Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 8 - Chapter 5

Pursuit and Conditions for Being a Couple

Wednesday, February 3rd

The ski resort hotel had an arcade on the premises. The game machines inside were all antique models that were over a decade old, however, so most of the guests just passed by without entering.

“Come on! Power-up, power-up!”

“You’re going for it now?!”

But it had a certain appeal to enthusiasts like Koutarou and Theia who loved old games. Because of that, Koutarou, Theia, and Ruth were the only ones in the arcade now. The three of them had found the place after dinner, and they now were taking some time to enjoy themselves. Koutarou and Theia were playing a game together with Ruth watching over them from behind.

“See what happened? You should’ve picked up the power-up right there.”

“As if I could grab it in the middle of that rain of bullets!”

“I won’t listen to your excuses. More importantly, hurry up and continue. A knight can’t be letting his princess fight on her own.”

Koutarou had gotten a game over, but Theia was still playing. She was controlling a small fighter in the center of the screen and was trying to fight off invaders coming from space.

“You know, it’s hard not to laugh seeing you fight alien invaders.”

“I couldn’t laugh even if I wanted to when I’m this busy defending myself. Hurry up and continue.”

“Hang on. I need to get some more change.”

“I’ve already gotten you some, Satomi-sama.”

As Koutarou stood up to get more change, Ruth presented her hands to him. She was carefully holding handfuls of coins.

“Thank you. I’ll pay you back later.”

“No need to worry. Please use them freely.”

“I can’t just―”

“Hurry, Koutarou! I’m about to lose!”

“Okay, okay!”

Koutarou put the coins he got from Ruth into the machine and sat back down next to Theia. When he did, his blue fighter reappeared next to Theia’s pink fighter and the two of them continued working together to defeat the invaders. After a while, they finally reached the last boss of the game.

“Koutarou, it’s time for a combo attack!”

“I got it! I’ll do the rapid fire! You take care of the ship!”

“Leave it to me! Just believe in me and keep firing!”

“Understood!”

Through their skillful tag team approach, they chipped away at the enemy’s huge battleship little by little. Koutarou focused on offense and endlessly mashed the button to fire as fast as he could, while Theia dexterously evaded the enemy’s attacks. It was a splendid fight that made use of both their skills. Eventually, their teamwork paid off and the enemy battleship exploded.

“Ooh!”

“Did we do it?!”

After a flashy explosion, the screen faded to the credit roll, displaying the names of everyone involved in creating the game. At the end was a special thanks to the players who played all the way through.

“We did it, Theia! We beat it!”

“Hoorah! We reign victorious!”

When they saw the end message, Koutarou and Theia began cheering loudly. They pointed at the screen and celebrated their accomplishment before bragging about all the cool things they’d done along the way. All the while, Ruth was watching over the two of them with a smile.

“All right, I’ll give you a reward for your contributions to the glory of the royal families.”

“A reward?”

“Indeed. I’ll buy you a soda. Same cola as usual?”

“Sure. Aren’t you feeling generous today?”

“Praising vassals when they deserve it is the duty of royalty.”

“Who are you calling a vassal?”

“You, of course. Even if you aren’t right now, you will be eventually!”

Still excited, Theia shot up from her seat and took off towards the vending machine, not giving Koutarou any time to object.

“I will be eventually, huh?”

Theia hadn’t changed a bit since they first met. She was coercive and spoke to him like she was looking down on him. In the past, Koutarou would have never even considered obeying her, but he’d begun changing his mind as of late. Ever since he found out the real reason Theia wanted to make him her vassal, his will to resist had almost completely vanished.

But still... What is this?

Ever since they’d gotten to the ski resort, Koutarou had been feeling like something was different about Theia. She’d seemed troubled the past few days, but when the class reached the ski resort, she almost seemed to return to her usual self.

It’s normal Theia, but... something’s still...

Theia was talking and acting the way she always did, so in that sense things seemed normal, but Koutarou felt like something was still somehow different. He just didn’t know what it was. That’s what left him feeling so perplexed now.

“Is something the matter, Satomi-sama?” Ruth asked when she noticed the puzzled look on Koutarou’s face.

“No, not with me... but did something happen with Theia?”

