Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 7 - Chapter 1

Santa and Harumi

Tuesday, December 22nd

The bowling ball Koutarou released lightly bounced once as it made its way straight down the lane. With quite a bit of speed, the bowling ball quickly reached the end of the twenty-meter lane. And just as planned, it crashed into the middle pin and mowed down all the others behind it. Even the pins outside of the ball’s path were knocked down by the others falling into them one after another.

“Yes, that’s right! Fall down! All of you fall down!” Koutarou shouted loudly as if trying to encourage the pins to fall over.

However, one stubborn pin seemed unconvinced and remained standing at the end of the lane.

“Damn, it wasn’t enough...”

“Kou, you’re too heavy-handed.”

Seeing Koutarou’s shoulders droop, Kenji laughed at him as he got up from his seat. Since it was a pairs game, Kenji was up next.

“If you don’t put a little bit more spin into it and aim for the first pin, you’re basically just relying on luck.”

“Shut up. Just let me do what I want. Those petty tricks just aren’t for me.”

“Putting a little spin into it doesn’t count as a trick, you know.”

After switching places with Koutarou, Kenji tossed his ball with a beautiful, sleek form. Unlike Koutarou’s throw, his ball rolled down the lane in a smooth curve thanks to the spin he put on the ball. It easily took out the last remaining pin.

“See?”

“With only one pin left, it didn’t matter if you put a spin on it or not.”

Thanks to Kenji’s precise throw, they managed to pick up a spare, but Koutarou looked somewhat unhappy about it.

Today was December 22nd, and although it was a weekday afternoon, everyone was off from school thanks to winter vacation. Making use of their break, Koutarou and Kenji had come to the bowling alley by the station to play. They’d signed up together for a pairs competition.

“What a catch.”

“We didn’t get first place though.”

“Why do you always have to rain on other people’s parades, Mackenzie-kun?”

Leaving the bowling alley, the two boys were holding gift certificates. At the end of the game, they’d managed a score of 180—quite high for amateurs. High enough, in fact, to rank them at the end of the competition. Their prizes were gift cards for the shopping street by the station worth 2,000 yen apiece.

“I like to aim for the top.”

“And my livelihood is on the line!”

Although it wasn’t an impressive amount, it was a welcome sum to Koutarou, who lived on his own. To him, the gift certificate was more valuable than the first place prize trip to Hawaii. A trip like that would only add on to all the extra expenses he already had to deal with during winter, whereas the 2,000 yen gift card was exactly what he needed right now.

“Ah, that’s right. I have a present for a poor man like you.”

Seeming to recall something as they were talking, Kenji began searching through his bag. When Koutarou turned to look at him, Kenji had pulled out two booklets.

“What are those?”

“Don’t give me that. This is the reason we met up in the first place.”

“Oh yeah.”

The words “The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight, Part 2” were printed on the cover of the booklets. They were copies of the new script Theia had finished writing the other day. The main reason Koutarou and Kenji had met up today was to play, but the occasion had arisen because Kenji needed to give Koutarou the new script anyway.

“Hmm, this time it’s actually a proper script,” Koutarou admired as he flipped through the pages.

The first play had merely been a manuscript, written out on paper held together by a paper clip. This one, however, was bound and everything.

“The budget’s increased this time around after all.”

“It’s kind of gratifying.”

Thanks to the popularity of the previous play, the drama club’s budget was increased for the sequel. And because the shopping street had begun sponsoring them, they were receiving help from them as well. Thanks to all of that, the production was going to be on a considerably larger scale than before.

“By the way, why are there two?”

“One is for Sakuraba-senpai. You’ll see each other during club activities anyways, right?”

“Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I’ll give it to her later.”

Koutarou nodded and put both booklets into his bag. The knitting society had club activities planned over winter vacation. He’d even be seeing her for them tomorrow, so he was planning on giving it to her then.

“Right then.”

After packing his bag back up, Koutarou took out his cellphone to check the time. It was now past 3 PM.

“Mackenzie, it’s about time, so I’m gonna head out.”

“What, you’re going home already? Can’t you stick around awhile?”

“I can’t. I actually picked up a new part-time job.”

“Another one?”

“Handing out flyers for a cake shop.”

