Chapter 2: Hobby & Loyalty

While the two were engaged in small talk, suddenly, three men in black suits appeared simultaneously in the room. They seemed to have infiltrated through the open windows, which didn't come as a surprise to him. He looked at them with a bored expression. If it had been earlier, he might have panicked if these buff gentlemen surrounded him.

"Lala-sama, please return home."

One of the three black-suited men spoke in a low voice, sounding especially threatening with his expressionless face. They didn't seem to care about Rito's presence, probably because he was just a human. He was grateful they ignored him; otherwise, they wouldn't have seen what was coming next.

While the three men focused their gazes on Lala, Rito slowly stood up with a bat on his shoulder. He exchanged glances with her, and she nodded in confirmation. Without a word, she pulled out a normal-looking flashlight from her pocket. Smiling, she flipped the switch before they could shield their eyes, and the room immediately brightened like a flare.

"Ugh! It's Lala-sama's toy again!"

"You guys—"

While they were blinded by the light, Rito swung his bat at the back of their heads, quickly knocking them unconscious. He had already looked away when she nodded, so although his vision was affected as well, he could still move, having memorized their positions.

"Alright, subjugation completed. Do you have any rope to tie them?"

"I've got one in mind!"

'Don't tell me,' he couldn't help but recall a certain rope. Although it immobilized someone as intended, the way it wrapped around their body was extremely... kinky. As expected, the rope she pulled from her pocket slithered like a snake around her arm before lunging at the nearest unconscious man in a black suit.

He closed his eyes and prayed for their mental well-being. They wouldn't be able to marry if anyone else saw them in that embarrassing situation. Just in case, he picked up his flip phone from the table and captured a few images with a devilish smirk on his face.

"Lala-sama, I think this human is dangerous."

Peke commented after seeing the expression on his face, but Lala simply chuckled. Rito liked the bat even more as he didn't have to put much strength into the swing, yet it could easily knock out three well-built men in just seconds. Now he understood why Lala's mother didn't want her to use it during their picnic.

"Now what do we do with them though? I wouldn't be able to explain to my younger sister if she were to see this," he said with a sigh. The bat rested on his shoulder, making him look like a mafia member.

"It's fine! I know just the right item for this!"

Lala replied enthusiastically to his question. She then picked them up by the rope before chucking them into another box with unknown depth, one by one. This raised another question in his mind, which he didn't hesitate to voice.

"Where does this thing lead to?"

"I don't know!"

She answered honestly. She had created so many items that she lost count of them, so it's reasonable that she tended to forget some of them. Rito nodded, somewhat understanding, since he loved tinkering with tools when he was young. That hobby quickly grew into a job, and before he knew it, he was helping NASA build mechs until his unfortunate passing ended it all.

"I always throw unwanted things into this box!"

She had done that countless times, especially with her failed items. They always went berserk at the slightest mistake and usually left a huge mess, which her father had lectured her about. He even told her if she kept that up, he would marry her off to some ugly aliens. He might have been joking since he didn't really go out of his way to stop her, but to Lala, his words sounded like a serious threat.

"Umm, Lala-sama... is it possible that this box is called Return Grudge?"

Peke suddenly asked with hesitation, its color paling around the hat. It recalled a certain item its master had created in the past while in tears, mumbling something about holding a grudge and having a strong desire to return the favor to her father, the Emperor of the Milky Way Galaxy.

"Oh! That's right, I called it that!"

"Then that means the opposite end of this black hole is... never mind."

Rito tilted his head in confusion at Peke's odd behavior but shrugged it off due to lack of context. Now that they had some time to talk, he decided to open up a conversation by bringing up her hobby before a certain personal guard invaded his room.

"Before my arrival on this planet, I was building some sort of warp portal that could help me escape from the house just in case I got captured by them again... but well, I forgot about it!"

Even in a futuristic world from his past life, no one had come as close to building a warp portal. But this alien in front of him could easily do it just because she wanted to run away from home, if she hadn't forgotten about it. 'If that girl was here as well, she would go crazy hearing this,' Rito thought nostalgically.

"That sounds fun, I'd love to try building something of my own as well but... pity, I don't have any necessary tools for such a hobby," he commented with a disappointed look on his face. Lala, on the other hand, looked extremely elated upon hearing his words. Her passionate gaze felt somehow uncomfortable to him as he coughed, feeling like she was staring at her soulmate who understood her.

"Then how about you use mine?!"

"Lala-sama! That is dangerous!"

'Peke, oh, Peke, just you wait. One day, I will add a little improvement to your body,' he thought while keeping his facial expression in check. Rito knew this little buddy would try to intervene, so he wasn't really discontent about it. If anything, he wanted it to happen so he could finally execute his final move.

"I see, it's a shame then," he mumbled, his low voice sounding extremely depressed as if he had lost his will to live. He honestly didn't want to manipulate Lala, as she was just too kind for her own good, but he needed her alien tech to speed up this world's technology—or at least, bring back his old tools.

