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Chapter 3: Their Respective Feelings 

After the banquet, Rio changed in the men’s dressing room before meeting up with Satsuki and Miharu and returning to their rooms. Satsuki had been a little upset until the end of the banquet by how Miharu was the only one Rio didn’t dance with, but Miharu insisted she was fine, since it was embarrassing anyway. Rio brought up what he’d spoken to Charlotte about during their dance, prompting Miharu to listen with a serious face. 

“I see...” Satsuki placed a hand on her mouth in thought. To summarize Charlotte’s statements: 

It was understandable that Satsuki was wary of the Galarc Kingdom. The kingdom was also aware of why she would feel wary. However, they were hoping to form a trusting relationship in spite of that. If they were able to offer their support, they would provide it gladly. Even after Miharu appeared, they had no intention of taking her as a hostage against Satsuki, so she could rest assured with regards to that. 

The Galarc Kingdom hadn’t tried to interfere in order to keep Satsuki with them, so Satsuki had no choice but to accept the Galarc Kingdom’s assistance while being wary of being used for political advantage. This had been their relationship until now, but... 

The Galarc Kingdom had never referenced the fact Satsuki didn’t quite trust them until now, either, though they must have suspected such a thing. Perhaps it was because they took it as implicit understanding, but they didn’t aggressively pursue Satsuki to win her over. 

“How do you see it, Haruto?” Satsuki asked. 

“First, I believe that Princess Charlotte’s words were most definitely the words of King Francois.” 

“...Right.” If everything until now had been a lie, that itself would destroy Satsuki’s trust. 

“Incidentally, the Galarc Kingdom has told you before now that they wanted you to be affiliated to their kingdom and help them as their hero, right?” 

“Yeah. But they haven’t done anything more than that. They understood my wariness towards being their hero, so they’ve shown their consideration through their actions instead of words. As a result, I was treated as a temporary guest of the Galarc Kingdom, which created very positive conditions for myself...” Satsuki said, humming in thought. 

“Recently the international situation has been changing incessantly, and now that Miharu and Takahisa—who you have been looking for—have shown up, the Galarc Kingdom must be looking to progress their relationship with you, don’t you think? That’s why they’re crossing the line they haven’t crossed until now. By putting their plan into words, they made it difficult to take contradictory actions, and the moment they do, they’d ruin the trust they’ve established completely. Looking at the Galarc Kingdom’s attitude up until now and in the future, it seems like they’re asking you to decide whether you’d like to approach them and make a compromise or not. As the administration of the kingdom, I think you just have to accept that they will have calculative intentions...” Rio advised Satsuki, giving his own assumption of the kingdom’s intentions. 

“...Yeah, I understand. Thanks for that.” 

“I didn’t really say anything useful...” 

“That’s not true. You were a great help.” 

“...So what will you do?” Rio wanted to know how much she trusted the Galarc Kingdom and how far she was willing to walk with them in the future. 

“...Well, it’s true that they’ve looked after my living necessities for free without forcing me to do anything until now. They could just be deceiving me, but I think I can trust King Francois as long as our interests align with each other. I might have to go to him about Aki and Masato tomorrow, too... I don’t plan on trusting him blindly, but I can compromise enough to repay the debts I owe them so far. It would be dishonorable to just go ‘Okay, thanks! Bye!’ now that I’ve found Miharu and the others.” More than anything, it would be irresponsible. 

“Also, well... I’ve been able to reunite with Miharu, and after speaking with Haruto about some things, I’ve given the future a bit of thought. This kingdom has Liselotte, too, and Haruto’s become an honorary knight as well,” Satsuki added in embarrassment. 

“...It’s just—and this could sound vain—but I believe it’s possible His Majesty appointed me to an honorary knight in anticipation of you and me growing closer,” Rio suddenly hypothesized. Having a close friend affiliated created a feeling of familiarity. He had a blind suspicion that such feelings may have been used against them. 

They could have accomplished their goals by taking Miharu into their country, but if they insisted too hard on taking in a normal girl like Miharu, it could be interpreted as taking a hostage, which could become a source of distrust in the future. 

In this regard, Rio at least had the strength not to be taken as a hostage, and was publicly given a position as a reward for defeating intruders at the banquet. Even if it had been with ulterior motives in mind, it could only be seen as a positive move. 

