Chapter 2: Masato’s Decision
“I have something to say,” Masato said quietly.
“...Right, okay. Come in, Masato.” Miharu could tell Masato had something important to say from the look on his face and invited him inside with a gentle tone. Masato nodded before following Miharu into the room.
“Come—sit down.”
“Okay.”
Satsuki had encouraged Masato to take the seat next to hers. Miharu returned to her original place beside Rio so that the four of them were seated facing each other in pairs.
“You want to talk about Takahisa and Aki, right?” Satsuki asked, looking at Masato.
“Yeah. Neither of them were in a state to hold a conversation, so I just sent them to their rooms with Princess Lilianna and came back...”
“Did something happen?”
“No, nothing in particular happened, but...” Masato looked down and frowned in frustration. He paused before lifting his head. “The two of them will be taken to the Centostella Kingdom soon, right?” he asked nervously.
“Yes, most likely. Takahisa is the hero of Centostella, so Princess Lilianna has no choice but to take him back to her kingdom, otherwise she’d be in trouble. If Aki chooses to stay... I can ask the king if she can live with me in this castle for a while,” Satsuki said.
“I see... That’s right...” A shadow fell over Masato’s face.
Satsuki exchanged glances with Rio and Miharu. “Would you prefer if they didn’t go to Centostella?”
“No, that wouldn’t be right. They may have done something incredibly stupid, but even that stupid brother of mine is needed by the Centostella Kingdom—I know this well, because Haruto’s said it many times now. I agree with the three of you... I can’t forgive them so easily, either. If they remain around Miharu and Haruto without even reflecting on their actions, I’m worried they’ll try something again in the future. That’s why I know it’s best to keep them distant. But still, even then...” Masato trailed off, wondering if it was right to say what he was about to say. He seemed at a terrible loss for words.
“Don’t hold back—just say what you’re thinking. No one will dismiss you without listening first,” Rio urged.
“...Even then, those two stupid siblings are my siblings. Seeing Aki sobbing and Takahisa sulking when it was all his fault to begin with made me feel really pathetic as their brother. I can’t just sit still and watch Princess Lilianna take care of the two of them. Why should someone else have to clean up after my fallen family? Honestly, I don’t want to stay with them, but I feel like I have to.” Masato spat out the mixed feelings he had swirling in his chest and clenched his teeth.
“Masato...” Miharu and Satsuki were both speechless, their faces gloomy.
“...I see. So what do you want to do, Masato?” Rio asked calmly so that he wouldn’t frighten him.
“I want to follow the two of them to Centostella and help them get their lives back on track, I think. I do have doubts as to whether making such a sudden change of mind would benefit them or not, so I don’t know if this is the right decision, but...”
He had gone as far as arguing with his brother to follow his original decision of staying with Rio, but now he was making the complete opposite choice. Masato was terribly anxious about choosing which path he needed to go down.
“Those two are connected to everyone here in a similar but vastly different way. Our situations are completely different. It’s obvious that decisions will vary on an individual level, and what is right or not will vary too—if anything, it’s more common to be unsure of what’s right. There’s no guarantee that what you want to do will be what’s right. Honestly, you should just value your own will and do what you won’t regret later. As long as you don’t tread down a clearly dangerous path, we’ll support your decision. If you want us to give you our opinion, just say the word,” Rio said, advising Masato as his elder.
“Then can you tell me what you guys think about this...?” Masato asked with an imploring look.
“I don’t think either option is wrong. You’re the only one here who is both their family and an outsider to the incident. It isn’t unnatural for you to feel like you should do something about this, and you won’t be a bad influence just by being near them, unlike Miharu and I,” said Rio.
His point was about how Miharu was certainly a sister-like presence to Aki, but she had been the victim of this incident and a huge part of the motive behind the crime. It was easy to reach the conclusion that she shouldn’t be near her.
