Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 29 - Chapter 1

The Whereabouts of Happiness

Wednesday, March 30th

Koutarou watched as Clan disappeared right in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, but vanished before she could even kiss him. The desperate look on her face, the warmth of her hands, her pleading eyes, and even her emotional, earnest words all disappeared into thin air. It was like he’d suddenly woken up from a dream.

“Clan! Hey, Clan! This isn’t funny! Come out right now!”

Of course, the first thing that crossed Koutarou’s mind was that Clan had disappeared the same way Maki did. But accepting that was hard. It was easier to think that she was using her technology to play some kind of prank on him.

“Where are you, Clan?!”

Koutarou looked around in a fluster. He was hoping that Clan would appear with a mischievous grin on her face any second now... but no one answered him. His desperate voice simply echoed through the empty warehouse district. The only things around Koutarou were the still shadows cast from the streetlights. A gloomy silence loomed over the area.

“Th-That’s right, the Cradle! Cradle, where is Clan?!”

Koutarou hurriedly tapped his bracelet to bring up a communications line to Clan’s spaceship, the Cradle. He figured that the Cradle’s AI should be able to find her.

“My owner’s communications device is either out of range, has been destroyed, or is in an area where communications are being intercepted. As such, I am unable to specify her present location.”

“Clan’s not just making you say that, is she?”

“I have currently inherited the authority to act on behalf of my owner, Princess Clariossa, and am obligated not to lie to you, Your Excellency.”

“Clan... Where’d you go?”

In the end, the Cradle wasn’t able to give Koutarou the answer he’d hoped for. Not even the Cradle’s AI could locate Clan. And since no one on Earth had the technology to block out gravitational waves, the fact that the Cradle couldn’t reach her didn’t bode well. Anxiety spread through Koutarou’s chest as he slowly began coming to grips with the fact that she was gone... just like Maki.

“Koutarou, what happened over there?!” Theia’s voice came from his bracelet.

Since he’d kept the comms line with her open, she and the others had overheard his panicked conversation with the Cradle.

“Clan just disappeared! Right before my eyes!”

“What?!”

Koutarou could tell that all of the girls on the other end of the line were confused, not just Theia. Maki going missing was bad enough, but hearing that it had happened to Clan too was earth-shattering for everyone.

“What happened when Clan-dono disappeared, Koutarou?!”

Kiriha took over after Theia, her determined voice coming through the bracelet. It was reassuring to Koutarou, especially at a time like this.

“It was as we were looking at the footage that Ruth-san found! She started glowing right after we saw Aika-san being wrapped in an indigo light in the video, but the one that took her was orange!”

“So you’re saying it wasn’t an indigo light?”

“Yeah! Clan’s was orange! I’m sending the footage of it to you now!”

Koutarou tapped away on his bracelet as he explained things to Kiriha. His was just like Clan’s, and served as a computer as well as a communications device. Since it was always recording audiovisuals and information around it, Koutarou sent all of the data from the past few minutes to Kiriha and the others.

“It... really is orange,” remarked Kiriha as she watched the recording.

“Kiriha-san, something’s strange,” interjected Yurika before she could get any further.

“What do you mean, Yurika? What’s strange?”

“It was indigo when Maki-chan disappeared, but orange when Clan-san disappeared... If this is magic, it doesn’t make sense.”

“If I recall, the color of the mana depends on the type of spell used, no?”

“Exactly! If this was a spell taking them, then Clan-san would have disappeared into the same indigo light Maki-chan did.”

Indigo was mind manipulation magic, while orange was alteration. At first, Yurika had assumed that Maki used mind manipulation magic to make it look like she had disappeared. If she had manipulated their memories, it would explain why they couldn’t find any trace of her. But the light that took Clan was orange. Orange was the magic of alteration, which was used to change an object’s state of matter or its characteristics. It was used in a completely different way from indigo. But despite that, Clan had disappeared the exact same way. The only difference was the color of the light.

“I mean, there is a possibility that different spells were used on Maki-chan and Clan-san, but...” she muttered hesitantly.

“I can’t imagine a reason to adjust the spell just to change the color of the mana,” replied Kiriha, shaking her head.

“Me neither. That’s why...”

“It probably isn’t magic at all. Just what is going on...?”