Koutarou and Kenji both still worked excavating the local ruins, but the dig had been put on hold through the end of the year. In the meantime, Koutarou had taken a new part-time job to pick up the slack.

“Are things that rough for you? Your old man’s helping you with money, right?”

“A real man wouldn’t touch his old man’s money.”

Koutarou proudly laughed and put his phone back into his pocket as he casually turned his back on Kenji.

“Well, see ya.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

Koutarou then walked off without even turning around to look at Kenji when he said goodbye.

“Hmm, a new part-time job... Could it be...”

Being left behind, Kenji watched Koutarou walk away with his head cocked to the side. Something about Koutarou picking up a new part-time job was bothering him. Since Kenji worked with Koutarou at the excavation site, he had a pretty good understanding of Koutarou’s financial situation. And knowing what he got paid, he couldn’t think of a reason Koutarou would need another job, even with it being the end of the year.

“He hasn’t been hanging out with me that much lately either... Did he get a girlfriend? Is that why he’s trying to work up some Christmas funds? No, that can’t be it...”

While Kenji was mumbling to himself, someone approached him as if to take Koutarou’s place.

“A girlfriend? Did you start dating another girl, Mackenzie-kun?”

“Oh? Where did Satomi-sama go?”

As it turned out, it was actually two someones. Shizuka and Ruth had come to shop at the supermarket by the station. They’d seen Koutarou and Kenji just as they were leaving the store, so they’d decided to come over and say hi.

“Oh, Kasagi-san and Ruth-san?”

“Hello, Mackenzie-kun.”

“Hello there, Mackenzie-sama. Do you know where Satomi-sama went? It looked like he was here just a moment ago.”

After they’d all finished greeting each other, Ruth looked around the area for Koutarou. Because it was winter vacation and about the time of day most housewives did their shopping, there were plenty of people around. With the crowd, Koutarou was already out of sight.

“Kou said he had a new part-time job and left just a moment ago.”

“A new part-time job? Did you know anything about that, Ruth-san?”

“No, this is news to me.”

Neither Shizuka nor Ruth had heard about Koutarou’s new job.

“You two didn’t know either?”

“Same with you, Mackenzie-kun?”

“Yeah, I only heard about it just now. But he hasn’t said anything to either of you... This is starting to look suspicious...”

Kenji smirked as he glanced in the direction Koutarou had left. It wasn’t dissimilar from the sly grin Koutarou often had on his face while pranking Kenji. Seeing that, Ruth asked Kenji what he was thinking.

“What do you mean by suspicious?”

“Kou didn’t even tell us, his close friends, about this new part-time job. I suspect our little Kou has gotten himself a girlfriend and is saving up money for dates.”

That was Kenji’s theory. Koutarou hadn’t said a word about his new job to Kenji, Ruth, or the other girls. Kenji was an old friend, and Koutarou had been getting closer with Ruth and the others lately. So for him to keep it from all of them, Kenji suspected that Koutarou might have some shady secret or was spending money on something he didn’t want them to know about. But since Kenji couldn’t imagine Koutarou doing anything dishonest or criminal, the possibilities were limited.

Kenji figured the most rational explanation was that Koutarou might have gotten a girlfriend. Kenji knew if he got caught hanging out with a girl, Koutarou, Shizuka, and the others would make a big deal out of it, so maybe Koutarou was keeping his girlfriend a secret to avoid exactly that.

“So Satomi-kun has a girlfriend, huh? Who could it be? I really want to know!”

After hearing Kenji’s theory, Shizuka’s eyes began sparkling. She loved this kind of gossip. Her mind immediately went in a million directions imagining what kind of girl Koutarou might be dating.

“Satomi-sama has a lover...?”

Ruth, however, had the complete opposite reaction Shizuka did. Her normally mild expression grew severe and bitter.

It couldn’t be that his relation with Kiriha-sama progressed, could it?

Koutarou’s problems with women would eventually become Theia’s problems. Knowing that, Ruth couldn’t afford to overlook what this might mean.

Unaware of the interest brewing in what he was doing, Koutarou was in the middle of working hard at his part-time job.

“How about a cake for Christmas? At Harukaze Bakery, we’re accepting orders for Christmas cakes!”

