Chapter 79

Ryouta considered himself a good cook, but he had a long way to go before reaching this level. “It is fun to cook things yourself, too~. You can’t find boiled taro and meat-and-potato stew in expensive restaurants~.” “Oh yeah, you’re good at cooking, too… Honestly, when do you ever rest…?” “I told you, this is my first day off in a long time.” Ryouta recalled her mentioning that. “I feel kind of bad that you have to spend it with me…” “It’s not a problem, so long as I get to spend it with a friend.” She’d called him a friend out loud—it was a bit embarrassing, but in a good way. “It’s an honor. And you know, I think you might think you don’t have many friends, but you have plenty of people who’d say otherwise. It happens more often than you think.” Ryouta felt like this was somewhat similar to Shiren’s case—a negative character in the guise of a positive character. “Oh~. I suppose a gigolo like yourself would say something like that.” “Gigolo? That’s not what I am!” “You might be the only one thinking that. The guys in your class are pretty upset by how many lady friends you have. They’re all thinking, Seriously, eff that guy.” “What?! Give me a break… I can’t take having so many enemies… Actually, no, we’re not talking about me today…” They were supposed to be talking about Alfoncina. “You just need the courage to speak up. That should solve everything.” “Courage, hmm…” “You should just ask people if they want to be friends, or if they’d like to hang out with you. I’m telling you, that will solve a lot of these problems.” “That is quite the hurdle…” She sighed. “Compared to working as both an archbishop and a manga artist while attending high school? It’s real easy,” Ryouta said honestly. It wasn’t something worth worrying over—that was why he told her with confidence how simple it would be. “Eep!” Alfoncina’s eyes widened. The noise she made didn’t sound intentional, either. “What an optimist. You really have a way with words, don’t you, Ryouta? I almost feel embarrassed just listening to you.” “Well, I don’t know if I could survive life otherwise…” He would have crumbled into himself when he was living in Japan. “All right, I’ll try to think more positively.” “Yes! Best of luck!” “But first, we need to get through our work tomorrow and then get home safely.” Once again, a faint cloud passed over her face. The course meal took a rather long time, so it was nine PM when they returned to the room. “……” “……” Sitting in silence together was extremely awkward. Ryouta had to keep his eyes away from the double bed at times like this. “I’m going to take a look for a gift to bring back to Shiren. Can I…borrow some money?” His sacred yen embarrassed him too much to show to people, so Japanese yen was indeed functioning as a separate currency. Alfoncina ultimately lent him a ten-thousand-yen bill. “And take the room key. I’ll be here~.” He slipped the key into his pocket and headed for the souvenir shop. “I guess I’ll have to go with cookies or chocolate… They’re so expensive…” Considering how extravagant the hotel was, its souvenirs were priced higher, too. But gifts weren’t the only reason he had decided to come here alone. He was going to call Shiren. She was probably done eating by now, so he decided to tell her how things went today. “Did something happen, Ryouta?!” Shiren shouted through the phone. “Did Alfoncina attack you?! I’ll be right there!” “No, no! Nothing’s happened! And it’s not like you can get here anyway!” There were almost five hundred kilometers between Tokyo and the Empire. It was a stupid conversation, but they were both relieved to hear the other’s voice. Ryouta was happy he made the call, too. “We’re finished eating now, and we’re back in for the night. She hasn’t done anything weirder than usual to me, so don’t worry.” “I see, good… I’m relieved… I thought you were a lost cause. I was thinking about going to save you, even…” “Yikes!” “I barely ate anything; I was so nervous…” *She actually ate a lot. “What did you have, by the way?” “We’re talking about food again? Ah, some French stuff.” “Hey! How dare you eat so much fancier than your master!” “Huh? I thought Ouka invited you out somewhere nice?” “It was Bura-Bura, the bar and restaurant chain…” “Oh…I’m…sorry about that…” They’d gone somewhere much cheaper than he’d imagined, almost shockingly so. “Anyway, I’m in the souvenir shop right now. You want cookies or chocolate?” “Both.” “You really don’t feel like choosing one, do you?” His only option now was to buy the cheapest portions of each. “Oh, and there’s something I need to tell you, Ryouta…” “Okay, what is it?” “N-no getting married to Tamaki, okay…?” “ S o r r y . I h a v e n o i d e a w h