There must be a special hole in hell for people who hand out group projects a month before the final exams. To make things worse, my group has the football team's ace and his girlfriend.
They share a single brain cell and their idiotic lazy-ass third-wheel friend is also on the team. The last one is an emo chick, she's cute but batshit crazy, so I won the entire project for myself.
"Max, Maxie, Maxie Boy. Will you sort it out?" That jock asks, glued to his girlfriend's ass a second after the bell rings. He has to show it to the entire class. "I'll be busy with the team."
Yeah, team. Screw him. Once I am famous and rich, I'll have a harem's worth of girlfriends, each hotter than his. My only solace is that the new issue of Princess Knight dropped today.
"I'll figure something out." At least I force this out without stuttering or triggering his ire. His blonde girlfriend still blocks my path though, this is her only chance to feel relevant.
"Make sure we get an A, weeb." Ah yes, you read manga or watch anime, so you must be degenerate. Well, fuck you, I'm about to grab the latest issue of Princess Knight anyway.
I order it online and pick it up at the post office before the Harlot — I mean, Ms. Harriet, our Janitor — shreds it into pieces. The orphanage doesn't appreciate manga as much as I do.
And with my lunch money drying up, buying the next issue will be problematic. This drags my heart down as I enter the familiar building, shrouded in the thick smell of paper and ink.
"Hey Max, right on time." The mailman behind the counter knows he has to be discreet, sliding over the manga. He always wraps it in black foil to hide the cover, the routine of a closet reader.
"I don't know if I'll have enough cash to order the next one." And it breaks my heart, but it will only get worse from now on. I'm almost 18, school ends in a few weeks, and then it will be over.
No more bullies, bottom of the food chain, but I'll also have to leave the orphanage soon. The mailman nods, and I drag myself back into the present too. I better worry about this later.
Now, I have a history project to write. Glancing at my notes, I can't help but scratch my head. They want our group — which means me — to write about Homer's Iliad. What is that?
I watched that show for a decade and never heard of Homer having anything like this. It could be from an earlier episode since that cartoon is older than me, but what does it have to do with history?
"Um, where could I find a copy of the Iliad?"
"You can try looking at the new second-hand bookstore around the corner. It opened last month and it's called the 'Grande Library'." He offers, nodding his head towards the shop.
"I'll do that, thanks." And with that, I leave. I shouldn't open my bounty on the street, but I need it. I must see the Princess Knight Aratsuki in action, and retreat into my daydreams.
That's my superpower. I can sit down anywhere, turn my brain off, and fantasize about anything. Half the time I'll be comatose within minutes, and ignore my surroundings.
If I glance at the manga now on the go, I won't fall asleep, and it should charge me up enough to tackle this stupid project. I don't care about the weather or the chirping birds.
I need my daily dose of Aratsuki. She's hot, strong, and tsundere. The mangaka understands the perfect ratio between action and fan service. She kicks some ass, then visits an onsen.
It has no stupid love interests. All the main characters are girls. And men come and go, making idiots of themselves, and having their asses kicked. And Aratsuki is the Best Girl, hands down.
So my jaw drops to the floor when I see her in the flesh, standing behind the counter of the new bookstore. Okay, sure, it can't be her, Aratsuki doesn't exist, but she's still there.
The cover of the manga half-exposed, shows the same face in 2D, heart-shaped, pointy nose. Freckles dotted all over it, and the copper-blonde hair in the trademark twin buns.
Only the cell shading and the full plate armor are missing. It's the first I've seen such an accurate cosplay of this character, and she's not even trying. She's in a T-shirt and an apron.
"Hey, will you come in or what?" Her voice sends a jolt through my body. It's the same as her voice actress from the anime adaptation, and I don't mean the low-effort dub, the real thing.
"Hello, dear customer, are you here?" It's the typical tsundere annoyance and impatience she's known for, all aimed at me. Oh, shit, how long I've been standing in the entrance, staring at her?
"Ah uh, sorry. G-great c-cosplay." Fuck. Here we go, my stutter is back again. Fighting this and my anxieties always takes a huge effort, but she caught me off guard, so it's all back.
She raises an eyebrow like she's looking at some maggot, ready to stomp on it, and I'm not into that. Not at any other time, but if it's her, I wouldn't mind. Holy shit, even her mannerisms.
"Hurry up and tell me what you need. I don't have all day." That's not accurate. The shop is empty, and while the letters over the entrance say 'Grande Library', it's a tiny bookstore.
"Oh um, I-I need—" That's how far I get, fishing my notes out when she loses her patience and rips them out of my hand. She's not better off with them either, my handwriting is abysmal.
"What?" She squints then squints some more. Her bushy eyebrows almost touch before she fishes a pair of oversized glasses out. I'm dead the moment she puts it on.
Fuck, her adorableness is over 9000. She scrunches her nose, wiping away a lock of orange hair in frustration, but she's not ready to blow yet. As she finally makes it out, her face lights up.
"Oh, the Iliad from Homer? Yes, we have that. The third row—you know what? I'll show you." She offers and my heart is about to burst. I nod, but somehow even fumble that as I follow.
"Here, Greek classic. Should I ring it up for you, or will you read it here?" The tsundere is gone from her voice, she's a real professional now, like Aratsuki in her battles with evil. So cute.
"I-I'll— Here." Words. Wording is hard. She hands over the book, and our fingers touch, sending a jolt over my body. It's only a moment, and her smile never falters. "T-thanks."
I have no doubts she's the Knight Princess Aratsuki, whatever her nametag says. I forgot to read it, and now she turned away, returning to her counter. Fuck. Max, get your shit together.
They have a few desks hidden between the shelves. I pick one that's out of sight but lets me keep an eye on her, and plop myself down. The Iliad, huh? A Greek classic, she said.
The text is archaic and makes my head hurt. Is there a tl;dr version? It's the Siege of Troy, where the Greeks fight among themselves, costing them the victory. There was a movie about this too.
But I want to take a better look at the manga first. Aratsuki fights a huge, horse-shaped golem in this one. Villagers build a huge wooden statue in her honor, but of the horse, not her. Why?
But there she is, even her hairstyle is the same. Is she a fan? I'd love to ask, but I'm terrified of her. When she looks this way, I hide the manga under the Iliad, opening it at a random part.
I notice the scribbles on the desk. This place opened a month ago, and vandals already left their mark. This is why we can't have nice things. Are these runes on a pentagram?
Did somebody think they could cast magic from these books? At least when I daydream, I don't make a mess. Fuck, it would be so cool if she was the real Aratsuki. My head bumps the book.
I'm tired, and I didn't even start. I can't focus, things blur together, and I'm lost in my usual fantasies again. If I pass out now—, oh, crap, my eyelids are already too heavy.
Libraries are too dangerous. They are quiet, smell books, and have no teachers or bullies around to wake me up. My vision goes dark, but as fast as I fall asleep, something jolts me awake too.
Did Aratsuki catch me sleeping and shake me awake? Her face is too close, and she's wearing her trademark full-plate armor. I called it, she's a cosplayer, huh? But something's off.
"Odysseus, what do we do?" She asks leaning over me, trying to drag me behind cover. A huge boulder crashes inches away and shakes the ground. Holy shit, that was close.
What the hell? This isn't the library. It looks like how I'd imagine that siege from the Greek book, except it's straight out of the manga. And what did she call me? Who's Odysseus?
"Hey, answer me. Did you hit your head? Someone, a healer!" She yells, and I sense her sweet perfume through the smell of blood and mud. Okay, I'm dreaming, but this is wild.