Spy Classroom - Volume SS1 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Bridal Royale

The night they discovered that Klaus was married, the girls began making their preparations.

They were going to have themselves a bridal royale.

There were a lot of perks to being Klaus’s bride. There was the fact they got to accompany him on missions, there were the luxurious dinners that often came with that, and for anyone who had feelings for him, the title had value in and of itself.

The girls had started by discussing the question “Who is the bride?” but when turning to the past failed to offer them any likely candidates, they ultimately came to the conclusion “In that case, what if we just picked a new one?” Out of all their strange ideas, this had to be one of the strangest.

When they went to share their decision with Klaus, he heaved a long-suffering sigh. “I know it’s only on paper, but still, you’re seriously planning on going ahead and just choosing my wife for me? Do I get a say in all this?”

The girls were shocked. “We never even considered that part!”

Klaus shook his head in exasperation, but eventually, he said, “Well, I guess it’ll make for good training,” and gave them the go-ahead.

He laid out the rules.

The battle would take place at 1 PM sharp the next day, and everyone who wanted to take part had until fifteen minutes before the fight began to come to the main hall and announce that they were participating. Once the combatants were locked in, they would disperse, and whoever was the last person standing after they’d made everyone else admit defeat would win. The use of guns, grenades, and any other weapons that could cause serious bodily harm was forbidden.

It was basically a battle royale version of their normal training exercise.

Five of the girls signed up immediately.

There was “Flower Garden” Lily. “I’ll be expecting you to take me out to a fancy dinner for our anniversary, Teach!”

There was “Daughter Dearest” Grete. “Boss… It may be in name alone, but the title of bride will be mine…”

There was “Fool” Erna. “I want to spend time together with Teach… and I’m not backing down on that!”

There was “Dreamspeaker” Thea. “You want me, don’t you? If you let me come on your missions, I’m all yours.”

And there was “Forgetter” Annette. “I’ve got a lovely secret objective, yo!”

The remaining three—“Pandemonium” Sybilla, “Glint” Monika, and “Meadow” Sara—decided not to join in for the time being.

With that, the battle to become Klaus’s bride began.

The question was, who would emerge victorious?

The night before the battle, Sybilla lay on her bed and tore the whole situation a new one.

Okay, seriously! What’s even goin’ on here?!

She’d gotten too caught up in the others’ enthusiasm to say anything, but now, she was coming back to her senses.

This ain’t even about espionage anymore! I mean, what the hell is a “bridal royale”?! I just kinda accepted it at the time, but things went off the rails the minute Grete tried to submit a fake marriage registration!

It was a perfectly legitimate complaint. However, the wheels were already in motion. She’d chosen not to participate, so it didn’t actually concern her anymore, but still.

Eh, whoever ends up becomin’ his bride, it’s not like it’s my problem…

She decided to just go to sleep and closed her eyes. Before she could drift off, though, she was interrupted by a knock on her door.

“Who is it?” she asked, to which she received a dignified, “It’s me.”

It was Thea who opened Sybilla’s door clad in a negligee. Sybilla had no desire to let anyone into her room wearing an outfit that suggestively transparent, woman or otherwise. “Go away,” she said succinctly.

“I want to have a strategy meeting,” Thea replied as she barged in anyway. “Tell me, Sybilla, are you really planning on sitting tomorrow’s battle out?”

“Yup. That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

“Then in that case, I have just one thing to say.” Thea sat down on Sybilla’s bed. “Join in tomorrow. For me.”

Sybilla sighed. “Yeah, I figured one or two of you would come try this.”

“With Monika abstaining, Lily is the odds-on favorite. Grete is no good in a fight, Annette’s effectiveness is curtailed dramatically without her explosives, and with a little bit of psychological warfare, I can defeat Erna, as well.”

“You sure ’bout that? Lily’s an idiot, so I’d say Annette’s the more dangerous of the two.”

“You might have a point there. But she and Lily can be dealt with in much the same manner.” Thea smiled and stroked Sybilla’s thigh. “We just need to clean them out of every weapon they have.”

“………”

“I don’t have any way to overcome Lily’s poison or Annette’s inventions. But with your athletic physique and talent for theft, it would be a different story. As things stand, you’re the strongest piece on the board.”

Thea’s hand traveled intimately over Sybilla’s body, and Sybilla swatted it away.

This was the way Thea fought—through negotiation. She preferred to get powerful people on her side before the battle even began.

“Just for the record, my right arm’s still outta commission,” Sybilla reminded her. She’d taken a bad hit during the bioweapon retrieval mission.

However, Thea didn’t back down. “For you, one arm will be plenty.”

Sybilla scratched the back of her head. “Honestly… I’d’ve expected you to be backin’ up Grete here. Y’know, what with all that romance advice you give her.”

“You’re not wrong, and it certainly stings a little.” Thea frowned apologetically. “But the thing is, I have a dream, too, and I don’t intend to give up on it. I want to inherit Inferno’s will and protect this nation as a spy. Meanwhile, I’ll continue supporting Grete in her romantic endeavors—and that’s the answer I’ve arrived at.”

There was no hesitation in Thea’s voice.

Her resolution was firm. There was something stirring about how unembarrassed she was about her actions.

“Sybilla, what I’m prepared to offer you is money. Go ahead and name your price.”

“………”

It wasn’t a bad offer.

Money was one of the main things Sybilla wanted. She’d received a number of completion bonuses for her spy work, and she’d donated them in their entirety to the orphanage she used to live at. Not a day went by where she didn’t remember her childhood memories of starving alongside her little brother and sister.

Thea had figured all that out—as well as the fact that Sybilla had no real reason to turn her down.

“All right, I’m in.” Sybilla nodded. “You want me on your team, you got it.”

“I look forward to working with you. I promise, you won’t regret this.”

Thea extended her hand, and Sybilla shook it.

That marked the formation of a team—“Pandemonium” Sybilla and “Dreamspeaker” Thea.

However, they weren’t the only group making an alliance in secret.

Sara stared blankly at the ceiling as she soaked in the bath.

Down beneath the ground floor, Heat Haze Palace was equipped with a highly modern gas-powered communal bath. It was big enough to fit all the girls at once, but Grete and Monika didn’t like bathing with others, so they all kind of just used it whenever.

At the moment, Sara didn’t see anyone else in the bath, so she was enjoying a long, leisurely soak on her own.

She was one of the other people who’d decided not to participate.

As for why not, she simply didn’t have a strong reason for wanting to become the bride.

…There are loads of people who’d be better qualified for the role than me.

When it came to being mature and womanly, Thea fit the bill, and Monika was better as a backup spy. And on a sentimental level, she wanted Grete to get picked.

The fact of the matter was, Sara wasn’t worthy of becoming Klaus’s bride.

It would have been impertinent of her to even participate. Klaus had told her to become more assertive, but there was no way he wanted her to become so self-assured she couldn’t read a room.

So why won’t this gloomy feeling go away…?

