“Heh… You must be very envious of my relationship with Ryuunosuke. Do not chew off all your fingernails watching us enjoy our honeymoon.” “Grrr! Ryuunosuke Dazai! You’re not opposed to polygamy, are you?!” “Calm down, Abara! If anything, it’d be, um…poly-soul-y?” The girls glared at each other, standing so close that their breasts were touching. Mari’s gaze dropped down to Rinne’s chest. “Hmm, not much there, huh?” “Hmm? What do you mean?” Frustration changed to gloating in Mari’s eyes as she pointedly stared at Rinne’s breasts with a faint smile on her lips. “What…? Shameless wench! Thinking herself superior just because her chest is a little bigger…!” “Don’t feel bad—you just can’t help it, being a reptile.” “I am not an animal; I am a dragon. You are also mistaken in assuming Ryuunosuke would be swayed by some superfluous blubber!” “Wrong, sweetie. Based on the images saved on Ryuunosuke’s phone, blond hair and big busts are what he likes best. Sorry, but I win in this department.” “R-Ryuunosuke! Explain!” “Abara, you have some explaining to do, too! How do you know what’s on my phone?” “It’s your own fault for setting your birthday as your PIN.” Almost reduced to tears, Ryuunosuke made a mental note to change his PIN as soon as possible. “His… His preference will surely change under the effect of my love…” “Oh yeah? Come on, just admit defeat and move on. Don’t turn into mush from your salty tears, like a slug.” “If I am a slug, you are a mosquito. Or no, a chupacabra.” “A what? I bet it’s something nasty, isn’t it…?” Somehow, Ryuunosuke found their bickering calming, never mind the content. At a glance, there was no way these girls would get along—they seemed to hate each other’s guts. But compared with their almost deadly battle, taunting each other in the school hallway was kind of cute. Ryuunosuke felt so comforted, he thought that having two equally pretty girls verbally tearing each other apart right next to him was uniquely nourishing for his soul. “Sputter angrily as much as you want—your words cannot damage my confidence.” “And why do you feel so confident, huh?” “Heh. I am glad you asked.” Rinne brushed back her hair and looked at Mari haughtily. “I will tell you.” “It’s going to be something stupid nobody cares about, I bet.” Mari crossed her arms, staring at Rinne with distaste. “Ryuunosuke and I are living together. He has even seen me naked.” Rinne smiled victoriously. “WHAT…?!” Mari gasped at this critical attack. “Don’t make it sound weird! We’re just sharing rooms, and we’ve had a little incident, that’s all!” Ryuunosuke said desperately. The classroom erupted in an uproar. “No way… She only just arrived, and my crush has already been stolen…” “And he’s not even, like, good at humanities, despite that fancy name…” “Aren’t you going to fight back, Aya? Are you going to let that girl take Ryuunosuke from you?!” “Wh-what are you talking about?!” “Dazai, you and I are buddies no matter what!” Ryuunosuke pretended not to hear all those comments. The person most upset about him living with Rinne was the blond vampire, though. “Wh-wh-wh-what?! Ryuunosuke Dazai! Why did you give yourself to another woman when you already have me?!” “Don’t talk like we’re together, Abara! Come on, you have a good head on your shoulders; surely, you can piece together why she ended up in my house!” “I’m sorry, you’re right. Emotions clouded my judgment. I get it; it makes sense that she’s living with you. I’d have arranged it that way, too, if I wasn’t in the other camp.” “But I have not told you everything yet,” Rinne interrupted. “There’s more?!” Rinne nodded. Her cheeks flushed red, and she began to twiddle her fingers. “This morning,” she began quietly, “Ryuunosuke touched my…special places.” “He did WHAT?!” She meant the dragon body parts, but it sounded very sketchy. Ryuunosuke had no way of undoing the damage her statement brought. “Rinne, you shouldn’t be telling everyone!” “Ryuunosuke Dazai! Touch me, too!” “Don’t be ridiculous, Abara!” Between Rinne, who was innocently saying the most outrageous things, and Mari, who was starting to act totally deranged, Ryuunosuke couldn’t keep up. His classmates were staring at him with either curiosity or hatred. He pretended not to notice. “I hated to see him even talk to other girls… Can’t describe what I’m feeling now…” “What do I need to do to have girls fighting over me…?” “Aya, is this true?!” “I… I saw her sitting on top of him this morning. She was half naked…” “Sorry, Dazai, but I’m seriously going to kill you.” Ryuunosuke heard his childhood friend Aya sell him out, but that didn’t make much of a difference. His reputation in class was already scraping rock-bottom, and almost everyone was looking at him with disgust. “It is settled, then. I win,” said Rinne. “No, you don’t! I won’t accept defeat, ever!” “What’s this commotion? Get back to your seats, everyone,” the English teacher said, walking into the room. Ryuunosuke had been saved—for now. The third period was physical education. At West Kokonoe High, different years had physical education classes together a few times each year to encourage older and younger students to get to know each other. That day, first-year and second-year students had their class together. Gym uniforms were different colors depending on the years—first-years wore red, second-years blue, and third-years green. The sports grounds had been divided into two halves, one for boys to practice high jump, and the other for girls to do shot put. Ryuunosuke was sitting in a corner, waiting his turn and idly watching the girls—or rather, it’d be more precise to say he was watching Rinne and Mari. It was Rinne’s turn to throw. He wanted to see how that would go. The girl’s physical education class was progressing smoothly. The shot-put area was marked with chalk lines and a circle where the thrower would