Chapter 80

EPISODE 5 LET’S SEARCH FOR ALFONCINA! “Alfoncina?” Alfoncina had vanished; that was all Ryouta knew. There were no other clues. The bathroom door wasn’t locked, so she wasn’t taking another shower. She just wasn’t here. First, he contacted her phone. If it went through, then that might be enough to assuage his fears. Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz. The phone on the desk buzzed. She’d left it here. He had a bad feeling about this—it was almost as though she had to leave while he was asleep. He glanced at the clock. It was three thirty AM. Any work that started at this hour had to be unusual. Were the talks really that confidential? But then it’d be even worse if I didn’t go… He worked and worked his brain, but he only came up with worst-case scenarios and no solutions. “Ouka might know something.” He needed information, so he dialed the number. “What do you want? And at this hour, of all times? Things were finally getting good in my dream; the people were respecting me… This had better be worth it, or there’ll be hell to pay. From you.” “Alfoncina is missing. Do you know anything?” “What? Why would I? I don’t know anything. Hey, did something happen to her?!” She wasn’t even trying to play it cool. “Then you guys are in the dark, too. Got it. I’ll contact you again if I learn something!” “What? Hold on a second—” He couldn’t count on Ouka; she didn’t know what was going on. She was too far away. “Has someone discovered some weakness of ours? But it’s weird that Ouka doesn’t know.” Without any information, there was no point in trying to piece the situation together with his imagination. “Sorry, Alfoncina!” He looked at her phone-message history. TO: Ouka TITLE: Yaaaaaay, Tokyo! MESSAGE: I’m on a date with Ryouta! FROM: Ouka TITLE: go away MESSAGE: go to hell “Geez, Ouka… Wait, that’s not why we’re here.” Alfoncina didn’t have any exchanges with suspicious individuals, nor was there anything in her call history. Ryouta ran out of the room, still dressed in his pajamas. There were vending machines next to the elevators, but she wasn’t there, either. He couldn’t imagine any other reason she’d be on this floor. He took the elevator to the first floor, but he didn’t see anyone who could be Alfoncina near the front desk. “Um, did you see a girl about high school age leave earlier?” “Oh, yes, I do think someone like that stepped outside…” “Do you know where she went?” “Unfortunately, no…” With nothing else to go on, Ryouta headed outside—but quickly came to a stop. He couldn’t keep wandering without any more clues. If someone had picked her up in a car, he was at a dead end. “Why didn’t she tell me about work tomorrow…? I can’t believe she’s neglecting her duty like this…” He was only here because part of his job was to escort her. It was entirely on him that he hadn’t been able to accomplish that. But it was too late to feel sorry about it. No—it was too early to feel sorry for himself. This wasn’t over until it was over. He left the hotel property, turned right, and ran five hundred meters. All the shops were closed; there were no signs of any secret meetings. He might find her if he continued in that direction, but he decided to turn back. If her meeting really were that secret, then he wouldn’t be able to find it running around on the streets. He got a phone call from Ouka. “Hey, I called the First Cathedral just in case, but no one knew anything. She used to live in Kanto, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she had friends in Tokyo.” “Thanks, Ouka. I haven’t gotten any clues yet, so I’m still looking.” “Did she leave her travel suitcase in the room?” “Oh, yeah, it was…” “Doesn’t that mean she’s probably going to come back, then?” “Even if she wants to, maybe she can’t.” And while he was dillydallying over here, that possibility could be rising this very minute. “I’m going to get her back!” “All right. Do what you can do.” He hung up and went back to searching. If he just had a little more information, he could do something about this. Wasn’t there anything that could lead him to her? That was when he heard something echoing in his head. —Sigh, I want to go back to Ryouta soon. He heard her thoughts—it was the minion power. That’s right, I’m connected to her! He slowly chased out his conscious mind, leaving more and more room for his minion instincts. Then…his feet started moving. This way! He summoned his will to see Alfoncina, and his instincts fell into line with his sense of reason. If I think about wanting to see her with both, then I should know where she is! Alfoncina had saved him when he was on the brink of death on Mount Hatatate. Now it was his turn to save her. —I can’t do this… Let me leave… He could hear her feelings; they felt like cries for help. There was no mistaking it—he knew the way. He passed the hotel and ran along the street. At the end of this road, his master—no, his dear friend—would be waiting for him. “Please let me be in time!” He wasn’t sure what he could do without any weapons, but that was no reason to stand around doing nothing. This wasn’t about being her minion. He wanted to keep her safe, so he intended to do it. That was all. —But I can’t lose here. I’m not going to give it all up now. She’s fighting, too. She’s going to keep going. —I’ll do what I must for you. And I’ll take care of you. He had pushed himself so hard that his stomach was starting to hurt. The sun wasn’t out, but his body felt hot, like he’d been sunburned. I’ll rest as long as I need to after this is over, so please just hang in there! He had been in plenty of life-and-death situations thus far, but this was nothing compared with before. Then he heard footsteps headed his way. “Ryouta!” Alfoncina was running toward him. She carried a large bag in her hands. She didn’t look injured. “Alfoncina! Are you okay?!” “Ryouta! You came!” Alfoncina immediately latched on to him in a hug. Her sweet scent tickled his nose; the sensation was affecting the rest of his body, too. “This…is kind of embarrassing…” “It’s fine, no one’s watching at this hour.” “I know that, but…” They were the only two standing in the large, reclaimed lot. “Were you worried about me?” she asked. “Yeah, I—I was… I got a bad feeling, so…” He had worried she wasn’t going to come back. She tightened her arms around him. “I really wish I could date someone like you.”