The moment the sigh left her lungs, a series of ripples started spreading across the water’s surface. She barely even had time to be surprised before something came splashing up beside her.

“That’s enough submerging for now, yo!”

“What? Miss Annette?”

It was, in fact, Annette. Apparently, she had been underwater that whole time. Sara hadn’t noticed her at all.

Annette seemed unsurprisingly dizzy, and she staggered to her feet. Her hair wasn’t tied back, so it sagged down and clung soggily to her face. “Oh, hey!” she cried as she finally registered that Sara was there. “Sis, perfect timing! We’ve got business to discuss, yo.”

“You should drink some water first. Here, I’ll go get you some.”

“Wanna team up with me?”

Sara blinked in surprise at the sudden request. “Um, are you asking me to join the bridal royale?”

“Yeah, that’s right. C’mon, let’s pound the others into a pulp together.”

Her words rang with violence, but underneath it all, she was saying that she needed Sara’s help. Sara had no particular reason to refuse the request, but she did have one question. “Why do you want to become the bride, Miss Annette?”

“Hm?”

“I can figure out what everyone else’s reason is, but you’re the only one I don’t quite follow…”

Sara was pretty close with Annette, but that wasn’t to say she understood everything that was going on in her teammate’s head. What was it she was hiding behind those innocent eyes of hers?

“My goal”—Annette smiled sweetly—“is confidential, yo.”

“Th-that’s pretty cute… Wait, no, I’m not going to let you fool me! I’d really like you to tell me.”

“I refuse. But the point is, I want you to join in.”

After delivering her directive, Annette began spinning in place. Sara was confused until she realized that Annette was trying to dry her hair. “This is the fastest way to do it, yo,” Annette explained.

Sara still wasn’t satisfied, but she nodded anyway. “Oh, I suppose.”

She had a habit of pampering Annette.

With that, another team was made—“Forgetter” Annette and “Meadow” Sara.

The myriad plots and schemes continued swirling together as the night before the battle wore on.

On the day of the battle, the girls gathered in the main hall at half past noon and began stretching and pumping themselves up for the coming showdown. The air was thick with a different sort of tension than their usual training carried.

Sybilla’s and Sara’s unexpected changes of heart earned them some suspicious glances. Everyone spent the next little while trying to figure out who they’d made alliances with, but Sybilla and Sara kept their poker faces strong.

“I am kind of relieved,” Erna said from her seat on the couch right before the cutoff. “It’s a good thing Big Sis Monika isn’t participating. It would have been scary if someone managed to buy her help.”

Monika was nowhere to be seen in the hall. By the look of it, she really wasn’t interested in becoming Klaus’s bride.

The seven of them were the only ones there.

“To be honest, I doubt she even can be bought,” Thea replied.

Lily and Grete nodded in agreement.

The rest of the girls all regarded Monika’s talents with a sort of reverence. Within the group of washouts that made up Lamplight, her skills were clearly a cut above everyone else’s. Her abstention was a welcome turn of events.

Then, the grandfather clock’s hand turned to mark 12:45.

Lily nodded again. “Looks like we hit the cutoff. Now, the entrant list is locked—”

The sound of a door clattering open cut her off.

Every head in the room turned, and they were greeted by a mane of fluttering cerulean hair. Its owner’s mouth curled into an arrogant grin.

“What’s up, shitters? Say hello to your new frontrunner.”

As Monika introduced herself, she strolled on in.

““““WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!””””

Several of the girls shuddered.

Monika gave them a little wave as she basked in the chaos she’d just caused. “It seemed like it could be interesting, so I figured I’d join in, too. Don’t worry, I’ll play with a handicap. I’ll do this whole thing barehanded. It’s not like I need weapons to beat you chumps.”

The unexpected announcement sent a stir through the team.

Lily was shocked. I never thought Monika would actually join in. She wasn’t kidding about being the frontrunner…

Tears welled up Sara’s eyes. I can’t. I can’t! There’s no way I can beat herrrrr…

Erna pumped herself up. This is bad. But even so, I can’t afford to lose.

Thea calmly analyzed the situation. This is fine. If I coordinate with Sybilla and lure Monika into hand-to-hand combat—

Sybilla started sweating. This is gonna be rough. I mean, goin’ up against Monika with an injury like this?

Suddenly, Annette piped up. “Yo, Sis, I wonder what’d happen if I pulled up your shirt.”

Monika’s sudden intrusion had thrown all the other participants for a loop.

All their plans had been predicated on Monika not being there. With that assumption gone, it was impossible to anticipate what shape the battle would take.

Monika smiled sadistically. “And plus, I’ve got a looooot of built-up stress after you all kept getting in my way during the Impossible Mission. I hope you’re ready for payback. Lily and Sybilla, I’m looking at you two.”

The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

“…I have an idea I’d like to propose, everyone.” Grete modestly raised her hand.

Everyone turned and looked to see what she had to say.

“I suggest that as soon as the battle begins, we all launch a concentrated attack on Monika.”

“““““““………………………………………”””””””

Grete wasn’t pulling her punches today.

One minute in: “Glint” Monika has been eliminated.

“GRETEEEEEE! I’LL GET YOU FOR THIS!” Monika bellowed from where she lay tied up from head to toe in the main hall, but nobody lent her an ear. Monika or not, she’d still been outnumbered seven to one. Between that and the fact she was empty-handed, she hadn’t stood a chance.

The girls exchanged a round of satisfied nods, then scattered across Heat Haze Palace and got ready for round two.

Now, it was time for the battle to begin in earnest.

Immediately after the match began, Sara headed down the back hallway on the first floor and joined up with Annette.

At the moment, Sara wasn’t carrying any actual weapons. All she had was her puppy Johnny tucked under her hat and her hawk Bernard perched on her shoulder. Annette had instructed her to come unarmed.

In contrast, Annette was armed to the teeth, and her skirt was bulging to the point of breaking.

“So, um, Miss Annette?” Sara asked. “What exactly is it you want me to do?”

In the end, Annette had never actually shared any sort of definite plan with her. As a matter of fact, she still didn’t know why Annette had even recruited her. What was she going to have Sara do to seize control of the battle?

“Yo, Sis!” Annette hopped happily. “First off, c’mon into my room.”

They were right beside a door, and Annette opened it up to reveal her bedroom. Mountains of junk were piled up all around, and the smell of fuel permeated the air.

It wasn’t the most relaxing of environments, but Sara replied, “Okay,” and went in.

Annette stood in front of her and puffed herself up with pride. “Now, I want you to sit in that hammock there.”

“You got it.” Sara sat down on the hammock-shaped swath of cloth hanging in the middle of the room.

“Here’s some warm milk and chocolate for you.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“But I’m collecting the toys that come with the chocolate, so you can’t keep it.”

“Ha-ha. Well, I hope this one has something nice inside.”

“That’s all.”

“Huh?”

Having concluded her business there, Annette left the room.

