Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 33 - Chapter 1

Episode 1: Battle of the Brains! Koutarou’s in Danger?!

Compared to other kids their age, distance was no object for Koutarou and the girls. With Theia’s Blue Knight and Clan’s Hazy Moon at their disposal, they could go wherever they wanted whenever they wanted. If they felt like swimming in the middle of winter, they could hop right down to the southern hemisphere. If they so wished, they could go mountain climbing in the morning and wrap up the day with a dip in the ocean halfway around the world. It was quite a blessing for teenagers brimming with a youthful love of adventure and fun.

And today, they were putting that blessing to good use. They’d each taken time out of their busy schedules for a three-day, two-night trip to a ski resort—something they’d all been looking forward to.

“Koutarou, I’m going to the expert course! Come with me!” Theia called enthusiastically.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go for the long forest course?” Koutarou asked in reply.

“We’re going to do them all eventually! We can save that one for later!”

“That’s true. Anyone else coming?”

“Oh, I’m in,” answered Shizuka. “Sounds like fun!”

The athletic trio of the group—Koutarou, Theia, and Shizuka—was getting excited. They’d been to a few different ski resorts on school trips, so they had plenty of skiing and snowboarding experience under their belts. They were primed and ready to take on the most challenging course without so much as a warmup.

“Just let me know when you’re headed for the forest course. I’d like to do that one with you,” chimed in Maki.

“Yeah, jeez! Can’t you guys at least wait until we get our snow legs back?” huffed Sanae.

“We can take our time getting used to the snow while Koutarou and the others are doing the expert course,” suggested Kiriha.

“I’d like to gradually work my way up to it,” agreed Harumi.

Maki and Sanae wanted to go with Koutarou, but their skills unfortunately weren’t up to snuff. They just didn’t have the experience to tackle the expert course right out of the gate. Kiriha was in a slightly different position; she had the necessary skill, but she’d considerately volunteered to stay behind and coach the other girls on the basics. As for Harumi, her handicap was simply a matter of stamina. If she exhausted herself too soon, she knew she wouldn’t last a full day on the slopes.

“We should gather data on the snow while we can.”

“Agreed. Without that, the semi-automatic snowboard will be useless.”

Ruth and Clan were taking a different approach to their vacation altogether. They were aware of their lack of athleticism and were trying to make up for it with technology. To that end, Clan had prepared two snowboards that even a complete amateur could use without falling over, but it was dangerous to take them on the more advanced courses without some basic data and trial runs first. For that reason, Ruth and Clan were sticking with Kiriha and the others for the time being.

“What’s so fun about playing out in the cold like this anyway?”

“Oh? Are you not a fan of this kind of thing, Yurika-san?”

“I’d rather be soaking in the hot spring.”

Lastly, there was Yurika and Elfaria—who were both completely hopeless when it came to skiing. Yurika had no excuse, but this was Elfaria’s first exposure to the winter sports of Earth. She needed to be taught from the ground up, starting with what skiing even was.

And so, once Koutarou, Theia, and Shizuka were off, the other girls got to doing their own thing.

Maki, Sanae, Clan, and Ruth could manage themselves well enough in the snow. Maki and Sanae were fine on their skis after a brief refresher, and Clan and Ruth were up and moving as soon as they got the data they needed. That left Harumi and Kiriha teaching Yurika and Elfaria respectively.

“Why do I need to learn how to fall?” Yurika asked.

“Because nobody is there to stop you on the slopes,” Harumi replied.

Harumi was a fine skier from a technical point of view despite her lack of stamina, so she had no problems instructing Yurika. More importantly, Yurika respected her and actually listened to what she had to say. It made them a good pair.

“But would falling in the snow even hurt?”

“If you underestimate skiing, you could get seriously injured. In the worst case scenario, you might even...”

“P-Please teach me everything! I’ll listen good!”

Koutarou had already told Yurika that she’d be in trouble if she ran away and spent the day at the lodge instead of skiing, so it was important that she learn how to do it both properly and safely.

“I see... So these hard-to-walk-in shoes are meant to be affixed to these planks,” Elfaria mused.

“Yes. Once you affix them, you can move your center of gravity to adjust their angle,” Kiriha explained.

“So the idea is to keep the front of these planks toward the slope?”

“Precisely.”

Since Elfaria knew nothing of Earth sports, particularly skiing, she was at a greater disadvantage than most first-time skiers. Nevertheless, she was rather athletic and quick on the uptake. She didn’t have any problems following Kiriha’s instructions and advice. It seemed it wouldn’t be long before she was skiing with the other girls.

“Hey, I’m... Whoa!”

“You’re doing well, Your Majesty.”

“What’s your honest assessment without the flattery, Kiriha-san?”

“You’re focusing too much on trying to control the skis. You’ll be fine if you just adjust them to the slope.”

“I feel like I’ll improve faster if you keep giving it to me straight like that.”

“Understood.”

Kiriha spoke to Theia as an equal, but she maintained a high degree of courtesy when conversing with Elfaria. Kiriha, as a kind of princess in her own right, was naturally respectful of other rulers. That respect, however, was getting in the way of her instruction, so Elfaria sagely asked her to be more frank.

“Heya!”

“Mother!”

Just as Elfaria began timidly sliding on the snow, two familiar voices called out to her from on high. It was Koutarou and Theia, who were currently riding the ski lift overhead. When Elfaria looked up, she could see them waving happily.