Koutarou was honestly turning to Ruth for answers. He was sure Ruth would have noticed too, and if the reason was anything that meant trouble, he would help if he could.

“Why do you think that, Satomi-sama?”

However, Ruth only answered Koutarou’s question with another question and a happy smile.

It seems like something definitely happened...

Seeing Ruth’s smile, Koutarou quickly gathered his thoughts.

“How do I put this... She looks the same as always, but... Her presence, maybe? I just feel like something’s a bit off.”

Theia was currently putting coins into the vending machine. Nothing appeared to be wrong, exactly, but something was definitely different. Koutarou struggled to put that into words, but he felt like something was out of place.

“Does it bother you?”

“No, it’s not like that. I just noticed. That’s all.”

Ruth nodded with a satisfied expression on her face after hearing Koutarou’s answer, and her smile grew slightly brighter.

“I see... Satomi-sama, Her Highness had a personal worry. And after resolving that, it seems like her frame of mind has changed slightly as a result.”

“A worry, huh? So it’s not like something major happened?”

“No, nothing like that. Although, that’s not to say it wasn’t major to Her Highness.”

“I see. So that’s why...”

Koutarou looked at Theia. As if sensing his gaze on her, Theia turned towards him.

“Koutarou, there’s a cola with zero calories and one that’s unhealthy. Which one do you want?”

“Dealer’s choice.”

“Okay, then leave it to me.”

Theia turned back to the vending machine with a smile and put in more coins. She then returned holding three plastic bottles.

“Here, Ruth. They didn’t have any tea that wasn’t sweet, so I got you some Japanese tea.”

“Thank you very much, Your Highness.”

Theia handed a bottle to Ruth. Although they hadn’t spoken before Theia walked off, she hadn’t forgotten about Ruth.

Well, Theia is different, but Ruth-san is a little different too...

It was rare to see Ruth let Theia go buy drinks. It seemed Theia hadn’t been the only one to go through something of a change. While Koutarou was thinking about that, a plastic bottle appeared in front of his face.

“Koutarou, this is for you.”

“Ah, thanks.”

She gave him a diet cola.

“Since it’s a school trip and since it’s your reward, I was thinking of buying you the one that’s full of sugar as a treat, but...”

Koutarou preferred the sugary cola even if it was bad for him. He felt like the aftertaste of diet cola was different.

“You’ll eventually become someone who stands above others, so I bought this one instead since you should worry a little more about your health like me.”

Theia had gotten the same thing for herself.

“Stand above others...”

Theia had gotten the diet cola out of concern for Koutarou’s—or rather, her future vassal’s—body.

“Are you dissatisfied?”

Theia removed the cap from her bottle and smiled at Koutarou.

“Well...”

Koutarou couldn’t answer right away. Feeling both dissatisfied and not, he was struggling a bit with his emotions. But before he could answer, Ruth spoke up.

“I’m dissatisfied. Your Highness. Why was I the only one left out?”

“Ruth, you don’t like cola, right?”

“If Your Highness bought it, I would have wanted it anyway.”

“Ah fine, just wait! I’ll go buy another one for you!”

Theia thrust her bottle at Ruth and returned to the vending machine. Koutarou stared at the two of them, but he eventually looked down at his own bottle and opened it.

I feel like it doesn’t even matter anymore...

Regardless of what changes had happened to Theia or Ruth, there was no need to worry. Koutarou felt certain of that after witnessing their carefree discussion.

“Here, this is yours.”

“Thank you very much, Your Highness. I’ll do my best to drink it.”

“I feel like something is very wrong, but... oh well.”

While listening to the girls talk, Koutarou brought his bottle to his mouth. The chilled cola felt great in his parched throat.

“By the way, what are we going to do with this Japanese tea?”

“Since Her Highness bought it for me, I’ll drink it later.”

After Koutarou had drunk most of his cola, he spotted Yurika passing by the entrance to the arcade as he was casually looking around.

“...Where is she going this late?”

“What’s wrong, Koutarou?”

“Well, it looks like Yurika is heading outside.”

Koutarou had only seen Yurika for a few seconds from where he was sitting, but he could tell she was dressed in thick outdoor clothes. Since the entire hotel had working heating, not even Yurika would normally wear that much clothing indoors. It had to mean she was planning on going outside.

