Translator: Ranzan

  「The face that Youran let them use the mansion in the first place is pretty awesome!」


  「Yeah! It’s been a while since I started working here, and the only people she’s let stay is Leticia.」


  「N…mph…」


  「And also, this is something I just overheard, but that guy is strong enough to almost beat Shirokiyami in a fight!」


  「No…way…」


  「Kisss….」


  The maids kept talking, and while they complimented him, he kissed his partner.

  Compliment and kiss.

  When Taiyou was complimented, he kissed Leticia, and when Leticia’s name was used, she kissed him.

  The maids’ conversation was about Taiyou and Leticia, only those two. Sometimes they would compliment him, and sometimes her.

  As they were affected by it, they would continued kissing one another back and forth.

  A kiss just with the lips touching…a kiss where just the hearts touched.

  Finally, the maids left, and this was a pretext for the kissing to end and for the two to part.

  A kiss that understood that as a rule, so it seemed natural that they would part.

  There was no reluctance in it.

  At least Taiyou thought so, and Leticia thought it was appropriate as well.

  They were silent for a bit.

  Then Taiyou put his feelings into words.

  「You and…」


  「?」


  「When I kiss you, I start to feel strange.」


  「Ya start to get horny?」


  「No, the opposite.」


  Taiyou shook his head and smiled. Calmly…a smile that made one think of a windless ocean.

  Leticia was surprised at him, and it was more surprise than one would usually expect.

  「I don’t want to do anything…sexual. Not at all. Just want to kiss, you make we want to kiss you.」


  「…」


  Leticia was silent, and Taiyou was a bit uncomfortable with the silence.

  Sometimes silence is golden, but he was young. Maybe he was getting wrong this relationship that he had just luckily fallen into, he didn’t want to make that mistake.

  He was bothered by it, and so he asked Leticia.

  「Do you feel bad?」


  「Dunno…」


  「I see.」


  「Kissin’ you…I don’t dislike it.」


  「Well, that’s good.」


  「Good…」


  He cut off the conversation as they looked at one another.

  The soft night breeze blew and touched both of them.

  「I gotta go.」


  「Yeah…」


  She turned her body to leave him. Taiyou reached out to her turned away figure.

  「…oh yeah.」


  She stopped as if remembering something, and spoke to him with her back turned.

  「This battle, I won it, okay?」


  「What?」


  Taiyou was puzzled as to what she meant.

  She won a battle?

  He thought about the kissing battle that had unfolded just now, and was confused by how there could be a winner or loser.

  If he was forced to say it…but as he thought he decided to ask her.

  「I wonder, I thought it was more of a draw.」


  「Ya can’t say ya won it.」


  「I don’t think I won it, you got half carried away in the kissing while we were doing it.」


  He wanted to say her soul was carried away.

  But, he felt she knew what he meant. He had a strange confidence she would.

  「Ya got pretty carried away yourself.」


  How, he wanted to ask, but didn’t.

  Maybe she wasn’t talking about soul, but he didn’t want to ask her what.

  「…」


  「…」


  They silently looked at each other.

  Calmly, and with a happy feeling.

  He liked the way that Kohaku spoke in a circumlocuting manner.

  He also liked how Youran was very straight in her speech.

  Leticia, on the other hand…


  He thought maybe it was better that they didn’t use words.

  They just looked at each other, and finally Leticia looked away.

  He watched her walk away until she and her princess dress disappeared.

  「Hewwo, ewwerybody…」


  「A new story, all the sudden?」


  Almost as if in exchange, Hera quickly warped into the scene. He hit her with a tsukkomi, but not hard enough to knock her to the ground.

  She was used to it all and smiled cheerfully, as she returned back to Taiyou.

  「Was my pronunciation bad?」


  「That’s not the problem…Where the heck have you been, anyway?」


  「I was with Macchan.」


  「Macchan?」


  Who is that? Thought Taiyou with a turn of the neck.

  He thought of all the people Hera had contact with, as he tried to match a face with that strange name.

  「Mask the Third-chan…desu.」


  「Got it…」


  He suddenly found himself smiling.

  「That’s where the ma in Macchan comes from?」


  「Yes, desu!」


  「I see…so you finally started talking to her.」


  「Yes, and she fought me in the top battle of the world as well.」


  「The top battle…you both fought it?」


  「Yes, desu. It was mixed rules, first round three minutes, second round five minutes, desu.」


  「You should have knocked her out!」


  「I wanted to, but it ended in a draw.」


  「You always were a cheater…」


  He said as tsukkomi again, but found it pointless to make a contradicting statement, since he remembered that every contra gets dicked, and every dick gets countered.

  Since Shirokiyami was the world’s most beautiful swordsman, able to defeat any foe, but Hera was undefeatable by any foe but Taiyou.

  Even so, it was hard for him to understand how it ended in a draw.

  「Kind of strange.」


  He twisted his head and smirked.

  「What is?」


  「Nothing. You got here the right time though. Do you know where Youran is?」


  「Of course, desu.」


  「Show me then.」


  「Sure, desu.」


  Hera showed him, as he entered the mansion again for the uncounted number of times.

  「Ah, Youran and Pochi are together, desu.」


  「Oh?」


  She nodded, as Taiyou thought it interesting.

  Through process of elimination and the progression until now, he thought it would be natural they would be together.

  So he didn’t mind, and simply followed Hera.

  「Is it far?」


  「It should be short because it’s straight ahead, desu. It’s in the middle, desu.」


  「I see. But it is inconvenient, knowing only the direction and distance.」


  「Yes, desu.」


  「That reminds me…Shiro…I mean Mask whatever, did she say anything about me?」


  「No…oh!」


  Hera clapped her hands together.

  「She said next time she sees you she’ll filet you like a fish.」


  「Ah…」


  He understood what she meant. She probably would.

  Attacking her in that way like he did, using the necessary means to an end, he had forced a kiss on her.

  That first kiss was one that was her important first kiss.

  It wasn’t by her will, but forced on her.

  With how angry she is, he wouldn’t complain if she cut him up for it.

  「Well, I’ll spend some quality time with her next time.」


  He said with a smirk. She wouldn’t cut him up, but he thought it might be good for her to vent her anger at him.

  They continued walking forwards.

  「It’s here, desu.」


  Where Hera brought him was the same as with Kohaku, a nice salon-type of a room.

  He was about to say something and hit someone, but he decided against it.

  After seeing her figure, he decided not to.

  「You said you had something to say to me?」


  Her hair was down, and she spoke abruptly in her 『Shingetsu no Kami』mode, as Youran Juunishima.

  「Um, princess…maybe I shouldn’t be here?」


  He was a bit lost, as Youran’s little sister Pochi asked to leave.

  「No, please stay here.」


  And a face he hadn’t seen for a while, the cold genius Sakura Juunishima.

  They were all there, the three sisters.

  The had a feeling of power about them that surrounded the room.

  Taiyou couldn’t find the words to say, and couldn’t find the timing to enter the room to say them.