Chapter – 2 : Summon

That was about mid-January.

"Hello!"

Today, as always, Yuigahama's cheerful voice echoes through the clubroom.

"Hello, Yuigahama-san."

"Hey."

Yukinoshita and I returned the greeting as usual, and as always, we lowered our gazes to the paperback books in our hands.

Yuigahama also sat down in her usual seat and started fiddling with her phone as usual. Eventually she would get bored of staying silent and start talking to Yukinoshita. That was the daily life of this service club.

But today was a little different.

"That's right Yukinon, here you go."

Suddenly, Yuigahama took out a book from her bag.

It was an old-fashioned book bound in red leather. There was something incredibly strange about it in Yuigahama's hands.

When I look at Yukinoshita, she has a confused look on her face. She doesn't seem to have any idea what this book is about.

"Yuigahama-san, what is this?"

"The other day, you picked out a book that even I could read. So this is my thank you!"

"No need to thank me..."

"It's okay, it's okay! Yukinon, you like difficult books, right? You see, I was thinking I might try looking for something myself, so I found this at a used bookstore."

"Hmm..."

Yukinoshita doesn't seem to know how to respond to Yuigahama's smug look. By the way, these two are still as close as ever.

"Hey, Yuigahama."

"What is it, Hickey? Ah, are you jealous? No, this is a token of my gratitude to Yukinon. B-But, if you really want me to choose, then next time we'll do it together..."

"As a book lover, let me say this: book lovers don't necessarily like difficult books."

"Oh?"

"Of course, more difficult books are more satisfying to read, but I still read them because they're interesting. I don't think there's anyone in this world who likes books that are just difficult and uninteresting."

"Huh?!?"

But is it really that surprising? Anyone can figure it out with a little thought.

Although it's hard to imagine Yuigahama thinking things through before she acts. ...Yeah, I just can't imagine it. What is this, it's so sad.

"Uh... I'm sorry, Yukinon..."

Yuigahama looked downcast, a stark change from the smug look she had had earlier. Yukinoshita smiled gently at Yuigahama.

"I'm happy just thinking about it, Yuigahama-san. Besides, you won't know if it's interesting or not until you read it, right? There's no need to worry about what a man who seems made up of all that junk has to say."

"...Yeah. Thanks Yukinon. You shouldn't worry about what Hikigaya says."

"I don't mind deepening our friendship, but could you please stop dissing me so casually?"

In a way, Yuigahama is worse now. Yukinoshita is just acting as usual though. Is what she just did as usual or is that much worse?

"So, what book is that?"

I examine the book Yuigahama brought.

As mentioned earlier, the cover is aged red leather. It has a somewhat damp texture, and on it are gold letters I've never seen before and a hexagram surrounded by a perfect circle, a so-called magic square.

To be honest, it was a creepy book.

"...I thought you were someone with good taste."

"Oh, isn't that kind of cool?"

The only person who would think something like this was cool would be Zaimokuza. Even Yukinoshita couldn't follow up on this comment and looked away awkwardly.

"...Well, the cover and the quality of the contents don't really matter. And what book is this anyway? It's not in English, is it?"

"If this looks like English to you, you might be thinking, 'What?! This isn't English?!'... I recommend you go back a little and study it again."

"Hey, don't change your mind halfway through. Finish it."

"What are you talking about?"

Yukinoshita pretends not to notice, facing the day after tomorrow. If this were a manga, she would probably be whistling. She's really soft on Yuigahama.

"So, what language is it in the end?"

"...It looks like it's Greek. It might be difficult to understand unless you look it up."

It's just difficult. I think that normally you can't read it even if you try hard.

Nothing particularly changed after that, we just continued chatting aimlessly, and club activities ended just before it was time to go home from school.

And the next day after school.

"Have you read that book?"

I asked Yukinoshita. I was interested, no matter what.

"Yeah, just a little."

"Oh, you read it. How was it?"

Even though it was just a present, people still seemed to be interested in things they were involved in. Yuigahama also took the bait.

"Well... how can I put it? For starters, I wouldn't call it an ordinary book."

That was a rare, unclear response.

"That's not like you. Do you really think there's a genre of book in this world called 'normal'?"