“I’m in general agreement with Haruto. However, Takahisa won’t be able to look after you and Aki the way he is right now, so you should consider yourself as well. I can’t leave the Galarc Kingdom and you won’t have Haruto or Miharu with you. You’ll have to be more responsible for yourself than ever before.” Satsuki agreed with Rio, but worried for Masato.
Masato nodded. “Yeah, I know that.”
“...” Meanwhile, Miharu had her mouth shut as she watched on with a worried look.
“Are you wondering if it’d be better for you to go, too, Miharu?” Satsuki asked.
“...No, I still feel like I need to stay away from the two of them.” Miharu shook her head slowly. Her heart felt heavy whenever she thought of Aki, but doing what Aki wanted would just be spoiling her again. Doing nothing was the best thing Miharu could do for Aki right now.
“I see...” Satsuki looked troubled, but, at the same time, a little pleased.
“Well, there’s no need for you to have an answer right now. You can use all of the remaining time until those two depart for Centostella. You haven’t told Princess Lilianna yet, either, right?” Rio said to Masato to help him relax.
“Yeah. I was still conflicted about this after I escorted them to their rooms... But I feel a little better after talking to you guys. Thanks.” Masato chuckled like his usual self.
“Hehe, I’m relieved to see you smile like that. It’s a tough time for all of us, but that’s why we have to stay positive. Being gloomy will only make you feel gloomy too,” Satsuki said with a gentle smile.
“Yeah. If anything, I’d like to show Takahisa and Aki that we’re all able to laugh happily. That would have a greater effect on those two.” Masato snickered wickedly.
“Hehe.” Miharu and Rio both chuckled.
“That aside, Haruto—I have a separate request to make...” Masato suddenly said.
“What is it?”
“Could you bring me to the stone house tonight? The others might leave from the kingdom as early as tomorrow, and I’d like to see everyone before then. This could be goodbye for now, and I want to tell them about Aki, as well...”
He worded it as a possibility, but Masato had probably made his decision already. His grinning face looked a tiny bit sorrowful.
Rio pretended he didn’t see it and nodded with a slightly troubled look. “...Yeah, sure.”
Miharu and Satsuki both seemed to notice as well, but chose to watch their conversation instead of speaking up.
“Ah, I don’t like depressing moods. After we’re done talking to everyone, let’s take a bath together. I’ll wash your back for you,” Masato said to Rio to clear the heavy atmosphere hanging over them.
“Sure, let’s do it.”
“Yeah,” Masato replied happily.
“Hmm, a bath. That sounds nice... Right, Miharu?” Satsuki joined in the conversation with a playfully interested tone, as though she was responding to Masato’s request for a less depressing mood.
“Yes. I’d like one, too,” Miharu nodded with a giggle.
Rio thought for a moment. “...Then shall we all head to the stone house?” he suggested.
“Huh? But shouldn’t I stay here on guard...?” She had said it pretty much half-jokingly, so Satsuki was a little shocked that permission was given so easily.
“The security around the castle hasn’t eased after the attack on the banquet, but there’s nothing we can do about that. We need this for a refresher, like Masato said. Instead, we can come back a little earlier. Of course, if you’re still worried, you can stay back...” Rio said, giving Satsuki the option to choose.
“Guh... I’m going!”
Satsuki was conflicted for a moment before losing to the temptations of the bath in the stone house. Unable to pass up the opportunity, it was decided that the four of them would head to the stone house that night.
That night, after everyone would have fallen asleep, Rio and the others departed from Satsuki’s balcony in the pitch-black darkness to head to the stone house.
They moved with the usual help from Aishia, Rio carrying Satsuki in a bridal carry with Masato on his back while Aishia carried Miharu. They left the capital and arrived at the stone house in no time at all. Aishia had warned everyone in advance, so Celia, Latifa, Sara, Orphia, and Alma were all waiting outside.
“Welcome back!” Latifa took the lead in energetically welcoming their return. When she noticed Masato was there and Aki wasn’t, she made a slightly confused face.