“Be careful not to fall, my dear!”

“I won’t! But you be careful too, Mother!”

“Leave her to me, Theia-dono!”

After a brief exchange, Koutarou and Theia were off. In the lift right behind them, however, was Shizuka.

“Kiriha-san, the lift isn’t hanging down or anything, is it?”

Shizuka was worried about the lift sagging, but it wasn’t like she was scared. She was just concerned it might look like the lift was carrying too much weight for a single girl riding it.

“Don’t worry. It looks just like it always does.”

“Great!”

Kiriha wasn’t really an expert on ski lifts one way or the other, but the truth wasn’t exactly what mattered in this situation. Knowing that, Kiriha had simply given Shizuka the answer she needed to hear.

“Kiriha-san... Don’t you want to be with them too?” Elfaria asked.

Koutarou and Theia were still visible up the hill. They were talking with—and sometimes punching—each other as they rode the lift to the top of the slope. It was obvious even from a distance how close they were. Elfaria was sensitive to the hearts of others, so she could easily imagine that Kiriha would much rather be in the lift with Koutarou than stuck here instructing her.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to, but I’d feel bad for Theia-dono if I butted in right now.”

“You’re so mature, Kiriha-san.”

“This is just what we naturally do. Theia-dono doesn’t interrupt my time with him either.”

“Heehee, it seems you girls are rather considerate of one another.”

Elfaria flashed a tranquil smile and turned to watch Theia and Koutarou go. Elfaria always kept her emotions in check, so it was hard to guess what she was really feeling based on her expression alone—but Kiriha had an idea. Elfaria had finally been reunited with her first love after twenty years. Kiriha knew how desperate she personally was to be with him after only ten, so she felt deep down that it was really Elfaria who would rather be in the ski lift with Koutarou right now.

Koutarou, Theia, and Shizuka arrived at their destination after changing lifts three times. Each ride was about ten minutes, so it took approximately forty minutes to reach the expert course from the base of the mountain. Then there was the actual skiing to do, so all told, it was about an hour before Koutarou, Theia, and Shizuka returned to the group.

“Ah, Koutarou’s back!”

The first to sense them coming, as expected, was Sanae. She’d been paying close attention to the auras within several hundred meters so she’d know as soon as Koutarou was in range. She was eagerly awaiting his return, after all.

“Where?” Maki asked.

“Over there!”

“I don’t see him.”

“He’s still on the other side of this hill. You’ll be able to see him soon.”

Maki was also eager to see Koutarou, so she and Sanae happily pulled over to the side of the course so as not to get in the way of any other skiers. As they stood there expectantly looking up the slope, Clan and Ruth pulled up.

“Glasses, can’t you do something about the way you’re snowboarding? It’s so straight and weird.”

“Not until I get any better at it. That’s just how the device was designed.”

Clan and Ruth were using Clan’s special snowboards, which were equipped with an automatic balancing function to make them absurdly stable. A wobbly-kneed amateur like Clan was riding as straight as a pro. Anyone who saw it would doubt their eyes, but Clan didn’t seem to think much of it. The auto-balance function would naturally kick in less once Clan and Ruth’s skills improved, so the stiffness of their snowboarding would eventually go away on its own.

“But Sanae-sama, Maki-san... is something the matter?”

“I was wondering the same thing, honestly.”

Rather than worrying about their own snowboarding, Ruth and Clan were curious as to why Sanae and Maki had pulled over.

“Koutarou and the others will be here soon. Look!”

When Sanae pointed, they could all see Koutarou, Theia, and Shizuka coming down the hill. Now that they’d conquered the expert course, they’d apparently returned to clear the bunny slopes as well.

“It’s Satomi-kun! Huh? Something’s strange...”

Maki smiled upon spotting Koutarou and the others, but quickly cocked her head to the side. They were moving far too fast for the bunny slope. At the speeds they were going, they were sure to plow right into the less experienced skiers and snowboarders. Maki couldn’t imagine the three of them risking something like that just for fun.

“Waaah! Someone save meeeee!”

Maki’s doubts, however, were quickly answered when she caught a glimpse of a massive, pink snowball barreling down the hill. It cut a beautiful course right after Koutarou, Theia, and Shizuka almost like it was a homing missile. It was obvious now that the three of them were going so fast to try to get away from it.

“Don’t come over here, Yurika!”

“I caaan’t stooooop!”

“Oh no...”

Crash!

There weren’t skis fast enough to escape the out-of-control snowball, and Koutarou was directly in its path. The snowball plowed over him without mercy—and Maki and the other girls had a front row seat for the whole thing.

Harumi’s careful, patient lessons had all been for naught. Nearly as soon as she set foot on the slope, Yurika fell and tumbled into a snowball that picked up momentum as it picked up size. Koutarou and the others unfortunately happened to pass by at just the wrong time.

On the bright side, however, Koutarou wasn’t seriously hurt when the pink snowball plowed over him. The snow Yurika had accumulated actually helped cushion the blow and distribute the impact, though Koutarou ended up covered head to toe in the stuff. He acted like it was no big deal at first and immediately went back to playing with the girls, but developed a fever over the course of the afternoon. By that evening, they could all tell at a glance that he was getting sick.