a t t h a t m e a n s . ” Is that what she wanted to say to him while he was off traveling with Alfoncina? “Well, it’s not Tamaki’s fault or anything. She’s a really great person, if you ignore the convenience-store troubles and her problems at home and her overly negative personality.” “Stop listing her problems—you’re basically insulting her.” “But listen, just because you’re in the same social class, that doesn’t mean you have to choose her to be your wife, okay? The power of love can carry you over the walls of the hierarchy. Don’t think that running a store with poor sales is perfect for your level.” It was good to surpass the walls of the hierarchy—his traveling partner’s face came to mind. Alfoncina’s had a tough time because of her position… Why was Shiren talking to him about this anyway? “What are you trying to say? What were you all talking about at dinner?” “L-let me put this simply: Think twice before you marry Tamaki!” “Wha—? I haven’t even thought once about it!” “I see—he can avoid marrying Tamaki by sticking with Alfoncina. Wait, but then there’s no point! You idiot!” “You’re panicking! I haven’t thought about marrying anybody, so stop worrying about this!” But he heard Alfoncina’s name, so he found her in his thoughts again. Wait, don’t think so hard about this… Shiren’s just rambling again… “I see, that’s a relief…” “I’m not even dating anyone, you know…” Shiren’s reply came after a short pause. “Yeah…you’re not dating anyone…” He thought he was stating the obvious, but for some reason, she sounded dejected about it. “…Sorry, I know you only told me the truth, but I kind of froze.” “What happened…?” “Nothing, honestly. That rabbit just got carried away.” Kokoko must have said something. “All right, I’m hanging up, then. Make sure to lock all the doors and windows.” “Okay. And I have one last question.” “What is it?” “What is it like being alone with Alfoncina? Big Sis said she’s always putting up a front, so…” That brought a slight smile to Ryouta’s face. He had actually considered how similar to Shiren she was. “Yeah, she reminds me of you.” “In looks, you mean?” The misunderstanding irritated him. “No, how you tend to keep people away. All right, see you tomorrow.” “Yes, do good work.” Their call ended there, but what she said at the end lingered in his mind. Oh yeah, what is our work anyway…? Alfoncina was probably going to be having a meeting with important Japanese officials, but what was he supposed to be doing in the meanwhile? Am I a bodyguard? But I don’t have any weapons on me. Walking around with the Imperial Guard sword would be illegal, too. He’d come all this way on the hopeful supposition that violence wouldn’t be an issue. I can’t imagine that I’d be a part of the meeting. Will she use me for my opinions as a Japanese citizen in the Empire? That would make him a very special person. But I doubt it. I wasn’t supposed to be coming to Japan in the first place anyway… It’s probably a job more suited for a member of the Holy Church. There was no questioning here that Alfoncina would be playing a main role in this job. So maybe she didn’t think it was necessary to brief me on what we’re doing beforehand. Or maybe… I doubt it, but…maybe she can’t tell me…? He had a bad feeling about this. He’d gotten dragged into all kinds of shenanigans in the past, and the feeling he had right now usually preceded them. But I think Alfoncina would tell me if it really was going to be that dangerous… He didn’t go straight back to the room. Instead, as he wandered, he found the newspaper corner. GOVERNMENT LEADERS MEETING WITH SACRED BLOOD EMPIRE OFFICIALS DETAILS, LOCATION UNKNOWN, MOST LIKELY IN TOKYO The headline leaped out at him. This was definitely going to be an important meeting. He scanned the newspaper. The article supposed that the reason both the location and participants were not made public was in order to keep them from getting attacked. It was true that the Empire’s presence was not a welcome one in Japan. He’d heard himself that many strongly believed that Akinomiya should be taken from the Sacred Blooded by force. That said, if the participants of this meeting were to be attacked while in Japan, it would be very bad news for Japan’s international reputation. That was probably why the information was kept a secret—which was an obvious hypothesis, but that seemed to be the gist of it. I’ll just have to trust Alfoncina on this. With heavy steps, Ryouta took the elevator back up, then opened the door to their room. “Alfoncina, I’m ba—” “Ahh, what a refreshing shower… Hmm?” When he entered the room, there stood Alfoncina, buck naked. Her proportions were honestly perfect—all the curvy parts were certainly