stand. A girl in a sports jersey lifted the shot to her chin level. She stepped back, turned her body so that she was facing away from the direction she’d be throwing the ball, and then spun around and threw it. The ball traced an arc in the air and then fell to the ground. Two girls tasked with measuring the distance ran toward the ball with a long measuring tape, and another girl went to retrieve the ball. “Irako, you’re next.” “Yes, ma’am.” Irako, who had been sitting with her knees drawn up to her chin, stood when the teacher called her name. “I will get ready.” “Good luck!” Aya, who’d been next to her, cheered her on. When Ryuunosuke wasn’t around, Aya kept Rinne company, helping her get used to the new surroundings. Aya gave Rinne lots of attention—maybe because she felt responsible for her as the first girl from the school whom Rinne had met, or because she liked to help others, or both—and the two girls quickly became friends. In contrast with Aya, there was one student who did everything she could to keep her distance from Rinne. “Let’s see if the fire-breathing lizard can do it…” It was Mari, of course. Surrounded by girls from her year, she was observing Rinne. She was frowning, but from worry rather than hostility. “Hope she doesn’t stir up trouble…” Oblivious to Mari’s intense stare, Rinne walked to the middle of the circle on the ground and casually picked up the four-kilogram shot for girl’s shot put. She swung her arm far back in preparation for the throw when someone interrupted her. “N-no, stop, you idiot dragon princess!” Mari shouted in a panicked voice, running up to her. Rinne looked at her questioningly. “What do you want? Hmm… That jersey looks atrocious on you.” “Don’t make me punch you in the face! What were you planning to do with the ball? Just throw it like this?” “It is a contest where one throws this iron ball and the distance is measured, correct? I may not have experience, but I can do it just as well as anyone.” Rinne puffed her chest out, feeling confident. “Didn’t you notice how the others were throwing it?” “I have been watching. The other girls threw the ball in a way that compensates for their lack of strength.” “At least you got that.” “But I do not need to replicate their way of throwing to get the ball past that fence over there. The farthest any girl has thrown the ball so far was about eight meters. If I throw it past the fence, I should be able to set an unbeatable record. As far as I can tell, only you may be able to rival me.” “Thanks for the super-long analysis, it made it perfectly clear that you’re a total idiot. Give me that for a moment.” “What…?” Mari snatched the shot from her. She looked at it closely and groaned. Rinne’s fingers had left indents in the iron ball. “What high school girl can poke holes in the shot with her fingers?!” “I can?” “You really make me want to whack your stupid head!” “What are you doing there, Abara?” the PE teacher called suspiciously. “I’m just showing this idio—I’m just showing the new girl how to do this! I’ll be right back! Ha-ha… Ha-ha-ha!” Mari’s fake laugh quickly died, and she looked into Rinne’s eyes with dead seriousness. “Listen,” she said. “While we’re here, we have to pretend we’re ordinary girls.” “Ordinary…?” “That’s right. If you can’t do that, you can’t live out here in the big world. And normal girls can’t do an overhand shot throw or make marks in the iron ball with their fingers!” “I suppose I have not adjusted to ‘normal.’” “Duh.” Mari could only guess whether Rinne meant she was capable of adjusting her behavior to pass as normal, or if she was a hopeless case. It was clear to Mari, though, that this time, it was down to her to do something. “Oh, bother… All right.” She sighed. Her thought process was as follows. Why do I have to babysit her? But if I just ignore her, she’ll cause trouble for both of us. I’d better make sure she doesn’t. It really shouldn’t be my job, but I guess I’ll do it this time. “Let me show you how to do it correctly. Miss! The new girl hasn’t done this before. Is it okay if I throw first to demonstrate?” The teacher gave her the go-ahead, and Mari entered the circle. “Here goes!” she shouted in a sweet voice and threw the shot with perfect form. Had she used her full strength, she could’ve easily thrown the shot past the school fence. This time, though, it landed not far off from where the other students had thrown it. Rinne covered her mouth to conceal a smug smile. “Heh. Pathetic.” “You’re really asking for it, grrr!” “Bwuh, pfweh!” Rinne made unintelligible noises as Mari grabbed her by the cheeks, pulling and squishing her face. Ryuunosuke, who’d been watching the girls’ interaction from his side of the sports grounds, nodded to himself. “No idea what they were talking about, but seeing them like this, they’re just like any other girls…” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking about how Mari and Rinne seemed to be getting along, even though just the other night, they had been trying to kill each other. He nodded to himself again and touched his left ring finger, where the light ring had been. It had disappeared, but he still felt that “something” was there on his finger. Thanks to the power of the ring, Rinne could enjoy school life. If he could use this power to help other mythical girls lead ordinary lives, he’d be happy to do that. It was his turn to jump. He ran up to the bar and cleared it beautifully with the Fosbury flop. When he was upside down, he caught a glimpse of Rinne and Mari arguing over something. “Like two old friends!” After fourth period, they had lunchtime. Ryuunosuke brought Rinne to the school canteen. It and the main building had been remodeled and now looked like a cross between a stylish café and a restaurant. Their clientele was made up of chatty, high-energy teens with big appetites, though, so it