Translator: Reflet

  Editor: ryunakama——

  “Pew pew!”


  “Hera! Faster!”


  “Roger! As you wish!”


  Under the Great Hirose Bridge, Oritate Town’s riverbed. Hera was teamed up with Taiyou against Ruri.

  Ruri was already Taiyou’s bride, so there was no real need to fight. However, Taiyou had actually decided to make it a daily habit.

  They fought like how one would do radio calisthenics every morning—-except sparring, of course.

  “Here I gooo. Hera-chan! Final! Atomic Screw Sinker Atta—-bwah!”


  Hera attacked Ruri with a special drill move, but it met with Ruri’s katana and was flung aside.

  Still, she took no damage.

  Only one person could damage Hera in this world: Taiyou.

  Ruri was the strongest person in the world, but even she could do nothing but repel Hera.

  She bounced right back, no matter how many times Ruri swept her away or attempted to attack her.

  This made Hera feel all the more close with Taiyou.

  “Pew pew pew pewww!”


  Hera grew more and more excited.

  Flung back, charging forward, flung back again, charging again.

  Hera repeated the process over and over again.

  And just like every other day, Taiyou lost to her much too easily, but Hera had fought until the end.

  “Still can’t win, I see.”


  “Yup, not quite.”


  “Rome was not…built in a single day.”


  Taiyou and Ruri sat next to each other below the bridge, with Hera perched on Taiyou’s shoulder.

  Quenching his thirst with water from a canteen, Taiyou gazed languidly at the river.

  “Well, you’ll get it eventually, Taiyou-chan.”


  “Do you…think so?”


  Ruri looked at Hera, slightly surprised.

  “Yes indeed, we will find a way to beat you. To be quite honest, I can see Taiyou-chan becoming more powerful than you at top level. At which point the possibility emerges to defeat you.”


  “I see…that could end up being true.”


  “Maybe, but I’d rather beat you before I reach that point.”


  “Why…is that?”


  “Cause there isn’t much of a reason to win against you anymore, is there?”


  Taiyou said, and Ruri nodded quietly.

  It had been different at first, with Taiyou winning against Ruri being the prerequisite for gaining her as his bride.

  So Taiyou had continued to challenge her with that in mind.

  But now that Ruri was Taiyou’s, that objective no longer existed. In other words, that meant there was no longer a need for Taiyou to fight with her like this.

  Even with the objective gone, Taiyou continued fighting.

  “After I level up like crazy, I’ll win against you…is what Hera said before.”


  “I sure diiid!”


  Hera said, jumping up from Taiyou’s shoulders and flitting around.

  “So that’s why I felt like I’d rather win against you before levelling up like crazy. I know it’s stupid, of course.”


  “So maybe I should…let you defeat me.”


  “No, please don’t hold back.”


  Taiyou gave Ruri a smooch.

  Hera secretly thought “ooo!”.

  Taiyou did this quite often, giving a fairly meaningless kiss when answering questions.

  (I guess that’s the secret to getting along with all your brides, eh?)

  Hera thought to herself.

  To the side, Taiyou was talking to Ruri.

  “It only means something to me if I defeat you at your best…Seriously, if you wanted to hold back right now you really could, couldn’t you?”


  “Mhm…I can.”


  Ruri nodded.

  “But I’m fine…even if I lose to you.”


  “Yeah, I thought you’d say something like that.”


  He said, kissing her again.

  “But that’s exactly why I need to beat you at your best.”


  “Is that…so.”


  “Is it weird?”


  “It is not weird at all, I think it’s manly and wonderful, indeed.”


  “Right.”


  “That’s our Taiyou-chan, that’s how I know you’re my Taiyou-chan!”


  “Not exactly ‘yours’, but thanks.”


  Taiyou and Ruri gazed at the glittering river surface reflecting the rays of the morning sun.

  Hera was in a great mood, fluttering around that perimeter.

  Naturally, she whistled. Happy, gleeful, and natural whistling.

  “That’s right.”


  Suddenly, as if reminded of something, Taiyou turned to look at Hera.

  “What are you gonna do about your room?”


  “Room?”


  Hera stopped.

  She flew in front of Taiyou, cocking her head in an inquisitive manner.

  “What do you mean?”


  “You know how we’ve been discussing the building that everyone’s going to live in? I was just wondering what you wanted for yours.”


  “You’re going to make a room for me, too?”


  Hera was baffled, not expecting this in the slightest.

  “I sort of thought it’d be better that you have one, but then again, you’re physically different than everyone else, so there might not be any sense in making a room. A bit conflicted here.”


  “Nope, not much sense.”


  “So I was wondering what to do…”


  “Maybe a doghouse…or a birdhouse.”


  “Ooo, that sounds fantastic. Or you could build one of those bee nests under the eaves of the house. I would really love that.”


  “You’re seriously good with that?”


  “It has no meaning in the end, you see. Might as well go with an interesting idea!”


  “Then…how about a household shrine?”


  “There we go! Taiyou-chan Taiyou-chan, I’d like you to make me a household shrine near the building entrance, indeed. An Infinite Torii or something like that.”


  “There’s no such thing as an Infinite Torii!”


  “Ahahaha!”


  Hera once again zoomed around the perimeter.

  She was having so much fun and was so very happy.

  Spending time with Taiyou made every day glitter so brightly.