Making someone completely disappear like that with Forthorthe’s advanced science or the People of the Earth’s spiritual energy technology would be difficult. That’s why Kiriha had suspected that the culprit was magic. But based on what Yurika was saying, that probably wasn’t the case.

“If it’s not magic, then... the lack of any sort of evidence bothers me. If it were an attack or a kidnapping, there should be some sort of clue as to the identity of the perpetrator. And if it were some kind of natural phenomenon, it’s highly strange for it to happen twice in a row. For now, we have to assume there’s an unknown force at play here.”

Right now, nothing else was adding up. Kiriha’s best guess was that there was something else causing this. Something out of their control.

“It’s like they were just spirited away...” Koutarou muttered bitterly.

His words got Sanae’s attention.

“Spirited away? I remember my papa saying something about that once...”

She’d heard her father talk about it before, but it was so long ago that she had a hard time recalling it. It might not even be related, so she quickly put it out of her mind and turned her worried thoughts to Clan and Maki.

“Where’d you go, Maki, Glasses...?”

“Kiriha-san, this couldn’t be caused by a timeslip, could it?” Koutarou asked.

“A timeslip?” she asked in turn.

“You know, like in those sci-fi movies. Where someone goes back in time and changes history.”

Without any other clues to go off of, Koutarou began suspecting that perhaps someone had altered history. He’d done it once himself, and he’d seen movies and animes about the same kind of thing. Based on what he knew, it was relatively easy to do. The tricky part might be getting to the past, but once you were there, any wrong action could have monumental consequences. So however unlikely it might seem, Koutarou thought there might be a decent chance that was what was afoot.

“There’s no doubt that timeslips exist, but there’s likely little chance that the course of history has been altered,” said Kiriha.

“What do you mean?” Koutarou asked.

“Clan-dono explained it, didn’t she? When history changes, it enters a different flow. In other words, a parallel universe is born.”

“Now that you mention it, yeah. I think she did say something about that.”

When Koutarou and Clan ended up in the past, they were both terrified of the thought that they’d gotten in the way of the Blue Knight and Alaia meeting. That’s when this had come up before. By preventing something so important, history would change and branch off from that point. That’s why they’d desperately struggled to try to get things back to the way they should be— to reconnect the diverging flows of time.

“In other words, even if someone changed history at some point, it would have no bearing on the present we inhabit. Both worlds would simply continue on as separate timelines.”

According to the paradigm clarified by Forthorthian science, while it was possible to change the past through a timeslip, such changes wouldn’t alter any already existing worlds. Instead, they created new, parallel ones. That, in essence, prevented the paradoxical loophole of timeslips being caused by other timeslips. For example, if Koutarou had returned to the past to save his mother and succeeded, his future self would never think of returning to the past to save his mother since she would still be alive. That would mean that Koutarou—as he had traveled back in time—would cease to exist since the world that generated him was no more. But if the original world and the divergent world remained separate, there would be no such contradiction. Functionally, Koutarou would only be visiting a different world by traveling to the past, and the existence of his home world remained unaffected by anything he said or did while visiting because the two realities were their own separate universes. That was the conclusion Forthorthe’s scientists had reached on the matter.

“So the timeslip theory doesn’t really fit the bill either...” sighed Koutarou.

“If a timeslip were the reason, its effects should be more widespread,” replied Kiriha.

“That’s true.”

Koutarou had thought he was onto something, but was no longer convinced a timeslip was the cause behind Maki and Clan’s disappearances.

“So we’re at a standstill... All right, I’m going to keep looking for them,” he declared.

“We’ll do the same,” replied Kiriha, “Call us if you find something.”

“Will do.”

So far, they didn’t have a single clue regarding Clan’s disappearance. All they could do for now was keep looking. They split up and searched all over town. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack without any leads to go off of, but it was better than doing nothing.

Koutarou had first met Clan during the cultural festival of his first year in high school. She had set a trap to kill Theia and make it look like an accident, and had casually walked by Koutarou on her way out of the building. But Koutarou had no idea who she was. They’d passed each other in the gymnasium, and he had just assumed she was one of the actresses in the play. But Clan knew better. She had carefully studied the people around Theia, and Koutarou in particular left an impression on her since he was playing the Blue Knight. It wasn’t until much later, however, that Clan told him all this. It was only then did he learn that that was actually their first encounter.

“Where did that idiot go...?”

