Chapter 4: A Family Reunion
The next day, Rio followed the plan they had arranged the night before and received permission to leave the castle in the morning. Aishia and the other girls had brought Aki and Masato to the capital already, but they couldn’t go to the castle quite yet.
The purpose of Rio’s outing was to create a cover story for King Francois, to prove that he had met with Aki and Masato to confirm their intentions. They couldn’t possibly give him the explanation that they had snuck out of the castle at night to meet in secret already, after all. Rio spent two hours outside of the castle before returning to finally set things in motion with Satsuki and Miharu.
After requesting an audience with King Francois in one of the castle’s drawing rooms, they told him there were people they wanted to invite to the castle. Takahisa and Lilianna were also summoned to the room, and Michel and Charlotte were present as well. Satsuki took the lead on explaining, being that she was the hero.
She spoke of how Rio had been looking after Aki and Masato together with Miharu, about how they wanted to see Takahisa, and as a result, they wished to summon the two of them to the castle. They weren’t brought to the castle in the first place because the two of them were too young to attend the banquet.
“I understand. You may invite them to the castle immediately. If they are Sir Takahisa’s siblings, then I presume it would be fine for them to lodge in your quarters?” Francois approved once Satsuki had explained everything to a rough degree.
“Yes!” Takahisa nodded eagerly, and so it was decided that Aki and Masato would be brought to the castle. After that, Rio left the castle in the company of an official and headed straight for Aki and Masato. Miharu went with him, after offering to go as well.
They went to the meet-up location they had decided on beforehand and safely brought Aki and Masato back to the castle, then headed straight for the drawing room they’d occupied before.
“Takahisa!” Aki yelled in delight as soon as she entered the room and spotted him. Masato stood right behind her with a shy smile on his face.
“Aki! Masato!” Takahisa jumped out of the chair he was sitting in and ran towards the two of them, overcome with emotion.
“It’s you! I can’t believe it’s you!” Aki dashed forward to hug him. Takahisa opened his arms to catch her.
“Aki! I’m so glad you’re safe, seriously...!” Takahisa squeezed her tightly.
“Ahaha, that hurts,” Aki said, though she was hugging her brother just as strongly.
“Oops, sorry.” Takahisa reflexively tried to loosen his hold.
“Nope, this time it’s my turn. Hehe... it’s really you.” Aki squeezed her arms even tighter. She buried her face in Takahisa’s chest. Even a normally cool-headed girl like her had a childish side.
“How have you been, Aki? I, uhh... heard you were nearly made into a slave...”
“Yup, I’ve been good. Haruto... He saved me,” Aki replied with a shadow over her smile. She almost looked at Rio, but stopped herself partway.
“I see. Well, you’re safe now—I’ll protect you.”
“...Yeah.” Aki nodded vaguely. Seeing her unhappy expression made Takahisa’s face cloud over with frustration. He bit down on his lip and looked at Rio.
“...Umm. Thank you very much, Haruto. For protecting the three of them. Really.”
“Not a problem,” Rio replied shortly, shaking his head.
“How have you been, Masato? Come closer—show me your face,” Takahisa said to Masato, who was standing a distance away.
“I’m fine. Don’t be embarrassing about it,” Masato replied awkwardly.
“You’ve grown so much in our short time apart,” Takahisa said in a brotherly way.
“Really? Well, I’m still growing,” Masato huffed shyly and looked at his own limbs.
“You siblings get along so well. But I really am glad the five of us could reunite like this safely. Long time no see, Aki, Masato.” Satsuki had been watching the family reunion warmly until now, when she decided to address them. Only Rio, Miharu, and the two siblings involved knew that Satsuki had snuck out of the castle to go see them before the banquet, so she needed to pretend she was meeting them again for the first time.
“Long time no see, Satsuki,” Aki said.
“Yeah, it’s good to see you’re safe as well,” Masato chimed in. They gave their replies as they had planned—as though they were meeting again for the first time.
“If you have all been reunited safely, then we shall take our leave. It would be impolite for us to intrude on such a long-awaited reunion,” Francois said, looking at Lilianna.
“Yes. We shall give our proper greetings at a later time,” Lilianna agreed immediately.
“If you don’t mind, Sir Haruto, could you please accompany me?” Charlotte suddenly asked Rio.
“Of course.” With no reason to refuse the request of a princess, Rio nodded readily. Thus, everyone other than the five people from Earth left the room. The door clicked shut, leaving the five of them alone.
“How about we all sit down first? Miharu, you can sit next to me,” Satsuki suggested.
“Right.” Takahisa nodded happily, guiding Aki to the sofa for them to sit together. Masato sat down on a sofa a slight distance away, while Miharu seated herself beside Satsuki.
“I know we’ve finally reunited and are in high spirits, but we already have a general idea of each other’s circumstances and it’s quite difficult to find time for the five of us to be together, so how about we discuss the things that need to be said first?” Satsuki said, looking around at everyone’s faces.
“Sure. But what do we need to discuss?” Takahisa looked at Satsuki and cocked his head.
“The serious matter of our future. Everything’s really complicated right now, right? Neither Takahisa nor I can leave our kingdoms easily, and we’ll probably be separated again in the future. Looking at things in the long-term, shouldn’t we decide on what to do in order to return to Earth?” Satsuki said, summarizing the agenda succinctly.
“That’s true...” Takahisa nodded, glancing over at Miharu opposite him.
“There’s something you should know involving Haruto first. It’s heavily related to our future, too. I’ve received permission to tell you about it, but you have to keep what I’m about to say an absolute secret from anyone else. Can you promise me that?” Satsuki looked directly at Takahisa.
“If you’re talking to just me, then the others...” Takahisa looked around.
“They know already. If you can promise me you’ll keep it a secret, then I’ll tell you too. If you can’t make that promise, then I’ll just tell you the conclusion with the detailed explanation omitted, so keep that in mind. Just don’t ask the others to tell you, because they’ve promised already and would be troubled by that.” Satsuki’s explanation was so abstract, there was no way of telling what the matter was about. However, Takahisa didn’t want to be the only one left out of the loop.
“...All right. I promise. Please tell me.”
“Okay. To start with the conclusion... We may not be returning to Earth within the next four years.” Satsuki stated.
“...Four years? How do you know that?” It was a strangely specific number.
“There’s someone who died in Japan four years after we disappeared on our way home—and was reborn into this world. That person heard from your own mother that Miharu was still missing four years later.”
“...What?” What is going on? Takahisa made a dubious face.
