“I’m Albion Shimizu. From today, please think of me as your elder sister. You may feel free to refer to me as Albi.”
Albi, the woman least suited to the Shimizu name, introduced herself to Jupiter, a serving of smoked squid in one hand as she spoke.
Squid? Seriously? And it’s so stinky…
As much as I preferred she kept the squid stench out of my room, I knew bringing it up would get me nowhere, so I meekly cracked the window.
“Hold on.”
But as it turned out, she wouldn’t even let me have that much. The source of the stink herself stared at me. Her gaze was beautiful yet deadly.
“Think carefully, Master. We are about to have a secret meeting. Do you really believe you should open the window? How absurd.”
“Then go put your squid back in the kitchen. It freaking reeks.”
“Nom. Not a chance. Mmm.” The wicked goddess bit into the squid, sitting down with a self-satisfied smirk.
I suppressed my growing rage and turned to our newest guest. “Ah-ha-ha. She’s quite the mischievous one, isn’t she, Jupiter? Just make sure you don’t imitate her, all right? She’s the poster child for reckless eating and drinking, not to mention vulgarity and violence.”
“How rude. Saying ‘reckless drinking’ makes it sound like I imbibe alcohol, which I do not.” Albi’s objection came paired with a kick to my shin. It barely hurt, so I ignored it.
I can still remember when her kicks made me cry out in pain. Guess I’ve come a long way, huh?
“Kyouichirou… Doesn’t that hurt?”
“This is nothing compared to our usual training. Mere kitten scratches. Oh, by the way, why don’t you join us next time, Jupiter?”
“…I politely refuse.”
I was a bit disappointed. Training your body was also an effective way to train your mind.
“Oh well. I’ll put a pin in my get-Jupiter-ripped training plan for now. We’ve got something more important to attend to anyway. Hey, Albi.”
“Leave it to me.” The wicked goddess rose to her feet, pulling a second bag of smoked squid out of her pocket as she did. She walked over to the corner of the room where Jupiter was sitting. “This may get a tad bright. Please close your eyes.”
She placed her free hand—the one that didn’t reek of smoked squid—on the silver-haired girl’s forehead. A warm glow enveloped my room. It would have been quite a fantastic scene were it not for the stench.
Between her glowing body and that smell, you’d think she was a cephalopod herself. I really wish she’d stop squidding around in my room.
While I was distracted by idle thoughts, the white glow dissipated, and Albi resumed her munching. Jupiter’s jaw dropped.
“What…did you…? You just… But how…?”
“Allow me to address your confusion,” the secret boss announced breezily. “I have used my powers to seal away the large and violent four-legged beast currently under the delusion that it is your father.”
Jupiter was stunned, while Albi looked as collected as ever.
I get how you feel, Jupiter. What she’s saying sounds like absolute nonsense, but…
“Everything Albi just said is true,” I told her. “That deadbeat spirit inside you has been completely sealed away.”
“What’s going on?” said Jupiter.
“Which part are you asking about? The means or the ends?”
“Both.”
Feeling oddly satisfied by my cinematic line, I launched into as simple an explanation as I could muster.
“Albi has some pretty mysterious powers. And—can you believe it?—all she has to do is touch someone to heal them or seal away their spirit.”
“I don’t know where I obtained these powers. I suppose they must be a blessing from a divine being.”
“You sure you don’t mean an evil deity, Squid Girl?”
“You are aware that I can kill you anytime I want, yes?”
“Go ahead and try it.”
A swift punch came flying at my groin, but I’d been expecting it. I easily blocked it with my leg.
“Quite the clever one these days, aren’t you, Master?”
“That’s because, unlike a certain someone who sleeps and stuffs her face all day, I’m out in dungeons, adventuring, and putting my life on the line. At this rate, I’ll be stronger than you in no time.”
“Your jests aren’t funny, Master. But your face is more than enough to make me laugh.”
“Wow, how shallow. It’s super rude and offensive to comment on a guy’s looks. Are you even human?”
“…This sounds totally made up,” muttered Jupiter, interrupting our bickering.
A lot of what we had said was made up, so her comment didn’t surprise me…but I couldn’t tell her that, so I kept up the ruse.
“I get what you mean, Jupiter. But Keraunos has settled down, right?”
“Well…yes…”
“I guess you could say she’s one of ‘the gifted’—people who have no pacts with a spirit but still have access to mysterious powers. You’ve heard of them, right?”
“Yes.”
That seemed to do the trick. Saying someone was one of the gifted was like uttering a spell that magically cleaned up any mess.
“Anyway, I bet you can guess the reason she’s sealed Keraunos away, right?”
“So that he won’t go on a rampage.”
“Right. Don’t worry, though. The seal can be undone whenever you want.”
“……”
Jupiter cupped her face in her hand and thought this over. It couldn’t have been easy to come to terms with everything that was happening.
For better or worse, Keraunos was a permanent fixture in her life. And now, with little more than the gentle touch of a smelly girl, the spirit had been silenced.
Jupiter’s face was marbled with a complex, disparate blend of joy and unease. She seemed to be struggling to take everything in. But after a while, she finally spoke.
“Okay. I’ll trust you.”
Her answer was short and simple but carried a clear weight.
She trusted us. And we were now responsible for living up to that trust.
“Great. We won’t let you down,” I swore to her. “Whatever happens, we’re on your side.”
I was going to keep her from becoming a villain. No matter how unlikely my success, I would make it happen with my own two hands.