Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 44 - Chapter 4

Episode 4: A Mother’s and Daughter’s Conclusions on Stubbornness

The commotion brought about by Danesford Laren’s question to the House of Commons still hadn’t settled down by the next day. As expected, the citizens of Forthorthe always had the Blue Knight on their minds, even more so when it concerned his spouse.

If the Blue Knight were to marry a Forthorthian, he would at the very least obtain permanent residency. And if he were to marry royalty, he would likely become a citizen as well, which meant that any children he had would definitely be citizens.

The populace was hoping that the Blue Knight would officially become a citizen of Forthorthe, but one obstacle was that he was a very serious and sincere individual. There were multiple girls he was especially close to, and it would take time for him to choose one among them to become his spouse. The primary reason was that the Blue Knight was still young, and he didn’t want to do anything haphazardly with the girls, which was delaying his decision. As a result, although the Forthorthians thought highly of the Blue Knight, they also had mixed feelings about his failure to choose a spouse.

Those emotions brought forth a conflict among the people. Some said that he should marry Princess Theia, others Princess Clan. Still others spoke in favor of Princess Nefilforan, and so discussions began shifting to the idea of the Blue Knight’s marriage being thwarted by rivals. Factions regarding his potential marriage partners were in turmoil, with conflicts and debates heating up.

That was when Danesford Laren appeared and presented another possibility. As a news journalist, the conflict had caught his eye, and he’d begun gathering materials. In the process, he’d started questioning the Blue Knight’s special privileges, which had been set by Empress Alaia herself. He wondered if those privileges would protect the Blue Knight’s right to the ancient law of polygamy—in other words, not having to choose only one girl.

He directed the question to Marclay from the House of Commons, whom he’d interviewed in the past on a different matter. When Marclay received the question, he realized its importance and formally asked the Ministry of Justice. And the response was that the Blue Knight’s privileges were protected, and he still had the right to take multiple spouses, as was legal thousands of years ago.

That answer thoroughly shook Forthorthe. The Blue Knight could become a Forthorthian right away and marry the princesses. Once the citizens learned that, the festivities began and the prior conflict died down accordingly. After all, there was no longer any need to pick sides among potential spouses. All factions reconciled and rejoiced as one.

“Are they seriously all right with something so half-baked?”

Koutarou himself, however, was displeased. His common sense dictated that he only take a single wife, so to him, it felt like Forthorthe had bent reason in order to get the Blue Knight to marry. Many Japanese would feel the same.

“It’s not like I don’t understand how you feel...but frankly, we are relieved.” Kiriha gave Koutarou a wry smile. The People of the Earth also practiced monogamy, so she could understand Koutarou’s response, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel relief.

“Relieved? What do you mean?”

“Now we don’t have to worry about thinking of each other as obstacles.”

Kiriha and the other girls saw each other as irreplaceable friends. Even if Koutarou were to choose only one as a wife, that wouldn’t change. And even if she wasn’t chosen, Kiriha planned to stay by his and the others’ sides.

The other girls felt the same. But Kiriha worried that if only one was chosen, it would torment that girl. They were all kind and gentle, and it was easy to imagine one would suffer, worrying if it was okay that only they got to be happy. But now those concerns had been resolved, and Kiriha, as well as the other girls, wondered if it was okay to be so forceful. At the same time, they were relieved that they could maintain the same relationships as before.

“Say, Theia-chan, what do they think about a man taking multiple wives in Forthorthe? In Japan, there used to be a lot of wars, so it was okay,” said Shizuka.

Kiriha had said everything she wanted to say, so she had stayed quiet so far, but now Shizuka wanted to know how a Forthorthian saw the matter. Since they were from a gigantic empire in a different galaxy, the Forthorthians must have had different feelings about it. In fact, they were in the middle of celebrating.

“Hmm, it depends on the region, so they should think it’s good that there are different ways of thinking.”

“What do you mean it depends on the region?”

“Typically, we impose monogamy. You understand that, don’t you?” Theia clarified.

“Yeah, that was why the people of Forthorthe were arguing in the first place.”

“But when looking at the Forthorthe Galactic Empire in its entirety, there are regions, or solar systems, where that is not the case.”

“Even though it’s the same country? There are different rules for regions?” asked Shizuka.

“Indeed. For the past few hundred years, when Forthorthe took over other countries, they didn’t forcibly assimilate them. Those countries were given autonomy and welcomed as part of a confederation of nations. That way there was no need to change their organizations, and there was less resistance. Or if the country wanted, they could be fully assimilated into Forthorthe. Either way, it took a lot of time.”

When a country on a different planet was put under Forthorthe’s control, their local history and culture were typically respected, and no changes were made to their government or culture. As long as they followed a general framework, they were granted autonomy and could live on as they had before. Of course, if the people there wanted to, they could fully integrate with the empire. But even at the fastest, such a chance would be decades after first contact. Since Forthorthe was already so big, they could take the time to wait.

“So there is polygamy in some of those countries that haven’t fully assimilated?”

“That’s right. In many cases, it’s for political or religious reasons, but in others, that’s simply how those beings exist.”

It had been hundreds of years since Forthorthe had entered their Space Age. Many planets had been colonized and new cultures encountered. Those planets’ politics and religions weren’t necessarily the same as Forthorthe’s. They had developed in accordance with each planet’s individual circumstances. For example, in the early pioneering days of a planet with a poor environment, it wasn’t uncommon for people to be allowed to have more than one spouse because the population needed to be increased quickly. But there were also cultures where that wasn’t the case, such as civilizations founded by different life-forms—for example, those similar to ants or bees, who swarmed around a queen.

“Ahh...you’re right. On planets with harsh conditions where the population needs to increase, telling people they can only have one husband or wife sounds rough. Even more so when it’s a planet with a different species.” Shizuka was surprised by Theia’s words, but she nodded in understanding. There was the saying that when in Rome, do as the Romans do, but with so many planets there were many different situations to consider.

“So,” Theia continued, “while we prefer monogamy, that is only because of our own culture. We can’t force it on anyone else.”

For Forthorthians, it made sense to have only one spouse, but that was only at the center of the empire, where life was stable. It was foolish to force the same rules on all civilizations.

“I see...so these kinds of problems can happen when a country is too big. I learned something new today.” Shizuka repeatedly nodded. This was a problem unique to an empire half a galaxy large, which explained their line of thinking.

“So, my answer is that it depends on the region,” Theia concluded. “With that in mind, I believe the citizens have all kinds of thoughts on the matter.”

Naturally, there was some opposition—some just didn’t think it was fair. However, more thought that it was inevitable. That was just how vast, varied, and harsh their universe was.

“Then what about in Satomi-kun’s case?” Harumi asked in Shizuka’s place. Even she was interested in the topic.

“There might be some opposition, but most will be supportive. The desire to have Forthorthe officially welcome the Blue Knight is pushing them forward.”

“So that’s why they’re acting this way,” Harumi said with a giggle and looked at the hologram on display. On it was the news, featuring the citizens celebrating the Blue Knight’s marriage. Despite there being no official announcement, they were already reveling in the moment.

“When I saw Princess Theia and the Blue Knight doing martial arts, I knew they had to get married!”

“You say that, but when Princess Clan and the Blue Knight were playing with RC cars, she was so cute. When I saw that kiss on the cheek at the end, I was completely captivated by them!”

“You’re right, brother! But it doesn’t matter anymore!”

“Yes, either is fine! Hooray for Forthorthe!”

As Theia said, public sentiment toward marriage in Forthorthe was varied, even more so when it concerned the legendary hero. Moreover, the Blue Knight marrying a princess meant that he would become a citizen, so they were willing to overlook some things for the sake of that goal. And the general consensus was that it was clear that he wasn’t the kind of person to do something bad.

“The days of conflict are over! All is well!” Theia was in high spirits upon seeing the news.

“But, Your Highness, they have started up a strange new discussion in its place.” Although Ruth was smiling next to her, she furrowed her brows a little.

“A new one? What do you mean?”

“Yes. Apparently, they are talking about the order in which Master will marry.” Ruth used her computer to show more news programs on the hologram. On it were bar graphs with Theia’s and the others’ names.

“Number one: Princess Theiamillis, twenty-three percent? What is this?”

“This is the result of an urgent survey that a private investigation company conducted, showing who is worthy of being the Blue Knight’s first wife.”

“Whaaat?!” Theia hurriedly looked over the graph. The title was indeed “Who Is Most Suitable to Be His Excellency the Blue Knight’s First Wife.” Next to her own name was “twenty-three percent.” In other words, that percentage of the people believed she should be his first wife. “Ohoho! I am first!”

“Clan-san, look at that. You are second,” Maki announced, pointing out an interesting truth.

Right below Theia’s name was Clan’s. She was just barely below the princess at twenty-two percent. Clan was known for having gone to the past and fought with the Blue Knight. Lately, she’d been standing out for her development of the PAF, so she was very popular.

“Oh my...”

“At just a one percent difference, the results could change depending on the time and place the survey is done,” Maki continued.

“Please don’t tease me too much, Maki.”

“Hehe, I’m sorry.”

“Meow.” Unlike Theia, who was puffing out her chest, Clan looked embarrassed. Happy and proud as well, but embarrassed to think that people were looking at her that way.

“The point to pay attention to is that Her Majesty Elfaria is third.”

“Elle is?!” Koutarou hadn’t been very interested in the graph until then, but when Elfaria’s name was brought up, he hurriedly got up to look at it. Elfaria’s name was indeed there.

“It’s true! Mother is third!” Theia cried.

“At nineteen percent... That is rather considerate,” Clan observed.

They were equally surprised. It was easy to imagine that Clan and Theia would be ranked highly, since the general image was greatly impacted by the civil war, when the Blue Knight had had two princesses by his side. However, Elfaria was only a few percent behind them, which would have surprised anyone.

“What is the meaning of this?” Koutarou asked. He wasn’t sure what to make of the situation.

That was when Kiriha looked up from her computer and addressed his doubts. “It would appear that your close relationship with Her Majesty is well-known. Not to mention that Her Majesty is still young. She is well within marriageable age.”

In Forthorthe it was known that Theia and Clan were close to Koutarou. That was in large part thanks to Nalfa’s videos, but since Koutarou’s return to Forthorthe, his relationship with Elfaria had started to gain attention—also thanks to Nalfa’s videos and footage of reports that had happened to catch them together. Footage of Koutarou and Elfaria drinking tea and Koutarou chasing Elfaria around after she’d played a prank on him were very popular.

