“I see. Then what do you think of Japan’s system of lifetime employment? If you could work, bound to a wonderful company until retirement age, would you choose that over an occupation with an uncertain future?” “Huh? Is this a street survey? Sure, I guess downsizing and relying on temp work sounds like it could create some problems, and I don’t want my parents to worry, so I guess I’d prefer a stable job.” The girl’s excitement seemed to be growing with every question he answered, until it was nearly spilling over. “Then this is my last request. Please pose as though you’ve found ten thousand yen by your feet and are going to pick it up.” Of course, that was when he got a bad feeling about this. “I’m sorry if this is a creepy thing to say, but I’m going to say it anyway: Don’t kiss me while I’m bending down, okay?” The girl froze. A tremble traveled through her face. “One time, an elementary school girl told me the same thing, and she almost kissed me… I don’t know why you were asking me those questions, but just in case…” “I-it’s all right! I’m not going to kiss you! I’ve made my promise to the Emperor!” “Emperor? What emperor? Well, whatever. I’m getting down now. There.” Then the girl approached slowly. “Stay still.” “Uh, sure, but what are you going to do?” He really had no idea what she wanted. “I am going to bite you.” In the next moment, an intense pain coursed through the base of his neck. “OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!” It hurt enough that he could tell—she really and truly bit him! “Is this that curse again?! I’ve been attacked by a girl who wouldn’t let go until she got her kiss, but not by a girl who’s into biting!” The sharp pain quickly subsided. The girl, however, still hadn’t let go. She also had a grip on his arms, probably to keep him from running away. “Yesh, I did it. Ah long ah I go hlow, I can do it ’he hirs time… It said so in ’he tek’guk.” The girl sounded nervous. She would sometimes murmur to herself as her teeth still dug into him. She seemed so earnest, he almost wanted to cheer her on— No, wait, hold on! She’s still biting me, in the present progressive tense! I’m losing blood! But he didn’t feel any pain. He almost even felt nice. And he was too relaxed to run away. He couldn’t build the strength to do anything. He wasn’t sure how long her teeth were sunk into him, but when she finally let go, he was practically unconscious. “Boy, what’s your name?” She was no longer acting like a nervous kitten. She’d played him… “Ry… Ryouta Asagiri…,” he answered, his mind still fuzzy. He couldn’t work up the will to disobey her, almost as though he was hypnotized. “And how old are you? What year are you in?” “H… High school, second year…” “Well! That’s the same as me. Yes, very good, very good. What a good boy.” The girl wore a big smile on her face; he wouldn’t be surprised if she struck a pose right then. “We’re in the same year? But you look like a…middle school kid…,” Ryouta questioned, everything in his mind still feeling distant. His voice felt as if it would fail him soon, too. “I do not! How could I look like anything but a high schooler?! According to both Japan’s and the Empire’s laws, I am a high school student!” Her irritated tone forcibly pulled his fading consciousness back. “Very well, Ryouta. Starting today, you are a minion belonging to me, Shiren Fuyukura. That means you are my kin, my retainer, my help, and my butler all in one. You will serve me well! I may even grant you a bonus depending on your performance!” Minion? That wasn’t a word he heard all that often. He wasn’t sure if being a butler or a maid counted as being a minion, though. “Then, Ryouta, here is your first order.” He was about to pass out for real this time. The girl’s voice was faint and distant now. “You shall never leave me alone.” That was an oddly pessimistic order, and kinda clingy. Ryouta’s consciousness then completely vanished, leaving him to his dreams. Dreams typically come in two kinds: dreams the dreamer knows are dreams, and the ones they don’t. That’s why Ryouta figured this must have been the former. He was in his fourth-grade classroom, feeling nervous and restless because all the girls in the class were staring at him. That had been hard on little Ryouta. “Asagiri is so cool, isn’t he?” “He’s not immature like the other boys.” “I’m going to give him chocolate on Valentine’s Day because I really love him!” He would pretend he never heard any of that gossip. It was all because of the spell anyway, not because he was actually good-looking. He didn’t want to be