“You really are foolish, Satomi Koutarou.”

“Can you blame me? I don’t get that many chances to go skiing.”

Currently, Koutarou was resting in his hotel room. Kiriha couldn’t help smiling as she dipped a towel in some cool water for him and placed it on his forehead. Koutarou was always incredibly reliable in an emergency, but at times like this, he was almost childish. Of course, Kiriha didn’t really think he was as foolish as she made him out to be. She knew that this was part of how he depended on them too, so it actually made her happy.

“Layous-sama, would you like something to eat? I could feed you if you’d like.”

“Thanks, but everyone kind of ended up feeding me earlier. I could use a drink, though.”

“Coming right up.”

In addition to Kiriha, Elfaria was helping to take care of Koutarou. She was the oldest of the group and their leader on paper, so it was only natural for her to stay behind and lend Kiriha—their actual leader—a hand. As for how exactly she planned on helping...

Sssip!

“Mmm...”

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Gulp... Well, I was thinking of trying to give you some juice mouth-to-mouth.”

Sip!

“Mmm!”

Whack!

“Mm—Ouch! Jeez, you don’t have to be so shy, Layous-sama. Not with the kind of relationship we have.”

“Oh yeah? And what kind of relationship is that?”

“That of a beautiful mother and her son-in-law.”

“You idiot.”

From Koutarou’s point of view, it didn’t seem like Elfaria had stayed behind out of a sense of responsibility. Far from it—she’d simply stayed because she wanted to.

She might say it was twenty years ago, but emotions aren’t so simple. Especially in Her Majesty’s case where it wasn’t anyone’s fault they met... or had to say goodbye.

Elfaria always wore a mask of humor around Theia and the other girls to play her relationship with Koutarou off as a joke. But Kiriha suspected that there was a genuine longing underneath that mask and all the jokes. She herself knew the pain of unrequited love, after all.

Once Koutarou fell asleep, Kiriha and Elfaria took their leave to have dinner. On their way back to the room afterward, the hotel arcade happened to catch Kiriha’s eye. Since guests couldn’t go skiing when the weather turned bad, the resort hotel made sure to put a little extra flair and thought into its top-notch indoor entertainment.

“Hmm, if we use this...”

After taking a cursory survey of the available games, Kiriha flashed a small smile. She then turned to Elfaria, who was walking next to her.

“Your Majesty, would you care to learn a bit about the games of Earth?”

“Games? But Layous-sama is sleeping, so...”

Elfaria appeared to be far more concerned about Koutarou’s wellbeing, and anxiously glanced over at the elevator back up to his room.

“He is indeed asleep, so it should be all right if we dally for just a bit. Besides, Koutarou would be very disappointed to learn you spent your entire vacation caring for him.”

“That may be true, but...”

“So I was thinking that perhaps we could have a little competition. The loser has to take care of Koutarou and the winner is free to do whatever they like. What do you say?” Kiriha suggested with a bright smile.

Koutarou wasn’t so ill that he needed two people to care for him. Kiriha thought she could use a game to divide up the duty and halve the burden on both her and Elfaria. Or, at least, that was the pretense.

“...In that case, I won’t lose, Kiriha-san.”

“Please show me what you’re made of, Your Majesty.”

Kiriha had a very specific goal in mind, and she saw this little competition as the perfect opportunity to accomplish it.

Now I just need to defeat Her Majesty... A most difficult foe...

Kiriha wanted to give Elfaria and Koutarou some alone time together—something Elfaria wouldn’t dare ask for herself out of deference for Theia and the other girls. So, just like she had with Theia and the ski lift earlier, Kiriha came up with a plan specifically designed to give Elfaria what she wanted but couldn’t ask for. Kiriha would make sure Elfaria had no choice but to stay with Koutarou.

Granted, Elfaria wasn’t stupid. She was extremely wise and, because of her position, highly skilled in tactics and negotiation. It was foolish to assume that she didn’t already have some clue what Kiriha was up to at this point. That meant there was no reason for Kiriha to make concessions; Elfaria would be playing to win, and beating her would be no easy task when she put her mind to it... not even for Kiriha.

The game Kiriha chose for their competition was a simple roulette she’d spotted in the token section of the arcade. Participants would place bets on where they thought the ball would land and win a payout accordingly. This particular roulette was completely digital, but the rules were otherwise the same as the analogue version.

As for their game, Kiriha and Elfaria each started with twenty tokens. The winner would simply be whoever had the most tokens after five rounds. If they’d agreed to go until one of them ran out, it would have been a long, drawn-out game of reserved plays and safe bets. But the limited timeframe changed the tactics of the game dramatically. Not betting anything whatsoever and holding on to the same twenty tokens was allowed, but so was betting all of them in the first round. The winner would be whoever had the most tokens at the end of five turns, regardless of the strategy they used.

With these rules, losing the initiative would be bad. I’ll need to stay one step ahead of Her Majesty...

Kiriha’s plan was to take the offensive. If Elfaria took a lead in the first round, she could just bet the same way Kiriha did every turn thereafter, effectively preventing her from making a comeback. That said, Kiriha couldn’t risk being overly aggressive and losing too much in the first round either. She had to win, but she had to do it prudently.

“I see. So the first move is going to be the hardest...”

“Yes. We can both see how much the other is betting and what they’re betting on, after all.”