“Ah, yeah. Maybe. If so, they really might be deceiving me,” Satsuki agreed with a bittersweet smile. 

“...It’s a world I can’t keep up with,” Miharu muttered earnestly, her eyes wide. She watched Satsuki in awe for speaking to Rio at an equal level. 

Just at that moment, there was a knock on the door. 

“...I wonder who it is at this hour.” Satsuki whipped her head around and looked at the door—the banquet was over and it was fairly late. It wouldn’t be odd for people to be asleep already. 

Satsuki stood up and approached the door. “...Yes? Who is it?” she called out to the door in a louder voice. 

“Sir Takahisa and Princess Lilianna from the Centostella Kingdom have come to visit,” the female knight guarding the room answered. 

Satsuki opened the door and welcomed Takahisa with a surprised look. “Takahisa... What’s wrong? It’s kind of late.” 

“I pleaded with Lily to stay in Galarc for a little longer, but I was hoping to talk to you before you went to sleep...” Takahisa said nervously. 

“I’m sorry. I tried to stop him since it was so late, but...” Lilianna added apologetically. Rio and Miharu were meant to sneak out of the castle after this to head for the stone house, but it was still early. 

“We were about to sleep ourselves, but if it’s just for a little while...” Satsuki shrugged, inviting Takahisa and Lilianna inside. They continued to chat over tea for another hour or so before Lilianna urged Takahisa to return to their rooms. 

 

Late that night, once it was too late to expect any more guests and the castle had quieted down, Rio departed for the stone house with Miharu. 

“All right, see you later.” Satsuki saw them off as Rio carried Miharu into the night sky. The two of them melted into the darkness in no time at all, making it difficult to follow them from the ground. 

For the record, Aishia was already waiting at the stone house, so they were completely alone. But they did not speak for a while after they departed as they snuck through the skies above the castle. 

“...Are you cold?” Rio finally asked. 

“No, I’m fine. Haruto?” Miharu squeezed her hand in Rio’s clothes and nodded, before taking a deep breath and raising her head. 

“...Yes?” Rio replied a little stiffly. 

“I’ve been thinking ever since we had our talk. About who I wanted to be with.” 

“Right,” Rio responded shortly, waiting for her to continue. 

“The one I want to be with is you, Haruto. I want to be with you,” Miharu expressed in a strong tone. 

“I... am not Amakawa Haruto,” Rio replied darkly. 

“To me, you’re both Haruto and Haru-kun,” Miharu shook her head and stated bluntly. 

“Amakawa Haruto is dead.” 

“But Haru-kun is within you.” The normally-reserved Miharu refused to back down an inch. 

“But right now, I am a person of this world. Even if I have Amakawa Haruto’s memories and values, those aren’t my memories and values. Do you still believe Amakawa Haruto is in me?” Rio didn’t back down, either. 

“Yes.” Miharu didn’t hesitate at all, nodding firmly. 

“...” Rio was completely taken by surprise. He wanted to dismiss her promptly, but the words didn’t come out. 

“I want to be with both Haru-kun and the person that Haru-kun was reborn as,” Miharu repeated in objection, emphasizing that she definitely did not take Rio to be Amakawa Haruto. 

“...What will you do if you stay with me? There’s nothing I can do for you. I’m living in order to fulfill my revenge.” Rio felt a pain in his chest, his voice coming out in a rare tremble. If Miharu had asked him to give up on his vengeance here, he may have given up. 

“That doesn’t matter to me. I want to stay anyway.” When Rio tried to reject her through the reasoning that he was living in a shameful way, Miharu responded with her emotions. Even though she didn’t know what that was, or what was waiting in the future... 

“...You might regret it one day, when I turn out not to be the person you thought I was,” Rio spat out. 

“I will not. But I would definitely regret leaving your side,” Miharu refuted with resolution. 

“...” Rio’s eyes trembled with hesitation. He didn’t know what expression to make, his chest squeezing in pain. Why? Why would she want to be with someone like me... he asked himself. 

“Or... would you prefer if I wasn’t there? You have Ai-chan, Celia, Latifa, Sara, Orphia, Alma already... There are so many people around you supporting you, and I’m not even as smart as Satsuki. So if you don’t want to have someone as powerless as me around...” Miharu asked Rio, expressing her anxieties. 