“At this hour?”

Ruth looked up at the clock in the arcade. It was now past 9:30PM, and it was almost time for lights out.

“That’s odd... I’ll go check with her.”

Just the fact that Yurika, who hated the cold, was going outside was strange. Koutarou had an ominous feeling and finished off his cola before heading towards the exit of the arcade.

“Ruth, we’re going too.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Theia and Ruth followed suit, and the three of them chased after Yurika together.

Koutarou and the others caught up with Yurika as she got off the stairs leading from the second floor to the first.

“Wait up, Yurika! Where are you going this late?”

“Satomi-san?!” Yurika’s eyes opened wide when Koutarou suddenly called out to her. “Wh-Where? I’m not going anywhere.”

“Don’t lie. You dressed like that in here... You might as well be wearing a sign that says you’re planning on sneaking outside.”

“Auuugh...”

Yurika wearing a thick coat, avoiding the elevators, and sneaking through the less trafficked areas of the hotel made it obvious she was planning on going out, and for a while by the look of it. If she was just heading out to pick up something she had dropped from a window, for example, there would be no need to try and be sneaky about it.

“Yurika-sama, where are you planning on going?”

“Based on your answer, we might even help you. Just tell us.”

“U-Um... that’s...”

Questioned by Ruth and Theia, Yurika was at a loss for an answer. After turning it over in her mind, she gave them an answer that only she could.

“A-Actually, Maki-chan is missing.”

“Aika-san is?”

“Yes. So I was going to quietly search for her...”

After healing her wounds from their battle, Yurika had tried to figure out where Maki had gone. Since she knew that Maki was planning something, she couldn’t just leave her be. And though she’d tried looking for her, she hadn’t had any luck. Maki wasn’t anywhere by the ski slopes, and even after skiing hours were over, Maki still hadn’t returned to the hotel. Thusly Yurika determined that Maki must be somewhere outside the hotel, and she was going to go to try and find her.

“By yourself?”

“Y-Yes. I wouldn’t want it to turn into a big deal, so I thought I should go alone...”

If their classmates or teachers found out that Maki was missing, it would cause a fuss. And if Yurika was alone, she could use her magic to look for Maki. There was also the chance that the two of them would end up fighting again, so Yurika going on her own was a good idea for multiple reasons.

Aaaugh! What should I do? Satomi-san will get angry again.

Even so, Yurika couldn’t tell them that. And since it was Koutarou, he would definitely worry about her going out on her own. He wasn’t the kind of guy that would just let a girl walk around the mountains at night by herself. So Yurika closed her eyes tightly and prepared herself to get hit or yelled at.

“Ah, I see. Good idea, Yurika.”

“...H-Huh?”

However, no matter how long she waited for it, neither fists nor angry words came flying her way. She cautiously opened one eye and saw Koutarou nodding and smiling.

“In this situation, you’re perfect for the job.”

“S-Satomi-san?”

Yurika was terribly surprised by Koutarou’s unusual reaction.

What?!

Yurika was so surprised, in fact, that she even doubted her own eyes and ears.

“What do you mean? There’s no way that Yurika could find Maki in the mountains on her own.”

Theia was equally as skeptical as Yurika was, and asked Koutarou to explain himself in her place. Behind her was Ruth with a worried look on her face. She seemed to feel the same way.

“Did you forget? Yurika can use real magic now. She’d definitely find Aika-san before the police could even send out a search party.”

“You’re right!”

Theia’s eyes lit up at Koutarou’s answer. Yurika had the staff that Koutarou had brought home. If she used its power, she would be able to resolve the situation before it got serious. However, in order for her to do that, Yurika had to be alone. If other classmates or teachers went with her, she wouldn’t be able to use her magic.

“Yurika, I apologize for my rude remark. Your judgement was correct.”

“I am very sorry too, Yurika-sama.”

“N-No, you don’t really have to apologize...”

When Theia and Ruth apologized, Yurika felt a little warm and fuzzy, but mostly confused.

H-Huh?! S-Something’s strange! What’s happened to them?!