didn’t have the sort of refined, relaxing atmosphere you’d expect based on the interior design. Ryuunosuke and Rinne joined the line for the meal-ticket machine. Rinne was uneasy, maybe because she wasn’t used to being in busy places like that. She was holding tight to Ryuunosuke’s sleeve. The line was moving slowly, but they eventually made it to the machine. “What do you want to eat, Rinne? It’s your first day of school, so I’ll treat you! Um, I don’t actually know what’s on the menu today, though.” “I do not know, either… I would like the same meal you will be having.” “Okay! I can tell you that the best value for money here is the meat-feast set. Girls don’t seem to go for that one much, though.” They took the tickets to the counter, joining another line until the staff handed them trays with chopsticks and the meat feasts. “Great, let’s eat! Um, but wait…” Ryuunosuke tried to spot a free table. “It’s really full. Wish I’d thought of finding a table first.” The canteen was busier than usual that day, and all tables were already taken. Ryuunosuke had always managed to find a table even at the busiest of times in the past, so he’d gone to get food first before checking. “Ryuunosuke, how about there?” Rinne pointed to the corner, where there was a free table for four. They carried their trays there, but someone set their tray on it the same time they did. “Yikes. It’s the lousy lunkhead lizard…” “The blond blockhead bat…” Mari Abara was like their shadow that day. The two pretty girls sat down next to each other, cringing. Ryuunosuke chose the seat opposite Rinne, already expecting trouble. Mari had a bowl of ramen on her tray, with all the toppings available at their school—doubled. “Hey, why don’t you go sit somewhere else?” Mari whined. “Why should I? I sat down here first,” Rinne argued. “I found this table first! But all right, I’ll put up with sharing the table with you if Ryuunosuke Dazai moves to sit opposite me.” “Huh? Sure, I can move.” Ryuunosuke stood up, but Rinne stopped him. “He is staying where he is.” “What do you care?!” While the girls argued, Ryuunosuke became conscious of the people watching them. They were curious about the boy sitting with the two beauties, and then they recognized him as the student council vice president. “Let me tell you something, Ryuunosuke Dazai,” Mari said to him suddenly. “What is it?” “Mythical girls always fight, no matter who they are. I know other mythical girls, and we’re also always fighting.” Rinne looked at Mari with wide eyes. “Really?” “Why don’t you know that? Never mind. There are exceptions, I guess.” Ryuunosuke really wished Mari and Rinne could be friends, but then again, Rinne was allied with the Calamity Research Institute, and Mari with the Order, which made friendship difficult, unfortunately. He wondered if them acting like friends during the physical education class was a one-off and they were destined to be enemies forever. His palms became sweaty. “Maybe we won’t be able to get along like one happy family after all…” “Why are you muttering to yourself, Ryuunosuke Dazai?” “Thank you for this meal,” Rinne said, pressing her palms together. Ryuunosuke was about to start eating without saying anything, but he stopped and put his chopsticks down. “You know the proper etiquette…,” he said with surprise. “What do you mean?” Rinne was about to eat a piece of fried chicken, but she stopped, holding it with her chopsticks in the air. “You said ‘thank you’ before eating.” “It is the polite thing to say, is it not? Expressing gratitude for food. Ranko taught me this.” Ryuunosuke reflected on how he’d grown up without learning proper manners, and he felt bad. “Enjoy your food, everyone,” he said after a pause, picking up his chopsticks again. The canteen meat feast he and Rinne were eating consisted of deep-fried chicken, grilled beef, stir-fried pork with ginger sauce, a big helping of shredded cabbage, and rice. Rinne held up one of the two big chunks of fried chicken and took a bite. “Mmm!” “You like it?” “It is so delicious!” she replied with stars in her eyes. “Yesss! Rinne, that reaction gets a ten out of ten! A beautiful girl exposed to junk food for the first time melts in delight—exactly what I wanted to see! Really glad you went for the meat feast. I’ll enjoy my food twice as much just picturing your delicious reaction in my head!” “Sometimes, you say really weird stuff, Ryuunosuke Dazai…,” Mari said. Then she noticed Rinne staring intently at her ramen. “Huh? What… What do you want?” “Some of your ramen.” “Seriously? Ugh, okay, in exchange for a piece of fried chicken.” “Here.” Rinne held up the half-eaten piece of chicken with her chopsticks, bringing it to Mari’s mouth. “Hey, I don’t want the one you already took a bite out of! Eh, whatever.” She chomped down on it. “Oh, it is pretty good. Maybe I’ll go for the meat feast next time.” “See, it is good food. Now you give me your ramen.” “Okay, okay. But only one spoonful!” She scooped up some noodles and toppings with her spoon and brought it to Rinne’s mouth. “Mmm! This is also very tasty!” “Of course it is.” “But the amount you gave me was unfairly small. Give me that slice of egg, too.” “What?! Want to fight?!” “Anytime.” “Hold on. You’ve got a bit of spring onion on your face. Turn this way.” “Okay.” Mari took out her hankie and wiped the onion off the corner of Rinne’s mouth. Ryuunosuke watched them, his palms no longer sweaty. “You two… Do you like each other after all…?” Any bystander would think it cute how these two pretty girls shared their food. They would never imagine the girls ever attempting to kill each other. When Ryuunosuke asked that question, though, they stopped smiling and shook their heads. Simultaneously. “A preposterous suggestion, Ryuunosuke.” “Yeah, what were you thinking, Ryuunosuke Dazai? We might look like friends, but