For their game, they’d agreed on a minute hold between each round. During that time, they were free to bet on as many spaces as they liked—but their opponent could see them do it. There was a certain strategy to waiting until the last second to bet.

“Heh, I see we both took a firm stance in the first round.”

Elfaria’s first bet was four tokens on red. The roulette wheel was composed of eighteen red spaces and eighteen black spaces, numbered 1 to 36, in a circle with an uncolored 0 and 00 space dividing them. That made the probability of winning on a color nearly 50 percent; and with twenty tokens and five turns, betting four tokens on the first round was a reasonable sum.

“I can’t lose too big here, after all.”

Kiriha made a similar bet with four tokens on an uneven result. The same as with red and black, the roulette wheel was divided evenly between odd and even numbers. So despite the difference in their actual bets, Elfaria and Kiriha had the same strategy.

Really, Kiriha had guessed that Elfaria would bet on either red or black, so she’d avoided doing the same as a form of damage control. If Kiriha had also bet on a color, the result would have either been an eight token difference in their totals or none at all. Meanwhile, if Kiriha bet on odd or even while Elfaria bet on color, the end result would either be a zero, four, or eight token difference between them. Kiriha’s idea was to reduce the risk of the greatest possible loss.

Whirrr...

Since they’d both waited until just before betting closed to make their calls, it was only a matter of seconds before the digital ball bounced into the wheel. It took a few laps, jumping over space after space before finally landing on the red 5.

“Oh my.”

“This makes things interesting.”

Since the ball landed on both a red space and an uneven number, both Kiriha and Elfaria received an eight token payout—double their original bets.

“Heh, I guess the wait-and-see tactic didn’t work.”

“Then hopefully this next round will.”

Kiriha and Elfaria grinned confidently. Of course, they both knew it was just a bluff. They were really just trying to get inside each other’s heads. The goal now was to figure out when and how the other would make their move.

The game took an interesting turn in the fourth round. At the end of the third, Kiriha had twenty-six tokens and Elfaria had twenty-four. But for the fourth round, Elfaria took a big gamble. She used half of her tokens to bet on the numbers 1 through 12. Ignoring the 0 and 00 spaces, that meant there was a one-in-three chance of tripling her bet. She’d be left with only twelve tokens if it didn’t work out, but she stood to gain thirty-six.

“So this is when you make your move!”

Elfaria was striking sooner than Kiriha had anticipated. Kiriha had bet the tokens she’d just won on red this round, but because Elfaria made her wager at the last second, there was no time for Kiriha to change her bet in response. All she could do now was wait to see how things played out.

“It’s important to think of the last two rounds as one!”

As far as Elfaria was concerned, this was the endgame. There was a two-in-three chance that her bet would fail this round, but only a four-in-nine chance that it would fail twice in a row.

Whirrr...

Both Elfaria and Kiriha held their breath as they watched the ball bounce around the spinning wheel... before finally landing on the red 9. They’d both won.

“Okay!”

“Ugh.”

Despite their mutual victory, their reactions couldn’t have been more opposite. Elfaria pumped her fist in the air while Kiriha gritted her teeth. Kiriha had thirty-two tokens, but Elfaria now had forty-eight total. She’d ended up giving Elfaria a considerable lead.

It seems like things are proceeding according to plan...

Confidence and probability aside, Elfaria had really chosen to make her move in the fourth round for a psychological advantage. Despite winning the round too, Kiriha already felt like she’d lost. Elfaria knew that if she and her opponent were standing on equal footing, then it was to her advantage to settle things quickly. She played like a true strategist.

Calm down, Kiriha... If you lose heart here, there will have been no point in even playing this game...

Kiriha understood Elfaria’s intentions quite well, but this game had a very emotional meaning for her. She couldn’t quite keep her calm like she ordinarily would have been able to. Just like Elfaria had hoped, she was getting flustered. It seemed that, for all her maturity, Kiriha didn’t hold a candle to a grown woman after all.

“This is it... The last round!”

Elfaria was in high spirits with the competition going her way, and she did her best to shake Kiriha with increasing confidence in her voice.

“...”

Kiriha tried calming herself with a few deep breaths, but it wasn’t exactly working. She only had one minute left—and it felt like the fastest minute that had ever flown by.

I suppose that’s to be expected from Her Majesty Elfaria...

Elfaria presently had the upper hand. Her advantage was so great that she didn’t even need to make a wager in the final round. She could simply hold on to her forty-eight tokens, while Kiriha would either have to make a bet or accept defeat here and now.

In the event that Elfaria didn’t make a play, Kiriha needed at least forty-eight tokens to win. That goal left her with desperate strategies like dividing her thirty-two tokens between two spaces on the promise of a triple payout. Of course, Elfaria would make a move under the assumption Kiriha would do exactly that. She might try to keep her risk down by making a relatively safe bet for minimal gain, or she might just copy Kiriha’s play to eliminate any potential gain at all. Whichever it was, Elfaria would likely bet in a way that tried to reduce Kiriha’s chances of winning. That put additional pressure on Kiriha, splitting her between two choices: she could either go for the minimum of forty-eight tokens... or go big.

“I guess I don’t have a choice. I didn’t want to have to do this, but...”

Kiriha made up her mind. Since it was a rather large gamble, she’d wanted to avoid this strategy... But under the circumstances, she had to choose whatever strategy gave her a fighting chance.