The situation developed completely counter to anything Yurika could have expected. Just a few days ago, they would have made fun of her, but now all three of them were showing her respect. That only confused her even more.

“But Yurika...”

Then Koutarou’s expression turned more serious.

Augh! Here we go! He really is going to get angry!

Yurika instinctively shut her eyes again. She would be put down after being raised to the skies. It was something that had happened several times in the past.

“I’ll have to subtract points for not consulting with us first. Even if you can use magic, going into the mountains alone at night is dangerous. Besides, you can use your magic in front of us.”

Koutarou put his large hand on top of Yurika’s head.

“...Huh?”

Yurika lifted her head up and opened her eyes. She was met with the sight of Koutarou still smiling at her.

H-He’s really not angry...?

Yurika wouldn’t have been surprised at all if she had been shouted at or hit, but this unexpected development sent her for a loop.

“All right, I understand the situation.”

“S-Satomi-san?”

Koutarou said he understood, but Yurika wasn’t following the situation at all.

“Yurika, I’ll come with you. I’ll go get changed, so just wait here a minute.”

“O-Okay...”

Yurika was so out of it that she just ended up going along with things.

“Koutarou, I’ll come with you too.”

“No, that would be bad.”

“Why?”

“With me, Yurika, and Aika-san gone, that would mean three students from class 1-A are missing. Any more than that and even the teachers would notice.”

“Th-That’s true...”

“Your Highness, I believe it would be wise if we remain and keep everyone’s absence a secret.”

“I understand. But call me right away if things get dangerous.”

“Yeah. Anyways, I’m gonna go change. Yurika, don’t run off on your own!”

“O-Okay!”

Leaving Yurika and the others behind, Koutarou rushed up the stairs.

Satomi-san praised me... and now he’s going to help me...

Even as she watched him go, Yurika couldn’t understand how this had happened. She couldn’t understand it, but she could feel that the atmosphere around her was starting to change.

And what is... this blissful feeling?

Koutarou still recognized Yurika as a normal girl, but now he also acknowledged that she could use magic.

And why is my heart pounding so hard...?

Yurika was able to accomplish her duty as a magical girl while being treated as a normal girl. What’s more, she was even getting help and being praised. It was a twist of fate brought about by Koutarou originally thinking Yurika was a cosplayer, and it was a splendid development for Yurika. She was so thrilled that her racing heart wouldn’t calm down anytime soon.

Not long after leaving the hotel, Yurika stripped off all of her thick outerwear to reveal her magical girl outfit. She would normally complain how cold it was in the middle of the mountains at night in light clothing, but right now, Yurika didn’t mind the temperature one bit.

“Satomi-san, Satomi-san, look! I’m going to cast another spell!”

“I think that’s enough.”

“You don’t have to be so modest. This next one is amazing!”

“You said the same thing about the last one.”

“Just look! Hyah!”

With a bright smile, Yurika held Encyclopedia above her head with both hands. When she did, red and yellow lights shot out from the staff at the same time and enveloped Koutarou and Yurika.

“H-Huh? I’m floating!”

“It’s amazing, right? It’s supposedly called Limited Levitation.”

Both Koutarou and Yurika’s feet started to float slightly above the ground, almost like they were standing on an invisible board five centimeters above the snow.

“It doesn’t seem to have enough power for full-on flight, but it makes it easier to walk in places like this where the footing is so poor.”

“Oh, that’s quite impressive...”

Thanks to the spell, Koutarou and Yurika’s walking speed increased considerably.

“All right, then I’ll cast the next spell!”

“Yurika, that’s really enough. It would be problematic if we run out of mana when we need it, right?”

Koutarou stopped Yurika as she held her staff overhead again. Since the two of them had left the hotel, Yurika had cast about ten spells. She was using magic she believed would be useful for traveling in the mountains at night—spells like levitation, light, protection against the cold, and night vision. She’d gone so overboard that even though Koutarou knew that the staff had been created to use a lot of weak magic, he couldn’t help worrying about its mana reserves.

“It’ll be fine. This staff hasn’t lost a bit of its power even after using this many spells.”

“I hope not...”