Sara had been left behind. She tried to follow after Annette, but with both her hands now full, she couldn’t figure out how to get out of the hammock.

She heard Annette call back from the other side of the door. “Your job is to hide in there, Sis. Otherwise, you’d get in my way.”

“Huuuuuuuuh?!” Sara cried.

Apparently, Annette just wanted her to take it easy. The fact that she’d pressed Sara into joining made less sense than ever.

As Sara’s confusion began really setting in, she heard another voice out in the hall. Annette had specifically told her to hide, so she couldn’t afford to make a sound. Sara went silent and strained her ears to figure out what was going on outside.

The voice rang with determination. “What a perfect opportunity… Now, at long last, I can finally get my revenge…!”

“Yo, uh,” Annette said, playing dumb, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’ve had it up to here with you. You and me are going to settle this, Annette!”

Out in front of the door, the battle between Erna and Annette was about to begin.

Up on the Heat Haze Palace roof…

Sybilla and Thea had joined up, and now, they were standing atop the roof with their ears strained. They could hear violent noises from down below. The battle had already started.

Sybilla smiled. “Sounds like we’re all good to go after our target of choice.”

“Indeed we are,” Thea replied with a nod. “However, defeating her inside the manor will be tricky. And she knows it, so she won’t be coming out anytime soon. We’ll have to time it perfectly and take her down before she knows what hit her. And the best time to do that—”

Thea clicked her heel.

“—is right now.”

On her signal, Sybilla leaped off the roof.

Then, before she could fall too far, she kicked open a second-floor window and dove through it into the manor. Without pausing for so much as a moment, she assaulted the girl strolling unconcernedly down the hallway.

“Huh?” Her target was Lily.

Lily tried to flee from Sybilla’s attack, but Sybilla was faster. Thanks to her incredible athleticism, she was able to run along the wall, close in on Lily in the blink of an eye, and send her flying.

Lily tried to use the momentum from the hit to put some space between herself and Sybilla, but her escape route was already blocked.

“Splendid work, Sybilla.”

Thea, who’d just gracefully descended to the second floor, smiled.

She and Sybilla positioned themselves so they were boxing Lily in from both sides.

“R-rgh…” Lily bit her lip and began panicking. “Th-that’s not fair, ganging up on me two-on-one like that! Do you people have no hearts?”

Sybilla sighed. “Never thought I’d hear you accuse someone of not playin’ fair.”

“Now, are you ready to surrender?” Thea confidently brandished a brush. “Or is some torture in order?”

Lily inched backward toward the window and reached into her shirt. “Y-you might think you’ve got me, but I still have a few tricks up my—”

“Just so you know, if you’re talkin’ about your poison gas,” Sybilla said, showing Lily the item resting in her palm, “I just nicked it.”

“Hweh?”

Sybilla was holding a device designed for emitting poison gas. That was Lily’s favorite trick—spraying poison gas that she and she alone was immune to. If she’d been able to set that off inside the manor, she would have been all but invincible.

“I’m sorry, Lily, but you lost.” Thea smiled. “Your poison gas is so powerful, it hardly even seemed fair. But now that we’ve stolen it, you can be beaten like anyone else.”

“D-drat! I screwed up, big-time!”

“Hm-hm, and now it’s tickling time.” Thea gave her brush a dainty shake. “I should warn you, my torture can be quite addictive. Your body will go flush and begin throbbing late into the night, and eventually, you’ll come to my room. ‘Please,’ you’ll say, ‘can you do it again?’ begging me on your hands and—”

“What exactly are you planning on doing to me with that brush?!”

Lily screamed, but she didn’t actually try to put up a fight. Any moment now, she would concede her defeat.

It was oddly sportsmanlike of her—in fact, it was too sportsmanlike.

Sybilla was struck by a sense of unease. Something felt off. But what? Then, she realized—it was Lily’s chest. Now that she took a better look, something about Lily’s ample bust seemed almost artificial.

She immediately leaped backward. “Thea—it’s a trap!”

However, her accomplice failed to process what was going on. All Thea was able to do was let out a delayed, “Huh?”

The next moment, a pair of voices echoed through the hallway.

“I’m code name Daughter Dearest—now, let’s fill this time with laughter and tears.”

“I’m code name Flower Garden—and it’s time to bloom out of control.”

The first change was with Lily—or rather, the person they’d assumed was Lily. The mask covering her face came off, revealing Grete’s face beneath. And the second change took place immediately thereafter, when the real Lily charged into the hallway. She turned toward Thea and Sybilla and blasted them with poison gas.

Sybilla was able to dodge the gas, but she wasn’t able to save her teammate.

Soon, Thea’s body began tilting to the side. Right before she collapsed, Lily gently caught her.

Sybilla clicked her tongue.

So we weren’t the only ones who teamed up!

Still, it was an odd pairing. To think that “Daughter Dearest” Grete and “Flower Garden” Lily would ever join forces!

Eventually, the poison gas dissipated from the hallway. Grete must have taken the antidote ahead of time, as she seemed perfectly unaffected.

“Thea!” Sybilla shouted as she stepped backward. “Don’t surrender! No matter what they do to you, just stick through it! I’ll save you, I promise!”

For now, she had no choice but to abandon her teammate and beat a tactical retreat.

Even though Thea had been captured, the rule was that she wasn’t out of the competition until she said, “I surrender.” As long as she had the willpower a spy needed to resist torture, Sybilla would be able to get her hands on the antidote and rescue her.

All she needed to do was hold out for five minutes, and they had a good shot, but—

Lily caressed the back of Thea’s neck with the brush. “Coochie-coochie-coo!”

“I SURRENDER!” Thea wailed with tears in her eyes.

“What the hell?!” Sybilla yelped.

She had lasted all of half a second.

Now that Thea had given up, Grete ignored her and came running after Sybilla. “…I won’t let you get away.”

Sybilla could take her in a fight, but given the situation, she had no choice but to flee.

Thirteen minutes in: “Dreamspeaker” Thea has been eliminated.

After narrowly escaping the hammock, Sara peeked out the door to see what was going on outside.

Out in the hallway, the fierce battle between Annette and Erna was beginning.

Annette led off by doing a spin.

“I’m code name Forgetter—and it’s time to put it all together, yo.”

Her skirt gently flapped upward, and a quintet of model planes tumbled out from within. Right before they crashed into the ground, their propellors violently whirred into motion, and they soared straight at Erna.

Erna dodged them by the skin of her teeth.

There was no way she could have tracked them with her eyes. It was her superhuman intuition that had picked up on the impending danger.

She wove between the model planes with steps as nimble as a dancer’s.

“I HOPE YOU’RE READY, ANNETTE!”

Erna closed in on her opponent and pulled out a wooden knife.

Annette withdrew a rod-shaped instrument from inside her skirt. “This here’s my magic wand, yo,” she declared as she brandished it, but it was clearly an oversized stun gun. She blocked Erna’s attack.

