Chapter 73

“Why is that…?” “Because I’ll be betraying so many people…” Alfoncina peered hard at Ryouta. “And that would make you betray a lot of people as well. I hope you’re ready for that. I don’t think you understand that in your current state, though.” “I live for my master.” That was what Ryouta genuinely felt in that moment. Somewhere deep down in his heart, he knew something about this was bad, but it didn’t seem like that part was going to make itself known. “In another moment, you won’t be able to take back what you said.” There was a hint of defeat in Alfoncina’s smile. “Next, your neck. This is the last part… If you want me to stop, now’s your chance.” “Take my blood, Master…” Once again, she inhaled deeply. “Good-bye, Ryouta. In three minutes, I’ll be calling you Ryou.” She then stuck her teeth into his neck. “It hurts…” “Do you want me to stop?” “It’s starting to feel nice…” “Then I’ll do things to you that will make you feel good every night.” “Yes, Master…” “And in exchange, you’ll protect me, okay?” “I will be your shield…” “And not just physically. Protect me from their grudges and hatred, too.” “Yes, Master…” “Ahh, this must be fate. In reality, I’m certain you would have been made someone’s minion a long time ago.” Alfoncina smiled, freed. “So the very least I can do is make your minionhood enjoyable.” “Yes, please…” “And then we can go to all sorts of places together. We could even go on an overnight trip together. We’d go to all the amusement parks in the world. And if you complain, I’ll blame you for teasing me like this. How could I hold myself back after going through all these preparations?” Alfoncina slowly sucked his blood. Typically, the act would make her drowsy, too, but her nerves made her unable to enjoy the sensation. Two minutes left— “Stop! Stop it! Stop this!” —and that was when a tearful Shiren burst into the room. Her voice was mixed in with her hard breathing, which made her speech difficult to hear. Maybe she had run the whole way. And yet her feelings had reached Ryouta. “Oh, Shiren, why…?” “Shut up! You know why! You’re not finished, are you? Ryouta, are you okay?!” Words alone weren’t enough to ease her anxiety, so she went to embrace him. To her, it felt like they’d been separated for years. But before that— “You made it! Oh, what a relief!” Alfoncina suddenly pulled Shiren into a hug. “You saved me! I love you, Shiren!” “What? I don’t understand! Damn you, Alfoncina, you were about to make Ryouta your minion! How have I helped you? Why are you thanking me?!” “I’m so glad I don’t have to make him my minion!” “And get off me! Go away! I’m not into this…” Shiren was clearly blushing from the sudden close contact. “Oh, that’s right. Girls can make other girls their minions.” “Get those thoughts out of your head!” “Why not make some great friends and work alongside the Holy Church of the Sacred Blood staff members?” “You sound like a recruitment ad you’d find in the bathroom stalls of a cheap diner!” She would hate to be turned into Alfoncina’s minion right now. “First, you need to hold yourself accountable! Then we’ll settle this afterward!” “Indeed. First, let’s have something cold to drink. I’m so tired…” “Uh, I’m, uhhh… I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” After drinking some cold water, Ryouta came back to his full senses, then profusely apologized to Shiren, which leads us to the present. “If an apology was enough for a crime, we wouldn’t need the police—but it seemed you were in some kind of trance due to your minionification…so I guess you’re not really responsible…” “Exactly. I seriously don’t remember anything at all.” “I guess I can let you off with three eye jabs later…” “You’re not letting me off at all!” “Of course I’m not! Look at you, leaving your master high and dry and then acting so indecent…” “Oh, does that mean you wanted to do that same thing to him, too?” Alfoncina asked meanly. “Wh…what are you talking about? Why would I evvvr whnnn…?” The question was too embarrassing for her, and she faltered. Her face went so red, she almost looked ill. “Wh-why would I ever?! I believe my relationship with my minion should be pure, so I…I wouldn’t…do that…” “But even if your relationship is pure, you still have to suck his blood. You have to; otherwise, he’s not your minion~.” “Well, that’s… Oh, I hate you, Alfoncina! I’m not putting any more coins in your donation box!” Shiren snapped, and Ryouta had to apologize again. “I think we’ve caused