AFTER speaking to the chief and digging further into the Supreme Rulers of Evil, Ren listlessly went about his daily tasks. As had become the norm somewhere along the way, he went over to Subaru’s and ate dinner with his friend and Mia, with the three of them huddled around the table. Sitting there, talking merrily over one another about nothing in particular was an integral part of their everyday life now.
Today, however, Ren didn’t let his gaze stray from Mia, trudging through the meal with less chatter than usual. Mia noticed that something was off about Ren, and inquired about it, but he brushed her concerns off with a smile and a curt, “It’s nothing”.
If he wanted to stay by her side, he would need to tread carefully. He had to convince Mia to give up on world domination, no matter what. After a great deal of debate, he found himself drawn to Mia. And for her to survive she would need to find another goal to devote herself to. The decision that he secretly made in his heart was to pursue her from this point on, no matter what happened down the line.
✦ ✦ ✦
SUNDAY came rolling in without any real changes occurring in the town or world at large. It was a rare, precious day off for Ren. He chose to spend it with a cigarette in his mouth and a controller in his hand. He was taking it slow today, playing a video game since the moment he had woken up. It was a soccer simulator where he got to control a famous player with their real stats converted into the game.
On the floor, the essentials were lined up: beer, some dried squid, and an ashtray. He was only dressed in a T-shirt and boxers, not the most dignified outfit, objectively speaking. He shrugged the concern of his clothing off, deciding it was fine because no one would see him anyway. At least on his days off, he wanted to wear whatever he pleased. …That is unless he got called in for something that had to do with Mia.
She should learn to take it easy from time to time, too!
His smartphone was lying on his bed. The tracking device was activated, responding to the girl using her powers. It was probably just her doing her rounds around the town, as usual. Ren could tell by now what she was doing just by watching her movements on the map. However—
Ping! An electronic sound rang out. When he took a look at his phone’s screen, he saw a red dot unmoving, positioned on a road that ran along the riverbank. Mia was using her magic. She was casting so many spells in a single spot, it was most certainly out of the ordinary. Suddenly, he remembered the chief’s words, “There’s a limit to how much magic she can use in a day, so…”
Ren heaved a sigh. Ugh, he would really appreciate it if she stopped worrying him so much. Did she even know about her own potentially fatal weaknesses? He couldn’t very well ignore this, so he rose to his feet and hurriedly put on his clothes. Quickly tapping away on his phone to let the others know about what was happening with Mia, he heard a bleep indicating he just got a new message. …It was from Shou.
“I’ve got my hands on Mia♪ But it’s her fault! She was the one who approached me, k? So, anyway, I’ll be playing with her until you come get her. Bye〜”
Ren felt the blood draining from his face. His hair was a wild mess, but he didn’t care. He tumbled down his hallway and out the door, sprinting in the direction of Shou’s house.
✦ ✦ ✦
SHOU was enjoying his day off duty, queuing up at the doors of an entertainment venue first thing in the morning. As he was standing there, a very familiar cute voice called out to him from up in the sky, “Found you!”
Shou looked up in confusion, there he saw Mia Oonari in all her long black cape-wearing, sickeningly cute wand-wielding splendor, perched atop a fence separating the venue building from the road.
Having confirmed that it was indeed none other than Shou whom she had spotted, Mia whooped and jumped down, making a perfect 360-degree flip in the air before landing on her feet in front of her quarry.
The gazes of all the men who were standing in line together with Shou were probably concentrated on the same spot—the one that got exposed when the girl was doing the spin, her skirt fluttering down around her legs. If one managed to sneak a peek at it, they would catch a glimpse of a sliver of cool blue fabric.
“Morning, Mia! Blue panties today, I see! And pink ribbons on both sides too, very cute! Great choice!”
“You swine, how were you able to glean that much detail when you have only seen them for a brief moment?!”
“I think it’s a part of the standard skill set of any man.”
We haven’t looked that closely! Thought the men standing around Shou, but Mia seemed to buy Shou’s excuse, equal parts impressed and shocked. Then she shook her head, as if to clear it and get her mind back on the right track, and thrust out her wand towards Shou, pointing it at him.
“Yellow, I hereby challenge you to a duel!”
“Eh? Don’t wanna.”
Mia staggered at such a blunt refusal. She scrunched up her face, close to tears, and whined pitifully, “But whyyy! I was so in the mood for this!”
“Yeah, but they’re installing the new machine today! I really want to try it out. And it’s the Redemption Event Day, too!”
At Shou’s answer, Mia took a closer look at the venue’s front, only to raise her voice in exasperation, “Lining up for pachinko, and this early too? …I feel like you have hit a new low!”
“But I wanted to get the best seat! I woke up at the crack of dawn for this, so let me off the hook for today, please? Okay?” Shou implored, but that only served to fan the flames of Mia’s anger.
A wrinkle etching itself between her brows, she finally snapped, seething, “Absolutely out of the question! I have grown soft lately, associating with you lot as if I lost my fighting spirit! But no more of that! What is more important here, me, who has renewed her resolve and decided to defeat you one by one, or pachinko?!”
“I don’t really care about pachinko. I’m here for the slot machines. …And since you’re asking, right now it’s probably the slot machines…” Shou answered flatly.
That made Mia completely lose her temper, with steam coming out of her ears. She violently grabbed Shou by the wrist. Then, she loudly chanted the spell, “Fly with me into the sky!”
A gust of wind drifted around their feet, and then their bodies soared up, getting propelled through the air with a whoosh. The men queuing to get into the casino stared blankly at their backs.
“Ah, well, just one of those days I guess…” someone mumbled and took the place that opened up in the line after Shou’s disappearance, the entire incident between Shou and Mia fading to the back of their minds the moment Mia and her passenger were out of sight.