Since Yurika understood how the staff worked better than Koutarou, she knew he was worried over nothing. And besides, she wasn’t just using the staff for fun. She was using a lot of lesser spells to preserve their stamina and help keep them prepared for a confrontation with Maki. And by repeatedly casting spells in front of him, it wouldn’t be hard to put Koutarou to sleep before she encountered Maki, effectively keeping him out of the fight. That was half of the reason she was using so many spells, but the other half was genuinely because she couldn’t help herself.

“Satomi-san, Satomi-san! What kind of spell should I use next?!”

“Yurika, don’t get too carried away. It’s dangerous, so watch where you’re going.”

“It’s fine! Not even I would― Oof!”

Not a moment after Koutarou said something, Yurika walked into a tree by the side of the snow-covered road. When she did, the snow piled up on the branches overhead poured down on her.

“What did I just say? Here, give me your hand.”

“S-Sorry.”

Koutarou reached out his hand to Yurika, who was covered in snow and sitting on the ground. She was looking down, her face red from smacking into the tree, but she grabbed Koutarou’s hand and stood up. She then began to embarrassedly wipe the snow off herself.

“Hey, Yurika.”

“...What?”

“About your next spell... Make it one that’ll fix your face or dry your clothes.”

“Okay, I will...”

Yurika had become freely able to use magic in front of Koutarou, but it hadn’t seemed to make much of a difference in their relationship.

Maki took to tracking down the demon on the mountain as soon as she healed herself after her fight against Yurika. However, since Maki wasn’t a specialist in divination magic like Dark Green was, her detection spells weren’t as strong and she lost track of the demon before night fell. After that, she aimlessly wandered the mountain for a while, but just a moment ago she had managed to pick up the demon’s track once more.

“There’s no mistaking it... It’s just past here...”

Maki was wearing her magical girl outfit. She was far too lightly dressed to be walking around a snowy mountain, but the cold wasn’t affecting her at all. Like Yurika, she was using several spells to protect herself from the elements. She was even walking lightly across the snow.

“There... Is it in that cave?”

Maki could see the entrance to a cave up ahead. It was about three meters in size—more than large enough for a person to pass through. The detection spell that Maki was using was telling her that there was powerful mana deep inside the cave. Based on that, Maki assumed that the demon she was after had made the cave its lair.

“This certainly is an impressive amount of mana...”

As Maki stood at the entrance of the cave, she could sense the magical power coming from within. It was enough to give her goosebumps even without using her detection magic. This demon must be incredibly powerful to have mana like that, and if Maki could make it her ally, it should prove quite useful in battle. But even so, something was nagging at Maki.

“I wonder what this feeling is...”

Maki used indigo magic and excelled at spells that manipulated the mind. She was sensitive to thoughts and emotions, and she detected a hint of something mixed in with the mana.

“Is this... fear, perhaps?”

Maki was able to sense strong fear from what she assumed was the master of the cave. It was powerful enough that it created a disturbance in the mana leaking out, almost like waves crashing on the shore.

“Sense Emotion. Mana Shield. Resist Magic.”

Maki sensed something ominous about the fear coming from deep inside the cave, and cast several spells accordingly. While the existence within the cave wasn’t as powerful as Maki, it seemed dangerous enough to convince her not to go in defenseless. A minimal amount of preparation was necessary.

“Now then, just what lies in wait inside?”

Relying on the light from her staff, she carefully entered the cave. The passageway continued forward in a slight curve. At least there was no fear of getting lost. The walls and floor of the cave were covered in ice. The heels of Maki’s shoes clacked loudly against the icy floor as she walked further in. The sound of her footsteps echoed into the very depths of the cave.

“It seems like the master of this cave can manipulate ice...”

Trace amounts of magical power were embedded into the ice. There seemed to be no mistaking that the master of the cave had created it. So as Maki continued deeper still into the cave, she activated another spell to defend her against the ice.

“Guuuuuuuuh...”

After walking several dozen meters into the cave, a bestial groan could be heard. It echoed off the walls, making it sound much louder than it actually was. But the effect was profound. Between it and the powerful mana emanating from the place, Maki’s whole body shook.

“Looks like it’s just up ahead.”

Any normal animal or person probably would have run off after hearing that groan. However, Maki simply smiled and picked up the pace. Intimidation of that level didn’t work on her.