this attractive; he just wanted to be regular friends with girls. But there was just one girl who showed no interest in him. “Come on, you shouldn’t bother Ryouta like that,” she cautioned the others with an annoyed look. “At this rate, he won’t be able to come to school anymore because of the stress, and then you’ll just be upset. Think a little bit about the future.” And with that, the other girls stopped gossiping. Ouka Sarano—whenever she entered the classroom, the eyes focused on Ryouta found something else to look at. She had bright, un-Japanese-like red hair and clear blue eyes. Her face was also intimidatingly beautiful, keeping others at a safe distance from her, and she was like the queen of the class. She was also the only girl among them who wasn’t captivated by Ryouta. “Thanks, Ouka, as always.” “I’m not asking favors from you for this, so don’t worry. But you’re responsible, too. You’re too indecisive, Ryouta. You’re going to make a lot of girls cry when you grow up. You need to fix this lifestyle of yours before you get yourself killed.” “Killed? That’s too much.” “Slaughtered, then.” “Okay, but that synonym still means the same thing!” “Kids frolic around In the frozen Siberian plain Like arctic hares Licking the snow.” “Why did you turn it into poetry?! That’s some weird imagery you have going on there!” “Then how about this? Kites fly energetically In the sky like birds Little kids swim around Like fish in school swimsuits.” “Okay, whatever. But please don’t talk about little kids like that.” Ouka was always like this; her outspoken nature was just the beginning. But her frankness on the topic made Ryouta happy. Ouka was the only one in his class who looked at him not as a boy, but as a classmate. That was why it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to develop a crush on her. She was the only one he could fall in love with, one-on-one as humans. “But, yeah, I guess if in seven years you find yourself in a mess you can’t get out of, come to me.” She stood before him, then poked him on the forehead with her nail. “Then I’ll protect you from all the bothers of the world.” She smiled like a queen. She kinda was; she was rich enough to be picked up and dropped off at school in a car with tinted windows. “R-really…?” “Yes. The Emperor’s word, once passed, never returns. A ruler never goes back on her word.” It was almost like a proposal, so Ryouta found himself flustered and stuck. “Ah, ah, ah, ahhhhhhh…” “And in return, you can expect to lose some parts if you get into any strange relationships.” “I’m losing what?! That’s terrifying!” “Here’s a hint: You can sell it on the black market.” “This is getting graphic! Stop!” —But despite everything, Ouka Sarano transferred to another school the next day without a single word. It was so sudden, not even the school could figure out where she transferred to. Still, ever since that day, Ouka remained Ryouta’s first crush. Couldn’t Ouka come save him from this random act of violence? Ryouta knew he would have collapsed after losing so much blood from his neck, which was why he knew this was also a dream. Was he about to die…? The dream wasn’t in his elementary school anymore. The background was just a cheap, blank canvas. But then— “You’re stupid, Ryouta. I said I was going to protect you, so I am. Rulers keep their word. That is a truth as unshakable as an oracle from heaven itself.” —Ouka appeared before him. “Now, take my hand. I’ll lead the way!” “Ouka… Huh?” When Ryouta reached out, he woke up. He had been sleeping in an unfamiliar bed. “No, is someone…?” He immediately checked beside him. It wouldn’t be entirely unthinkable to find a naked girl sleeping next to him. His sister had just assaulted him that morning. No one was in the bed but him. He was safe. “Then who saved me? Wait, that girl could have had an accomplice…” When he checked his phone, he found 136 unread texts from Kiyomizu. He deleted them all. “First I need to look around to see if anyone’s— What the heck is this?!” Just as he noticed the unfamiliar weight on his neck, he heard something ringing. When he looked in the mirror in the room, he saw on his neck a collar with a bell. “A collar?! I haven’t been kidnapped, have I?! Am I in a pervert’s house?!” Nervous, Ryouta checked the room. If this place belonged to some unhinged stranger, he had to get out of there right away! There wasn’t any chain attached to the collar, so he could escape. The room was dull, nothing particularly distinctive about it. At most, there was a calendar on the wall. Today was September 