seriously, I could never be friends with someone like her.” “I fully agree. There can never be friendship between me and a leech like you.” “Or between me and a scaly worm like you.” “Well, looks like we have something in common after all…!” “Oh, suuure…!” The girls pinched each other’s cheeks, glaring daggers even as they forced their lips into a smile. “Ryuunosuke Dazai! Would you like me to feed you some of my ramen, too?” “What?! No, I want to feed him!” “Er, thanks, but I’m okay. Watching you feed each other was satisfying enough.” “Are you not hungry anymore, Ryuunosuke? Can I have the rest of your food, then?” “No, I’m still eating this. You sound like President; she was after my chicken one time last year, too…” He promptly stuffed the last bit of his fried chicken into his mouth, thinking that despite what they said, Rinne and Mari did like each other. “President, huh… That reminds me, I wanted to ask you something,” Mari began. “You do not need to answer any of the chupacabra’s questions, Ryuunosuke,” Rinne interrupted. “Stop butting in! I looked up what a chupacabra is, by the way. Gross! Nothing like a vampire.” “If it is gross, then it is exactly like a vampire.” “Shut up!” “So, Abara? What did you want to ask me about?” asked Ryuunosuke, to get back on topic. “Ah, right. So Ranko told you about last night?” “No? What about last night? Something to do with Rinne?” Mari froze for a moment. “Um… Y-yeah. Never mind.” She stood up, picking up her tray. “I’m finished eating. Not going to stick around, because although I like you, Ryuunosuke Dazai, I’m not her friend.” She turned away from them and went to return her tray. She thanked the school cook for the meal and left the canteen. “I wonder why she left so suddenly.” “Who knows? Perhaps she was deeply hurt by me calling her a chupacabra.” “I don’t think so… If she didn’t mind you almost killing her last night, I don’t think calling her silly names would hurt her. Besides, it’s not like chupacabra is even offensive…” The classes ended, and Ryuunosuke and Rinne headed to the student council room. Ryuunosuke had work he needed to finish that day. Aya was going to stop by her club room before joining them. “Ranko has explained the student council’s function, and I have also read about it. It is a group of students with authority over all the other students in their school…,” Rinne said with admiration. “Maybe in anime, but not in real life…” At first, Ryuunosuke wanted to correct her skewed image of the student council, but when he thought twice about it, he changed tack. “No, wait, you are absolutely right. We rule the school. Nobody can tell us what to do.” “Of course not, with Ranko as your boss…” Rinne swallowed audibly. The truth was, the student council had no authority over anyone, and their tasks included organizing school events, drafting the budget for them, and looking after school equipment. Ryuunosuke had lied just to see Rinne’s reaction. It wasn’t as if she was going to join the council, so it wasn’t important for her to have accurate information on what the council could or could not do. They opened the door to the student council room. Everything inside looked the same as usual. Someone was already there. “There you are, Dazai boy, Rinne.” It was Ranko, who had said she’d be staying at Ryuunosuke’s home that day. She was sitting in her usual chair, doing some paperwork. “Thought you weren’t coming today.” “I got here not that long ago. It’s good that you’ve both come here together.” “Oh?” “I was going to call for Rinne. You saved me the trouble, bringing her here. Please take a seat.” Ryuunosuke picked up a folded chair from the corner and carried it to the table for Rinne. They both sat down. “You wished to see me, Ranko?” “That’s right. Tell me, how was your first day at school?” “I encountered no issues. It was a success.” “…” Ryuunosuke internally disagreed with that, but he didn’t say anything. Ranko noticed the look in his eyes, and a little smile appeared on her lips. “Heh. That’s good to hear, Rinne.” “But why did you want to call here to the student council room, President?” “To have her join the council, naturally.” “Rinne is joining the student council?” “Yes. I’ve already registered her.” “Well, that was quick…” “I have been granted…the student council powers?!” Rinne’s eyes shone with excitement, while Ryuunosuke was still trying to wrap his head around this sudden appointment. “She will be acting as—” Ranko was interrupted by the door opening. Two girls entered the room. “Hel-lo there! Here comes the world-class beauty… Wait, ugh. I forgot about this idiot. What’s she doing here…?” “Good morning! Hello, Rinne.” It was Mari and Aya. Ranko smiled and waved at Mari, who just made a face in response. “Weren’t you going to your club, Isurugi?” Ranko asked. “I was, but then I ran into Mari. I don’t have much to do at the club today anyway, so I thought I’d come here with Mari first and meet my club friends later.” “So it’s not just me who gets bossed around by Abara…,” Ryuunosuke mused. “She should be here for our meeting instead of wandering off to some club! It was lucky I caught her,” Mari said in her defense. “It’s okay, I don’t mind, if it makes Mari happy.” They sat down at the table, with Aya opposite Ryuunosuke and Mari next to him. He now had Rinne on one side, and Mari on the other. “Ranko, you were going to announce my role. I have been told that you are the president of the council, Ryuunosuke is the vice president, and Aya is the secretary…,” Rinne trailed off. “Hold up! Why is this moron making it sound like she’s going to be on the council?!” “M-Mari! You’re being very rude! She’s your senior, too…,” Aya scolded. Mari grabbed Ryuunosuke’s arm and was looking past him at Rinne threateningly. “Don’t try to dispute it, Mari, it’s already decided. And anyhow, you’re in no position