Elfaria being of marriageable age further spurred on the people’s hopes. Although she was Theia’s mother, she was still in her thirties and looked very young. Her position as empress was another reason she was seen as a worthy choice for his first wife.

“And, Koutarou, the Blue Knight’s name carries more weight than you think. Some people believe only the empress is worthy of you.”

When asked who they thought was worthy to be the Blue Knight’s partner, many people on the street would name Theia or Clan, that much was clear. However, even those who answered thus could not immediately say “no” when asked if Empress Alaia was the Blue Knight’s ideal partner, and after thinking it over for a while, they came to their own conclusions. As expected, Empress Alaia was seen as the Blue Knight’s partner among the people of Forthorthe, so when their existing relationship was brought up, many thought that only the empress was worthy of being his first wife. That was how much influence the Blue Knight’s name carried.

“Incidentally, if mother were to marry you, her being the second wife or lower would lead to some difficulties,” Theia continued.

“You mean it would be a problem if the empress wasn’t the first wife?” he asked.

“Indeed. For example, if I were to be your first wife, mine and mother’s positions would be reversed in that regard, which would be hard to handle politically. However, that is only a matter of political convenience—the people are supporting my mother because of how well you get along with her.” It was clear that taking Elfaria as his first wife would cause the least offense.

“Huh, so that’s how it is. I get the idea behind it...but that’s only if Elle and I want to get married, right?” Koutarou understood how the people and politicians thought. But since this was a matter of marriage, the thoughts of the people involved took priority. In that respect, he was skeptical about a marriage with Elfaria.

Theia blinked and tilted her head. “Koutarou, do you hate my mother?”

“That’s not it.” Koutarou shook his head. He didn’t hate Elfaria; if anything he thought of her as more than just a friend.

“Then can you not see her as a potential bride because she’s older?”

“If that was it, everything would be easier.”

He did see Elfaria’s feminine appeal. If anything, he felt that she had the most womanly charms of all the girls around him. When he was with her, there were times he was captivated by her.

“I don’t get it. In that case, what is the problem?”

Koutarou didn’t hate Elfaria, and he found her attractive, so Theia didn’t understand his hesitation.

“She’s the empress! The ruler of an empire that spans half a galaxy! Her marrying some random high schooler is...” He didn’t think someone in a position as high as hers should marry a normal student like him.

“The hero who saved the galaxy is just some random high schooler?! You are in more history textbooks than one could count! I don’t think there’s a ‘random high schooler’ better known than you!”

Theia and the others saw it the other way around. The title of Blue Knight carried far more weight than Empress. There had been over a hundred emperors and empresses in Forthorthe, but only a single Blue Knight.

“Urk, but you still need to consider her feelings!”

“I don’t think there’s any reason to think about it.”

Theia’s words and stare were sharp. Although it hadn’t been made public, Koutarou was the only person who could freely enter Elfaria’s private room. The scary part was that he didn’t even need to wait for her permission. That had been the case from the start with no agreements being made beforehand, yet nobody even questioned it. There were all kinds of privileges like that between the two of them. Like Theia said, that was only possible if Koutarou was someone special to Elfaria.

“Even if it’s not a problem, she’s going to end up waiting a long time,” he protested. “So her precious time will—”

“With Forthorthe’s current technology, mother will look as she does for decades. And having children won’t be a problem.”

Elfaria was youthful and beautiful at present, and it wasn’t hard to stop aging with Forthorthe’s technology. If the strain on the body was ignored, it was even possible to rejuvenate her. While it was hard to accept that particular risk for the empress, merely stopping her aging would buy enough time to wait for Koutarou’s decision.

“That’s not the problem!” he cried.

Elfaria had her own life. As empress, she was in a difficult position and deserved to live a life without regret. Even if she loved Koutarou, he couldn’t ignore the time she would lose waiting on his decision. Truth be told, he wanted to say the same thing to the other girls around him, but he’d more or less given up on that.

“Hehe, I’m relieved to hear that.” Theia smiled happily.

“Huh?”

“It sounds like mother has a good chance too.”

Based on his words, Koutarou wasn’t worried about Empress Elfaria, but rather Elfaria as a woman, which meant that she had a chance. If he’d only been worried about the empress, that wouldn’t have been the case.

“That’s not—”

“Will you deny it?”

Koutarou couldn’t refute it. He was even imagining what it would be like to marry her. Starting off the morning with tea together, followed by taking care of the plants in the greenhouse after dealing with the official business of the day...

Despite how busy they were, Theia and Elfaria always made sure to spend time together. Support for Elfaria had soared upon the restoration of Forthorthe after the civil war, and opposing factions had been weakened. Thanks to that, she had some downtime now. Naturally, Theia growing and being able to help played a big part in that.

“So it was the right choice to send you to Earth.”

“Of course, mother! My perspective has expanded and I’ve found friends for life!”

Right now, the two were drinking tea in the palace courtyard’s greenhouse. The plants that Elfaria was growing there were blooming brilliantly, and the pair was able to enjoy a relaxed moment together.

“Hehe, you also found the person dearest to you, no?” Elfaria asked in a mischievous tone. The biggest thing Theia had found on Earth was the heart to love people. And much of it was directed toward a single boy.

“Yes, you’re right.” She nodded firmly in response. She didn’t blush or try to play it off; instead, she looked proud. She knew that being able to love people was precious and a sign of her growth.

“You sure have grown, Theia. Being able to boldly agree is proof that you’ve become an adult.”

“It’s true. Before going to Earth, I would have denied it in a panic.”

An image of Theia’s past self appeared in her head for a moment. In the past she had called her beloved a Neanderthal, but it had been the other way around. Back then, she had tried to solve everything with force, like a Neanderthal pretending to be cultured. She’d even tried to kill her current allies. Theia had been truly dangerous back then. When she had been standing against the military, Theia was at risk of being tricked and used, but over the past two years, she had greatly matured. She was no longer Elfaria’s Achilles’ heel, but a sword to protect her.

“I’m both happy and sad to see my daughter grow. It’s a complicated emotion.” Elfaria softly smiled. While it was reassuring to see Theia mature as an imperial princess, she also wanted her to be a daughter she could always dote on. But Theia wasn’t able to stay that way because Elfaria was the empress, and Elfaria did feel bad about that.

“You say that, but when are you going to become an adult, mother?” Theia suddenly said with a strangely serious expression.

“What do you mean?” Unable to discern the true meaning of her expression and words, Elfaria tilted her head.

“You are always hiding your true feelings, mother.”

Theia had truly grown, acknowledged what she could and couldn’t do, and learned to respect and rely on others if necessary. But Elfaria hadn’t, and that was always on her mind.

“An empress acting on their real feelings would cause the nation to slip,” Elfaria replied.

The leader of a country couldn’t just do as they pleased. Unless there was a logical reason to change things, Elfaria would uphold the rules put in place by her predecessors even if she didn’t personally like them. That was what kept a nation stable. It would quickly tilt if every leader changed the rules, so she suppressed her own feelings and served for political stability.

However, Theia shook her head at those words. “Mother, I am not talking about your work as the empress. I am talking about something more personal.” She was thinking of Elfaria’s true feelings as a woman.

“My personal, true feelings...”

“Why are you hiding your feelings from Koutarou?”

Theia’s intuition told her that Elfaria had feelings for him but never let it be known. At best, it showed in her gestures and behavior. Only her own daughter and Kiriha, who was good at reading others’ feelings, were aware of it. Theia could understand not letting others know how she felt because of her position, but why wasn’t she showing it to Koutarou directly? She couldn’t help but wonder about that. Her frank words left Elfaria speechless.

“As I thought, you love Koutarou even now.”

Her mother’s reaction convinced Theia that the situation was just as she thought and that Elfaria had feelings for Koutarou.

“That’s not—”

“I can tell even if you try to hide it, mother. That expression is the one that girls make for boys they like.”

Elfaria was so shaken by Theia’s words that her usual mask of calm fell away. She had turned into a girl trying to hide her feelings for a specific boy after having it pointed out by others.

“Besides...it was strange from the outset. You wouldn’t have entrusted your only daughter to a man you felt nothing for, even if he is a legendary hero.”

That had been Theia’s first question upon hearing that Elfaria had interfered with the trials for royalty and sent Theia to Koutarou’s side.

“If you didn’t love him, he would just be someone you spent a few days with, no?”

Twenty years ago, Elfaria had been with Koutarou for less than ten days. Even if he was a legendary hero, that was far too short of a time to trust someone. And since it concerned her own daughter, she had to have a clear reason for trusting him. Theia believed it was because Elfaria had special feelings for him.

“That’s...” Elfaria grasped for words once more. When she thought about it calmly, Theia was right—she wouldn’t entrust her daughter to someone she’d only been with for a few days. It was unthinkable unless the situation was extraordinary. Yet Elfaria had never questioned it before. She’d been sure that Koutarou was safe to be around.

“The same goes for how you use the Blue Knight’s name,” Theia continued. “These are all things you wouldn’t do unless you were convinced that he would absolutely be an ally. You would never make such a risky gamble, mother.”

Elfaria had used the name of the Blue Knight to put restrictions on the logistics industry, which was starting to get rattled by operational rules. That helped to confirm the legality of the tax system as well as proper employment and working conditions. Everything had gone just as Elfaria had planned. But there was a large hidden pitfall: since her strategy made use of the Blue Knight’s renown, everything would go to waste if that renown were ruined. It required Koutarou to always be an ally of Forthorthe and continue to live like a hero. So she must have had some basis for believing in him, or it would have been an extremely risky gamble, and Theia didn’t think her mother was the gambling type. In other words, Elfaria must have had stronger feelings toward him than admiration for a hero.

Nothing in the world was a certainty, so when it came to politics, the word “absolute” was unusable. A politician could only take actions toward their desired goal and pray. Despite that, Elfaria had believed in Koutarou, convinced that he would never betray her. That was definitely strange.

“The same goes for this tea. It was grown from the seeds that Koutarou and Clan brought back,” Theia said, picking up her teacup and showing it off.

