Translator: Ranzan

  It wasn’t a deep kiss, just a starter that he gave her…a quick peck.

  「Whoaaaa…he’s kissing the princess!」


  He could hear the rattled voice of Juurokuya behind him. It wasn’t as rattled as when she imitated Youran, but it was still pretty flustered…Taiyou simply ignored her.

  As the kiss continued, the sucking lips of the princess had a lemon taste. Even though it wasn’t the first, there was a sweetly-sourness to it.

  It was a hot kiss that struck the mind, strong even though it lacked fierceness.

  Taiyou thought her kiss was different from all the others.

  He continued the kiss for five minutes, and finally, the light seemed to return to Leticia’s eyes.

  「Nph…」


  Even though she had been at his mercy she had seemed like she began to moan, so Taiyou finally…separated himself from her hot and soft lips.

  As he did, she immediately raised her voice in protest.

  「What are ya doin’ all the sudden?」


  「All the sudden? It was five minutes long!」


  「What does that mean?」


  Leticia was surprised. She looked around, saw Juurokuya riding along, and asked.

  「Is he bein’ honest?」


  「Y, yeah! Y, y, you were kissing him for a while!」


  「…that so?」


  Leticia finally understood. She didn’t protest or even get angry, but just hung her head with a sigh.

  Though the truth was she was kissed while she was unconscious, it seemed that she still understood what had occured.

  「I hesitate to ask but…do you understand what happened?」


  「I have some idea.」


  「Some idea?」


  「Cursed blood.」


  She blurted out that strange magic-y phrase. In the real world, there would be a question whether words like that would ever be used.

  Even though she used those words, she held her true feelings inside. She wasn’t putting on airs, but her tone showed that she knew what had happened.

  「That reminds me, you said something like that before the first kiss as well.」


  「Yeah, the blood flowin’ inside me makes that happen. My sis has the same thing happen to her. I hafta do that from time to time, it’s like it recharges my dead batteries or somethin’」


  「Recharge with a kiss…is that what you mean?」


  Leticia nodded slightly.

  「Yeah, but I’m not really into it…it’s only…it’d suck to not be able to help that idiot.」


  「Well, it makes me really happy though, I get to kiss you again.」


  「Whaa?」


  Leticia’s face turned bright red and her silent mouth fell agape. Even in the shadowy car one could tell her naturally milky-white skin had turned red.

  「What? What are you sayin’?」


  「Ah, you talk just like Juurokuya」


  「Don’t compare me to her!」


  「Wha?」


  Juurokuya was shocked at Leticia’s strong refusal.

  As Taiyou looked back and forth at the two, he noticed Leticia firmly shut her mouth.

  He was surprised that Leticia’s kiss had captivated him completely.

  Just a kiss, a meeting between two pairs of lips. A light kiss that a family overseas might give each other in greeting.

  However, it was that kiss had shaken Taiyou’s heart completely.

  The feeling was like getting a glimpse of the complexities of light and shadows…like after one falls madly in love.

  Taiyou didn’t dare think of what that might mean to him.

  「Again?! Are you gonna try to kiss me again?!」


  「If you don’t, your batteries will go dead, right?」


  「Well…I guess they will.」


  「Listen, this isn’t fair so I’ll tell you honestly.」


  「Wha?」


  「I could care less about the recharge, I just want to kiss you more.」


  「Whaaat the…」


  Leticia was without words. She had already blushed red as she could from what he previously said, as Juurokuya became even more flustered and swooned.

  It was just as he said.

  Princess of Phili Kingdom, Leticia H Kellaz. The princess of a respected kingdom with history and traditions, a maiden that had come to this land as a guest of the state.

  The most untouchable of all maidens, almost like a rose planted on top of Everest.

  To this girl Taiyou had told her straight that he would kiss her and continue kissing her if he had the chance.

  「Until this journey is over, if you end up like you just were, I intend on kissing you.」


  「Even without my consent?」


  「Yes.」


  Taiyou said so clearly.

  Even so, his heart was far from calm.

  The kiss, and his statement that he’d continue doing it without stopping, had surprised him as well.

  He understood that at once.

  The kiss with Leticia was wonderful…telling her straight in away that blew away all embarrassment and rules…it was sure proof of how wonderful it was.

  That’s why he told her, but he had not prepared for her rejecting him.

  He noticed that she had no intention of fleeing from him.