8, Monday. Hopefully, there wasn’t anything like “BITE” written on the day… 8TH DAY IN THE MONTH OF REVOLUTION TAIAN GOODBLOOD “Huh…? What’s the Month of Revolution? Is this some new zodiac thing?” Ryouta flipped through several pages of the calendar. All the names of the months he found gave him some pause, like the Month of Development, Month of Great Victory, Month of the Empire, and on and on. Just as Ryouta was wondering if it belonged to a girl obsessed with horoscopes, he heard a voice coming from behind him. “Oh, you’ve awakened. How have your first moments as a minion been? Starting today, I, Shiren Fuyukura, am your master! Serve me well!” There was no doubt about it—this girl was the one who had bitten his neck. She made a grand sweeping motion to place her hand on her chest. It didn’t seem as if she was planning on including an apology in the first thing she said to him, and that got under his skin a little. “Fuyukura, right? You really shouldn’t go up to people and just bite—” “Now, my minion, here is your first job: Clean this room!” Shiren pointed straight at Ryouta. “Hey, don’t point at people. It’s rude.” “Listen. Be sure to separate the plastic and paper garbage. Plastic bags go with the plastic. Wait, how do you dispose of spray cans? Oh, and there is some kind of cockroach antenna on the floor in the corner, so get rid of it as quickly as possible.” “Come on, quit pointing…” “The vacuum is one of those newer models that can get into every nook and cranny. It’s in the back of that closet there. Open the windows when you use it to get the dust out and the fresh air in.” “Stop pointing at me! It’s really getting on my nerves!” “This will be your bedroom from now on, Ryouta. But you may not hide any naughty books beneath your bed— Hey, you need to get cleaning!” “Then, put your finger down! And I’m asking you to explain what’s going on!” “Please clean for me.” “No, not even if you ask nicely.” “Please, cleaning, s’il vous plait, okay?” “Not even if you use French. And I’m pretty sure you just said please twice.” The girl’s expression quickly clouded over. “Hey, why isn’t my minion listening to my orders…? Then cook for me. I want bright-red omelet and rice today. You will write your master’s name—Shiren—on the egg with ketchup. The kanji characters are shi as in ‘poetry,’ and ren as in ‘compassion.’” “Nope. That’s too much to write with ketchup.” “…Then weed the yard. The backyard is infested. I cannot stand those bloodsucking mosquitoes. The only one allowed to suck blood around here is me, you see.” “Do it yourself. You order me around anymore, and I’m spraying some bug repellent in that mouth of yours.” “I’m telling you to do something! Fulfill your duty as my minion!” “I still don’t get what you mean by minion! You came out of nowhere and bit me—who do you think you are?!” “No… He didn’t turn into my minion?” The girl (apparently named Shiren) pulled out the strange book titled My First Minion and started flipping through the pages. It was the same one she’d had when they first met. She sounded like she was at her wit’s end. “Oh, I went too far,” she murmured, flipping through the pages. “No! Too far back! Um— ‘The easiest way to determine if you were successful in creating a minion is to strongly wish for them to spin around three times and tell an especially hilarious joke. Saying the request aloud will be more effective, as it will clarify your consciousness. Of course, it is ideal if the subject can hear your voice. In most cases, after spinning around three times, the subject will experience discomfort because they are unable to come up with a joke. If they do this, then that is proof you have found yourself a suitable minion. Should your subject come up with a hilariously funny joke, then it is recommended you give them a career in comedy. If they do not even spin around, then they have not been made your minion.’ There you have it… Spin around three times.” “You spin around. Three thousand times.” “Um— ‘In instances where the subject has not become your minion after biting into them for three minutes, then please consider the following causes: One, your spit still lacks the substance to create minions. This is because you are too young. Please wait until you turn fifteen. Two, are you really of Sacred Blood? Are you sure you’re not a Japanese person who thinks they’re Sacred Blood? Please see a medical professional for delusions of grandeur. Three, some other exceptional case.’ This can’t be. I am a wonderful high school student who just turned seventeen last month…” “Are you sure you’re not a wonderful middle school student who just turned thirteen the other day? You are way shorter than the average high school girl.” She punched him straight in the stomach. “Guh… You can’t just punch people without warning…” “It’s fine. Your face is in perfect condition.” “That’s not the problem!” “Ahhhh! He’s so quick to retort… This can’t… N-no, wait…” The girl named Shiren Fuyukura crouched to the floor, cradling her head. Ryouta wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but she seemed to be shocked to find he wasn’t her minion. He wondered if he should sympathize with her, but she had already bit and punched him, so he decided to stay neutral. “I dunno what’s going on here, but I need to get going home. I’ll walk to Akinomiya Station. I honestly should probably take you to court for this, but it looks like you have enough problems as it is, so I’ll let you go.” He was tired of dealing with her. They could barely communicate. “Huh? The JR lines aren’t in operation,” Shiren Fuyukura said with a blank look. “Ugh. Was there a cave-in along one of the tunnels, then? Well, there are buses from the station that go to Oshiro anyway.” “The public bus to Oshiro is out of service, too. The only ones running are domestic Imperial lines.” “No way… Well, I guess I could walk for four hours, and I’d reach Oshiro by then…” “No, you have no way to leave the Empire. All the roads are closed.” And that was when Ryouta finally realized something was amiss. “Wait, where are we?” “5-25 4-chome, Midori-dai, Sacred Blood Empire, postcode 4-238561.” “What was that after Midori-dai?” “Sacred Blood Empire.” Ryouta decided to get a grasp on the situation first; going home would come later. He sat opposite Shiren Fuyukura at the table. She had cushions laid out for them to sit on, and there was also a cup of tomato juice on the table. “First, Fuyukura, why did you bite my neck?” “Don’t call me Fuyukura. You are my minion, so—” “Half-pint. Middle schooler. Brat. Midpubescent. I’ll call you whatever I want.” “F-Fuyukura’s fine… I bit your neck to gain a minion for myself. It’s said that those of Sacred Blood are considered of age when they have their own minion. If you still don’t have your own minion when you reach high school, people start mocking you—Ba-ha-ha-ha, grooooss! Only middle schoolers don’t have their own minions! And I guess there really aren’t very many high schoolers without a minion.” “Wait. Stop using words I don’t know in your answers. Sacred Blood? Is that some new band or something? I don’t really know anything about current events; I don’t watch the news.” “Wait, really? Are you serious? You’re Japanese, and you don’t know about the Sacred Blooded?” Shiren looked at him as if she’d just seen an alien. He felt a twinge of regret, wondering if he’d just made a fool of himself with that question. “Question: What’s the name of the current prime minister of Japan?” “Koichiro Hirokawa.” “He resigned four whole months ago.” “Are you serious…? My info only ever updates once every six months…” The girl looked at Ryouta with pity. “I’m sorry; it’s not like you can enforce common knowledge. Everyone’s unique, but it doesn’t mean everyone has to be the best. Yes, you’re just as fine as you are.” “O-okay, your reaction is more than insulting; you’re acting sorry for me… Am I really that out of the loop?” “Listen…I didn’t expect there to be any Japanese people who were really this clueless, so I’m not sure if you’ll believe me, but let me start from the beginning. Five months ago in April, the Sacred Blooded brought the Japanese city of Akinomiya under its control and turned it into Empire territory.” “You’re kidding!” “I’m serious,” she replied immediately. “Um, so basically, Akinomiya became a sovereign nation about half a year ago… Is that what you mean?” “Right. But of course, Japan still won’t recognize this country’s independence, so I’m apparently considered a Japanese citizen under Japanese law. We’re being forced under a ‘one country, two systems’ policy. That’s why the Self-Defense Force isn’t able to enter, and we can keep our peace.” It sounded like these Sacred Blood people had taken over the town, and Ryouta had wandered in by chance. To think his ignorance of current events would result in such tragedy… “Hmm, you appear to be in pain. Don’t you like tomato juice? Would you prefer blood?” “No, I’m definitely okay with tomato juice— Wait, what? Your people have Blood in the name, and you suddenly came and bit me, which means— No way… But wait, isn’t it weird that you can substitute tomato