Vol.1 - Chapter 2: Future Plans (4/12)

''Lower your voice, Rina...''

A young man with auburn hair sat on the floor with his back against the wall and said this to the woman standing in front of him. His face was quite lifeless and it was as if the man was not conscious.

"DON'T CALL MY NAME!"

But the only response he got was this shout, followed by another kick, and he was a little closer to passing out.

''How are you going to pay me back today? How am I going to arrange such a meeting again!''

''En-ough... Pl-ease... Don't hi-t me... Cough... The next holiday... and the one after that... all of them... I'll take charge. Just - please leave me - alone now...''

The young man was pleading with the woman standing furiously in front of him, but she didn't seem to be listening to him. The dark brown-haired woman kept muttering to herself and her rage was increasing every second.

''BUT THOSE WON'T COVER TODAY!''

When the woman shouted furiously once more, the young man sitting on the floor realized that there was no way out and completely accepted the situation he was in. That's why he put aside his fainting state, gritted his teeth, and raised his voice with the last strength he had left in him.

''I'M REALLY SORRY OK! Tell me exactly what you want from me and I'll leave! I don't know what you had to do today that was so important, but I'm sure there's something I can do to repay!"

The short woman straightened her body, folded her arms across her chest, and turned her head to the side. Even though she was listening to the man who was about to faint on the floor in front of her, she pretended not to hear him. After this outburst of the man's rebellion, she too fell silent for a while and began to inspect him with one eye.

When she saw that the man looked as if he was about to faint, that his head kept falling to the side and that his eyes occasionally closed, she bent down slightly. When she got to the level of the man sitting on the floor, she shouted again with that high-pitched and strong voice.

''Do you think you can get away with pretending to be asleep?''

She grabbed the auburn-haired man by the collar and started to shake him left and right, but this did not have the effect she expected. The young man's neck swayed like a loose spring left to its own course and was almost synchronized with the woman's movement. The short woman got annoyed again and shouted quite loudly even though she was right next to the man.

''SNAP OUT OF IT, MINATO! HEEEYYY!!!''

''What's going on here, Rina?''

For some reason, the short woman was stunned by this new voice she heard. The rage that she could not control just a few seconds ago had disappeared, as well as her interest in the man she was shaking. Without moving, she only hoped that this voice she heard did not actually exist.

"Are you trying to disturb our guests by shouting at this hour?"

When the same voice reached her ears again, she hesitantly turned to the source of the voice. She was greeted by a tall, frowning woman in a maid's outfit, slowly walking down the stairs. The tall woman's voice was in a low tone, but it was surprisingly oppressive and clear.

''Sa-Sana-nee... I was just putting this rascal in his place!''

With her face still turned towards the stairs, she let go of the man by the collar and stood up as if nothing had happened. Then she resumed speaking.

''I have been working all day, you know. And this gentleman shows up in the middle of the night and says he can't make it because he was busy! He shouldn't have bothered to come at all!''

She made the man, whom she had almost knocked unconscious while beating him a moment ago, a criminal, and started to behave like a little girl who had fallen victim to a big game. She put a smile on her face and looked innocently into the shining blue eyes of the tall woman walking towards her as if she had done nothing wrong. 

Anyone unaware of the incident would not really suspect anything if they saw her like this. Even those who were familiar with her would have been shocked by this expression. But right now, the short woman was only showing this face to the maid in front of her. At least that's what she thought, but after only a few seconds, her eyes fell on the boy next to the tall woman.

''Y-you!''

She glared at the chestnut-haired boy, and the rage that had just disappeared returned as the veins on her face pulsed again. The boy was looking at the auburn-haired young man lying on the ground, ignoring the furious woman.

''Rina, you have to calm down. You can't solve anything by shouting. Besides, even if it wasn't true, you're still disturbing the people in the inn.''

The tall woman came in front of Rina and spoke as if she was giving her advice. Rina, on the other hand, was focused on the boy she had just seen, but when the maid came in front of her, she fixed her eyes on the ground and fell silent while trying to avoid the woman who was lecturing her.

''Calm down and pull yourself together, Rina. I'm sure you can manage to solve your problem calmly. Besides, who exactly are you so angry at?"

In addition to her already short height, Rina seemed even shorter with the presence of this woman standing in front of her. She could not even open her mouth to the women's questions and seemed to accept whatever she said. Obediently, she turned around to answer the last question, but when she couldn't see anything when she turned her head, she couldn't help but be shocked.

''What, where?!''

She looked around in a hurry. Fortunately, her confusion did not last long, after all, it was unlikely that the young man, who was about to faint, would be able to escape from here quickly.

''Thank you...''

''I think you would have suffered less if I hadn't saved you from the thugs.''

Nevertheless, no matter how slow the auburn-haired man was, he took action when he realized that the woman who had beaten him was distracted. He had found himself a support and was trying to get away with all his remaining strength. 

This support was none other than Shin, the chestnut-haired boy who had saved him from another danger a few hours earlier. Unfortunately, this time the young man's condition was much worse than before and he was having difficulty even taking a step. Because of that, they were able to move at a really slow speed.

''Heeyy, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!''

As a result, they were spotted before they could get far from the scene.

''Save me, for fuck's sake! If I get beaten up any further, I'm really going to die!''

Realizing that the short woman had noticed him, Minato tried to accelerate his steps despite his condition, but his condition was obvious. When he forced his body, he collapsed to the ground with the boy supporting him.

''COME HERE!!!''

He was already afraid to even look behind him, and when the grumpy voice he heard grew louder, he forced himself to stand up. Shin, seeing him in this state, gave up hope on the young man and stopped supporting him. So Minato staggered to the ground once more and could only close his eyes, accepting that he could not escape his fate.

A few seconds had passed, but the young man had not encountered what he thought he would. He was curled up like a turtle on the floor and holding his head with his arms. He had thought that the short woman, whom he saw as a monster, would lunge at him and finish him off for good this time, but after a few seconds of worry, he was relieved to hear someone else's voice.

With a slight wetness in his eyes, he pulled his arms away from his head and looked behind him without getting up from the floor.

''My savior, Sana-san!''

What he saw almost brought him to tears of joy. The short woman was grabbed by the back of her dress and lifted into the air by Sana. She could do nothing but scurry around as she struggled to get away from her. 

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get rid of the tall woman holding her, so she tried to convince her by shouting.

''Let go of me Sana-nee! Let go of me!''

But now she was no different from a piece of clothing that the tall woman was trying to hang in the wardrobe. Her voice was muffled out of fear, and in this state, she now resembled a little girl.

''So you're mad at Minato.''