Chapter 74

EXCLUSIVE BONUS CONTENT A Ladies’ Agreement Before Battle It was the night when Theresia was allowed out of her restraints and returned to the inn from the Guild Saviors headquarters. Once morning came, Arihito’s party would be heading back to the Blazing Red Mansion; the thought of it kept Kyouka and the rest of the ladies from sleeping a wink. Kozelka was supposed to keep Theresia under her watchful eye, but instead she’d released her into Arihito’s custody. Why, exactly, was a subject of some disagreement among Kyouka and her fellow party members, but they’d arrived at more or less the same general conclusion. “It figures that Arihito would be…well, not to be too vague about it…special to Theresia.” “Huh? C’mon, Kyouka! You gotta spit it out directly!” said Misaki. “I mean, are you trying to make us all blush here?” Madoka, Louisa, and Falma were staying in a separate room, leaving Kyouka, Misaki, Suzuna, Melissa, Seraphina, and Elitia together. The six of them were seated in pairs among the room’s three beds. Misaki was the first to venture into the living room to check on Arihito and Theresia as they rested there—and what did she see but Arihito with his arms around Theresia, stripped of her usual garb? Suzuna, who’d tagged along right behind Misaki, could hardly bring herself to speak about what she’d seen. “Suzuna, when you say Arihito was holding her, you don’t mean…?” “…N-no, I don’t… Well… Theresia looked like she might have meant to…but Arihito was…just too kind…” “You don’t say… Considering how Theresia must feel, I’m a little sorry for her,” said Seraphina. “Mr. Atobe isn’t considering the possibility we might lose to the Simian Lord tomorrow… So from that perspective…” “No need to overcomplicate it. Surely Arihito just figured that, given how Theresia is now…a hug would be the best way to calm her down. I think he sees himself as like a big brother to us,” said Melissa. She usually didn’t show much interest in such topics, which made the others all the more impressed by her words. Misaki wrapped her arms around herself as she spoke. “I know this is, like, super-wrong to say, but if I were in Theresia’s shoes, d’you think there’d be a big, brotherly hug with my name on it? …Sorry. Man, getting jealous at a time like this… I’m totally the worst…” “Don’t beat yourself up. Look, we may both wield swords, but I’m a swordfighter, and Theresia is a Rogue. If I were a Rogue like her, I’d probably want to be closer to Arihito, too… I’ve thought as much before myself. That’s all.” “You too, Ellie? Um… I—I mean… I didn’t hear anything too clearly, but…” Suzuna started to speak, inspired by what Elitia had said, but quickly fell speechless again. Elitia didn’t turn to face her, but she flushed red all the way to her ears, making her embarrassment plain to see even in profile. “I wasn’t clearly aware of it myself until recently…but I’ve started to see Arihito in a special light.” The other five ladies could tell just how much Elitia had to steel herself to say those words in front of them. Even Melissa, whose face rarely showed much emotion, was blushing; she understood exactly what Elitia meant. “I want to save Theresia, Rury, and everyone else that the Simian Lord captured. And I want just as badly to keep seeking… To keep traveling the Labyrinth Country with all of you. Arihito’s here, and so is everyone else. That’s as precious to me as life itself nowadays.” Elitia gazed downward as she spoke, but toward the end, she lifted her head up and looked each of the five ladies in the eye, one at a time. Each and every one of them smiled back at her; Suzuna and Misaki wiped tears from their cheeks. “I figured that, even if we all sort of knew, putting it out in the open like that would cause more of a shake-up…but it looks like I was wrong.” “Ms. Kyouka…did you feel like this about Mr. Atobe…before you came to the Labyrinth Country?” Kyouka didn’t make any effort to avoid Seraphina’s abrupt question. “I was Atobe’s boss…and I thought that relationship would never change between us. I’ve never been able to tell him, not even once. From the moment I first saw an entry he’d made to a company-wide competition, I knew I wanted to work with him. And it’s thanks to him joining my team that I managed to be a section head. I wasn’t really suited for it. Whenever work