Chapter 37

CHAPTER 2 Under the Stars It was the day after Rintarou had been released from the hospital, noon on a weekend. “Everyone have a drink?!” Luna called out in the garden of her home base, Logres Manor. The English garden was diligently maintained by broonies summoned by Rintarou’s magic. They arranged the flower beds with a variety of flowering plants and trimmed the shrubs into geometric shapes. It stayed true to the inspiration. There was an open area around the fountain in the garden. They had set up a grill packed with high-grade charcoal. The fire burned red as it crackled audibly. Meat, vegetables, and seafood were stacked on top of the grill’s wire netting. The smoke carried the smell of the roast. “Let’s toast to Rintarou’s recovery! To getting released from the hospital!” Luna cried. ““““““Cheers!”””””” Raising their cups were Sir Kay, Felicia, Sir Gawain, and Emma—the residents of Logres Manor—and their special guest, Nayuki. Luna’s impromptu party kicked off. “Heh-heh! Check out this mind-blowing barbecue! We’ve got tons of food and drinks! Make yourselves at home! Plan to eat and drink all day!” Luna gently kicked one of the coolers containing chilled cans and bottles. It was also crowded with refrigerated oysters and crabs… The coolers were packed to the brim. “W-wow! Meat!” Felicia exclaimed. “I’ve never seen so much of it…! A luxury! I don’t even know how long it’s been since I’ve had some!” “My king! This is your chance! Eat, eat, eat! You must procure sustenance now!” Felicia and Sir Gawain were shaking…failing to hold back their tears at the sight of the spread before them. “A feast during this time… Brave of you, Luna,” Sir Kay said. “You think?” Luna reclined on a folding chair, crossing her legs and holding a wineglass filled with grape juice. “Since I became a King, all we’ve done is fight…and it’s put a big burden on Rintarou, too.” “Yeah. If he hadn’t been there, we would not have survived many of the battles.” “Plus, today is Rintarou’s…” Luna trailed off, suddenly cutting herself short. “A-anyway, this is just a token of my gratitude! It’s my duty as a King to commend my vassals. And now I have Felicia, Sir Gawain, and Emma…I’m collecting more vassals with each passing day. This is a great opportunity to strengthen the bonds with my subjects. You know, to increase solidarity and all that jazz.” Apparently, even a fellow King like Felicia was a “subject” in Luna’s eyes. “Rintarou, you’d better be grateful to your kind King! This banquet is in your honor, after all!” Luna shouted, planting a hand on her hip and turning to face Rintarou. She jabbed a finger at him. “And take a look at our clothes!” Luna seemed to purposefully pose in a sexy way. For some reason, Luna and Sir Kay were wearing very revealing sailor swimsuits. “Heh… For you! I bet this will make your blood surge through your veins! Ha-ha-ha! Men love this kind of stuff, right? Well, feast your eyes on this!” Luna was as arrogant as always. “What? Our clothes? What do you mean? I’m never not dressed this way…” Sir Kay’s eyes grew distant. She looked like she was attempting to escape reality. Well, even though their outfits were questionable at best, they were drop-dead gorgeous. “Oh boy… What a treat,” Rintarou grumbled, offering one offhand remark and seeming decidedly unimpressed. “A banquet in my honor, huh? Except I had to pay for the grill and the food out of my own pocket. Thank you so much for letting me prepare everything for this barbecue!” Rintarou was fanning the flame inside the giant grill from the air vent. “You’re welcome! I know guys love this kind of stuff!” Luna trilled. “That was sarcasm, you idiot!” Rintarou grabbed a piece of coal from the box of unused charcoal and chucked it at Luna. Luna dodged it with a sassy look on her face. “I can’t believe you dumped the responsibility on me…! If this is supposed to be in my honor, why don’t you help out?” “Listen to yourself! Are you really trying to force a girl to tend the fire? What would you do if I was burned by an ember?! This is a boy’s job!” “F-fine! I mean, it’s your fault for putting on that stupid getup!” Rintarou pointed at the coolers filled with food, annoyed. “Whatever. What’s this?! Kobe beef?! Giant oysters?! Crab?! Matsutake mushrooms?! Are you an idiot?! Do you know how much we blew on this banquet?! We already have trouble keeping our kitchen stocked! Do you have any thoughts in your head?!” “Wow… This takes me back. My foolish stepbrother, Arthur, would use any opportunity to squander the treasury on extravagant feasts… As