“And welcome, Satsuki,” Latifa said to Satsuki in a friendly tone.
“Hi, Latifa—I’ll be intruding for a short while. Good evening, everyone,” Satsuki returned their greetings with a graceful smile.
“Good evening,” Celia and the others replied warmly. “There’s no point in standing around, so let’s go inside.”
Once they arrived in the living room...
“There are several things we’d like to tell everyone today, and it has to do with why Aki isn’t here. Shall we have a seat first?” Rio began, encouraging them to sit down.
Aishia had informed them that Rio and the others were coming, but hadn’t mentioned why, so Celia and the others stiffened slightly and exchanged glances before sitting down on the sofa in a row. Across from them sat Rio, Miharu, Satsuki, Masato, and Aishia, so it was like they were sitting face to face.
“To start with the conclusion, Aki will be going with Takahisa to the kingdom of Centostella. Or, well, that’s what most likely will end up happening at present. If she says she wants to stay, then there’s the chance that she can remain at the Galarc castle, but...” Rio trailed off.
“You’re being strangely evasive. Did something happen?” Celia asked softly, watching Rio’s face.
“Masato wants to explain that, being their younger brother.” Rio handed things over to Masato.
“Umm, thanks to Haruto and everyone here, those of us who came here from Earth were able to safely reunite with each other, but... Though we were reunited, we still ended up arguing about who would go where. Between Miharu, Aki, and myself... As well as my brother...” Masato was a little nervous, as he began his explanation with difficulty. “We all discussed it at the castle. The biggest factor was that Satsuki and my brother are heroes, so they can’t leave their respective kingdoms. In a situation like that, Miharu and I wanted to stay with Haruto, but my brother wanted us to go with him... Aki wanted to stay with him, so she obeyed...”
Celia and the others listened to Masato speak in silence. They knew that Aki had a strong attachment to her brother, as they had witnessed it first-hand, and they also knew she adored Miharu just as much—if not more. That was why they weren’t too surprised to hear there had been arguments about who was going where, however...
“To put it bluntly, my brother was in love with Miharu. But Miharu didn’t share the sentiment, since her feelings are for Haruto, so he got really jealous. It was so obvious, even a bystander could see it.”
Masato’s unexpected information made Celia and the others startle in shock. Every one of them turned to stare at Miharu. As soon as she processed Masato’s words, she turned bright red.
“...W-Wait, what are you saying, Masato?!”
“Huh...?” Masato made a perplexed face for a moment, before soon correcting his mistake. “Ah, I was talking about how my brother was jealous of Haruto, which is the reason why he caused such a commotion...”
He seemed to realize what was wrong with his statement about Miharu’s feelings for Rio. His head had been occupied with the explanation of the situation, so it was a completely accidental slip of the tongue. “H-Huh? Was I wrong?” He tried to offer a way out, but it was too late to cover up the obvious.
“A-About what?” Miharu’s eyes wandered as she tried to play dumb. Rio was maintaining an uncomfortable silence after being mixed up in the situation.
“Hrrmmm...” Latifa was glaring at Rio.
Meanwhile, Sara, Orphia, and Alma were exchanging meaningful looks. Incidentally, Celia had completely frozen with her eyes the size of saucers.
What a sinful man you are, Haruto...
Satsuki saw the reaction of the women of the stone house and sighed tiredly. She stared at Rio with a disapproving pout on her lips.
“A-Anyway, let me continue.” Masato regretted his ill-timed words and forcefully changed the subject.
“Th... That’s...” Miharu mumbled quietly, shocked. It was a series of verbal slips on Masato’s part.
“A-At any rate, my brother went on a jealousy-fueled rampage. He challenged Haruto to a petty duel over Miharu and got beaten up, but...” Masato hurried with his continuation, rattling on until he reached a good place to pause.