“You’re on!”

“Oh my, that’s an awfully bold gamble.”

Elfaria bet half of her tokens to prevent Kiriha from winning by betting all of hers on a single double payout window—which is what she’d judged Kiriha would do in an act of desperation. But to the contrary, Kiriha was going for a triple payout. She would win if luck was on her side, but things were clearly in Elfaria’s favor.

Whirrr...

Kiriha’s eyes were glued to the roulette wheel as she said a little prayer in her heart. Her goal wasn’t specifically to win, but she couldn’t accomplish her real goal without winning. She looked like a nervous wreck compared to Elfaria, who appeared calmly assured of her victory.

Clack!

“All right!”

“Heehee... Well done, Kiriha-san.”

The result? Kiriha had won, and she couldn’t hold back a modest fist pump in her excitement. She’d bet on 25 through 36, and the ball was presently sitting in the 29 pocket.

“But... why did you gamble like that at the end? It seems like a very illogical choice for you.”

“I was counting on the game’s random number generator not truly being random, Your Majesty.”

Kiriha flashed a small smile as she looked up at the screen that displayed the results of the last twenty rounds. The majority of balls seemed to land on higher numbers, and Kiriha used that for reference in her final wager.

Since the roulette wheel was a digital fabrication, a random number generator determined what space the ball “landed” on. There were several methods to generate a number, and Kiriha bet that the algorithm wasn’t really and truly random. She staked everything on the assumption that the machine was more likely to spit out higher numbers than lower ones.

Of course, she didn’t have any real basis for thinking that. In fact, it was far more likely she’d just gotten lucky. If the game really did have a true random number generator, then her entire strategy was moot. But in the spirit of gambling, she’d relied on luck to carry her though in the end.

“So you bet your tokens on what you thought might have a slightly higher chance of winning...”

“That’s right. And so, I’ll leave Koutarou in your care this evening.”

Under ordinary circumstances, Elfaria could never be honest with Koutarou. That was why Kiriha wanted to give her a special opportunity where she actually had a chance, why she’d been so determined to win. Perhaps, rather than luck, it was that gentle wish that ushered her to victory.

Elfaria had an inkling of Kiriha’s plan, which was why she’d played her hardest to win. She just couldn’t openly say that; it was easier to pretend she didn’t know. She was reluctant to accept Kiriha’s kindness, and she also had her pride to consider.

Yet in the end, Kiriha’s earnest kindness had won over Elfaria’s stubbornness. When earnestness and duplicity clashed, it was only natural that earnestness would win in the end. At least, that was how Elfaria saw it.

“My daughter’s friend was being considerate of me, Layous-sama...”

Elfaria whispered to Koutarou as he lay asleep in bed. She had a bittersweet smile on her face, for she was genuinely happy despite the circumstances. She didn’t have many opportunities to be alone with Koutarou, and there were things she couldn’t say to him while he was awake. This was a very special moment.

“But you know... This is your fault too, Layous-sama. You’re the one who jumped twenty years through time...”

Those were words she could never say otherwise. They were feelings that had remained unexpressed all this time, and now they were overflowing from within. Elfaria was alone with Koutarou, and he was fast asleep... It was now and only now that she could say such things to him.

“I thought I’d given up for Theia and the other girls’ sake... yet when I look at your face like this, my determination wavers... That’s terrible, isn’t it? I’m a grown woman...”

Elfaria hesitantly stroked Koutarou’s cheek. As she did, she could feel warmth and emotions she thought she’d locked away decades ago surge through her like a wave. It shook her heart and took her back twenty years to when she was just a teenager...

To a time when she ran on passion alone. To a time she met a strange boy who struggled to carry the burdens of a legendary hero. Elfaria herself wore a heavy crown, so she empathized greatly... and it hadn’t taken her long to fall for him.

“I can’t... If I go any further, I won’t be able to go back...”

Before the floodgates of Elfaria’s swelling emotions burst, she pulled her hand back. Koutarou couldn’t cast aside his title as a hero, and Elfaria wanted to respect that. That was why she’d decided to bear her own burdens too and ultimately took up the title of empress... It was all so that Koutarou could be the knight he was today. It was Elfaria’s way of expressing her love, which she believed was more than just staying by someone’s side.

“I’m not some teenage girl anymore...”

Elfaria calmed herself and wiped Koutarou’s forehead with a damp towel.

“Mmph...”

When she laid the towel back over Koutarou’s forehead, he sleepily opened his eyes.

“I’m sorry. Did I wake you, Layous-sama?”

“Oh, that’s right... I got a fever...”

Koutarou stared up at Elfaria in a daze. He looked like he might fall right back to sleep at any moment.

“Elle, why are you crying...?”

“What?”

It was only then that Elfaria realized tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she quickly wiped them away before Koutarou could decipher them.

“Is someone bullying you again...?”

“No, I just had something in my eyes.”

“Ah... But if you’re ever in trouble, you come to me right away, okay?”

There, Koutarou closed his sleepy eyes again. He still hadn’t rested enough to recover, and he knew he could trust things to Elfaria when she was being serious.

“But why would you save me, Layous-sama? For Theia? For Alaia and the sake of the royal line?”