However, Erna’s charge had been so forceful that Annette got pushed back a step.

Things had played out just like Erna foresaw.

Her lips parted ever so slightly.

“I’m code name Fool—and it’s time to kill with everything.”

An ominous noise rang out.

There was a set of stairs leading up to the second floor that sat right across from Annette’s room. It was far narrower and steeper than the staircase over in the foyer, and a sound like a string snapping came from atop it.

That was when the metal balls appeared.

Erna must have laid a trap, as a huge number of metal balls the size of fists came raining down the stairs.

The attack was so tremendous, it was like looking at a landslide. Erna’s ability to sense misfortune allowed her to dodge it by the narrowest of margins, but she was the only one.

Annette whipped out an umbrella-shaped contraption and used it to shield herself. Her lips were pursed tight. She just barely managed to defend herself, but by the time the balls finished rolling, her umbrella was in tatters.

Sara watched the brutal exchange through the crack in the door with shock in her eyes.

W-wow… Miss Erna is amazing…!

She never would’ve guessed that Erna would be winning. Annette was being forced to fight without her grenades, but even in light of that, it was still an impressive feat.

“Heh. This is only a fraction of what I can do once I get serious.” Erna laid a hand proudly atop her chest. “All right, Annette. You should hurry up and surrender. I don’t want to hurt you too badly.”

“……………………………”

After blocking Erna’s metal ball attack, Annette plopped herself down against the wall. She looked almost bored. After staring wordlessly at her destroyed umbrella, she snapped back to her feet and turned her gaze toward Erna. “I’m curious, yo. Why do you want to become the bride?”

“Yeep?” Erna’s eyes went wide in surprise at the unexpected query. She immediately began fidgeting. “Th-that’s, uh… I—I have my reasons… The question is, why do you?”

“I don’t care one bit about being the bride, yo. No matter who he marries, Bro’ll always be mine.”

“Huh? But then, why did you join in at all?”

“’Cause I want Sara to become the bride.”

“Huh?” Erna and Sara gasped in unison.

Sara continued watching Annette through the crack in the door, but because of the angle, she couldn’t see her expression.

“This is me paying her back for everything she always does for me. Sara’s a bit thick when it comes to her own feelings, so it’s on me to give her a little push,” Annette said. “I misjudged you, yo. She’s done so much for you, too, and here you are ignoring her and trying to become the bride yourself.”

Erna flinched. “I—I…”

Of all the tools Annette had at her disposal, psychological warfare was one of the last ones Sara expected her to use.

Sh-she doesn’t really mean what she’s saying, does she?

She was probably just lying through her teeth to throw Erna off her game. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Annette had said something crazy and outlandish.

Whatever the case, though, Erna definitely seemed flustered.

“Y-you’re right, Big Sis Sara really has—”

“You’re wide open, yo.”

“You’re the woooooooorst!”

Annette didn’t waste a second before charging in with her stun gun. Erna shrieked and tried to flee up the stairs, but Annette caught her by the leg. She raised her stun gun aloft to deal the coup de grace—

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH! OUTTA MY WAAAAAY!”

—and at that very moment, an intruder came bursting in.

Sybilla hadn’t noticed a thing.

If she’d thought about her situation rationally, she would have realized that Thea’s defeat had removed her whole reason for participating, but she had more pressing things to consider at the moment. She frantically tried to put some distance between herself and Lily.

The biggest thing that made poison gas tricky to deal with was the fact that it was invisible. It was impossible to tell just how much of it a given hallway was full of. Getting out of there ASAP had been the smart move.

She ran at full speed to the far end of the second floor, then hurled herself down the stairs to the ground level.

“Yeep?” “Huh?”

For whatever reason, though, Erna was trying to run up the stairs at the exact same time.

All of Erna’s attention had been focused on Annette, so she hadn’t picked up on the new source of misfortune. As a matter of fact, she may have even been subconsciously drawn to it.

As a result, the three of them ran straight into one another.

Not only did Erna crash into Sybilla, but she dragged Annette in, too, and it ended in a huge pileup.

“Yeeeeeeep!” “Ahhhhh!” “Oho?”

All three of them lost their balance in midair and went tumbling down the stairs. It had all happened so quickly that none of them had a chance to properly catch themselves.

That opening was exactly what Grete had been plotting to create.

“Lily,” Grete said as she looked down at her teammates from the second floor. “Go for it.”

“Bombs away!”

Lily hurled her poison gas emitter at her three opponents.

Sybilla managed to dodge yet again, but Erna and Annette weren’t so lucky. For them, the problem was that they were each grabbing at each other to make sure the other one couldn’t get away. Once the two mutual saboteurs breathed in the gas, they crumpled onto the floor.

“Ooh, a big catch,” Lily said, sounding mighty pleased with herself after felling her prey. She began tickling the bottoms of Erna’s and Annette’s feet with her brush.

“I surrender!” “Yo, I give up,” the two of them said with tears in their eyes.

“…So, we failed to finish off Sybilla.”

Grete shot a cold look over at the courtyard.

As she found herself forced to flee yet again, Sybilla figured out where it was that she and Thea had screwed up.

They’d been far too lax. There was someone they should’ve been keeping an eye on from the moment they figured out how to instantly eliminate Monika.

As an aside, the whole bridal mess took place just before the Corpse mission, which was precisely when Grete’s burgeoning love for Klaus was causing her abilities to improve at a blistering clip. At that point, the others still thought of Grete as being just “a girl who was resourceful and good at disguises, but with no stamina” and nothing more.

Now, though, Sybilla finally started revising those preconceived notions of hers.

So this is what that punk Grete looks like when she gets serious!!

Now that an opportunity to become Klaus’s bride was on the line, her talent was bursting at the seams. Grete had ascended to her ultimate form.

Fifteen minutes in: “Forgetter” Annette has been eliminated.

Fifteen minutes in: “Fool” Erna has been eliminated.

Monika, Thea, Annette, and Erna had all been eliminated off the back of Grete’s abilities. She was mowing down the competition. However, there a different girl altogether who was feeling more self-assured than ever.

“Whew. I’m so talented, it’s almost scary. I guess I’m just the type who gets her big breakthroughs after the mission is over.”

Namely, Lily.

Annette and Erna had already surrendered, but she tickled their feet in turns all the same as she crowed victoriously. The two of them couldn’t flee, and there was something really quite fun about watching tears well up in their eyes as they flapped their legs about. All she was having to do was follow Grete’s instructions, and her opponents were dropping like flies.

By now, Sybilla and Sara were the only competition they had left.

“I gotta say, Grete… This is really nice.” Lily smiled peacefully as she addressed her accomplice. “It’s like, I feel confident. I know we promised to wait until it was down to just you and me, then disband the alliance and duke it out, but honestly, I’m good. You can be the bride.”