Koutarou recalled that moment as he looked around the gym’s equipment room, which had served as a standby and storage room during the school plays. When trying to think of places to look for Clan, he decided to start at the beginning... which meant where they first met.

“You’re really in for it when you get back. Good grief...”

Koutarou was trying to keep in good spirits by joking around and staying lighthearted. But the truth was that he knew better. He was well aware that, with both Maki and Clan gone now, this was no joke. Things were dead serious. There was even a chance that the two girls were gone forever. That dark anxiety swirled in his heart. He was impatient to find them, and the idea that that might never happen only made him more restless.

“Next is the roof, and then the forest...”

When he needed to talk to just Clan, Koutarou would often meet her on the school rooftop. Her spaceship, the Cradle, was also hidden in the forest outside of town. There were other places Koutarou could think of, but those two were the closest, so he decided to check those first.

“Just who would do this? And why...?”

Koutarou took off running. He didn’t know why Maki and Clan had disappeared, and he didn’t know where they might have gone. Taking things slowly would only fuel the anxious restlessness building inside of him. And so he ran, trying to escape that feeling.

“Layous Fatra Veltlion.”

“Yes.”

“In this urgent situation without an empress, I, Princess Clariossa, will act in her place. This is a royal command. As a knight of Forthorthe, do what you must!”

“As you wish, my princess! I will do so wholeheartedly!”

“By the way, Koutarou, rather than another request, I have a suggestion.”

“What is it?”

“Won’t you serve me?”

“Wh-What?!”

“You left me behind right away, didn’t you, Veltlion?”

“What now, all of a sudden?”

“Even though you said you needed me...”

“This was inevitable.”

“I’m sure you’ll continue to say that it was inevitable from now on too.”

Memories of Clan flashed through Koutarou’s mind as he ran towards his next location. Just like with Maki, there were too many to even count. And the thought that they might never be able to make any more of them together weighed heavily on him. He couldn’t let that happen. That’s why he continued to run as fast as he could, anxious to leave those feelings behind.

Clan had disappeared before dawn, and Koutarou and the others had been desperately searching for her and Maki for well over ten hours now. They’d tried anywhere and everywhere they could think of, and used any means they had at their disposal to look for signs of the two missing girls. But still, there was nothing. They’d even tried calling for them via the contract with the sword, which they believed was their strongest connection, but had gotten no response.

“Everyone, you’re all going to collapse at this rate. Let’s all return home and take a break for a while. If we wear ourselves down too much, we won’t be able to look for anyone,” suggested Harumi.

With that, the girls all decided to return to room 106. Harumi was right. With everyone at their limits, there was no room to object.

“You all look awful,” Koutarou said when he returned to the apartment himself.

He found the girls all sitting on the floor, completely drained. After running around for an entire day, they were physically exhausted. Not to mention the mental toll the worry for Maki and Clan took on them. Thanks to that, none of the girls had their usual cheerful smiles.

“Even if it’s true, that’s not something you say to girls, Satomi-kun,” objected Shizuka.

“Okay, um... You all look down for the count.”

“Mm, that’s better.”

The tough Shizuka just barely had enough energy left in her to joke around a little. No one had the energy to laugh, but at least the heavy atmosphere lightened up a little.

“We don’t know what’s going on... and that’s the scary part. We don’t even know how Maki and Clan are doing...” said Theia between breaths.

And she was right. They were completely in the dark. While she hadn’t said it out loud, there was the chance that the worst possible outcome had already happened. That worry haunted the back of everyone’s mind.

“Well, I know no one may have an appetite, but let us eat something for starters,” said Ruth.

And with that, she started setting the tea table. Kiriha was already taking care of dinner in the kitchen.

“If we don’t take care of ourselves, our minds and bodies won’t work right. We’ll just sit here, dwelling on the what-ifs... So for their sake, let’s eat and rest up,” said Harumi as she began helping Ruth.

Since there wouldn’t be enough room for everyone around the table, she pulled a folding table out from the wardrobe and started setting out tableware and seating cushions.

Eight cushions, huh...?

In total, there were now eight people in room 106. Harumi had gotten enough for everyone, but it was noticeably less than usual. While he didn’t say it, the missing ninth and tenth cushions pained Koutarou. He ordinarily complained about how cramped it was in the apartment, but now that there was extra room, it felt lonely. That made Koutarou realize once more just how important these girls were to him. If he didn’t figure out what had happened to Maki and Clan, there was no telling what might happen to the other girls too. That’s why he continued thinking of what to do even long after dinner. He had no intention of sitting still.