“That person is now Haruto, and he used to be Aki’s older brother in his past life. His name was Amakawa Haruto. He was separated from Aki when his parents divorced. Masato wasn’t aware of him, but perhaps you know of this, Takahisa...?” Satsuki asked, but Takahisa’s eyes were completely blank with shock. The words being said were entering his head, but he couldn’t quite accept them as reality so readily.
“Aki, you had an older brother other than me...?” Takahisa turned his head to the side, straining himself to ask Aki.
“I do not. You’re the only brother I have right now. The only one...” Aki furrowed her brow and squeezed Takahisa’s hand.
“As you can see, Aki has feelings of reservation towards Amakawa Haruto. This is just my speculation, but the reason why your parents didn’t tell you two about Haruto’s existence was probably related to that.” Satsuki sighed quietly.
“Aki...” Takahisa squeezed Aki’s hand back to reassure her.
“Amakawa Haruto was also Miharu’s childhood friend. He was separated from her as well when his parents divorced when they were seven years old,” Satsuki continued.
“Miharu’s...?” Takahisa’s eyes widened as his expression stiffened.
“That’s right. Haruto is the reincarnation of my childhood friend.” Miharu verified Satsuki’s statement with a serious expression.
“Uh...” Takahisa paled as his heart throbbed unpleasantly. He didn’t understand why, but he couldn’t help but feel terrified that there was a part of Miharu he didn’t know about.
“Let’s get back to the topic at hand. According to Haruto’s memories, Aki’s mother said that Miharu was still missing. However, she also said that Aki was doing well when asked about her.”
“...Does that mean Aki returns to Earth while Miharu doesn’t?” That was ridiculous. Takahisa couldn’t believe that Aki and Miharu would be separated. He looked dubious.
“Yes. Whether this was a lie to prevent Haruto from worrying or whether it was the truth—and what this could mean if it was the truth—there’s just no way of knowing,” Satsuki said thoughtfully, a troubled shadow over her elegant face.
“...W-Wait a minute! I can’t believe Aki and Miharu would be separated. Was Haruto unaware of the fact that Aki had disappeared? If so, wouldn’t he know that Mom lied when she said Aki was doing well...?!” Takahisa insisted in a heated panic.
“...Haruto was unaware of the fact Aki had gone missing. After his parents divorced, Haruto’s father completely cut off any information about Aki and their mother from reaching him,” Satsuki replied, glancing at Aki for a moment. Aki’s mouth was twisted in a bitter frown at the mention of her father.
“But... I just can’t believe it. There’s no way Aki and Miharu could’ve been separated. Couldn’t Mom have been lying to stop Haruto from worrying?” Takahisa said, this time causing Miharu to be the one to retain a bitter smile.
“...True, that’s another likely possibility. I find it hard to believe that Aki wouldn’t go and find the past Haruto once she returned to Earth, too...” Satsuki looked over at Aki. “At any rate, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be returning to Earth anytime soon. Reluctant as I am to admit, that’s practically been confirmed now. And so, we should have a proper discussion about how we’re going to live in this world from now on, instead of having just a vague idea. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes,” Miharu nodded firmly in approval.
“To be honest, for me... I was pretty panicked until Haruto appeared with Miharu. I was lonely. I had wondered if Miharu and the others were also summoned into this world, but I had no proof, and I just wanted to go home as soon as possible. But you know, I’m more optimistic now. Everyone’s here. I’ve made a very reliable friend in Haruto. So I can’t remain pessimistic about this forever, you know? If we’re not going to be able to return for a while—or even ever—then I want to get a proper footing in this world and live a meaningful life.” Satsuki looked around at everyone as she gave her own thoughts.
“Until now, we’ve only discussed things vaguely. We wondered what we’d do if we met up with Satsuki and Takahisa. We all have our own thoughts on things, but we kind of ended up avoiding that discussion... But I think it’s something that should be discussed properly, now that the five of us have gathered,” Miharu stated her opinion clearly.
“Right. It may be impossible for the five of us to live together, but as long as we know we’re all safe, as long as we know we can see each other again... I think we’d be able to manage.” Satsuki nodded.
“The five of us together, huh... True, with Satsuki as a hero of the Galarc Kingdom, it’d be difficult for her to live in the Centostella Kingdom.” Takahisa looked at Satsuki with a frown.
“Well, yeah...” Satsuki nodded awkwardly.
“...Are you going back to Centostella right away?” Aki tugged at Takahisa’s sleeve and asked.
“Yeah. I’ll probably be able to come out again, but I don’t think I can stay for long. That’s why I thought about what I wanted to do all night. I want everyone to come with me. I want to stay with you all forever. I’ll protect you. I’ll definitely protect you all.” Takahisa’s face was pulled into a tense expression to convey his determination as he looked at Aki, Masato, and finally—Miharu.
“I also want to stay with you...” Despite replying with that, there was a faint touch of hesitation in Aki’s voice. She did want to stay with Takahisa. However, she may have been troubled by whether it was okay to throw aside the bonds she had made living with the others in the stone house up until this point.
“Hmm...” Masato hummed. He seemed to be indecisive and unwilling to answer.
“I’m sorry. I won’t be going to Centostella Kingdom.” Miharu made her refusal loud and clear.
“W-Why...” Takahisa asked hoarsely.
“Because I intend on staying with Haruto...” Miharu replied immediately.
“Wha...” Takahisa made a face as though he had been shoved off a cliff. Speechless, he looked at Miharu imploringly, but she had nothing more to add.
Meanwhile, when Aki heard Miharu’s clear intention to stay with Haruto, her mouth twisted reflexively into a sullen frown.
“I also want to stay with Haruto, I think. I wavered a bit, having you in front of me, but I still want to stay with Haruto for now,” Masato stated.
“But why...” Takahisa was clearly enraged as he mumbled in a quiet voice.
“U-Umm! I want to stay with you!” Aki seemed to have heard Takahisa mumbling from her place beside him, as she hurriedly declared her own position.
“Aki...!” Takahisa’s expression brightened as though he had found an oasis in the desert.
“It’s not that I don’t want to stay with you, bro. It’s just... Haruto’s looked after us so much and I can’t imagine walking away just like ‘Okay, thanks, bye...’ I know you’re ignoring Haruto right now, but you understand how it feels too, right, Aki?” Masato asked her.
“...” Aki seemed unable to be as honest as Masato and held her tongue. However, that was the greatest proof that she felt the same way.
Was Haruto that big of an influence on Masato and Aki? They had only been separated for a few months... Takahisa fell into the illusion that his precious bonds were being stolen and clenched his fists tightly.