the minister of the state, I was the one who bore the brunt of it…,” Sir Kay muttered, eyes unfocused. “Heh-heh! Don’t sweat the small stuff! I’m going to become king anyway! Stop complaining and pop those suckers on the grill! Just keep ’em coming!” “Guess manning the grill is my responsibility, too… What were you saying about commending your vassals?” Luna deftly wielded her fork to swipe a piece of meat from under Rintarou’s nose. “Nommmm. Yum! At almost eighty-four thousand dollars per ounce, it’s got to be special! It’s melting in my mouth!” “Wh-what?! You little shit!” Rintarou screeched when the total sum went far beyond his imagination. He was scared. He was genuinely terrified of looking at the receipt. In fact, he hadn’t even felt this much terror when he’d faced off against Sir Lancelot or Sir Lamorak. “Just let it go, Rintarou. There’s not much we can do now,” Sir Kay tried to console Rintarou as he went pale. “Even though things might not sit well with us, this is a celebration of you, after all. It’d be a waste if you don’t enjoy it.” “…I guess… Nothing will change even if I complain…” Rintarou lined up scallions on top of the grill with tongs and spaced them out. “Oh, Felicia, Gawain, I saved some meat for you on that side. Fourteen dollars per ounce. Cheap meat. All you can eat.” “You’re the worst!” “Jerk!” Poor Felicia and Sir Gawain were about to have a tantrum on the spot. The party was becoming louder. “Wait?! Felicia! I was just grilling that piece of meat! Give it back!” “Hmph! Says the girl who swiped my precious baked potato!” “Wh-what’s gotten into you?! Who cares about a baked potato?! There are big-ticket items to be had! Why would you care about something as cheap as—?” “Potatoes are a luxury! At least to the Ferald family! Don’t treat me like an idiot!” Luna and Felicia eyed each other, crossing tongs on top of the grill. “Please stop!” Sir Gawain shouted. “This is a recipe for disaster!” He was just trying to smooth things over. Meanwhile, with the barbecue between them, Sir Kay was complaining to Emma. “Sniff… Hic… Arthur was just so terrible…” “Uh-huh…” It seemed cans of shochu had been mixed among the nonalcoholic drinks in the coolers. Sir Kay whined with her drink in hand, face flushed. She had already started slurring her words. “It was like he didn’t even get what logee-sticks are, and—hic—he always made me use the funds to their last dregs… Snurp! He was always like, ‘Nice! We’ve still got some money, even after that long battle! The kingdom is still doing great! Let’s party!’” “Th-that…must have been tough, Sir Kay…” Emma could only offer a half-hearted smile. Total chaos, huh…? Rintarou kept his emotions in check, observing everyone as he absentmindedly continued to grill. The second he took anything off the grill, the food would disappear straight into everyone else’s mouths. Which meant Rintarou hadn’t had a chance to eat anything at all. …Who is this banquet for again? In all seriousness. He was starting to find something wrong at the root as he flipped the meat… Plit. Something cold hit his cheek, which was surprising because his face was burning from the heat of the coal. His eyes shifted to the side… “Thanks for your work, Rintarou.” Nayuki stood next to him. She held a bowl of chopped vegetables in one hand. She had pressed a chilled can of cola against his skin, and she was flashing him a mischievous grin. “I was just chopping up some more veggies… Want me to man the grill?” “You sure? That would be awesome. I was just about to pay for my own party without eating a single thing. Which would have been ridiculous.” Rintarou wiped away his sweat with the towel around his neck and sighed, handing over the tongs to Nayuki. “Ha-ha. Never imagined you would be in charge of the grill, Rintarou.” “…Process of elimination. Do you really think they’d volunteer? Emma is the only one who might help, but she’s dealing with Sir Kay…” Rintarou cracked open the can. Psht! It fizzed. He chugged it down. The carbonation shocked his parched throat. “Ahhh!” He sighed, hunkering down on a folding chair under a parasol. He sipped the cola as he watched the rest of the group, unimpressed. “…Having fun, Rintarou?” Nayuki asked, flipping food on the grill. “What does it look like?” He took another swig of soda, dodging her question. “Ha-ha… Someone isn’t honest,” she teased, smiling like she knew better. “Hmph…” He made a face at her. “Hey, Rintarou… What do you think of Luna?” she suddenly asked. “…What?” “When you collapsed…Luna was really worried about you. She even said she’d