you a whole lot of trouble today, so I’m sorry…” He bowed to Alfoncina, feeling like he’d crossed the line multiple times during that incident. “It was a gift from the god of dice~. I was surprised, too.” “I swear… Why did you end up making that one-in-thirty-six chance anyway…? I knew there was something about Ryouta, but he doesn’t need divine blessing for stuff like that!” “I’m shocked, too…but I don’t really remember… The whole thing was like a dream…,” said Ryouta. “I trust you’re telling the truth, Ryouta. I would be very upset with you if it turned out you were hiding something after all this time.” Shiren glared at Ryouta in a huff. Apparently, she didn’t totally trust him, even though this whole ordeal had happened because he was already half minion. “You may not have had full control, but I honestly don’t understand how you can suddenly run in the middle of a conversation like that! And to Alfoncina, of all people! Was it out of spite?! I bet it was!” Her fist was shaking; that must have been even more humiliating than he realized. “Conversation…? Sorry, I honestly don’t remember.” “Oh—forget about it! The mood was totally normal, you know… As they say in English, always air…” “I’m pretty sure that’s not right.” “But you went too far this time, Ryouta. I know you might hear your master’s voice in your head sometimes. But that desperate need to run off isn’t a part of it. And Alfoncina wasn’t forcing you to go to her, was she?” The truth was undeniable; that effect was much too powerful for what it was supposed to be. Even as Alfoncina’s minion, he shouldn’t have been so freely controlled. “Ah, I can answer that question~.” Alfoncina, a key witness in this scenario, joined in the conversation, realizing it could quickly become a scene of carnage. “You better, because I have some questions for you, too.” “First, I am certain the reason Ryouta came here today was because of a side effect.” “A side effect of what?” “The safety prayer.” “Safety? Whose safety?” This was news to Shiren. “Shiren, do you remember when I came home before and you told me I stunk of incense, like I’d been at some funeral? That was it. I smelled like that because both Alfoncina and Kiyomizu prayed for me.” “Oh yeah, I do remember that day…” “See, Ryouta, you were horribly injured in the battle at the mountain. You had a cloud of horrible luck over you then, enough to threaten your life. That is why I prayed for you in the Holy Church of the Sacred Blood fashion.” “It’s true, Shiren. She was serious when she did it for me. She got angry when I said anything,” Ryouta said, recalling what happened the other day. “When I was bleeding out and thought I would die, I heard Alfoncina encouraging me in my head, which pushed me to get through. Without her, I think I really would have died.” “Yes, yes. The prayer strengthened my bond with my minion, so when I felt Ryouta’s consciousness fading, I came to cheer him on! Well?” Alfoncina’s show of pride was partially in jest, but she had genuinely saved his life. “I had no idea… I know it’s a bit late for this, but thank you, Alfoncina…” “Ha-ha-ha, of course, we have each other when it comes to troubled times. I really hope you enjoy YouRou IKou!’s new anime!” “Oh, yeah! I’m really looking forward to that!” *Shiren started talking about YouRou IKou! for a while, so we have omitted it. “So that’s why personally, I’m interested in seeing how you’re going to put Kanpiko in motion.” “Mm-hmm~. My policy is to include as many minor characters as I can, you see. I’m having a hard time imagining which ones will be popular.” “Yeah. I’d say that the side characters have more wiggle room when it comes to their plots, which makes them easier to deal with compared with the lead characters.” “Just between you and me, we’ll be adding two anime-only characters to the show~. With my official supervision, of course. I figured fans of the original will have to check it out then~.” “That’s kind of a gamble, too… It’ll be a big chaotic mess if it doesn’t go well…” “But if the anime is made faithfully to the original, then it won’t be as memorable as it could be. If we go for it and have fun with it, then even if it goes completely off track, we can treat it as a completely different work~.” “I guess anime has its own troubles. I don’t really know anything about adapting things for anime, so this was informative.” “By the way, should we be standing here talking about YouRou IKou?” “Oh, right, we were talking about why