With night upon them, Koutarou knew that blindly searching in the dark wouldn’t get them anywhere. Instead, he decided to try contacting a certain someone—Crimson. She was one of the powerful leaders of Darkness Rainbow, and had returned to Earth to work on the problems regarding Folsaria and Forthorthe. Koutarou figured that he might be able to get some information on Maki through her.

“Maki is gone?! Really?!”

Crimson’s loud voice rang out from the speaker of his smartphone. Her tone and volume told him that Maki’s disappearance was news to her.

“Yeah. We’re all working together to look for her right now.”

“Wait, what’s going on?!”

“Actually...”

Koutarou told Crimson when, where, and how Maki had disappeared. He was usually pretty bad at explaining things to others, but he couldn’t use that as an excuse this time.

“...And we can’t find any leads. That’s why I was wondering if you knew anything... but from the sound of it, that seems unlikely.”

Her surprise told him that this was the first she’d heard of anything, which meant that she didn’t know anything either. Unfortunately, it seemed Koutarou had gotten his hopes up for nothing.

“Nothing’s come across our information network. But I’ll check in with Green just to be sure.”

“Please do.”

“I’ll start looking for her too. I can think of a few places where she might be.”

“That would be a huge help, but... are you sure?”

“Don’t you know? I don’t exactly have anything better to do.”

While Crimson had come to Earth as a guard for Purple and Green, who were in charge of negotiations, Rainbow Heart was handling things in Folsaria. And with things peaceful here on Earth, Crimson had plenty of time on her hands.

“I see... You really are a good friend of Aika-san’s.”

“That’s right. Got a problem with that?”

“No. I was just thinking that Aika-san must be happy to have a good girl like you for a friend.”

“Hmph.”

Having gotten embarrassed, Crimson quickly cut the call. It wasn’t all that surprising that an evil magical girl would have such a reaction to being called a “good girl.” But Koutarou remained oblivious. He was too worried about Maki and Clan to think much of anyone else.

So neither Miyama-sensei nor Crimson know anything... Maybe it’s just like Yurika said and this actually has nothing to do with magic?

Koutarou had actually contacted Miyama Reina before he called Crimson, but she didn’t have any information for him either.

But if it’s not magic, how were the two of them taken?

If neither Darkness Rainbow nor Rainbow Heart knew anything at all about what had happened, it was hard to believe it had anything to do with magic. There was still a possibility that a completely unrelated third party was involved, but if someone like that had showed up in Kisshouharukaze City, Rainbow Heart would have made a move. Thanks to his interactions with Nana in the past, Koutarou knew they kept a vigilant watch over things. Taking both that and what Yurika had said into account, it seemed less and less likely they were dealing with a magical phenomenon. But that only deepened the mystery. He couldn’t even imagine how Maki and Clan were kidnapped if it hadn’t been magic.

“Damn it, I don’t get it at all!”

Putting his smartphone back in his pocket, Koutarou started running again. Without any help, he had to rely on his two legs to count on in his search for the girls. But that hadn’t turned up anything so far, and it didn’t seem like it would any time soon. As such, Koutarou was unable to contain his frustration. He was getting fed up with this wild goose chase of an investigation. Yet even then, he never considered stopping. He wouldn’t let something like that keep him from looking for them. Even if he was going in circles, he’d keep running.

Even when the sun rose on the next day, Koutarou was still out looking for Maki and Clan. He’d barely taken any breaks since the previous night. He just kept moving; he couldn’t find it in himself to stop.

In searching for people, Koutarou found using the psychic powers he’d gotten from Sanae was the most effective. Since he was very familiar with the presence of both Maki and Clan, he was sure he could sense them as long they were within a few dozen meters. Going off of that, all he had to do was walk around town. His powers wouldn’t reach up to the top of tall buildings from the street, but then all he had to do was go up to the top floor and head back down. Koutarou had spent the past two days searching much of Kisshouharukaze City this way. While it wasn’t a very big city, it was still a city. Koutarou had walked almost 200 kilometers in total. Without psychic powers to enhance his body, he would have collapsed long ago. But even after all that, he hadn’t found Maki and Clan. He’d come across a few other acquaintances, but had found no hint of the two girls in question.