  (Well…at least until the end.)

  After making that decision, he changed the conversation.

  「So, changing the subject, what should we do from here?」


  「I think I have an joker card.」


  He said just what he needed to, as Leticia’s formerly beet-red face suddenly changed back as she answered him.

  「And you’re plannin’ to use it well?」


  「The joker…」


  Taiyou placed his chin in his hands in thought. In the back of his mind was an older woman… the shape of one of the mothers and daughters that served Saegusa Tsukumo.

  「If I’m going to use it well, I need to know what the situation over there is like.」


  「She ain’t come back yet.」


  Leticia was talking about Hera.

  「Something happened to her, I guess.」


  「Maybe she got attacked?」


  「That wouldn’t happen.」


  Taiyou clearly answered, but in his heart he was a bit worried, thinking “Maybe…”.

  He lined up the proof in his mind why she couldn’t have been attacked.

  「The only ones that can see Hera are me and the girls that I’ve kissed, no one else can harm her.」


  「Are ya sure?」


  「Shirokiyami. It’s impossible even for her.」


  「Ain’t no way.」


  It was rare for Leticia to speak so seriously, she was so surprised that her voice almost cracked in excitement.

  Taiyou remembered that Shirokiyami had once planned on attacking Hera, and he told Leticia about it.

  Taiyou and the sisters, after Shirokiyami had spoken about the sisters being able to see Hera, had slashed quickly in the direction where all the sisters were looking.

  She hadn’t sensed her, but with the people that were there had taken a quick guess before she slashed.

  And that slash, as an attack didn’t even touch Hera. It simply slipped right through the air she was in.

  “Even though she’s the strongest swordsman…”


  Leticia whispered to herself.

  (Yeah, she is famous for it, that girl)

  Taiyou thought about it, and nodded to himself.

  「Well, then, somethin’ had to have happened to her.」


  Leticia stressed the word 「somethin’」. Taiyou agreed with a nod.

  「Can we call her to us?」


  「No.」


  「Can we go to where she is?」


  「No.」


  「Yer just fulla nos today.」


  Since it was just as she said, Taiyou didn’t get angry.

  Now they had to figure out their situation, and in that thought they were of one accord.

  「All I’m good for is fighting. I have power, speed, but teleportation items don’t work with me.」


  「I’ve see how strong and fast ya are, but teleportation items…how don’t they work?」


  「Well, maybe they don’t.」


  Taiyou prefaced what he said.

  「Long distance attacks…in a game sense, no long range attacks work on me. Guns, arrows, rockets, missiles, everything. Do you have a gun?」


  「Wait a sec.」


  Leticia ordered the black clothed soldier beside her, and he gave her a gun.

  「Now go ahead and shoot me.」


  「Really?」


  「Seeing is believing.」


  Leticia nodded and silently without a pause shot Taiyou. The shot echoed inside the wagon, and the passed out Juurokuya jolted up in a leap.

  While thinking Leticia had some guts to shoot so quick, the bullet fell from Taiyou’s forehead and plopped, rolling in his hand.

  「And that’s pretty much it.」


  「It’s breakin’ the laws of physics.」


  「It’s a lot easier to understand by seeing it.」


  「Everythin’s like that, and only you have that power?」


  「Yeah.」


  「I see.」


  Leticia nodded, and they began to sort out their affairs.

  「There’s one hostage, soldiers everywhere, an unspecified but unusable human weapon. That’s everythin’ we got.」


  「A human weapon, huh, well maybe that’s a good thing.」


  「It’s bad we lost our joker card.」


  「Yeah.」


  We didn’t exactly lose it, Taiyou thought.

  The current problem was that Hera was separated from them and now there was no ability to control.

  Currently it was the same as if they lost something.

  「We should find out how much value the hostage is.」


  「No problem there.」


  「What?」


  What does that mean? Taiyou thought as he looked at Leticia.

  「Your highness.」


  「I know.」


  Leticia had a short conversation with her soldier.

  Taiyou was surprised, almost as if Shirokiyami had done it, as he watched the girls.

  Outside the window he could see their figures.

  There were those he had seen before, and those he hadn’t. Young and old as well.

  But there was one thing that connected them all.

  All of them were women.

  They were all there because of Saegusa Tsukumo.

  「That’s good.」


  Leticia smiled.

  「We only send them hostages they want so they’ll send us the best they have.」


  Taiyou smiled in relief.