Masato sighed at Aki’s lack of a response and voiced his own thoughts once again. “Also, in my case, I have my sword training, too... I don’t want to lose my progress. That’s why I can’t go with you right now, bro. Not until I’ve grown up enough to stand on my own.”
“Sword training?! You— You’re learning how to use a sword?” It was a comment that couldn’t be ignored.
“I am...” Masato was slightly taken aback by Takahisa’s excessive reaction.
“Why are you learning it? It’s not fun and games. Swords are used to kill people in this world.” Since he was learning to use swords at the castle himself, he understood that fact well. Or rather—he was being made to learn it. That was why he showed such an extreme reaction to the knowledge that Masato was learning as well.
“I know. Haruto’s teaching me everything. And if you know that much, that means you’re learning how to master the sword yourself, no?” Masato pointed out how hypocritical that was.
“It’s fine for me to. I’m already in high school, and I understand things. But you’re still in elementary school. Your sense of morals and ethics aren’t developed yet.”
“I understand things, too!”
“D-Don’t tell me you’ve actually killed someone before.” What if he had? Takahisa suddenly paled.
“No way! But there are monsters out there, and the world is what it is. I have to be able to protect us if anything bad ever happens. We were nearly abducted the moment we came to this world, after all,” Masato objected in a rough tone of voice.
“That’s why I’m saying I’ll protect you from now on. You won’t need to set foot anywhere dangerous of your own accord. As long as you stay in the castle, nothing bad will ever happen. It’s safe there.”
“I’m telling you, I’m not going with you! I don’t want to just sit there and be protected.”
“If you fight, you might end up getting killed! Ever think of that?!” Takahisa scolded him harshly.
“Haruto’s taught me that already!”
“Guh...” There was that name again. Haruto, Haruto, Haruto. He’d made his way inside of everyone’s head while Takahisa wasn’t around. Even though that place should have been for him...
“Calm down, you two. I know I said we should discuss things, but I didn’t say we should argue,” Satsuki interrupted in the time that Takahisa fell silent.
“I... I just don’t want Masato to live a dangerous life. It’s safe in the castle, and as for learning swordcraft... If he absolutely had to, he could learn properly from the knights in the castle,” Takahisa said sullenly.
“Oh? Safety of the castle aside, Haruto’s an honorary knight himself, you know. He’s stronger than your average knight,” Satsuki noted.
“Exactly.” Masato nodded smugly.
“Masato, you have to try and understand how worried Takahisa is about you too, okay? Just imagining you running off somewhere and dying... anyone would feel uneasy,” Satsuki said to calm Masato, showing a smile with a bit of gloom to it. She had also been alone when she first came to this world, so perhaps that was why she could understand Takahisa’s feelings.
“Hmm... Well, yeah, I guess.” Masato nodded reluctantly.
“So, in conclusion... or rather, to summarize for now, Aki will be going to Centostella Kingdom with Takahisa, Miharu and Masato will stay with Haruto, and I’ll remain in the Galarc Kingdom—does that sound right?” Satsuki didn’t have any objection to the choices made as long as they were what the person in question decided for themselves, but it didn’t seem like Takahisa and Aki were as accepting. With that in mind, she looked at the two of them.
“...Are you okay with this, Aki? About leaving your ill feelings unaddressed and separating from Haruto like this,” Miharu asked her.
“...Who cares.” Aki averted her eyes from Miharu, giving an indifferent answer to hide her irritation.
“If you’re going to go with Takahisa, you should talk to him properly beforehand. Even if you’re going to move away from him, I hope you’d reconcile first.” Miharu placed a hand over her chest. At that, Aki ground her teeth and sneered in return.
“You’re completely on his side now, aren’t you? You’re not my ally anymore,” Aki replied sharply.
“...No. That’s wrong. I’ve always considered you special to me. You’re like my real little sister,” Miharu denied with great sadness.
“Then why aren’t you coming with us?! Don’t go with him—come with me and my brother! Stay with me!” Aki yelled at Miharu in grief.
“I... can’t do that. I’m sorry.” Miharu looked extremely distraught, but nevertheless expressed her intentions.
“I-Is it because you love him, Miharu? Is it because you love him that you can’t stay with me? You’d choose him instead?” Aki’s voice shook terribly as she spoke.
“It’s not like that...” Miharu gasped in shock. She wanted to stay with Haruto, not Aki. That may indeed have been the meaning of her choice, but the nuance was completely wrong.
“...Aki. It might not be my place to say this, since I’ve only heard of what happened through other people—but don’t you think that was too much?” Satsuki had been watching quietly as an outsider, but even she couldn’t let this conversation go on any longer.
“That’s right, Aki,” Masato also agreed indignantly.
“Love...” When Takahisa heard the possibility of Miharu being in love with Haruto, he fell speechless. That shock gradually shifted into panic.
“W-What does Haruto think?!” Takahisa asked loudly. Think about what? The implication of his question was too broad.
“...He says he’ll entrust the matter of who stays with who up to Miharu and the others themselves. He didn’t seem too enthusiastic about the thought of Miharu following him, though,” Satsuki replied.
“...That part is settled now. We talked it out, and I asked him. While he’s still reluctant about it, he accepted it.” Miharu looked at Satsuki and nodded.
“There you have it.” Satsuki smiled with a huff and looked at Takahisa. “Well done, Miharu. Though the fact that Haruto’s still reluctant is a little...” She sighed tiredly. Miharu simply smiled shyly.
“T-Then Haruto can just go with you...” Takahisa said in a great panic.
“...That’s not possible. Haruto has things he needs to do, too.” Recalling what Rio was trying to do, Satsuki’s face clouded over a bit.
“I-Is that the reason why he’s reluctant to bring Miharu along, perhaps?” When it came to the topic of Miharu, Takahisa had sharp instincts. His comment was right on the mark.
“Well, you could say that...” Satsuki nodded begrudgingly. Takahisa saw his chance in that and gulped before speaking.
“If Haruto doesn’t want you to follow him, wouldn’t forcing him to take you along just cause him trouble?”
“...You might be right. But I think that’s fine, too. He’s trying to live apart from a path of peace, so he needs someone beside him to pull him back into a regular life,” Satsuki said wearily, a knowing look on her face.
“He’s trying to live a turbulent life?” Unaware of the circumstances, Takahisa and the others cocked their heads dubiously.
“Hmm... Why doesn’t Haruto want Miharu to follow him in the first place? He’s fine with me going?” Masato asked Miharu and Satsuki, tilting his head.
“That’s... because...” Miharu couldn’t find the right words.
