Chapter 82

EPILOGUE “I’m finally home…” They returned to Oshiro from Hakata on the Shinkansen, hopped on a taxi, and finally came to the border. When they passed through the immigration office, they would be back in the Sacred Blood Empire. “Really well done this weekend~. I hope you get a lot of rest~.” “Yeah… Traveling sure uses a lot of energy…” “But we had the time to go back and visit your family when we went back to Oshiro. Are you sure you didn’t want to say hi?” Alfoncina tilted her head in slight worry. “No, it’s all right. It’s not like I’m never going to see them again. And my home right now is in the Sacred Blood Empire.” There were lots of people waiting for his return here. “I see. Then I’m glad we have you here as a friend, Ryouta!” “Yes, same here.” Then as they exited the office, they found an entourage waiting for them. Shiren, Ouka, Sasara, Tamaki, Kokoko, Kiyomizu, and Rei—almost everyone was there. “Oh, hey, thank you all for coming out and—uh.” He noticed a potent, threatening air around them. Especially from Shiren and Ouka. Their eyes were glazed over; he wondered what happened to them. “Ah, Ryouta. So you do have the courage to step into this land again. I am impressed.” “What’s wrong, Shiren? Did I do something wrong? I brought you souvenirs, though.” “Sure, I’ll take the souvenirs. But this is a different matter entirely.” “Wait, you’ll still take them?” Shiren shoved her phone into Ryouta’s face. “Look at the text Alfoncina sent me! Explain yourself!” There was a text that said, We ended up in Hakata. We’re staying here tonight! , accompanied by a picture of the double bed in the room. “And then she sent me this.” She then showed him a text that said, By the way, this is where we stayed on night one, with a picture of the double bed from the room they first stayed in. “Oh~. I’m sorry! I was so excited, I just had to send the pictures to everyone~. Tee-hee, whoopsie!” “You don’t genuinely think this is a ‘whoopsie,’ do you?! You’re smiling! You’re totally smiling!!” Ryouta exclaimed. She had a massive grin on her face. There was no doubt that she was hoping for this very situation. “Alfoncina, you falling asleep and missing your stop was all a part of your plan, wasn’t it? Were you asleep at all…?” It was Ouka who pressed Alfoncina for answers this time, although her eyes were glazed over. The familial resemblance between her and Shiren just then was quite strong. “On all the gods of heaven and earth, it’s the truth. I missed the stop because I was asleep!” Alfoncina declared with confidence. “It’s true! We did!” Ryouta added to give her backup. Best to nip any unnecessary doubts in the bud. “We had gone through so much the night before together—I barely slept. Of course, I’d miss the stop because I was asleep!” “Yeah, exactly! So much had happened the night— Hey! Phrasing, come on!” “Ryouta, don’t tell me that the way you held me last night was all for nothing…? Oh, I’m so sad…” “W-well, I did hug you, but…I don’t think that’s the right meaning here!” That had happened because they had safely reunited; there were no romantic implications whatsoever. The menacing stares grew even stronger. “Shiren, get Ryouta. I’ll get Matsuko Kimura.” “Got it. Whoever wins first will provide support for the other.” “What an inauspicious division of roles! This is nothing!” A sword came down onto Ryouta, and a few clippings of his hair scattered into the wind. “Tsk. I missed.” It was Sasara. “You didn’t miss! A little bit to the side, and you would’ve killed me!” “Silence! How dare you hop straight onto someone else’s train! I’m going to rip you to shreds like string cheese! Why were you holding her? Why were you sleeping together?! You have no sense of shame!” Sasara’s face was bright red, as though her anger and embarrassment were occupying the same space. But despite her embarrassment, he would still die if her sword made contact. “What do you mean, ‘hop onto someone else’s train’—? Gah! Her sword got faster!” “Silence! Be quiet! I cannot trust you anymore! You traitor! I will find true happiness with someone who is not you!” “What does that have to do with—?” “I told you to shut up!” “Agh! I’m going to die! I’m seriously going to die—stop it!” “Lady Ouka! Let us lead a happy life together, Lady Ouka!” “Hmm, I think it’s time to request an Empire branch of The Cat’s Hollow.” Ouka, as she usually did, completely ignored her. On the other hand, Kiyomizu was relatively unfazed by it all. “Ryouta dearest, I don’t care how dirty you get.” “I’m not dirty!” “And if there’s ever any girl you’d like to cut ties with, just let me know. Because I’ll cut them. Both the ties