“Found it!”

Pressing on another several dozen meters after hearing the groan, Maki reached a large open area in the cave that seemed to stretch at least twenty meters in all directions. It was there she spied the demon standing across the room.

Its body was about two meters in height and covered in tufty white hair. It stood up on two legs like a human, but its silhouette was closer to that of a beast than a man. It looked a little like a lion being forced to stand upright. But what stood out most of all were the wings on its back and the shape of its head. Both features reminded Maki of a falcon or eagle.

All in all, it appeared as a white behemoth standing on two legs, with the head and wings of a bird of prey. It was the master of the cave—a demon. It certainly looked like a devil or the stuff of legend. Based on its powerful looking body and the vast mana it held, Maki believed it was quite a high-ranking demon.

“Y-Yu! Wy di yu com her?! Do yu com her to kil me?!”

But as the demon looked at Maki, it started backing away. It was rare for a high-ranking demon to back off even in the face of a strong enemy. Maki had encountered many powerful demons before, but this was the first time she had seen this kind of reaction.

It sounds like its speaking Ancient Folsarian...

Maki tilted her head in confusion at the demon’s behavior and began speaking to it in the same language it had used. The language it was speaking was something that high-ranking magicians like Maki studied daily.

“Calm down. I only came here to make a deal with you. If possible, I want to make a contract with you as my familiar.”

Maki was upfront with the demon, honestly declaring her intentions.

“Yur lyng!”

However, the demon rejected her immediately. It then glared at Maki and tried to intimidate her by growling.

“Guuuuuoooooooo!”

“Wait! I really did come to make a contract with you as―”

“Silen! I kan tel tha yu ar lyng! Vadra ar komin her! Yu ar Vadra aly, righ?!”

“Vadra...?”

The demon spoke a strange word that Maki didn’t recognize. Based on the context, it seemed to be a proper noun, but since the demon’s throat hadn’t been made to speak human language, Maki couldn’t quite understand him.

“What is ‘Vadra’? What are you so scared of?”

Whatever that word meant seemed to be the source of the demon’s fear. And whatever it was, he was horribly frightened that it was approaching. If she didn’t do something about this fear, Maki wouldn’t be able to make the demon her familiar, so she wanted to find out what this “Vadra” was.

“Yu kan no ful me! I kan smel Vadra on yu! Yur ar hir tu stahl mi, no?!”

“Vadra’s smell? Stall you?”

“Hir! Vadra is hir! Almos righ hir! I wil be kiled! Wil kil me wit Signatin! I hav to kil tis oen an run!”

However, Maki wasn’t able to get to the bottom of the matter. Without answering her question, the demon, frightened and frenzied, attacked her.

Koutarou and Yurika reached the cave in question several minutes after Maki had entered it. Yurika believed that Maki was up to something magical, so instead of blindly searching for her, she had tried to track any traces of mana on the mountain. Her search had led her to the same place Maki’s had.

“Here?”

“It looks like it. Maki-chan is probably in there.”

Koutarou stared into the cave curiously. As Yurika looked at him from behind, she began thinking that it was about time to put him to sleep. Maki was somewhere inside that cave. Or, if it wasn’t Maki, then something else magical and powerful. Since she wanted Koutarou to believe that they were just looking for Maki as classmates, she believed that it was best if she put him to sleep and hid him somewhere safe outside before he entered the cave. Having made up her mind on the matter, Yurika pointed her staff at Koutarou.

“Satomi-san, since it’s dark inside, I’ll cast some more light magic.”

“Yeah, please do.”

Having had several spells cast on him already, Koutarou didn’t question Yurika approaching him from behind with her staff.

I feel kind of bad for tricking him, but... this is for Satomi-san’s own good...

Yurika pointed the staff at Koutarou, but instead of using the staff’s magic, she began incanting a spell of her own. Since she was going to cast a mind-affecting spell, she wanted to use her own magic instead of the staff’s to make sure she had proper control over it.

What if I let him have a nice dream? Something like Satomi-san, me, and Sakuraba-senpai going out to play somewhere...

Yurika began casting her spell, mixing in her own wishes and mischief into it.