His new job consisted of wearing a Santa outfit and handing out flyers. The bakery in front of the station, Harukaze Bakery, was now selling their Christmas cakes for the holiday, and Koutarou was handing out flyers to advertise them.

“How about a cake for Christmas? At Harukaze Bakery, we’re accepting orders for Christmas cakes!”

But the bakery Koutarou was working for wasn’t the only place selling Christmas cakes this time of year. In fact, the supermarket, the department store, the convenience store, and the sweets shop were all rivals in that venture. So by handing out flyers, Harukaze Bakery was hoping to get an edge on their competition and snatch up as big of a market share as possible. With the recent recession still affecting everyone, selling even one cake was a serious struggle.

I relate, honestly...

As Koutarou was handing out flyers to passersby, he smiled to himself. He couldn’t help thinking that he and the bakery were in a similar situation. However, there was a definite difference between the two.

“Good evening, Santa.”

But Koutarou’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a familiar, cheerful voice. When that gentle voice reached Koutarou’s ears, he instinctively stopped what he was doing.

“Oh? Sakuraba-senpai?”

When he turned in the direction of her voice, he saw Harumi smiling in spite of the cold winds whipping through the shopping street. She was a slender girl and gave off the impression of being fragile, but seeing her filled Koutarou with a strange, warm sensation. He was happy to see his friend, the girl called Sakuraba Harumi.

As their eyes meet, Harumi’s smile changed into the playful grin she had only recently started showing.

“Heehee, I think I’ve been a good girl this year, so may I have a flyer?”

Harumi smiled as she held out her hands. She looked like a child asking for a present from her father.

“Hahaha, if it’s the new script you want, I just so happen to have one with your name on it.”

“That doesn’t count as a present. Please maintain your pride as Santa.”

“Please don’t ask too much from a part-time Santa.”

“Heeheehee...”

Koutarou and Harumi had a good laugh together. Only recently had the two of them had been able to joke around with one another like this. Harumi’s progress was largely thanks to Yurika’s love advice. While it wasn’t of any practical use, Harumi’s attitude had started to change.

I can’t keep going like this. Nothing will come from just waiting.

After Yurika had opened her eyes, feelings like that began budding inside of Harumi.

“Then for starters, here’s a flyer.”

“Thank you, Santa.”

Koutarou handed one of his flyers over to Harumi. She then began ardently reading it.

“I’ll give you the script in the club room tomorrow. I left my bag at the bakery.”

“Please do.”

She answered, but without taking her eyes off the flyer. It seemed like she was really invested in reading it. Normally she would look right at Koutarou when they talked, so even Koutarou could tell that she was being distracted by cake now. It was unusual for Harumi, but adorable and silly in its own way. Koutarou couldn’t help giggling.

“Pfft... Hahaha...”

“Satomi-kun?”

Wondering what Koutarou was laughing about, Harumi finally looked up at Koutarou while still holding on to the flyer.

“Is something wrong?”

“Heh, nah... You just looked so childish, I couldn’t help myself. Heh heh...”

“Jeez, Satomi-kun...”

Harumi then realized exactly what she’d been doing and began blushing. She puffed up her red cheeks as she looked up at Koutarou.

“You shouldn’t be laughing at others while you’re dressed up so cutely yourself.”

“Hey, at least this is for my job.”

“I hate it when you’re so blunt, Satomi-kun.”

After pouting for a while, Harumi eventually revealed a small smile and held her hands out again.

“May I borrow your hat?”

“This?”

“Yes.”

Koutarou humored her, taking off his Santa hat and handing it over. After staring at the hat in her hands for a moment, Harumi put it on herself.

“How do I look?”

“More childish than before. It’s very cute.”

“Satomi-kun!”

“Come to think of it, take this too.”

Ignoring Harumi’s protests, Koutarou thrust his hand into the large sack he was carrying as part of the Santa costume. It was mostly filled with stuffing to give it volume, but that wasn’t the only thing inside of it.

“You should wear this too.”

“Thank you, Satomi-kun.”

Koutarou had pulled a spare Santa outfit from the bag. This year, Koutarou was the only one handing out flyers, but it seemed the job had been meant for two in the past. After Koutarou handed the second costume to Harumi, she put her arms through the sleeves of the jacket over top of her uniform.