“Probably because Haruto was Amakawa Haruto in his past life, and Miharu was his childhood friend, I guess. I can’t speak for Haruto any more than that, though. Right, Miharu?” Satsuki gave an ambiguous but simple explanation to avoid going into detail, before seeking Miharu’s agreement in a kind voice.
“...Yes.” Miharu nodded quietly.
What’s... the deal with that... Takahisa was overwhelmingly flustered, but he grit his teeth to force that feeling down.
Even though I decided I would be the one to protect her... I would... Things had taken such an unexpected turn in the mere months they had been apart, he couldn’t accept that he would be separated from Miharu again.
Were they saying he was being kept out of the loop from the beginning? He didn’t want to feel the fear of losing someone important to him anymore, so he had decided he would tell Miharu his feelings.
Yet, before he could even tell Miharu his feelings, this happens...
I have to do something... something... Takahisa was grinding his teeth when Aki squeezed his hand. His expression changed with a gasp and he squeezed her hand back.
“It’ll be okay. I’ll be with you,” Aki whispered so that only Takahisa could hear, before speaking up. “All right, Miharu. I’ll do it. I’ll talk with Haruto.”
Meanwhile, after Rio had left the drawing room and bid farewell to the others, he walked with Charlotte down a hallway of the castle.
“Where might we be headed?” Rio asked with a chuckle.
“The people from the main Beltrum government are leaving to return to their kingdom today, so we’ll be seeing them off first. After that, I have promised to have tea with Liselotte and was hoping you would be open to joining us,” Charlotte answered in a strangely cheerful mood.
“Is that so...” Rio didn’t know why she was in a good mood and watched her expression as he responded.
“Thank you very much, Sir Haruto,” Charlotte suddenly said.
“For what, may I ask?”
“For Aki and Masato. You brought them to the castle because you could trust us, no? That means Lady Satsuki has also decided to trust us to some extent. We’re very delighted about that. Perhaps you have already told her of our conversation during the dance at the banquet last night?”
“...Yes. However, I don’t believe my passing of the message had any influence on the outcome.” If Aki and Masato had desired it, they would have ended up coming to the castle anyway.
“You may claim that, but I don’t believe that to be the case. Father was also extremely delighted and praised you highly for it, Sir Haruto.” Charlotte smiled with a giggle. As they conversed, Rio and Charlotte walked towards the geometric garden that led to the castle gate.
Several horse carriages were waiting there as members of the Beltrum Kingdom royalty and nobility prepared to depart. They would be traveling to the Beltrum capital by enchanted ship, but the horse carriages were to take them from the castle to the harbor.
“It seems like they’ll be departing soon. Princess Christina and the hero are over there, too. I’m glad we made it in time. Now, come this way, Sir Haruto.” Rio followed Charlotte’s lead towards the nobility of the Beltrum Kingdom. Considering their past, he wouldn’t have approached them by choice, but the chance of his identity being discovered was extremely low. If anything, he wondered how many people from there actually remembered him.
“Are Princess Christina and Sir Rui available? I’d like to greet them and see them off. I’m the Galarc Kingdom’s second princess, Charlotte, and this is the honorary knight, Sir Amakawa,” Charlotte said to the knights guarding the horse carriages. It felt strange to have himself introduced as a knight, but it was certainly useful in how it made nobles more accommodating towards him.
“Please wait a moment.” A knight left in a fluster at the arrival of figures of such high status. Less than a minute later, Christina and Rui appeared with their guards in tow.
“Thank you for coming to see us off, Princess Charlotte, Sir Amakawa,” Christina greeted them gracefully.
“We probably won’t be seeing each other again for a while, so I wanted to at least bid you farewell. I had hoped we could talk more while you were here, but our positions make it difficult, after all. I’m happy we made it in time to see you off, though,” Charlotte said with a grin, glancing away from Christina nonchalantly. At the end of her gaze was Charles Arbor, who had accompanied the rest of the Beltrum Kingdom here.
Christina also shot Charles a glance before replying with a gentle smile. “We may be able to meet again sooner than expected, but you’re right. There’s always the possibility we won’t see each other again, so I’m glad we’re able to greet each other properly like this.” Then, she proceeded to direct her gaze at Rio. “Sir Amakawa, thank you for seeing us off, too. Sir Rui had also wanted to talk to you some more.”
“That’s... I’m honored.” Rio bowed his head deeply at Rui.
“I’m the one who is pleased to be able to see you again, Haruto. Like Princess Christina said, I wanted to speak with you,” Rui said, giving a refreshing smile.
“While it would be my pleasure, may I ask why?” Had he done something to attract his interest this much?
“It was because of what you said about your parents, I suppose. Your name sounds very similar to those of my hometown, so it made me feel a sense of familiarity, like you came from the same place as me. It seems that besides Satsuki, the other two heroes would rather be distanced from me, so if we ever have the chance to meet again, would you be willing to speak with me as a friend?” Rui said with a bittersweet smile, offering his hand to Rio for a handshake.
“Of course—I would be happy to.” Rio immediately shook Rui’s offered hand.
“Thank you.” Rui’s handsome face broke out in a happy smile. Then, Charles Arbor—who had been watching their exchange—approached.
“Are you two done? It’s almost time to depart,” he said to Christina and Rui.
“Yes. See you later, then,” Rui said and turned on his heel.
“Oh my, Sir Amakawa. You have some dust on your shoulder,” Christina suddenly pointed out.
“Oh, how embarrassing.” Rio reflexively moved his hand to pat away the dust.
“No, not over there...” Christina said, then took several steps towards Rio and whispered in Rio’s left ear so only he could hear.
“Thank you for saving Flora.”
Charlotte was standing on Rio’s right side, so she probably missed what happened.
“...Pardon me.” Rio’s eyes widened faintly, but he immediately bowed his head.
“There, it’s gone now. Goodbye.” Christina said no more than that, showing only a fleeting expression before she turned to head to the carriage.
Having seen Christina and the others off, Rio and Charlotte went back inside the castle, to the rooftop garden that was limited to royalty and a select few others to meet up with Liselotte for a casual chat. There, they told Liselotte about Aki and Masato’s existence.
“I apologize for not informing Lady Liselotte of the two of them in advance.” Liselotte had been the one to bring Rio and Miharu to the banquet. Despite that, they had kept Aki and Masato a secret from her, and for that, Rio apologized.
“It’s fine, I kept you and Lady Miharu’s existence a secret from His Majesty up until we came to the capital myself, after all. Don’t let it bother you,” Liselotte said with a soft smile.