That was something Elfaria would ordinarily never dare to ask. It was something she only had the nerve to ask now because Koutarou was in such a daze; and he would likely be able to answer her for the same reason. In this feverish, liminal space between reality and a dream, they could actually be honest with one another.

“Do I need a reason to save you...?”

Koutarou opened his eyes to say that, but they soon closed again.

“Layous-sama...”

In the end, Koutarou never saw the face Elfaria made at his reply.

“...”

Before long, he was fast asleep again. He was an easy sleeper to begin with, and the cold medicine he’d taken had him out in the blink of an eye. He’d only managed a few seconds of consciousness out of concern for Elfaria’s tears, but now that that had been cleared up, he was right back off to the world of dreams.

“If you hadn’t said that, I could have given up...”

Elfaria reached out for Koutarou’s cheek again. As she leaned forward, her tears spilled down onto her outstretched hand.

“This is all your fault, Layous-sama... It’s because you so easily give people what they want...”

Elfaria leaned over Koutarou and looked down at him, her tears now dripping directly onto his cheeks. But he remained asleep. Elfaria stayed like that for some time, staring at Koutarou to her heart’s content... her hand fixed to his cheek all the while.

Kiriha made her way to Koutarou’s room around 11 o’clock, sensing that it was about time to return. It had been a few hours since she’d left things to Elfaria after dinner.

“Your Majesty, how is Koutarou?”

“The medicine must have worked. He doesn’t seem to have a fever anymore.”

“That’s also thanks to you taking care of him.”

“Teehee. I just spent the whole time teasing Layous-sama.”

“He’s a strange boy, so I’m sure he didn’t mind.”

By the time Kiriha returned, Elfaria was sitting on a chair next to Koutarou’s bed. She was passing the time by reading a book, but looked up from it to greet Kiriha with a smile. Seeing Elfaria’s smile, however, Kiriha realized that the emotion behind it had changed over the past few hours. Elfaria now wore the relaxed smile of an innocent young girl.

Hmm, it appears I made the right choice...

Satisfied with this outcome, Kiriha considered how to proceed and soon concluded that it would be best to continue leaving Koutarou to Elfaria. Whether Elfaria returned to Forthorthe as empress or not, one thing was for certain: she wouldn’t have anywhere near as much time to spend with him in the future. In light of this, Kiriha contemplated how best to foist Koutarou on Elfaria again, but before she could come up with a plan, Elfaria called out to her.

“Kiriha-san, why don’t we play that next?”

Elfaria was pointing to a lustrous board accompanied by beautiful marble pieces. Kiriha could tell at a glance it was some kind of game, but it was unfamiliar to her.

“What is that?”

“It’s a classic game in Forthorthe... I guess you could say it’s similar to chess or shogi on Earth.”

“That... does sound interesting.”

Kiriha shelved her plotting for a moment and looked over the marble pieces. While their specific shapes and roles were foreign to her, they were indeed reminiscent of chess or shogi pieces. The board was even neatly divided into squares like it would be on a chess or shogi board.

“The rules themselves aren’t much different either, so I’m sure you’ll be able to pick them up in no time, Kiriha-san.”

With a smile, Elfaria handed Kiriha a small booklet—a rulebook already translated into Japanese.

“Let’s take a look.”

Kiriha opened the booklet and flipped through its pages. Though the exact details were different, the setup of the game, the management of turns, and the functions of the pieces were indeed very familiar to Kiriha. Just as Elfaria had predicted, she would be able to learn the game quickly.

“Why don’t we give it a try?”

“Sure. I think I can manage the rules.”

Since this might give her some insight into Forthorthian tactical thinking and culture, Kiriha had no real reason to refuse trying her hand at the game.

“Then why don’t we wager a little something like before and have the loser take care of Layous-sama?”

“Your Majesty...”

It appeared Elfaria’s goal was to score a win over Kiriha, perhaps as payback for earlier. Perhaps that was even why she’d brought out a game that was more familiar to her. Or least, that’s what Kiriha suspected.

“Heehee. It’s a family motto of ours to keep playing until you win.”

“Is that how the Mastir family has gone undefeated for two thousand years? I have to be honest, Your Majesty. I don’t accept defeat either.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

Nevertheless, Kiriha accepted Elfaria’s wager. Kiriha had already accomplished her goal, and if she happened to win this game too, she’d be able to further her victory. Since she’d already been contemplating a way to do exactly that, this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Forthorthian chess was very similar to Earth chess and shogi. The front line of pieces on the board was composed of pawns that could only move forward, and behind them lay a variety of pieces that moved in special ways. The overall rules were similar to chess, including not being able to use captured pieces.

Of course, the game also had its own unique twists to it, the most eye-catching of which was its pieces. The Forthorthian equivalent of the king was the princess, and the queen was the Blue Knight. The rooks and bishops were also giants and fire dragons respectively. Indeed, the pieces were modeled using the legend of the Blue Knight as a motif.

“Oh my, how scary. You’re being so aggressive, Kiriha-san.”

“I don’t have a complete grasp of the strategy involved, so I can’t play defensively.”

“A person who knows that much is scarier than anyone who just knows the rules.”

Right out of the gate, Kiriha had taken the offensive. She methodically moved her line of pawns forward while craftily maneuvering her pieces in the back to attack.

