Latifah-sama seemed completely put out. That’s when Moffle-senpai interrupted: “Go to it, Isuzu.”
“Roger,” she replied. Isuzu raised her musket and put precise, fatal shots into Tiramii-senpai, Macaron-senpai, and Wanipii-senpai each.
“That’s what I was getting at, fumo,” Moffle-senpai said, looking down at Tiramii-senpai’s limp corpse. “That’s the chain reaction I mean. An overly generous royal family is a sitting duck for these idiots, so we need to nip it in the bud. No sleep-overs, fumo. Come on, everyone, get out of here.”
“What? Uncle! P-Please, you must...” Latifah-sama protested.
“Salama’s fine, fumo. She’s been staying with Kobory, Sylphie, and you, right?” he asked Isuzu-chan.
“Yes. It’s a different place each night,” she replied.
“She can work things out for a while yet then, fumo.”
“I understand, but... Salama-san, forgive me.” The princess bowed to me in apology.
“Ah... sure. It’s okay, for real...” I genuinely felt a little disappointed, though. Latifah-sama’s apartment was spacious, beautiful, full of guest rooms, and close to work (technically, it was in the middle of work). It was everything I could ask for. Plus, the princess was quiet, considerate, not weird at all (aside from her obsession with croquettes), and she probably slept soundly all night...
Ah, but it was what it was. I was starting to go back to my initial idea of sleeping outside... but just as I was steeling myself for that, Kanie-kun dropped by. “What’s all the commotion?” he wanted to know. “I could hear the gunshots even in the basement...” He was carrying a pile of documents; he had probably come to discuss finances with either Latifah-sama or Isuzu-chan. “Did something happen?”
“Yes,” said Isuzu, explaining the circumstances. “You see...”
Kanie-kun nodded. “I see. Hmm...” He put a hand to his chin and considered. His eyes flicked towards me from time to time, and by the end, he was scrutinizing me openly. He was a little scary when he did this sort of thing. He seemed to be thinking pretty hard about something, and even though he was younger than I was, I felt like he could see right through me. “By the way, what’s Muse doing? Surely you could stay with her tonight.”
“Ah? Um...” I floundered, unsure of how to answer him.
“You’re friends, aren’t you?” he asked pointedly.
“W-Well...”
“Ugh, forget it. I’ll call her. Let’s go.” Kanie-kun immediately pulled out his smartphone and called Muse. I didn’t even have a chance to stop him. “...Is this Muse? It’s me. Salama doesn’t have a place to stay tonight. Can she stay at your place? ...No, I don’t care about your landlady. Hm... ah-ha... mm-hm...”
Muse was clearly saying something on the other end of the phone, but I couldn’t hear it.
“Yeah, yeah. Look, I don’t care. Just let her stay. Let her stay. ...What? Didn’t you hear me? All right, then, get ready for things to get a lot harder for you at our next planning conference! Maybe I’ll just scrap all your suggestions. Oh, don’t like that, do you? Yeah, so scary! Poor you! You’ll be humiliated!”
It was really harsh. He was bringing all his power as acting manager to bear, to force the reluctant Muse into helping me. I hadn’t thought Kanie-kun was that kind of person. I was feeling pretty grossed out by him!
But Isuzu-chan and Moffle-senpai—even Latifah-sama—simply watched in silence. They didn’t try to scold him or protest. That was a shock, too—were they all just Kanie-kun’s yes-men?!
“Hey... Kanie-kun...” I tried to interrupt him.
“Shut up,” he said. “...Anyway, just do it. I’ll be sending her your way now, so find a place nearby to meet her. That’s an order! Goodbye.” Kanie-kun cut off the one-sided call, and I launched into my protest.
“Are you nuts? How could you do that to her? It’s power harassment!”
“Yeah,” he shrugged, “maybe it is.”
“It’s not like I asked for this! How could you make Muse so uncomfortable?” I demanded. “And using my name to do it! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“What do I think I’m doing?” Kanie-kun peered into my face. You could call his smile ‘indomitable.’ I was expecting cold indifference, but somehow it seemed like he was enjoying himself. “My job, of course. If you don’t like it, submit your resignation. I want it on my desk tomorrow morning at 9:00.”
“What...” I was so confused.
“This conversation is over,” Kanie-kun announced. “Moffle, get her there.”
“Roger that, fumo.”
“Sento, you stay,” he went on. “I need to talk to you and Latifah about the budget.”
“Understood.”
Moffle-senpai and Isuzu-chan both obediently did as they were told. Even Latifah-sama, though looking serious, kept her face pointed downward and said nothing.
“All right, Salama. Come on, fumo.” While I was still staring in disbelief, Moffle-senpai took my arm and dragged me along.
He drove me out in the company car. I’m not exactly sure how he drove with that stout, plush body of his... From the passenger seat, I couldn’t even tell if his feet were reaching the pedals. It would be rude to stare, though, so I actively tried not to think about it.
As it turned out... he was a great driver! Moffle accelerated and decelerated smoothly; his steering was even, and he made a slow stop at the red lights. He was very precise when changing lanes; there was no stress at all for me in the passenger seat. I’d figured he would be the real reckless driver type, but he was actually a total class act.
“You know, fumo,” Moffle-senpai said, after driving for a while down the road in front of the park. “Seiya heard the whole story from Isuzu, fumo.”
“What?” I asked.
“Just the facts of it, anyway. No supposition.” He was probably referring to the fact that I hadn’t once stayed with Muse since my place got burned down.
“I think that’s why Seiya put on the whole power harassment act,” he explained. “But Isuzu, Latifah and I all saw through it. He’s not that good an actor.”
Ahh. So that’s how it was. Kanie-kun had intentionally taken on the role of villain, thinking that forcing me and Muse together would solve the problem. Oh, how wonderful! What kind consideration! I could cry!
“...That’s stupid,” I said. Actually, I hated when people did favors for me like that. I wasn’t helpless, and it wasn’t any of his business. So annoying. Just leave me alone.
“Moffu. Stupid, is it? I thought you’d say that...” Moffle observed. “But I don’t think he got the idea out of nowhere, fumo. You see...”
“I see... what?”
“After the fire, you stayed with Isuzu first, right?” Moffle said. “I was in the room with her when she called you, fumo.”
“Oh?” I asked, suddenly curious.
“It was right after a meeting. I was making small talk with Randy and Kenjuro, and Isuzu was cleaning up some documents when she got a call... The call was from Muse, fumo.”
“...?” I was surprised.
“It was a short conversation. It sounded like Muse was asking Isuzu to let you stay with her, fumo.”
“What?” Muse... called Isuzu-chan that night?
“Moffu. Then Isuzu hung up, and called you right after, fumo. She said ‘come stay with me.’ So I think it’s pretty clear, fumo.”
“What?” I said again, feeling confused. “But still...”
I wasn’t sure how to interpret what Moffle-senpai had just said. Could that also have been the reason Kobory and Sylphie had invited me for the next two days? Had Muse asked them all?
“Moffu. Well, you don’t have any friends, do you?”
“What?” I scoffed. “C’mon, I have plenty of friends...”
“Liar,” said Moffle. “And I’m sure you’re the kind of pain in the ass who tells her colleagues ‘I have tons of friends, so I’ll find a place to stay, easy!’ right?”
“Huh?” I asked innocently. “What are you talking about?” Yeah, I thought, you’re dead-on.