Asterisk
Would you like to read Key of Solomon together?
Um...
You say that like you'd say "Want to read a fashion magazine together?"
But that's not a fashion magazine, is it?
You're right.
But it's one of the more well-known magic books.
Yeah, but magic books as a whole aren't really mainstream.
How has your hunt for club members been going?
No one, yet.
Why did you end up on your own all of a sudden, anyway?
Um...
Two graduated, one transferred, and the last one got teleported.
She says it like she just faxed them.
So two graduated and two transferred, right?
No, one got teleported.
It's okay, that's what I heard.
But teleported where?
Well...
She's been saying she wanted to go, so possibly to the River Styx,
which would take her to Hades.
She says it like she went to visit Skytree.
So what's the name of this person that got teleported?
Agrippa.
No, not her nickname, her real name.
Mato Aguri.
All right.
Let's head to the faculty room.
Yeah.
Wh-Why?
Let's ask the teachers what happened to her.
Faculty Room
Mato-san?
Was there anyone with that name in our year?
Um, hang on.
Oh, there was, in Class 1.
What happened to her?
U-Um...
It looks like she's ill.
What do you mean by that?
Ill?
I never heard about this!
Y-Yeah?
Where is she?
Which hospital is she at?
If she hasn't told you herself, I'm not sure I should.
But hey, don't worry too much.
She'll be all better and back at school soon enough.
You can see her then.
Th-Thank you, Sensei.
Pastimers Club
Oka-san, are you okay?
Did Mato-san seem ill at all?
I can't believe I didn't notice, but just before she got teleported...
Hey, have you read Heptaméron?
I have.
I heard it was written by Pietro d'Abano, but apparently that's BS.
Yeah, Pietro d'Abano is from the 13th century,
and Heptaméron is supposed to have been written in the late 16th century.
I know.
But...
Hang on, I'm going to lie down for a bit.
Are you sick?
No, not at all.
I'm just tired from P.E. again.
Okay.
Hey...
I'm secretly making the Fifth Pentacle of the Sun right now.
So if I suddenly vanish one day,
just think of it as being because my transportation magic worked.
You're always so ambitious, Agrippa.
But please don't vanish on me.
That happened shortly before she went away.
Why didn't I notice what was happening?
Oka-san!
What about magic?
Is there any magic that'll help her get better?
That stuff doesn't really work.
Wait!
Why are you suddenly being so realistic?
You always have so much blind faith in the occult.
Please don't come to your senses now.
Olivia-san...
Do you think someone even at my level could make a difference?
You would!
It would definitely work!
All right, I'm going to do this magic, too!
I-I'll help, too.
So what's this magic we're doing?
Let's see...
How about this doll magic from New Orleans?
The voodoo doll.
First, fasten two pieces of wood into a cross.
Next, wind it up in string, and add to it the person's likeness.
I can't tell how that looks any different from Oka-san.
Next, we prepare marking pins.
We use different colored marking pins depending on what we're doing.
We're trying to rid her of the suffering that is illness, so we use black.
And I want to stab the part where she's ill, and chant, "Suffering, be gone," but...
But...
Where am I supposed to stab her?
Where was Agrippa ill?
Why didn't she tell me anything?
Let's stab her all over, then.
We don't have to know where she's sick if we stab her all over and chant,
"Get better all over."
Y-You're right.
Get better, Agrippa.
Get better...
Th-That looks brutal.
I hope she gets better now.
Oh, I'll go see if there're more charms that'll work.
Okay.
Thank you, Pastimers Club.
I shall meet Agrippa again.
Sorry I'm late.
Huh, what were you up to?
We were praying with a voodoo doll for Mato-san to get better.
Huh.
Did you stab her butt, too, then?
No, we didn't. Why?
Oh, really?
No, I didn't mean anything by that.
Never mind.
I thought I shouldn't tell them, since she's getting surgery for hemorrhoids,
but I hope I'm making the right decision.
A week later, they were reunited with Agrippa.
Asobi Asobase
Studying for Exams
I'm handing out the results for the first term exams.
Ando-san.
Yes.
Ito-san.
Yes.
Cower before me, pitiful masses.
Behold my true potential.
I've been studying diligently this whole time,
and then for the last two weeks before the exam,
I went on just three hours of sleep a day.
The result? An average grade over five subjects and secondary courses of 98.2.
Shoot, I'm getting the chills, picturing myself at the peak.
I'm so turned on!
Honda-san.
Yes.
