Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 9 - Chapter 4

The Day Without Ruth

Wednesday, February 10th

Today, the aroma of breakfast cooking was already filling room 106 by the time Koutarou woke up. It was the familiar smell of miso soup and broiled fish, just like any other morning.

“Koutarou woke up, ho!”

“He’s been getting better at waking up lately, ho!”

“...Good morning, Karama, Korama.”

However, something was slightly different than usual. These past few months, it had been Theia or Ruth’s job to wake Koutarou in the morning. Normally Ruth would do it, but every now and then Theia would accidentally step on him. Today, however, it was Karama and Korama that roused him.

I wonder if something happened...

Having just woken up, Koutarou’s brain was still only working at half power and he sleepily looked around the room. It was so natural for him to be woken up by Theia or Ruth that he instinctively scanned the room for them.

Only Kiriha-san is here...?

All Koutarou saw were the two haniwas in front of him, Kiriha making breakfast in the kitchen, and Sanae’s sleeping face sticking out of his chest. There was no sign of Theia, who would usually elegantly be drinking tea right about now, or of Ruth, who would be helping Kiriha in the kitchen. It wasn’t just that they hadn’t woken him up. It appeared they weren’t there at all.

“...Where are Theia and Ruth-san?” Koutarou asked the two haniwas as he rubbed his tired eyes.

The haniwas jumped up and down on his covers and raised their hands above their heads.

“Theia-chan and Ruth-chan are on Blue Knight, ho!”

“They said that Ruth-chan’s fiancé is coming, ho!”

“Oh yeah, now that you mention it, they did say something about that...”

It had been two days since Ruth had gotten the video letter from her parents. Normally it took several days to travel between Forthorthe and Earth by spaceship. It was such a vast distance that it couldn’t be covered in just two days, even with the latest technology. However, it seemed Ruth’s eager fiancé had departed from Forthorthe even before her parents had contacted her.

It sure is a lonely feeling not to be able to see the usual faces in the morning...

Kiriha was preparing breakfast on her own. The sound of a kitchen knife striking a chopping board filled the apartment, but all else was quiet. There wasn’t the sound of Ruth’s slippers against the floor as she moved around to help Kiriha, or Theia’s tea cup occasionally being set on its matching saucer. Without them, the apartment even sounded different than usual this morning. Koutarou remarked how melancholic it felt with two people missing.

“So you’re awake, Koutarou.”

Noticing that Koutarou had woken up, Kiriha poked her face in from the hallway.

“Ruth’s not here this morning, so breakfast is going to take a little longer.”

With those words, Kiriha smiled wryly and returned to the kitchen. Koutarou wasn’t just seeing things when he thought that Kiriha looked a little lonely too. She seemed particularly invested in what was going on with Ruth.

If Ruth-san gets married, this is probably how every day will be...

Koutarou recalled that he’d felt something similar when the trouble with Kiriha had surfaced. Today, with Kiriha present and Ruth gone, was sort of the inverse of that situation.

If Ruth were to vanish from room 106, there would be no one to prepare tea for everyone. And without that as an excuse, Theia would likely appear much less frequently too. It would be a sad, lonely thing indeed.

That’s right... It’s thanks to everyone that I can enjoy each day to its fullest...

For a moment, Koutarou imagined what it would be like to be left all alone in room 106. No ghost haunting the apartment, no freeloader living in the wardrobe, no underground passage beneath one of the tatami mats, and no glowing wall leading to a spaceship. It would be a completely normal apartment, just like when he had first moved in. But now the thought of that was horribly lonely. The day after he moved in, the invading girls had appeared one after another. At first, he spent all his time desperately trying to chase them out, but he had started to enjoy their company before he even realized it.

In that case... There was at least one thing I should have said to Ruth...

When Ruth had asked for Koutarou’s opinion, he hadn’t answered her. He did so because he believed that it was the right thing to do, but reflecting on the apartment without two of its regular figures, he started to think that he’d been too quiet.

“Mmm... Koutarou, is it morning already?”

It seemed Sanae had finally woken up too. She sat up out of Koutarou’s chest and rubbed her eyes.

“Yeah, but breakfast won’t be for a while longer, so you can sleep a little more.”

“’Kay.”

Sanae leaned back into Koutarou and closed her eyes again.

“Koutarou, it’s a little colder than normal, so pump yourself up and make it warm.”

“...I’ll see what I can do.”

“Mmmkay... Thanks...”

After closing her eyes, Sanae quickly fell back to sleep. Koutarou couldn’t help but smile a little as he watched over her using his body as a sleeping bag.

“I see... So my insides are colder than normal, huh?”

It seemed Koutarou was feeling even lonelier than he thought with Ruth and Theia gone.

Meanwhile, Ruth and Theia were standing on Blue Knight’s landing deck. They were preparing to receive Ruth’s fiancé. Since Blue Knight was by far the larger ship, Ruth’s fiancé was going to dock with them.

“So this is the young scion of DKI...”

Theia narrowed her eyes like she was appraising Ruth’s fiancé as he emerged from his ship once it landed on the internal deck. He was a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties. He was the young CEO of the famous mega-corporation Dragon Knight Industries.

