole class comforted Aiko whose movement was jittery from her sense of responsibility while saying 「For a working adult to forget getting in touch……」.

Certainly it was really a failure in her part, but all of them knew about her daily activity to protect them the "returnee", her getting treated like a tumor among the teachers, and how recently she was troubled because the vice principal who was heavily suspected of wearing wig was acting like tsundere toward her.

And so, seeing how the person herself was extremely remorseful, and how there would be no problem at all about a matter of this degree if they dealt with it, the whole class was immersing themselves in recovering Aiko's emotional state.

「……Hajime. Give Aiko some comfort.」

Yue displayed her first wife power. She understood that Hajime's words would affect Aiko the most. Hajime smiled wryly while saying 「Can't be helped」, and then he went toward Aiko.

'It's the husband's arrival!' The classmates parted to left and right like a sea in front of Moses.

「Aiko.」

「Uu, I'm a useless teacher. A useless female teacher. It's like I'm a completely useless female teacher. In short Madao」 (TN: Completely useless female teacher = damedame onna kyoushi = madao. Anyone watched Gintama?)

While thinking that she was seriously ill, Hajime spoke with a gentle voice.

「Is there no guidebook or something for the school trip? We know nothing at all about it here.」

「Hah!? Guidebook!? I forgot it in the staff room! I'll go bring it here!」

The truth was that there wasn't really much time, so the school trip would follow the same arrangement with this year's school trip and the guidebook for the trip was prepared already but……

It seemed that Aiko whose head was full with apologizing splendidly forgot it. She was falling deeper and deeper into a vicious circle.

Everyone saw off Aiko rushing out with *patapatapata* footsteps sound.

「For the time being, she had at least recovered to the degree where she can run around.」

「……Hajime. That's not it.」

Hajime-san was hit with tsukkomi retort from Yue. Hajime shrugged his shoulders saying that he got it, and then he went out of the classroom alone in order to help Aiko carrying the guidebook.

The next day.

The class of Hajime and co that barely managed to finish their preparation assembled at the gathering place――at the parking lot nearby the station from early morning.

The bus had already arrived. Nakano Shinji and Saitou Yoshiki were talking with the bus guide. The bus guide was really young and looked lovely. Though her expression was slightly twitching.

Actually, her face was twitching wasn't just because she was getting hit on since the morning.

There was one main cause. The job of being the guide of "those returnees" was pushed on her just "because she was the youngest". Inside her heart she was filled with trepidation. For the time being the bus driver was pushing down his hat deeply that it was covering his eyes.

'You don't want to meet my eyes that much……?' The gaze of the rookie bus guide stabbed into the driver.

「Onee-sama-, I beg you, please-, be safe! If something happen, by all means please use that man as decoy while you escape!」

「That sounded like this is our last meeting in this life, so can you stop that? It's really embarrassing.」

The one who arrived at the gathering spot earlier than anyone in the class, kouhai-chan (TN: Kouhao=junior). Saying 「This might be our last meeting」, the girl buried her face into Shizuku's chest and rubbed her face there.

For the time being, Hajime caught the back of kouhai-chan's head with iron claw. (TN: Not real iron claw, I guess it's like wrestling technique where you grab the head of someone like you're going to crush apple with your grip)

「So, you come out huh, senpai! Are you satisfied tearing me apart from Onee-sama!? Are you satisfied!?」

「Your tension is high right from the morning huh, oi.」

Hajime yawned while grinding his fingers on the forehead of kouhai-chan who was causing a ruckus. It seemed that the sight of kouhai-chan writhing in agony 「Aa~~h, my head-, my head feels like it's going to spliiit」 didn't even enter his eyes.

「As I thought, Onee-sama must not be let to go to a school trip with this kind of man! At the very least, I have to come along to!」

Turning what she spoke out into action was kouhai-chan quality. Annoyed, Hajime fixed a mouth gag on kouhai-chan and then he fastened her on the nearby electric pole with wire.

And then, he took out a signboard from who know where and gently hung it down on the neck of kouhai-chan who was struggling while going 「Muu~h, muu~!」. The signboard was written with 「In the middle of morning training. Please don't talk to me.」.

Even though there was a high school girl getting tied on an electric people, yet there wasn't anyone who said anything, far from that, everyone was watching it with a warm gaze. This situation――the SAN value of the rookie bus guide decreased until 90.