to question my decisions,” Ranko said bluntly. “Grrr…” Mari quieted down after Ranko told her off. “Rinne’s job will be…” Ranko paused for effect. “…vice president’s assistant.” For a moment, there was complete silence. “She can’t be that!!!” Mari yelled. “That’s my job! Ryuunosuke Dazai needs only one assistant, and that’s me! I’m not sharing with her!” Mari was gesticulating wildly, like a child having a tantrum. “I also find it disagreeable to share this position with her,” Rinne chimed in with her own opinion. “You can’t be his assistant! Only I can!” “Ridiculous. Ryuunosuke and I are bound by our vows to support each other throughout our lives. Therefore, I am the most qualified to help him in his job as a student council vice president.” “Screw you!” “I’ll be outnumbered by my assistants…,” Ryuunosuke complained as Mari and Rinne fought. Aya snorted a laugh, no longer able to keep pretending she wasn’t listening. “Since I have been given this position, I shall carry out my duties with care and commitment. I shall prove to that vampire I am better suited to assist Ryuunosuke both in battle and in his student council role.” “Oh yeah? I’ve been his assistant all this time until you showed up, you clueless, sorry excuse for a dragon!” Aya cocked her head. “Ryuu,” she asked. “Why are they calling each other a vampire and a dragon?” “Er… Who knows what’s going on in their heads? Ha-ha…” When the arguing stopped, Ranko and Aya busied themselves with the paperwork. For some reason, Rinne and Mari moved their chairs closer to Ryuunosuke, so that their shoulders were pressing against his. “Sorry, but it’s kind of hard for me to work like this…,” he protested thinly, feeling cramped. “Please carry on with your work. I will support you,” Rinne said reassuringly. “I will support you better than her,” Mari insisted. “Right, but… You see, I don’t need you physically supporting me in my chair, you know?” “You are sweating, Ryuunosuke. Let me wipe your face.” “I’m sweating because you’re crowding me in…” He did nothing to resist Rinne wiping sweat off his brow. “Are you thirsty, Ryuunosuke Dazai? Have some of my drink.” “No, I’m oka—Mngh!” Mari forcefully wedged the straw of her sports drink into his mouth. “I feel like a patient being tended to by two overly eager hospital nurses!” “Your words are too kind, Ryuunosuke. You are making me blush…” “You made me smile, too, Ryuunosuke Dazai…” “I didn’t mean it as praise!” The hellish student council duties eventually ended, and Ryuunosuke left with Rinne. “What do you want for dinner, Rinne?” “Will you be making it for us?” “I guess so… Something’s telling me President won’t volunteer to cook. She doesn’t seem the type. Or do you want to cook?” “Ha-ha-ha-ha! Ryuunosuke, you joker. I cannot cook, obviously.” “Figures…” “I will be happy with anything you cook.” “Anything, huh…? Listen, Rinne. Telling the person who’s going to do the cooking that anything is fine is the most unhelpful. What sort of food did you have at the research facility?” “I was served dishes like spinach salad with sesame dressing, julienned daikon stew, and boiled mustard greens.” “That’s what you get for hospital meals, right? By the way, do you have to check in at the hospital—no, I mean, the research facility first?” “Yes. We both have to undergo regular checkups.” Rinne would be having medical examinations to see whether she was progressing toward berserk status, while Ryuunosuke would be a test subject for the research on Sacred Sealing Rings. It was only because he readily agreed to this that Ryuunosuke was allowed to go free. “The train station is the pickup point… I wish President was coming with us, but she left early in a hurry.” “She must be extremely busy with work beyond our imagination.” “Yeah, I bet. We have some time to kill. Let’s do grocery shopping on the way home after the checkups.” “That sounds like a good plan.” Ryuunosuke heard a message notification. He checked his phone and saw a text from Ranko. “Huh? Ranko wrote, ‘I sent you money for helping with my research. Check your bank account. Make sure to keep receipts of all expenses.’ Wow, cool.” Ranko had told him before that he’d be compensated for his help, and since he was broke, Ryuunosuke welcomed any extra income. He was helping because he thought it was the right thing to do, but he wouldn’t turn down a cash incentive. Ryuunosuke and Rinne headed to the West Kokonoe train station. There were the usual stores you’d expect near a station, like a general store, supermarket, fast-food restaurants, and a bookstore. Ryuunosuke went to check his account balance at a bank ATM. A little excited, he waited for the display to show him how much money he got from Ranko. “What…?” He rubbed his eyes and checked the numbers again. After that, he printed a statement and took it from the machine with shaking hands, checking the numbers one more time. “Is something the matter?” “Uh… Let’s get out of here, Rinne…” He took Rinne by the hand and left the bank, looking around suspiciously. He dragged Rinne with him until he found a quiet back alley with no one else around. “Why did you lead me to this dark alley…? Oh! Ryuunosuke… You want to do it here…?!” “No! I don’t want to do THAT sort of stuff! Wait a minute, okay?” He took out the printed account statement, slowly unfolded it, and examined it carefully. “I’m not dreaming…” The amount Ranko had wired him was way higher than what he’d been expecting. It was so much, he began to wonder if he’d have to pay tax on it. “Pay’s good in our line of work.” Ryuunosuke jumped when someone suddenly spoke to him. “Eep!” Pathetically, he hid behind Rinne’s back. From there, he finally dared to look at the person who had approached them. “Hey, it’s just Mr. Sarashina… Don’t sneak up on us like that—you scared the daylights out of me! Hello, by the way.” “Hi.” It was Suberu