Dragon Knight Industries, or DKI for short, was a company founded many years ago by a descendent of the Melcemheins. Since the founder had the scale of an elder dragon as an heirloom, it was said that he was given the title of Dragon Knight. At first DKI had started as a trading company, but as generations passed, it began expanding into other businesses, including commercial enterprises. The company eventually got into manufacturing and started producing its own goods. That significantly increased profit margins, and growth exploded as a result. Nowadays, DKI was one of the biggest and most well known companies in Forthorthe, and their empire was expanding on a daily basis.

“Yes, Your Highness. That is Elexis Borannam-sama.”

“He looks frail... but that doesn’t seem to be all there is to him.”

The man who had taken the wheel of DKI was Elexis Borannam, Ruth’s fiancé. The year after finishing his studies, he replaced his father as CEO of the company. At the time, DKI’s growth had begun to die down, but after Elexis was appointed, it shot right back up. Under his management, and in just a few years’ time, DKI expanded throughout the Forthorthian solar system. As such, Elexis earned quite a reputation for himself as a capable CEO.

But Elexis wasn’t just known as a businessman. He was also a prolific philanthropist. He personally donated considerable sums of his own money to various charities every year. Elexis lived by the philosophy that business was best when society was at its best, so he also made sure that DKI made contributions to public order and welfare too. It was met with a certain amount of resistance from shareholders, but when faced with Elexis’s ever-growing success and popularity, they had no choice but to reluctantly let him do as he pleased.

All things considered, Elexis had the qualities expected of a fiancé for the Pardomshiha family’s beloved daughter in spades. And even though he wasn’t a noble in title, he was still a descendant of the Melcemhein family. He was a promising fiancé that many powerful nobles would have loved to welcome into their family.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Elexis Borannam. It is a pleasure meeting you, Your Highness.”

Upon arriving, Elexis first greeted Theia. While he might have been Ruth’s fiancé, he thought it was only proper to pay his respects to the princess.

Up close, Elexis was an elegant man. He was of a tall, graceful stature, and everything from the clothes, shoes, and accessories he was wearing to his golden hair was refined and beautiful. He looked the part of a gentleman. Strengthening that impression even further was his face. His slim face and narrow eyes made him look both smart and sharp. He certainly appeared to be a man of high standing.

“You have done well to come so far. I won’t mind, so come closer. We won’t even be able to talk properly from this distance.”

Theia glanced over Elexis and invited him closer. He and Ruth would never get married if he insisted on standing several meters away.

This man is the very opposite of Koutarou...

That was Theia’s first impression. The only thing Elexis and Koutarou really had in common was their height.

“Your graciousness is wasted on me, Your Highness.”

After bowing to Theia, Elexis turned around to address the five bodyguards in black standing behind him.

“You can stay there. Guarding me won’t be necessary here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you’d like, you can return to the ship.”

“If it’s all right with you, sir, we’d like to stay here. This is our duty after all.”

“Hahaha, you know what they say about all work and no play.”

After having a laugh with his bodyguards, Elexis approached Ruth and Theia with confident, unhurried steps. As he reached the two girls, Ruth opened her mouth.

“Elexis-sama, I am Ruthkania Nye Pardomshiha.”

“It is a pleasure meeting you, Ruthkania-sama.”

“Please, call me Ruth.”

“In that case, please call me El, Ruth-sama.”

Elexis smiled as he knelt down in front of Ruth. Since his family had given up their nobility, Ruth was by far his social superior.

“Please stand up, El-sama. You must be tired from your long journey.”

“Thank you very much, Ruth-sama.”

Elexis looked up at Ruth and smiled again before slowly rising. Ruth didn’t realize exactly how tall he was until he stood up in front of her. It was almost intimidating. After unconsciously taking half a step back, she looked up at his face.

So this man... is my fiancé...

In that moment, Ruth realized that she felt absolutely nothing when she looked at him. Though that was only to be expected since they had just met, there was also no denying that it was because Ruth’s mind was largely occupied with thoughts of someone else.

“I have seen pictures of you before, but you look even more dignified and lovely in person. It was definitely worth hurrying things along so I could meet you sooner.”

Elexis, on the other hand, seemed quite satisfied with Ruth. He had taken an interest in her after seeing her picture and had rushed all this way just to meet her. As such, there was a considerable difference in the way they felt about each other.

O-Of course... He’s gone through the trouble of coming all this way to meet me, so I mustn’t do anything rude...

This was all so sudden for Ruth, including Elexis’s visit, but he was the man her parents had chosen for her. She couldn’t be impolite. Regardless of whether she was going to proceed with the arranged marriage or turn him down, she had to handle this the right way. And so Ruth braced herself and looked Elexis in the eyes.

“Thank you very much, El-sama. You are welcome aboard.”

“I thought that it might be a little bit fast, but my experience at work has taught me that if I leave a good deal be, it will often get away from me. That was why I took time off from work to come here and see you in person.”