But as Kiriha herself confessed, she still didn’t have a firm grasp of the game’s strategy. Even with all the pieces and how they moved memorized, effective combinations and other tactics eluded her. So, as a novice player, when the choice came down to attacking or defending, she chose the simpler option. If she ended up on the defensive with a lack of strategy or no strategy at all, she’d be cornered for sure.

“Well, then I’ll just have to defend myself.”

“Wouldn’t you say that’s the most entertaining aspect of the game?”

“That’s true. A fierce battle is only inevitable, heehee.”

While Kiriha took the offensive, Elfaria was defensively moving her pieces around the board. She carefully scooted her princess to the left and surrounded it with other pieces. Her plan was to secure herself as best she could before trying to reduce the attacking forces.

Her strategy and Kiriha’s couldn’t have been more opposite. And since captured pieces couldn’t be reused like in shogi, strict decisions were required for life-or-death plays in the heat of the game. Like Elfaria had said, a fierce battle inevitably lay ahead of them.

“You’re not making any mistakes, are you, Kiriha-san?”

“Whether I win or lose, I’d like this to end in the heat of battle.”

“I agree. When one of us falls, let us fall forward.”

The game slowly progressed from there in silence. Kiriha and Elfaria were both trying to size each other up and outwit one another. They both wanted to have as much of an advantage as possible when they inevitably clashed.

“It looks like the real fight is about to begin.”

Their pieces were at last staring each other down. If Kiriha moved forward once more, the fierce battle would begin.

“Indeed. Here I come, Your Majesty.”

Clack!

With a smile on her face, Kiriha daringly moved her Blue Knight forward. The Blue Knight piece was the cornerstone of any bold attack in Forthorthian chess, able to move freely in a straight line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

Both Kiriha and Elfaria were in formation at this point, but after several turns of moving in response to one another, their formations weren’t exactly ideal. They were each looking for weaknesses in the other’s setup and trying to come up with ways to get to the enemy princess. From this point forward, a calm mind and a keen eye would be critical in order to seize victory. Fortunately, both players excelled in those departments.

Because pieces couldn’t return to the board in Forthorthian chess like they did in shogi, the battle between players was decisive—and usually swift—once they clashed. Both players had to move carefully with a limited number of pieces, so Kiriha and Elfaria spent upwards of ten minutes considering, planning, and executing every turn.

“How terrifying. I foresee my ruin no matter which piece I move.”

“Ruin awaits me as well if my attack doesn’t reach you, Your Majesty. I can hear the end slowly approaching.”

At this point, Elfaria was just barely evading Kiriha’s attacks. Kiriha overwhelmed Elfaria when it came to strategic thinking, but she lost out sorely when it came to experience with Forthorthian chess. Elfaria would needle any and every opening, so Kiriha was forced to continue on the offensive without allowing any holes in her formation. Meanwhile, Elfaria was enduring Kiriha’s fierce assault, biding her time while she waited for Kiriha to slip up. Because of the difference in their familiarity with the game, they’d adopted completely opposite strategies.

The first to make one wrong move would lose, and the pressure steadily mounted as the turns passed.

“By the way, Kiriha-san...”

With the clock ticking, Elfaria made her move. You see, as their battle dragged on, time was working against them—especially Elfaria, who’d chosen to play defensively.

“What is it, Your Majesty?”

“How did you first meet Layous-sama?”

“Well...”

But the move Elfaria made wasn’t on the board; it was psychological. Kiriha was in the midst of considering her next turn and very much bewildered by Elfaria’s sudden question. Nevertheless, she quickly smiled and gave her answer.

“Actually, I ran away from home as a child. My mother had just died and I couldn’t see eye to eye with my father... So, after a fight over something trivial, I ran away.”

“And that’s when you met Layous-sama?”

“Yes. I made it up to the surface world and he came falling out of the sky. As young as I was, I actually thought that my mother had returned...”

“What a lovely way to meet.”

“That’s why I believe that he’s the person I’m fated to be with.”

Really, Elfaria was just curious. It wasn’t her intention to cajole or shake up Kiriha.

Let’s see... How far had I thought this through again?

However, reminiscing was a very effective tactic against the sentimental Kiriha. Meeting Koutarou was her most precious memory—something she’d kept near and dear to her heart for over a decade now. The moment she thought of Koutarou and their fateful encounter, all tension vanished from her mind. And with no sense of urgency or pressure on her any longer, her strategy quickly crumbled. A disturbance like that in the middle of such a high-stakes game could prove fatal.

“What about you, Your Majesty?”

“Me? Well, in my case, I was researching Layous-sama for my archeology degree... And he suddenly showed up at an archeological site I was studying.”

“Weren’t you surprised?”

“Well, of course. A legendary hero appeared in front of my very eyes.”

“But it didn’t end there, did it?”

“No. Back in those days, I was uncertain whether I wanted to become empress or live my own life, so I had a lot to think about...”

Elfaria’s miscalculation was that a trip down memory lane backfired. Her first meeting with Koutarou was very precious to her as well. And when she indulged in fond thoughts of it... Of course, her strategy was out the window too.

“Layous-sama was completely different from how I imagined him. He was just a normal boy. And I’m not going to lie... I was a little disappointed.”

“I fell in love with him because he was a normal boy. He was worried about all the same things I was, so I was sure we could support each other...”

“That’s exactly it. If he’d just been a legendary knight, I would have admired him... not loved him. But because he was just a normal human, I couldn’t help thinking he might need someone...”