The Rubustory tea leaves that Elfaria preferred had gone extinct a few hundred years ago due to a natural disaster. Elfaria was the one who had revived the plant, and although it hadn’t been made public, Koutarou and Clan had brought the seeds to her twenty years ago. As an archeologist, she would naturally have loved to bring back the tea that Alaia enjoyed, but Theia didn’t think it was unrelated to Koutarou. He had brought it back because he liked it enough to want to drink it in the present, and Elfaria knew that. It would be unnatural to think that her motive for reviving the Rubustory didn’t factor in his desire for it.

Where did her feelings come from, to allow her to entrust her daughter to him, to use his influence in her work, and to bring back the tea? These were all emotional, not logical, decisions. There was something deep down in Elfaria’s heart that allowed her to do all this.

Elfaria was aware of it as well and finally resigned herself. “I have become much older than him. I can’t hold him back.”

She was older and an empress. Both were significant negatives when forming a relationship, and she couldn’t bring herself to push something like that on the boy she loved. At the same time, he was her weakness, which was why she was fine with Theia and Koutarou getting married, and was willing to settle down as their mother.

“Nothing good will come from suppressing your feelings, mother.” Theia remained strong. She understood how Elfaria felt. When she’d fallen in love with Koutarou, she had experienced the same problem, albeit with their roles reversed. There was far too large of a gap between a princess of Forthorthe and a commoner alien, yet she’d blown through that to get where she was today. Theia didn’t want her mother to go through the same ordeal.

“Even so...I am reluctant to trouble him,” Elfaria answered with a sad expression. She understood what Theia wanted to say, but that option had only been possible twenty years ago when she was a princess. Now, her age and title as empress weighed on her heavily.

“Mother, stop being stubborn! Such things are of no use in creating happiness between people! Even the other day...”

Theia went on to explain how she and the others lived day-to-day, hoping to help Elfaria understand that it was better not to be stubborn when it came to what was truly precious.

Koutarou and the others, who were wedged between Earth and Forthorthe, were constantly swamped with work. Being in a position to mediate between the two sides, they didn’t have time to play like high schoolers usually did. That was even more true lately due to Ralgwin’s forces acting behind the scenes. However, nonstop work without rest would ruin both mind and body, so they decided to spend the summer like proper high school students.

“Still, we can’t use up all of our vacation here, and every day, more work will pile up, so we’ll only have one day off,” Ruth explained with a sad smile to Koutarou and the others. She was in charge of scheduling and had managed to secure a day off for everyone, but it was a task fraught with difficulty.

Since they each had their special talents, they were very popular at their places of work. For example, Yurika and Harumi were very popular with the Imperial Army and Clan was getting plenty of calls from the technology and information departments. As for Kiriha, everyone who knew of her existence was fighting over her, so it was hardly surprising that Ruth would struggle—even getting them a single day off was worthy of praise.

“Then let’s do everything we want to do on that day.”

With that knowledge, everyone readily agreed to Sanae-chan’s dynamic proposal. They were very busy but still teenage girls, and they wanted to play from time to time too.

“That sounds like it will be a terrifying one-day trip,” Kenji said with a shrug. The meeting to discuss what they would do on their day off was being held in room 106, but he was involved today too. Since it was a simple matter of going out to play, he had been approached as well.

“You make it sound like it has nothing to do with you, Mackenzie.” Koutarou gave him a grudgeful stare.

“Well, of course. Unlike you, I’m just a normal high schooler. I’m enjoying my last summer vacation, as I should be.”

Among the gathered members, Kenji was the only one with plenty of time on his hands. He’d already been relieved of his position in the drama club and wrapped up his homework. He could sleep all day every day without a problem.

“You traitor!” Koutarou replied.

“It’s your fault for going and becoming a hero. Besides, if anyone’s a traitor, you’re the one who betrayed the Unpopular Boys Alliance!”

“Forget about that.”

“Those who’ve been betrayed can never forget. Lately, they’ve been making a scene over how Kou’s gotten some alien woman.”

Because of Forthorthe’s visit to Earth, the Unpopular Boys Alliance had been far less active, but even so, they were vigilantly looking for an opportunity to purge the traitor. As expected, the betrayal by their charismatic leader had left a deep wound on them.

“Hmph, it’s not like I can’t understand how they feel. We are beautiful, after all,” said Nefilforan.

“Ah, well, they seemed to be talking about someone tall with big breasts, so it was probably about Princess Nefilforan.”

Although Koutarou hadn’t made any official appearances on Earth, Nefilforan was already well-known. She’d also been seen speaking with Koutarou from time to time at Kisshouharukaze High School, and it had earned him the ire of the unpopular boys alliance.

“Mackenzie, spit out their location right now. I’m going to beat the crap out of them,” Koutarou announced.

“You would do well to confess. I wouldn’t mind hacking your phone and looking into your call records, you know,” Kenji retorted. But his words ended up wounding Theia and Clan. They kept their princesses’ smiles on their faces, but there was a dangerous glint in their eyes.

“Mackenzie, you better take responsibility. This could turn into an international—no, an interstellar problem,” Koutarou warned him.

“You live in a terrifying environment...” Kenji muttered.

Forthorthe, the People of the Earth, Folsaria... Many of the girls were in positions of leadership in those factions. It was like a permanent state of being in a summit. If anything happened, it would be an international problem, and it was a miracle that no issues had occurred yet.

“Just spit it out already!” Nefilforan cried.

“You heard her! Tell us without hiding anything!”

Thus, despite some dissonance, Koutarou and the others came together to enjoy their vacation.

Their first destination of the day was the movie theater because the time of the showings just happened to line up with their plans. Koutarou and the others split into three groups, which watched one movie each. It was a simple matter of interest. The first screening for each of them was around nine in the morning. Since the films were of different lengths, subsequent screenings would throw off their schedule, so the movie theater had become their first destination.

“So, what did happen to the Unpopular Boys Alliance?” Koutarou asked.

“I haven’t been able to get in contact with them for a while now,” Kenji admitted.

“Congratulations, Mackenzie. Now you’re a traitor too.”

They were in the action movie group. Sanae-chan, Shizuka, and (unexpectedly) Kiriha were also part of the group.

“Say, Shizuka, why is Glasses-kun so friendly with the unpopular boys alliance?” asked Sanae-chan.

“Mackenzie-kun bribed them with Valentine’s Day chocolate,” Shizuka answered.

“He tried working with them to put down Satomi Koutarou. And they’ve supposedly been getting along well since,” Kiriha added.

“So they weren’t friends so much as cooperating, but that dark connection has been destroyed now that he’s tipped off Theia and Glasses,” Sanae-chan observed.

“So it seems.”

The five of them headed toward the fifth theater together. The cinema had a total of ten theaters, and around them were other people headed for the fifth one. The other groups had already taken their seats—their own screening just happened to be ten minutes later than the others’.

“It’s just now that I understand that losing male friends hurts more than losing a girlfriend,” said Kenji.

“You only got that just now?” Koutarou answered. “In your case, that’s just because you break up with girls on a daily basis, isn’t it?”

“Koutarou, let’s forget about all that and go to the fifth theater!” Sanae-chan urged them.

“You hear that? She said ‘all that.’”

“Can’t you at least look like you’re trying to console me, Kou?!” Kenji cried.

In front of the fifth theater was a poster for the movie they were going to see. Its title was Beetle King Kabutonga the First. Kabutonga had a long-enduring popularity as a hero show, having existed for over ten years, and this was its adaptation. As the title suggested, it was a remake of the first Kabutonga, an attempt to recapture the original using the rapid advances in video technology. The series had been burned into Koutarou’s mind from repeated viewings, so upon hearing that the battle between Kabutonga and Scarab King would be remade using modern technology, he couldn’t help but go see it.

“It sticks to the original design while being detailed enough for adults to watch. I look forward to it.”

Kiriha stared at the poster and seemed to be enjoying herself. Kenji had been feeling a little down, but when he saw her profile, he couldn’t help but speak.

“Still...I’m a little surprised. I didn’t think you were the type to be interested in this kind of movie, Kurano-san.”

He thought it was a little strange that Kiriha was here. She acted like an honors student at school, so it didn’t really fit her image. And it fit her image even less considering the real her, so he wondered why the intelligent and graceful girl would watch this movie.

“It might sound strange coming from me, but in the past I was something of a tomboy. I preferred hero shows like this over ones geared toward girls.”

“I see, so you were sucked in as a child, like we were.”

“Indeed. Not to mention I have some attachments related to this series.” Kiriha slightly nodded and put her hand over her chest. Beneath it was her treasure.

Seeing her face, a thought struck Kenji. I’m guessing a childhood friend or her first love is associated somehow... That would make sense for Kurano-san...

Kenji was able to connect Kiriha and Kabutonga in his mind.

“Glasses-kun, aren’t you going to ask us?” demanded Sanae-chan.

“Hahahaha, why do you want to see this movie, Higashihongan-san?” he asked.

“Uhm, well, it’s so cool! Transform!” Sanae-chan shouted and struck a pose. She liked heroes even now. Seeing how perfect her transformation pose was, it was likely that she’d be making Koutarou play pretend heroes with her afterward.

“That’s an easy reason to understand,” he replied.

“Right?! I’ll be the one to take down Scarab King!”

“What about me, Mackenzie-kun?” Shizuka said. It was her turn next. They spoke in class every day, so she was acting the same as usual.

Kenji answered in kind. “Why do you want to see this movie, Kasagi-san?”

“I want to see it for research.”

“That’s right, you help out with hero shows.”

“Yeah! It should be worth watching the latest movie.”

“I know how you feel.”

“Oh yeah, you were in the drama club.”

“Yes, I used to watch a lot of movies for acting.”

Shizuka helped out with hero shows as a part-time job and was likely to play pretend heroes with Koutarou afterward too, but for a different reason from Sanae-chan. As she looked at the trio, Kiriha thought of something and called out to Koutarou.

“So, why do you want to see this movie, Satomi Koutarou?”

“You already know why. I love Kabutonga too.”

“And you have no other reasons at all?”

She whispered the last part so that only Koutarou could hear. At the same time, Kiriha held her hand against her chest. Koutarou knew very well what that gesture meant. After a dozen or so seconds of silence and three cheek scratches, he answered with an embarrassed look.

“Well...I can’t say that I don’t.”

“I see.”