Total grade Average Year Ranking 884 98.2 2nd
Year Ranking 2nd
You got first again this year, Misa-chan? Wow.
I'm awesome, right?
You're kidding... Weren't you messing around a lot?
That's not true.
I was studying with my boyfriend.
And then what happened?
Pastimers Club
Strange.
Something's not right.
I've been abstaining from fashion and relationships to focus on my studies.
From the looks of it, I spent a lot more time studying than her.
So why am I being outdone by a wretched slut who doesn't take life seriously?
Please understand, audience,
that Hanako's thoughts have become somewhat violent from the shock.
Hanako had trusted that results were proportionate to effort.
She didn't want to believe in the possibility
that they had a difference in innate intelligence,
and that she had lost because she was not as gifted.
And sadder still,
the other two had bombed, and were taking remedial classes.
Being by myself is making me stew in negative thoughts even more.
Kasumi-san did pretty bad on the English exam again.
What kind of special skills does it take to do so bad?
You could easily pass by just memorizing some words and example sentences.
Although she is trying.
Her efforts aren't quite sticking to her brain.
They're seeping out of her ears and being converted
into atmospheric nitrogen, I'm sure.
As for Olivia...
Why doesn't she ever study for anything?
Two weeks before the exams
What're you up to, Hanako?
The term exams are coming up.
I thought I'd make good use of my time.
From two weeks ahead?
You'll be freaking out if you slack off until a week before, Olivia.
Why not just cram it all the night before?
Cram it?
I don't think you can, with all the subjects that are on the term exams.
That's not true.
You just need to wing it so you don't fail.
But you did fail!
Hanako-sama, congratulations on ranking second in the year.
Don't suddenly pop up like that, damn it!
But I was here the whole time.
That's even freakier!
Uh...
How much did you hear?
Huh?
Er, you were silent the whole time.
O-Okay.
But I did sense an aura of "That girl in first
isn't going to get away with making it to the top canoodling with boys."
Can't you be a little more tactful?!
But I feel like you're winning at life if you make first.
How can I not get jealous?
Hanako-sama, I disagree.
You think you've already won or lost at life at middle school? Hilarious!
Are you cheering me up or making fun of me?
But I'd taken notice of your distress,
and have been working in secret with your grandfather.
With Grandpa?
Yes.
I'd spoken with him about it before.
Hanako-sama seems to want a lover.
What?
Hana-chan does?
She doesn't even have all of her pubic hair. She's too young.
No, I'm quite sure she has a full coat of pubic hair.
I'm going to take both of you to court for sexual harassment!
And so the two of us built this together...
The Honda family's home-built android,
Eighteen Summer "You Have Such Beautiful Fingers" Koichi-kun.
Th-This reeks of despair.
You don't need to bother.
Hang on, he has voice functionality, too.
Come on, this problem isn't even that hard. You can do better.
He's not bad.
Yes.
The two of us worked hard recording the voices for you, Hanako-sama.
You two recorded this voice?!
Please, give it a try.
And then what happened?
Th-This is creepier than I thought.
Hey.
You made a mistake.
Right.
Sorry.
Wrong.
Huh?
You mean, "teehee."
Holy shit, he's annoying!
I don't think I need this.
W-Wait, please!
We made it based on simulations of conversations that a maiden would enjoy.
By our calculations, he's perfect!
There's no way you and Grandpa could have made a perfect simulation!
Wait up.
Hana-chan, has Aunt Flo come to visit?
You sound vulgar, miss.
You sound just like Grandpa and it's vulgar as hell!
I'm going to destroy you!
Hanako-sama!
You don't have remedial classes tomorrow, Kasumi?
I don't.
And you got through all the remedial classes, too, huh?
We were just gone for remedial classes...
...and Hanako-san had killed a man!
Wait, that's not it, you two!
It's a doll!
Hana-chan, how could you?
The decapitated head is talking!
That's not what it is!
Asobi Asobase
A New Look
So hot...
I want to cut my hair.
A boy birdie and a girl birdie, flirtie flirt, flirtie flirt...
Olivia, you're already here.
No, Olivia!
What, Hanako?
Don't!
Cutting your hair won't fix your B.O.!
I just wanted to cut my hair because it's hot.
What did you just say?
Sorry, I lost my memories.
You shouldn't cut it yourself, though.
You have to go to a stylist.
I'll go if I mess up cutting it myself.
Don't!
Sorry I'm late.
I stopped by the library.
Let go! Let go!
The scissors!
Get back, I'll stab you!
Did you break up?
Not at all.
It's just so hot.
