26 Chapter 21
After a while, lunch came, and they left the room. Eden headed up to the roof to have lunch with his sister, Yuna. Upon reaching the roof, he saw Yuna sitting there with a lunch box prepared for both of them. While spending time with Ryoko was fun and exciting, sitting on the roof and discussing why clouds appeared the way they did with his sister, was also delightful.
Lunch went by quickly, and he contemplated whether to return to class. Eventually, he decided to study magic as he usually did, comfortably nestled in his new man cave. As the school day neared its end, he made his way to the service club room. Outside the room, he found both Yukino and Yui looking inside, seemingly engrossed in observing something.
Curious, Eden asked, "What's going on?" Both of them turned towards him, visibly relieved to see him. Yui approached and said, "There's a weird guy in the club room." Peering inside, Eden noticed an overweight man with white hair and glasses. "He does seem pretty odd," he remarked, just as Hikigaya approached from behind.
"Hey, what are you guys up to?" Hikigaya inquired. "We're watching this strange guy," Eden replied. As Hikigaya looked into the room, the man inside seemed to recognize him. Eden observed the two of them conversing, eventually grasping the nature of their discussion.
"It appears this individual is suffering from a severe case of eighth-grader syndrome," Eden realized. Recognizing that Hikigaya was making little headway with him, Eden decided to embrace the situation, thinking that if he couldn't beat them, he might as well join them.
"Master Swordsman, I beg your forgiveness for my lack of proper respect. Allow me to introduce myself—I am Eden Tsubakihara, prince of all that is gold, proficient in both the blade and the arcane arts. What does a fine warrior like yourself desire within this castle of mine?" Eden proclaimed, adopting the playful tone.
"Your Highness, it is truly remarkable to encounter someone as mighty as I in this place. However, I have come to implore you for assistance during my most dire hour of need," Zaimokuza conveyed. With that, he attempted to genuflect, albeit awkwardly due to his lack of athleticism.
"No need to kneel before me, Master Samurai. We are two warriors cut from the same cloth, woven by destiny. It is only fitting that we aid one another," Eden responded in character. "I appreciate your mercy, Your Highness. I require your aid with this," Zaimokuza said, handing Eden numerous pages of paper.
"Are these your memoirs, Master Samurai?" Eden inquired. "Indeed, they are. I, a lowly peasant, am not skilled in the art of the pen. Yet, a noble of your stature surely knows how best to transcribe the saga of this samurai life for posterity," Zaimokuza explained.
"Of course. Since you've entrusted these to me, you should return to your realm. Your adventures are storied and vast, and it will take me considerable time to peruse through them," Eden replied. "Farewell," Zaimokuza bid, and Eden echoed the sentiment, "Farewell."
"What was that?" Yukina asked, giving him a puzzled look.
"That, my fair lady, was acting," he replied, offering a bow.
"Am I the only one totally lost about what he wanted us to do?" Yui wondered aloud.
"Yui-chan, unlike you, I speak 'nerd,' and he basically wanted us to check out his writings to see if they're any good," Eden explained to Yui.
"Why did you even play along with his weirdness?" Yukina questioned, shooting him a bit of a glare.
"Because it was a blast," he grinned, pulling something out of his bag. "Oh, and here's that book you wanted. It's all yours." After handing her the book, Eden got down to sorting through the papers Zaimokuza had given him.
"Anyway, I guess we're all supposed to give his stuff a read and then chat about it tomorrow," he suggested. Grabbing his papers, he made his exit, leaving everyone totally puzzled by what had just unfolded.