“I am most grateful for that.” Rio bowed his head deeply. He had lost track of the number of times he had lowered his head since coming to the capital, but this time he felt true gratitude for her.
“I wonder what the five of them are discussing right now?” Charlotte brought the teacup to her mouth elegantly as she voiced her question.
“...Wouldn’t they be discussing what to do about the future?” It was information that would soon be revealed whether he hid it or not.
“Lady Satsuki is with our kingdom while Sir Takahisa has been taken in by the Centostella Kingdom, after all. And you will be continuing your travels. Perhaps they’re troubled by the issue of who will be going where?” Charlotte took an accurate guess at the situation Miharu and the others were in.
“Yes,” Rio confirmed shortly.
“Hmm... Our kingdom would be in hot water if we didn’t keep our friendship with Lady Satsuki ongoing, so unfortunately, that part cannot be avoided...” Charlotte tapped her index finger against her mouth, pondering.
“...I would have thought the most natural process would be for Sir Takahisa to take in Aki and Masato. Is there a problem with that?” Liselotte asked.
“Yes. There are... many things to consider.” Rio confirmed evasively.
“Sir Takahisa appears to be infatuated with Lady Miharu. Could that possibly play a part in things? That, or Aki adores Sir Haruto so much, Sir Takahisa is opposed to it.” Charlotte put on an air of curiosity as she suddenly brought up specific examples. But even the sharp-minded Charlotte felt that she was slightly off the mark somehow.
“I wonder.” Rio evaded replying with a wry smile.
“My apologies for interrupting your gathering...” A visitor had arrived at the gazebo in the garden where they were talking. It was Satsuki, the very person they were discussing.
“Oh, Lady Satsuki. Are you done with your discussions already?” Charlotte addressed Satsuki on behalf of the three of them.
“No, we’re still in the middle of our talk, but I was wondering if we could borrow Haruto.” Satsuki looked at Rio and bowed her head awkwardly.
“Oh my, is that so? Of course, if Sir Haruto is willing, then we have no reason to refuse. Isn’t that right, Liselotte?” Charlotte turned to her in a cheerful tone.
“Yes, of course,” Liselotte agreed immediately. Thus, Rio took his leave with Satsuki.
Roughly ten minutes later, Rio arrived at the drawing room where Miharu and the others waited.
“Sorry about this. Just sit anywhere that’s open, Haruto,” Satsuki prompted with a rather tired expression before sitting next to Miharu herself.
“Sure.” Rio obediently sat down on the empty sofa. Directly across from him was Masato, and diagonally opposite were larger sofas, which sat Miharu and Satsuki on one side, and Aki and Takahisa on the other.
For the record, the reason why he was summoned and the discussion that had occurred up until now had been explained to him on the way there.
“I’ve told Haruto that Aki wants to speak to him, but if we’re in the way, we can leave. Though it may be better to have Miharu present...” Satsuki looked between Rio and Aki before settling on Miharu.
“I don’t care if you stay or not. Only if Haruto has things he can’t say in front of everyone else, I suppose,” Aki said in a rather sharp tone, as though she was testing Rio.
“...I won’t know until I’ve heard from Aki what she wants to say, but I don’t mind if you all stay. As long as you promise to keep anything said here confidential from the others,” Rio replied calmly.
“Of course. This is a private discussion, after all. Is everyone else fine with that?” Satsuki looked around at everyone. Miharu and Masato confirmed immediately, but this confirmation was actually directed at Takahisa. When his gaze met Satsuki’s, he froze and nodded stiffly.
“Now, what do you want to say to me? Does it have something to do with Amakawa Haruto?” Rio asked Aki himself.
“You speak as though he’s a stranger to you,” Aki replied reproachfully.
“He’s not a stranger, but he is someone else. I cannot act as though I’m Amakawa Haruto.” His words had a sense of resolution in them that made Aki gulp. However, she couldn’t back down.
“Does that mean you think nothing of me?”
“That’s not what I said,” Rio replied in a pained tone.
“But I’ve heard that you didn’t really want Miharu to go with you. Even though you used to call her Mii-chan and loved her so much in the past. Does that mean you don’t love Miharu anymore? Do you hate her now? Is that why you don’t want her to follow you? And me as well...” He didn’t call her name in the same affectionate way that he used to. While she swallowed those words at the end, Aki was becoming more and more emotional.
“I don’t hate her.”
“Then why don’t you call Miharu ‘Mii-chan’ anymore? Why don’t you want her to go along with you?”
“...I won’t call Miharu by the nickname in my memories. I can’t. I’m not Miharu’s childhood friend anymore,” Rio answered, making Aki grind her teeth. Miharu had a miserable look on her face, and Satsuki was frowning sullenly.
“I don’t want Miharu to follow me because I still consider her important to me, though I am now a different person to Amakawa Haruto. That’s why I believe the best option would be for her to live somewhere safe. The same goes for you, Aki. Also, it’s precisely because I am a different person now that I believe it would be better for those of you who know the Amakawa Haruto within me to stay away,” Rio continued, his expression dimmed.
“...I don’t understand what you mean at the end there.” Aki tilted her head with an unimpressed look. The same went for Takahisa and Masato.
“For you and Miharu, who know Amakawa Haruto, wouldn’t you unconsciously think of me as him, or otherwise let your opinions of him overshadow how you think of me?”
“...” They couldn’t deny it. After all, Aki was presently seeing Amakawa Haruto in Haruto as she used him as an outlet for her illogical rage.
“But I’m not Amakawa Haruto. Amakawa Haruto is dead, so I am unable to respond to you as him,” he said with a smile of resignation, and Aki’s expression clearly stiffened—as though she was a child who had realized what she had done wrong.
Rio felt guilty for his inability to word things better. However, he had to tell them like this—because he was Rio, not Amakawa Haruto.
Amakawa Haruto had values cultivated by living a comfortable, quiet life in peaceful modern Japan. Knowing that and understanding that such a life was out of his own reach, Rio held that preciousness in contempt and decided to push on down the path of revenge. He had already sullied his hands numerous times, even without the revenge as a factor.
That’s why Rio thought he had no right to enjoy living in a peaceful world where Miharu and Aki placed themselves beside him as Amakawa Haruto. He didn’t think he belonged there.
“Even if you say that, though... Haruto still has the memories of Amakawa Haruto, right? So isn’t it a little sad to call yourself a different person? You’re still the same Haruto. Do you really feel nothing with Miharu and Aki in front of you?” Masato’s shoulders and voice trembled as he spoke.
