Translator: Ranzan

  All three of the girls looked at him, sisters from different mothers.

  The composed Youran, the flustered Pochi, and Sakura, glaring at the two.

  「Why did you overlook me?」


  「It was capriciousness.」


  「You’re not that type though. I know you all to well.」


  Sakura scowled coldly at the two.

  「I’ll do anything to achieve my goal, but it has to be connected to the goal before I start acting bit by bit.」


  After cutting of that sentence, she took a breath, and continued.

  「Me…what was the purpose for overlooking me?」


  「Hey! No need to get that angry!」


  「Shut up, Anoda, you need to keep quiet!」


  「M…my name is Pochi! My name is not Anoda!」


  「Pochi…what do you think the name given to you by your family is?!」


  「I was given the name Pochi by my husband!」


  「Not that family, I mean your father!」


  「My family is my husband, before and now, only my husband!」


  Pochi and Sakura scowled at each other.

  They were shouting back and forth. At first Pochi was a bit frustrated, but now she was enraged about her husband being denied as part of their family.

  「Have you forgotten about me?」


  Youran mocked them as Sakura stood surprised.

  Sakura then glared at Youran as Youran looked on calmly, and continued as if nothing had happened.

  「I said that they would do anything for me. That’s right, because I’m a woman with that disposition. 」


  「My, you are meek today.」


  「You should say the opposite of that, you’re the type of woman that exchanges means for ends. 」


  She ignored the mocking, and continued.

  「That’s not true!」


  「DFG-50 Blood Soul.」


  「!!」


  Sakura stopped, shocked.

  「The magic sword that devours blood and soul, the supernatural sword that traps people’s consciousnesses. Why, why was it made?」


  Her sentence ended in a question that was not asked.

  「Well, a small force…」


  「I’m not asking that. Why was that created from an immortal plan?」


  「…」


  「What does that mean?」


  「The Blood Soul was once the study of the Eternal Little, a program that was made for the study of immortality. From that it changed into the study of beauty and anti-aging.」


  「The Eternal Little…the genetic abnormality of a grown woman without secondary sex characteristics…」


  Pochi spoke as if she was sunken into the contents of a dictionary.

  Regardless, Youran continued.

  「So why, did it become that weapon?」


  「…」


  「It’s always like that, without a solid purpose, just taking whatever means necessary at the time.」


  「What does that have to do with my problem?」


  「That’s why I attempted to capture Pochi.」


  「What do you mean? You did capture Pochi!」


  Sakura struck back, but Youran again continued.

  「Means for and end, staving off Anoda, and then pretending to work to cooperate with us.」


  「Princess?」


  「In the middle of it all it changed…it became fun to be with Anoda…or Pochi.」


  She changed the way she spoke while turning to Pochi.

  「Isn’t it fun messing around? Is how I began to think, even though I thought you were kind of robotic at the beginning.」


  「Robot…Electromagnetic power source, a doll that behaves through sophisticated mechanical equipment. You’re terrible sister! I’m not like that.」


  Pochi reacted angrily.

  「Ahah hah hah, that makes you funny too. It’s so interesting, ah, I’d like a little sister like this…thinking like that.」


  「Am I not your little sister?」


  Youran now turned to Sakura.

  「So then I also thought, hm? I have another sister of a different mother, maybe I could have fun like this with her too.」


  「I’ve never thought of you as a sister once in my life.」


  「I thought the same, until I met Pochi.」


  「So your methods have changed, is what you’re saying?」


  「No.」


  Youran said with a smile.

  「I am just the same, I don’t choose the methods for my means, and that won’t change. Maybe that’s different with you and the way you do things, but I’m the opposite, so I want you to prepare yourself.」


  「Prepare myself?」


  「Yes, when you find your next goal, prepare yourself, I mean.」


  「Next goal?」


  「Yes.」


  Youran put her hand on her hip proudly.

  「The proper wife, the concubine, the lover. Even though we were born into three different stations in life we can be friendly.」


  Youran laid it on the line.

  Sakura was taken aback.

  「So, that’s your own desire?」


  「Yes, my own desire. But because I don’t choose the means to my goals, I will always succeed. And in addition…」


  She stopped her words, and changed composure.

  「My name is Shingetsu Youran Juunishima, the first successor of the 49th family head in the Juunishima line.」


  Outside the window, a cloud covered over the moon.

  「I will always succeed, I swear upon my name.」


  Sakura was lost for words.

  Taiyou silently walked away from the place.

  He had heard that lengthy introduction twice.

  He couldn’t just burst into a place with the deep significance he heard.

  That’s why he silently crept away.

  However, he swore also to himself.

  Youran’s desire, that those three sisters of different mothers would get along.

  A new goal that seemed so unexpected.

  And the fact that he wanted it to be accomplished.

  When it came time for him to help, he wanted to help them.

  Thinking that, he silently crept away.

  「…」


  Hera silently landed on his shoulder. They looked at each other, and she smiled at him.

  She was usually too cheerful but this time understood what was happening.

  He flicked her in the forehead, and they slowly made their way out.