“...That’s not true,” Rio denied in a bitter voice. 

“Then do you think that way about everyone else? That they shouldn’t be with you,” Miharu’s expression twisted and crumpled as she asked. 

“...” Rio neither confirmed nor denied it. Miharu took that as a silent confirmation. 

“Then why have you helped us out so much? Why did you save Celia, who was about to be married off against her will? Why did you adopt Latifa as your little sister?” Miharu raised her trembling voice. If he thought she would be better off away from him, then he shouldn’t have saved her from the start. 

However, Rio had saved Miharu and the others. He had allowed them to stay beside him. They had lived together. Was that nothing more than a temporary measure? 

“...” Rio fell silent once more, furrowing his brows and averting his eyes. He wasn’t able to come up with a logical answer. 

“After looking after us so much, after becoming so familiar with us, living together like a family... there’s no way I can accept you distancing yourself like that. That’s so... selfish...” Miharu’s voice trailed off weakly, which made it sound all the more like a scream to Rio. 

However, Rio hadn’t decided upon his revenge with half-hearted resolve, either. He was aware his path would be a bloody one, and prepared to go forward. 

“...” He said nothing. He couldn’t. 

It’s just like Ai-chan said... The Haruto of this world had shut his heart. That was what Aishia had told Miharu on the night she experienced the dream where Amakawa Haruto died. And now that Miharu was telling him her feelings like this, Rio was maintaining his negative stance. 

He would most likely remain stubborn no matter what she said. Keenly experiencing Aishia’s words coming to fruition, Miharu looked up at Rio’s face with terrible sadness in her eyes. 

However, Aishia had also said this: if Miharu really wanted to stay with Haruto in the future, then she couldn’t run away. 

That’s why Miharu didn’t give up. If she couldn’t convince Haruto completely here, she would cling to him with everything she had. 

“Haruto, when we came to the capital, you promised me on the deck of Liselotte’s enchanted ship, right? That you’d respect my will.” 

“...Yes.” It seemed like he still remembered. Rio nodded at a strange angle. 

“I want to stay with you.” 

“...” 

“I want to stay. With you—with Haruto, with Haru-kun.” At Rio’s silence, Miharu simply repeated herself. 

“...” 

“Haru-kun,” she repeated again. Rio had a clearly bitter expression on his face when she called him by that nickname. 

“...I understand,” he sighed, nodding. 

“Thank you.” Miharu’s face brightened with happiness. 

“There’s no need to rush into an answer, so take your time deciding. We’ll still be together for the time being,” Rio said, suggesting a compromise. 

“Yup. Okay.” Miharu nodded with a plain, gentle smile. Rio watched her face, then looked away from the radiance. 

“Also... Please stop with the Haru-kun,” he added with a sullen face. Even if she called him by that name, he wasn’t able to respond to her as Amakawa Haruto. 

Roughly half an hour later, Rio and Miharu had arrived at the stone house and were seated facing Aki and Masato in the living room. The other residents were also present around them. 

Over half a day had passed since Aishia had explained the circumstances to them—now, it was time to see if their resolutions stood firm. 

“As you have heard from Aishia already, we’ve found Takahisa. He’s currently in the Galarc royal castle and knows you two are safe. He very much wanted to see you, but we first need to ask... what do the two of you want to do?” Rio asked, getting right to the point. 

“I’ll go! I want to see my brother!” Aki looked at Rio and Miharu, answering immediately with no sign of hesitation. That was the answer they had expected. Rio proceeded to look at Masato for his answer. 

“What about you, Masato?” 

“Hmm... I want to see him, I think. Especially if he wants to see me.” Masato hummed as if he was considering his feelings one last time. 

“Got it. Also, as we expected, Takahisa is saying that he wants custody over the two of you. What do you want to do about that?” Rio asked. 

“I want to stay with my brother.” Aki still seemed to be faintly hesitant, as her eyes flickered to the ground as she answered. 

“I... Like I said before, if it doesn’t seem like I can return easily, then I want to stay with you, Haruto. I still have to keep my promise with Arslan, and I need you to supervise my sword practice.” Masato didn’t seem to be absolutely certain of his answer either, as his voice was a little stiff. 

