Once the flying saucer was done, it was quickly turned back into coffins and hidden inside the warehouse, so they weren’t seized by the police.
Fortunately, the officer and gangster from the cars chasing Mizuhito and Pamil had escaped with just minor scratches... Considering the scale of the conflict, it was practically a miracle that there were no casualties.
And so, it was case closed.
At least nearly; the remainder was happening around Kyouhei.
“...Um,” he muttered.
They were in a corner of the Nanbu household, now mostly restored to its usual state. The area had a table, sofa, and the like, as if it were a TV setup. Kyouhei was sitting in the area with a troubled look on his face.
At his right sat Pamil.
At his left sat Sanae.
The two were looking at each other, but...
“Let’s call it a night for now,” Sanae suggested.
“Right, let’s. Sanae and I are going to talk for a while, so you go ahead, Kyouhei,” added Pamil.
“This is my house,” Kyouhei protested, looking in Sanae’s direction.
His usually timid and reserved schoolmate... was glaring at Pamil. Like she was looking at her husband’s mistress who had walked in while the wife was out.
“Sanae-chan...” Kyouhei said.
“I... I’m okay...” Sanae answered in a faint voice which sounded not at all okay.
The situation was in complete shambles; there was no other way to easily describe it. Pamil and Sanae were friends... but this mess with Kyouhei had them at odds.
Originally, Pamil had had false memories implanted in her consciousness to keep the secret of the Legacy safe, so she had thought she was a body double android, and couldn’t remember meeting Kyouhei before at all.
Thanks to the earlier chaos, though, she had recovered her memories, along with the memory of her promise to marry Kyouhei when she grew up.
“It was a promise, so I want to see it fulfilled,” Pamil told him.
“We were kids; we weren’t thinking seriously about that kinda stuff! It was just a bit of fun!”
Pamil stared steadily at him, a rather unhappy expression on her face. “That’s awful, Kyouhei. I’ve never forgotten that promise... not for a single day...”
“Pamil-chan...” Sanae said, for some reason moved to tears by her rival’s words.
“You definitely did forget until today!” Kyouhei countered.
“Mgh... I-I can’t deny that, but it was beyond my control.”
“Well, it was...” Kyouhei admitted. A princess would have to put her own feelings aside for the good of her country, and to maintain its secrets. “Anyway, you’re a princess, right?”
“I am.”
“You can’t date a commoner like me, can you?”
“...A commoner?” asked Pamil in puzzlement. After a period of thought, she continued with a clap of realization. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that; you’re not a commoner after all.”
“Huh?”
“Dad, Shuuhei Nanbu, was entitled for his services in the expansion of the Bergmann Kingdom’s economy. It was just a formality, so there wasn’t any land gifted to him, but he’s still a viscount.”
“...Dad’s... a noble?”
Well, his cousin had been able to marry into the royal family despite being a foreign commoner. And Shuuhei had used his international connections for the country’s benefit, including removing Pamil’s ‘coffin’ from the country. If he was so well trusted by them, then it was no wonder that he had been given a title.
“So you don’t need to worry. We can even get married,” Pamil declared.
“No! No no no, that’s not wha—”
“Besides, it’s rather old-fashioned of you to say that royals cannot marry commoners. Indeed, you are truly a son of Japan, with all its tradition and mysteries,” Pamil said easily.
“Wait just a minute, we’re already talking about marriage?!”
“It was a promise.”
“I mean... isn’t it too soon?!”
“It’s been ten years.”
“That’s not what I meant!” Kyouhei yelled. “If we jump into talking about marriage, then it’s not fair on Murata-sa—I mean, Sanae-chan.”
A Japanese high school girl nowadays wouldn’t start thinking about marriage straight after her confession. That was what Kyouhei thought at least...
“It... it’s okay... Senpai,” Sanae nodded with a pale face as she clutched her strawman. She didn’t look ‘okay’ at all to Kyouhei. “I can... get married... too!” She was speaking like she was volunteering to be a sacrifice to some evil spirit. Of course, she wasn’t seeing marrying Kyouhei on the same level as being sacrificed, but it required just that much determination for the shy, reserved girl to go through with it. “I can... can c-c-consummate it... t-t-too! I read about the art of lovemaking in An Encyclopedia of the Magic of the World...!”
“Wha... Wait wait wait! Sanae-chan, don’t get dragged down with Pamil. Stay calm!” Kyouhei implored.
There was a real issue immediately connecting marriage, consummation, and the art of lovemaking.
“I’m c-c-c-c-c-c-calm...!”
“You definitely don’t look like it!”
“He’s right. Calm down, Sanae.”
“Maybe you should be a little less calm?!” he questioned.
Who knew what was going on now.
“...Anyway, Kyouhei,” Pamil said, suddenly re-seating herself properly, “you’re talking about all this like it’s got nothing to do with you, but what are your feelings?”
“Ugh...” Kyouhei gulped, lost for words.
He had indeed been making quips like it was someone else’s problem to avoid the situation, but she’d already noticed it...
“Kyouhei, do you hate me?” Pamil asked.
“Why are there only ever two options...?” Kyouhei murmured as Pamil looked up shyly at him.
He obviously didn’t hate her, but that couldn’t automatically mean that he loved her; it would be a huge issue. After all, until yesterday, she’d just been his sister.
I’ve never looked at her like that...
Ten seconds passed as he thought back.
...Sorry, I have, lots of times.
If they had been brought up together, then that would be one thing, but it was hard to consider her a proper ‘sister’ when they’d just suddenly started living together. Her figure was amazing, and she certainly was cute, so there was no doubt she’d grow into a real beauty. The android fantasies had yanked on Kyouhei’s emergency stop, but that wasn’t an issue now...