“Combine: Deep Sleep, Control Dreams! Modifier: Effective Time, Twice!”

Two spells—one to put the target to sleep, and the second to manipulate their dreams—combined into one indigo light around Koutarou.

“O-Oh...?”

Koutarou had a quizzical look on his face as he watched the indigo light surround him, but only for a moment. The effects of the combined spell quickly took effect and seized hold of his mind. Since Koutarou was accepting of her spell, he easily fell into a deep slumber.

“Goodnight, Satomi-san.”

Yurika smiled at Koutarou and held on to him so he wouldn’t collapse.

“W-Wah!”

Koutarou’s body was heavier than she expected, but she was somehow able to support him.

“Phew... Now all that’s left is to hide him somewhere safe. He should be fine if I put up a ward.”

While supporting Koutarou, Yurika looked around the area and spotted a large rock near the cave. She thought she could probably hide him in the shadow of that rock. However, before she could carry his body there, something happened.

There was a loud sound that could have easily been mistaken for cannon fire. Not a second later, a large amount of snow came blowing out from the entrance of the cave right in front of Yurika. In the burst of snow, she caught a glimpse of Maki.

“Kyaaah! Wait, M-Maki-chan?!”

“Nijino Yurika?!”

In the brief instant they passed each other, Yurika and Maki’s gazes met. Maki then continued flying on and crashed into the snow. Yurika blankly stared at her as she held up Koutarou.

“Guuuuuoooooooo!”

The next moment, a white demon came flying out of the cave, chasing after Maki. The demon looked like he was about to attack the collapsed Maki, but the moment he saw Yurika, he stopped moving midair.

“Gaaaaaaaah! Vadra! Vadraaaaa!”

The demon then flapped his wings violently as it changed directions and came charging at Yurika.

“Kil! Kil! Vadra! Vadra!”

His hands shone red for an instant before both his arms were surrounded by a white snowstorm. It was a manifestation of the ice magic this demon used.

“Oh no!”

Realizing the demon was now coming for her and Koutarou, Yurika hurriedly began chanting.

“Quick Cast Greater Protection!”

She cast the strongest defensive spell she knew how to use, and the yellow light it produced surrounded both her and Koutarou.

“Dieeee!”

The demon attacked with its magic, sending the white snowstorms from its arms to surround Yurika and Koutarou.

“Kyaaaaah!”

Caught in the whipping winds and snow, Yurika let out a scream. As the snowstorm wrapped around her, its density rapidly increased and it turned into a column of ice. Within a few seconds, Yurika had been sealed into a giant ice pillar.

Meanwhile, Koutarou only felt a cold rush of air over him as he slept. That was thanks to Yurika’s defensive spell and the fact that she had pushed him away before the snowstorm hit. Protected by a yellow light, he had rolled several meters away from her.

“Y-Yurika...”

Maki pulled herself up out of the snow and saw Yurika trapped in the ice. She was completely frozen with her eyes wide open. Maki wasn’t even sure if she was alive or not. With the sudden arrival of her rival and the crisis she was in, Maki momentarily forgot about the demon.

“Die! Dieeeee! Vadra! Dieeeee!”

But even if she hadn’t forgotten, she probably couldn’t have avoided his next attack. The frenzied white demon conjured up a huge avalanche.

Koutarou and Yurika had left the hotel a little after 9:30PM. Roughly an hour and a half had passed, and it was almost time for bed for the Kisshouharukaze students. Because of that, the amount of people in the lobby had drastically decreased.

Theia had come to the lobby as things had started to quiet down for the night. She was getting worried about Koutarou and the others who still hadn’t come back yet. Without thinking about it, she’d found herself in the lobby waiting for them.

Where is Koutarou...?

Theia looked around for Koutarou. She knew he would contact her on his way back. She had no doubt about that. So even looking for him now, she knew she wouldn’t find him here. Still, she couldn’t help herself.

I’m such a fool... Hmm?

It wasn’t Koutarou, but Theia spied a familiar face as she looked around. She smiled slightly and approached the girl.

“Sanae.”

Sanae was sitting on a sofa and staring at the entrance’s automatic door.

“Huh? What is it, Theia?”