Grete’s eyes went wide. “Lily…”

“I’m cheering for your love to work out, y’know? I want you to get those chances to flirt with Teach. I mean, I’m not gonna lie, losing out on those fancy dinners stings a bit.” She gave Grete a nod, like she was making a small vow of comradery. “But if it means you get to be happy, then it’s a price I’m willing to pay.”

The smile she wore truly was a gentle one.

Midway through her speech, Erna interrupted to say, “Don’t let her fool you. Big Sis Lily is definitely going to betray you,” but Lily mercilessly ran the brush over the soles of her feet. “YEEEEP!” Erna cried as she twitched and fell on her face.

As Grete stood there overcome with emotion, Lily squeezed her hands and went on. “I’ll go deal with the other two. Don’t worry; once I tell them that we’re doing it to support your love, I’m sure they’ll hand you the win, too.”

The way Lily saw it, the last two members should be easy enough to get through to.

Sara and Sybilla hadn’t had any interest in becoming the bride in the first place. Plus, they both had big hearts. If Lily made her case passionately enough, she could get them to back down.

Lily let go of Grete’s hands. “All righty, I’m off,” she said as she started walking away.

“…Please, hold on a moment.” However, Grete called out to stop her.

“Hm?”

“I’m deeply grateful for your kindness, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to persuade them like that.”

Grete’s voice rang with surety.

When Lily tilted her head in confusion, Grete anxiously crossed her hands in front of her chest. “Lily,” she asked, “are you really sure that Sybilla and Sara don’t harbor any special feelings toward the boss?”

“Huh…?”

“Are you completely and utterly certain…?”

Lily had no response to that.

Did Sybilla and Sara have romantic feelings for Klaus? She’d never seen any signs that they did. However, she couldn’t deny it flat-out. Grete’s question brought something to mind—the yet-anonymous original bride.

Sybilla and Sara had once been two of their prime suspects, and in the end, the true bride had never come forward. She’d kept the truth locked away in her heart.

Grete went on, sounding mighty serious. “If it turns out that they are smitten with him, then belittling those feelings just because I had them ‘first’ would be arrogant, cruel, and most of all, unfair of me.” She shook her head. “It’s something I worry about. The fact is those two are too kind for their own good…”

Sara was out in the courtyard.

All she’d done after escaping through Annette’s window was totter aimlessly. Her mind was empty. Annette was the whole reason she’d joined in, but now, she was eliminated.

She cradled her hawk Bernard in her arms and sighed.

Did Miss Annette mean what she said back there…?

She was thinking of what Annette had told Erna.

“Sara’s a bit thick when it comes to her own feelings.”

Was she being serious? Or had she just been lying to throw Erna off her game?

Sara was having trouble digesting Annette’s claim. It felt like the words had gotten stuck somewhere deep inside her.

Suddenly, she heard Lily humming to herself from inside the manor.

“Hee-hee-hee! ♪ Lily, you wonderful little schemer, you! I’ve successfully won Grete’s trust. It’s not gonna feel great, but all I have to do now is eliminate the others, then quietly stab Grete in the back… Heh-heh, it’s the perfect plan. Now, I’ll have a chance to give Teach the present I—AHHHHH! There’s lightning coming from the flooooor!”

Midway through her pleased monologue, she screamed.

Sara hurried over to the hallway and spotted Lily passed out and convulsing.

“Wait, she took herself out…?”

Karma was a harsh mistress.

By the look of it, Lily had stepped on one of Annette’s traps.

The battle wasn’t over yet, so Sara rushed down the hallway and snapped some handcuffs around the unconscious girl’s wrists. There was no way Lily was coming back from that, so Sara decided to circle back later and get her to say “I surrender” once she did.

After completing her work, Sara let out another sigh.

I didn’t even want to win, and yet…

Somehow, she’d accidentally made it to the final three.

Perhaps she should just surrender now. She’d considered doing so countless times already, but she’d never managed to bring herself to pull the trigger.

“I don’t understand why, and I’m the one doing it…”

As the murmur left her lips, she heard a pair of footsteps behind her.

“Oh hey, Sara, you beat Lily?”

It was Sybilla. She looked down at Lily’s prone body in surprise.

“Oh, no,” Sara replied with a shake of the head. “I think Miss Lily beat herself.”

“The hell? Eh, I guess that’s Lily for ya.”

“It really is, isn’t it?”

The two of them shared a carefree laugh.

Thankfully, Sybilla didn’t seem particularly hostile, so Sara didn’t have to worry about things turning violent. Just like her, Sybilla had joined the fray to help out someone who had since been knocked out of contention.

Sybilla leaned against the window and gave Sara a cheerful grin. “Kinda weird, you and me makin’ it through, huh?”

“You can say that again…”

It was ironic that the two least motivated people of all had survived for so long.

Sara leaned against the wall beside Sybilla and glanced at her teammate’s face. Sybilla was staring at the ceiling as though deep in thought. The sun hung high in the sky, casting her shadow out long.

For a little while, neither of them said a word.

It was quiet and still, like they were merely taking stock of the mood hanging in the air. The sounds of violence that had echoed through the manor mere moments ago were gone like they’d never been there at all.

“Um, if you don’t mind!” Sara was the first to break the silence. “Do you want to surrender together? I think the bride really should be Miss Grete.”

Sybilla’s being there helped Sara make her mind up.

She hoped that Sybilla would agree with her.

“…You’ve got a point.” Sybilla nodded, still staring at the ceiling. “That’d probably be for the best.”

“Y-yeah. I’m sure of it.”

“But are you really okay with that?”

“Huh…?”

“You were hesitating, right? Don’t you wanna figure out why?”

Sara hung her head. The question had pierced the softest part of her heart clean through.

I…

“W-well, um,” she said, choking out the words. “What about you, Miss Sybilla?”

“Hell if I know.” Sybilla laughed self-mockingly. “But when Grete was pullin’ out all the stops in our fight just now, I was like, damn, girl, you’re incredible.”

“What do you mean? As in, her techniques were incredible?”

“There was that, too, but honestly, I just thought she seemed badass. I mean, the way she wasn’t ashamed of her love, but was layin’ it all out there and standin’ proud… I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff she’s not telling us, but still.” Sybilla laid a hand atop Sara’s shoulder. “I feel like you and I could stand to be a little more honest with ourselves, too.”

“………”

“But hey, I don’t know shit about my feelings, so who am I to talk?” Sybilla gave Sara’s shoulder a couple of thumps. “I’m not here to force you to do anything you don’t want to. I’m gonna go on ahead now and make a fool of myself, so you can just sit back and watch me in all my glory.”

She waved and headed down the hallway.

Before she left, she spoke once more.

“It’s time I fought Grete for real. As the current bride, I gotta hold my head high.”

As Sara watched her go in blank shock, the words “I surrender” found their way to her lips.

Thirty-five minutes in: “Meadow” Sara has been eliminated.

Sybilla chose the courtyard as the stage for the final showdown.

Grete was her only remaining opponent, so she headed there first and waited for Grete to come to her. Carelessly heading to a location that Grete had time to set up in was a mistake not even she was dumb enough to make.