“How do I look now?”

With the Santa hat and matching red jacket on, Harumi spun around with her arms stretched out.

Wow... You even look good in something like this, Sakuraba-senpai...

That’s what Koutarou thought when he looked at Harumi in her outfit, but he said almost the exact opposite.

“It’s funny. You look like you’re a kid.”

“Satomi-kun, you’ve been getting meaner lately.”

Just like Harumi was slowly becoming more comfortable showing her emotions in front of Koutarou, the same was true for him. In the past, he wouldn’t have made jokes like that. But this change in Koutarou’s attitude was thanks to Harumi mustering her courage around him first.

This is nice. This feeling...

Harumi could feel the change in him as well, and although she lightheartedly complained, she enjoyed her back and forth with Koutarou. This was what she had wanted.

I think I can do even more.

And with her success so far, Harumi decided to try a little harder. She knew she wasn’t totally satisfied with things as they were, and that nothing would change if she didn’t do anything about it. Those kind of thoughts encouraged her to take heart.

“Satomi-kun, please give me some more flyers.”

“Senpai?”

Once again, Harumi held out her hands.

“You don’t seem to have many left, so I’ll help you.”

“Hey, wait. This is my part-time job. I can’t have you—”

“You gave me a flyer before. Just give me some more.”

“That’s not what I—”

“Ha!”

“Hey...”

While Koutarou was protesting, Harumi snatched half of the stack of flyers he was holding. There were about fifty in the first place, so now he only had twenty-five or so left.

“Senpai...”

“Heehee. There are barely any left, so this hardly counts as helping out, Satomi-kun.”

Koutarou looked troubled, but Harumi was smiling brightly, flyers in hand. Although their outfits matched, their expressions couldn’t have been more different.

“How about a Christmas cake? Try stopping by Harukaze Bakery!”

“Satomi-kun.”

Once Koutarou gave away the last flyer, Harumi returned to him, also emptyhanded. Harumi was still smiling, despite almost being carried away by the crowd.

“Satomi-kun, I’m all done!”

“Same here. We were done in a flash thanks to you, Sakuraba-senpai.”

Once Harumi started helping, the flyers practically disappeared. Having a cute girl in a Santa outfit seemed to go a long way. Thanks to that, it took less than ten minutes before they’d handed out all of them.

“Heehee, I’m glad to have been of help.”

“You were a huge help. Thank you, Senpai.”

Koutarou bowed to Harumi, who was laughing cheerfully, and thought about the situation they’d found themselves in.

“Still, Sakuraba-senpai, you seemed to have changed since this spring.”

“What? H-How do you mean?”

Harumi put a hand to her cheek and looked down at herself with an anxious expression. She thought Koutarou meant that she had physically changed. She was a sensitive girl, after all, and having someone of the opposite gender point out that she had changed made her worry. Doubly so since it was Koutarou.

“Do you mean I’ve gotten fatter? Or thinner? I don’t think I’ve changed.”

“No, nothing like that. Jeez...”

Koutarou chuckled at Harumi’s response.

Yeah, Sakuraba-senpai has definitely changed a little.

Watching the panicking Harumi only reaffirmed what Koutarou was thinking. And it wasn’t just the way she was acting. When he met her in the spring, Harumi wouldn’t have had the courage to hand out flyers. Even during spring recruitment for clubs, she was mousy and had hardly stood out at all. But that same girl was now cheerfully helping him hand out flyers on the street. It was hard to imagine she’d ever had problems with people. This was an enormous step forward that even Koutarou picked up on.

“In the past, you weren’t very comfortable in front of other people, Sakuraba-senpai. But now you’re helping me hand out flyers to strangers. You’re like a different person now.”

“S-Satomi-kun...”

Harumi blushed at Koutarou’s honest praise. Harumi herself was well aware of the change and why it had happened, but having Koutarou compliment her on it was embarrassing.

“Well, surely appearing in plays and hero shows is bound to give you some courage.”

“That might be true.”

That made sense to Koutarou. After mustering the courage to get up on stage, surely she’d be more confident around people in everyday situations.