Ruth could tell from the way Elexis was speaking and acting that he thought of the marriage rather favorably. It was true that acting quickly on a good deal was very fitting of a veteran businessman.

He seems to have taken a liking to me, and he seems like a nice person, but...

He seemed to have a pushy side to him too, but he clearly made it work for him. He also seemed to have a friendly relationship with his bodyguards. Ruth got the impression that he was a good person just like his reputation indicated, but there was something that bothered Ruth.

“Ruth, let’s not stand here and talk. Why don’t you show Elexis-dono to his room?”

Blue Knight was large enough that it had guest quarters, which were certainly more hospitable than the landing deck and would provide some peace and quiet for them to talk properly.

“Your Highness... Of course.”

Upon realizing Theia’s intentions, Ruth quickly agreed and indicated the exit of the landing deck to Elexis.

“El-sama, come this way please. I will guide you to your room.”

“No, allow me to guide you today.”

“Your Highness?!”

“It’s all right. Don’t worry.”

As Ruth began to show the group the way, Theia overtook her and took the lead. Ruth felt uncomfortable having a princess escort her like this.

“I’m sure you have plenty to think about.”

“Your Highness...”

However, Ruth relented when Theia whispered those words to her. She realized that Theia was doing her this favor not as a princess, but as her childhood friend.

“Princess Theiamillis, I am most grateful for your consideration.”

“Think nothing of it. Ruth’s guest is my guest. And besides, I will be hosting both of you today.”

Theia proceeded to lead the way with the other two behind her. Ruth was absorbed in thought as she watched Theia in front of her, and Elexis beside her.

I can tell that El-sama is a good person... but... something still just seems wrong...

Theia was walking with Ruth and Elexis following behind her. If Ruth and Elexis got married, this would probably become normal. But something about it didn’t click with Ruth, and that was what was bothering her.

With Satomi-sama... it would be more...

She started imagining what it would be like to walk with Theia and Koutarou like this instead. Theia and Koutarou would lead the way with Ruth following after them. They would argue and sometimes even brawl, but they would always look like they were having fun. Ruth would simply watch over the two of them from behind. That alone would be enough to make her happy. And no matter how much the two of them would fuss, they wouldn’t forget about Ruth who was always with them. Every now and then, they would even turn to her to settle a dispute.

That was essentially Ruth’s everyday life with them, but it was also how she hoped their future would be. Right now, there was nothing more comforting she could imagine.

Is it because of the time we’ve spent together? Or perhaps it’s simply Satomi-sama’s very nature...

Ruth couldn’t imagine any sort of future with Elexis that clearly. Try as she might, it just didn’t feel the same way. Wrapped up in her thoughts, Ruth’s heel got caught in a seam on the floor as they walked along.

“Kyah!”

Too distracted to react quickly, Ruth completely lost her balance and started to tumble towards the floor.

“I got you.”

But Ruth never hit the ground. Elexis caught her before she did.

Though Ruth had been working on her physique with her daily training, she still wasn’t an especially coordinated girl. Tripping and falling wasn’t that unusual for her, but whenever she did, there was always someone there to catch her. So Ruth instinctively smiled and started to thank him.

“Thank you very much, Sa—”

She had to stop herself mid-sentence. This wasn’t the usual man that came to her rescue.

“Are you okay, Ruth-sama?”

“Ah...”

The feeling of a man’s arms wrapped around her body, his face in front of hers... It was all so very different from normal. And as that set in on Ruth, she was overcome by an uncomfortable, guilty feeling.

“N-No!”

Ruth practically pushed Elexis away as she stood up. She knew that he meant well, but part of her deeply scorned the gesture.

Something didn’t feel right about the arms around her. They were normally more coarse and powerful. Something didn’t feel right about the face before her. It was normally more innocent. And something didn’t feel right about the very presence next to her. It normally made her feel safe. But worst of all was the guilty feeling rising in her chest. Like she was betraying someone precious to her.

For each and all of those reasons, she couldn’t help pushing Elexis away.

“Oh my, how rude of me. It seems I was a little too forward.”

However, Elexis showed no sign of being bothered by that, and smiled as he respectfully distanced himself from Ruth.

“N-No, thank you very much for saving me.”

Ruth began to feel sorry for Elexis.

El-sama saved me out of the kindness of his heart, and I...

She’d pushed him away after he saved her. Thinking on it now, she realized that she’d done it reflexively, without even really considering the man in front of her. She felt it was a rather rude thing to do to someone who had crossed the universe just to meet her.

This is no good... This is the man I might marry...

Ruth decided to change gears. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking of someone else. She should be focusing on Elexis. She needed to engage with him and determine whether or not she should marry him.

What was important to Ruth was what her marriage with Elexis would do for her and the people close to her. If Ruth and Elexis were to marry, Ruth would gain Elexis’s financial powers and his political influence, and in turn Elexis would gain the Pardomshiha name and social standing. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. But that wasn’t everything there was to it. There were three things in particular that bothered Ruth.

