“…C’mon.”
“Imagine a future where they do fall in love. You could put them on a billboard. Some people are very susceptible to that sort of thing.”
“That’s propaganda.”
“You could say that.”
Itecho looked just as baffled as Rindo.
“I’m just making a guess, considering the tendencies of the Church of the Living Gods.”
“And if your guess is right, then the Church will approach us next,” said Itecho.
“If they do approach you, Lord Kangetsu, that means they were prepared for Lord Liam’s performance to go wrong. I mean, now they have an opportunity to make contact under the pretext of offering an apology. Even though there was no plan to meet the Church. We can’t refuse their apology. It could have an effect on the relationship between our nations…”
“…They’re ruthless. What should we do? We can’t say all the Agents got sick out of nowhere.”
“There is one way to guard ourselves,” Kikka immediately suggested. He sneakily pointed at National Security’s Special Agent Tsukihi Aragami. “If the Church wants to meet and offer an apology, you could take her.”
Tsukihi was a reliable captain; she’d grown up in an environment that instilled respect for the gods incarnate in her, and she was intimate with the Archer of Twilight. That was all Rindo and Itecho knew.
“…She grew up with the Church of the Living Gods, didn’t she?” Itecho asked, and Rindo nodded.
“That’s what I heard. Would taking Captain Aragami with us serve as a deterrent?”
“Whoa, don’t you know? You’ll have to convince her if she’s hiding her past, but I assure you it’ll go better if you take her.” Kikka lowered his voice even further. “She’s the daughter of a very high-ranking leader of the Church—the chancellor of Yamato HQ.”
Rindo and Itecho blinked repeatedly before looking at Tsukihi.
“She joined National Security against the wishes of her family, but she’s not entirely cut off from the Church. Rindo, listen. You have to fight authority with authority. Beg her to come with you if you have to. HQ is the head of all divisions of the Church in Yamato. No one from Kashu’s lone branch can speak against her, not even their higher-ups. The one thing you’ve got to do today is get her on your side.”
Once Kikka finished speaking, Tsukihi noticed they were staring at her.
“…?”
She gave a friendly smile, and the Guards of Autumn and Winter immediately walked up to her.
That day, everyone went back to the hotel with a lump in their throats.
Once they had returned, Ruri approached Rosei before he could go into his room.
“Gloomy Blizzardman…”
“That’s Rosei to you, Little Hazakura.”
Ruri ignored his retort. “Hey, so about Lord Liam…”
She wanted to talk about what happened today. The only thing on Rosei’s mind was his beloved Hinagiku and his phone call with her, but he gave in.
“Don’t you think that was too far?”
“You mean what Mr. Azami said? I think he handled it well.”
Ruri shook her head. “No, you. Putting a katana on the table and monologuing. It came across like a threat.”
“What? I had to say all that, or we wouldn’t have moved on. You saw how they treated us after making us come all the way here. They wanted the Autumns to meet, but they never even spoke to one another. They just outright ignored Nadeshiko.”
“I mean, he’s seven. And, like, I think it’s just the adults who made him say that… I think things would’ve turned out differently if we’d stayed kind and gentle.”
“They won’t take us seriously otherwise.”
“…Maybe. Maybe it’s just how I am. I get all flustered when people come at me like that, and I end up saying weird stuff. Then I start regretting it and wondering what I could’ve done differently… And everyone gets mad at me for messing up…”
“…”
“But if you aren’t all hostile and give me time to talk things through… Then I don’t do anything stupid. It gives me a chance to say sorry if I need to…”
Aren’t you banking too much on people being kind? Rosei thought.
Ruri’s logic was inconceivable in the Town of Winter.
“He’s got his reasons, I’m sure. If we’re just…a little nicer about it…”
But this was how the goddess Ruri Hazakura approached her life.
It was what had led her to try so hard to be friends with Rosei after he lost Hinagiku. What had led her to befriend Spring, accept their request for help out of the goodness of her heart, and cooperate to protect Nadeshiko. What had led her to put Nadeshiko first. What had killed her.
From Rosei’s point of view, Ruri was stupid.
“…”
He got irritated being around her. The way she opened up her heart was hard to ignore; she was like a bright light.
Summer wouldn’t make a soft approach like Spring.