Kiriha’s answer was simple, yet her expression was very bright, with deep emotion lying beneath it. Realizing what that emotion was, Koutarou looked away reflexively. She was far too bright to look at directly, and he was troubled by the fact that the same emotion existed within him.

“Hmmm.” Kenji gave Koutarou a cold stare. He hadn’t heard what the two were talking about, but it was easy to imagine the exchange of emotions going on based on how they were behaving.

“Ohh?” Shizuka also gave Koutarou a cold stare. She felt the same as Kenji, but with a hint of envy or an intention to do the same later.

“Mmm.” Only Sanae-chan had a different reaction. Unlike Kenji and Shizuka, she could directly feel Koutarou’s and Kiriha’s feelings, which was why she had a question. “Say, Koutarou...”

“Hm?”

“Why are you being so stubborn when that’s how you feel?”

Koutarou’s and Kiriha’s spiritual energies were gently intertwining, giving off a warm aura. There was no need whatsoever for him to look away. In Sanae-chan’s opinion, he should be pulling Kiriha in for a kiss.

“I have my own circumstances to consider.”

“Circumstances you say... Hmm...”

With Koutarou’s attention directed at her, their spiritual energies started to intertwine. The result was an aura not much different from the one between him and Kiriha, so she gave up on pursuing any more questions.

“Boys have it tough, huh?”

“You can say that.”

Koutarou looked away again. However, spiritual energy was still floating around Sanae-chan, so she reached out to touch it with a soft smile.

“This is unfair...” Kenji muttered.

“Now, now, Mackenzie-kun, let’s just enjoy the movie today!”

Kenji looked a little unhappy as Shizuka pushed him into the fifth theater. Koutarou wasn’t the reason they’d come to the cinema, and the movie was about to begin.

“Wait, hold on! I’m coming too!” Sanae-chan borrowed a cushion for children at the entrance to the theater, and hurried after the two. Behind her were Koutarou and Kiriha.

“We should go too,” Koutarou noted.

“Yeah.”

They walked after the other three. Shortly afterward, Kiriha intertwined her arm with his and pulled herself closer.

“Ah...uhm...”

Koutarou thought about stopping her for an instant. But before he did, he recalled what Sanae-chan had said, as well as what had happened in the past, ten years ago. And he reconsidered.

“Yeah, well, okay...”

“Hehehe.”

Kiriha noticed the conflict within him, which caused Koutarou’s expression to rapidly change, but she simply squeezed his arm tighter.

Once their respective movies ended, the groups reconnected and headed for an amusement park. Three minutes from the movie theater was an amusement park famous for its cat character. However, said cat wasn’t what the group was going there to see. Instead, they were headed for the park’s new attraction.

“Satomi-saaan, can’t we go somewhere elllse?” Yurika whined.

“What are you talking about when we’ve come this far? We all agreed on making memories for the summer,” he answered.

“But what’s the point in going to get scared?!”

The attraction in question was a haunted mansion. It was a realistic one that used an abandoned hospital as its theme and had gotten rave reviews. It had even come up in discussions between Koutarou and the girls, so there was no reason not to go when the opportunity presented itself.

“You say that, but you’re always fighting zombies and the like,” Theia quipped.

“Real zombies don’t try to scare you!” she protested.

That said, it wasn’t like everyone was happy about their choice of activity. Namely the cowardly Yurika. She was throwing a tantrum over visiting the haunted mansion.

“Why do the zombies and ghosts in these places hide around corners?!” she demanded.

“Because it’s their job.”

“The undead don’t need jobs!”

“Quit complaining about stupid things and come over here already!” Koutarou insisted.

“Noooooo! I’m going to get killed! They’re going to eat meeeeee!”

“Cut it out. People are listening.”

“But... Buuut...”

Yurika desperately resisted with tears in her eyes, but in the end she was no match for Koutarou’s strength and was dragged along. Kotori and Nalfa watched over the noisy pair. They couldn’t all go into the haunted mansion together, so they had split into groups of four.

“Kou-niisan isn’t showing any mercy today,” Kotori said with a bitter smile.

She’d had a similar experience once before. Kotori was an introvert, but it used to be worse before, and when she couldn’t muster the courage and shied away from doing something, Koutarou would grab her hand and pull her along. That was technically the right call, but the problem was that she didn’t get the time to mentally prepare. Since this was their chance to make memories during their last summer vacation of high school, it was the right choice to pull Yurika along. Once she participated, she would be able to look back on these memories with everyone else.

That said, as a coward, it was a big trial for Yurika.

“Haaah...” In contrast, Nalfa left out a small sigh. As she did, she stared at the palm of her hand, then looked back at Koutarou and Yurika.

Seeing that, Kotori grinned. “Nal-chan, are you thinking that maybe you should have said that you’re scared?” Kotori asked, causing Nalfa’s expression to freeze over.

Nalfa hurriedly denied it. “Not at all!”

“No? Really?”

“Uh, well, I... Maybe a little...” She blushed in embarrassment at Kotori’s questioning and nodded. Like Kotori said, she felt a bit of regret. She was more on the scared side too, but she’d endured it for the sake of everyone making memories. However, if she’d been like Yurika and thrown a tantrum, maybe Koutarou would have pulled her by the hand too.

“If you act stubborn around Kou-niisan you’re only going to lose out. He can be pretty careless, so unless you say something seriously strange, he’ll overlook it. Showing your emotions is okay.” Based on Kotori’s experience, that was a fact. Koutarou would forgive and laugh off anything unless it was particularly mean. He wouldn’t mind some selfishness or pranks. In fact, even though Yurika was scared and crying, he didn’t think any less of her.

“That’s only something you can say as a childhood friend. Normally, a girl doesn’t want to look bad in front of the boy she likes...” Nalfa disagreed.

Kotori might have been right, but that was merely as a childhood friend. Other girls would want to show the boy they liked their cute side.

“I know how you feel, but it’s not like you want to stay just friends, right? Are you really going to push forward while hiding the real Nal-chan?” Kotori pressed.

Nalfa’s goal should have been to form a bond stronger than that of a childhood friend, so Kotori felt like Nalfa had to be able to do anything a childhood friend would.

Nalfa nodded timidly. She agreed that Kotori was making a good point, but... “That’s... I don’t think it would work...”

“Then you will need to show off. Besides, you have to aim for more than that.” Kotori nodded over her shoulder and pointed at Yurika, who was clinging to a streetlamp by the entrance of the haunted mansion, resisting as best as she could.

“Satomi-san, you pervert!”

“Yurika, you should have tried that plan sooner. After all the screaming you’ve done, it’s not going to work. Look, the cast are wearing forced smiles,” said Koutarou.

“Oh nooo!”

“Just give up already. You can’t escape anymore.”

Although their voices didn’t reach all the way to Kotori and Nalfa, it was clear that it was more than just an exchange between friends.

“You can’t afford to be picky about methods,” Kotori concluded.

“I’ll... I’ll do my best...”

Despite the disgraceful behavior, Yurika and Koutarou’s relationship was unharmed. Their relationship was so sturdy that an incident of this level was no concern. If anything, it seemed to be bringing them even closer. Nalfa was aiming for a relationship like that, so she didn’t have the time to be reserved. 

Yurika continued her performance even after entering the haunted mansion. It was designed to look like an abandoned hospital, and she was fearfully walking down a hallway dimly lit by exposed light bulbs.

“Why is it like this? Ghosts suddenly attack and the light bulbs are blinking.”

“That’s what their business is. The blinking light is probably not a real light bulb, but an LED.”

“I know that! But it slows down my reaction, which is scary!”

Several paranormal phenomena had already happened, and Yurika’s knees were buckling from the repeated attacks by the undead. She’d been scared even before entering, but her legs were now shaking and she was close to her limit. What scared her the most was a ghost or zombie appearing while the lights were flickering. They would attack when the lights went out, but even then, there was still the emergency lighting, so it wasn’t pitch-black. Of course, they were wearing dark clothes and were practically invisible, so when the lights came back on, they were right in front of the visitors. The repeated use of this tactic was close to making Yurika throw in the towel.

“You look calm, Kou-niisan. You don’t mind this kind of thing?” Kotori asked, walking up to him. Since it was dark, she had to get close to see his face, and her expression was rather stiff. That was unusual for her, so she was probably scared.

“No. They’re not real, and it’s easy to tell when they’ll come,” Koutarou answered with a shrug.

“You can tell?” Kotori asked with wide eyes.

“Well, for example, they’ll be coming from the left now.”

At that, there was a loud sound.

“Gyaaaaaah!”

“Eek!”

An impaled human jumped out from the pillar on the left side, and Yurika and Kotori screamed in surprise.

“I see. You would be troubled if you couldn’t tell, Koutarou-sama,” Nalfa said with a smile next to Kotori. But even as she did, she was holding a hand to her chest, so she must have been surprised too.

“You can call it an occupational disease.” Koutarou was calm and kept his eyes forward as the impaled human moved back behind a pillar. It was an animatronic that automatically scared anyone who walked past. He wasn’t surprised because he’d heard the sounds of it activating before it showed up.

“Is being a legendary hero an occupation?”

“Maybe commander is the occupation.”

“Ah, you have a point.”

Koutarou’s wealth of experience was holding him back and preventing him from being scared by anything in the haunted mansion. He could hear the sounds of any mechanisms in play and feel the presence of any performers who were hiding. He tried to hold those senses back to enjoy himself, but much of it was unconscious.

“But that video before surprised me. The one where a person’s face was coming out of the wall,” he noted.

“Ahaha, not even you could do anything about that, Koutarou-sama.”

“There’s that, and the real deal would probably scare me.”

The zombies and ghosts here either had the aura of normal humans or were animatronics with no aura. Because of that, they didn’t feel as realistic to him.

“That’s not true. Satomi-san doesn’t get scared by the real things either,” Yurika said with a reproachful stare. She was unhappy that she was the only one who was frightened.

“Well, that goes for you too,” he replied.

“Yes, but...”

A legendary hero and magical girl were practically fated to have a weak reaction to real ghosts and zombies.

“But I do get surprised when you suddenly scream,” he added.

“That’s nothing like this!”

“By the way, you seem rather calm, Nalfa-san,” said Koutarou. “Are you okay with this kind of thing?” He had noticed that Nalfa’s aura was strangely calm. Yurika’s and Kotori’s auras were disturbed any time there was a scare, but that wasn’t the case with Nalfa; it was just slightly more disturbed than usual.