The rest of the defeated girls headed to the courtyard as well to watch the finale.

As Sybilla felt her pulse accelerate, she thought back to how it was that she became the bride.

There was exactly one reason why Sybilla agreed to marry Klaus: Grete hadn’t fallen in love with him yet. Aside from that, it sort of just happened.

When night fell after the incident with the pickpocket in the slums, Sybilla went on a rampage in an attempt to wring the life from Lily’s body, but midway through, Klaus said, “Ah, right,” and stopped her. Lily took the opportunity to flee from Klaus’s room.

“Sybilla, will you marry me?”

“WHAAAAAAT? Have you fuckin’ lost it?”

Hearing the request from out of the blue threw Sybilla for a loop, but once Klaus explained, it turned out to be no big deal. He just needed someone to be his wife on paper to simplify some of his missions. Klaus had previously been using someone else as his wife (probably someone in Inferno), but circumstances were such that he needed a new spouse.

“I, uh…”

Sybilla knew it was only a formality, but her face went hot all the same. In contrast, Klaus’s expression hadn’t changed a bit. He was the embodiment of cool. “If you don’t want to, you’re certainly welcome to say no. I can ask someone else to do it.”

“O-oh. H-here’s a question, then. Why me?”

“This is going to sound rude, but I didn’t exactly have many options. Anyone who looked too young wasn’t going to be able to pass as my wife, so Erna, Sara, and Annette were poor fits. Lily makes too many mistakes for me to feel comfortable picking her. And I feel like Grete tries to avoid me, so she wasn’t a good candidate, either.”

“Oh yeah? What about Thea?”

“I would really rather not choose her.”

“She’d cry if she heard you say that.”

“I don’t hate her or anything, but she makes too strong of an impression to be believable as my wife. That’s why I had it down to you or Monika. If you don’t want to do it, I’ll go ask her.”

Sybilla didn’t sense any sort of special emotion in his tone.

He was being a professional through and through. When he asked her like that, she would’ve felt bad for running away. She was about to dive headfirst into the world of espionage, so was she really going to lose her cool over a measly fake marriage?

“Sure, I guess,” she replied. “Oh, but could you keep it a secret from the others? It’d be embarrassing if they made fun of me about it.”

“Very well. I won’t tell a soul.”

“Thanks. I just know Lily would give me endless shit.”

“Probably, yes. The good news is I don’t expect we’ll be found out. After all, none of them have any reason to look into my family register. It’d be a different story if one of them went to City Hall and filed a forged marriage registration with my name on it, though.”

“Who the hell would do that? That’d be nuts.”

“I just have an odd feeling it might happen, but…you’re right. I’m probably just imagining things.”

“Ha-ha-ha. I never knew you were such a jokester.”

Three days later, Grete fell in love with Klaus, and two months after that, she went and filed a forged marriage registration.

Back when the whole bridal hullabaloo began, Sybilla’s initial reaction was feeling guilty toward Grete. She felt bad that she hadn’t come forward, despite knowing about Grete’s love. She’d wanted to tell the others for a while, but she’d never found the right moment to do so.

That was why, when the discussion started veering off track, she’d guided it in a specific direction.

“End of the day, does it really matter who the bride is?”

Sure enough, Lily had fallen for the bait and suggested that they choose a new bride.

When she did, Sybilla was overcome with a wave of relief.

The night before the royale, Sybilla stopped by Klaus’s room.

The moment she came in, he immediately spoke up as though he’d been expecting her.

“I’m sorry about this.” He raised his head from the documents on his desk and looked Sybilla in the eye. “I never expected our marriage to cause the sort of chaos it did. I didn’t plan for any of this to happen.”

“Nah, it’s not your fault. Nobody could’ve seen that stunt Grete pulled comin’.” Sybilla laughed with some chagrin and took a seat across from Klaus. “Just so you know, though, I’m plannin’ on droppin’ out of bridal contention.”

“I see.”

“I’ll join in to help Thea out, but I’ve got no plans of winning myself. You’re cool with that, right?”

After thinking it through, Sybilla had reached a conclusion. If nothing else, there was no reason for her to actually try to win.

“Guess it was only just the once I ended up actually playin’ your wife, huh?”

“That it was. Just a single night.”

Right before the Impossible Mission, there was a mission that required attending a fancy event. Just as Lily deduced, it was a dinner party hosted by a notable gourmand. There was a politician there who’d been using the event as cover to meet up with an Imperial spy.

Klaus had known that going as a bachelor would make him draw unwanted attention, so he took Sybilla along when he snuck in. While he was working, all Sybilla did was listen to the orchestra play and chow down on some delectable roast beef. That was her sole contribution to the mission.

As Sybilla thought back fondly on the evening, Klaus called her name. “Sybilla.”

“Hm?” She looked over and saw him fishing something out of his desk.

“It may have been a marriage in name alone, but you were still my wife. The thing is, though, I realized I’d never gotten you anything.” He handed her a small box covered in red wrapping paper. “This is for you. A gift, to thank you for marrying me.”

Sybilla opened it up and discovered that it was full of small, colorful candies. They gleamed in their jar like tiny little stars.

“…Oh hey, thanks.” Sybilla nodded, then left the room.

Thinking back, that was the moment where something sprang up inside of Sybilla.

She didn’t know how to describe it—just that it felt like a hole had opened up in her heart.

The battle was heading toward its end.

Eventually, Grete arrived in the courtyard where Sybilla was waiting. Her shoes clicked loudly against the cobblestones as she strode elegantly past the clematis bed.

A circular garden table sat at the center of Heat Haze Palace’s courtyard. Some of the team’s members would enjoy some tea and sweets there from time to time, and Grete and Sybilla themselves had enjoyed a cheesecake together at that very table. Neither of them could remember what it was they’d chatted about back then.

Now, the two of them stood flanking the table on either side. The rest of the girls watched with bated breath from the sidelines.

Gotta say, I wasn’t expecting her to just come at me head-on like this, Sybilla thought. She must know how disadvantaged she is if we just duke it out. Odds are, she’s got something up her sleeve.

—is precisely what Sybilla is thinking right now. Grete’s thoughts turned as well. Her combat instincts are top-notch, after all. In a fair fight, I can’t hope to win…

The two of them stared at each other in silence.

Should I just charge? Go fast enough that Grete can’t react?

—she’ll think, and if she actually does decide to attack, my defeat will be sealed…

Rgh, this is rough. Lookin’ at her, she clearly thinks she’s got this in the bag.

—and to make her believe that, I have to make sure I continue projecting confidence.

Shit, I don’t get it! Should I just trust my gut and go for it?

—and if she stops thinking altogether, the odds that I lose are quite high as well…

Sybilla’s physical prowess and Grete’s keen mind were on the verge of coming to a head.

Looking at the situation as it stood, Sybilla held an overwhelming advantage. Her right arm was unusable, but she could certainly take Grete down without it. However, Grete’s intellect was turning the whole paradigm on its head.

