Translator: Ranzan

  「He’s on the ship…you mean he’s riding now?!」


  「Yup.」


  Leticia answered with a disaffected face. As she looked at everyone else’s surprise, except for Youran similarly having a nonchalant look, Aoba seemed to have an expression of not deep concern, while Hera looked bothered by something.

  「Is he captured?」


  「No, he came here on his own. He’s waitin’ in the other room, albeit patiently.」


  「Came on his own…why?」


  「He’s sayin’ he wants the women back.」


  「Women?」


  「The six women we captured, he says he wants them back.」


  「…and he got on this ship for that?」


  「Yeah, pretty much. I was surprised he found this place though.」


  Youran talked banally. Even though she should have felt betrayed by what Saegusa did, she seemed to not have a negative tone to her voice. Instead it was more empty, more than usual.

  「Well, his younger sister is the one that did it.」


  「Momo Saegusa, everyone despises her.」


  「If you don’t call her Haku, she gets really angry, right?」


  「Ah, yeah. That’s how she reacted.」


  Aoba had turned towards the sea and nodded quickly. Taiyou and Leticia don’t understand, what had happened to the two when they were captured.

  「Is she stupid?」


  「Yeah, she is…it’s hard to tell if that’s in a good way.」


  「I see. That type…I don’t exactly hate.」


  「I’m still on the fence.」


  「Right?」


  「Huh, huh?」


  Youran and Leticia’s hard to understand conversation. Aoba was lost watching them. Even though she should have understood, she seemed lost at the understood communication going on between Leticia and Youran, even though she should have known it.

  Next to her, Taiyou also was lost. Not only was he ignorant of their story, but he couldn’t even follow along.

  Leticia then looked at Taiyou and continued.

  「Well, now. I guess we should leave it ta him.」


  「What? Can I decide this?」


  Leticia shook her head and Taiyou was even more lost.

  「’kay. Those six women are the ones you got yourself, so I’m leavin’ them all to you.」


  「Is that okay?」


  Taiyou looked at Leticia and Youran, and they looked over him to confirm this.

  「It’s no big deal for me.」


  「Me too, I’ll leave it all to him.」


  「…got it.」


  There was a bit of hesitation, and then Taiyou stood up.

  「If that’s what you’re talking about, where are they?」


  「I know, I’ll show you.」


  Hera flew over and landed on Taiyou’s shoulder.

  「I’ll wait right here.」


  「Yeah, if we girls go then it’s just going to make the conversation more difficult, so we’ll stay here.」


  「Well, I’ll stay here too then.」


  Leticia, Youran, and Aoba all sat on the couch, saying that they wouldn’t go.

  Because Taiyou thought that was good, he had no objections.

  For some reason he looked out the window. Shirokiyami…or…Mask the Third was sitting so motionlessly it would be no surprise if she was a statue.

  Though there was a glass between them, her sharp ears had to have been listening into the conversation.Taiyou accepted her lack of movement as just her way.

  「Well, let’s go…I think it’s been a while since we’ve done something together, Hera.」


  「Oh, you’re right, desu.」


  「I mean, it seems like we don’t spend any time together, in fact. It seems right after I met you, I then met Kotone and the rest.」


  「Heh heh heh…」


  「What is it? Why is your face red?」


  「Because…because…」


  Hera looked a little excited, as she raised her clenched hands up and down in front of her chest.

  「This is a love date with Taiyou-chan, desu.」


  Hera was so excited, she flew up to Taiyou’s cheek and gave it a short kiss.

  「Stop that! It tickles!」


  「Stop being mean, Taiyou, it’s cruel to tell a girl that it tickles when she kisses you, desu!」


  「I wonder if you can call it a kiss…it’s more like puppy love.」


  「Well, what about this?」


  With that, she kissed him on the lips. A lip to lip kiss, but Taiyou felt that it was almost lke a family pet licking someone’s face in a way.

  Thunk, clunk, wha-fwoom!

  The girls there reacted to this with anger. Both Youran and Aoba stood up and glared, while the girl out the window stretched her muscles with murderous intent.