curving where they ought to. Oh, didn’t she say she sold a swimsuit-photo collection in Japan or something…? Gulp. Ryouta unconsciously swallowed. She looked…so good… I can tell by the steam that she just got out of the bath. I really got here with perfect timing— Wait, now’s not the time to be thinking calmly about this! “S-sorry! I’ll come back later!” Slam. He shut the door behind him and sat down in front of it. She was just…naked! This was so awkward; talking about their itinerary for the next day would be impossible now. Instead, the image he’d just seen played back in his mind. She had such nice skin…like she just stepped out of a Renaissance painting… Stop, stop thinking about all this… As he agonized to himself, there came a knock from the other side of the door. “I’m dressed now. You can come in~.” “All right… Um, you’re not going to surprise me by actually being naked or anything, are you?” “I wouldn’t lie about that. I’m wearing normal clothes~.” “And no bathrobes that barely cover anything, okay?” Ryouta was cautious, considering his past experiences. “Aw~. I packed my own pajamas, so I’m wearing those. I brought them to a pajama party with Ouka once~.” “That sounds like it’d be all right, then.” When the danger was gone, he entered the room. And there she was, all pajamaed up. “Oh, you were telling the truth— Wait, are these see-through?” They were pajamas in the strictest sense of the word, but they were sheer. Wouldn’t something like this be called a negligee or baby doll instead? “Hmm? It hides what it needs to.” Alfoncina, on the other hand, genuinely considered them pajamas. But except for the important bits, it was completely see-through, which really just made it lewder. “A-Alfoncina, doesn’t it, uh…violate the standards of public decency…? Honestly, it’s kind of worse than being totally naked…” “But Ouka wore this sort of thing at the pajama party.” “Pffft!” Ryouta choked a bit imagining Ouka in a negligee. “Crap…I think I’m going to get a nosebleed. This is so stereotypical…” “Hmm? You’re getting a nosebleed? That’s no good~. And I remember Sasara wore something like this that day, too. I think she was huffing over Ouka~.” This time, Ryouta imagined Sasara in the naughty pajamas. “Pffft!” He choked again. “Yeah, I think I’m gonna get a nosebleed…” “I’ll go grab a tissue, so sit tight~.” Alfoncina brought the box of tissues over from the corner of the room. “Here you go. Are you all right, Ryouta?” “Yeah, nothing’s come out yet, so I’m okay…” “But it’s already too late once the bleeding starts~. You’ve been so strange, Ryouta. You’re getting all stiff and frozen in place~.” “Yeah, I’m sorry…” For the moment, he had to get Alfoncina out of his field of view. “I’m gonna take a shower, too!” He got his change of clothes and ran into the bathroom. So it was true that rich girls wear pajamas like that! His heart was still beating fast, but he took a deep breath. That was dangerous. So much of this was dangerous. Sharing a room brought way too many problems, and now he was fully aware of that. But she’s still going to be there, even after I get out of the shower…obviously. That truth alone brought his mood down. He scrubbed his head and body to take his mind off it, but the problem lay ahead of him nonetheless. I just said we’d be friends, and now here I am getting turned on… First, I’m going to cool off while I have some privacy. Even though it’s kind of warm here in the bath… He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. Empty your mind, empty your mind… He chased his consciousness out of his head until his mind was totally blank and his self started to vanish. Just a little more, and he would be able to handle this like a wizened sage. And so he reached a stage of clean, pure bliss. —I want to serve. Hmm? A distracting thought… —I want to serve my master. All of a sudden, the minion power started to take effect—very similar to the sensation that had overtaken him when he ran to the cathedral. Agh, now…? Why? Alfoncina’s right there; I didn’t think this impulse would come… But the desire to serve slowly started eating away at his rational brain. Oh, maybe my desires as a minion started coming to the front because I was meditating…! Ryouta was partway to becoming Alfoncina’s minion, so the need to serve existed as an impulse deep in his subconscious. Then, after he had chipped away at his consciousness and surface-level delusions, his subconscious had come to the forefront. Now that he thought back on it, he had been so worried about Shiren last time that his brain hadn’t been working as fast as normal, so that impulse had taken over in one fell swoop when he ran to Alfoncina’s. Chasing out all