"I don't mean to deny that opinion, but that's not what I'm saying… it wasn't the kind of book you would normally find in a bookstore, like a novel or something like that."

"Well then, what is it?"

"Well... I don't know if I can call it a real thing, but I think it's probably something called a grimoire."

……………………

"Yukinoshita. Get some rest."

"I wonder why. This is the first time in my life that I've felt so uncomfortable about someone worrying about me."

"Hey Yukinoshita, do you understand what you just said? You blurted out something on the same level as Zaimokuza."

"...If you insult me any further, I won't let you get away with just regretting it."

I could see the murderous intent in Yukinoshita's eyes. But I couldn't back down now.

Although I complain about a lot of things, I like this service club. I can't just sit back and watch Yukinoshita get ruined.

"Hey Yukinoshita. You and Yuigahama are now indispensable to me. Please take care of yourself."

"...! H-Hikigaya-kun, I don't know what you're misunderstanding, but I was just telling you what this book was about. There's no truth to the fact that I was influenced by this book or anything like that. ...So, please stop surprise attacks like that..."

Yukinoshita replied, turning bright red with anger.

What, so I guess I've developed chuunibyou at this age. I couldn't hear the last part very well, but it was good. By the way, why is Yuigahama angry too?

Yukinoshita cleared her throat as if to cover up something, then went back to explaining the book.

"Okay? This book contains information on how to summon demons and theories of magic. It's pretty serious stuff too. It's probably classified as an academic book, but..."

"I don't want something like this to be included in academic studies," Yukinoshita added in an exasperated tone.

Well, it doesn't suit Yukinoshita. She probably doesn't want to read it and go to the trouble of translating it. That kind of thing doesn't pique my interest either. That's different for stories that use that kind of setting.

However, one idiot became interested.

"I want to try it!"

Yuigahama's eyes were sparkling for some reason.

"...Umm, Yuigahama-san, what is it?"

Yukinoshita asked, pressing her fingers to her temples.

"Summoning a demon sounds fun! I've never done anything like that!"

"I don't think most people have done it."

"Eh, that's good. You draw a magic square or something and then you dance "Bentler Bentler", right?"

"You're saying worse things than Komachi."

Hey, hey, let's do it. Yukino and Yukinoshita cling to each other. Yukinoshita shows signs of reluctance, but... this is going to fall.

"...There's no other way. Let's start preparing tomorrow and do it over the weekend. Let's go buy the things we might need on the way home today."

"Yay!"

Ah, I thought so.

Although he knew it was useless, he checked anyway.

"Oi, is it okay?"

"...Isn't there anything we can do? Yuigahama-san won't listen if it turns out like that."

No, I think it's just that you're particularly sweet towards Yuigahama.

"Hey Yukinon, what do you need?"

"For now, I think it's paint for drawing magic squares. Something that's easy to clean up would be good. And a few candles..."

"Can I get it at a home improvement store?"

It's too unsexy to be two girls discussing shopping.

Do you even realize that you're a student taking entrance exams and wasting your time on such stupid things?

"Hey, Hickey, listen to me carefully! You're the one carrying the baggage!"

"Hey hey..."

Well, that sounds fun, so that's okay.

Thinking about it later.

Perhaps I should have rejected it forcefully at that time.

The weekend passed without any incident and it was time for the ceremony.

To make more space, the desks and chairs had been moved to the back of the clubroom, and a magic square had been painstakingly drawn on the floor over several days.

I thought the two of them might show off their wizard cosplay, but that didn't happen.

All that's left is to light the candles placed here and there and chant the spell. That's Yukinoshita's job, by the way. After all, Yukinoshita is the only one who can read that book.

"...Well then, let's get started."

Yukinoshita spoke with a lot of enthusiasm. It wasn't something she was doing on purpose, it was just that she had always exuded that kind of vibe.

Yuigahama and I crouched in the corner so as not to get in the way.

"Too bad I couldn't do it myself"

"Eh? Why? It's fun."

She answered with a smile, without seeming like she was forcing herself.

In short, it seems he didn't want to perform a ritual, he just wanted to do something unusual.

In that sense, it can be said that this ritual has already been a success.