wasn’t going well for me, it landed on him, and I’m sure that hurt. I wish I could apologize for that… I try to fight to keep Atobe safe, but he always sees exactly what’s going on and tells me not to push myself too hard. I’m awful, aren’t I?” “I see… Just as I thought, Mr. Atobe has always been kind, then. And there’s nothing to say beyond that, other than that he’s serious to the point that it borders on obliviousness.” Seraphina stood from her side of her bed and gave Kyouka a hug. “…I…I’ve been nothing but awful to Atobe. I have no right to say he’s oblivious…” “No, that’s not true.” “Huh? L-Louisa? Falma? I thought you were already asleep…” Kyouka and the others blinked as Louisa stepped in, reassuring Kyouka as she entered. Falma was right beside her in the negligee she slept in, grinning over crossed arms. “Ahhh, so nice to talk romance with the girls, isn’t it? Brings back memories of my own seeking days.” “You ended up marrying one of the other Seekers in your party, right, Falma?” “I sure did. My husband is still a Seeker, actually. The kids and I stick around and run the shop in District Eight to be near my mother…but I suppose labyrinths just call out to men! I’ve never hoped he’d retire or anything, but I do get lonely sometimes.” “U-um…I’m not sure if I should even ask this, but…don’t you ever think Ari-poo is pretty adorable?” “That would hardly be polite to say about a man older than myself! Then again, he is from…Japan, was it? People from that country always look younger than they actually are to me,” said Falma, trying to avoid the question and hoping Misaki wouldn’t notice she hadn’t answered. But then someone jumped in with an even more pointed comment… “I can’t believe you manage to raise two children and run the shop while your husband is out, all while supporting us, too… I really admire you, Falma.” “Oh my, well… I’m very proud that you say so. But really, I’d say all of us supporters entrust you active Seekers with our dreams, in a way. Think of it that way—and don’t hesitate to call on me if there’s anything I can do for any of you from now on, too. Eyck and Plum are so mature, and every time they hear your stories of adventure, they go off about how they want to be great Seekers someday, too. As their mother, I’d prefer they stuck to something a little less dangerous, but I can’t stand in the way of their dreams.” The reminder of Falma’s children, Eyck and Plum, spurred Kyouka and the others to reminisce about their own days in District Eight. “Even if Theresia is the most important one of us to Ari-poo…I still wanna become the kinda person he can’t do without—mmph!… Fuh…Falma, careful where you swing those weapons! B-booby violence!” “There, there. What’s the harm in being a little selfish from time to time? Mr. Atobe brought you all together by hiring you, after all. You don’t need to compare his importance to you with your friendship with Theresia. Don’t you agree?” Falma spoke calmly and with reason, like a schoolteacher; even Louisa was impressed and listened raptly. In fact, Falma had even made an impression on Seraphina, who was always calm and collected. “…Love and romance blossomed in my old party, too. When one of my comrades married a supporter, it made me think carefully about my own future. I chose the Guild Saviors…but I think that, when this party is finished in District Five, I’d like to come along. If I can, I want to travel the Labyrinth Country and put my strength to the test…” “Is…is that right? If you ask to join us, we certainly wouldn’t turn you down…” Seraphina started out just touching on her own past, however lightly, but ended up declaring her intent for the future. At this surprising turn, the ladies of the party looked around the room from face to face, waiting to see who would speak up next. “Ever since I met Arihito, I’ve been able to be truer to myself. I always used to think walking the path that was set out for me was the right thing to do. But now, I’m going to keep fighting along with Arihito and all of you—because it’s what I really want to do.” “Geez, Suzu, you’re always, like, so composed, even when it’s girl-talk time! But I get it. I never really had anything going for me—nothing to be proud of. I mean, I even chose my Gambler job half out of desperation…but these days, I’m glad I did, ’cause I