Ryouta came here!” “You were talking about anime for over ten minutes…,” Ryouta grumbled. He was starting to worry that they’d never return to the original topic. “I think I’ve already given you the answer. My bond with my minion got stronger because of the prayer~. And since Ryouta had already been my minion for a little bit, not serving me became unbearable to him.” “I see…so that’s why it’s a side effect…” If Ryouta and Alfoncina had absolutely no master-minion connection at all, then he truly might have died back then. Only a Sacred Blooded master could cut into their minion’s consciousness. But that was also why Ryouta had suddenly run to Alfoncina’s side. “I was so shocked, too~. See, you know the saying—when petticoats woo, something something. Right? That’s what it was like~. He came to me practically begging me to suck his blood. It was written all over his face.” “When petticoats woo, breeks may come speed, right…? But the genders are flipped here…” “I was conflicted, too. I knew that if I finished making Ryouta my minion because of this, it would be horrible news all around~. But he came running the whole the way to me, which might as well have been an order from the gods.” “And so you rolled the dice, and it landed on one and one…” A cold bead of sweat dripped down Shiren’s cheek. Had she been three minutes later… “That’s right. Those dice are purified and holy—once I made the choice to bring them out myself, I had to go through with the answer the gods gave me. It would be blasphemous not to believe them.” She wasn’t allowed to test her god. “Alfoncina, is there a risk of this happening again?” In all honesty, this was beyond Ryouta’s conscious control. He had no confidence he’d be able to power through it if there was a second time. It was unclear if that was even possible. “To put it briefly, probably. You could say that a tunnel has been opened,” Alfoncina said. “We can’t have that!” Shiren leaned forward. “I saw it because he was right in front of me, which was why I got here on time, but if this keeps happening…he’ll become your minion…” “You do realize there’s a possibility that I won’t have him, right~?” “How can I trust you? If I were you, I know what the outcome would be. If someone brought a full-course tomato dinner before me, I’d lose to temptation two, five times.” “Your example is hard to relate to…and you give in to temptation too easily.” “What?! Who could resist a full-course tomato dinner?! Then I should sit you down and talk to you at length about the wonders of tomato dishes!” “No, I will have to impolitely turn you down. And you really would talk for hours, wouldn’t you?” The Sacred Blooded did seem to like tomatoes, but Shiren was on a whole different level. “But I don’t want to be subject to these side effects forever… I’m scared, too…” Even if Alfoncina didn’t end up biting him, it would still be a hindrance on his life. Both Shiren and Ryouta knew they had to do something about this. “If you remained with me by default, then I doubt you will be subject to those kinds of attacks!” “No! That’s not the point, here! Ryouta’s my minion!” Of course, Shiren resisted this idea. If their solution didn’t allow the two to live together, what were they even accomplishing? “Hmm…if only there was a medicine or something that could reset a minion’s relationship…” “Oh, there is a medicine~.” “Yeah, I didn’t think so. I’ve never heard of one any— Wait, there is?!” In a flash, Shiren slid close to Alfoncina. “There is a way to do so before a minion completely becomes a minion. There is a traditional Chinese remedy called Jieyi pills. It can remove a minion’s bonds.” “That’s it! We can solve all this if we use that! Wait, hold on…” Shiren’s face clouded over. “But I bet it’s too expensive for us to afford, right? I see where this is going.” “It is expensive, but it’s not unaffordable. I suppose its location is the problem.” “Location?” “No traditional-medicine shops in the Empire sell it, so you can’t get it here.” “Which means… Right…” The Empire population was only about fifty thousand at most, so there was nobody who could practice traditional medicine in earnest. “To make matters worse, there are all kinds of ‘traditional’ medicines, which means they only have small doses of things. You can get it in Japan.” “Oh no. That’s too far…” It wasn’t far distance-wise—but it might as well have been. Japan did not recognize the Sacred Blood Empire, which had unilaterally declared independence for