The first was whether or not Elexis could be trusted. Upon speaking directly with him, Ruth felt like he was trustworthy. On top of that, the Pardomshiha family’s intelligence division had done a very thorough background check on Elexis and his personal life. No issues had arisen from it. So, at least in short term, there seemed to be no problem whatsoever with trusting Elexis. But what about the future? He wasn’t a knight, but a merchant. Wasn’t the reason for DKI’s growth that he always took the side of profit? Right now he was certainly on Theia’s side, but would it stay that way in the future? Could he still be trusted if Theia’s political influence was to wane for some reason? Really, the truth of it was that Ruth was a little anxious because Elexis wasn’t a knight. There was no way to be sure of his morals, which naturally led to her next quandary.

The second thing Ruth was unsure of was what Elexis was really like. Underneath everything, what was his personality like? What was it like to be around him on a daily basis? If Ruth were to marry him, he would, as a matter of course, also end up being by Theia’s side often. If that inflicted any sort of burden on Theia, Ruth would be devastated. Was Elexis even a man that Theia would want close to her? Ruth had to take his character, opinions, and even hobbies into account. But like her first problem, this was all truly only a small matter of concern.

That wasn’t the case, however, with her last problem. It was by far the most important one, and it involved Ruth’s feelings about the arranged marriage. She was well aware of how valuable an opportunity the union would be. If Ruth’s political influence grew, Theia’s position would be indirectly strengthened. Moreover, Elexis gave off a good vibe. Although he had a pushy side to him, he seemed positive and kind. If they were to get married, he would surely make her happy. She had two minor doubts about the future, but she didn’t doubt that he was a good man. All things considered, Ruth would probably never have a fiancé more blessed than this.

But even then, something deep inside her questioned whether or not this was really okay. She still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was betraying someone precious. That’s why Ruth couldn’t readily bring herself to agree to the marriage, even on such favorable terms.

It would be best if I marry El-sama... That much is obvious... I’m probably only anxious because it’s all so sudden... As time passes, that should solve itself...

There was no real reason to refuse his proposal. Everything would surely go well. Ruth repeatedly told herself that while praying that she would come to believe it was the truth.

Ruth and Theia arrived at Kisshouharukaze High School just as lunch break was about to end. They sat down at their desks and stayed quiet. It looked like the two of them were deep in thought, and Koutarou worriedly watched over them both.

Of course they’re serious about this... Marriage is a big deal after all...

To Ruth, it was a major event that would determine her future. And to Theia, her childhood friend’s life was about to change forever. It wasn’t a simple affair, no matter how you looked at it. Even Koutarou understood that this was serious business and that it weighed heavily on them. After Koutarou lost his mother, there was a time his father had considered remarrying. Thinking back to that, Koutarou could vaguely understand what Theia and Ruth might be going through.

All right, I’ll take care of it after class.

There was something Koutarou wanted to talk to Ruth about, but with the lunch period about to end, it would have to wait. He decided to hold it in until after school.

As the last school bell rang for the day, Ruth was looking at the clock installed above the blackboard. It read three o’clock, indicating the end of class. However, Ruth didn’t seem to register that or the ringing bell. But it wasn’t that her mind was blank. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She was so occupied with her worries that she didn’t even remember anything from the afternoon’s classes.

Oh, right, I better hurry home...

It took a solid ten seconds after the bell rang for Ruth to finally realize that school was over. Recalling that she had a guest waiting, she hurriedly got up from her seat. As she did, Theia stepped up to her.

“Ruth, I’ll go on ahead. Elexis-dono might be getting up. You go and prepare dinner.”

Ruth and Theia had come to school because Elexis was in need of rest due to the time lag from traveling all the way from Forthorthe. Preparations for dinner had to be made before he woke up, so the two girls would split up and to get to work on it.

“Thank you very much, Your Highness. I am relying on you.”

“Yes, but keep it together. He’s your guest after all.”

Theia waved her hand lightly and left the classroom. She hadn’t been as distracted as Ruth, so she was already ready to go home.

“She’s right. This won’t do. I need to keep it together...”

Ruth admonished herself for being so preoccupied. She should have left the classroom with Theia, but she was so shaken up that she wasn’t in her usual routine. It wasn’t a very good sign. She took a moment to collect herself, then put her bag on her desk and began gathering her notes and textbooks.

“Ruth-san.”

That was when Koutarou called out to her.

Even as they stepped through the gates to the school, Koutarou and Ruth remained silent. Koutarou wanted to talk to Ruth, but since it was a private matter, he couldn’t bring it up with other people around. Knowing that, he walked along in silence.

Even now, Ruth’s feelings for Koutarou were a bit of a tangle. When Ruth had consulted him regarding her arranged marriage two days ago, he had responded rather indifferently. After talking it over with Theia, she’d come to understand he’d really meant well by taking a backseat in the decision. Yet even knowing that, his words saddened her. As a girl, she still wanted Koutarou to say something more.

But that wasn’t all that was on Ruth’s mind right now. If she were to act normally around Koutarou, she was scared that she wouldn’t be able to commit to her future marriage. She had wanted to avoid Koutarou to keep herself from making any rash decisions.