found a role in Ari-poo’s party that nobody but me can play.” Suzuna and Misaki took turns sharing what Arihito meant to them. Hearing all that, Melissa piped up, though her face remained as unmoving and expressionless as ever. “I like dissecting monsters. I know that grossed Arihito out a bit at first, but he was never mean about it. That’s why I want to keep working for him.” “Ah-ha-ha… I figured you wouldn’t be interested in this kinda thing, Melissa, but you really tell it like it is, huh? I totally wanna keep working for Ari-poo, too! As weird as it is for someone who used to be a total queen bee to say that.” “Well, then… It looks like it’s settled. It’s important for us all to respect each other’s feelings about Mr. Atobe. Granted, we settled that while he’s sleeping… But anyway, just that isn’t enough. We also need to work harder to make him understand those feelings, even if we can’t say them directly.” “Falma, could you be more specific…? No, never mind, that’s up to us to figure out. Granted, even thinking about it hardly seems prudent, given my position as a Receptionist…” “What are you talking about, Louisa? Didn’t you pick a fight with me over who was going to pour wine for Atobe before? Maybe you drank so much you erased the memory, but I still remember.” “You promised not to say that! There are certain things you just can’t say until you’re that drunk, and besides, I had a lot of steam to blow off from work… N-no, you’re right, it wasn’t exactly ladylike…” With Louisa’s comments, everyone in the room began probing each other yet again; it was Kyouka who overturned the strange atmosphere. “I totally understand how everyone feels. It looks like we’re all struggling with the same problem, huh?” “It’s fair to say we’re a whole party of young women…with one man among us. Personally, I respect Mr. Atobe for not getting carried away in that position.” Misaki sighed. “Don’t you wonder, though? Like, are Theresia and Ari-poo, y’know…doing you-know-what?” “I—I mean, I don’t hear any v-voices… That must mean they’re just resting together, right…?” Suzuna sounded like she was about to faint. Misaki grabbed her friend to keep her upright—out of respect for how much courage it had taken her to offer her opinion in the first place—and then crept into the hall. She inched close to the living room. “H-hey, Misaki, you can’t—!” “…Aha, I thought you weren’t worried!” “Huh…?” Misaki and Kyouka peeped out through the cracked door and into the living room. They saw Theresia sitting awake on the sofa with Arihito’s head in her lap. She glanced toward Misaki and Kyouka; in the dim light, it looked like she was smiling. “…That’s big wife energy if I ever saw it,” said Misaki. “Tch, there goes Theresia showing off…” “Well…I’m glad. I’d like to think we’re not getting in their way.” “Ohhh, is that what that smile meant? I dunno, though…” “Poor Atobe’s such a serious guy, she’s probably put him in a jam. Either way, it doesn’t change how important he is to us… Tell you what, Misaki—why don’t we come to an agreement?” “I was just thinking the same thing myself. Later we can get Theresia in on it, too… Wait, though—isn’t that kinda unfair?” “Good point… But this isn’t Japan, it’s the Labyrinth Country. Keeping ourselves bound to what was common sense back home will probably put us in a tight spot later.” “…You’re such a grown-up, Kyouka. I just can’t quite make a clean break from it like that yet, y’know.” “Wh-who’s making a clean break…? Look, it’s one thing while Atobe is asleep, but we can’t keep all this a secret forever. That wouldn’t be sincere.” “Can’t we just keep it up for a little longer? Sure, Theresia may be in a special spot, but if I were Ari-poo, I’d want to take good care of her, too.” The two of them returned to the ladies’ bedroom to find Elitia, Suzuna, and even Seraphina waiting for them, with expressions that begged to hear what they’d discovered. Louisa and Falma had cooled off, too. Melissa’s face showed that she didn’t look very concerned—or it would have, if it weren’t for the fact that her cheeks were bright red. “There’s something I want to discuss with you all. If we get through the battle tomorrow safe and sound…” Now, what was Kyouka’s idea? And how did the other ladies receive her suggestion? That’s something Arihito wouldn’t find out until a bit later…