I thought I was just dragging her into stuff, but it seemed to have worked out in the end.

Koutarou nodded with satisfaction.

“...Besides, you were with me the entire time.”

“What was that?”

Lost in thought, Koutarou missed what Harumi said.

“Ah, n-no, it’s nothing! Nothing at all!”

In a fluster, Harumi waved her hands around trying to cover it up. She’d accidentally said more than she’d meant to, and she didn’t want Koutarou knowing about how she really felt yet. So if he missed what she’d said, she was fine with that.

“Is that so?”

Koutarou didn’t find anything suspicious in the way she was acting because he knew that Harumi wasn’t good at receiving praise or compliments. He just assumed that was what had her so ruffled this time too. And so without thinking too much of it, Koutarou moved on to the next topic. He actually had something he wanted to talk to her about.

“Anyways, you ended up helping me with my work, so I have to thank you in some way.”

Koutarou was planning on thanking Harumi somehow. He couldn’t just leave it at her helping him out with a job that he got paid to do.

But Sakuraba-senpai is pretty reserved when it comes to this kind of thing...

Although Harumi was grateful for the offer, even now she was shaking her head as if to say that it wasn’t necessary.

“There’s no need for thanks for something like this.”

“That won’t do. This wasn’t like helping me with club activities or volunteering.”

Hmm?

As they were talking, the Santa outfit Harumi was wearing caught Koutarou’s eye.

That’s it! Yeah, let’s go with that!

A plan suddenly came to Koutarou.

“Sakuraba-senpai, are you free on the 24th?”

“The 24th?”

When Koutarou mentioned that date, Harumi’s heart began pounding. Today was the 22nd, so the day after tomorrow would be the 24th. December 24th.

That’s Christmas Eve...

With the boy she was interested in bringing up a romantic occasion like that, her mind went wild with possibilities.

“I-I’m free, but...”

Harumi used every last brain cell she had to think while desperately trying to suppress her shock. She managed a few words, but the anxiety she’d felt while on stage or while handing out flyers was nothing compared to how she felt now.

“I see. Then could you spare some time for me?”

“Ah—”

And with those words from Koutarou’s lips, her heart almost stopped.

When Koutarou returned home to room 106, he was welcomed, oddly enough, by Theia’s cheerful smile. Her eyes were sparkling and she was dearly clutching a booklet of some kind to her chest with her left hand. When Koutarou stepped inside, she looked up at him eagerly and extended her free hand.

“I’m ba—”

“I’ve been waiting, Koutarou. Hurry on in.”

Theia’s right hand quickly grabbed Koutarou’s arm and she dragged him towards the inner room before he could even greet her.

“H-Hey, wait. I didn’t even take my shoes off.”

“You can enter wearing shoes. I’ll permit it.”

“You can’t... W-Wait!”

Koutarou somehow managed to get his shoes off and toss them towards the front entrance as Theia dragged him down the hall. Sanae, who was nearby, then neatly arranged them with the rest.

“I get that you’re happy, but you’re not a kid...”

Sanae was amazed by Theia’s behavior, but in reality, Theia wasn’t acting much differently than how Sanae usually did. Not that Sanae could appreciate that.

“Welcome home, Satomi-sama.”

“You’re back, Koutarou.”

Theia dragged Koutarou past Ruth and Kiriha in the kitchen preparing dinner, and headed for the far wall of the inner room. Yurika, who was watching TV in the middle of the room, cleared out of Theia’s way as she got close.

As they approached the wall, a rectangle began glowing on it. That glowing rectangle was a gate that led to Blue Knight, Theia’s ship in orbit around Earth.

“Koutarou, we’re going to start right away.”

“Start what?”

When Koutarou asked her that, Theia finally stopped strong-arming him.

What’s going on with her?

Koutarou at last had a chance to compose himself, but not before Theia turned around to look at him. She poutingly thrust the booklet in her left hand in Koutarou’s face: “The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight, Part 2.”

Oh, now I get it. No wonder...

As his eyes scanned the cover of the booklet, Koutarou realized what had Theia so excited. This was the new play she’d written herself. Koutarou had often seen her writing around the apartment and at school, so he knew just how invested in it she was.