“Takahisa is the hero of the Centostella Kingdom. You may have heard from Professor Celia already, but the kingdom is closed off and its internal affairs are unknown. It’s possible that if you follow Takahisa... we may not be able to meet again easily.” Rio looked at Celia, who was seated apart from them as she watched their conversation, as he gave his guess about what Masato was fearing. It was an explanation directed towards Aki. 

“...” Aki seemed to have a few thoughts about that, as she pressed her lips together firmly. 

“As for the Galarc Kingdom, they’ve so far maintained their stance against doing anything Satsuki would be opposed to. They made no move to take Miharu as a hostage or use their relationship with Satsuki, either. That being said, there’s no guarantee the same would apply for the Kingdom of Centostella, though it did seem like they were prioritizing Takahisa’s will over anything else. The rest we don’t know for sure,” Rio explained, looking at Aki and Masato again. 

“All right, this is the last time I’ll ask. By going to meet with Takahisa, who is in the company of someone with power, you may be restraining your own freedom in the future. Things might not go your way, and you may even be treated unfairly. Despite that, the two of you want to go to the castle to see Takahisa. Is that correct?” he said carefully. 

“...Yes.” 

“Yep.” 

Aki and Masato both gulped and nodded. 

“Understood. Tomorrow—or rather, midday today—we’ll bring the two of you to the castle. With that settled, there’s something else I’d like to talk about...” Rio’s mouth pulled into a tight line as he fixed his gaze on Aki. Aki cocked her head and looked back at him. 

Unsure of where to start, Rio contemplated for a moment before he began to speak. “I’m going to tell everyone what I’ve been hiding. I’ve told Latifa, Professor Celia, and Miharu before, but it’ll be news to Sara and the others—I have memories of my past life.” First, Rio looked at the sofa in the corner of the living room where Sara, Orphia, and Alma sat together. 

“Memories... of your past life?” The abrupt topic shift left Sara and the others widening their beautiful eyes. Beside them, Latifa’s expression had also changed. 

“Do you remember the meeting with the elders before I brought Miharu, Aki, and Masato to the village? Where the question of how I was able to teach the language of this world and whether I knew the language of their world came up?” Rio asked. 

“Yes...” Sara and the others exchanged looks and nodded. At that time, they had sat in on the meeting between Rio and the elders, but Rio hadn’t said why he knew the language of Miharu’s world out loud. As a result, that had been in the corner of their minds this entire time, though they hadn’t asked about it out of consideration. 

“That was because I have the memories of a human who was born in the same world as Miharu and the others. I informed the elders when I first brought them to the village, but it was kind of hard to find the right time to tell everyone. I’m sorry this is coming about so late.” Rio unfolded his hands from his lap and corrected his posture, bowing his head. Sara and Alma spoke first. 

“No, there’s no need to apologize.” 

“Yes, we understand there were circumstances at play.” 

“We should be thanking you for telling us, really,” Orphia added with a smile, agreeing with the two of them. Rio nearly smiled with joy to hear that, but the truth he was about to reveal made him bite his lips instead. 

“Thank you... And so, moving on to the main topic at hand, this is something I had kept hidden from even Miharu until just the other day...” Glancing once more at Aki, Rio’s tone was a little evasive as he spoke. Imagining how Aki would react made him feel a bit scared, but he had to say it. 

“Is it really something you should tell us, Rio? You don’t have to force yourself for our sake.” Celia seemed to see the shadow on Rio’s face, and voiced her worry for him in a gentle voice. However, Rio had already made his decision and nodded before he began to speak again. 

“This is tangentially related, but on the second night of the banquet, there was an incident where some intruders made it inside. I assisted with driving back the attackers and was appointed to the position of an honorary knight by the Galarc king.” 

“Did you just say... an honorary knight...?” The revelation left Celia, a former noble, horrified. However, it didn’t seem to register for the others, who looked confused instead. 

“Is that an impressive role?” Sara asked Celia curiously. 

“Y-Yes. It’s a prestigious title bestowed upon someone with remarkably outstanding military exploits and gives them a position with special rights, but no duty to the kingdom. They’re seen as the same rank as counts and other high-ranked nobility, so rarely is anyone ever appointed...” Celia explained, staring closely at Rio. 

“Hmm... So in other words, Haruto became a noble of the Galarc Kingdom?” Masato asked curtly. 

“Well, basically. It’s not like I’m serving the kingdom, so I don’t have to do anything in particular.” 