juice for blood…? But…” This was something he definitely did not want to think about… “You Japanese call us vampires. I think it’s much too rude to liken us to silly fairy-tale creatures. Our emperor is currently filing a complaint with the UN that it’s a terribly discriminatory word. We have a proud history and tradition over two thousand years old! It was all torn to pieces after years of terrible suppression, but we still lived on in secret, and we have been waiting for our rallying moment since. And then finally this year, we rose under the Emperor’s command and took Akinomiya! There are currently forty thousand Sacred Blooded and ten thousand minions living in the Empire.” Ryouta had been completely oblivious to Japan’s tumultuous situation. “Okay… Then can you tell me more about these minions you keep mentioning?” “It’s essentially what you think of when you hear the word: When a Sacred Blooded bites a human, that human can be put to work. Apparently, this happens because of something in our saliva that enters the bloodstream when we bite them, but I don’t know the details.” “You get bit by a vampire and then turned into their underling…” Ryouta mentally compared this with the stories of vampires he’d often heard before. As a test, he straightened both of his index fingers, held one vertically and one horizontally across it, and shoved them at Shiren. “How’s this, Fuyukura? Anything?” “You have horizontal line AB with vertical line CD across the midpoint, creating ninety-degree angles.” “Wait, you’re not scared of the cross…?” “That’s an old wives’ tale. We historically never got along with Christians, so we just get irritated when we see the cross. But I suppose they would hide such a black mark on their own history.” So they did have a violent history. “Huh. Okay, then how about garlic?” “Personal fave. Gets my blood going.” “There really isn’t much unique about you guys… Isn’t there anything that makes you special?” “We get hardier and stronger for a little while after drinking blood.” Shiren held out her arms and posed, flexing her biceps. There wasn’t much muscle there to flex, though. “I’m not very good at physical activity, if I do say so myself…” “Yeah, you really didn’t need to say it yourself. But forget about that— Do the Sacred Blooded have any particular weaknesses?” “We hate slimy things…” “Slimy things?” “Yams, natto, nameko mushrooms, okra—we get hives just looking at the stuff… We hate liquid soap, too, so we buy the kind that comes out in foam… And a while ago on TV, there was some sort of series on cooking with slugs, and yeah, no. No thank you. If someone told me to eat one of those, I’d probably just bite off my tongue and die.” “I think that’s just a personal preference of yours.” “Okay then, would you eat a slug if someone told you to?!” “No, definitely not! Wait, we’re off topic here! I don’t care about what you have to say about slimy stuff!” They’d gotten off track, so it was time to regroup. In short: “…Are you really a vampire, Fuyukura?” When he called her a vampire again, Shiren’s eyebrows twitched upward. “Don’t use that word! It’s rude! Those spooky creatures in stories are just based off a real people who drink blood! We’re the original! You’ve got it backward!” Well, what he got from that was that these Sacred Blooded people were an actual thing. But hold on. “Then why don’t I have to obey you, even after you bit me?” He could read the panic in her face: Oh no, why’d he have to ask that? At least she was aware of it. “You see, when the humidity rises over a certain percent, the compounds that control humans sometimes don’t work effectively. The reason this happens is because bacteria proliferates in high humidity and blocks the crucial compounds. So then you might think dry winter days are better, but if it gets too cold, then that can hinder the activation of the enzymes, so that’s not great, either. Also, they say that for ages, it’s always been hardest to create minions on days of omen, butsumetsu, but easiest on days of auspice, taian. I think that’s rather unscientific, but I suspect there’s some surprising facet of truth to this old tale. I think it’s shortsighted to sneer at your own past.” Wondering if today was an auspicious day, Ryouta reached out to the book next to Shiren. The My First Minion book. His eyes settled on what he was looking for. In instances where the subject has not become your minion after biting into them for three minutes, then please consider the following causes: 1. Your spit still lacks the substance to create minions. This is because