The script in Theia’s hands right now was actually the one Ruth had brought home. She’d gotten her copy from Kenji, just like Koutarou had.

The moment after Koutarou finally got his head around what was going on, the booklet in front of him slowly lowered and Theia’s face poked out from behind it. She stared at him in silence with a mix of apprehension and remorse on her face. To Koutarou, she looked like a puppy apologizing for her blunder.

And he wasn’t too far off the mark. Theia herself had realized that she was getting too worked up, and she was peeking at him to see if he was angry or not.

“Ah...”

At first Koutarou was planning on complaining, but he swallowed his grievances when he saw Theia’s expression.

Don’t look at me like that, jeez...

Her eyes were wavering with worry. Faced with that, Koutarou rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a bitter smile.

“I get it. But I have things to do, so wait a minute.”

“Ah...”

Theia’s expression brightened immediately, yet her cheeks turned red at the same time. She was relieved that Koutarou wasn’t angry, but also embarrassed by her own behavior.

“Sorry, Koutarou. I got a little ahead of myself when I got the script. Let’s postpone practice for now.”

She then let go of Koutarou’s hand that she had been holding all this time.

You always go easy on her when she makes a face like that. That’s why you’re always having a hard time, Koutarou...

As he stared at Theia, Koutarou scolded himself. But even as he did, her smile still made him feel like doing whatever it was that she wanted.

Even during dinner, Theia was flipping through the pages of her script. She lifted food to her mouth while reading through it to make sure there were no errors in it.

“Heehee...”

Ruth couldn’t help the small smile on her lips as she watched over Theia. Normally she would remind her of her manners, but she decided to overlook it this time. Ruth knew how much this play meant to Theia. It all came back to her admiration for the Blue Knight and her yearning to see her mother, Elfaria. Because they’d been friends since childhood, Ruth knew all of that even though Theia hadn’t told her.

“How about seconds, Satomi-sama?”

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, just a moment.”

Ruth had secretly begun minding Koutarou’s health, and she was planning on keeping an extra special eye on it until the opening of the play a month from now. It was an important role that only Ruth could do.

Thank you so very much for everything, Satomi-sama...

Ruth smiled at the thought as she picked up Koutarou’s tea cup. Ruth hadn’t just begun taking care of his health because of the play. It was also a token of appreciation after always causing him so much trouble.

“Koutarou, this time there are a lot of fighting scenes, so I’d like to focus on combat practice.”

“So you mean we don’t have to train in knight manners?!”

“That’s right. This time, the play is about war, although there are few scenes where manners are important. Of course, if we have time to spare, we’ll still have some lessons on it.”

“All right, you’re on! This is great!”

In the middle of filling the tea cup and preparing seconds while listening to Koutarou and Theia’s training plan, Ruth remembered that she had something she wanted to ask.

“Satomi-sama, Shizuka-sama, do you have a moment?”

“Sure.”

“What is it, Ruth-san?”

“Actually, I have something I would like to discuss with you.”

Ruth set Koutarou’s now full cup down on the tea table and straightened her posture. Koutarou who was talking to Theia, and Shizuka who was drinking tea both picked up on Ruth’s change in attitude and straightened their postures as well.

“You want to discuss something?” Shizuka asked.

“Yes. I remembered after hearing Her Highness and Satomi-sama talking. I want to practice too—I mean please teach me how to fight.”

Of all the things she could have brought up, no one had expected her to say that. Koutarou and Shizuka’s eyes opened wide, and they looked at each other in surprise.

“Practice? Are you serious?”

“Yes, of course.”

Shizuka questioned her reflexively, but Ruth nodded assuredly.

“What can I say? I can’t really explain it myself, but ever since a while back, I’ve just felt like I need to become stronger.”

Ruth knitted her well-defined brow. Her eyes were saying that she was serious.

“A while back?”

“Do you mean...”

Koutarou and Shizuka came to the same conclusion. Ruth’s words called to mind for them her loss against Kabutonga after intruding on the hero show at the amusement park. Koutarou only heard about it after the fact, but Shizuka was actually the one who’d had to fight Ruth as Kabutonga. Nevertheless, they both knew what she was indirectly referring to.