「Sa, say, say-. Hatayama-sensei? That girl is……」

「Err, err, after this, when we depart……it's going to be this at there, after that……」

The rookie bus guide was quietly distancing herself from the small animal teacher who was confirming the trip program with extreme desperation for some reason. It's no good to bother her isn't it, sorry.

「A-ha-ha, everything is all right you know, bus guide-san! That girl, she will manage somehow against a mere wire after all.」

「This happens every time! Rather than something like that, is it okay for me to call you by your first name?」

Shinji and Yoshiki were shadowing the bus guide around. The rookie bus guide's expression turned troubled. Calling the sight of a girl tied on an electric pole with wire as something that "happened every time"……inside her heart, she yelled 「Is this, the returnee quality!?」.

――Rookie bus guide's SAN value   87

Then, at that time, a childish voice suddenly resounded from the traffic circle.

「Papaaa~~!」

「! Myuu! Even Remia too. What is it you two?」

The girl running *sutetetete-* with rapid footsteps――Myuu leaped into Hajime's arms without pause. From behind her, Remia was going 「My my」 while walking near with her usual lax and gentle atmosphere.

For the time being, the rookie bus guide opened her eyes wide. 「Papa-!? Just now, that girl said papa!? And then, no one here is surprised by that!?」 She screamed inside her heart.

The rookie bus guide knew. At the morning, the young man who was called papa was coming to this place with his hand intimately holding the hand of an extraordinarily blond haired girl. There was also one other girl who was also beautiful, hopping up and down closely around the two at that time like a rabbit, but no matter how anyone looked at it, at the very least the two of them were a pair of lovers.

And yet, papa……

The imagination of the indulgent livelihood of a boy high school student emerged inside her head, her eyes couldn't move away anymore. It was a real soap opera right from the early morning! The rookie bus guide loved soap opera, to the degree she would video tape it to watch later!

「I'm sorry dear. Myuu won't listen to me, saying that she don't want to see you off from home as expected, but from your departure instead……」

「I see……. Well, it's fine. Thanks for coming her to see us off, Myuu. Look forward for souvenir later.」

「Nmyu!」

Myuu who happily hugged tightly, and Hajime whose expression loosened up.

And then, the classmates who were watching over them warmly……

(Why, is there no one who question this situation!? Shouldn't this be a carnage!? No, wait, that child is around five, six years old no matter how you cut it. That means, that boy when in elementary school, with that beautiful woman he was……sensei-, Hatayama-sensei! An outrageous situation, is right before us right now! Isn't there something you have to do as an educator!?)

「Fufuh, Myuu-chan is really liking Haji――cough-, Nagumo-kun isn't it?」

Nonchalantly~.

Seeing no reaction that she was expecting, the rookie bus guide whispered 「Damn itt!」 with a small voice. Or rather, just now, this teacher, she almost called a student with his name before she corrected herself hastily……

The soap opera lover rookie bus guide eye- activate!

……

……

……

No way, this was no way. It was something with that feel……. Looking carefully, the other female students were also the same. This class, the human relationship in it was overly bad news! But, the worst thing was, the classmates who were accepting it as though it was natural!

Whyyyyy!? Just what's going on!?

――Rookie bus guide's SAN value   83

「The expression of Onee-sama when staring at senpai who is holding a small kid, Priceless-!」

「Chih. The binding almost come off already. ――Here, extra」

Kouha-chan was almost slipping off from the electric pole wire with slipper movement. A "Bola" that was taken out from out of nowhere flew. It whirled round and round and round and round from the weight's centrifugal force.

――Rookie bus guide's SAN value   80

「……You. Isn't it about the time soon?」

The driver with his hat deeply lowered over his eyes as though to say 「I absolutely cannot see anything right from the beginning yeah?」 was informing the rookie bus guide in a whisper.

「Tha, that's right! Hatayama-sensei! It's any time now! Please start with the roll-call!」

「Ah, yes. Right away!」

When the rookie bus driver urged looking somewhat in desperation, the small animal teacher started to move while darting about like a small animal.

Before long, everyone boarded inside the bus.

On the seat at the farthest back. Straight at the end of the pathway, Hajime-san occupied the position in the middle immovably.

A thought entered the rookie bus guide's mind for some reason.

'He looked like a demon king sitting on the throne', she thought.

And then, ahead of the pathway, right in front of him was herself……

――Rookie bus guide's SAN value   73

The bus started running without any problem.