Hmm?

Walking along, he suddenly felt a familiar aura nearby.

“Your Highness, it’s Master!”

“So this is where you were, Koutarou.”

Theia and Ruth appeared up ahead. When they realized it was Koutarou, they ran up to him with relieved expressions.

“Master, your complexion does not look good...”

“Wait, have you been out here all this time?”

But when they got closer, they realized the condition he was in. Though it didn’t show much because his psychic powers kept him sustained, exhaustion was writ in Koutarou’s eyes. It was a subtle indicator that Ruth and Theia only noticed because they knew him just that well.

“Yeah.”

That’s why Koutarou honestly admitted it. Trying to hide it wouldn’t work on Theia and Ruth now. He knew them well too.

“If you don’t rest a little, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

“If you collapse, that’s the end of the investigation for you, you know?”

The two girls were worried about Koutarou’s wellbeing. Ever since Maki and Clan disappeared, he had been looking for them around the clock. At this rate, he would do himself in before they found anything, and that would only prolong the investigation. So even though they knew how he felt, they had to stop him— for his own sake and everyone else’s.

“Sorry, I couldn’t rest now if I wanted to. I get restless if I’m not moving, and even if I laid down, I’d be too distracted to sleep. So if I can’t rest, I might as well keep looking.”

Koutarou meekly shook his head. He knew they meant well. But resting would only make things worse for him, so he had to keep going.

“What are we going to do with you...? If Maki and Clan heard that, they’d be both happy and angry.”

“And I’d love to let them hear that.”

“You can say that again.”

That was where Theia and Ruth gave up on persuading Koutarou. They knew how stubborn he was once he set his mind on something. Since convincing him through words would be hard, they changed tactics.

“Then let’s continue the search.”

“Yeah.”

Koutarou began walking again, still searching for Maki and Clan’s auras as he moved down the street.

“Ruth, you and I will be in charge of the places outside the range of his perception.”

“Understood. I’ll send out the scouts.”

Theia and Ruth followed after Koutarou, gathering additional information on their surroundings as they went. They were going to help Koutarou by sending him the data from the unmanned scouts and Blue Knight in orbit high overhead.

“Hey, why are you following me?” he asked once he realized they were tagging along.

“Is there a problem with that?” Theia asked.

“It would be more efficient if we split up.”

“That’s true. We think so too,” replied Ruth.

There was little merit to the three of them moving as a unit. Since they were each capable of working on their own, sticking together just reduced their covered search area. Of course, Theia and Ruth both knew that. They were following him for a different reason.

“Then why?”

“We don’t have as much stamina as you, Master. If we keep going at your pace, we’ll eventually collapse.”

“You’re the kind of man who can’t rest for your own sake, but you will for others. That’s what Kiriha said.”

“That girl...”

Kiriha had essentially put a bell on the reckless Koutarou. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a precious person for a precious person. Koutarou was investigating to save Maki and Clan, but he wouldn’t do anything to endanger Theia and Ruth. They were all important to him.

“Okay, okay, you guys win. I’ll make sure to get some rest.”

That was where Koutarou finally gave up. It would be easy enough to oppose Theia and Ruth, but if he did that, all of the girls might end up ganging up on him. This was meant to be a threat in its own way.

“That’s Kiriha-sama for you, isn’t it, Your Highness?”

“Heh, resistance is futile when we’re all working together.”

Theia and Ruth nodded at each other with relieved smiles on their faces. They were worried for Maki and Clan too, but even they would be upset at how reckless Koutarou was being. And Theia and Ruth knew that better than anyone thanks to the bond they’d all formed together. Maki and Clan were their precious friends too.

Three hours after grouping up with Theia and Ruth, Koutarou did as he promised and took a break. But as expected, he was restless. Even sitting down at the cafe, his eyes were anxiously looking outside the window. He was present in body but not in mind.

“Koutarou, I understand how you feel, but think about yourself a little more.”

“If you’re going to be like this, the rest of us have to be worried about three people, Master.”

“I know that, and that’s not my intention... but I just can’t quite...”

Koutarou knew that he shouldn’t be acting like this. Regardless of his reasons, he shouldn’t be making the girls worry. But his desire to find Maki and Clan was eating away at him. Their disappearance cast a dark shadow over his mind.

“It wasn’t until they were gone that I realized that they were such a big part of my everyday life. It’s like the day doesn’t even start without them.”