“Ahahaha, it looks like there’s a slight difference between what the Japanese and Forthorthians are scared of. So the atmosphere doesn’t have the same connotations. Sure, it’s scary when it’s dark and they suddenly appear...” Nalfa explained with a wry smile. The way people felt fear was in large part due to differences in culture. And that difference was more pronounced with people from another planet. For example, if a ghost dressed in white stood under a willow tree, Forthorthians would wonder what it was. The Japanese knew about the connection between ghosts and willow trees, so they would feel fear.

“Well, you’ll eventually be immersed in our culture like Theia and the others,” he warned her.

At first, their sensations had been different from Earthlings too, but that wasn’t the case anymore. Over time, that problem had been resolved.

“Does that mean...that you want me to be scared like the others?” Nalfa asked.

“Well, that would mean that we could enjoy it together.”

Rather than looking around with interest, she would be able to enjoy the attraction the way Yurika was. In that sense, Koutarou did want her to make a racket.

“Then I will do my best to become like that,” she stated.

“You want to be scared?” he asked.

“Yes.” Nalfa understood what Koutarou was trying to say. Being able to share the same moments and experiences as everyone was what she wanted more than anything.

Yurika, however, disagreed. “You should reconsider! I mean it! Being happy about being afraid just isn’t a thing!” Perhaps she simply hadn’t realized its value.

“But I—”

“Ah.” Koutarou noticed something and started to warn them, but before he could, the mechanism moved. The dinner on top of the table transformed into a dead body, making skillful use of lighting to conceal the change.

“Gyaaaaaa?!” Yurika jumped and ran to hide behind Koutarou’s back.

“Noooooo!” Kotori raised her voice and held her chest. Although she’d been surprised, she hadn’t really jumped. Her true introverted nature showed itself.

“Yooowww!” This time, even Nalfa was surprised. Since it was a jump scare, Forthorthians could be startled too.

Oh, I just... At some point, Nalfa had grabbed Koutarou. It wasn’t something she’d done intentionally; it had been purely on reflex. However, she was happy that she’d been able to do it, and cheered in her mind as she continued holding on to him.

In total, there were three Sanaes. There were Sanae-chan and Sanae-san, who shared a soul and body, as well as Sanae-Oneechan who came from another world. Next to Koutarou at the moment was Sanae-Oneechan.

“When you three split up, it’s awfully unfair.”

“Ehehehe, that’s three times the value!”

Since they could use their psychic powers to share information, Sanae-Oneechan could share what she experienced with the other two, which meant they could visit three attractions at the same time.

“I’m watching a show while riding a coaster at the same time I’m racing here!”

Koutarou and the others were split into three groups at the moment. They were trying to make memories, but they didn’t have the time to fully accommodate everyone’s wishes, so they had set up times to go their own ways.

“Ohohoho, can you really focus like that?” Theia said in a somewhat arrogant way.

Koutarou was currently at the attraction that took up the most area in the theme park: the go-kart racetrack where they could ride miniature cars and enjoy a real race. The four participants were Koutarou, Sanae-Oneechan, Theia, and Clan. As a competitive person, Theia loved races, so she’d been waiting for this moment.

“Racing is fierce,” she said, her eyes glinting. She was aiming for the win.

“Hehehe, I’ve got a plan for today! I’m going to set the track record!” Sanae, meanwhile, loved festivities, so she was planning to win. But it was unclear if she was that serious about it.

“So, they have deliberately shrunken race cars... What an interesting idea.” Unlike the other two, Clan was interested in the karts themselves. Her eyes were sparkling as she examined a nearby one from different angles. She loved tinkering, so miniature race cars were right in her wheelhouse. “At this size, it should be easy to prevent accidents.”

The group before Koutarou and the others passed by in their karts. The karts’ top speed was very limited, as even then, they moved at around the speed of a quick bike, so when it came to safety, they only needed to account for that. The racetrack was cushioned with discarded tires as well, so even if someone crashed into them, it wouldn’t do any damage. This was more than enough for the speeds the karts were going.

“At these speeds, even if you run off the course, you won’t end up getting blown away. At the same time, the perspective is so low that it feels very fast. What a wonderful mix of entertainment and safety!”

The speed was low, which might have felt boring, but there was a trick to it. Compared to a bike or car, the driver was very close to the ground. Because of that, it felt like the karts were going more than twice as fast. The center of gravity was also low, making it very hard to flip the karts over. Those innovations created an attraction where one could easily experience the feel of racing.

“Which means that I can just keep the pedal to the metal!” Theia cried.

“Yeah! Pedal to the metal!” Sanae agreed.

The pair with no consideration for the consequences was already getting excited. Their eyes were sparkling with their intent to set a new track record.

“You two better not overdo it. There might be no risk to life or limb, but if you crash into the tires, they’ll still have to do maintenance on the go-kart,” Koutarou warned them, glancing over at Clan just in case. She nodded in agreement; it seemed he was correct.

“I know that! Why don’t you believe in your princess?!” Theia replied.

“Boo! You’re always so serious!” added Sanae.

“Are they going to manage this okay?” Koutarou looked worried.

“Now, now, Veltlion. They won’t be like children forever,” Clan attempted to console him. Since they were here, they might as well enjoy themselves before going home. It was a mindset that she had gradually started to learn.

Before long, it was Koutarou and the others’ turn. After putting on some protective gear, they each climbed into a go-kart. The vehicles were arranged in a square, with Clan and Sanae at the front, and Koutarou and Theia in the back since they were good at these sorts of things.

“This time has finally come!” Theia said.

“But I’m the one who’s going to win! I’m definitely going to be first!” Sanae proclaimed.

“I won’t let you! It seems you might have some sort of plan, but I will pull past you in the blink of an eye!”

Sparks flew as Sanae and Theia exchanged looks while the operator headed for the front of the track. It might have been a small-scale version of a racetrack, but they still used a signal and flag at the start for the atmosphere. When the signal turned green, the flag would swing down and the race would begin.

“Are you all ready?”

A different worker who had stayed close did a final check for Koutarou and the others. They’d already gone over the controls and put on their seat belts. The last step was to see how they were feeling.

“We’re okay. Please start the race,” Koutarou told him.

“I understand. Have a good time!”

The worker stepped off the track and signaled to his partner by the starting line that everything was ready to go.

“I’m beginning to get worried.” Clan looked back with an anxious expression.

“Oh, yeah, you’ve never really driven anything yourself.”

“Still, automating the controls would be rather dull.” Clan tended to remotely control or autopilot vehicles, so she was a little nervous about driving one manually. But it wasn’t like she hated it. Handling a simple machine like this was fun in its own right. It was similar to building a vacuum tube radio or amplifier.

“Just drive the way you like,” Koutarou advised her.

“I didn’t expect you to say something so kind.”

“It goes against my morals to mentally destroy a competitor before a match.”

“I don’t hate that side of you.”

Huh?

That was when Koutarou realized that the tone of Clan’s voice was slightly different from normal. He tried to look at her face again, but just then the signal for them to prepare for the race rang out over the speakers and the worker at the starting line raised the flag. In the end, he was unable to check her expression.

Theia took off as soon as the flag swung down. Her excellent reflexes and good timing put her half a kart ahead of Koutarou.

“Victory goes to those who make the first move!” she cried.

In a race, the other karts became obstacles, so being able to pull out to the front at the start was exceedingly effective. Although it was initially only a half kart’s difference, by the time they rounded the first corner, Theia was ahead.

“You’re pretty good, Theia!”

“From here on, you will only be staring at my back!”

This is bad. Falling behind at the start hurts... Koutarou used his driving skills to follow the other three, but Theia was blocking the route that would have been easiest for him to use, so it didn’t work out as well as he’d hoped.

“Still, this isn’t looking good, Koutarou,” said Theia.

“Why not?”

“Sanae is faster than expected!”

“What?!”

Koutarou was in a position where he’d need to overtake everyone one at a time, so he was strictly looking at Theia’s back at the moment. But at her words, he looked farther up ahead and saw Sanae racing off.

“That girl... Now she’s really done it!” Koutarou was astonished when he realized what Sanae was doing.

“What do you mean?!”

“Sanae is using her Spirit Vision to find the fastest route! I don’t know whose it is, but at this rate she might set a new track record!”

Sanae was using her psychic powers to race. A driver’s spiritual energy was left on both the kart and the track. She had picked out the spiritual energy of an excellent driver and perfectly read their controls to imitate them. The way she handled the steering wheel, braked, and even shifted her weight was that of a pro. Normally, even if one could read the route and controls a person took, it would still require the skills to copy it. However, Sanae-Oneechan had taken the other driver’s spirit energy inside of her and turned their skills into her own. It was a method unique to her and toed the line of cheating.

“Grrr, so be it! Koutarou, let’s call a temporary truce!” Theia yelled.

“What do you mean?!”

“Even if we fight her, we won’t catch up! First we need to overtake her! We can settle things after that!”

Koutarou tried to pass Theia while she blocked him, which meant that neither of them was driving optimally. Even if they passed Clan, they wouldn’t reach Sanae-Oneechan, so Theia suggested that they give up on fighting to chase after the leader.

“What will you do?! There’s no time to think!” she cried.

“You’re on!” he agreed.

“Good, then follow me, my knight!”

“As you wish, my princess!”

Right now, they couldn’t waste even the slightest bit of time. Koutarou started following Theia’s route. She was pushing herself very hard to catch up to Sanae-Oneechan, causing the kart to shake roughly as she accelerated and took the turns at high speed. It was working, and they were gradually catching up.

Clan had never expected to win, so when Koutarou and Theia came flying in with extraordinary speed, she let them pass instead of trying to block them.

“Sorry about this, Clan!”

“Koutarou, you don’t have the time to look away!” Theia warned him.

“I know, I know! See you, Clan!”

And with that, they passed by at the same speed they had come, or perhaps even faster.

“Be careful!” Clan saw them off and continued on at the pace she had before. Will they be all right driving like that?

The engine might give out, but the drivers would probably be safe.

“Hmm, unlike remote control with VR, there’re all kinds of sensations.”

Clan restarted her analysis of the entertainment and technological aspect of go-karts. In the past, she’d controlled an RC car in VR, and due to how low her perspective had been, the sense of speed there was even higher, but here, the sensations from the wind and acceleration put the go-karting experience above it.