Sarashina, a medical researcher from the Calamity Research Institute. Rinne bowed to him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Ryuunosuke said. “I came to pick you up, thinking you’d prefer someone you’ve already met. Next time, someone else from the department will come to get you. We’d be early if we went now. Are you ready, or should I get you a bit later?” “We don’t have anything else to do right now, so we can just go. Is that okay with you, Rinne?” “Yes, I am ready to go.” Suberu led them to a nearby parking lot, where they got into a large black car. Suberu was driving, and Rinne and Ryuunosuke sat in the back. The car was so spacious, they could stretch out their legs easily. They could see a familiar nightscape out the windows. Ryuunosuke wondered if it was Suberu’s own car or if it belonged to the Calamity Research Institute. He couldn’t tell. “What sort of job do you do, Mr. Sarashina?” Ryuunosuke asked just to make conversation. “My job is to save the world!” Suberu boomed back proudly, his voice sounding louder on account of being in such a small, enclosed space. Ryuunosuke was a bit surprised by that grandiose statement. “Right, mythical girls are a threat to the world. Your job’s pretty cool! And President—I mean, Ranko is only a little older than me, but she’s working on that research with you. Isn’t she amazing, Rinne?” “Yes. She is, without doubt, an incredible person.” “A genius, even. By the way, Ryuunosuke. You’re also going to have a checkup today? How are you feeling? Anything worrying you?” Suberu asked. “Um… It’s just my ring that’s going to be examined, not myself.” “What ring?” “Huh? Ranko didn’t tell you?” “She didn’t tell me anything about any rings,” Suberu replied, confused. Rinne frowned, incredulous. “Oh, well, maybe it’s unimportant…,” Ryuunosuke said to him. That’s really weird, he thought. They’re coworkers, but Mr. Sarashina doesn’t know about the Sacred Sealing Rings… They sat in silence as Suberu drove along the highway. Later that evening, Ryuunosuke, Rinne, and Ranko headed back home together after Ranko carried out the checkups on them. The examinations turned out to be more thorough and down-to-earth than Ryuunosuke had been expecting. He was put into a machine that looked like an MRI scanner, made to drink a bitter medicine, and scanned in another machine where he had to turn around, like for a barium X-ray. On the way home, they bought groceries for dinner, which didn’t go smoothly at all, but that’s another story. After dinner, Ryuunosuke washed the dishes while Ranko and Rinne stayed at the low dining table, enjoying some tea. “You’re a good cook, Dazai boy.” “I second that. The meal was delicious.” Both girls had eaten their fill. Ryuunosuke had made deep-fried chicken with sweet-and-sour sauce, fried eggs with tomato over rice, and a pea-sprout-and-fried-tofu salad. “Heh-heh! I’ve learned a few tricks working part-time in a restaurant,” he said nonchalantly, but the truth was, he was super happy that they liked the food. It had been quite a while since Ryuunosuke last cooked at home. For a long time, he’d had to drastically save on food, since he had no money, but he really did enjoy cooking. Because he could now get reimbursed for groceries, he’d gone all out on the meal for the three of them. “Hurry up with the dishes, Ryuunosuke, and give me some attention.” “He’ll finish quicker if you help him, Rinne.” “Oh…! Dividing the task between more people will make it quicker, of course! I am in awe of your intellect, Ranko.” Rinne swiftly got to her feet and went over to help Ryuunosuke. “Be thankful, Ryuunosuke! I am going to assist you!” “I like your enthusiasm, I guess! Thanks.” “I shall do my utmost. Watch and marvel!” Rinne picked up a dirty plate from the sink. “Aah?!” This was the girl who had thrown a cargo container and left marks in an iron ball with her fingers. The plate couldn’t withstand her dragon power. It shattered into countless pieces. “R-Ryuunosukeee…” “Looks like you were a bit too energetic this time… How come the dishes at the canteen survived you, I wonder…?” “Uh… I am filled with shame…” “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’ll wash and wipe the dishes, and you put them in the cupboard. How about that?” “Understood… I will put the dishes away.” Rinne dejectedly walked back to the dining table, where Ranko was doing something on her phone. “President, I forgot to tell you I don’t have broadband. You probably need to be online for your work, right? Are you going to be okay just using your phone data?” Ryuunosuke asked. “No need. Here, this is our Wi-Fi password.” She placed a piece of paper on the table. “What do you mean ‘our’ Wi-Fi? Do I not know about something?” “I got broadband for your crummy house.” “What?!” “I also had AC installed in my room and in the living room.” “Whaaat?!” Ryuunosuke looked around the living room in surprise. “Oh, there it is! How did I miss it? I guess I conditioned myself not to pay too much attention to my house! It’s right next to the clock! A modern convenience like that in my own home! By the way, you meant MY room, right?!” “Don’t worry about the cost. That goes with the expenses.” “I didn’t ask for any of that, but thank you. You do remember this is still MY house, right?!” “Getting the broadband and AC units installed in just one day was a piece of cake compared with enrolling Rinne as a student despite her not having any public school records.” “I didn’t ask you if it was easy or not! This is rented accommodation, you know! I hope the landlords don’t get mad…” “If you get any complaints, I’ll handle them.” Ryuunosuke wanted to avoid getting her involved in any landlord disputes. He had a feeling it would escalate out of proportion. Ranko stood. She put on a jacket and picked up her bag. “Well, I’ll be going now.” “What? Where? We