“I feel the same. With them gone and you different, I haven’t had an ordinary day for two days now.”

“Us all being together has meaning. I’ve learned that over the course of yesterday and today...”

Both Theia and Ruth shared his feelings. The only difference was that they had the additional burden of worrying about him, which helped them keep a calmer, more rational view on things.

“That’s why... Here.”

Theia scooped up some of the cream from her chocolate parfait and held it up to Koutarou’s face. Koutarou was puzzled by the gesture and looked at her for an answer.

“Sweets are the best when you’re irritated and restless. So eat this and calm down a little. If you do, you’ll probably come up with a good idea or two.”

“Theia...”

Koutarou had to stop himself from saying that now wasn’t the time to be playing around. But after taking a deep breath, he ate the cream that Theia presented. He realized that he had indeed lost his cool after he almost said they didn’t have time to mess around while they were intentionally on a break. Maybe he did need rest and food.

“It’s good.”

“Right? It’s my favorite.”

Seeing Koutarou take a bite of her parfait, Theia put on a big smile. She then took bite after bite of it herself. After experiencing some relief, she felt like the parfait tasted even better than usual.

“Oh, Master, you have some cream on your face.”

Koutarou had some lingering cream around the edge of his mouth. Since Theia had fed him, it wasn’t like her accuracy was perfect. Ruth pulled out a handkerchief from her bag with a smile. She was going to wipe his mouth with that.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to use such an expensive-looking handkerchief for something like this...”

Thanks to Theia, Koutarou had regained some of his composure. Certainly enough to tell that Ruth was holding a rather luxurious handkerchief. That’s why he stopped her and reached for the paper napkins on the table instead.

“I have nothing more precious than you, Master.”

But hearing Ruth clearly express her intentions, he relented. With a paper napkin in his hand, he let Ruth gently wipe the cream off his mouth.

Right now, there’s nothing more precious to me than Ruth and the others... And that’s why I can’t sit around and do nothing...

Ruth’s kind words helped reaffirm how he felt. Right now, there was nothing more important than the two girls that were missing, the two girls that were in front of him, and the five others that were out there doing their best to help.

“...And what about me?”

Unlike Koutarou, however, Theia took offense. She considered Ruth to be her precious vassal, and was unhappy at the thought those feelings weren’t returned. She looked at Ruth, who seemed to be enjoying herself as she wiped Koutarou’s face, with a frown.

“It’s just a figure of speech, Your Highness. Besides, you’re not a belonging. It’s not like I could hand you to Master to wipe his face with.”

“Hmph, very well. By the way, Ruth... did you not have the courage to wipe the cream away with a kiss?”

“Y-Your Highness!”

“Seeing how you’re acting, you at least considered it.”

“I didn’t! I did no such thing, Master!”

Theia and Ruth were both feeling a little better to see Koutarou feeling the same way. Seeing that, Koutarou realized that there was another reason Kiriha had sent them his way.

“You’ve sure gotten a lot bolder, Ruth.”

“I haven’t! I really mean it! Please believe me, Master!”

When shouldering too much on your own, everything was like a downward spiral. Your mood, your thoughts, your wellbeing. Koutarou had experienced that himself. In order to prevent that, they all needed to work together with friends they could rely on. And when Koutarou realized that they were stronger together, he was at last able to smile after all this time.

“You finally smiled, Koutarou.”

“Though it appears to be more of a smirk...”

“It seems these kind of jokes work on him, so let us continue a while longer.”

“Y-Your Highness, please spare me!”

Though Koutarou had smiled, he was only really laughing at himself for being so pathetic that he made the girls worry. But still, that was better than nothing.

The effects of a well-deserved break were immediately obvious. Now that he had his wits about him again, Koutarou asked Ruth to analyze a map and calculate an efficient route for them. Before now, he’d only been going where he felt like he should, meaning he’d likely made repeat visits to certain areas while missing others altogether. It was a rather ineffective way of searching. Realizing that alone made their pit stop at the cafe worth it. Now he could probably save more time than if he hadn’t taken a break at all.

“Ruth-san, where to next?”

“Take a right at that corner. It looks like a roundabout at first glance, but since this is a winding road, it’s actually the shortest route.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

Like before, Koutarou was in the lead with Theia and Ruth following behind him. They were moving as a trio through the city’s complex alleyways with Ruth’s guidance. They proceeded that way for a while, but eventually Theia stopped and crossed her arms to think.