“Hmph, so you’re here, Theia!”

“Hahaha, I’ve finally caught up, Sanae!”

“Then I’ll be going on ahead!”

“Koutarou?!”

“Our cooperation ends here!”

“Tsk!”

“I’ll just run off while you’re fighting!”

“Hmm, as expected, RC and go-karts are their own unique experiences,” Clan mused.

Forthorthe had all kinds of races of their own, but because of their technological advancements, they used normal cars or planes to race. Clan thought racing with small karts would make for a viable business.

“I’ve caught up to you now, Sanae!”

“Then you leave me with no choice! Spirit Possession! Super Racer!”

“Hey! Sanae’s racing changed!”

“That’s unfair, Sanae! That’s going too far!”

“Ohohoho, you can just use magic then, Koutarou!”

“If I were to introduce this to Forthorthe...I suppose the kart track would come first,” Clan said to herself. “I have a feeling that if I go for the RC, it’ll be like the PAF all over again...”

Forthorthians had a great interest in Earth’s culture, especially hobbies that the Blue Knight loved. So naturally, she thought about introducing go-karts and RC cars to Forthorthe, but based on her experience with the PAF, it would be best to sell it as an experience rather than a product.

“Get out of the way, Koutarou! I will win as myself!”

“You make it sound cool, but you’re really pushing it!”

“Did I hear you say you want to lose?!”

“You’re on!”

“That’s more like my knight! Let us go!”

“Nyahaha! Spirit Possession Sanae has more to give!”

“Well, the hobby industry might unite and enter the market as well... I should consult with Elfaria-san first,” Clan continued.

Elfaria’s policy was that of a human and cultural exchange before a technological one. Karts and RC cars would fit that approach. If the promotion of this activity could keep pace with the industry, it should lead to a good outcome.

“This is my final gamble! I will turn that corner at full speed!”

“But you’re too light; you won’t be able to make it!”

“If I don’t, we will lose! So I WILL take the corner!”

“Nyahaha, there’s no use! There’s only one route to take that corner at high speed!”

“Do it, Theia!”

“Haaaaaahh!”

“Oh?” Clan gasped.

That was when an accident happened in front of her on the last corner of the track. Theia had tried to turn at a reckless speed and failed, causing her to spin out. Koutarou and Sanae-Oneechan were also caught up in the accident and run off the track. All three crashed into the tire barricade.

“Oh my... Are you all okay?” Clan asked.

“Somehow... Ouch...” Koutarou replied.

“So I couldn’t make the turn. A shame,” said Theia.

“But it was fun! Let’s do it again!” Sanae added.

“I should put in more safety measures for the people who tend to get competitive...” After confirming that the three were okay, Clan took the final turn at a safe speed and crossed the finish line in first place. The others ended up having to drop out.

When the three groups met back up, the first to notice the scratch on Koutarou’s forehead was Maki.

“Satomi-kun, what’s with that injury?”

Koutarou had gotten hurt while she wasn’t there. That was a large problem for her. Instead of her usual kindly gaze, she had a pointed one as she stared at him.

“You don’t have to look so scary. I just crashed my kart and rubbed against the tires.”

Because the impact had been cushioned, a scratch was the worst injury he had. It could have been much worse if he had hit something else. Aside from that, nobody was injured. The racetrack was perfectly safe.

“I see. Then that’s fine.” Maki’s expression softened as she learned the truth. She hadn’t actually been directing her stern stare at Koutarou, but rather at herself for failing to see a risk for him, or perhaps at the managers of the karts. Fortunately, it was neither’s fault.

“Maki-san, here,” Harumi said with a smile and handed something to her.

“Ah...” Maki blushed as she received it. “Thank you, Sakuraba-san.”

“Hehehe, please put it on him.”

“Okay.”

Harumi had given Maki a bandage. She was prudent, so she’d sneaked it into her bag. That said, such considerations made her think she needed a bigger bag, but she couldn’t choose a cute one.

I’m still no match for her... Maki raised the white flag in her mind. She had decided to live a proper life, and her womanly charm was gradually growing, but she wasn’t at Harumi’s level yet. Sensing the gap between them in situations like this made Maki embarrassed.

“I know how you feel,” Sanae-san whispered to Maki. They were similar in that regard. Like Maki, she only had the bare minimum in her bag. That was in part because Sanae-chan had been the one to prepare it. Not much could fit inside the straw-hat-shaped backpack chosen for its cuteness.

“What are you talking about?” Koutarou looked at them in confusion. Women’s feelings were a mystery to him, and he didn’t try to read their thoughts with psychic powers.

Maki smiled at him in return. “We were talking about how we still have a long way to go as women.” She then plastered the bandage onto Koutarou’s forehead. If possible, she wanted to have one in her bag next time.

“I don’t think you have any problems with that.” Koutarou tilted his head. Maki had noticed his scratch and her expressions had changed wildly, which Koutarou found cute.

“Ahaha, I’m happy to hear you say that...but I want to become a woman like Sakuraba-san, someone who has bandages in her bag just in case.”

“Just having a cute bag with snacks and juice is no good!”

Maki and Sanae-san were putting up an unusually strong objection. It appeared they sensed danger and had no intention of relenting.

“But I should just have all that prepared myself so you girls can dress up cute.” As a former member of the baseball club, Koutarou had carried a small first aid kit with him in his sports bag. If he were to walk around with that, the two girls could keep their bags as they were. He didn’t need a cute bag in the first place, so it was a proper division of labor.

“That’s...”

“No, but...”

Maki and Sanae-san were shaken by his words. He did have a point, but something felt wrong. But they couldn’t really put it into words. As expected, it was Harumi who gave them a helping hand.

“You can’t do that, Satomi-kun. You ruin girls’ dreams with logical answers like that.”

“What, Sakuraba-senpai?”

“It’s not a matter of easy solutions. Isn’t that right, you two?”

“Yes, I yearn for that fuzzy feeling around everything...” said Maki.

“It would be sad if Koutarou-san was hurt and he had to get a Band-Aid from his own bag,” Sanae-san clarified.

“Is that really how it works?” Koutarou truly really didn’t get it.

Isn’t it the same no matter who’s carrying the first aid kit?

While he tilted his head for the umpteenth time, people started cheering. The event everyone had been waiting for had finally begun.

“Ah, there it is! The parade!” Koutarou was the tallest and the first to see it. A dazzling parade was on its way, and that was what everyone had come to see. Koutarou and the others had simply been talking while they waited for it to start.

The amusement park had a parade for its characters. It also had a night parade during the summer. Not only did it avoid the sunlight, but it was also lit up in beautiful lights and the night sky was colored by fireworks. It was a step more extravagant and fantastical than the one during the day. Fireworks went up above the castle in the center of the park as the parade arrived, and the people around them started to cheer. Koutarou and the others did the same.

“It really feels like summer, watching fireworks like this,” Koutarou observed as he looked at Harumi enjoying the fireworks. Suddenly, he recalled something. Two thousand years ago, he had gone out to the harvest festival. The person he had gone with had the same expression on her face as she watched the celebration.

“Is something the matter, Satomi-kun?” Noticing that Koutarou was looking at her with a smile, Harumi looked up at him in confusion. To her, it seemed like Koutarou was staring at something else.

“No, it’s nothing. You just looked so cute, I couldn’t help myself, Sakuraba-senpai.”

Lately, Koutarou had become comfortable speaking with Harumi like he did with others, in a way that was both praising and teasing. It was a special kind of speech he used only with those he was particularly close to. He was able to speak that way to her now because Harumi had been able to enter his heart.

“Jeez, you always dodge the question like that!” Harumi replied.

Koutarou had indeed dodged the question, but the way she puffed up her cheeks was without a doubt cute.

“More importantly, the first group has come out!” Sanae-san was more interested in the parade than Harumi and Koutarou’s back-and-forth. When she caught sight of the group in the lead, her excitement exploded, and she called over the others.

“What do you mean by ‘more importantly’?!” Perhaps because of the topic being dismissed, Harumi’s words came out unusually harsh. But in the end her expression was cute, so there was no force behind it.

“Uh...sorry.” Being introverted, Sanae-san’s excitement died down a little.

Koutarou looked at the two and grinned. “That’s not very mature, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“It’s your fault, Satomi-kun!”

“Ahahahaha.”

Seeing Koutarou laughing like it had nothing to do with him, Harumi fiercely objected. However, she was not good at expressing aggressive feelings, so it ended up being somewhat cute and funny instead. Koutarou looked at her and continued to smile.

I always admired things like this... Harumi thought to herself while continuing her objection. Laughing, getting angry, and fighting with the boy she loved over trivial things... Having become able to reach the dynamic she admired was bliss. Feelings also helped remove any aggression from her objection.

“So, who’s in the first group?” Maki called out to Sanae-san.

With that, Sanae got more excited and spoke rapidly. “It’s Mermaid Princess Lalaina! Do you think it’s a campaign to promote the movie coming out next month?!”

Sanae-san was the shyest and most introverted of the three Sanaes, but right now her eyes were sparkling and her breathing was ragged. She was acting almost like Sanae-chan. Maki looked at her and nodded. Sanae was Sanae.

“Oh, how wonderful...” After explaining to Maki, Sanae-san turned back to the parade. She was more passionate than usual.

Maki was curious about that and asked her, “Sanae-san, do you like the mermaid princess?”

“Huh?! Well, um...yes! I don’t really know where she comes from, though!” Sanae-san was shaken for some reason and couldn’t think of anything to say immediately. She then hurriedly nodded.

“The origin, huh? I think it comes from an old story from Denmark.” Harumi gave Sanae-san a hand by displaying her mermaid princess knowledge. Her anger from before had already subsided. Then again, she wasn’t the type to stew.

“I’m surprised you know, Sakuraba-senapi,” Koutarou noted.

She even smiled at Koutarou as usual. “I may not read as much now, but in the past I loved books, especially ones with princesses.”

“I see. Wahahaha!”

When she’d been weaker, Harumi had often spent time reading books. She’d read almost all the books the hospital library had to offer, and her knowledge about the mermaid princess came from that.

“By the way, there are mermaids in Folsaria,” Maki commented. Unlike Harumi, her knowledge came from real experience.

“Is that true, Aika-san?!”