“I have to become stronger! I just can’t help this feeling that there’s a powerful enemy that I must defeat!”

Ruth actually had no memory of what happened after she went berserk, but her defeat at the hands of Kabutonga—more precisely, Shizuka—had left a powerful impression on her psyche. She was still feeling the subconscious desire to get stronger.

“So you want to get stronger...”

Sensing Ruth’s strong determination, Koutarou glanced over at Theia. Noticing his glance, Theia shook her head with a dispirited look on her face.

What are you thinking? You know she’s uncontrollable. It’s far too risky...

Koutarou could tell what was going through Theia’s head just from that small gesture, and his shoulders drooped at the response. He was unsure whether to be amazed or troubled.

“But you don’t need to learn how to fight, right, Ruth-san? Satomi-kun here has been getting better at using a sword as of late, you know.”

“That won’t do!”

Ruth slammed her fists down on the tea table. Because of the impact, the utensils and dishes on the table all jumped up and crashed back down again with a clatter.

“I don’t know the reason, but my soul is screaming, telling me that I can’t leave this to Satomi-sama!”

“Ah, hahaha... I see...”

Shizuka let out a dry laugh and broke into a cold sweat.

This is all your fault, Satomi-kun!

Shizuka glared at Koutarou, mentally blaming him for all of this.

Ruth couldn’t leave the fight to Koutarou, partially because he hadn’t become Theia’s vassal yet, but mostly because, deep down inside, she didn’t want Koutarou and Kabutonga to ever meet. She didn’t want Koutarou to ever see another beetle again. After the pain of her defeat, an encounter between Kabutonga and Koutarou would be the end of her.

“I... I pass. I’ll leave this to Satomi-kun.”

“Wow, that’s playing dirty, Landlord-san!”

“What good would come from me teaching her how to fight?!”

“Th-That’s true, but...”

Koutarou realized the full gravity of the situation when he saw the tears in Shizuka’s eyes.

I guess she doesn’t exactly want to teach Ruth-san how to defeat her...

Training Ruth would inadvertently mean training her in all of Shizuka’s secrets. If she did that, she’d have nothing left to defend herself with the next time she crossed paths with Ruth in her Kabutonga suit. Thinking of it that way, Koutarou couldn’t really object to her refusal.

“Besides, Satomi-kun will be training with Theia-san anyway, right? You just need to do it together!”

“Please, Satomi-sama! This is important... probably!”

“Hahh...”

Things sure did get weird around here all of a sudden...

Koutarou nodded at Ruth, but he was already feeling a headache coming on.

An icy stare was watching over room 106.

“Hmph, things are as tense as usual in there, I see.”

The icy stare, however, was coming through a camera being used to observe the apartment from a great distance. The culprit was Clariossa Daora Forthorthe, the second princess of Forthorthe and Theia’s rival for the throne.

“I may have waited long enough for that to happen, but it’s quite irritating. I’ll make you regret forcing me to live this way soon enough!”

Clan adjusted her glasses in annoyance and glared at the screen in front of her. She was in the cockpit of a spaceship, currently sitting in the pilot’s seat and facing a monitor displaying footage of room 106.

Clan was actually in the mountains, intentionally isolated from the people of Earth. She was using her small spaceship, which had been cleverly concealed, as her hideout. After the incident during the play, Clan sent back her personal battleship, the Hazy Moon, while she remained on Earth in a smaller vessel. By her calculations, all she had to do was lie low for a while for Theia and the others to assume that she had gone back to Forthorthe.

And in reality, everything was proceeding just as planned. She was no longer a topic of conversation in room 106. This was exactly what she’d hoped for, but in order to be so forgotten, she’d spent close to two months living uncomfortably in the middle of nowhere, and she wasn’t pleased one bit about that.

“You’ll be the first one, fake Blue Knight!”

Clan glared at Koutarou through the monitor. Not only was she mad at Koutarou for foiling her plan before, she was now directing all of her anger and resentment from these past two months at him. And she was certainly the type to hold a grudge.

“I’ll dispose of you! That’s right, you! And in just the way that will leave Theiamillis-san the most traumatized!”

Koutarou was at the top of her revenge list. Right now, Theia was just an added bonus to dealing with him.