Sanae had been so focused on watching the door that she hadn’t noticed Theia until she called out to her. It even almost startled her.

“It’s nothing. I just sort of found myself here and thought I’d say hi.”

Theia sat down next to Sanae. She felt like staying here and talking with Sanae for while.

“Hmph. I’m waiting for Koutarou to come back.”

Sanae pouted and pointed at the automatic door. Sanae seemed to be in a bad mood despite waiting for Koutarou.

“Once he gets back, I’m going to let him have a piece of my mind.”

“Why?”

“Because he didn’t take me along for something so interesting.”

While expressing her dissatisfaction, Sanae emphatically pointed at the door. Koutarou and Yurika left while Sanae and Kiriha were at the hot spring. Sanae was unhappy because it felt like Koutarou had left her behind on purpose.

“Theia, you should say something too.”

“Me too?”

“Yeah. Isn’t there a thing or two that you want to tell him too?”

“Well, yes, but...”

Theia smiled wryly. There were indeed some things she wanted to tell Koutarou, but it wouldn’t be what Sanae had in mind.

No, in the grand scheme of things, it might be the same...

In the end, the reason Theia and Sanae were waiting in the lobby was the same.

“You take those suppressed feelings and use your maiden spirit and guts to―”

The entrance door opened. Both Sanae and Theia immediately turned to look.

“We finally made it, papa!”

“It’s already so late at night... Jeez...”

“I’ll check us in right away. Just hang on, honey.”

A young couple with a child entered the hotel. They seemed to be guests and walked over to the receptionist.

What... Oh, it’s just some guests...

Theia’s shoulders drooped despondently. It wasn’t who she’d hoped to see.

“Sanae?”

“...”

Theia looked back towards Sanae, but Sanae was looking elsewhere. Her eyes were following the family of three. The young couple and the small girl—most likely their daughter—was something that caught her attention.

“What is it, Sanae?”

“Theia... S-Sorry, what were we talking about?”

Sanae was only able to focus on Theia after the young family had disappeared into the elevator.

“It doesn’t matter. More importantly, what was that about? Was there something wrong with that family?”

“No. They just reminded me of papa and mama a little.”

Strictly speaking, Sanae wasn’t interested in the three people that had passed by. She was simply remembering her own parents. Because of that, Sanae’s normally cheerful smile had grown faint.

“Right. That’s what happened to you... Sorry for asking about something that brings up old memories.”

“It’s fine. Besides, that’s not all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm... When I saw that family, I started thinking...”

Sanae looked away from Theia and down towards the lobby floor. Her already faint smile had now all but vanished. She was still smiling, but it was a sad, lonely smile.

“I was thinking that I can’t get married or have children, so I was envious of that mom...”

As a ghost, Sanae couldn’t do things most normal people could, including marrying or having children. No matter how much she wanted to, she would never be able to start her own family.

“Ch-Children...?”

That one word from Sanae pierced right through Theia’s heart.

That’s right, I... I’m the same as Sanae...

Theia was shocked at what she’d just realized. It was like her whole world had been rocked.

“Theia? What’s wrong? Your face is pale.”

Sanae was concerned about Theia, but her voice didn’t reach Theia’s ears. The sudden, massive despair that was born in her heart pulled Theia down into a very dark place.

I’m an alien...! No matter how much I love him and wish for it, I can’t provide Koutarou with a family...!

If she worked hard enough, Theia might be able to make Koutarou her vassal. It might even be possible for them to become lovers. If that happened, marriage wasn’t out of the question.

But that was it. The path ended there for an alien like Theia.

Earthlings and Forthorthians looked very similar, but in reality, they were completely different creatures that had developed in different ecosystems. Even for closely related species, a single generation of offspring was roughly the genetic limit. So when it came to two completely different species, the chances of being able to have a child were close to zero.

What... was I so elated for...? As an alien, I’m the same as a talking doll to Koutarou...

The great principle of life was passing things on to a new generation. But Theia couldn’t do that. She and Koutarou couldn’t even become a normal couple.

When she realized that, Theia’s heart grew icy. It was as if her soul was feeling the blizzard blowing outside the hotel. Her newfound resolution to believe in Koutarou and the warm feelings that had come from that had frozen over.