take a break from school to stay by your side and take care of you.” “…Hard to imagine.” He apathetically watched Luna and Felicia engage in a fierce duel with tongs. “I know she doesn’t act like it, but I think she really cares about you.” Nayuki peeked at his face playfully. “Hey. Rintarou? How do you feel about Luna?” “……” For some reason or other, Rintarou had gone silent. What did he think about her? The question wasn’t all that weird. Between boys and girls of their age, this topic seemed to be a crowd favorite. It was a little strange coming from Nayuki…but there wasn’t anything odd about the question, especially since he spent so much time with Luna at school. That was why he probed deeper than that. “You’ve been interested in my relationship with Luna since we met… Why?” “Huh?” Did he say something he shouldn’t have? Nayuki’s hand froze over the grill. “It’s like…you’re more interested in me than her… Why? Have we met somewhere before?” “U-um…” She paused for some reason. Tap, tap, tap. A girl with a petite frame trotted over to Rintarou. Emma with her platinum blonde hair. “Oh, thanks for manning the grill!” She bowed to them. “S-sorry for not pitching in…! I got held up by Sir Kay…” Emma turned around with a pained smile, looking over at Sir Kay, who was hugging one of the trees, passed out. That knight… He made a mental note to take her picture later. Rintarou shrugged at Emma. “No worries. You won’t catch me complaining about cooking.” “Ha-ha. I’m sorry! …Oh! How about this? I’ll make it up to you right now by cooking for you!” she proposed. If she had a tail, it would have been wagging in full force… He could tell just from her expression. “Yeah? I’ll take you up on that. Ha-ha. I was just feeling hungry.” “Leave it to me!” Emma’s entire face lit up. “I’ll take over, Nayuki. Is that okay?” “Oh, okay… Yeah. Go ahead, Emma.” Nayuki offered the tiniest smile, hiding a plate of cooked meat behind her back. “Hmm? What’s wrong?” Rintarou asked. “What did you just hide?” “Huh? Er… Nothing! Just my plate. Yeah. Ah-ha-ha.” “Oh. It looked like a lot… I never would have pegged you for a big eater.” “Don’t be rude, Rintarou!” Emma scolded. “Girls eat, too, you know.” “R-right. My bad.” Rintarou shrugged at Nayuki, who was smiling as usual. “Okay, Emma. I trust you’ll do a great job… Make it good,” she said. “You can count on me! How do you like your meat done, master?” “Um. Medium.” Emma grilled his portion like a pro. “Hee-hee. How is it? Is it the way you like it?” “Perfection. Wow, this is good…especially paired with soy sauce and grated radish.” Rintarou devoured the plate prepared by Emma. “……” Nayuki observed their intimate exchange. “Ha! I knew you’d try pulling that, Emma!” They could practically feel Luna’s looming presence when she stood imposingly before them. “Geez…Luna…,” Rintarou groaned. “Earning brownie points by grilling and serving food to him, huh…? You have no shame, maid!” “Th-that’s not…! I—I wasn’t trying to…!” Emma grew animated when this ridiculous accusation was leveraged against her. “Hmph! It’s pointless! Rintarou and I are vassal and king! A flirty servant would never sever our bond! I’ll prove that to you now!” Fwoosh! Luna raised a large plate over her head. “Watch this!” Something was wrapped in a conical piece of aluminum foil. Oh yeah, I forgot about that thing in the corner of the grill… I was really trying to ignore it, since I got a bad vibe from it, Rintarou remembered, unimpressed. “This is a banquet in honor of Rintarou’s services! For that occasion, I have been grilling the best meal for him as his king! Feast your eyes on this!” she declared, full of confidence. Luna tore away the foil to reveal… “A grilled tuna head!” ““Overkill much?!”” Rintarou and Emma shouted. THUD! The gigantic tuna head made their eyes go wide. “Ha! Shocked? You’d need a reservation to order this at a restaurant! A delicacy (allegedly)! What do you think?! You give up yet?!” “Well, I know it’s supposed to be good! But…” Rintarou met its Ping-Pong-sized eyes. Its gnarly severed head served whole…was indefensibly vile. “Why do you always choose the grossest meals?! And…it smells burnt! Hey, are you sure you didn’t completely fail?!” “Oh, you’re so picky. Just eat it! After all the time I spent cooking it…!” “Hragh! Like I could stomach that!” In defense of the slander against grilled tuna heads, he would have found it delicious if it had been prepared by a real chef. This commenced a game of tag. Holding the “delicacy,” Luna was it, while Rintarou desperately sprinted away from her. “M-master! You