The nuance is slightly off if you say we were dueling over Miharu, though, Rio thought dubiously. He had actually fought to stop Takahisa from restraining Miharu’s ability to choose what she wanted to do, but the way Masato said it made it sound like a classic plot of the winner receiving Miharu’s hand in marriage...
But, whether that doubt was right or not, Celia and the others twitched in reaction to Rio’s duel over Miharu.
“For whatever unthinkable reason, after losing the duel my brother decided to kidnap Miharu and take her to the Centostella Kingdom by force.”
“Huh?!” Everyone immediately stiffened at the news that Miharu was kidnapped.
“Are you okay, Miharu?!” Sara asked in a panic.
Miharu smiled gently to reassure everyone. “Yeah. Haruto saved me right away. I wasn’t even harmed—everything’s all right.”
“Thank goodness...” Celia, Sara, Orphia, Alma, and Latifa all sighed in relief.
“But I think Aki has it worse than me, so...” Miharu looked at Masato with a frown, encouraging him to continue.
“Like Miharu said, the problem is Aki. I know it’ll be a shock to hear, but Aki assisted my brother in the attempt to kidnap Miharu,” Masato said with a stiff expression.
“Wha...” Everyone was rendered speechless; the first one to speak up was Celia.
“...What is Aki doing now?”
“She’s in the castle with my brother.”
“A kidnapping incident within the castle walls is normally enough to warrant an execution. Were they punished in any way...?”
“That won’t happen... I think. Right, Haruto?” Hearing the word “execution” made Masato slightly nervous.
“The punishment is limited to being placed under supervision as she’s the little sister of the hero. Similarly, as long as Satsuki and Miharu don’t seek a more severe punishment, the Galarc Kingdom’s king has decided not to pursue an aggressive form of punishment against Takahisa. And the Centostella Kingdom won’t act against their own hero, either,” Rio answered, reassuring everyone.
“I see... So what are you guys going to do about Aki?” Celia asked.
“No matter the motive, the fact is that she tried to kidnap Miharu. It isn’t something that should be forgiven easily, and doing so won’t benefit Aki. That’s why we discussed things and agreed that the victim shouldn’t be the one to reach out without some kind of action from Aki first,” Rio answered stiffly.
Celia frowned, her expression pained. “I see...”
“Of course, there’s a lot that we want to say to them. But Aki’s been too dependent on Miharu, so we decided that we had to harden our hearts a bit here. We have to make her think about what she did wrong and apologize by herself.” Satsuki pursed her lips as though she had swallowed something bitter. If Miharu forgave Aki here, it was likely that Aki would cling onto Miharu’s sense of kindness...
“...While I haven’t known her as long as Miharu has, I know that Aki isn’t a hopelessly terrible child. That’s why I’m sure she must be reflecting on things right now. She should be wanting to apologize. When she does, I hope you’ll scold her a lot, talk a lot, and make up,” Sara said, vexed and frustrated.
“We all feel the same way, Sara,” Orphia said with a gentle smile.
“Right. Her ill feelings towards Haruto have worsened a lot over the years, so it’ll be difficult for her to come forward with honesty, but if she can come to terms with those feelings and apologize sincerely to Miharu and Haruto, I think we’d all be able to go back to normal. If that’s what Aki wants,” Satsuki said with a gentle expression.
Masato closed his eyes in thought. “...Well, when I went to see her, she was sobbing so hard she couldn’t even speak, so I bet she’s reflecting on it. But my brother’s even worse than Aki in many ways, so I think it’d be bad if those two remained together alone,” he said wearily.
“...That may be true,” Satsuki agreed with difficulty.
Masato’s face twisted bitterly. “But I don’t think that means my brother should be left alone, either. He’d sulk and become stubborn, so that won’t be good. If you force Aki away from him, she might rebel, as well. That would just create more trouble. Honestly, I feel bad for having siblings that are such pains in the ass...” He bowed his head at all of them.
“There’s no need to apologize,” Rio said, the others echoing him in agreement.