their territory. And that was why there were no diplomatic relations between the two. Shiren’s excitement fell instantly, and her pigtails drooped onto the floor. “Hey, cheer up. I’ll do what I can to make sure nothing happens like it did today,” Ryouta said. “Shut up… Say what you want, but you’re going to go away again. That’s always how it’s been…” “You’re right… I can’t guarantee it, but…” It was possible that this was beyond Ryouta’s willpower. ““……”” Silence fell between Ryouta and Shiren. “Good evening~. Agh, it’s so humid~. I wish it’d cool down a bit. I almost want to charge the Empire’s climate an inconvenience fee.” Ouka sauntered in, almost like she’d come to visit a neighborhood friend’s house. She had one thin cardigan over her pajama shirt, and unusually, jeans. “Oh, good evening, Ouka~. What is it?” Alfoncina asked. “You haven’t submitted the international travel request documents for your trip to Japan this weekend, right? The deadline for that is coming up.” “I’m going to hand it in at school tomorrow~.” “You’ve told me that five times already. You always forget. So give them to me now. That would make it quicker.” “The emperor herself came all the way here to collect it… It’s a commendable effort, in a way.” Typically, Ouka would have her staff take care of this. She was actually doing her job. “Oh~. I do actually get paid overtime for this. Pay for my out-of-emperor hours is a hundred fifty thousand sacred yen per hour. Oh, and my overtime is covered by the citizens’ taxes.” “This is turning out to be very expensive!” “You know the saying: The people’s livelihoods come first.” “That is not a saying, and it sounds super weak coming from you!” “By the way, why are you here? Are you here for dinner? This is rather far to walk,” she asked, finally noticing the other two. “It’s…a long story…,” Shiren said evasively. It wasn’t an easy answer to give. Alfoncina handed over the documents, and Ouka studied them. “I actually haven’t decided on who should accompany me~,” Alfoncina mused. “You’re just going to Japan; I’m sure anyone would be fine. With you in charge, anyone else is just a bonus,” Ouka replied. As Alfoncina pondered, a light bulb turned on in Shiren’s brain. “Big Sis, are you serious about what you said?” “Sorry, but taxes are going up. All across the country.” “No, not that! I meant about the petition to go to Japan.” “That’s right. Sometimes, very important people need to leave the country. What about it?” “Can I go to Japan if I apply?” “You can apply as much as you want, but you won’t get permission unless you have a very good reason. Japan has to give permission, too, after all. If you just want to go shopping, that won’t be enough.” “I see… I guess that means we can’t go. I thought it’d be really easy to get through if you were the only one making the decisions…” “That is a rude thing to say to your sister, Shiren,” Ouka retorted irritably. Ryouta recalled the evening news. “Oh yeah, they were talking about it on TV today.” The Empire and Japan were going to be negotiating something. Really, that wasn’t too strange. When two countries met, it was a given that the most important people would attend, and Alfoncina was the archbishop. “Oh, I see~. That could work~.” Alfoncina placed a hand to her mouth and chuckled. “I’m taking someone along as one of my staff, right~? Why don’t I pick Ryouta~?” “Hold on a minute! I won’t give you permission for that!” Ouka said, panicking. “You’re doing this for work! You aren’t allowed to treat this as a vacation, much less go alone with Ryouta… There is a hundred-out-of-twenty chance of this being a mistake.” “Come on, you don’t know that it’s a mistake…and I think your odds are a bit too high,” Ryouta objected for his own honor. “What? That’s because it obviously is a mistake. If Alfoncina were a cat, you’d be her cat food. You just know things are going to happen.” “Man, you don’t trust me at all…” “If there’s someone I’m not trusting here, it’s Her Horny Excellency.” “But he needs the medicine; otherwise, things will get worse,” Alfoncina said before explaining the previous incident. “Wow…I had no idea he was that far along in the minionification process…but considering how powerful you are, it does make sense…” A Sacred Blooded’s power depended on their lineage. Ouka and Shiren had royal blood, which meant they could transform into a battle mode that made them look like the Goddess of Blood. Their power for making minions was rather powerful. Shiren