“But what does becoming an honorary knight have to do with his past life?” Alma tilted her head to the side. 

“I was allowed a family name upon my appointment as an honorary knight. Haruto was my name from my past life, but for several reasons, I made my family name the same as my past life as well.” As Rio spoke, Aki’s expression froze as she stared at him. Her heart thumped incessantly with a sense of foreboding. 

“What was the family name, Onii-chan?” Latifa noticed the change in Aki’s expression at the same time as she guessed what was happening, so she interrupted with a question to connect the dots. 

“Amakawa... Haruto Amakawa. That is my name as an honorable knight. It’s also the name I had in my past life, where I was Miharu’s childhood friend and Aki’s older brother.” Rio fixed his gaze on Aki and spoke to her solemnly. For a moment, everyone other than Aishia, Latifa and Miharu—who were already in the know—looked shocked. 

In Aki’s case, her expression was completely wiped from her face. “...!” After a while, she clenched her teeth with a bitter face. At the same time, the others who were out of the loop all shouted out together. 

“Whaaat?!” 

“Uh? Eh? Wait, huh? H-Huuh?!” Masato’s mouth fell open, stunned. He looked between Rio and Miharu multiple times. 

“Why...?” A bewildered expression appeared on Aki’s face as she spoke. Anger, confusion, and self-restraint—those three emotions swirled together in her chest. She tried to say something through it all, but each time she tried, she closed her eyes to suppress her fury. 

“W-Wait a minute! I can’t keep up with what’s going on. First of all, I didn’t even know Aki had a brother before our parents married each other!” Masato didn’t seem to know anything about Aki from before the divorce. 

“...I don’t.” Aki whispered. 

“H-Huh? But...” But he was right there. With no idea as to what was going on, Masato looked at Rio and Miharu. 

“She does. She does—Aki has an older brother named Haru-kun. As their childhood friend, I can testify to that.” Miharu had been holding her tongue so that Rio could explain things in his own words, but she interrupted him at this point. 

“I do not! My older brother isn’t named Amakawa Haruto! He’s Sendo Takahisa! I’m Sendo Aki right now! I don’t know anyone who never contacted us, even when Mom was crying alone and fell ill from overwork!” Aki yelled back, her voice thick with emotion. 

“Aki! Listen to what Haruto has to say. Haruto wasn’t—” Miharu objected to Aki in frustration, but was interrupted. 

“It’s fine. It doesn’t change the fact that Amakawa Haruto never did anything brother-like for Aki. Now he’s dead, and I’m not Amakawa Haruto, so there’s no reason for me to act like an older brother now. I can’t say anything selfish like that,” Rio said, stopping Miharu calmly. 

“...” Rather than dark clouds hanging over them, it was more like a sudden typhoon had struck the room, leaving the girls unrelated to the situation to watch in silence. They exchanged glances to check whether they should interrupt, but decided it was best to let their thoughts clash for a little longer. 

“...Why, why are you revealing this now?! If only... If only I didn’t have to know... That you were that person!” She wanted to respect him as the person who saved her. She was happier being unaware of the truth. He should have just stayed silent about it—that’s what Aki was silently expressing to Rio in her glare. 

However, Rio stared at Aki quietly. He was objecting in return with his eyes and expression that there was a need for it. 

“Because there was something I hadn’t told you. Because I felt like it was something you should know. I had a feeling that you hated Amakawa Haruto, based on our time living together. That’s why I knew you would get angry if I told you about my past life, but I also thought that I had to tell you properly.” 

“Something I should know?” Aki asked in a voice laced with anger. 

“Yes. I’ve told you that Amakawa Haruto—my past life in my memories—died as a university student, right?” The moment the name was brought up, Aki grimaced, leaving Rio to clarify before continuing on. 

“...” It was true—he had said that. Aki seemed to recall it, but she didn’t nod. 

“Miharu wandered into this world when she was fifteen, in her first year of high school. I was born the same year as her and died at the age of twenty-one, in the summer of my second year of university. However, even though I died later, I was reborn in this world before everyone wandered here. Don’t you find that strange?” Rio explained. 

“Ah...” Even Aki, whose blood was boiling, realized the abnormality in the timeline. 