“Yes, although they’re not as glamorous as that,” Maki answered with a wry smile. She seemed to be enjoying herself. To Koutarou, she looked like a mischievous child.

“What?! Well, I guess that makes sense. There would be normal mermaids too.”

In Folsaria, there were many species apart from humans. Koutarou had experience fighting against some of its hostile monsters too. However, not all were hostile toward people, and mermaids were one such friendly species.

“They make a living from fishing and underwater mining, among other things.”

“Oh, so they can get gems and ores and such from underwater caves rather than just fish.”

The mermaids in Folsaria didn’t typically live as glamorously as those in picture books or amusement parks. There might be a few who did, but most lived and worked normally, which would be about the same as royalty and civilians for humans. Koutarou was impressed by this concept of normal mermaids.

“I guess society wouldn’t work if there weren’t normal ones.” Harumi nodded profoundly.

“I didn’t want to know that.” Sanae-san, on the other hand, was a little disappointed. Her excitement had peaked with the appearance of Mermaid Princess Lalaina, so learning the truth was a bit of a shame.

“Haaah! I finally made it out!” came a cry from within her.

That was when Sanae-chan astral projected herself from Sanae’s body. She seemed to have been choking as she took deep breaths.

“Huh, I was wondering where you were! So, you were still inside your body...”

When it came to situations like this, Sanae-chan was always jumping up and down in excitement. Since she was previously nowhere to be seen, Koutarou had figured she was somewhere else.

“Her will was so strong that I couldn’t come out,” she explained.

“Huh, she loves the mermaid princess that much?” Koutarou said with a wry smile.

Two souls inhabited Sanae’s body, but they weren’t completely separate, as they shared a portion of it. So when the will of one was too strong, the controlling force was so powerful that the other couldn’t astral project. Sanae-san’s fixation with the mermaid princess had prompted that block, but once Sanae-san had calmed down a little, Sanae-chan was able to come out.

“No, she doesn’t really love the mermaid princess,” Sanae-chan replied.

“What?! Sanae-chan!” Sanae-san cried.

“Hm? What do you mean?” asked Koutarou.

“Well, it’s not like she hates her, but there’s something else she’s after.”

“Stop! Don’t say any more, Sanae-chan!” Sanae-san was panicking, reeling in her astral projection to chide Sanae-chan up close. It must have been an inconvenient topic for her, since she was desperate.

“I don’t mind, but then you have to ask him yourself. I won’t ask in your place, you know?” Sanae-chan calmly responded. Her words and stare seemed to have a hint of mischievousness.

“Ugh...”

It appeared Sanae-chan was right on the mark, which left Sanae-san shaken. However, Sanae-san had been so fixated on the matter that Sanae-chan hadn’t been able to come out for a moment, so she eventually started speaking with a heavy tone.

“Um, Koutarou-san, I want to ask you something...” she began, though she didn’t look at him. She was embarrassed and was looking away, blushing.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Um...” Sanae-san stopped for a good few seconds before continuing. “I want you to help me take a picture. I’m short...so...please let me ride on your shoulders...”

Sanae wanted to take a picture of the parade, but she wasn’t very tall, so if she tried to take one, it would only end up showing the crowd. But if she were to astral project and take the photograph, it would be viewed as a paranormal phenomenon. That was where Koutarou came in. He was tall, so if she sat on his shoulders, she would be able to get a wide shot without the crowd blocking the view.

“You could just casually ask me without reservation,” Koutarou noted, accepting her request and crouching down. Sanae-chan rode on his shoulders on a daily basis, so it was nothing special.

“Right? You’ll only lose out if you’re stubborn,” Sanae-chan added.

“Well, a girl has a lot of things to consider...” Sanae-san slowly got onto Koutarou’s shoulders with a blush.

After making sure that she was holding on tight, Koutarou stood back up. Sanae had gained some weight since having been admitted to the hospital, but she was still light. He had no problem carrying her.

“There they are.”

Just then, the sparkling carriage carrying the mermaid princess passed by. It had been designed to look like a horse-drawn carriage, but it was actually a motorized vehicle. The mermaid princess waved a hand and her long tail at the crowd. Koutarou adjusted his position to make it easier for Sanae-san to take the picture.

“Um, Koutarou-san, could you turn a little more to the right?”

“The right? But the mermaid princess is in front of you.”

“Like I said, she’s not after the mermaid princess,” Sanae-chan interjected.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but will this work?” Koutarou turned a little to the right, which put the carriage behind the mermaid princess’s right in front of her.

“Sha... Shark Knight-samaaaaaa!!!”

In that moment, Koutarou heard what sounded like a scream from atop his shoulders. It was without a doubt Sanae-san’s voice, but it was so different from how she normally behaved that Koutarou was taken aback.

“That’s Shark Knight, the one she’s after. He’s a villain who appears in Mermaid Princess Lalaina.”

“I see... I’m starting to get it.”

The Shark Knight was a young man wearing armor made from scales. Sanae-san had been so excited because she knew he would be in the parade. And she’d mustered her courage to ask Koutarou for a favor because she wanted to take a picture of him. The reason for that was clear: Shark Knight was handsome in both the story and the parade.

“Koutarou-san, can you slowly turn, please?” Sanae-san instructed him while excitedly snapping picture after picture. Considering how shy she normally was, this was unusually proactive of her.

“Sure, leave it to me.” Koutarou slowly turned to keep up with the carriage that Shark Knight was on. Now that it was easier for Sanae to take pictures, she didn’t stop. He continued to help her for a while. There were several other handsome characters in the parade, and because of that, the photography session continued for over ten minutes.

“I’m not one to say, but...you have a really childish side to you.” Once Sanae-san was done taking pictures, Sanae-chan gave her an exasperated look.

“You meanie, Sanae-chan! You know how I feel!”

“That’s the most childish part...”

It was complicated, but Sanae-san’s love for handsome characters was just a hobby. She had another man she loved. Or, more accurately, to her that person was a sparkling handsome man too. Like Sanae-chan, she could see other people’s spiritual energy and feelings, and appearance meant next to nothing to her in reality. But she was more particular when it came to the beauty of their spiritual energy and feelings, so the difference was minimal. She loved sparkling, beautiful souls.

“I can kind of understand that too.” Harumi happily smiled as she looked at the two.

“Huh? I didn’t think you would be interested in handsome people, Sakuraba-senpai.” Koutarou’s eyes opened wide. He hadn’t expected something like that to come from Harumi’s mouth.

“Hehehe, all kinds of things happened between me and Baron Demon, after all.”

“Oh yeah, that did happen.”

The hero show at the shopping street was always shorthanded. Koutarou and the others had helped them out before, resulting in Koutarou playing the villain Baron Demon. Meanwhile, Harumi had played the role of the young woman he captured with the intent to marry.

“But, senpai, the baron wasn’t handsome.”

“The premise is that he is.”

“Oh, so that’s why they put on makeup and accessories for me!”

“You’re talking about when Satomi-kun was in the hero show, right?” At the time, Maki had still been opposing Koutarou and the others, so she’d only heard about it later.

“I have a photo of it, so I will show you when we get back,” Harumi promised.

“I look forward to seeing Satomi-kun in his handsome role.”

“Just don’t expect too much,” Koutarou warned them.

“Don’t worry, you’re handsome enough as you are right now, Satomi-kun. Isn’t that right, Sanae-san?”

“Yes.”

After getting along with Koutarou and the others, Maki had learned that nothing good would come from holding herself back. By fixating on being their enemies, Maki had missed several fun events. That’s why Sanae-san thought that she should pursue her love of handsome men as much as she wanted, because a day would surely come when she could happily talk about today’s events.

The amusement park that they had all gone to had a large public bathhouse in it. After playing their hearts out, they went there to wash off the sweat. Its main selling point was that it was a natural hot spring from a thousand meters underground , and it was said to be kind to the skin, making it popular with the women. Having sniffed out that rumor, the girls in the group insisted that they go on their way back.

“Well, it’s not like we hate baths.” Kenji looked over at Koutarou as he washed his hair.

His friend was in the process of washing his body, so he was covered in bubbles. “I was surprised. I didn’t imagine this sort of thing would be next to an amusement park.”

“That’s just a preconceived notion. Apparently, you can get a hot spring anywhere in Japan if you dig a thousand meters down.”

“Seriously?!” Koutarou exclaimed in surprise, and Kenji calmly nodded.

“Yeah, if you dig that far.”

Famous hot spring areas near the surface were abundant, but since Japan had a lot of volcanoes, it was relatively easy to dig up a hot spring if one went deep enough. That said, there were always exceptions, so one should conduct a proper survey before actually digging.

“So if you have the money and the facility to attract customers, you can build a public bath next door and make bank,” Kenji explained.

The problem was having enough land and money to build one in the first place. It cost a lot just to secure a site and conduct an exploratory survey. If the amusement park didn’t make enough profit, the hot spring wouldn’t have been dug out.

“You could attract entire families on their way home,” said Koutarou.

“There’s a big hot spring in the Tokyo Bay area, right? That’s not next to any particular facilities, but it attracts visitors to the area.”

“So that’s how it works,” Koutarou replied in admiration as he washed his body. Once he was done, he thought of something and grinned. “By the way, Mackenzie, let’s have an endurance competition in the sauna.”

It was too dangerous for him to suggest it to anyone else, but Koutarou would always do these sorts of games with Kenji when they went to a place with a sauna.

However, Kenji looked exasperated. “You never grow up.”

“So are you doing it or not?”

“I accept your challenge.”

“Then let’s go.”

They made their way to the sauna. As they did, they could hear cheers from the women’s side. To ensure proper ventilation, there was a slight gap between the wall and ceiling, which was where the voices were coming from. It was impossible to tell what they were saying, but the chatter was coming from girls.

“It sounds like they’re having fun.” Koutarou glanced over the wall before looking right back at the sauna. That was his main interest right now.

“You don’t get how dangerous your situation is, do you?” Kenji asked him.

“It’s certainly dangerous. There’ve been a lot of problematic incidents lately.”

Koutarou shrugged as he opened the door to the sauna and the hot air from within blasted out. They went inside. Fortunately, no one else was there, and after sitting down, the pair continued their conversation.

“That’s not what I’m talking about. You’re planning on choosing one of those girls, right?”

“Well, yeah.” Koutarou had no intention of hiding that. Because they were so precious to him, he wanted to face the problem head-on, and believed that he would have to choose only one.