prefer my meal over Luna’s failure, right?!” Emma tossed her hat into the ring. Total chaos ensued. “Hee-hee…” Nayuki broke out into a warm smile. There was a hint of loneliness touching her face, but her gaze remained warm and gentle as she beheld Rintarou in the distance. The party continued. The chaotic barbecue wrapped up when everyone was full. After the fire died down and the garden was spotless, they gathered in the living room of Logres Manor. Their first activity of the evening was the standard console party game Dopokan. The winner was the player with the most property in the end. It was an infamous dice-based RPG known for ending friendships. The console was three generations behind. They plugged it into the giant LCD screen with bated breath, grabbing their controllers and lining up in front of the television… “AAAAAAAH?! Luna got me—again?!” “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You picked the suckiest character, Rintarou!” Rintarou clutched his head as Luna roared with laughter. “Ugh… I’m the poorest one…! Why do I have to be poor even in a video game?! I just want money… I can’t even buy any items…!” “Felicia! Monsters incoming! I’ll come to save—Ah?! Did I just die?! Am I a failure as a knight?!” Felicia had tears in her eyes. Sir Gawain hadn’t shown a single good side to him. “Hey…! Why do I have all the joke equipment? Excuse me?” For some reason, Sir Kay’s on-screen character had ended up in a bunny girl costume… “Dammit! Luna! Could you stop killing players?! I can tell you’re targeting me!” Rintarou barked. “Ha! Someone’s a sore loser! I wonder what I can take from your dead character. Equipment? Money? Everything owned by a vassal is the king’s property. As is everything owned by a king—” Luna dragged the cursor on the screen, rooting through Rintarou’s items. “…Magma Fire.” Someone pressed a button. BAM! EMMA USED MAGMA FIRE! LUNA LOST 856 HP! GAME OVER! “AAAAAAAH?! Emma! What do you think you’re doing?!” “Hee-hee. Love a good long-range spell. Especially to torment other players. ” “H-hey, Emma…? You’re acting kind of weird…” “Hee-hee…The massacre starts…now… ” “Emma, don’t go to the dark side!” “Hee-hee-hee! Magma Fire. Magma Fire. Magma Fire…” “Aaaah?!” “Nooo!” Emma’s eyes had gone out of focus. It seemed something had awakened within her. “Dammit! I’ll never forgive any of you!” Rintarou howled. “Ha-ha-ha. Chill out, Rintarou. It’s just a game… Oh, look! I earned another five hundred thousand G from a special event… Sorry…” Nayuki seemed to be the only one leveling up as an actual fight threatened to break out next to her. Once they grew tired of playing video games, they moved on to a board game next. Luna proposed a horror TRPG about divine creatures fighting against humanity to get vengeance. Everyone immediately got to work on their character sheets… “—I’m not done yet!” Rintarou shouted. “I can dodge with an eighty percent success rate! And even if I fail, I can survive as long as I don’t get blindsided…! I’m going to roll!” 100 (FATAL FAILURE) “WHAT?! Why?!” “Um… It says you failed to get away, which means you take damage…,” Nayuki explained. “Bweh-heh-heh! You’re out, Rintarou!” Luna clutched her stomach, howling with laughter. As the game master, Nayuki seemed apologetic as Rintarou crumpled his character sheet in a fit. “After you went through all that trouble to find a loophole and made your character with high stats! I can’t believe you’d lose without a fight! Ha! Hee-hee-hee-hee!” “Shut up! You try rolling the dice to escape! I bet you’re seconds away from instant death!” “Ha! As if! You think the odds are stacked against me? I’ll show you how it’s done! I’m going to roll!” 100 (FATAL FAILURE) “Noooooooo! How could I die?!” Luna shrieked. “Gweh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh! Serves you right, my king!” “Oh, shut up! Says the one who’s dead, too! You—” “Ha! You’re so naive, Luna! Hey, Emma, it’s your turn! You got this!” “You can count on me, master! I use Emergency Treatment on you! It’s my turn to roll!” “Hey! No fair! Did she only save you?!” “That’s right! My HP is full again! Ha-ha-ha! You’re the only one who’s going to be dead, Lu—” 100 (FATAL FAILURE) “WHAT?!” screeched Rintarou. “Gweh-heh-heh-heh-heh! Sucks to suck!” “I-I’m so sorry! Sorry, master!” Rintarou, Luna, and Emma had rolled the dice. “…Uhhh… I guess this game is basically over?” Felicia asked. “I mean, we did lose two people straight off the bat…,” grumbled Sir Gawain. They looked like they’d completely given up. “H-hey, guys? Can someone come help