“...I do. That’s why they’re important to me. That’s why I don’t think they should be near me.” Rio’s voice was truly calm, conveying how he had given up. That much was clear.
“If they’re important to you, then I think that’s all the more reason why you should keep them near you. If I were you, I’d rather have them beside me,” Satsuki said, unable to help but give her opinion.
“...That’s why I said I’d respect Miharu’s decision. I may be traveling about in the future, but I intend on keeping a safe living environment for them like I have until now,” Rio replied with his gaze averted from Satsuki.
“No, that’s wrong. Didn’t I say I wanted to stay beside you? Didn’t you accept that, Haruto?” Before she knew it, Miharu’s words were coming out hoarsely. Rio was going to use his travels as an excuse to be scarce around her, she feared.
“You’d be continuing to live as you have until now. Wouldn’t you call that being together?” Rio replied quietly.
“No. I wouldn’t call it that at all,” Miharu stated bluntly.
“...” Rio didn’t say anything, letting the silence drag on instead.
...How could he treat what I want so desperately like something he doesn’t need... And yet, he’s taking what I need... away from me! Listening to the conversation made Takahisa feel like he was going mad. With his shoulders squared, he bit down on his bottom lip and frowned.
“However reluctantly, I was glad to hear you had approved of Miharu’s desire to stay together because I thought that meant he had accepted her feelings a little... But I see that wasn’t the case at all.” Satsuki stared into Rio’s eyes with disappointment and exasperation.
“...” Though he had a logical objection to that, Rio said nothing.
“Haruto, come with me for a moment,” Satsuki said quietly, standing up with determination.
Rio held a glaive for mock battles in his hand, facing Satsuki, who held the same weapon in hers. They stood on the parade grounds of the Galarc Kingdom castle.
“Umm, how did things come to this?” Rio asked as he checked his grip on the glaive.
“Because I’m not happy with you.” Satsuki furrowed her brow, her answer short. A bit too short, as the point completely flew past Rio.
“For what reason?” Although Rio had a faint idea, he asked anyway.
“Haruto!” Satsuki jabbed her finger at him.
“I suppose it’s all about me, right?” Her answer was a little off from what he’d expected—it seemed like Satsuki was quite angry, so he gave a pained smile in an attempt to smooth things over.
“But I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. This isn’t me trying to force my opinion onto you. I think your points are correct, and I know you’ve made them after giving them a lot of thought and consideration. I can also sympathize with your fears.
“However, you can’t come up with the answer alone. Miharu’s also given this a lot of thought, gone through and settled her own conflicts, and come up with an answer to give to you. Don’t run away from her. Face her head-on. Masato said it already—don’t act like a stranger, or they’ll be sad. He’s definitely still within you. He’s no longer anywhere except within you. So don’t... don’t...” Satsuki said, appealing to Rio with sincerity. Watching over their conversation right beside them was Miharu, Aki, Masato and Takahisa.
However, as they were using the parade grounds for knights and soldiers to train on, some of them were also watching the two of them from afar. They were out of hearing range, so they couldn’t overhear their conversation, but the tense atmosphere was apparent.
Furthermore, news of the duel between the hero Satsuki and honorary knight Haruto must have spread throughout the castle, as members of royalty and nobility were crowding the parade grounds. Among them were Charlotte and Liselotte from the Galarc Kingdom, the Restoration’s Flora, Hiroaki, Roanna, and Duke Huguenot, as well as Centostella Kingdom’s Lilianna and her female knights.
“...Just so you know, I fully intend on becoming better friends with you in the future as well. We haven’t known each other for long, but I already consider you a close friend of mine. That’s how much you mean to me already. That’s why I won’t forgive you if you try to run away. This time, I’ll show you how much you mean to us. If it won’t reach you through words, then I’ll beat it into your body. I’ll beat you until you break.” Satsuki’s passionate but eloquent speech left Rio staring in a daze, but he eventually smiled.
“...Wouldn’t it be bad if you did that?”
“S-Shut up! At any rate, you never know until you try!” Satsuki yelled, cheeks reddening at Rio’s teasing.
“Lady Satsuki!” Two groups of people approached them. One was Charlotte and Liselotte, while the other was Lilianna and her female knights. Charlotte was the one who had called Satsuki’s name as she hurried over. Meanwhile, Lilianna headed towards Takahisa.
Ah, had they come to stop them after all? They had asked a knight nearby, but they were using the parade grounds without permission from the main person in charge and had paused training because of it, Satsuki thought.
“Honestly! If you’re going to do something so interesting, please let us know first. I can prepare a referee for your match if you so wish, as well. How about it?” Charlotte was unexpectedly on board with the whole thing.
“Ah, no, that’s okay...” Satsuki replied through her surprise.
“Understood. All right, everyone. Come this way.” Figuring they should get out of the way of the match, Charlotte led everyone—including Lilianna’s group—to a safe location. With that, the match was ready to commence without issue.
Satsuki faced Rio and looked at the glaive in his hand. “Do you know how to use that?”
“Yes—it’s similar to a naginata. I am familiar with it.” Rio spun the glaive once, showing he knew how to handle it.
“That’s good to hear. Then, I’ll just warn you in advance—there’s no holding back just because I’m a hero. I’m going to come at you with my all, so I expect the same from you.” It wasn’t a match for show; Satsuki made sure to emphasize that first.
Rio nodded in resignation. “...I understand. What will we do about the rules? And sorcery?”
“Let’s have a one-hit match with no time limit. Releasing your weapon won’t count as a loss, and victory will be decided by either stopping before a decisive finishing blow, or striking somewhere vital other than the face. The only sorcery allowed is physical enhancement. That okay with you? My divine arms automatically activates a sorcery that enhances my body... If you can only enhance your strength with magic, then I’ll hold back a little,” Satsuki explained, looking at Rio for his reaction.
“That’s fine with me. I can enhance my body using this enchanted sword,” Rio said, drawing his sword from the sheath at his waist. After his promotion to an honorary knight, he was now permitted to walk around inside the castle with his sword.
“Hmm... so that’s the enchanted sword that drove back the demi-dragon’s breath. If you’re more used to using swords, shouldn’t you use that instead?” Satsuki looked at the sword in Rio’s hand with interest.
“No, that’s okay. But it’s a little annoying to have while holding the glaive.” Rio made a show of using the sword to activate the body enhancement, when he was actually using spirit arts to do so instead. Then, he stabbed the glaive into the ground and instantly moved over to where Miharu and the others were.
“...?!” The group froze in shock. Even Lilianna’s knights were slow to react.
“Masato,” Rio called out.
“Y-Yeah?” Masato replied hesitantly.
