Chapter 87

“I get that, but… You’d have to drink my blood and stuff, right…?” “Did I not tell you this when we first met inside the Empire? You are one of the very few normal humans here. If we leave you as you are, then what if another Sacred Blooded attacked you and made you their minion? It would be a huge scandal for our country. And so I will take responsibility and make you my minion. You will find no better protection than this.” “I mean, I get the logic, but…” “I’ll just say this… And you better get it!” Ouka’s face flushed. “I’ll say it one more time. Be my minion, Ryouta… The emperor is speaking to you. You only have two answers: yes, or no!” Her bright-red blush had reduced the majesty of her presence, but she was still in charge here. The ruler of this country was the emperor, and the emperor’s words took precedence over everyone else’s. “O-okay… But—” Ryouta unwittingly turned to look at Shiren. Her expression was anxious—as if she was seeing her future full of loneliness again. “But that’s only if Shiren goes to Japan.” Though Ouka’s speech had caught him off guard, if he really thought about it, this was just a hypothetical rule in the event of an exceptional situation. And so it was unlikely to cause any problems. He would stay on as Shiren’s minion. All he had to do was say, Okay. And seeing Ouka’s desperation made it nearly impossible for him to refuse. Ouka was doing what she knew she had to. She wasn’t saying this on a whim. “Lady Ouka, please wait! No matter the circumstances, don’t you think you’re being too forceful…?” Sasara spoke up, panicked. “Perhaps it is natural that the emperor’s sister’s minion would transfer over to the emperor, but right now, the Empire’s security is perfectly stable. I find it difficult to imagine that we will be suddenly attacked. And Ryouta Fuyukura is a member of the Imperial Guard, which means he should formally be treated the same as an Imperial noble. I don’t see any necessity for him to become your minion…” “Precisely… I feel like the topic of minions has gotten way out of hand… If we are only talking about Ryouta’s safety, he could simply join the First Cathedral…” Alfoncina joined Sasara’s faction. “And we can consider this once his minion status has been reset, so I don’t think we need to decide on anything right now~. Hypothetical situations don’t need to be resolved so far in advance~.” “You are correct. There is little need to consider this now. I am being selfish. I know this.” Ouka gave a determined smile—but that smile soon fell. “However, I’ve been keeping all those selfish thoughts to myself this whole time! For so long, I’ve tried so, so hard to keep it all in! Sasara, Alfoncina!” Ouka called out the two by name. “While you all are off having fun, I keep getting left further and further behind! Let me say what I want already! I’m not going to hold myself back just because I’m emperor! Both of you are being unfair! You cowards! Cowards! Cowards!” She lashed out at them, her expression furious. Even her ears had gone bright red, like she considered them totally unforgivable. “Ah, Lady Ouka… What do you mean by that…?” “I—I wonder… Ah-ha-ha-ha…” The other two looked uncomfortable—even guilty. “You know what I mean! You know! And that makes you cowards! I’m through watching what I say! I’m the emperor, and I’ll act like a tyrant! If you have any complaints, get ready for a tax hike!” Ouka sounded like a child throwing a tantrum. It was a sight to behold; she rarely ever said anything like this. “I’m the emperor, which means I can say and ask for whatever I want. But in practice, it’s always the opposite: If I can have everything I want, then I can’t just blurt out every thought and want I have. And that’s why I’ve been keeping it in this whooooooooole time!” She planted her hands on her hips and glared at everyone else present. “This whole time, Shiren, I’ve been lending you Ryouta. For your sake. But I don’t think you need him anymore. You’re not alone now, and you’re strong enough to make it on your own!” “Big Sis, I…I, um…,” Shiren said weakly. Indeed, the reason Ryouta had been living with Shiren was to look after her, considering how she didn’t have any friends at school and how lonely she was. But there was no longer any need to worry about that. “Anyway.” Ouka inhaled deeply and continued, “The second you let go of him, he’ll be my minion! End of discussion! No take-backsies! Whatever I say is set is stone!” It seemed that, without him understanding much of what happened, a small slice of Ryouta’s fate had been decided. What’s going to happen to me…? No, wait, I guess it doesn’t matter if Shiren stays in the Empire… But he was unable to hide his concerns. And Shiren, too, looked pale. “I-it’ll be fine… I mean, that would never happen… It’s all unthinkable, really… I can’t imagine myself leaving the Empire in the first place…” “Right. So it doesn’t matter what kind of rules we make for if you do go, then.” Ouka’s childish, disapproving look settled on Shiren. It was even more intense than it had been thus far. “Yeah… It won’t be a problem…” “Exactly, it won’t be a problem.” At last, Ouka looked pleased with herself. And then she went red again, and her expression turned back to one of embarrassment. “But maybe I went a little overboard… Now I feel sorry… I almost regret it…,” she said, somewhat awkwardly. “W-well… But so long as Shiren Fuyukura remains in the country, Lady Ouka will never get her chance, so I doubt our situation will change that much… So you don’t need to worry, Lady Ouka…” “You’re right~. I’ll bet five hundred thousand sacred yen that things will stay exactly as they are now… Ha-ha-ha…” Sasara and Alfoncina both spoke in turn, almost as though they were trying to calm themselves down. Both of their eyes darted toward Ryouta, as though searching for something. Ryouta, uneasy, looked away. Now that he thought about it, he’d had incidents and close encounters with both Sasara and Alfoncina. Had he made a mistake, he might easily have become one of their minions. At the very least, the possibility was there. “Hmph, say what you will. This lion isn’t going to sleep forever… I act when I need to… That’s all I wanted to get across. I won’t do anything rude.” “I’m sorry you had to put so much thought into such a unique and unlikely situation, Big Sis, but I think that provision is probably unnecessary…” “Anyone with an active vested interest isn’t allowed to speak.” An odd tension settled between the sisters. Why do I feel like I’m sitting on a bed of thorns…? Ryouta recognized this feeling. This is what it felt like in class, back when I was in Japan… How strange. The curse that made him irresistible to girls shouldn’t work on the Sacred Blooded…