"If that's what you're worried about, then it's fine, Peke. After all, I've decided to marry Rito!"

"...what?"

'But I didn't even... Oh, that accident in the bathroom,' he recalled, thinking back to when he had squeezed her breasts and kissed her. He wouldn't have minded if she slapped him, but she didn't. So he thought she probably didn't mind it that much, and things wouldn't escalate if she had no reason to stay with him.

Unfortunately for Yuuki Rito, he underestimated himself. Sharing the same hobby as her was enough to pique her interest. Had he known things would go this way, he wouldn't have brought it up. After all, he was only thinking of borrowing her tools.

"No, Lala-sama, I cannot allow that."

Suddenly, a calm voice spoke, followed by a breeze, and a gray-haired man in body armor appeared between them. He moved swiftly like an experienced knight, and his words carried a strong aura that made the weak bow before him. He was none other than Zastin Deviluke, Lala's personal bodyguard.

"I may have terrible directions and often find myself lost, but my loyalty always lies with the Deviluke. It is my duty as the Commander, and your personal bodyguard, to stop you from this foolish escape, Lala-sama. Please, follow me back."

Though his words were logical and calm, he didn't look like someone who would take no for an answer. His strict face said it all. As expected, Lala's beautiful face turned into a frown. On this end, she also seemed stubborn. 'Maybe the Deviluke aliens had something in common,' Rito thought. However, just like the three black suits from before, he too didn't glance at Rito.

"No! I hate you, Zastin!"

"Please don't trouble me so much, Lala-sama. You too have a responsibility as the first Princess of Deviluke. It would be a huge problem if someone with your status disappeared just like that."

After saying that, he approached her with unwavering steps. But before he could take another step, something appeared in his path, causing him to stumble and comically fall forward head first to the floor with a heavy thump.

...

"What in the world is going on up there?"

Upon hearing the loud thump from upstairs, Mikan shook her head and wondered what was wrong with her brother, Rito. When he got home from school earlier, he seemed much more mature than usual. As if something about him had changed, but she didn't dare ask him about it as she wasn't certain.

'Maybe he finally had the courage to confess his feelings to his crush and was rejected?' She couldn't help but think. If that was the case, she didn't need to say anything. It would only hurt him more if she asked about it, but there was something else she could do as his younger sister: cook his favorite meal. Fortunately, she had learned the recipe from their mother and could capture 70% of the essence of what made it his favorite.

'Hopefully this will brighten his day a little,' she thought while her hands moved around like an experienced cook. Subconsciously, she hummed a tune from her favorite show.

...

Meanwhile, in a nearby park.

"He wasn't lying about always being lost, right?"

"Yeah! That's how I always escape from him, one way or another!"

After coming to a stop at a park, Rito sat on a bench, followed by Lala. Fortunately, no one was around; otherwise, they would have stared at her peculiar getup, reminiscent of a cosplayer. The moment he knew Zastin also underestimated him like his men, Rito quickly came up with a plan to help Lala.

The actual reason he decided to run outside the house was to avoid causing more of a mess in there than it already was. He was still carrying the bat with him, so if there were more black suits, he could deal with them.

"Then can I ask you to elaborate about the whole marriage thing you mentioned earlier?"

"Well, there's a custom on our planet where if a male grabs a female's chest and squeezes them, it's basically asking for her hand in marriage!"

"Pardon?"

'Isn't that just anime logic to force the heroine on the protagonist?' he thought with a dumbfounded expression. He even laughed at it when he watched the scene play out, but to think that becoming a protagonist wasn't just the end of his new life's tomfoolery.

"You mean to tell me there's a unique custom like that out there in the wide galaxy?"

"Of course, right Peke?"

"Yes, but Lala-sama, that didn't mean—"

"I told you I have already decided!"

Before Peke could finish, Lala cut it off, her determination evident in her eyes. Peke sighed, realizing it was futile to argue further.

Clank!

Suddenly, Rito swiftly blocked an incoming blade with the bat before it could permanently injure him. He stared at the good-looking guy in front of him; he still had a cool aura, but this time there appeared to be something different lurking behind those heterochromia eyes.

"Zastin! Don't you dare hurt Rito, or else!"

"Lala-sama, even if I were to wake up as a different person tomorrow, I wouldn't go that far. This is just a little test."

After saying that, he walked a few steps away from him before pointing his sword at him. It took him a while to get here, but fortunately, he came across a kind human girl who had seen them running on the rooftop and showed him the way. Lala looked between the two nervously; she really wanted to intervene, but Zastin seemed very serious right now. If she were to make a move, he might really hurt Rito.

"You, weak human over there."

"That's awfully racist of you."

"Umm, I didn't mean anything offensive when I said that, my apologies."

It took him by surprise when the guy, who looked about the same age as his past life, suddenly bowed his head to him with an honest look on his face. It appeared he really meant what he said. 'Damn, I didn't think he's chill like that,' Rito thought as he suddenly gained a newfound respect for the bodyguard in front of him.