just got back.” “Rinne broke one of your plates. I’m going out to buy a replacement.” “You absolutely hate tedious errands, and yet you want to go out late at night to buy me a new plate? I appreciate that, but why don’t you go tomorrow?” “Oh dear. Dazai boy, you are so clueless. Learn to have a little more sensitivity, or you won’t win any hearts.” “He does not need to win any hearts. He already has mine, and that is enough,” Rinne cut in. “Heh. Yes, of course. Buying a new plate is just an excuse. I need to obtain some necessary commodities for myself. Girls need all sorts of things boys don’t for their daily life.” “Okay, got it. Wait, but you don’t have a key,” Ryuunosuke noted. “I got a set of keys cut for me already.” She took a key ring from her pocket to show him. It had a poop mascot character attached. “Right. I should’ve guessed.” “Be careful outside, Ranko. It may be dangerous at night.” “Thank you, Rinne. It’s kind of you to worry about me. I’ll be careful.” “I—I did not speak out of kindness. Merely out of concern, because I would not wish to lose my caretaker.” “Sure, let’s leave it at that. I’ll try to be back as soon as I can, sweetie. Dazai boy, stay out of my room. It’s a mess.” “It’s MY room!” Ranko waved and went out. Ryuunosuke was done with the dishes. He wiped his hands on his apron and sat down opposite Rinne, taking out his smartphone. He talked to her while tapping on it. “Wow, we really have Wi-Fi… The SSID is ChunkyPoop… Makes me not want to connect to it. President has the sense of humor of a five-year-old…” “I do not know what this ‘why fie’ is… Did Ranko do something to upset you?” “No, I’m really glad she got my house online. I’ve been having to watch my data usage—couldn’t really use the internet much on my phone before. I haven’t even touched it since yesterday. But I really wish President asked me before making changes to my house.” “I think you are aware of this, but you have Ranko to thank for letting you return to your house. If it was not for her, you might have been put in a solitary room in the basement of the Calamity Research Institute’s facility, as a study subject. The organization is interested in obtaining data about soul linkers and Sacred Sealing Rings, not in your well-being.” “Linkers are legendary-level rare, right? President said so when she was examining me.” “Which is why the council…the Calamity Research Institute’s bosses were opposed to letting you go free with me after I reached berserk phase one, but Ranko quickly managed to convince them and get approval for the Dragon Babysitter Project.” Rinne seemed very proud of Ranko. “You two have this sisterly vibe. Ranko looks like she should be your younger sister, though.” “Do you think so? Hmm. Perhaps. She is the only person I would consider a true friend. She was the first friend I made at the facility.” “Really?” “When she was assigned to the Calamity Research Institute, she came to see me and, despite the other researchers trying to stop her, shook my hand. She said to me then, ‘I’d like to be your friend.’ It was preposterous for a researcher to enter the cell where a dangerous creature such as myself was being kept. She is very intelligent, but sometimes, she commits such acts of folly. Well, we did become friends then.” Rinne shared her treasured memories with Ryuunosuke, wistfulness in her tone. “She was probably the only one who never saw you as a dangerous monster.” “…Yes. You are right.” Rinne lowered her eyelids, and she smiled. “President really is something else. She approached me on my first day at school, saying she liked me and wanted me on the student council. She instantly closes the distance with you, know what I mean? Right off the bat, we had a great vibe going. She’s like this with everyone.” “I do not enjoy you speaking with admiration about other females, even Ranko. Apologize, Ryuunosuke.” “What?! But we were both talking about how cool she is!” Ryuunosuke was so taken aback by Rinne’s abrupt demand that he recoiled, lifting both his hands, and fell backward onto the floor. Rinne considered him for a moment. Then she got up and walked over to where he was on the floor. She sat down on him, bending to look at his face. “Ryuunosuke.” “Wh-what is it?” Rinne’s long hair was tickling his face. She was staring into his eyes with a fiery intensity. “This will be our first night together…since we have paired up.” “Right. I’ll leave you here; you can have this room to yourself.” Ryuunosuke got a bad feeling and tried to escape. “Wait.” She stopped him, grabbing his arm. “Ranko has seen to our sleeping arrangements. She prepared two futons…but we need only one, do we not?” “Ow, ow, ow, ow! Why do you have to be…so much stronger than me?! I just want to have a bath. Let me go and have a bath!” “Ah. I understand.” “Er… Do you, really?!” She let him go. Ryuunosuke left his phone on the dining table and escaped to the changing room. Rinne was left alone in the living room. The earlier ruckus was just a memory, replaced by silence. “The silence that follows accentuates the welcome liveliness of being together with friends…” Rinne was keenly aware of how lucky she was to be able to enjoy a normal life after the progression of her berserk phase and ultimate confinement. She was shyly allowing herself to imagine a future where she was allowed to live, where her being alive would not lead to the destruction of the world. “Hmm…?” Her gaze fell on Ryuunosuke’s smartphone, which he had left behind on the table. The home screen was bright—Ryuunosuke had forgotten to lock the phone. Rinne picked it up. “It looks very different from the model I was given…” Ryuunosuke’s phone was a very old model from a cheap brand. Rinne’s phone was a different version and had a different interface and features. Rinne suddenly remembered what Mari had said before, at school. Based on