you are too young. Please wait until you turn fifteen. “This basically says you’re still too much of a kid to make any minions, Fuyukura.” “You don’t have to say it out loud… This is embarrassing…” Shiren leaned over and planted her face onto the table. Her pigtails sprawled across it like worms. Ryouta felt a little bad for her; he was slightly more sympathetic this time. Still, he was glad he hadn’t been made into a minion. He found himself placing his hand on his chest in relief. At least the girl in front of him wasn’t harmful. He had nothing to be afraid of. She was just a girl. Wait…just a girl? “Hey, can I check something with you, Fuyukura? What do you think of when you see me?” “Upset that I couldn’t turn you into a minion, obviously. Shameful is the Sacred Blooded who does not make a minion of the human before them…” “No, not like that. Like, your heart clenching, or you can’t stop thinking about me—what I mean is a crush or something.” “Okay, you can only be so self-conscious. I suppose if I had to say, you have a nice face, maybe even a feminine face… But your personality is hideous.” Shiren glared at Ryouta with a This guy’s the worst kind of look. “No way!” Ryouta placed his hands on the girl’s shoulders and yanked her into a hug. “Gah! Wh-wh-what are you doing?! I’m the only one in the house here! You’re the worst! Japanese people are all dogs! I hate you!” Having suddenly been pulled into a hug, Shiren’s face instantly turned bright red. But Ryouta paid that no mind and held her tighter. “S… Stop… I know I’m the one who took you in here, but I had no intentions of this… At least give me a moment to prepare…” Tears were welling in Shiren’s eyes. “Fuyukura, what do you think of me? Be honest.” “I… I hate you, obviously! Why would you think I’d be happy you’re forcing me to do this?! You’re the worst! I hate you!” “You hate me? You mean you don’t see me as a love interest? And if you’re thinking I-it’s not like I LIKE you or anything! it still counts as romance, by the way.” “Don’t make me laugh! What makes you think I’d have feelings for a creep who says gross stuff like that?!” “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!” Overjoyed, Ryouta couldn’t stop himself from springing into the air. If this were an apartment, the downstairs neighbors would have complained about the noise. “Wait… You’re happy that a girl tells you she hates you? Are you some kind of masochist? But you have such a nice face… I guess the heavens don’t give with both hands.” “No! It’s all because of my gramps’s spell! He made me irresistibly attractive to girls, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any effect on the Sacred Blooded!” “I’ve never heard of any such perverse spell…” Shiren gave Ryouta an exasperated look. “All right, I’m gonna live here in the Sacred Blood Empire! We’re cut off from Japan, and there’s no way to go back anyway, right? So I’ll live here as a human in this new world! I’ll live a good and honest life!” “Calm down! You can’t just start living here that easily!” “I don’t care how hard it gets; it’ll be way better than Japan! My sister attacks me at home, my classmates attack me at school, college girls drag me into their cars if I ever walk down an empty street—do you understand my pain? Japan is a real-life dystopia to me, a world of crumbling moral values!” As long as there were women in the world, Ryouta could never live in peace. He had honestly and seriously been contemplating living out his future on a deserted island. But the majority of the population of this country were of Sacred Blood, and they weren’t affected by the spell. “I can finally have the right to life prescribed in the Japanese constitution!” He had to strike while the iron was hot. Ryouta was already gearing up to leave the girl’s house. “I’ll find an apartment somewhere. There’s probably a real estate agent in front of the station, right? I’d have to get a job to pay rent, but I think it’s better that way. Thanks for everything!” But suddenly, his legs grew heavy, and the bell around his neck chimed. Shiren was clinging to his legs. “Sorry, but you’ll have to do the cooking and cleaning and weeding all on your own.” “Stop! Don’t be so hasty!” “Well, I’ll do it if you pay me over nine hundred yen an hour. I do think my cooking is pretty good.” “Calm down and listen to me! You’ll be bitten immediately if you go outside!” “Bitten?” “The Sacred Blooded’s sense of smell can distinguish their compatriots and human minions from other types of humans. Basically, the second you step outside, you’ll