distracting and worldly thoughts came with that risk. I think I chose the worst option here… If I can just get my underwear on… He mustered all his willpower to slip into his underwear while he still could. And with nothing else on, Ryouta returned from the bath. “Oh, did you have a nice bath, Ryouta~?” “Alfoncina, let me serve you!” The air in the room both froze with tension and turned extremely confusing. “H-how are you going to serve me wearing that? …Oh.” Alfoncina’s face went bright red. “No, you can’t! I mean it, no! I forbid you from giving me that type of service!” In her shock, she curled up on the bed and hid her face. “Just because you’re my minion, that doesn’t mean I need that much… I’d use that medicine to get rid of such a minion…” A corner of Ryouta’s mind understood that this was bad and told himself to calm down, but the minion power was winning out. However, when he saw Alfoncina shivering on the bed, a weird switch flipped on in his mind instead. “Master, please let me serve you! I will do anything, so please let me do it!” Stop, hey, stop this! Just let it rest there! We won’t be able to take this back if this goes much further! “Ryouta, that’s just because you’re a partial minion, s-so please calm down…” Alfoncina, just run—don’t bother trying to talk me down. Whatever you say will only make me more excited… “I am your minion…so…” If only I’d known—I should have taken the Jieyi pills beforehand! “Ryouta, you know this is against the pledge I wrote… Oh, I brought it with me, so let me get it out!” Alfoncina fished around in her bag for the paper. 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. She realized something. “Oh…I can’t make you my minion, but it doesn’t say I can’t be naughty.” That really isn’t the calm analysis I need right now! When she’d written the pledge, both Shiren and Ouka had been there, so they probably hadn’t gotten into much detail beyond that. “Which means…the rules don’t forbid it… The rules say… What should we do, Ryouta?” Alfoncina asked, placing a finger to her lips. In that outfit, that questioning gesture made him think of a delicate doll. Don’t ask me! Even if it’s not on there, it’s obviously not okay! Please say no! “I-I’m fine either way… Can you decide…?” At that moment, he could feel his rational side trying to beat down the minion instincts. “I-i-if that means serving you…” C’mon, brain! Think! Reason! Win! And hurry up! And finally, his instincts were suppressed. “A-all right…let me take off my pajamas, then… Oh? Would you rather I keep them on, though…?” “Pretend this never happeeeeeeeeened!” Ryouta immediately ran back to the bathroom and dunked his head into water. “Pant, pant, pant…” He felt exhausted. “I think that’s the most danger I’ve been in since moving to the Empire…” Ten minutes later. “Gosh, you really scared me~.” “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I honestly can’t apologize enough…” Alfoncina poured water from a bottle into Ryouta’s glass, and he gulped it down. Best to cool his head along with his body. “I messed up, and the minionification suddenly got stronger, and then there was a misunderstanding on top of all that… What I want to say is that I think I’m okay now…” “You’re right. I don’t think these fits have occurred in such rapid succession, have they?” “If they started happening all the time, then I don’t know if I’d be in my right mind again… I think it’s about time I take that medicine…” There was no questioning that it was much safer for him to not be a minion. “But you shouldn’t use it now. Look at this.” She took out the medicine leaflet. HOW TO TAKE THIS MEDICINE & IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THIS MEDICINE This medicine is very strong. Take after a meal. Do not take before going to bed. “How dangerous is this…?” That warning label was not encouraging. “I should be fine for the night. I’ll try it tomorrow…” “Let’s sleep, then.” “Uh…” It felt weird hearing that from someone wearing a see-through negligee. “We have an early day tomorrow, you know. Oh, did you misunderstand again~?” She grinned. “Well, obviously… Only way to deal with this… I can sleep on the floo—” “Oh, don’t do that, Ryouta. It’s not clean.” She grabbed his pajamas. “But sleeping in the same bed? That’s…” “You’re my staff member on this trip, aren’t you? Have some dignity~. How embarrassing would it be if you slept on the floor? So no! Sleep in the bed! It’s a double bed, so there’s plenty of room!” “Rrgh…you’re right… I understand what you’re saying…” He turned off the lights and got onto the right side of the bed, facing outward. The mattress was big enough to allow quite a bit of distance between the two. “You can come