Oh, I see.
But you have such nice hair, it'd be a shame to cut it.
She's right.
You have cute curly hair.
Why don't you tie it in a ponytail if it's too hot?
It gets even more stuffy inside with a ponytail.
Aren't you hot, Hanako?
I'm fine so far.
Oh.
So how much were you going to cut?
Very short.
That's even more of a reason to have a professional do it for you.
Yeah.
If you do it yourself and mess up,
you'll seriously have no choice but to shave it all off.
I'll try cutting just a little, then.
If I screw up, I'll go see a stylist.
I'm sorry, I can't do it!
Undo it, please!
Nope, nope, nope!
Oh no, I shouldn't have done it!
Hair is what makes a woman!
Exactly, it's what makes a woman!
U-Um...
No one can tell the difference. Don't worry.
Oh, really?
Sheesh, don't scare me like that.
Let's try practicing on your bangs, then.
How has she not learned her lesson?!
Snip
This is bad!
You cut way too much of your bangs!
You were the one who told me to do it!
I didn't think you'd cut it so far!
Like, a millimeter!
A millimeter!
H-Hey, that much is...
hard not to notice.
You aren't trying to cheer me up, are you?
You're trying to finish me off!
You could fix it by taking hair from the back and using it as your bangs.
L-Like this?
Y-Yeah.
And then cut it to the same length as your bangs.
I-Is it back to normal?
It isn't.
Come on, you're killing me!
It's no use.
Let's go the stylist's.
Yeah.
But I can't go outside looking like this.
What do we do?
What shall we do?
Nope.
I'm not leaving this room.
Sorry I'm late, everyone.
Sensei, Olivia's hair!
Huh? What's wrong?
I cut it myself and messed up.
Oh, dear.
Is there any way to hide it?
Okay, why don't you wear a hairband and just brush your bangs back?
Like this.
Yeah.
I think this could work.
It's cool, too.
You're so smart, Sensei.
Oh, wait, m-my acne.
Never mind.
Is there any other way?
I'm never taking a step out of this room again.
Um...
All right, I'll tidy it all up for you.
Believe it or not, I'm really good at cutting bangs.
I cut my own bangs, after all.
My own...
Her own?
Wait, Sensei...
Sensei!
Asobi Asobase
Spirited Combat, Again
Hey, Sensei, you're already here.
Olivia.
How did you get that wrong?!
You have the same bangs.
Hey, you're already here, Oli-sen—
That was a one-time mistake, right?
Don't you dare make it my nickname!
It sure is hot these days.
The floor's nice and cold.
Isn't that gross, Hanako?
Don't worry, Sensei cleans it every day.
Oh yeah, there's a game in Hokkaido
where you pull people out while they're sitting like that.
What's that?
Oh yeah!
Daikon pulling, right?
Daikon?
You pull the pullee like they're a daikon root.
This is how Maeda taught me when I was little, so the rules might be a bit Maedafied.
Okay, Kasumi-san and I will go first.
You can watch.
Okay.
Kasumi-san's the daikon.
If I pull Kasumi-san out of this circle, I win.
Daikon, takuan, buri daikon, buri buri buri...
This dance and song are probably Maeda-chan's rules.
K-Kasumi-san, may I place my hands on your legs?
Y-Yes.
R-Really?
Don't hit me later.
Okay.
Hanako's turning into a horny old dude.
Here I go.
Damn, she's so heavy.
Something like that?
What was that? I don't get it.
I mean, it wouldn't be fun if I showed you the whole thing, right?
I have to leave the best part for you to try yourself.
Hanako-san...
I'll be it this time.
Y-Yeah.
I feel bad. Sorry.
Okay, Olivia and I are the daikon.
Okay.
Daikon, takuan, buri daikon, buri buri buri...
Is that really necessary?
We're moving fast!
Hang in there, Hanako!
Hanako-san, you have to put more strength in your lower back.
Olivia! I'm levitating!
Hanako!
Mommy! Mommy!
Shoot. She's going to take me with her.
Olivia!
Why, Olivia?
Why have you betrayed me?
You're awful!
I don't want to die yet!
I'll see you on the other side, Olivia!
Was this game always like this?
Things have gotten kind of awkward.
Nah, Hanako-san was just over-acting.
You were totally into it, too, Kasumi-san.
Sorry I'm late, guys.
Sensei, let's play daikon pulling.
Oh, that's the game where you tug at each other's legs, right?
I'm pretty good at holding on, you know.
Noo!
She was the first to get pulled out.