Being a bodyguard is one of the most popular jobs for a butei. Normally, it involves guarding VIPs such as politicians, celebrities, company directors, or their children, but occasionally there are times when a butei guards another butei whose life is threatened. For the most part, the bodyguard will live with the person he or she is guarding, but in this case, the client—Shirayuki—has conversely expressed a strong desire to live at my place. Well, I had absolutely no intention of living in a girl’s dormitory, which is essentially a field of hysteria mode landmines, so this was the better option, but ... I didn’t think she’d be moving in the very next day.
“Muto-kun, is really okay for you to do this for free? I should at least pay for gasoline ...” Shirayuki offered.
“Don’t sweat it! This is nothing!”
Muto, who for some reason, spoke so formally to Shirayuki despite being in the same grade, got off Logi’s mini-truck, which he used to bring Shirayuki here. He then began unloading her things in such a robotic fashion that I found it sickening to watch.
... Was Muto always the type to enjoy physical labor this much?
“Um ... if my memory serves me correctly, this is the third boy’s dormitory, isn’t it?” asked Muto
“Uh ... yeah,” replied Shirayuki.
“Were you planning on using an empty apartment for storage or something? If that’s the case, feel free to call me when you move everything back to the girl’s dormitory! While we’re at it, when we’re finished here, how about getting some tea or something to eat ...?”
“Ah, Kin-chan!”
Shirayuki’s face lit up as she saw me coming out of the lobby.
Muto, who had started to say something, looked at Shirayuki, then at me, then at Shirayuki again, and a question mark formed over his spikey hair.
“Kin ... Tohyama?”
“Muto-kun, the thing is, as of today I’m going to be living in Kin-cha ... Tohyama-kun’s apartment.”
“Ki-Kinji’s apartment?”
“Just so you know, it’s part of my job.” I said. “I was chosen to be Shirayuki’s bodyguard. It’s Aria’s fault. Don’t go around telling people.”
Having heard my explanation, Muto could do nothing but gape at me speechless.
What kind of reaction is that?
I was the one who should be speechless. I have to live with two female beasts that could go on a rampage at the drop of a hat. When I returned to my apartment, which still looked like a battlefield, Aria was in the living room tinkering with the window. Taking a closer look, I could see she was setting up an infrared sensor that they sold at the school store.
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? I’m fortifying this apartment.”
“Don’t!”
“You’re a butei. What are you getting all excited about? We have to make sure we’re alert to any enemies who approach our client. So much stuff around here is broken anyway. It makes things easier.”
“You’re the one who broke everything.”
“Okay. All that’s left is the skylight.”
Aria magnificently ignored my protests and proceeded to install an infrared sensor on the window above the desk. Unfortunately for her, at 142 centimeters, she didn’t reach. She stretched out her hand as far as she could, and a metal washtub fell down directly onto her head.
That’s what you get.
“I-I’m l-letting myself i-in ...” came Shirayuki’s voice from the doorway as she entered the apartment. She took off her Butei High issued strap shoes, and after neatly placing them by the door, bowed her upper body by ninety degrees, displaying a bright, glossy ring of light that was reflected in her long, black hair.
“S-Starting today, I’ll be in your care. My name is Shirayuki Hotogi.”
I know.
“I-I have my imperfections, but I hope we get along!”
“Shirayuki ... what are you getting all worked up for? It’s not like this is the first time you’ve been here.”
“Ah ... when I think of how I’m going to be living in your apartment, I just get so nervous,” said Shirayuki, smiling bashfully.
Nervous? The other day, you were swinging a katana around in here.
“Um, since I’m moving in, I’ll clean the place while I’m at it. After all, I am the one who made a mess of it in the first place.”
Shirayuki quickly scuttled towards the kitchen where Aria was setting up a surveillance camera and glared at her with sanpaku eyes.
“Hehe. I’ll have to get rid of the large-sized garbage as well.”
She quickly reverted back to her usual smile she always wore and her sweet voice, as melodious as bell.