“When I entered high school, I returned to the town I grew up in to live alone. That was when I entered the same high school as Miharu and knew about the incident when Miharu went missing. Immediately after I turned twenty, I also visited my mother for the first time in thirteen years.” 

“You... met Mom? After we disappeared...” Aki’s eyes were filled with surprise. 

“Yeah. At the time, my father had hidden the circumstances from me so I didn’t know you had gone missing as well, so I asked my mother whether you were doing well. And she told me you were doing fine...” Not all the facts surrounding this were clear, so Rio’s voice was a little uncertain as he spoke. It was highly possible that his father was informed of Aki’s disappearance, but hadn’t passed that information on to Haruto. 

“T-Then, does that mean we’ve returned to Earth in four years time?!” That was how Aki interpreted his line of thinking. 

“...I don’t know about that.” Rio shook his head slowly. 

“W-Why?” 

“At the same time, I had asked if Miharu was still missing. So either Aki managed to return to Earth alone somehow, or my mother lied to me to prevent me from worrying...” Amakawa Haruto hadn’t met with Aki at that time, and there was no confirming it now. 

“...” Aki looked at Miharu pleadingly. She probably considered an option where she returned to Earth and Miharu didn’t impossible. 

“It’s possible that you could return in four years’ time, and it’s possible that over four years will pass without you returning. I just wanted you to know that. That’s why I had to tell you about my past life. This is all I have to say... If you have any questions, feel free to ask them,” Rio said to a silent Aki. He thought about telling her the truth of their parents’ divorce for a moment, but determined that there was no need at this time. 

“...” Aki’s expression turned sour when she looked at Rio’s face, and she averted her gaze. 

“Masato, if you have any questions, go ahead. I’m sorry for confusing everyone with this sudden topic. If there’s anything you want to talk about, I’ll talk,” Rio said with a slightly bitter smile on his face. 

“My head’s completely blank right now, so I can’t think of anything... Well, I’m surprised, but I’m not particularly angry or anything,” Masato said, glancing at Aki. Celia and the other girls looked at each other, but didn’t say anything. 

“How about you take some time to think? We can’t stay too late because we need to prepare for things in the morning, but there’s still time until we have to return.” Rio suggested, looking around at everyone’s faces. At that, Aki stood up without a word and promptly left the living room for her own bedroom. 

“I’ll go talk to Aki alone,” Miharu said, standing up quietly to follow Aki. Then, once the two of them were gone from the living room, Aishia and Latifa both stood up at the same time, approached Rio, and sat down on either side of him. 

“My Onii-chan is still the Onii-chan in front of me right now,” Latifa said, clinging to Rio’s arm like a spoiled child. 

“...Thank you.” Rio smiled brightly. Aishia didn’t say anything, but she did cuddle closer to Rio. 

“Geez, these children...” There was no letting her guard down. Celia sighed in exasperation. “You shouldn’t blame yourself too much. Also, don’t burden yourself with all of this alone. That’s a bad habit of yours. You were just bottling up all those feelings about Aki alone, weren’t you?” she asked Rio. 

“It was a problem I couldn’t really talk about, so I figured it was hopeless.” Rio looked up at the ceiling, having trouble finding a proper response. 

“But if you’re in pain, even if you can’t say why, you can still, you know...” Celia’s words trailed off in a mumble. He was allowed to depend on them. They could pat his head or hug him if he needed it. 

“That’s right. It’s been years since we met, you know? Since we’re living together, if you’re in pain... there’s something that can be done!” Sara was completely on board with Celia. 

“Something?” Alma asked Sara with a huff of laughter. 

“S-Something, yes, something! Like having fun together,” Sara replied in a high-pitched voice. 

“Like petting Rio’s head, for example?” Orphia offered. 

“That’s right!” Sara nodded firmly. 

“Like hugs?” 

“Yep!” 

“And offering your lap as a pillow?” 

“Right— Wait, what are you trying to make me say?!” Sara nodded to gloss over her embarrassment, but when she realized the example Orphia brought up was even more embarrassing, she blushed. 

“Hmm, Sara’s saying that, but I’d be happy to do it for you anytime. Just say the word, Rio. Right, Celia?” Orphia was feeling rather bold today. 

“Huh...? Ah, well, yeah.” Celia’s cheeks reddened faintly as she gave a slight nod of her head. 

“Me too, then.” Alma raised her hand. 