And so, for their own reasons, both Koutarou and Ruth stayed quiet. They walked down the road towards Corona House without exchanging a word. This was the first time there had ever been so much tension between the two.

That silence continued for a while, but about five minutes after leaving the school, Ruth finally spoke up. They had gotten away from most of the crowd now, and Ruth just couldn’t take the silence and the tension anymore.

“...Satomi-sama, just what did you want to talk about?”

Ruth spoke in a harsh tone, devoid of emotion. It was almost as if she was talking to an enemy. That was the best bluff she could muster.

“There’s something that I wanted to apologize to you for.”

Koutarou, however, was the same as ever. He carried his bag with his usual carefree expression, and walked along at the same leisurely pace he always did. That threw Ruth off.

“Apologize?”

Upon hearing that word, Ruth showed a stern expression.

Could it be that he doesn’t want to become Her Highness’s vassal...?

There weren’t many things Ruth could think of that Koutarou might want to apologize for. The first thing that popped into her head was that perhaps he’d finally decided whether or not he would serve Theia. And since that was a matter of utmost importance, her expression naturally turned serious.

“Yes.”

Koutarou nodded and began talking about what had been bothering him.

“It’s about the arranged marriage you asked me about two days ago.”

“Oh...”

Koutarou brought up something that Ruth hadn’t expected.

It’s about that...?

At this point, she was fully convinced that he’d wanted to talk to her about something else altogether.

“Back then, I... I didn’t think there was anything I could to say to you, but later on I realized that there was something I should have said.”

“Satomi-sama... I...”

Realizing the harshness had faded from her voice and her serious expression had melted away, Ruth quickly tried to recompose herself.

“So first and foremost, I’d like to apologize. I’m sorry, Ruth-san. I hadn’t thought things through back then.”

Koutarou looked Ruth right in the eyes as he apologized.

“I-I see...”

Confused, Ruth nodded her head. Seeing that, Koutarou couldn’t help smiling wryly.

I really should have thought about us a little more. I’m sorry, Ruth-san.

Koutarou realized how immature he was as he looked at Ruth. He could see a striking similarity between the anxious Ruth of two days ago and the confused Ruth that stood before him now.

“This is... something I’d like you to keep to yourself.”

As Koutarou said that, he looked away from Ruth and up into the winter sky. It was clear and seemed to spread out forever.

“I lost my mother early on, so me and my dad lived together, just the two of us. And about a year ago, my dad’s transfer was decided... It was just after I had gotten accepted to Kisshouharukaze High, so I ended up staying here and living on my own.”

A lone, small cloud drifted across the otherwise empty sky. That was how Koutarou had first felt living on his own in such a big city.

“Or at least, I was supposed to. It didn’t really work out that way, because the day after I moved in, everyone attacked.”

Four girls had shown up to claim Corona House’s humble room 106. In order to protect his apartment, Koutarou ended up having to fight. The girls had all kinds of different goals and personalities, so those were very chaotic days.

“Satomi-sama...”

Ruth didn’t know why Koutarou was bringing this up, but based on how he was behaving, she could tell that it was very important to him. She held back her questions and listened to what he had to say.

“That was ten months ago.”

Koutarou counted them out on his fingers and smiled at Ruth.

“A lot’s sure happened since then, hasn’t it?”

“Yes...”

All kinds of memories flashed through Ruth’s mind when he said that. Sanae being kidnapped. Theia being attacked by Clan. The underground dwellers rebelling against Kiriha. The plays. The Christmas party and ski trip. All of it came flooding back to her in an instant, and that wasn’t even including her trivial but precious day-to-day memories.

“And... I’ve only just realized it, but it’s all thanks to you and everyone else that I’ve really been able to enjoy these past ten months.”

The past ten months had been all kinds of trouble for Koutarou. But it wasn’t until recently that, looking back on it, he realized that they were all fond memories. After getting to know the girls, every day he spent with them was a good one. Now he could say with confidence that they were what made his life special. They were the reason he’d been happy all this time.

While he couldn’t say it to Yurika or Sanae since it’d just go to their heads, it was the truth. And it was that truth that had been his motivation to return home from past Forthorthe. He wanted to fulfill the girls’ wishes and protect this everyday life.

“S-Sato...”

Koutarou’s words sunk into Ruth’s chest, and her heart began racing wildly. Her mind went blank and try as she might, she couldn’t think of anything. The pounding of her heart began to break down the wall that had been built around it.

Oh no, if I listen to any more of this, I’ll...

Ruth’s brain started to flash a red alert, but she could barely hear it over her pounding heartbeat.

“Ruth-san, I don’t know what these past ten months have meant to you, but if you’re worried about your marriage, I want you to choose whatever you believe will bring you the most happiness.”

Koutarou was grateful for the invading girls, including Ruth, so he wanted each and every day of her life to be as happy as his was. Whether she got married or not, he wanted her to do whatever brought her that happiness.

“And so it doesn’t matter to me what you choose, so long as you’re happy. And to that end, I’ll support you regardless of what that choice is.”

That was Koutarou’s ultimate decision. The way he saw it, he was simply repaying the love and kindness he’d received.