“Hmm... I feel like I’m the only one who’s not helping at all.”

Koutarou was scanning the area with his psychic powers while Ruth was giving guidance and directions. Theia, however, was simply walking along with them without contributing anything. The data from the scouts and spaceship was being processed by the AI thanks to Ruth, so it wasn’t really like they needed a third hand.

“Maybe I should split off from the group...”

If she couldn’t help Ruth and Koutarou, she felt like it might be better to leave them to their own devices while she found something else to do.

“It’s not like you’re making things harder,” objected Koutarou, “So don’t let it bother you and just stay with us.”

“But...”

“At times like this, we need someone like you around. We need a leader. Besides, nothing good would come of you going off by yourself and getting lost in your own headspace.”

Koutarou knew better. If he’d stayed by himself, he’d still be walking around aimlessly. The only reason he wasn’t now was because Theia and Ruth had come along. Theia, as a natural-born leader, had a particularly strong influence over people. Her positivity and determination helped everyone stay motivated. That’s why Koutarou didn’t think that she was useless. Though he was too embarrassed to say it out loud, he considered her a bright star that would guide him through even the darkest of nights.

“Koutarou...”

“It’s just as Master says, Your Highness. And with the disappearance of Clan-sama and Maki-san, there’s still the possibility that this is an attack. So for safety’s sake, I can’t recommend working on your own.”

“Yeah. So, Theia, just stay alert and keep an eye out for enemy attacks. I’m too busy concentrating on my spirit sight, and Ruth-san is on her bracelet.”

Koutarou was so focused on his search that he’d developed a sort of tunnel vision, and Ruth was occupied operating the drones and other things. Theia, however, had good eyesight and made an excellent lookout. Since they didn’t know what they were up against, that was an important role right now.

“Ah... R-Right! You may leave it to me!”

Theia had been depressed over not being very useful, but she suddenly looked like she’d come back to life. There was a light and confidence in her eyes once more, and she used those eyes to scan their surroundings. She carefully observed everything around them to make sure there weren’t any enemies. And in doing so, she noticed something about Ruth, who was walking next to her.

“What is it, Ruth? Why are you crying?”

Ruth was indeed in tears. But since they’d known each other for so long, Theia knew right away that they weren’t tears of sadness or pain. Yet that in and of itself was strange. She couldn’t imagine any other reason for Ruth to be crying right now.

“N-No, it’s nothing... Don’t mind me.”

Ruth shook her head while softly whispering her answer. When she did, the tears that scattered from her cheeks sparkled as they caught the light of the sun.

“It doesn’t look that way to me...” Theia whispered back to Ruth.

Since Ruth kept her voice low, she assumed that meant she didn’t want Koutarou to hear.

“It really is nothing. It might be inappropriate to say in this situation... but I was just feeling how blessed we are.”

It wasn’t any one thing that had happened. But in looking back on everything, Ruth was reminded of her feelings. She felt lucky. Happy. And the reason she hadn’t said anything at first was because that felt inappropriate to say now.

“I know that Clan-sama and Maki-san disappearing is a terrible thing. But... when I look at Master so desperately searching for them, I can tell just how much he values them...”

Ruth was watching Koutarou, focused on nothing but his search. So much so that he himself didn’t even notice Ruth was crying. That’s how she knew what the girls really meant to him. And that, in and of itself, was why she was crying in the first place.

“It just makes me so happy to think... that he would do the same for us if we were to disappear...”

Koutarou would put the same amount of energy and effort into looking for them if something happened. And it was when she realized that that she couldn’t stop herself from crying.

“I know I shouldn’t be happy over this situation, but... I can tell just how much Master loves us...”

The boy she loved also loved her in return. There was nothing happier than that. She still didn’t know if it was a romantic love, but seeing Koutarou like this, she knew that he treasured and needed her. And that was true for Theia and the other girls as well. Having reaffirmed that, Ruth became unable to keep a lid on her overflowing feelings.

“Because two years ago, he was so... Even though he had no one he could trust in... And yet... Hngh...”

Ruth pressed her hands to her chest and let out a stifled sob. If there hadn’t been anyone else around, she would have simply let the tears flow. That was just how strong and intense the feelings inside of her were. It was an unusually powerful moment of expression from the normally modest Ruth.