“Then I’ll be spoiled tons by Onii-chan!” Latifa squeezed Rio’s arm even tighter. Aishia was still completely pressed up against Rio. 

“I-I can do it too! If Rio asks for it!” Sara offered herself in a fluster. 

“See? So many of us are worried about you. Since it’s come to this, you’ll just have to talk to us next time you’re worried about Miharu, about Aki—about anything. Leaving us out of the loop until the problem rises to the surface makes us feel like strangers,” Celia said to Rio on behalf of the group. 

“Ahaha...” Rio smiled with his eyes closed, not bothering to reply. 

Meanwhile, Masato watched that exchange happen from the side. Hmm. It doesn’t seem like the right time for me to interrupt. How nice it must be, Haruto. But I never imagined Aki would have a past like that... He crossed his arms with a contemplative look and hummed. 

“What’s wrong, Masato?” Rio brushed off his embarrassment by speaking to Masato. 

“Nothing, I was just thinking that if you and Aki were siblings in your past life, then that kind of makes you my older brother as well, though we’re not related by blood. Aki may have said what she said, but I think of you like a real older brother.” Masato rubbed his nose shyly as he spoke to Rio. 

“Oh. Thank you, Masato.” Rio’s eyes widened before he thanked Masato with a gentle smile. 

“Hmph! It’s my job to be spoiled by Onii-chan, though. Got it, Masato?” Apparently that had fired up Latifa’s desire to monopolize her brother. 

“Ahaha. I know. I’ll just have him look after my sword practice.” Masato shrugged with a laugh. 

“Good.” Latifa nodded in satisfaction. “That aside—Onii-chan.” She suddenly looked up at Rio’s face. 

“What is it?” Rio tilted his head in response to Latifa, a gentle expression on his features. 

“I can smell the scent of women I don’t know on your body.” Rio froze as Latifa’s nose twitched as she sniffed. She was a werefox with sharp senses, after all. Sara the werewolf had also noticed, as she made a face that seemed to say: “Oh, she actually asked.” 

“...Oh, that’s because I danced with lots of people at the banquet,” he answered shortly to Latifa, who looked up at him as though to ask who. At the back of Rio’s mind, he recalled how Charlotte had clung to him constantly all night. 

 

Meanwhile, Aki closed the door and entered her room before falling onto the bed. Moments later, the door opened once again as someone entered. The door clicked shut behind them. Because the house was made of stone, it was completely soundproof with the doors closed and no one outside could hear their conversation. 

“...What is it, Miharu?” She knew who it was without turning to look. 

“It’s about Haruto. Also, I feel like I have to apologize to you, Aki.” 

“...You? What would you have to apologize for?” Aki asked, deciding to touch upon the latter topic first. 

“I had no idea how to interact with you after you closed your heart off to Haru-kun, so I always ran away from it. I used the fact that our relationship might break down as an excuse, when in reality, I didn’t have the courage to face it head-on. Even though I’m like your older sister... I’m sorry,” Miharu said in shame. The more prejudice Aki held towards Haruto, the more strongly Miharu felt aware of how precious Haruto was to her. However, Miharu had never been able to confront those feelings with Aki. 

She had been worried that confronting Aki would have ruined their relationship. However, if she had confronted her, then she may have been able to shed some positive light on those ill feelings. Instead, her avoidance had resulted in making Aki even more upset now, Miharu thought. 

“That’s not... true. Even after that person disappeared, you were the one always by my side. You didn’t run away at all. You stayed with me. So, don’t apologize. What are you apologizing for? There’s nothing to be sorry about!” Despite being on the verge of tears, Aki mustered a smile and poured her heart out. 

“No, I have to apologize. I will no longer run away,” Miharu said resolutely. 

“Huh...? No longer run away?” Aki asked in a tearful voice. 

“Yup. I’ve decided I’ll voice my own opinions from now on. Until now, I’ve always yielded to you whenever my opinion utterly clashed with yours. But I’ve realized that doing so wasn’t benefiting you, and most of all, it wasn’t benefiting me, either.” 

“Uh...” Aki bit down on her lip so hard she nearly drew blood. 

“Do you hate this Haruto, Aki?” 

“...The one I hate is Amakawa Haruto.” 