“So do what makes you happy. Choose the path you won’t regret later. If you want to know what I think, that’s it... No, it’s what I wish.”

If Ruth was anxious about her marriage, then he would try to think of a way to ease that anxiety. If she wanted to decline the proposal, that was fine too. If that happened, Koutarou would do whatever he could to protect Theia and Ruth. He might even become Theia’s vassal as Ruth had suggested. Or he could discuss it with the other girls and come up with a better solution.

Since Koutarou wasn’t knowledgeable about modern Forthorthe, he didn’t want to say anything that would unfairly sway Ruth’s decision. But still, he wanted her to choose whatever made her happy. And no matter what she chose, he would respect that choice and support her. That was Koutarou’s answer.

He also felt like this was his way of honoring Alaia’s Signaltin and Charl’s insignia. What Alaia wanted to protect wasn’t Signaltin; rather, she wanted to use the sword to protect the happiness of her people. And Charl, who also advocated the people’s happiness, had given him a handmade insignia of rank as a sign of his loyalty to Alaia and her beliefs. And now, if he was still going to uphold their wishes and honor their memories, it was his duty to protect Ruth and Theia’s happiness.

“I...”

If Ruth’s only worry had been about the arranged marriage, she would probably decline it now. Koutarou’s new answer far exceeded anything she’d hoped for when she originally asked him.

“And what’s more, he would have to forsake his homeland to come with us. He would even have to accept that he could never have a family of his own.”

However, Ruth remembered Theia’s words.

If I wish to live my life with Satomi-sama, he would surely oblige me... but that would make him unhappy... and I can’t let that happen!

Ruth wanted Koutarou to live with a smile on his face too, just as she did Theia. And that was enough to keep her from declining her marriage and pursuing what she truly wanted.

“...Is that all?”

Ruth desperately tried to keep her feelings from showing through and responded to Koutarou in a calm voice. She even gritted her teeth to keep herself from smiling.

“Yes.”

Koutarou didn’t think it was strange for Ruth to wear such a serious expression. If anything, he expected it after what he’d said to her the other day. He knew he’d really wounded her.

“Then I’ll be taking my leave. I have to make preparations for my guest after this.”

Ruth bowed her head while maintaining her stern expression and hurriedly turned away from Koutarou. She felt like she would be unable to contain herself if she stayed with him any longer.

Your Highness... Your Highness, this must be what you felt...

Ruth was finally able to understand the feelings her petite master held inside.

“Excuse me.”

After a terse farewell, Ruth walked quickly away.

Everything is okay... I was able to pull it off...

Ruth felt a deep sense of relief. She’d been able to hold it together, and Koutarou wouldn’t have to be unhappy. That relief, however, distracted her just enough that she failed to pay attention to her footing. The toe of her shoe caught the lip of some cracked pavement in her path.

“Kyah!”

Since she was hurrying along, she was walking so fast that she tumbled towards the ground a frightening speed. If she hit the sidewalk at this rate, she was going to be in for a world of hurt.

But that never happened. Someone caught her before she met the pavement, and Ruth knew who it was immediately. The size of his hands, the sensation she felt being held by his arms, and the warmth coming from them... It was all familiar to her.

“Satomi-sama...”

“Are you okay, Ruth-san?”

It was Koutarou. And as she stared up at him, Ruth came to understand something.

It’s you... I knew it... You’re the only one for me...

Ruth’s view of Koutarou’s smiling face was quickly obscured by her tears. She simply couldn’t hold them in anymore when she realized he was the one holding her. She felt like staying this way with him forever. The secure feeling of his arms, the warmth of his body heat... It all made her heart cry out for him.

Our place is here... If I stay here, I will be happy... Her Highness surely will be too... We would definitely be happy here...

And her heart crying out destroyed any last barrier she had set up to keep her emotions in check.

That’s right... I don’t want anyone but him. It’s not that I hate El-sama, I just can’t live without Satomi-sama...!

But even then, Ruth tried to get away from him. She poured her failing strength into her arms to push Koutarou away.

“L-Let me go! Please, Satomi-sama! At this rate, I’ll... I’ll...!”

“R-Ruth-san?”

Surprised by Ruth suddenly starting to struggle, Koutarou let go of her. And since he didn’t understand why she was crying, he stopped moving.

“Why do you do this to my heart?! Why?! Even though I know I can’t go on like this! Even though I had decided to give up!”

Having escaped from Koutarou’s arms, Ruth took off at full speed and didn’t look back. She knew if she did, she would make the wrong decision. The wall around her heart had completely collapsed and her overflowing emotions were now escaping through her eyes as tears that scattered with each step she took.

Satomi-sama! Satomi-sama, I...!

Ruth ran as fast as she could away from Koutarou, but her heart was still with him.

Ruth retreated to Theia’s private room aboard the Blue Knight. Other than room 106, there weren’t a lot of places she could run to as an alien. In the end, she turned to her childhood friend.

“Y-Your Highness... U-Ugh, uwaaaaaaaah!”

“Ruth?! What’s happened to you?”