More time passed by as they continued trying to feel each other out.

“This is nerve-racking as hell, huh?” Sybilla said, breaking the tension with a grin. “Gotta say, I wasn’t expecting us to be the finals matchup.”

Grete gave her a calm look. “I can see that the role means something to you, too. Would it be all right if I asked you something, apropos of nothing…?”

“Yeah, go for it. I’ve got a pretty good idea about what you wanna ask.”

“Are you the current bride?”

“Yup.” Sybilla nodded. “It’s me. Him ’n’ me are married.”

A stir ran through the crowd.

Meanwhile, Grete didn’t seem shocked at all. She nodded like she’d already known. “…So I was right, then. You have feelings for the boss as well.”

“Huh? Nah, no no no! It’s not like that! Let’s not jump to conclusions here!” Sybilla waved her hands. Her face was bright red. “I dunno, it just kinda happened. Listen, Grete, you mind hearing me out for a sec?”

“…Not at all.”

“I’m rootin’ for your love to work out,” Sybilla said, looking a little bashful. “Straight up, I am. No bullshit. And if you asked me if I’m in love with him, honestly, I doubt it. That’s probably not it. But it’s like, these are emotions we’re talkin’ about here. Shit ain’t black and white. You can’t sort this stuff into ones and zeroes. I don’t hate him, that’s for sure. The guy’s strong, and I respect him. I do wish he wasn’t such a damn airhead, but hey, end of the day, that’s how I really feel.”

“………”

“And I don’t want to give up the bride spot. The role just kinda fell into my lap, sure, but it’d still hurt to hand it away. I hate to admit it, but it was kinda nice getting to go out with him. You might think that’s irrational of me, but the way I see it, there’s no reason I can’t feel this way and still support your love.”

In one clean speech, Sybilla got out all the feelings that had been swirling around in her heart.

Not a single one of the others poked fun at her or cracked a joke. Given the way they’d been acting up to that point, that was practically a miracle in and of itself.

“Not at all… It’s refreshing, getting to hear your true feelings.” Grete gave her a peaceful smile. “Now, I know that you too are head over heels for the boss…”

“Were you listening to a word I said?”

“I’m joking. Never once have I ever doubted your kindness.” Grete laid a palm nostalgically over her chest like she was holding something precious. “I would never dream of asking you to simply relinquish the bridal role to me. However everyone feels, I want to face those feelings head-on.”

“Y’know, somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

“That said, I do want to become the bride. Call me selfish if you like, but I want to get closer to the boss’s heart… I want to understand the man who gave my life meaning.” She softly spread out her hands. “…And so, I intend to take you on with everything I have.”

“Same here. No hard feelings then, yeah?”

Sybilla put up her fists. Whatever reservations she’d had were gone now.

Grete responded by hunching down and getting ready to counterattack.

Sybilla took off at a run.

The others gasped in anticipation.

After agonizing over what to do, Sybilla had ultimately settled on not thinking at all. There was no way she was going to beat Grete in a game of bluffing and double-bluffing, so she decided to trust in her raw physical abilities. It was the best option available to her, and the one Grete had been most worried about.

However, it was certainly a possibility Grete had foreseen.

She may have been at a huge disadvantage, but she hadn’t given up.

And furthermore, she’d predicted that Sybilla would choose the courtyard for their showdown.

The hallways inside were still full of Lily’s poison gas, so it was only natural that a cautious opponent would head out into the courtyard. And if that person wanted to take advantage of their athleticism, the area around the table would be the best place for them to move around freely.

Grete had set up immobilizing wire traps ages ago.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she triggered them—

“—!”

—but Sybilla was faster than she’d anticipated. Having shaken off her indecision must have increased her speed even more.

Grete recalculated, then reacted. A barrage of wires shot toward them from every direction.

Would Grete’s wires string Sybilla up first?

Or would Sybilla reach Grete’s throat first?

“I surrender.” “…I surrender.”

The answer was neither and both.

The spectators stared in amazement at the scene before them.

There were wires tied around Sybilla’s throat, and Sybilla’s nails were pressed against Grete’s carotid artery. In a real battle, either would have proved fatal, and both sides had recognized that and admitted their defeat.

“Wait, what the hell?” The first one to grin was Sybilla. “After all that, we didn’t even end up with a winner?”

“…That was splendid.” Grete smiled as well. “I must say, your speed is really quite something.”

“Not that it did me any good. You were readin’ me like a book the whole damn time.”

“…Hee-hee, not at all. That last attack was so quick, I couldn’t even follow it.”

The two of them exchanged a laugh from so close they were practically touching. Something about the situation was just so wonky they couldn’t help themselves. Eventually, they both went limp and collapsed to the ground with a pair of smiles.

Fifty-five minutes in: “Pandemonium” Sybilla has been eliminated.

Fifty-five minutes in: “Daughter Dearest” Grete has been eliminated.

The rest of the team gave them an enthusiastic round of applause.

“You were incredible. Both of you were,” Thea said kindly.

Sara was practically panting with excitement. “Th-that was so inspiring.”

“Hrmn… I want a do-over,” Erna said, sounding rather vexed.

“I see you both in a whole new light now, yo!” Annette said with a smile.

The others showered the two downed combatants with praise.

The one exception was Monika, who was standing apart from the others with a bored look on her face. “The problem is, what do we do about the bride? You’re not seriously gonna suggest we have a rematch to—”

Right as Monika started complaining, though—

“Huh? Is it over already?”

—an incongruously chipper voice cut in.

All the girls turned to see Lily gaping in confusion. Her hands were still cuffed behind her back. “So, uh… What all happened while I was unconscious?”

“Now that I think about it,” Thea murmured, “did anyone actually hear Lily say she surrendered?”

Everyone shook their heads.

Thea was absolutely right. Lily fell for a trap and got knocked out, but she’d never actually surrendered.

In other words, she was still in the running.

““““““““…………………………………………””””””””

They all froze as the realization dawned on them.

This definitely wasn’t the conclusion they’d been looking for.

“So, ummm,” Lily said, breaking out into a cold sweat, “i-in that case, do we, uh, wanna call a do-over, or, like—”

“It sounds like we have our winner.”

With that, Klaus appeared as though out of nowhere. He hadn’t shown up that morning, but he’d probably just been off on some sort of counterintelligence op. There was a little bit of blood on his sleeve, and it wasn’t his.

He nodded as though he’d inferred everything. “Who would have thought that Lily would end up winning? Splendid work. I actually have some prep work I need to get done for my next mission, so Lily, let’s go get that marriage registration filed posthaste.”

Klaus grabbed Lily by the arm and hauled her off.

The remaining girls watched them go in blank shock.

A moment later, a cry of “What the HEEEEEEELL?!” echoed through the air.