closer, you know~.” “No. And I know you’ll get embarrassed if I actually do.” “Yes…I don’t think I want that…” He had to pick out what parts of her were genuine and what was her acting—otherwise, they would both regret it. This kind of relationship was perfect for them—a reasonable distance, a push and pull they both participated in. “But if your rational side says you want something, you know, I don’t think I’d mind…” “Huh? I don’t know—” “I know boys can have urges…but if we acted on them, I don’t think I could call you a friend anymore.” “L-let’s not… I don’t think that’s something people who are just friends should do…” “Y…you’re right…” They both took deep breaths to calm down. Now that the lights were off, Ryouta figured it was time to go straight to sleep. Rustle, rustle. Ryouta could tell Alfoncina had gotten closer. “Ryouta?” “What now?” “During dinner, you told me to be courageous and say things out loud.” “I did, yeah.” He had told her that was all she had to do—a simple, yet effective gesture. “That way, your friends can help you.” “So then what would you do if I gathered my courage and told you something?” “Told me what?” “…If I told you not to be my friend but my boyfriend, then what would you do?” she asked. Her voice was very small. “Oh… W-well…” “There are so many things I have to do, and even though it can be too much sometimes, I feel like I can overcome it all when I’m with you.” “I-it’s nice to know you find me so reliable…” “Well…? You said you didn’t have a girlfriend, right…?” “You’re right, I don’t…” “You don’t have to be my minion. I just want to be with you…” Ryouta didn’t know how to respond. Neither of them was in a relationship with anyone else, so he couldn’t turn her down on ethical grounds. So while that was all fine and dandy… “I’m sorry, I’m just really scared…of tomorrow…,” she said. “It would be so much easier if I could be free from this pressure, and we could run away together…” “Um, is it going to be that bad…?” “If I asked you to throw everything aside and run away with me right now, would you come with me?” The question was much weightier than a confession of love—and Ryouta had nothing to say in return. “Then we’d never go back to the Empire; we’d live here as Japanese people. Then we could get married and make a modest but happy family. I sometimes think a simple life would be much happier.” “Um, Alfoncina…? Is your work tomorrow…really going to be that dangerous?” A silence befitting the night fell over them. “Ah-ha, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Until Alfoncina shattered it. Her laughter sounded forced. “Wh-what is it?” “Sorry, sorry. I was just thinking how flustered you’d be if I said that. Don’t get the wrong idea, okay~? The whole boyfriend thing was just a thought experiment~. I didn’t ask you outright if you wanted to. And all that about running away was a joke~.” “All right… You scared me.” “But it’s still a little early; I think it’d be against the rules~. I can’t say what will happen in two, three months, though~.” “Hey, what’s that supposed to mea—?” “I’m glad to have you as a friend right now!” “Yeah, me too.” “And I know I should have said this earlier, but…please try to stay away from me…” “Oh, so you don’t actually like me! I’m sorry!” “No, that’s not what I mean!” The panic grew in her voice, and there was a hesitant pause before she spoke again. “Right now, if you got too close to me…I don’t think I’d be able to hold back…” “Huh…?” “I would probably think, I want to make him my minion, I want him to be mine forever… Then I don’t think I’d be able to take it back… I don’t think I can win out over my own desires…” Ryouta’s muscles tensed until he was so strained, he couldn’t move. All that passed between them was Alfoncina’s speech. “When I rolled snake eyes and sucked your blood, I thought, You know, I wouldn’t mind finishing this… I was so embarrassed, but I was also really happy… I think I might lose control again in my current state of mind…” “All right…I’ll be careful…” “Good… Thanks…” Alfoncina fell silent. Ryouta also decided he wasn’t going to say anything anymore. He must have been a lot more tired than he thought, because drowsiness soon overtook him. He’d probably sleep like a rock—pass out, and then it’d be morning. Or so he thought. He thought he heard a noise. Was it morning? No, too early. He heard a voice from far away. “I’m going out for a bit, Ryouta. No need to get up, okay?” The voice was too quiet to wake him up. “I’m going to work. It’s time to face the music.” Yet what she said stuck with him. “There are things I have to do. I have to draw the line somewhere.” When Ryouta snapped his eyes open, Alfoncina was nowhere to be seen.