“If you do, what do you think will happen to the faction they belong to?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“If I were to put it simply... For example, the balance between Mastir and Schweiger will change. It will be a serious matter no matter who you choose.”

“Ah...”

That was something Koutarou hadn’t considered. The only thing on his mind had been the girls themselves, not the factions behind them. There was the Forthorthian royalty, the next head of the People of the Earth, and Folsaria’s archwizard. Many of the girls by Koutarou’s side were in important positions. Shizuka and Sanae were just about the only exceptions. Choosing any of them would have a big influence on each organization. And Kenji was pointing out that the balance of power would change.

“I don’t have any intention of—”

“You and the girls might not. But that’s not how the people around you will feel. Do you think you can take any strict action against your wife’s organization?”

Koutarou couldn’t answer. That was certainly something that could happen. His choice would change society. Even if he didn’t have any intention of showing favor, that’s what would happen. It was a painful problem.

“Then you’d have to choose either Kasagi-san or Higashihongan-san—”

“That’s not right. I could never choose one of them for a reason like that.”

“And there you have it. Do you really think it’s possible for you to choose just one of them? Without having any influence on society?”

“Ugh...”

“That’s why... Well, you’ll just have to think about it.”

In the end, Kenji chose not to finish his sentence. But Koutarou could imagine what he wanted to say. It was a difficult problem and not something that was easy to come to a conclusion about. He ended up with a lot of things to think about, and in the end, he won the endurance competition.

Public baths typically only allowed the human body to enter, but there were exceptions to everything, and thankfully this public bathhouse was one of them.

“I’m glad the people here are so understanding.”

“Yes, really. I’m glad I could get in with everyone.”

Yurika and Nana spoke with smiles. Much of Nana’s body had been replaced with artificial objects, and she was faced with the difficult problem of whether to remove her artificial limbs or enter the bath with them on. She didn’t want to be unfair, so she had asked the manager, who gave her a direct response.

“This store does not ask its customers what their bodies are made of. Please enjoy our hot spring to your heart’s content.”

The girls had cheered because Nana had shown up and told them that story.

“However...this hot spring seems to be a little alkaline, so please come over for some maintenance afterward,” Ruth said with a smile. Nana’s artificial limbs were waterproof, but it was better to be safe than sorry. So it was good to let her wear spares while the other parts were being cleaned.

“Thank you very much. I will come over later.”

“Yes.”

“I do feel some inconvenience with this body when taking a bath, but I’m glad the people here are so understanding, and to Yurika-chan and Ruth-san so that I can get in with everyone. Thank you very much.”

Nana thanked everyone. Her gratitude was overflowing from her smile; she was like an angel.

“Please call for me whenever you need me.”

“Yes, this is just a disciple’s duty.”

The other two didn’t think that helping someone with a handicap whenever they needed it was a burden. Ruth saw it as her duty as a knight, and Yurika believed that was how a magical girl of justice should act. This was perfectly natural to them.

“But... But...it must be hard when you’re in the military, right, Nana-san? You can’t ask any of the men.”

“Yes indeed. Even if they are comrades in arms that you can trust with your life, you must have some resistance to having a man help you bathe.”

“Yes, to be honest. I’m a little scared...and worried about all sorts of things...” Nana nodded. When she removed her artificial limbs, she was completely defenseless, so even if she trusted them, being around men was a little scary. Meanwhile, she was also scared that they would lose interest if they saw her true state. It was a confusing problem.

“That said, I couldn’t ask Princess Nefilforan.”

The solution was to ask a woman, but Forthorthe had few women in the army. A frontline force like the one Nana was in had particularly few, and the only woman she was close enough to to ask for help in the bath was Nefilforan. However, Nefilforan was royalty, and it was hard to ask someone of that status to help.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. You can ask me or Clan, so Nefi would help too,” Theia interjected.

Theia and Clan had helped Nana bathe several times before, so she didn’t think there was any need for Nana to be so reserved around Nefilforan, and Nana was certainly worth enough to behave that way. Surely, Nefilforan would love to help in the bath in order to get an invincible adjutant.

“Princess Theia and Princess Clan are special. I can’t really put it into words, though.”

“Well, it’s not like I don’t understand that. It’s true there is a difference between me and Clan versus Nefilforan,” Theia said with a smile. That feeling of difference might not last forever, but for the moment, it was the truth.

“Maybe it would be best to consult with Master.” Ruth wanted to talk about the matter with Koutarou and come up with a solution. It might end up looking like preferential treatment, but Nana was worth it.

“Satomi-san, huh? Maybe I should...” Nana had a different thought. She was thinking about asking Koutarou to help her whenever they were together. Nefilforan’s unit would often fight as Koutarou’s support, so whenever she needed to bathe on the battlefield, Koutarou was often nearby. And even if she couldn’t ask Nefilforan, she felt like she could ask him. Not to mention there was something else on her mind. She wanted to confirm if Koutarou, or perhaps men in general, would find her body, which had artificial parts, attractive.

“But... But...whenever I’m nearby, I will do something about it!”

“Thank you. You’re so reliable, Yurika-chan.”

“Ehehehehe, I need to act like a disciple from time to time too.”

Right now, she was with Yurika and had slowly started to become more reliable. Moreover, Nana had started to understand that being able to rely on others at times was something to be happy about.

“By the way, Ruth, we’ve started bathing together again, but...we did stop for a while. Why was that?”

“I recall that it stopped shortly before Your Highness came to Earth. If I am not mistaken, I believe you said that you wanted to be more independent. But after losing to Shizuka-sama, you slowly restarted.”

“Right, that was it; after losing to Shizuka, I realized that I shouldn’t be getting so full of myself.”

Just before coming to Earth, Theia had wanted to become independent and had reconsidered her relationship with Ruth. But after her defeat by Shizuka, her relationship with Koutarou and the others started improving and she came to the conclusion that friends were friends. If she would bathe with Sanae and the others, it was strange for her not to bathe with Ruth, so her relationship with Ruth returned to what it had been in the past.

“In the end, nothing good will come of being stubborn. Not for us, nor Nana, and probably not”—Theia looked over at the wall separating the men and women’s bath—“for him either.”

“He is a very serious person, so it will take time.”

Ruth wiped her face and smiled. “Hehe, so it will.”

The biggest shared problem between the girls was when Koutarou would resign himself to choosing one of them. However, seeing as he was so serious and reasonable, it would take a lot of time, like Ruth said. But to Theia, it seemed like he’d already reached a conclusion. After all, he was hesitating even now. In other words, he was looking for a way to make everyone happy, and he’d realized that choosing one wouldn’t lead to that.

After talking about what had happened over summer vacation, Theia talked about the surprise party at the beach. In order to finish discussing Nana’s bathing problem, it was a necessary story.

“I see... I’m sure it would be okay to leave everything to Layous-sama.”

When Nana had ended up covered in mud while preparing for the surprise party, she’d asked Koutarou to help her get into the bath. That decision had been the right one, and Elfaria had nodded. If she’d been in Nana’s position, she would have asked Koutarou too.

“But...what did Layous-sama do?”

Even if it was the right decision, Koutarou would have been troubled, so Elfaria had worried over the matter.

“He was apparently reluctant at first, but when she talked about how she was a little scared of other men and brought up the problems with security, he ended up agreeing.”

“I see... So Layous-sama...”

Koutarou had gone against his principles for Nana’s sake. That held a lot of meaning for Elfaria. Nana was older than Koutarou, and she had a severe handicap as well. While their handicaps were different, Nana was in more or less the same situation as Elfaria.

“He’s not very honest, but don’t you think it’s time for you to be honest with yourself, mother?”

Becoming honest, in other words, meant relying on those like Nana.

Even so...I want to give him the warmth that he lost...and in order to do that...

It wasn’t like she didn’t want to rely on him like Nana, but Elfaria felt there was something only she could accomplish.

“Nothing good will come of being stubborn, mother!” Theia continued, too impatient to wait for an answer.

Elfaria smiled at her daughter. “Even so...I am the only one who could be Layous-sama’s mother.”

Elfaria knew that while Koutarou never let it show, deep down, his mother’s death was still eating away at him. And she was the only one who could be his mother. That was what Koutarou marrying Theia would lead to. A big reason she wanted him to marry her daughter was that she believed she was the only one who could heal the wound hidden in his heart.

But Theia shook her head. “Then why not become both mother and wife?!” she boldly proclaimed while looking straight at Elfaria. She was serious.

“Huh...” Elfaria was left speechless. The idea of being mother and wife in one had never occurred to her. She’d only been thinking about Theia becoming a wife so that she could become a mother. “Hehe, I am envious of your ability to entertain such a reckless idea, Theia.” Elfaria shook her head. Theia was only able to have such ideas because of her youth.

“Mother.” That was probably the first time Theia had ever directed such a stern expression toward her elder.

“In the past, Empress Alaia also held herself back and stepped aside due to being logical. Will you do the same?” Theia knew how long a time and distance Alaia had traversed to meet Koutarou once more. She couldn’t let Elfaria do the same thing. But since she didn’t have the protection of Signaltin, Elfaria only had one chance.

“You’ve become so strong and kind, Theia.” Elfaria knew why her daughter looked so strict. She cared about her that much, and she wasn’t satisfied being the only one who was happy. There had to be another way. That was the deep and proud love of a daughter who wanted her mother to be happy.

“I would have preferred to be a child forever, but since mother is being childishly stubborn, I have no other choice.”

“Phew...”

With Theia’s powerful look on her, Elfaria finally resigned herself. She exhaled and smiled brightly, as if she’d gotten over something.

“You’re right, Theia. As an adult, perhaps there are times when we need to be selfish like a child...”

Children were selfish. But those who were trying to be grown-up would hold it in. And adults needed to be able to reasonably manage both sides of themselves depending on the time and place. It wasn’t healthy for somebody to either only do whatever they pleased or always hold it in. And most of all, the knight in blue armor whom Elfaria trusted more than anyone wouldn’t allow such an unhealthy lifestyle. So she decided to stop being stubborn.

“Yes, please do.” Theia happily smiled and nodded. This meant another rival joining the battle, so it might have been a negative for her, but she had no regrets. When climbing a mountain, blowing it up to make it easier to climb was foolish. If one loves the mountain, one must climb foolishly.