Bridal royale victor: “Flower Garden” Lily.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hoooooold up,” the girls said as they all expressed their vehement objections, but Klaus decided to take Lily with him anyway. She was clearly the winner according to the rules, and there was no going against the rules.

Lily herself seemed perplexed. “Huh? Huuuuuh? I won?” However, Klaus ignored her. He needed to hurry up and file those divorce papers and that new marriage registration so he could get his family register changed.

As he went through the process at City Hall, Lily remained just as dazed. She occasionally let out an “uhhh” or a “whuuh,” and eventually, she slumped her shoulders. “Man, when we get back to the manor, they’re gonna be so mad at me.”

Her demeanor was much the same on their way home, too.

On their way there, they took a shortcut that took them through a park. Its fountain twinkled in the sunset’s light, and the couples standing around it let out cheers of delight. However, all Lily saw were her own two feet.

Upon hearing how heavy her footsteps were, Klaus exhaled. “You did want to become my bride, didn’t you? I don’t see why you’re so dejected about it.”

“Hey, even I can read the room! The others were appalled!”

“Well, I have good news on that front. As it turns out, there aren’t actually that many missions that involve going to fancy dinners.”

“That just means my victory was pointless!” Lily yelped in protest.

Klaus turned a deaf ear to her complaints, and eventually, Lily spoke up again and changed the subject. “Hey, Teach?”

“Yes?”

“Who were you hoping would end up becoming the bride?”

It probably hadn’t been deliberate on her part, but she had spoken at the moment they were right in front of the fountain. Lily’s hair grew damp from the misty drops of water dancing through the air.

Seemingly unconcerned by that, she continued piling on the questions. “Actually, more to the point, how do you really feel about us?”

“……………………”

Klaus could tell that it wasn’t mere curiosity that had inspired the question.

He stopped and shared his candid thoughts. “I want to be there for you while still maintaining healthy boundaries,” he said honestly. “When young men and women spend a lot of time together, it’s common for romance to bloom. However, you’re just teenagers. I have no desire whatsoever to abuse my role as your instructor or toy with your impressionable hearts. I’m not going to fall in love with any of you—but I do hope, with all my heart, that you all find happiness.”

Deep down inside, that was how he truly felt.

Naturally, he fretted about those boundaries constantly. There were times where he worried that he was leading Grete on, there were others where he got fed up with Thea’s lewd advances, and whenever he gave the girls advice out of concern for their well-being, he was never quite sure how far it was appropriate for him to tread into their personal affairs.

However, there was one point he always came back to.

He had become their teacher—and as such, it was his job to guide them.

To that end, he spoke once more. “Don’t worry, Lily.”

“About?”

“I’ll handle the missions on my own for the time being. If any of you want to experience a normal romance, you’re more than welcome to go out and do so. All I ask is that you don’t neglect your training.”

“Huh…?”

“You all have a right to enjoy your youths. Never give that up.”

“……………………”

Klaus had seen how invested the girls got in trying to find the bride, and it made him feel guilty at having forced them to devote all their time to training and missions. He realized now that he needed to give them more freedom.

“Teach…” Lily shook her head from side to side. “…I think you’ve got it all wrong.”

“I do?”

“Honestly, what you said earlier’s been bugging me for a while. You know, when you told us to try to enjoy our youths a little.”

Klaus remembered the conversation. She was talking about what he said when the girls came asking him about the bride.

“Why not try to enjoy your youth a little? I can’t imagine you’ve had time for many age-appropriate activities over these past two months.”

“We’ve had it all.” Lily pulled a voice recorder out of her pocket. “I secretly recorded all the conversations we had while we were trying to figure out who the bride was. Here, this is for you.”

“………”

“Once you listen to it, you’ll understand just how greedy we are. You see, we haven’t given up a thing. Even smack-dab in the middle of a deadly mission, our days have been full of partying and doubting and falling in love and agonizing over how to juggle all that with our friendships. You’re such a softie, Teach. You’ve already given us the best youth anyone could ask for.”

At the same time, as the evening light streamed into Heat Haze Palace…

In the dining room, Sybilla shouted angrily as she stood sandwiched between Grete and Thea. “For the last time, I’m not in love with him! How many times do I gotta spell it out, dammit?! I’m just sayin’ that spending time with him ain’t half bad, that’s all—”

“…There’s no need to be so coy. I’m just glad to have someone else who understands just how wonderful the boss is.”

“Don’t you worry, Sybilla, I can teach you how to get men eating out of the palm of your hand. I’ll train you and Grete up side by side.”

“If you think I’m takin’ any sort of lessons from you, you’ve got another think comin’!”

Annette skipped down the first-floor hallway, and Sara chased after her in confusion. “E-excuse me, Miss Annette? So why did you ask me to join your team…?”

“That’s a secret, yo.”

“Oh… I was really hoping you would tell me, though…”

“My lips are sealed. I’m not gonna say a thing until you stop being so dense.”

Out in the garden, Monika was grumpily reading a book. Erna summoned up her courage and called out to her. “B-Big Sis Monika?”

“What’s up? It’s not every day you come looking for me.”

“W-would you mind, um, giving me some advice? It’s about love…”

“…Why not just ask Sara or Grete?”

“Yeep. I—I just don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“…If you say so. Problem is, I can’t help either. You could try Thea?”

“That seems like the most dangerous option of all!”

The girls’ respective emotions all gently mixed and mingled with each other.

None of them had lost anything.

“I want you to take me along on missions,” Lily said willfully as they stood before the park’s fountain. “And I want you to treat me more like an adult. Both when it comes to spy stuff, and when it comes to woman stuff.”

She fixed her unwavering gaze straight at Klaus.

Klaus took a small breath and straightened his shoulders ever so slightly. The glimmering droplets of water in his peripheral vision splashed against his lips, and he glanced up just a little and looked at Venus and the white moon as they hung amidst the slowly darkening sky. Then, he looked back down and returned his gaze to Lily. She hadn’t so much as blinked.

He turned her words back over in his heart. I want you to treat me more like an adult.

A week later, Klaus’s higher-ups would order him to capture the assassin known as Corpse, and after anguishing over his decision, he would decide to take the girls along on the mission. Furthermore, Grete’s advances would become even more extreme, and Klaus would decide to confront her love head-on.

It was impossible for anyone to say how much of an effect Lily’s demand had on those decisions.

Klaus smiled a little, then said, “Magnificent.”

“Hey, what the heck?” Lily puffed up her cheeks. “I want a proper answer! That was me being hyper-rare, once-in-a-decade levels of sincere!”

“If you want me to treat you like an adult, then beat me first.”

“How am I supposed to do that?!”

“In any case, the more pressing matter is what we’re going to have for dinner. Perhaps I’ll treat you for once. What would you like?”

“For real?! I want steak!”

“Glad to see you’re as adaptable as ever.”

“Meat! Meat! Meat!”

“Seriously, enough with the ridiculous chanting.”

The two of them chatted merrily for the next little while as they made their way through the park.

No records exist of their exchange save for in their memories.