“…”
I know.
He could never bring himself to hate Ruri Hazakura.
But they’d met at the wrong time. If they’d met now, he wouldn’t entirely reject her even if she were to break a branch of his precious tree. They would argue from time to time, but they would always make up in the end.
He was a little older, and the time had come for him to be the more mature one.
“…I’ll watch my tone, but please understand my perspective, too.” Rosei chose his words carefully for once. “I have to be haughty, or they won’t take me seriously. The difference in standing between Summer and Winter is greater than you think. I act the way I do to protect all of you… Please understand this.”
Ruri knew what he meant, now that she knew why Rosei had learned Centrish.
She had never taken into account the unique hardships this arrogant boy had gone through.
Ruri frowned for a moment, but she nodded soon enough. “Okay… I’ll try to understand where you’re coming from.”
There was a moment of silence.
It was a good time to end the conversation, but Ruri did not go.
“…Did you want to talk about something else?” Rosei pressed, and she smiled a little.
“S-so, hey! Lord Liam asked how we made our alliance, right? If he was just after Nadeshiko, he could’ve asked anything else, but he chose that.”
“And?”
“…I think they don’t work together here in Kyokoku like we do. So, like, he can only do what the adults say, and he doesn’t seem to have friends among the other gods… No seniors to rely on…” Ruri’s voice was sad. “I don’t think we should antagonize him. We should ask him what’s up first.”
“…”
“I wanna set aside the deal with Nadeshiko for a little while. If we get another chance, how about we ask him about it in secret?”
She’s so dense usually, but sometimes, she’s got an eye for people.
Rosei also had his concerns about Liam’s attitude.
Maybe the boy was lonely.
But Rosei had no intention of pointing it out. What could possibly come of it?
That was the big difference with Ruri. She had no qualms arguing and bringing up issues.
“…We can’t do much about the Four Seasons Tower. And talking to him would be hard.”
“But if we have the opportunity…”
“I just said, I don’t like our chances. Why do you assume this is possible?”
Ruri frowned, then walked closer up to him and whispered, “…We might get a chance to talk, depending on how things turn out.”
A question mark popped up over Rosei’s head.
“Aaanyway, Raicho used to be, like, a spy for the Agency.”
“He worked for a department without a name, right?”
“Yup. So, he’s super good at pulling strings behind the scenes.”
Rosei knew, given what he’d pulled off during the incident in summer.
Was that a skill worth praising, though?
“So, Raicho said…since I was worried about Nadeshiko and Lord Liam, that he went off somewhere after the dinner… And he was thinking.”
“Right, I don’t see your husband around here. Or Itecho, for that matter. Where is everyone?”
“…”
Ruri took out her phone and showed him.
“First things first. Don’t get mad, okay, Gloo—er, Rosei?”
The screen showed a series of texts.
“I’ll be acting on my own for a while.
We don’t know anything about Kyokoku.
Maybe we could do something for Lady Nadeshiko if we look into it.
I think you’ll feel better that way, too.
Don’t worry. You won’t be seeing me, but I’ll be seeing you, Ruri.
Be good while I’m gone.
Call me if you need anything. Ask my subordinates for help, too. Just don’t cheat on me, all right?
Also, would you mind telling Mr. Kangetsu and Mr. Azami about this?
I want Mr. Azami to acknowledge me. It seems he’s still mad.
I’ll show him how useful I am, and then he won’t have a bad word to say.
Anyway, I’ll start by bugging Lord Liam.”
They could almost hear Raicho’s voice, reading the message.
Rosei looked at Ruri in silence.
He was trying to see if she was in any way responsible for her husband’s actions.
“…”
Ruri pursed her lips awkwardly for a while. “Yeah… He’s going crazy, right…? He’s always teasing me, but as soon as I’m worried about something, he always looks for a way to solve it as soon as he can. It’s how he shows he loves me. But this isn’t good for us, is it? He shouldn’t be doing this, should he…? What would Lord Itecho and Lord Rindo say? Will they get mad? Are we in trouble?”
Even Ruri hadn’t expected Raicho to do something like this.
She watched Rosei, hoping for salvation.
Rosei gave his honest opinion.
“I’m scared of your husband.”
“Yeah…,” she said, without a word of argument.