the images saved on Ryuunosuke’s phone… Rinne gulped, looking at the phone in her hand. “Maybe I could take a little peek…” She felt the urge to check if Mari was telling the truth about Ryuunosuke’s taste in women. “No, no. Perish the thought. That would be a disrespectful violation of privacy… I must not lower myself to the level of that shameless bloodsucker.” Rinne shook her head and put the phone back down on the table. Her fingertips accidentally brushed against the screen, opening the browser. It displayed the page Ryuunosuke had viewed the night before—the comments under a news article about a killer being sentenced to death. Rinne couldn’t help reading one of the comments. Some people don’t deserve to live. A girl was sitting at a table for two at Chandelier, a diner outside the West Kokonoe train station. She looked decidedly too young to be hanging out alone in a diner at such a late hour. She was eating flan with obvious delight when another girl sat down at her table without even a word of greeting. “Did you really have to call me so late…? It was a pain in the neck to leave undetected.” The newly arrived girl was a blond beauty, with her hair tied in two pigtails. “You better have a good reason, or I’m going to be so mad at you. Oh, and you’re paying, right?” “Yeah. Order anything you like.” “Yay.” The blond girl picked up the menu and began to study it. “Ryuunosuke Dazai doesn’t know you’re meeting me here, right?” “Nah. Why stress him?” “So it’s just you and me, and nobody knows? Are you seriously so reckless? Or are you stupid? We’re not at school. I could just kill you now.” “If you wanted to kill me, you’d have already done so, no? I’m still alive, which means your organization doesn’t see me as a person of any importance. I’m perfectly safe.” “You shouldn’t feel safe around me. Urgh, you get on my nerves… Anyway, what did you want?” “Can’t you guess?” The young-looking girl paused. “I work for the Calamity Research Institute. You’re a mythical girl affiliated with the Order. We’re enemies. What could I possibly want from you?” “…Are you going to tell me, or what?” The young girl finished her flan and sat up straighter, her face serious. “I’d like to talk to you about the worst-case scenario.” She was having an absurd dream. She was in a prison cell, alone. She knew she had to die. It didn’t make sense, but it was her unavoidable fate. “If I live, many people will die. Many already call for my death. They consider it the best option.” A wave of anger welled up in her body, threatening to take over. The rage inside her had a voice. It was the voice of her devil. “How ridiculous! How illogical! A world in which there is no place for me, a world that is hostile to me, deserves to be destroyed.” The angry voice kept talking to her. She wasn’t sure why she was feeling angry, too. Maybe she was railing at the injustice of her situation. “But I am kind; I am merciful. I cannot bring myself to destroy the world in which he lives.” The thought of destroying it all, of burning everything down to the ground, was so sweet, though. Each act of destruction made that heavy feeling in her chest diminish. The ravaging flames cleared the fog in her head. “For my own sake, I must kill him. Then I will destroy the world.” The devil’s voice would not be quiet. “Ah…! It was…a dream…” Rinne woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night. She felt chilled to the bone but was drenched in sweat. Her heart was pounding, she was out of breath, and she couldn’t focus her eyes for a while, at least until she became conscious of the calming smell of the boy sleeping with his back to her on the narrow futon next to hers. He was so close, she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. A familial warmth. The girl had no memories of her family. Mythical girls had one more secret the boy didn’t know about—they lost all memories of their life from before their mythical factor manifested. For this girl, that was ten years earlier. She couldn’t remember a single thing before then, and she had spent the last decade shut inside the Calamity Research Institute’s facility in a solitary prison cell. She had been suffering from terrible loneliness. But that was no more. “I protected you because I wanted to.” She thought back to what Ryuunosuke had said to her that night and felt calm again. He’d said that without thinking, but to her, his words had monumental meaning. In the eyes of most humans, with her insane power, she was a monster they’d want nothing to do with. But that one boy wanted to save her, even at the cost of his own life. That act of kindness sufficed to make her fall in love with him. “Ryuunosuke…” Before him, she had never known love, so at first, she wasn’t sure if that was what she was feeling. Her reaction to him was so strong, though, that she understood it couldn’t be anything else. She slipped under his covers and lay next to him. If she reached out to touch his back, she would feel his warmth directly. She was thinking about how he had shielded her with his body back then. “Are you awake, Ryuunosuke…?” she whispered. He didn’t respond. She wanted to put her arm around him but hesitated. She craved so much to hold him, but her love for him made her fear his reaction. She knew she could not embrace him without holding back, or he’d die. To a dragon, human bodies were all too fragile. The girl always had to hold back so that she wouldn’t hurt anyone. That was just a fact of life for mythical girls. “Tell me, Ryuunosuke…” There was this one question always coming back to her when she was alone. “…do you think some people do not deserve to live?” She’d asked herself that question thousands of times. Now she posed it to the person she loved the most in the world. She’d never asked anyone else for their opinion. She received no reply.
Chapter 9
42 min read