Here, the tides of battle took a strange turn. Kiriha and Elfaria had started reminiscing about Koutarou as they played, but the more they talked... the less important the game became.

“But Koutarou sure is stubborn.”

“He certainly is! He never does anything wrong! He’s the Blue Knight through and through when it comes to the strangest things!”

“In my case, he chose saving me over saving his own mother.”

“Layous-sama has no idea how it makes a woman feel when you do something like that for them!”

Eventually, they were so caught up in their reminiscing that they’d put the game entirely on hold. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say they’d transitioned over to a game of complaining about Koutarou. They’d both casually move pieces on their turns whenever they remembered the board on the table, but it was nothing more than an idle way to pass the time now.

Ultimately, Elfaria won the game. Kiriha, with her incomplete grasp of the game’s strategy and her concentration scattered to the wind, fell apart in the end. As the loser, she was supposed to be the one who took care of Koutarou next... But that wasn’t what ended up happening.

“...Are you two idiots?”

“I have no excuses.”

“Hahaha...”

Kiriha and Elfaria were presently being tended to by Koutarou. They’d both come down with a fever courtesy of their late-night walk down memory lane. After staying up playing chess, they ended up chatting until morning. They then both took a chill after taking a bath—perhaps catching Koutarou’s cold.

“Besides, what were you two even doing all night?”

“We were debating which one of us loves you more.”

“That’s right, Layous-sama. Kiriha-san is just so stubborn.”

“You goofballs! Jeez, what am I going to do with you two...?”

And the one who got stuck caring for them was, of course, Koutarou. His own fever had broken and he was feeling better, but he was staying at the hotel today just in case. And since he had nothing better to do while everyone else was out playing, he figured he might as well return the favor and take care of his sick friends.

“Layous-sama, I’m hungry.”

“Koutarou, can you cut some apple slices into rabbits for us?”

“...Are you two sure you’re really sick?”

“Ahh, my headache’s suddenly gotten worse...”

“I can feel my fever growing stronger. Could you wipe me down with a damp towel?”

“You’re just faking it, aren’t you?”

Despite both having a fever, Kiriha and Elfaria seemed to be having a lot of fun. The sight of them resting side by side in a double bed was rather heartwarming. They looked like children ready to be doted on by their parents.

“Ah, jeez, fine...”

“I love that side of you that does things even when you’re unwilling.”

“I agree. I can feel just how much you love me.”

“Hush up, you two. Don’t make a fuss when you’re stuck in bed.”

“Very well.”

“Okaaay.”

“Are you two really listening to me...?”

Koutarou shook his head in exasperation as he headed for the neighboring room. While he suspected that Kiriha and Elfaria might be feigning illness, he was still willing to peel a few apples for them. They’d kept watch over him all day yesterday, so fixing an apple or two was the least he could do in the way of thanks—sick or not.

“We should have just done this from the start, Kiriha-san...”

“Yes, but I don’t think we could have been as honest then as we are now...”

“Heehee, that’s true. We’re really similar, after all...”

“Both our personalities and our relationships with Koutarou...”

Kiriha and Elfaria exchanged glances and smiled as they whispered to one another while Koutarou was getting apples. In reality, they did genuinely have fevers... although they were also exaggerating the severity of said fevers a bit. They could have gotten up and done things for themselves if they’d wanted to—they just didn’t want to. It was far more fun to have Koutarou dote on them, after all.

Under the pretense of tending to Koutarou, a sense of solidarity had budded between Kiriha and Elfaria. And after a whole night of chatting, they each had a far greater understanding of how the other felt. Somewhere in the midst of it all, they’d settled on a compromise. Rather than being overly stubborn, they could both win if they just had Koutarou take care of them instead.

“You two seem to be having fun. Since when have you gotten along so well?”

Koutarou returned with apples and a knife in hand, both of which he’d brought from Blue Knight.

“We’re both women, you know. There’s a lot we see eye to eye on.”

“And we’re both the brainy type.”

“I guess that much is true.”

With a slight smile, Koutarou sat down on a chair next to the bed to peel apples. There was no hesitation in the way he handled the knife, and he had the apples skinned in a flash. Knife skills were something he’d learned out of necessity in Ancient Forthorthe, and he retained them to this day.

“Here. All peeled. Sit up and eat, you two.”

“Feed us.”

“Honestly. Are you asking a sick empress to eat by herself?”

“What, exactly, did you want me to do?”

“Well, if you sit between me and Kiriha-san, you’ll be able to feed both of us.”

“You two are being a real pain...”

“You can just sleep with us after that.”

“Yes, that’s right! I’m feeling chilly, so I need someone to cuddle by my side!”

“If you two keep fooling around, you’re never going to get better.”

Koutarou climbed onto the bed and sat down between the two supposed invalids, holding up an apple slice on a toothpick for them. Kiriha and Elfaria leaned forward, happily taking a bite each. They really did look like young children.

“...”

“What’s wrong, Koutarou?”

“Were you smitten by my beautiful motherly looks?!”

“Eat up and go to sleep! You still have fevers!”

Unfortunately, Koutarou had honestly thought the two of them munching on their apple slices was adorable. Admitting that, however, would only bring a new series of headaches, so he chose to keep quiet as he continued to tend to the sickly Kiriha and Elfaria.