  「Don’t look at me with that scary face! Don’t take out that sword! Don’t look like you’ll kill me!」


  Taiyou addressed them all. The reaction of the two girls in the room was noticeable, but outside, the reaction of the sword-girl seated on the railing was a bit too much.

  「I mean, why did you even react?」


  Even though Hera didn’t see it, thought Taiyou. But somehow, as he thought 「Why did Mask the Third move?」, she turned her head a bit and resheathed her sword.

  Then she said to him,

  「Come on, bud, are you having THAT TYPE of relationship with HER?」


  「Natsuno-kun…when did you…」


  「It’s not like that! You’re getting it all wrong!」


  「This makes you look like a lolita…lover.」


  The window opened, and he could hear Mask’s strange pronunciation.

  「Another baseless rumor!」


  Taiyou reacted strongly at the same cross he always had to bear. After saying that, the girl in white closed the window again.

  「But that looks pretty Lolita-complex to me!」


  「It’s not Lolita…」


  「Kohaku and the youngest of the three sisters…」


  「Ugg…」


  Taiyou was lost for words. He was weak about those things.

  「Taiyou-chan, Taiyou-chan, I’m okay with you having a Lolita-complex!」


  「Take this!」


  Taiyou slapped his laid-back companion Hera on the head in protest.

  「What are you doing, Taiyou-chan?」


  「Just shut up, you’re making this worse for me.」


  「Well, I don’t care if you have a Lolita complex at all. Even though it’s kind of yucky, it doesn’t hurt anyone.」


  「I’m telling you, I’m not!」


  「Not only a Lolita complex, but in addition, he likes the whole mother/daughter thing too. Right, Letty?」


  「I ain’t got any complaint.」


  「Letty?」


  Even though it was Leticia’s words that seemed to echo Youran’s when she heard it, Youran didn’t have any nuance when she said it, Aoba noticed as she sat beside the two.

  Leticia was very calm and composed. Though she used some extreme Kansai-dialect from time to time, she still seemed to very much have the higher tastes of a princess.

  Even when Hera kissed Taiyou, she had nary a response. She was calm about it completely.

  「What?」


  「What…I mean…」


  After being directly questioned by Leticia, Youran had no response. She didn’t know what to say even though she wanted to say something, was her expression.

  A strange atmosphere surrounded them as Hera flew in front of Leticia and then looked up at her.

  「Letty-chan, Letty-chan.」


  「Yeah?」


  「Letty? What aren’t you complaining?」


  Hera was always unable to read the fine print in a conversation.

  「It’s not that I ain’t got a complaint, I just don’t have any reason.」


  「Are you sure?」


  「Yup.」


  「But if you had to choose…」


  Leticia elegantly turned to Taiyou and laughed.

  「I can’t get away from this fella anyway.」


  Thunk, clunk, wha-fwoom!

  All the girls reacted strongly again.

  「I can’t just…ig-nore that.」


  Mask the Third opened the window and climbed in the room.

  「What did…that m-ean?」


  「Don’t just but into our conversation! You have a bunch of doubts about all of us anyway!」


  「So can you see her? Or not?」


  「I can’t…see.」


  She shook her head.

  「But it seems like…a protec-ting spirit, or a Jo-Jo’s Adventure stand…or a mind-spirit…or…」


  「All are wrong! And what’s the last one?!」


  「But I can feel she’s…there. Everyone is…looking there…too.」


  She pointed at where Hera was flying. Just as before, all those seated were gazing at where Hera was together.

  「You really are something Yami-chan, desu.」


  「Is that what you mean by can’t get away?」


  「Letty…does this mean…」


  「Come on, let’s go, Hera!」


  Taiyou and Hera went dashing out the door.

  「Taiyou-chan, Taiyou-chan, I just noticed something.」


  「What?」


  Outside the room, Hera appeared after Taiyou had just shut the door.

  「The ‘idol’ correction…it increased!」


  「…what?」


  Just after that, because of her, his status worries were everywhere.

  After correcting his skill his status increased, and suddenly was enough for four people.