and the girl.” “No, just the ties, right?! Why are you acting so eager to murder people?!” Rei had already fainted from the shock. “Rei hasn’t even said a word! She’s passed out! Is she okay?!” Ryouta exclaimed. “It seems like she has no consciousness, no pulse, and no sounds from her heart, but I’m certain she’ll be fine,” Kiyomizu explained. “She’s practically dead!” “But the same thing happened two days ago, and she came back to life.” “You’re using up all your miracles, Rei!” “I’d rather you die by my hand, Ryouta Fuyukura!” “Sasara, please cut it out! You are actually going to kill me!” Tamaki and Kokoko watched on from a distance. “See, Kokoko, I could never get married to him…,” said Tamaki. “He and the archbishop are well suited to each other. No one wants to marry someone who owns a failing convenience store, ha-ha-ha… I wish I could disappear…” “It’s okay. Look how loose he is. Give him a little push, and that’s that. Even you could do it. The man really has no integrity. I misjudged him.” “You two are getting the wrong idea!” Ryouta interjected. “Nothing happened!” “Oh, I think I’m starting to hear a call from the dense sea of trees. It’s telling me to come quickly… May I? Can I go, even with nothing to my name? I can’t ever keep anything for myself—but maybe that’s all right. I’ll go next time, then. I’ll buy a one-way ticket, then. It’s cheaper that way.” “Stop communicating with dangerous entities, Shijou!” “Big Sis Tamaki, you should take the guy along with you.” “Don’t give her any weird ideas, Kokoko!” The energy was the same as it had always been. Yeah, this is how the Empire should be. I just don’t want to get hit by a sword… At some point, Ryouta had grown accustomed to the absurd. And then there was Alfoncina. “Ryouta…when we get married, we should do it at the First Cathedral…” “You really don’t have to blush and say weird things at the same time!” “We could save a lot of money at the First Cathedral.” “Cheapskate!” “I think we should give out cathedral charms as wedding favors.” “Not the best time to be emptying out excess stock!” It took almost an hour to resolve the misunderstandings. That night, Ryouta had safely returned to the Fuyukura household, but— “Ah, the collar life starts again…” —the collar was closed tight around his neck, claiming him as Shiren’s (prospective) minion. “We don’t have much choice. Especially with the untrustworthy Alfoncina around… It’d be too late if I put it on after the fact.” Shiren grabbed his arm. “I was so worried… You have no idea…” “I’m sorry…and we had to stay away an extra night, too…” “Kiyomizu didn’t come around because you were gone, so I really was alone at night. It was something I was used to a long time ago, but it really takes a lot of strength to get through it now…” She didn’t look so much angry as sad. “I don’t plan on traveling for a while, so don’t worry.” “Y-yeah…try not to leave your master alone so much… You’re abandoning your duty as minion…” “I know. But my home, to me, is here. So I’ll always be back.” This run-down house was now like an old, comfortable pair of slippers. Well, he would prefer a place that was a bit more spacious and modern, but he wasn’t counting on Ouka’s mercy… “E-exactly…you need to clean and do the laundry and cooking for me…” She had turned a little red when he said “my home.” “Oh, then wouldn’t that make me, like…your wife…? Ah-ha-ha-ha…” “I think I’m more like the wife, doing all that. You’re the master.” “Oh. You’re right. I’m the master…head of the household…” She seemed a bit conflicted by all this. “So why don’t we have some of the snacks I got for you?” “Yes! We’re gonna eat a bunch today to celebrate your coming home!” Shiren immediately got excited. “Ooh! Treats from Tokyo! These are mentai chips from Hakata, huh? And there’s a lot of snacks in here. Where are these from?” “Oh, those are extras from the gifts that Alfoncina got.” Big-name doujinshi circles sure got a lot of snacks as gifts. Alfoncina wouldn’t have been able to finish them on her own, so Ryouta brought some home with him. He’d doubted Shiren would mind. “Then I guess I’ll start with this.” Shiren dug in to one of the presents. “Oh, there’s a letter in here. Is it from a fan?” “That doesn’t belong to us. We should give it back to—” “No, wait—it’s for me.” No way. Why would a letter addressed to Shiren be in there? But sure enough, at the top of the letter, it read, Please deliver this to Shiren Fuyukura if possible. Shiren opened it. Before she even looked at the letter itself, her eyes went straight to the sender’s name. “…Sairi Fuyukura,” she murmured quietly and stoically. “That’s my mother’s name.”