look like the perfect candidate to become a minion! Don’t blame me if you end up the minion of some brawny, serious, stern bloodsucker!” At Shiren’s description, a horrible image appeared in his head. “Right, you came up to me because you found me, didn’t you?” “Yeah. It smelled like human, so I took out My First Minion because I bring it with me everywhere, and then I approached you. I also questioned you to make sure you were the right type of human to make a minion, remember?” “You’re strangely conscientious for someone who subjugates humans…” Ryouta finally understood why she had been asking such shady questions. She was trying to make sure he was okay with leaving Japan to be a minion. But in this situation, that still didn’t change the fact that going outside would be essentially advertising himself as a potential victim. “Are you telling me that the second I leave this house, the locals will start coming after me like I’m a million yen just walking around?” “The Sacred Blooded aren’t barbarians, nor are we hyenas that flock to dead carcasses. But I think you are more or less correct.” “This is the worst…” Feeling his energy draining away, Ryouta crumpled to the floor on the spot. He hated that for a fraction of a second, he believed he’d found paradise. He wouldn’t even be able to leave the house at this rate. “So…what would happen to my consciousness if someone did turn me into a minion?” If he ended up like a robot with no free will, he’d be in serious trouble. “You think we’re pure evil, don’t you? You won’t lose your own consciousness. The most your master could force you to do is to come to her vicinity, and no more.” It wasn’t as severe as he thought. “Some people refuse to do any cooking, cleaning, laundry, or anything else and do nothing but eat,” Ryouta mused. “According to them, they are excellent servants who guard their master’s house. Actually, that’s not unlike a butler living in a mansion.” “Then I guess you can pretty much do what you want, as long as you don’t want to go anywhere. But if you were the minion of some nutjob, you couldn’t ever run away, because they’d just call you back…” Ryouta suddenly found himself at a loss, thinking of his whole life ahead of him. ……… He was in such despair that his mind went blank. He’d thought he’d had it rough when just women came after him, but now he found himself in a world where he would be attacked by both men and women. If this was the alternative, Japan would be much better. “What am I supposed to do?” Ryouta asked Shiren, lowering his head. There was no one else he could rely on here. “Clean this room and make me some omelet rice.” “I was an idiot for asking you.” “Um, well, I have Internet here in my house, so you could stay here and play MMOs until they consume your mind?” “You mean I’ve really gotten myself stuck… But I guess…this is all my fault, since I never look at the news. You have to pay close attention to what’s going on in the world around you… If you don’t, you’re always open to exploitation…” If he were anywhere within walking distance of the Sea of Trees on Mount Fuji, he would’ve been compelled to go straight there. But he couldn’t even leave. On the other hand, Shiren’s expression suddenly lit up. “Oh, that’s right—I know what we can do! This would be a win-win situation. Just wait here!” It looked as if she’d gotten a spark of inspiration, and she left the room. He could hear her mumbling to herself in the other room: “This isn’t it; that’s not it… Here it is!” She came right back, hiding something behind her back. “There is one way you can walk freely within the Empire and live as a normal human.” “Huh, okay…” Ryouta’s gaze snapped upward to his ray of light…! But when his eyes reached Shiren’s expression, he saw a crafty grin on her face—and a metal chain in her hands. “W-w-wait, seriously?!” “Just place this on your collar.” That reminded him he was still wearing it. “You will spend each day with the collar on, and when you go outside, I’ll attach this chain and walk around with you. Everyone will then recognize you as my minion.” “What kind of kinky crap is this?!” “But you can go outside like this; I guarantee it. The Sacred Blood Empire Civil Code Article Sixty-Seven states: ‘If one has yet to carry out the minion contract, they must clearly demonstrate by any means their intention to make the subject their minion in the future.’ So it might be a little sketchy with just a collar, but as long as the candidate for the master is at the other end of the chain, then no one can touch you.” That sounded reasonable. This way, she could take him to a safe place. If he could get to the base of the mountain, the game was his. “Thank you! Now I can go home! I was thinking about how terrible it would be if I’d been taken in by some weirdo, but I take it back! You’re practically a saint!” Ryouta got on his knees and prostrated himself to her. He needed Shiren’s help to go home. “Excuse me? Did I ever say I’d let you go home?” she asked coolly from above. When he looked up, he saw a wicked smile on Shiren’s face. A villainous smile. “What? …Aren’t you pretending to be my future master with the chain so you can take me somewhere I won’t be attacked? You’re not helping me get back to Japan?” “No,” she responded instantly. “Erm, your name’s Ryouta Asagiri, right? Ryouta, my gift to you is the life of a human in Empire lands. As the minion (candidate) of Shiren Fuyukura, that is.” “You’re saying…I should promise to be your minion…?” “Exactly. If you do, then I can guarantee your safety. It goes without saying that you will serve me both in and out of the house, though.” “Urgh… She’s taking advantage of me.” “I’m not saying it’s impossible to pull off. You can leave this house and run if you want. There aren’t many people in the residential area in the mountain, and you might be able to escape without being found. And then you might be able to return to Japan. But if you leave, I’ll report you.” Man, this girl doesn’t have the word mercy in her vocabulary… “But I suppose even if you ended up caught by another Sacred Blooded, one of those big-breasted women you love so much might make you her minion instead, so you might think it’s not so bad after all.” “I never said I was into that; don’t put words in my mouth.” “Oh, and there’s this seriously buff older man living nearby, and he’s apparently looking for a minion. His motto, by the way, is Gays of a feather.” Ryouta could physically feel his blood draining, to the point that he finally understood where the expression came from. “Please let me live here for just a little while longer…” Ryouta bowed his head. He felt humiliated, but it was the only way for him to survive. But wait, it wasn’t like he was going to turn into her minion straightaway. He could just slip out and escape when he had a chance. “You weren’t just thinking about slipping away when you had a chance and stealing my money on your way out, were you?” She was mostly right, but she was adding to his crimes. “That’s not enough. Get on your knees and say, Please allow me to live in your grand abode and serve you as your humble minion, Lady Shiren Fuyukura.” “I’m gonna make you cry one of these days, I swear it. I’ll make you grovel and say, I’m so sorry, Ryouta Asagiri, sir.” Please allow me to live in your grand abode and serve you as your humble minion, Lady Shiren Fuyukura. “I think you may have switched your thoughts and your show of obedience…” “Crap! I was so mad I forgot!” “…Very well. You will soon realize how magnificent I am as a master, and you will worship me. Now stand.” When he lifted his gaze, Shiren took Ryouta’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “Ryouta, starting today, you will faithfully serve me as my minion.” “She’s calling me by my first name as if she’s earned the right…” It was inevitable, but it still irritated him. “I will serve you well, Lady Fuyukura.” “Just Shiren is fine.” He was surprised to hear she was okay with that. “Then…Shiren.” “Oh, I wanted you to call me Lady Shiren, but…I suppose I’ll let it slide. Shiren is fine.” “Shiren, hmm. You know, that’s kind of a cute name.” “You know, the official way to write my name originally came from a shortened version of leonine purgatory.” “What are you, a creature in an action comic?!” “Anyway. It’s a pleasure, Ryouta.” Shiren held out her hand. Guess I’ll be deferential this time. “No, the pleasure is mine, Shiren.” When he shook her hand, he found that it was smaller than he thought. He finally realized that this was his first time shaking hands with a woman who had no ulterior motives. He didn’t mind handshakes like this. There was a clear master-servant relationship between them, though. “Yay! Now I have my own minion!” Shiren’s excitement was clear in her voice, and the unbridled joy in her eyes matched her innocent smile. “You are mine starting today, Ryouta. Forever and ever!” I never agreed to forever. Well, if she’s gonna be this happy about it, then maybe it’ll be worth serving her for a bit. While he was talking to her, another forty-three new texts had come from Kiyomizu. He deleted them all.
Chapter 3
34 min read