CotE: Year 2 Volume 5 Translation

Chapter1- The Footsteps of Chaos - Intro

After the summer break, the second semester of the second year started today.
If we look at it broadly, it means that we will soon reach the end of our three-year school life.

I tie my tie and slip my arm through the sleeve. Looking in the mirror, I adjust my hair, making sure my appearance is in order, and head for the door.

On the way, I was joined by Sudo, who was yawning loudly, so we exchanged greetings, and headed out of the dorm.

"Suzune threatened me that I might have to take a writing test early in the second semester, so I stayed up all night."

"You were still studying on the last day of summer vacation?"

"Thankfully, I've got a full curriculum to work through. Well, I'd like to get a high score and get my OAA to a B or better."

It's a big deal to get a B or better in academics. But it's not a big statement, is it?

If he had been studying hard during the summer vacation, it would not be surprising if his academic performance had improved further. He has become a man for whom the phrase "both literary and military arts" is quite appropriate.

The number of minor life problems such as tardiness, absenteeism, and falling asleep has also decreased dramatically. There is still a part of him that gets heateddepending on the situation, but that is also a characteristic of Sudo.

"Let me ask you something strange, do you think Kanji has kissed Shinohara yet?"

"What?"

"It's great that he's got a girlfriend, but it's frustrating when people beat you to it. It's been bothering me a lot lately."

"Why don't we just ask him? I think Ike might be able to tell us."

"Listen to ....... If he had not even held hands yet, or if you've heard that it's going further than that, my right fist might roar for the first time in a long time."

Okay, that's a bit of a problem. I'm going to be in a lot of trouble when his fists roar.

"If Ike is happy, he's going to say whatever he wants. If you don't ask him about it, then we haven't made that much progress, have we?"

"That's true. But maybe it's different when it comes to love. I don't know, because I haven't experienced it. I'm not sure if you've ever had a girlfriend, by the way, Ayanokoji? ------ What's it like there?"

The story about the ike unexpectedly turns into a story about me.
I can't help but feel Sudo's passionate (I believe him!) gaze on me, asking, "What's going on?"

"I can't lie to you, so I'll tell you this: I got my first girlfriend the other day."

".... Seriously? Seriously?"

It's not a good idea to fool around with it, given that it will soon spread from kei.
When I answered honestly, Sudo sighed as he held his head.

Right after that, he hurriedly grabbed me by both shoulders.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

"Don't worry. It's not who you think it is."

"Are you sure? I can trust that it's not Suzune, right?"

"Oh. No."

"Oh, yeah. Well, that's okay. ------ I thought my heart was going to stop for a second. ・・・・・・"

He put his left palm to his forehead and wiped it messily, as if sweat had broken out.
Then he showed me the sweat on his palms to show his impatience.

"Who is it then?"

"It's--"

"Ah! I found you!"

Just as Sudo regained his composure, he heard footsteps running up behind him.
When the footsteps caught up with our walking speed, she looked up at me with a slightly angry look on her face.

"I was going to go to school with you, but you never told me you weren't in your room!"

Kei puffs out her cheeks a little and complains like that.

"No, I haven't heard anything about going with you."

"That's ...... I mean, I was nervous and lost until the last minute. ......"

Sudo looked at us suspiciously as we suddenly began a mysterious exchange.

"What's with the sudden interruption, Karuizawa? I was just having an important conversation with Ayanokoji, so don't interrupt me."

Apparently, he hadn't noticed the nature of our conversation.
He seemed unconvinced that she had simply shown up here.

Thinking about it, the two of us hardly ever get involved.
We're not close. ------ No, if anything, we're just bad together.

"Are you going to tell everyone about us today?"

"Huh? Hmm, hmm. I'm looking at the timing a little ・・・・・・. It's not the same to announce it as soon as you get to school. ・・・・・・ It's surprisingly difficult to make an announcement. It's not the
same as saying, "Listen to me."

"It seems that Yosuke was quick to declare his intentions."

"Well, that's the thing, isn't it? It's a totally different situation."

"Hey, hey, what are you talking about? What?"

Sudo, who had been showing his dullness, stopped and looked stunned, as if his understanding had caught up with the fact that I was using first name and what I was saying.

"Yeah. ...... What? Oh, hey, what do you mean, Ayanokoji?"

Still, he was not sure if he could connect with this combination, or if he was still not sure. In a way, he might be a good classmate to know first.

"We are in a relationship, me and her."

Kei grinned and then elbowed me in the arm, poking me three times.
Maybe she was just happy to hear it from me.

"It's ...... Aaaaaaah! No, no, no, no!"

He was taken aback, and shouted out loud, more exaggeratedly than he had imagined.
There were no classmates around by chance, but the students turned their heads to see what was going on.

"Too loud."

"I'm sorry. But, no, what? Why... are you going out with Karuizawa?"

"What do you mean? Is there something wrong with me?

"It's not that it's not about that, but I mean, ・・・・・・ yeah, ......?

He made a bewildered movement that seemed to pull him back a bit, and twisted his head in an unconvincing manner.

"What, you wanted me to go out with Horikita?"

"I'll never accept that! ...No, that's not what I meant..."

He grabbed me by the shoulders and brought his lips to my ear and whispered.
"I'm sorry to say this, but... Karuizawa was dating Hirata, and before that, we don't know what kind of flashy relationships she had in junior high school. Don't you feel dissatisfied or uncomfortable with that? Isn't that too high a bar for your first girlfriend?"

I guess that's the image of Kei Karuizawa that her classmates have of her.
In fact, until I learned about her past, I had always thought of her as that kind of girl.

"What are you whispering about?"

"No, it's nothing."

Sudo was glaring at me and slunk away. He must have felt bad for saying something so close to swearing.

"Ayanokoji and Karuizawa are dating. ......? No matter how many times I think about it, I can't catch up. I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but... I guess it's a good idea."

I heard Sudo say a few words, and I was sure I heard him.

A/N:  That's it for intro.

Translated by ANIME ANYWAY on YouTube.