Outside the window, Myuu was waving around her hand energetically inside Remia's embrace. All the classmates were waving back.

Kouhai-chan slipped out from her restraint and came running in pursuit. The scream of 「OO~~NEEE~~SAMAA~~~!」 was ignored by all the classmates. And then as though she was purposefully aiming for the cliché, after chasing for five hundred meter, kouhai-chan performed asphalt dive face first hard and her figure vanished far behind.

The rookie bus guide told herself that she didn't see anything. She performed her greeting and self-introduction. She especially emphasized the name of the driver. It felt like the steering wheel handling was out of control for a moment, but surely it was just her imagination.

Shinji and Yoshiki got carried away and they called the rookie bus guide with her first name. The scolding of Aiko-sensei came flying at them there.

While all those were happening, 「Ah」 the voice of one boy student resounded. The voice's owner was Nomura Kentarou. He was staring fixedly at the neighboring seat, and then

「Ai-chan-sensei! Kousuke isn't here!」

「What did you sayyy!?」

Rustle rustle. 「Kousuke? Ah, Endo-kun?」「Eh? Endo isn't here?」「Or rather, was he at the gathering place?」「Feels like I saw him, or perhaps not……」「That Aby, Kousuke, maybe he is actually around here?」「Oi oi, that lord, is he left behind…..as expected ain't it?」 The indifferent voices of the students resounded.

「Eh? Eh? Err, Hatayama-sensei, could it be there is one student that is not here?」

「Please wait a second. Everyoo~~ne! Look around you very carefully! By any chance, is Endo-kun at the corner or somewhere? Or perhaps, he is right beside you but you just don't notice him! First let's double check for sure!」

――Rookie bus guide's SAN value   71

All the classmates simultaneously started observing inside the bus attentively.

The conclusion altogether was 「He isn't heree~~!」

「Nomura-kun! Fine play you did there! How amazing to be able to be the first one noticing about the nonexistence of that Endo-kun! Someone, contact Endo-kun――」

「Sensei, that guy is right above.」

「Eh?」

Hearing Hajime's words, everyone looked up while saying 「Above?」. They were thinking that perhaps Kousuke was clinging at the ceiling. But, they couldn't see any ninja clinging on the ceiling above.

「Above the bus, above. It's this guy we are talking about, perhaps, the bus departed while he went to toilet or something, and with no other option he jumped on the roof, something like that?」

「That Kousuke, just what the hell he is doing?」

The rookie bus guide couldn't follow the content of the conversation.

Kentarou sent a glance at her while opening the window near his seat.

There,

「Ah, the window opened?」

A student smoothly entered inside the bus from the rooftop along with such muttering――Endo Kousuke.

「Oh man, Kentarou. Thanks. I was thinking about throwing in clone to tell someone, but with the guide here I thought that will cause commotion, so I waited for someone to open the window.」

「What are you gonna do if no one opened the window huh?」

「Until we stop at the rest area, I was going to spend time above……. When you get used to it, it was unexpectedly pleasant up there.」

The one normally taking his seat beside Kentarou and started a conversation normally, was a student who was on the rooftop of a running bus all this time.

And then, a retort of 「You can just phone someone to open the window right?」, and the shocked voice 「Ah」 that Kousuke leaked, and the roar of laughter 「As expected from Abyssgate!」「The lord blundered right from the beginning huuh!」 toward such Kousuke came from the students.

――Rookie bus guide's SAN value   68

Inside the bus that was wrapped with delightfully bright atmosphere that was fitting for the start of a school trip, the rookie bus guide thought.

'I wonder, in the end will I be able to I hold on my sanity until the last……?' She thought.

The tribulation of the rookie bus guide continued……………………?

AN: Thank you very much for reading this every time.

Thank you very much too for the thoughts, opinions, and reports about misspelling and omitted words.

I uploaded the activity report.

It's about the release of the comic's second volume.

Thanks to everyone paying the first volume from your pocket, the second volume could be released without incident.

Really, thank you very much!

Please take care of Arifureta from here on too.

Also, I mentioned it at my activity report too but, I'm thinking that I want to restart my update at 21 October.

I'm undecided about the content that I'll write, but for the time being, before I write a long extra story, I want to write several short stories first.

It will please me if you all can enjoy it together with me again.

Please take care of me from here on too!