couldn’t do it only because she was still physically a small child. Alfoncina had the archbishop’s blood, which meant her own power to create minions was quite strong, and that power was greater due to her prayers and rituals. “We really have no time to lose right now… At this rate, my Ryouta is going to officially be turned into someone else’s minion.” “You’re right. And it’s not like Her Horny Excellency is going to hold back.” “What?! You don’t trust me at all!” Alfoncina pressed both hands to her mouth. Apparently, this lack of trust was truly a shock to her. “Obviously. Because if I were you, I would’ve made him my minion by now,” Ouka said casually. “Hey…what is that supposed to mean, Ouka…?” Ryouta wasn’t sure if he’d heard that right, but he wasn’t going to let it go. “Oh… No, I meant if I were Alfoncina… I obviously can’t be her, and it’s not like I have any feelings on the matter… Don’t make this weird, you fool!” Ouka protested, probably out of embarrassment. “Anyway, Kimura—” “No! Don’t use my real name!” Alfoncina hated being called by her real name, Matsuko Kimura, presumably due to its boring and old-fashioned connotations. “Why don’t you just get it when you go, Alfoncina? You could afford to send one of your other staff members to go buy it on the first day, couldn’t you?” “Don’t you think it’s a bad idea to take rare herbal medicines through customs? And you know it can dissolve incomplete minion transformations, right? It’s something that would be extremely useful in this country. Wouldn’t it be bad if Japan took note of that~?” “You’re right, it might not be possible… Then I guess our only choice is to have Ryouta accompany you…” Ouka turned to Shiren. “What do you think, Shiren? Do you not trust Ryouta and Alfoncina, or will you send him off and make him take the medicine there? Which is it?” “This is difficult… I don’t think we can keep him this way, but I still think it’s a bad idea to send both of them alone to Japan…” “Your options are rather extreme, aren’t they?” Ouka mused. “I doubt this will happen, but…what if…nine months after the trip…?” Shiren trailed off. “What?!” Ryouta interrupted. “You can’t just say whatever weird stuff comes to mind! I’d have to agree with you, though!” It sounded like the other two were imagining the unimaginable between him and Alfoncina. “They don’t trust us, Alfoncina,” said Ryouta. “Indeed. I wonder if they’ll tell us that’s our own fault…” The two suspects stood sadly off the side. “But this means we do get to stay the night together~.” Alfoncina tapped Ryouta’s back. “See, this is why people never trust you!” “Enough, you two!” Shiren bellowed at them, her face contorted with anger. “Big Sis, they can’t do anything while they’re working, and it’s just one night, right? He could probably handle it, right?” “You underestimate her. One night, and it’s over. O-V-E-R. Don’t underestimate her.” “I want to trust Ryouta, but… No, I can’t. He went way too far today…” After a very long discussion, they finally came to a conclusion. “It is settled, then,” Ouka announced officially. “Ryouta, go to Japan with Alfoncina as her staff member. Then when you have free time on day one, buy your medicine!” “Okay, I will…” Ryouta didn’t have the power to disobey her. “And, Alfoncina, write your written pledge.” And so Alfoncina wrote: I, Alfoncina XIII (real name: Matsuko Kimura), will not, under any circumstances, take advantage of my trip to Japan to make Ryouta Fuyukura my minion. I swear this on the name of the Goddess of Blood. Alfoncina XIII “Is this good enough…?” “Good. Now that you’ve taken the necessary steps, I accept. Even though this is still not enough to say we’re in the clear, I know there’s probably no other way, so I accept it with a broken heart.” “Indeed. I am extremely, extremely uneasy about this, but this is our only chance. You come home safe, Ryouta!” This sounded more like a last resort than he originally thought—but either way, Ryouta was now officially going on a trip with Alfoncina. “By the way, Alfoncina, are there any side effects?” Ryouta asked. It was something he had been wondering. “I told you, it was a side effect of the prayer that you came to me.” “No, I mean of the medicine.” “Oh, ‘side’ effects? Nothing at all~,” Alfoncina said. He thought he detected a hint of sadness in her voice. Am I imagining things? It didn’t seem right to press her for more answers, so he didn’t ask anything else. I really hope death isn’t a side effect.