“Since Aki says she wants to stay of her own accord, there’s a high chance the two of them will remain together... I think it’d be better to have someone to be there with them, telling them off so they don’t end up straying from the correct path. It has to be someone who can stand up to my siblings without backing down. So that means... that means...” Masato paused for a long moment, as though to confirm his feelings. Then, he said resolutely: “That means the only one possible is me, their brother.
“It can’t be Miharu, who’s loved by the two of them. Or Satsuki, who’s admired by the two of them. Or Haruto, who’s envied and resented by them. It has to be someone who can argue with them on a familial level, as a sibling. No one else would work. I can’t really put the reason into words, but I feel like I have to be the one to do this. That’s why...”
He couldn’t explain the reason well, but everyone present understood what was in heart. As proof of that, they were all listening to Masato’s words seriously and gazing upon him with respect.
“That’s why I talked to Haruto and the others and thought about this a lot. I’m going to go. If I have to let those two go to the Centostella Kingdom like this, then I’ll go with them. I wanted to tell you all this, so I asked to be in charge of the explanation of the incident to you all. That’s how it is, so...” Masato trailed off, unable to find the right words to explain the reasoning of his thoughts. He appeared a little uneasy.
“Are you still doubting your decision?” Rio asked Masato.
“That’s not it, I don’t think. It’s just... I can’t help but wonder what everyone thinks about this...” Masato said, looking at everyone’s faces. He was still only twelve years old—it was understandable for him to be uneasy.
“I think you’re amazing,” Rio said immediately.
“...Huh?”
“I think you’re amazing, Masato. I’m the kind of person to hesitate and distance myself, so I admire that earnest positivity of yours. I respect it. It’s almost dazzling to see...” Rio said, commending Masato from the bottom of his heart. Aki was Amakawa Haruto’s little sister, but he hadn’t been able to do anything brother-like. Even after reuniting in this world, he had been unable to grasp the sense of distance between them and ignored the issue like Miharu had done.
“I think you’re amazing, too,” Satsuki said. “As their friend and upperclassman, I want to do something about those two... But there’s a line I shouldn’t cross. I don’t know where that line is, so I believe the best choice for me right now is to keep my distance and refrain from forgiving them easily. I realized there are things we can’t do for them even if we stay with them. I didn’t have the courage to go that far, I didn’t consider things enough. But, Masato, you’re able to do all that. That’s why you’re amazing.”
“I agree. Masato looks radiant for being able to do what we can’t. I... Aki adored me as an older sister, but I always held back when it came to mentioning Haruto before her. I couldn’t be her older sister in the true sense. Masato, even though you met Aki after me, you’ve become her family more than me. I feel so disappointed in myself... That’s why you look dazzling, Masato,” Miharu said, looking at Masato admiringly.
“You’re already a wonderful adult, Masato,” Sara giggled.
“I know, right?”
“Yep.”
Orphia and Alma both nodded their agreement.
“It’s true. You’ve become stronger and more admirable than me, the eldest one here.” Celia also saw Masato as someone radiant, though she had a faint shadow over her face.
“Masato is an adult,” Aishia uttered.
“Hehe, you’re so cool, Masato,” Latifa praised with a carefree smile.
“W-What are you all going on about? Gosh...” The continuous praise and illuminated gazes of everyone made Masato blush in embarrassment.
“If it’s you, Masato, we can leave it to you and not worry about it. That’s what it means,” Satsuki giggled, winking mischievously.
“I-In that case, you can all rest assured and leave everything to me! I don’t want this incident to be the reason for everyone to be gloomy. Just sit back and live like you always have. T-That’s right—Haruto, let’s go take that bath. I’ve been looking forward to that. Let’s go, yeah? I’ll wash your back for you!”
Unable to bear the embarrassment any longer, Masato started rambling rapidly. He stood up and pulled Rio by the hand, briskly rushing away to the bathroom.
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