my character? I haven’t been able to move away from this tentacle… Um… My character’s clothes are starting to melt… And I haven’t been able to roll the right number to escape… I could die from embarrassment… P-put me out of my misery!” …Even in a tabletop game, Sir Kay was in her usual predicament. They were starting to lose track of time. With chips and drinks within arm’s reach, they went through rounds of board games and cards. They even fired up the karaoke machine, and after that, they played billiards, darts, and mahjong, which were already set up in the manor’s playroom. They gamed hard. “…Oh… I guess I won? Um… How many points did I earn? I don’t really understand how mahjong works yet…” “EXCUSE ME?! Did you score tenhou? You’re joking!” Rintarou cried out. “Nayuki, you absolute monster!” Luna yowled. “Huh? …What? Is this good?” “Hey, Luna… What are you going to do? This is strip mahjong. I’m barely in the game…but you just lost everything,” Rintarou noted. “Grrr! A girl doesn’t go back on her word! Fine! I’ll strip—” “Please!” Sir Kay pleaded. “You’re already down to your underwear! If you—” They were all engrossed in the game. Their moods swung violently from joy to sorrow with each victory and loss. Time seemed to fly. “Ha-ha-ha… I’m exhausted…” They had gathered in the lounge, settling down, flopping onto the sofa to take a breather. “Whew… I think I played enough games to last a lifetime,” Felicia said, sounding pooped. “Hah… Agree.” Sir Gawain offered a wry smile. “Heh-heh-heh! The banquet was a huge success! You’re welcome to thank me!” Luna demanded, thrusting out her chest and bursting with energy. “A success? I guess… I’m totally drained…” Sir Kay sighed. “It’s almost midnight…” “Thank goodness we have the day off tomorrow,” Felicia muttered, gazing at the wall clock. Luna nodded. “Um… Can I really stay the night?” Nayuki asked, hesitant. “Uh-huh! It’s too late in the evening to head home. Plus, this mansion has way too many rooms! Sleep over!” Luna cried. Luna, Rintarou, Sir Kay, Felica, Sir Gawain, and Emma were all living in Logres Manor. One extra person wasn’t enough to make a difference. “Thank you, Luna. I’ll take you up on your offer.” Nayuki grinned when Luna reaffirmed that she was welcome to stay. “Um… I could eat again,” Luna admitted out of nowhere. “Geez…” Sir Kay sighed. “Says the one who devoured her lunch… But I guess I’m not one to judge, since I’m a little hungry, too.” They had finished eating at the barbecue at noon. Even though they had handfuls of chips and candy to tide them over, they had been locked in an intense gaming session until midnight. They didn’t have actual dinner. It wasn’t strange that they would become hungry. “Well… I’m not super hungry…,” Luna admitted. “But I could eat something light…,” Felicia said. “In that case, I could whip something up?” Emma proposed. “I think we still have some pasta left. And there’s extra food in the fridge… How about some pasta salad?” “Yum! You never let me down, maid! Could you get to it right now?” “Count on me… Um, I wish you’d stop calling me your maid…,” she grumbled, smiling superficially before trudging to the kitchen. “Rintarou! We’re having pasta salad! Are you okay with that?!” Luna turned around. “H-hmm? Rintarou?” It seemed he had slipped out of the room at some point. Under the moonless sky, he could smell the night air carried by a chilly breeze. He looked up at the sky, velvet and sprinkled with stars like grains of white sand. The panoramic view made him feel like he was free-falling through the sky. The night air started to siphon the heat off his skin, numbing his body. He was on the rooftop of Logres Manor. On top of the sloped roof, Rintarou folded his hands behind his head, crossing his legs as he lay down. “……” He was looking up at the sky. I guess you can never predict the future… To think I’d be surrounded by people… He couldn’t believe his current situation. In fact, it seemed more unbelievable with each passing moment. It wasn’t a bad feeling… He was just really confused. Up until now, I’ve always… He suddenly let his eyes close, viewing a scene from his past life play out. “If I’m human…and if you’re human, how can we be this different?” “Monster! You’re not like us. You’re not human.” “I…wish you’d never been born…!” Everyone begrudged…ostracized…feared…rejected him. He had been lonely…for the longest time. And it had caused him to lose faith in humanity. In fact, he was going to reject the world before they rejected him. He had entered the King Arthur Succession Battle hoping to get