"I tell you--"

Yukinoshita seemed to understand this, as she began to chant the spell calmly and without any particular excitement, but without breaking the atmosphere.

「ーーI announce it.

Your body is under my control, and my destiny is in your sword."

Wow, that's amazing. Yuigahama is also holding his breath as he stares at it.

"--If you obey the Holy Grail, this will, this logic, then respond--"

Catan--

I heard that sound somewhere.

"--I make this oath here. I am the one who will become all the good in this world, and I am the one who will bring about all the evil in this world--"

Thunder!

A wind that sounds like it would make such a sound effect suddenly blew through the room.

"Wh, what!?"

I instinctively stood up, and something slammed into the wall right next to my head.

"……teeth?"

I looked and saw that the chair was stuck into the wall.

"Whoaaaa?!"

The desks and chairs that had been pushed back were flying about in the swirling wind that swirled around inside the clubroom. What on earth is this!?

"Kyaaa?! What what what?!"

Yuigahama crouched down, holding her head. That was probably the right answer.

"Yuigahama! Stay still!"

I yelled, crouched down, and took a step towards the center of the clubroom, towards Yukinoshita.

Despite the situation, Yukinoshita continued chanting the spell. And the magic circle was glowing.

"Oi! Yukinoshita, stop! Call it off!"

I don't understand the logic behind it or anything, but the only possible cause for this phenomenon is the ritual.

"Yukinoshita! Stop it--!?"

Yukinoshita shows no sign of stopping, so I grab her shoulders and try to turn her around, but she doesn't budge.

It wasn't like there was any forceful resistance, more like the sensation you get when trying to move something that's fixed in place.

Looking into Yukinoshita's face, she had a terrified expression and tears in her eyes, but she still continued chanting the spell. ... Could this be the state you sometimes see in occult manga, where the "body moves on its own"?

Yukinoshita looked at me with just her eyes. Her eyes clearly said, "Help me."

Make an instant decision.

"Don't tell me you'll sue me later!"

He put his hands around Yukinoshita's waist and pulled her out with all his might, like a back drop.

After a moment of resistance, Yukinoshita's body rose into the air with surprising ease, and the momentum was so great that both of them fell backwards.

"Hey...Hey, are you okay, Yukinoshita?"

"Eh, yeah? You saved me...!?"

Yukinoshita was speechless in the middle of her sentence. I followed her gaze, wide open in shock, and...

"--Are you serious?"

The grimoire in question - maybe it was the real thing - was still in the exact same position as before, suspended in mid-air, its pages flapping wildly.

"You bastard...!"

"Hikigaya-kun! What are you planning to do?!"

"knock off!"

What is this situation? To be honest, I have no idea.

But I can say this for sure: if we leave it alone, things will get bad!

I stood up, raised my right hand, and slammed it down on the grimoire with all my might. In that instant,

"Ouch!?"

A light like an electric discharge shot out from the grimoire, and a sharp pain ran through me. For some reason, it was on the back of my left hand.

The grimoire was blown away unexpectedly easily, bouncing once before falling to the floor - and at the same time, the storm subsided.

"What... was it?"

Yukinoshita muttered in shock. That's what I want to hear.

For now, I'll lend a hand.

"Can you stand up?"

"Um, yeah. Thank you."

"Are you hurt?"

"It's okay...I think."

Whew, I finally feel more at ease.

Now that I had some free time, I turned my attention to Yuigahama.

"Yuigahama, are you okay?"

...There's no response. It just looks like a corpse.

No, not that!

"Oi! Yuigahama?!"

I turned around in a panic, and found Yuigahama sitting in her original position, stunned.

...Don't scare me, you bastard. That promise just now wasn't a joke.

"...If you're awake, at least answer me. Hey, wake up."

When I approached Yuigahama, who still looked dazed, to give her a smack on the cheek, she finally showed a reaction.

"H, hickey... what..."

Yuigahama pointed in a certain direction with a trembling voice.

Yukinoshita was also frozen, looking in the same direction.

Seeing what was there reminded me of what we were doing.

It was a magic circle for summoning demons.

Standing in the center of it all was "someone" - neither me, Yukinoshita, nor Yuigahama - who spoke.

"--Are you my Master?"