Upon seeing Ruth barging into her room and collapsing to the floor in tears, Theia dropped what she was doing and ran to her side.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I’m so sorry!”

Her shoulders slumped, Ruth sat on the floor with her head lowered as she continued to cry. She looked like she might just huddle up into a ball.

“Just what are you apologizing for? I can’t understand if you just cry, so explain it to me!”

Theia knelt down next to Ruth. As she did, Ruth planted her hands on the carpet and pushed herself up to look at Theia. There was no trace of her normally kind, gentle expression in her sad, tear-streaked face.

“I already know! Thinking of the future, it would be best for me to marry El-sama! And I know that Satomi-sama would be happiest if we left him on Earth!”

Ruth threw everything at Theia. There was no need to hold back with her closest friend.

“B-But I understand now! It’s not just that simple! He’s the only one for me! No one else will do!”

“Ruth...”

Upon hearing Ruth’s words, Theia revealed a solemn smile. She was painfully aware of what Ruth was talking about. She’d been through the same thing herself.

“Even though I know that accepting this marriage would be a boon to you! Even though bringing him to Forthorthe would make him unhappy! Even then... Even then, I...”

Ruth’s tears dotted the carpet as she sobbed. She ran her fingers over the tiny wet spots and then fervently clenched her fists.

“I want to feel his... I want to feel Satomi-sama’s warmth myself!”

Reason dictated that the best choice for Ruth was to marry Elexis and leave Koutarou behind on Earth. But Ruth’s heart scorned that logic. What her brain told her was good for her and what her heart told her she wanted were at complete odds with each other, and the constant fighting between them was tearing her apart. She wanted to scream.

“No matter what I might say, I can’t pretend like I don’t love him...”

Theia lovingly unclenched Ruth’s fingers, one at a time, and took her hand. She held it in her own and gently stroked it.

“Your Highness, I-I’m truly... sorry...”

“I don’t mind. I understand those feelings all too well...”

Still embracing Ruth’s hand, Theia gently smiled at Ruth the same way she did for her when she was sad. Theia continued to sit with her just like that until she stopped crying.

“Still... I am a little envious of you.”

“Huh?”

Ruth instinctively looked up upon hearing those words, and her eyes met Theia’s. She was surprised, but Theia was smiling. This was quite a reversal of their usual situation.

“You already have your answer. All that’s left is to make the leap. But... I can’t take such a bold step myself. So... I am a little envious of you...”

Ruth was born to a distinguished family of knights with a long history, so continuing that lineage was important. But it was even more serious in Theia’s case. Choosing Koutarou as her partner would mean the end of a royal bloodline. And Theia’s family—the Mastir family—could be traced back even to before the time of the Silver Princess, making it the oldest in Forthorthe. Their lineage coming to an end would be considered a grievous loss to the country. As such, Theia still couldn’t bring herself to commit to making a decision.

“But it’s all about perspective. If you choose to live with Koutarou, it wouldn’t be such a bad future for me...”

“Your Highness...”

Upon her birth, Theia was given the golden shackle that was a princess’s crown. Though it was golden, it still weighed heavily on her.

Even after she dried her tears, Ruth didn’t return to room 106. Facing Koutarou would still be too painful for her. Her dinner with Elexis was also delayed until the next day as she had been unable to make any preparations. So without much else to do for the night, Ruth headed to Blue Knight’s hangar. She was planning on performing maintenance on Koutarou’s armor.

Ruth had now made up her mind about the arranged marriage. She knew she couldn’t go through with it. That said, it wasn’t like she could just decline it. She would have to meet with Elexis’s parents and apologize to them personally. It wasn’t something that could be settled by sending a single message to her own parents. So regardless of how this worked out, Ruth would at least temporarily be returning to Forthorthe.

That left a question of who would protect Theia. Ruth wasn’t just Theia’s retainer; she was also her bodyguard. So though temporary, while Ruth was gone, there would be no one to watch over Theia. Since she couldn’t allow that, Ruth was planning on finishing up the armor’s maintenance and asking Koutarou to take the job. In the end, he was the only one that Ruth felt comfortable entrusting her princess to.

A blue set of armor was standing upright in the maintenance section of the hangar. It kept its balance and posture thanks to the onboard computer, and standing there on its own, it didn’t look too much different from how it did while Koutarou was wearing it.

The Blue Knight’s armor, huh...? If only Satomi-sama were the real Blue Knight...

Ruth let out a small sigh as she looked over the armor. To her and Theia, Koutarou was someone who exceeded even the Blue Knight. The legendary Blue Knight probably would protect Theia’s life too, but Koutarou also protected her heart. Ruth didn’t think any other man could be trusted with that. Theia clearly felt the same way, evidenced by the engraving on the front of the armor: “Theiamillis’s Blue Knight.”

However, that was just between Theia and Ruth. To the people of Forthorthe, Koutarou was just an alien. Since he was from a less developed planet, they would regard him as a Neanderthal, just like Theia once had. That said, if he were to properly become Theia’s vassal, he could be accepted into the Pardomshiha family as their adopted son.