some enjoyment out of his boring life. That had been his only motivation. He had done it just for fun. I need to remember that everyone else is just another pawn for my enjoyment. They’re replaceable. Consumable… That’s what I thought at first… But now? He thought about the short time that he’d been with Luna, Sir Kay, Felicia, Sir Gawain, and Emma…about the battles they had struggled through together. Were they still just convenient pawns? Were they really replaceable? Obviously, they’re not perfect. Luna will always be…Luna. Felicia is an enemy… And Gawain destroyed the Round Table… I never would have thought about them twice. Luna would always be Luna. And Felicia could be respectable and mushy. Sir Gawain seemed to regret his past actions, working to right his wrongs. Could he work his pawns to the bone when it came down to it? Would he really be able to replace them at the drop of a hat when they served him no further utility? …Obviously…! Rintarou insisted, trying to convince himself. That’s what I decided for myself! No one in this world needs me! And I don’t need anyone…! Then why was he still thinking about their shenanigans from the day? Why were they stuck in his head? In the middle of his memories…was Luna, whose smile warmed him up like the summer sun. “Dammit… Why do I feel fuzzy…? I can’t get my head to focus.” He sighed. Luna Artur. Everything is her fault… Who is she? He’d never met someone so perplexing and ridiculous. He couldn’t seem to get a grip on her. He wouldn’t deny his interest in Luna. Luna had to be the biggest loser out of all the Kings fighting in the battle for the throne. If she became the successor…all hell would break loose. Out of curiosity, he had decided to help her. But this was still part of his plan to make her his pawn. At the end of the day, it was all for himself. So what if I’m egotistical? I was going to play dirty with this new pawn… And what about it? That’s always been my MO… So why am I having second thoughts? …He didn’t have an answer for himself. Rintarou couldn’t get a grasp on this mysterious feeling. This was a first for him. He was used to understanding everything about the world. He had taken it for granted. “…Damn…,” he cursed, sighing…when the dormer window below him clanked open. Someone leaned over the ledge, scanning the roof. “Oh, Rintarou… There you are.” Luna. She reached her hand to touch the pitched roof of the window, looking up at him. “Hey, can I come up, too?” “…I don’t care,” Rintarou replied curtly, feeling a little awkward since he’d just been thinking about her. Luna climbed onto the sloped roof, plopping down next to him. “What are you doing up here?” “…Nothing.” “Okay.” Their conversation was short. They gazed up at the sky in silence. On a hill to the east of Area Three, the manor had few neighbors, making artificial lighting scant. Instead, the vast, starry sky glowed against the dark cover of night. “…Hey, Rintarou. Did you have fun today?” “Yeah.” A lie. This wasn’t the only day he’d had fun. “Ha-ha-ha. Good! I’m glad I put in the work to pull off this party!” Luna beamed, unaware of his actual thoughts. “Oh yeah… Isn’t it your birthday, Rintarou?” “…?” He cocked his head when she pointed that out. “I don’t remember telling you that.” “As your kind king, I have a present for you, my beloved vassal! Can I get a ‘thank you’?” Luna didn’t answer Rintarou’s question; instead, she pulled something out of her chest pocket and handed it to him. “Hmm…? What is this…?” He turned it over in his hand, raising it to his narrowed eyes. It was a pendant of a Celtic cross made from Japanese hawthorn. Those trees had been sacred to the druid priests. It had the power to bond people, and the Celtic cross suggested eternal strength. “Heh! I made it myself! To strengthen our friendship, Rintarou. Even if we’re separated, we’ll reunite as long as you have this pendant… There’s no better gift for a vassal! Do you like it?” “So…this is basically a collar. It feels like…you’ll never let me escape…” “Heh! My royal motto is to welcome all who come to me…and to chase anyone who dares leave to the pits of hell.” “Wait. Why haven’t I ever heard this motto before?” Well. Whatever. He had no need to snub this gift. Rintarou chose to keep it. “Put it on! That’s a royal order!” “All right. All right, already.” Rintarou reluctantly slipped the silver chain around his neck. “…I never knew you knew any nature spells from the Celtics…” He impassively looked at the hawthorn cross hanging from his neck. Well, it wasn’t really a spell. More like a good luck charm…