“Could you hold onto this sword for me? It’ll get in the way of the match,” Rio said, handing the sheathed sword to Masato.
“Got it. Leave it to me!” Masato accepted Rio’s sword enthusiastically. With a parting thanks, Rio returned to face Satsuki.
“Whoa, what was that magic essence... It’s pouring out of him, yet there’s no waste at all. It’s beautiful.” Alice, the youngest of the knights guarding Lilianna, stared closely at Rio with a grimace.
“...It may be better to stand further back.” The eldest knight also had a stiff look to her face.
“I’m ready.” Rio returned before Satsuki and picked up the glaive he’d stabbed into the ground, assuming his stance.
“It really seems I won’t have a chance of winning if I don’t come at you with the intention to break you,” Satsuki said with a smile, seeming to sense the gap in their abilities after seeing Rio’s movements just now. However, she couldn’t back down here.
Rio picked up a pebble on the ground. “How about we signal the start of the match with the moment this hits the ground after I throw it?” he asked in a tone that showed his ease.
“...Sure. I’m ready whenever.” Satsuki tensed her expression and agreed, taking one step forward with her left foot and holding her glaive at the ready halfway. It was the basic stance of a glaive that was easy to move with, making it suitable for both offense and defense.
“Here goes, then,” Rio said, throwing the pebble straight up and readying himself similarly to Satsuki in the middle. Several moments later, the pebble landed on the ground.
“Hah!” Satsuki called out a battle cry and charged with her full speed. She came within a short distance of Rio and made a fast strike. But Rio entangled the tip of Satsuki’s glaive and cleanly parried it.
However, Satsuki expected that much from him. She maintained her stance that was faithful to the fundamentals and brought her abilities past the limits of her body to make a persistent attack. However, Rio’s experience in real battles far surpassed Satsuki’s. He parried all of her attacks with skill.
Satsuki stepped back to widen the distance before shouting at Rio. “What was that about being somewhat familiar with a glaive?! I wanted to finish this in the first hit, but you’ve been dealing with all my attacks so easily!”
“I could see right through you,” Rio said with a bold smile.
“That’s enough!!” Satsuki resumed her assault. She made an overhead attack with all her energy—as a feint. She rotated the handle of the glaive to flip the blade of the tip in a tricky maneuver.
However, Rio easily stepped to the side to avoid it. Satsuki immediately swung the glaive to the side, performing a followup attack.
Rio lowered his glaive, knocking the side-sweeping slash Satsuki had released straight to the ground. He proceeded to hold Satsuki’s glaive to the ground just like that. Before the blade could be buried into the ground, Satsuki promptly pulled the handle of the weapon to avoid having her movements fixed. In the next moment, she cut around to Rio’s side and swung the tip at his feet.
Rio had foreseen that move, as he used the leg she was aiming at to step on the tip of Satsuki’s weapon with rapid reaction speed. He placed his weight onto that foot, sinking the blade into the ground. Then, he proceeded to make a rather weak side-sweeping attack.
“What?!” Satsuki released the handle of the glaive on the spur of the moment, barely retreating in time to avoid Rio’s attack. However, she was astonished by the guts behind Rio’s acrobatic defense and gaped speechlessly. The same applied to the gallery of spectators.
“...The glaive is indeed a similar weapon to the naginata. However, this isn’t a competitive match, but a real duel. The accuracy of each individual strike is important, but if you aim for a single finishing blow like in a competition, I’ll be able to read your timing easily.” Rio temporarily moved out of the stance he had assumed to speak to Satsuki.
There was no issue in using the fundamental stances for competitive naginata, but in a real battle, where the only condition was to make contact, there were no rules. For example, attacks that didn’t need to be avoided in a competitive match absolutely had to be avoided in this duel, and focusing on attacks with contest rules in mind would only become a disadvantage to oneself.
“I-I know that! Are you going easy on me?!” Satsuki’s tone roughened as she objected to Rio in a sulky tone. Indeed, she was aware of it. Some of the movements she had made just now were definitely removed from the typical naginata moves for competition. However, there was still a part of her that was being influenced by it. Rio had seen through that with his defensive move just now.
“That is not my intention. But if the match ends too quickly, then you wouldn’t have beaten anything into me.”
“Ugh...” Satsuki grimaced, feeling like she had been insulted. However, Satsuki knew Haruto wasn’t the kind of person to make these statements without thinking. She felt uneasy about it.
After she digested Rio’s next words, she realized that his statement hadn’t come from a place of insult.
“In other words... I also want to come at you with my full strength. That’s what I mean. You asked for me not to hold back, so I thought I could inform you of the factors you may be insufficient in at the moment.”
“...You know, you really are a clumsy person.” Satsuki felt like clutching her head and groaning. If that’s what he felt, then he could have just confronted her with his words from the start.
He must be the kind of person who was awkward with words.
Even though he’s stubborn enough to constantly argue back logically... Being only able to communicate with the language of the body was rather extreme.
“Ahaha...” Instead of replying, Rio used the tip of his own glaive to release Satsuki’s embedded glaive and throw it towards her.
“Honestly, you’re...” Satsuki accepted the flying glaive and glared at Rio reproachfully. How obnoxious. It was such an infuriating action, yet for some reason, she didn’t feel any anger rise within her.
Instead, she actually found it attractive. To a despicable degree, really...
Ah, I think I get why Miharu fell for him... It was like she couldn’t leave the boy in front of her alone, which made it all the more irritating that he had such perfect, superhuman-like abilities.
“...Haruto. Give me one more chance to cross swords with you. I won’t show such disgraceful behavior next time.” Satsuki held back the urge to react bashfully, instead raising her head to boldly speak up.
“That was my intention from the start,” Rio said, readying his glaive. Satsuki was captivated by that sight until she readjusted her own glaive.
“...I’m ready,” she said with a serious expression after taking a deep breath and spending several moments gathering her wits about her. In that time, Rio had picked up the pebble again. He threw it into the air.
A pause, before the pebble hit the ground.
“Haaah!” Satsuki charged towards Rio with even more vigor than before. It looked like she was strongly conscious of the naginata stances for a competition, but the rushing strike she made had a different flavor from earlier.
She aimed straight for an area not normally aimed for in competition. Or so she feigned, immediately moving to aim at a typical spot for competition instead—she had adjusted her plan of attack to be unpredictable to Rio.
I’ll definitely make him eat his words! Satsuki decided, retreating momentarily to use both hands to spin the glaive at high speed. Immediately after, she charged straight at Rio. By randomizing the trajectory of the spinning, she could attack from all different angles.