... No comment.
Or so I thought at first.
“No piano wire, okay?” I warned, remembering the death trap that had been set up in Aria’s locker.
Shirayuki opened her eyes wide, waving her long eyelashes.
“Piano wire? What do you mean?”
... Feigning innocence, huh?
But thinking it over, I decided not to get any further involved in their battle. I was bound to live longer that way.
Much unlike Aria, who never did anything that could fall under the category of a household chore, Shirayuki’s skills in doing housework could only be defined as godly. I couldn’t even get motivated enough to clean up this landfill that was my apartment, but Shirayuki quickly disposed of all the junk, rigorously vacuumed everywhere, sealed all the holes in the walls and floor with putty, and replaced the carpet. She had the whole apartment cleaned up in less than three hours. To top it all off, she even decorated the place with a flower arrangement of Gypsophila and greenhouse cultivated Large Pink.
“... Wow ...” I whispered to myself as I set down by the wall Shirayuki’s paulownia wood chest of drawers, which I had carried up from the lobby. When I tried to help out with something, Shirayuki refused to let me saying, “I can’t let you do that!” so this type of heavy labor was the only thing I could do. Just then, seeing Shirayuki go into the kitchen, Aria walked up to me. “Kinji, make sure you also check that chest for any dangerous items.”
“Dangerous items? This is one of Shirayuki’s personal belongings.”
“There’s always the chance that someone slipped something inside it on its way here.”
“Aria ... that’s what’s known as fear aroused from suspicion.”
“Butei Charter, Article Seven: Always prepare for the worst scenario and take the best action. I’m going to cordon off the balcony so I’ll be busy. You be sure to inspect that drawer or else later there’s gonna be a hole opening festival.”
I’ve never heard of such a dangerous festival.
“Okay, okay.”
“One ‘okay’ will suffice!”
I watched Aria reproachfully as she stepped out into the balcony with a toolbox in hand and reluctantly inspected the exterior of the chest of drawers. Naturally, there was nothing dangerous to be found. I selected a drawer and opened it to find cosmetics and other various items. I proceed to the next drawer.
“…?”
Inside were many bundles of cloths, the purpose of which I couldn’t guess. Each one was folded up very neatly, and they were all packed together in an orderly fashion like candies of assorted colors in a gift box. Some of them had a small ribbon attached to them.
“...?”
Two wooden tags labeled “plain” and “battle” divided the bundles of cloths into two sections. The ones in the “plain” section were all pure white, while the ones in the “battle” section were black.
Battle? So these are some kind or armaments?
I took one of the suspicious bundles into my hands. Judging from the black cloth’s sheen, I presumed it to be one-hundred percent silk. It was as thin as a piece of string, and the triangular portion at the bottom was adorned with an elegant torchon lace. I spread apart the semitransparent cloth...
“...!”
Shoving the black cloth back into the drawer, I slammed it shut.
Dangerous items ... They were inside.
To be more precise, they were items that posed a danger to me. All of the bundles of cloths in this drawer ... they were all underwear! What’s more, they were probablyrisqué pieces of lingerie like G-strings and low-rise panties and the like—just like those my brother had told me about it when he was alive.
That Shirayuki ...
She was always acting like a modest, graceful, ideal Japanese woman ... but behind the scenes, she was wearing that kind of underwear? Now that I think about it, there was that time when I happened to see down her blouse and she was wearing something black that didn’t fit the image of an honor student.
T-This is bad. Don’t do it, Kinji. If you go into hysteria mode over something like this, that just makes you a pervert!
“Ah, Kin-chan, I’m sorry about that. It’s my drawer, but you brought it up for me, didn’t you.”
I spun around in surprise at being called from behind. Before I realized it, Shirayuki had walked up fairly close to me. Shirayuki, who cheerfully took off a pair of cream-colored mittens, must have planned on cooking after she finished cleaning because she was wearing a frilly apron over her uniform.