But they wouldn’t be so accepting of marriage. It would shake the entirety of Forthorthe if Theia were to marry a Neanderthal from a backwater planet like Earth. There was no telling what kind of backlash it might bring. While he didn’t have to be the Blue Knight, things would have been so much simpler if Koutarou had at least been from a family of knights.

“No... In that case, Her Highness probably wouldn’t have fallen in love with Satomi-sama...”

Ruth shook her head as that realization set in on her. Theia had fallen in love with Koutarou because they were rivals on equal standing. It was because they could go all out with each other and hold nothing back that Theia had come to love Koutarou. So if Koutarou had been from a family of knights, that likely would have never happened.

“There’s no use in grumbling about it... I have work to do...”

Ruth changed gears and moved over to a nearby panel to begin servicing the armor. Maintenance on the armor’s hardware had already been completed beforehand, so Ruth’s work today would mostly be software maintenance. After Koutarou returned the armor, she’d scheduled the maintenance station to take care of any parts that needed to be serviced or replaced automatically. As such, she also needed to adjust the new parts using existing operating data to prevent any trouble when Koutarou wore the armor the next.

“Looking at it again... there sure are a lot of unreasonable parameters...”

As she was confirming the condition of the armor, Ruth felt like something was amiss. The replaced parts were all reading normally, but many of the parts that hadn’t been changed out were programmed unusually.

A simple example was one of the arm motors. It had been set to briefly allow the full use of its power, but it wasn’t suited for that kind of use over a long period of time. On that setting, the motor would probably burn out after thirty minutes.

But that wasn’t the only thing. Various other parts had been modified in strange, specific ways too.

“What did you have to fight to make you use these settings? And this damage...”

The programmed parameters weren’t the only odd thing about the armor. There were parts of the hardware that showed signs of wear and tear over a long period of time, and now that Ruth looked at it, Kiriha’s gauntlet had been integrated into the previously damaged left arm of the suit. There was also heavy damage from combat and burns all over the armor. The onboard software showed some peculiar entries as well.

Did he repeatedly fight against a large mobile weapon over a long period of time?

Ruth reached a conclusion as she studied the armor. With this kind of damage, it was hard to imagine that Koutarou had only fought against Clan. Rather, it looked like wear and tear accumulated over several months of front-line fighting, and the damage was serious enough that it looked like he must have fought something like a large mobile weapon. If she thought of it that way, the strange combat parameters that had been programmed into the suit made a little more sense.

It would have been easy to get to the bottom of this with the AI’s logs and databases, but those had all been erased. All Ruth had to go off of was the evidence in front of her and her intuition. It left her feeling a little uneasy.

“Satomi-sama and Clan-sama are definitely hiding something...”

Koutarou and Clan’s current relationship was yet another of Ruth’s concerns. If Clan had somehow managed to win him over, that boded poorly for Theia’s future. So in order to make sure that hadn’t happened, Ruth wanted to investigate whatever it was that they were hiding.

“Oh? This is...”

That was when Ruth stumbled across a certain something in the computer. It was the settings for the armor’s onboard translation device.

“That’s strange... Ancient Forthorthian has been bumped to the top of the priority list... And Higher Ancient Forthorthe is fourth? Why would such an obscure language be...”

The translation device in the armor could freely translate one language to another, just like Ruth’s bracelet. If Ruth spoke using Forthorthian words, for example, the device would convert them into Japanese while preserving her voice. That was how Ruth and Theia had managed to get along on Earth just fine.

The device could translate nearly any language. Common tongues had been pre-registered into it, including Modern Forthorthian and the languages spoken in nearby star systems, but the list of known languages included both Upper and Lower Ancient Forthorthian. As they were both over a thousand years old, however, they were normally set quite low on the priority list.

The translation device could automatically detect languages in order to translate them, but it did so by comparing the sounds it picked up to information in its databases. For that reason, it made sense to keep commonly encountered languages at the top of the priority list, and rarely encountered ones near the bottom. Despite that, both of these ancient languages were now at the top of the list. That seemed to indicate they were being accessed frequently.

“Normally Modern Forthorthian should be at the top... but it’s Lower Ancient Forthorthian. Why would Satomi-sama need to speak that...?”

Koutarou and Clan had been thrown out of the universe. In order to return, they’d needed to work together. That should have meant that Modern Forthorthian, the language Clan spoke, remained the top priority. But it wasn’t, and that stumped Ruth.

“The only reason I can of think for this is...”

Koutarou hadn’t been speaking Modern Forthorthian, but Lower Ancient Forthorthian. And in order to hide that, he’d asked Clan to erase the armor’s logs. Ruth racked her brain to try and come up with a reasonable explanation for that.

“No... Could it be that Satomi-sama and Clan-sama...”

Ruth gasped. With all the information she was presented with, there was only one answer that fit the mysterious puzzle. It was hard to believe, but Ruth had a gut feeling about it. It was extraordinary, certainly, but if it was true, then everything else made sense.

“There’s no time to spare!”

Ruth hurriedly brought up the armor’s communication history. Now that she had an inkling of the truth, there was someone she desperately needed to talk to.