“Your movements are completely different now.” Rio evaded the dance of Satsuki’s glaive lightly, a smile on his face. Satsuki’s fundamentals had been well built to begin with, so even her non-traditional movements had good form. She had few openings, too.
“It doesn’t feel like a compliment when you say that with such a relaxed face!” Satsuki made full use of her strengthened body to stop the spinning of the polearm at once, making a surprise strike. But Rio retreated and twisted his body to avoid the thrust calmly. Then, by sliding his left hand slightly up from the bottom of the glaive, he aimed to knock Satsuki’s feet out from underneath her using the tip.
“Whoa!” Satsuki jumped at that moment, evading the swing. But the tip of the glaive Rio was swinging came to a complete stop after piercing through empty air, immediately turning the blade over and drawing a well-aimed path towards Satsuki.
“Kyah?!”
“Nice reaction speed.”
Satsuki braced her polearm on the spur of the moment, stopping Rio’s glaive with the handle. However, Rio shook off the glaive with his enhanced physical abilities, blowing Satsuki away alongside it. Satsuki landed on the ground heavily, backing off as she regained her balance. She proceeded to distance herself from Rio.
But at that moment, Rio moved onto the offense. He closed the distance between them and launched a series of endless strikes.
“Guh...” Satsuki set her eyes on Rio and handled the blows with a pained expression.
This was bad—she had to do something. Just as she thought that, Rio feinted a thrusting strike aimed at Satsuki, before pulling back to swing it sideways.
Satsuki lowered her posture to neatly evade the incoming glaive from the side, making a swift counter strike.
“Got you!”
However, Rio used his skillful footwork to move, barely evading Satsuki’s thrust.
“Ooh!” The fierce exchange of offense and defense that left no time to blink made their audience cheer excitedly. However, their voices didn’t reach the ears of the two locked in battle.
“Haah!” Satsuki made an uppercut swing. However, Rio blocked Satsuki’s attack before it came down and parried her strength skillfully, directing it in another direction. Satsuki staggered backwards, the momentum disrupting her balance.
However, she somehow managed to hold out, resolutely aiming a strike at Rio’s torso. Rio beat her to the punch by swinging his glaive, deflecting the incoming tip with great force.
“It’s... not over yet! I won’t give up!” Satsuki persisted, adjusting the trajectory of the deflected tip and forcefully swinging it at Rio. However—
“Huh?!” Rio had predicted Satsuki’s attack from the moment she held out, leaping lightly to step on the tip of Satsuki’s glaive once again. He proceeded to place his weight on it.
“Kyah!” The pressure placed on the tip of the glaive from above made Satsuki lose her handle of the weapon. The blade was buried into the ground again. It only took a moment for their gallery to stir over the acrobatic feat.
“...I yield.” With Rio’s glaive pointed at her neck, the fight seeped out of Satsuki as she announced her defeat.
“Thank you very much for the duel.” Rio had a gentle smile that almost looked content.
“Thank you as well. Ah, I couldn’t win in the end. Defeat, utter defeat!” Despite her words, Satsuki looked rather refreshed. During that time, the gallery applauded their tremendous match in praise.
“I think it was a close match.” Rio looked around at the audience applauding from afar.
“You say that, but you weren’t going all-out at all. Rather than an even fight, it was just me coming at you with my all. I can tell, you know,” Satsuki said in a huff, glaring at Rio.
“Ahaha, who knows.” Rio tried to brush it off, but Satsuki’s glare remained.
“But do you know now? What I was trying to tell you, and how serious I was about it.” Satsuki sighed tiredly.
“...Yes, I suppose.” Rio nodded with an awkward look.
“Then, to cap it off, I’ll give you one word of advice. Whether you want to listen or not is completely up to you.”
“Sure, what is it?” She was a very careful person, passing on a message with words and not just body language this time. Thinking that, Rio’s mouth turned up into a smile.
“I think all the logical-sounding fears you have are correct. That thoughtfulness will be extremely important in the future, I’m sure. But thinking so much that you can’t act when you need to—to put it negatively, is the action of a good-for-nothing.”
“How harsh...” Rio said deprecatingly. But, strangely enough, he didn’t feel like he was being lectured.
“That’s right. It was only for the one day of the opening ceremony, but I was still your upperclassman. It’s my duty to advise a lost underclassman,” Satsuki said, smiling softly. “Other than that... Well. This is more of a personal request.” Satsuki began to say something before closing her mouth, staring at Rio without moving.
“What is it?”
“I’m sure you’ve realized already, but Takahisa’s in love with Miharu.” Satsuki glanced over at Takahisa standing with Miharu at the others before looking to Rio and nodding.
“...Yes.”
They seemed to have realized that Rio and Satsuki were discussing something important, as they didn’t come over. Following their lead, Charlotte and the others also remained there and simply watched.
“Miharu, Aki, Takahisa, Masato, and myself. The relationships between the five of us have greatly changed since the days when we were on Earth. I fear that there may be no recovering some of those relationships. No, I fear the situation we’re in will inevitably make that unavoidable,” Satsuki said with a quiet look.
“...” Rio listened without saying anything.
“Whether the relationship between the five of us worsens beyond repair, or whether it worsens to a salvageable extent is, I’m sorry to say, dependent upon you, Haruto. It’s beyond my power. Even Miharu, who holds the key to Aki and Takahisa’s emotions, can no longer do anything. Actually... No. I think something can be done about it if Miharu sacrifices her own needs. Do you understand what I’m saying?” She was, in other words, talking about Miharu following Aki and Takahisa. That was exactly the future that the two of them desired, but it was in opposition to what Miharu wanted.
“...” Rio held his silence with an even more vexed look.
“Do you believe that Miharu could truly be happy that way? Do you believe Miharu will find happiness in suppressing her own wish to stay with you, sacrificing herself instead? I think you know the answer to that, don’t you? You’re kind, but you’re clumsy, so you may be holding yourself back out of consideration for Aki, but...
“If... If you understand what I’m saying, then I’d like you to listen to my request. Just like our match right now, there are things you’ll only know if you clash head-on with them. There are things that won’t be conveyed otherwise. I want you to do the same with Aki and Takahisa, without any reservation. Then, I want you to secure a future for us, where we’ll all be able to laugh together. I know what I’m saying is completely unreasonable. Of course, I’ll also help as much as I can, but that’s my request. If... If you can do that, then—” Satsuki paused. She stared at Rio without blinking.
“I’ll do anything in my power to thank you. My hero—Haruto,” she said shyly but clearly.
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