“That’s true. Just like you said, our feelings aren’t just one-sided. We trust and are trusted. We love and are loved. That’s the kind of person... No, that’s the kind of people that we’ve met. We are blessed. Even if we can’t share that feeling right now, it is the unmistakable truth.”

Tears began forming in Theia’s eyes as well. Being as tough as she was, she didn’t let it show as much as Ruth did, but her tiny chest was still welling up with emotion.

“That’s how I’d feel from the bottom of my heart... if not for what was happening right now.”

Indeed, the problem was the two missing girls. Without Clan and Maki, their happiness was painful. Their togetherness was lonely. Both for them, and for Koutarou.

“You have nothing to worry about,” said Theia.

Her smile and her words radiated her usual confidence. She already knew what she had to do.

“We just need to find Clan and Maki, and it’ll all be all right. Then we can just tell them what happened and laugh about it like idiots together.”

“Your Highness...”

If there was a problem, they just had to resolve it. It was a simple, clear, and very Theia-esque answer.

“And when that time comes, Koutarou will be the one in trouble.”

“Oh my...”

At first, Ruth opened her eyes wide with surprise at Theia’s words. But then the corners of her lips curled upward, and she began giggling. Both at Theia and her striking boldness, and at herself for being the one to overthink things for once.

“Hee... Heeheehee!”

“Ahahaha!”

Theia and Ruth laughed out loud together. There was only one answer for them at the end of their two-year-long journey. They didn’t want to laugh just the two of them, but together with everyone precious to them. That was all.

“What’s the matter, you two?”

Koutarou might not have noticed if it had only been one of them, but their overlapping laughter reached even his focused ears. Curious, he turned to look behind him.

“It’s nothing. It’s a private—”

“It’s a girls’ secret, M—”

When he did, his eyes shot open wide. Like he had seen something terrifying.

“It can’t be... Why?!”

Since Koutarou had never looked at them like that before, Theia and Ruth immediately realized that something was wrong.

“Ruth, you’re glow—”

“Your Highness, your body is wrapped in red li—”

Both girls were engulfed in light, Theia in red and Ruth in yellow. It looked like the vibrant colors would swallow them. Seeing that, Koutarou realized that Theia and Ruth were going to disappear too. The colors were different, but this was exactly what had happened to Clan.

“Theia! Ruth-san!”

Koutarou started running towards the two of them on reflex. It wasn’t like he could do anything, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch it happen. So he ran towards them, desperately reaching out for them.

“Koutarou!”

“Master!”

They reached out for him in return. Their hands were already fading away into the growing light.

“Don’t go! Don’t you dare disappear!”

Knowing he was about to go through the same thing he did when Clan disappeared right in front of him, Koutarou felt like he was going insane. He was desperate to anchor them to this world somehow.

“Your Highness, is this...?!”

“I see! So that’s what this means!”

As their bodies began vanishing, Theia and Ruth seemed to understand what was happening. They understood why they were disappearing. The light absorbing them had let them know. It was saying that their bond was being tested.

“Koutarou! There’s a pattern to this! Ask Kiriha! She’s suspected something like this all along!”

“Our meeting was no coincidence, Master! There’s a clear reason behind it!”

They only had a few moments, and both of them were desperate to give Koutarou the lead he needed before their time was up. Maki was the first and alone when it happened, so there was no way she could help. Clan had been able to do a little better. And now with Theia and Ruth disappearing at the same time, they wanted to do as much as they could. What they said now could be the clue that led to the resolution they were so desperately seeking.

“Theia! Ruth-san! Please wait! Don’t go!”

“The rest depends on your feelings! If you need us—”

“Master, believe in us! We will definitely—”

However, Koutarou wasn’t properly listening to what they were saying. He was too desperately focusing on trying to take their hands. And the girls reciprocated. Despite understanding their own fate, they earnestly reached out to Koutarou. No matter what fate demanded of them, they would always reach out for him.

“...”

“...”

But in the end, they never connected. Just before their hands touched, their bodies melted in the light and disappeared. All Koutarou was left with were their final words, and even that wasn’t clear. They were just nearly inaudible whispers.

“God damn it! GOD DAMN IT!”

And so, following Maki and Clan, the princess and her retainer disappeared, leaving Koutarou alone. His sorrowful screams echoed well into the distance.