Chapter 103

“On the wall? Huh, so they have a schedule posted. I guess the hospital has it together in this department, at least.” Estimated Nurse-Arrival Times 9:36 11:20 14:07* 17:24 20:03* (*Canceled on weekends or holidays) (Arrivals may be delayed depending on hallway congestion and treatment of other patients.) “Don’t make it like a bus schedule!” While it seemed like a valid number of times for a nurse to drop by in the day, formatting it like a bus timetable made the stops sound way too far apart. “I don’t mind,” said Ryouta, “but…are you sure you’re okay waiting that long…? This seems a little inappropriate for a noble…” “I-it is what it is… And this is far more manageable than being injured again. I could stay like this for hours; I could handle it every day…” Even Ryouta could tell Sasara was nervous. He could see everything when they were this close. “There’s no way this would happen every day…” “Well, this is only hypothetical, but if I was m-married, then I think things like this may happen often…” “Married…?” “I would not mind marrying you.” “Sorry, what………?” Depending on interpretation, that could be taken as a love confession. “You have a lot of flaws, but they’re all things I could make up for, if I worked hard… So I think it would turn out surprisingly well. And I believe we are rather compatible…” “Um, Sasara? What do you mean by—?” “This is all a what-if scenario, though.” A sad smile crossed Sasara’s face. “Congratulations on becoming Lady Ouka’s minion.” That was when it all came back to him. Ouka told me she’d always wanted to make me her minion… “I don’t appreciate the context of your well-wishing,” came a sudden voice. A shadow settled over Ryouta’s face as a very irritated Ouka loomed before him. “Whoa! Don’t just show up like that!” “Eeeeek! Lady Ouka, I just happened to fall, that is all…” “I didn’t think there would be any issues putting you in the same room since you were both injured, but look at you! Problems already! Give me a break! All right, Ryouta! You don’t have any broken bones, so now that you’re awake, you’re released! Come with me! Go rest over there, Sasara!” With Ouka’s help, Sasara returned to her bed. In the meantime, Ryouta got up, too, and found his footing to be surprisingly steady. “Um, Lady Ouka…?” said Sasara. “All I was doing was giving you two my blessing…” “Okay, I’ll believe you. You seemed like you were backing off anyway.” “I appreciate it…” “And please continue to take your surroundings into consideration when you act. It’s your own fault if you don’t seize a chance when you have it. You know that, don’t you?” “Yes… Everything is my fault… Sigh.” Sasara exhaled weakly, as if she was trying to exorcise her spirit, too. Ouka patted her on the head. “I’m glad you’re a good listener. I’m counting on you to return to your position as my personal guard as soon as you’re better.” “Of course! Thank you, Lady Ouka!” “I know you’ll find someone nice soon. No need to worry. Come to think of it, that cousin of yours—Toraha? He—” “I have decided I shall continue to live for you and you alone, Lady Ouka.” “I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.” “You are the only one for me, Lady Ouka. I would like to return to my roots and rethink everything.” “I am not your roots!” Sasara pulled something out from her bed—an Ouka body pillow. “See? I am ready.” “For what?!” Ouka cried. “And when did you bring that in?!” “It was part of a care package from my mother and father. They brought everything from my room.” “Your parents should’ve known to leave that at home!” “Both of them were crying.” “Doesn’t that mean they don’t approve?!” Ouka got the feeling this conversation would never end and decided to cut it short. “We’re going, Ryouta! We are getting as far away from that pillow as possible!” “Yeah, good idea…” Before he left the room, Ryouta’s and Sasara’s eyes met. For a moment, he hesitated, not sure what to say. It wasn’t like they’d never see each other again, so why? It was Sasara who spoke up first. “I hope you find happiness.” “Yeah, thanks…” “I will be sure to find my own.” She smiled. “Me too!” Ryouta replied, smiling back. Ryouta was taken to the castle by car, then led inside to an area full of private rooms. It was exactly like the hallway in an apartment building. These must be the rooms provided to the castle staff. “Now that you are the emperor’s minion, you will receive a room as luxurious as your status.” “Huh, so this is really the start of a new life for me…” It would be painful to return to the house he and Shiren had lived in together, so this was nice in a way. There was a bright-red carpet spread across the floor, giving the surroundings an opulent feel. “Here you go—room 1313 is all yours, Ryouta.” “First the hospital, and now my room? Am I cursed…?” “The rooms next to you are 106 and 108, so I doubt you’ll ever get lost.” “Then this should be room 107! Why am I the only one with a four-digit number?!” “That’s just how special your room is, as my minion. You should be honored.” “If you say so…” “We performed a special exorcism just for the occasion. We even changed the number, so no one with a grudge tied to room 107 will show up.” “So something did happen here! You’re putting me in a cursed room!” “You’ll be fine. Come on, let me show you around your new home.” She unlocked the door and opened it into a very large entryway. At this size, it was more than just an entryway—it was closer to the lobby of a building. “Are these walls made of marble…?” “The entryway is very secure. If anyone tries to get in without your permission, sensors will pick up on it and shock them.” “That sounds a little violent…” “It’s fine. You’ve been registered as a resident here, so it’ll only react to people who force the lock open or try to get in through the window— Oh, there’s someone on the floor…” A singed Rei lay below them, collapsed. She had apparently tried to sneak in and failed. “Even a ninja couldn’t get past the security. It’s working perfectly.” “Rei! Wake up! Rei! Oh no… Her heart’s stopped… Her body feels cold. She’s really dead…” “Oh, she’ll come back. Come on, chin up, let’s keep going.” “My sister is dead! Aren’t you being a little nonchalant?” “She’d be of no use to me as a ninja if I got worked up over something like this!” “I guess it’s normal for her to lose consciousness when she has a fit…” “Even after she fell into an industrial mixer and was ripped to shreds, she still came back to life.” “Are we sure she’s actually a living thing?!” “She made a mistake and fell into a bottomless swamp, but she still came back three days later.” “She’s clearly not human!” Just then, Rei did, in fact, wake up. “I went to that flower field again. The man who told me he loved me last time was with another woman already… I hadn’t planned on going out with him, but I’m still shocked…” “You’re back, so it’s fine…,” said Ryouta. “Oh, and he asked me to do a job for him. He wanted me to deliver a message.” “Wow, Rei, you don’t get scared at all. It must be because of all your near-death experiences!” “Well, anyway. I’ll pass on to my next job, then.” “I feel like there’s something wrong with how you just worded that…” “Well, I’ll take my leave for now! I’ll definitely manage to sneak my way in next time!” “Please don’t!” Rei strode toward the door. Ryouta wondered if the sensor would activate when someone exited the room, and sure enough, a shock coursed through his sister. “Aaaaaaah!” “Rei! You really need to start learning your lesson!” She recovered ten minutes later and finally left. Even the sensor wasn’t able to completely stop an immortal. “It seems the sensor’s crime-prevention mechanisms need work. We will have to upgrade the shock so it is capable of killing immortals.”