“Those are illogical emotions. You know that yourself, don’t you? That Haru-kun was just a child like us at the time. If anything, he tried to return to us when he entered high school,” Miharu said, expressing the feelings she had kept pent up until now to Aki. 

“...” Aki fell silent, her expression bitter. 

“But that means you don’t hate Haruto, then...” Miharu said, sounding slightly relieved. 

“...I don’t know,” Aki muttered. 

“You don’t know?” Miharu asked carefully. 

“Haruto is our savior, and I’ve respected him until now as a wonderful person, so I can’t hate him. But I hate Amakawa Haruto. That’s why I don’t know what to do... Whether I like him or hate him, I just don’t know. That’s right—it’s illogical! I’m illogical! But I can’t help it! Even the mention of his name pisses me off!” Anger rose in Aki as she spoke, causing her to start yelling. 

“Aki...” Miharu’s face clouded over with sadness. 

“I’m sorry. Please leave. I don’t think I can speak calmly even to you right now,” Aki spat out in a prickly tone, as though she was suppressing the simmering rage within her. 

“...” Miharu had said what she needed to say, but she gave pause anyway, wondering if there was something more she could say. 

“Get out, please!” Aki yelled, her anger exploding. 

“Will you talk to me again after you’ve calmed down?” Miharu asked softly but firmly. 

“Fine!” Aki’s response was near-hysterical. Without saying another word, Miharu turned on her heel and left the room. 

“I want to see you soon, brother...” Aki muttered to herself sorrowfully once she was alone. 

 

The first thing Miharu saw after leaving Aki’s room and returning to the living room was Rio being pressed against Aishia and Latifa, who was sniffing his body as she clung to him. 

Miharu’s eyes widened in shock. It was the usual warm, pleasant scene of their daily lives. However, it was a scene she couldn’t see while they were at the castle. Even though they had only stayed in the castle for a few days, she had missed seeing this so much. 

Ah, if I lived apart from Haruto, I wouldn’t be able to see this anymore, either... Miharu watched the ordinary scene unfold before her, cherishing the sight of it. Her mind had been so occupied with the problem between Rio and Aki, she had forgotten how precious everyone here was to her, too. 

She knew that, realistically, it would be difficult to stay with everyone forever. But she didn’t want to lose the life she had here. Miharu felt strongly about it. 

“Miharu, are you done already?” Sara noticed Miharu standing at the edge of the living room and walked up to her. 

“Yeah. What was that commotion out here?” Miharu watched Rio and the others with a smile. 

“Latifa suddenly brought up how the scent of unknown women was hanging on Rio’s body. According to Rio, they were just his dance partners at the banquet,” Sara sighed tiredly. 

“Ahaha. If it’s an unfamiliar scent, it might be Princess Charlotte’s. She was sticking fairly close to Haruto the whole night...” Miharu remembered how she hadn’t been able to dance with Rio at the banquet and smiled a little sadly. 

“I see. More importantly, this is something everyone told Rio just now, but we’ll always be here to listen to your worries. Don’t be a stranger and lean on us, too. We’re a family, after all.” Sara made use of all her natural leadership to appear dignified and reliable to Miharu. 

“...Yeah. Thank you.” Miharu broke into a happy smile, nodding obediently. 

“Good. Now, shall we go back?” 

“Yup,” Miharu replied. Sara brought her to the middle of the living room. 

“Miharu, Sara, come sit here.” As usual, Orphia took the initiative to beckon them into seats nearby. Having just had that exchange earlier, they were feeling strangely conscious of each other, so they were very grateful to carry on without worry or awkwardness. A normal interaction—it was a very precious thing. 

Then, once Miharu and Sara sat down— 

“Miharu, how did it go with Aki?” Rio asked. He must have been worried. Whether that worry came from Haruto, or whether it came from Haru-kun, Miharu still didn’t know... 

“...Right. I said what I had to say, but her heart hasn’t adjusted to it all yet, so she’ll talk to me after she calms down. I’ll try to talk to her again later, too.” The issue would be solved one day for sure, Miharu decided as she informed Rio of Aki’s state. Rio gave a slightly weak smile as he bowed his head at Miharu. 

“...I understand. Thank you.” 

After that, they discussed how they would bring Aki and Masato to the castle the next day. Aki refused to look at or talk to Rio, up until Rio and Miharu returned to the castle. 



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