Vol.7 Chapter 8: Makoto Takatsuki Is Thanked

Chapter 8: Makoto Takatsuki Is Thanked

𝘘 Olga Sól Talisker's Perspective 𝘘

"What... What in the world?"

I couldn't understand what I was seeing. Gamelan had been surrounded by a barrier.

Cheers rose up around me.

"We're saved!"

"What happened?!"

"The Hero of Roses did it!" "Is he the savior?!"

The military had been on the verge of despair, but the mood had instantly pivoted into excitement. This comet was so large that it should have been on the level of divinity in terms of destruction. That's what the mages had said.

But it had been blocked. Like it was nothing.

By the Hero of Roses, Makoto Takatsuki.

The same State-Authorized Hero of Roses I'd called "nothing much"

just days ago.

He must not have been fighting seriously...

That was the only thing I could come up with. There was just no way he'd learned how to do something so ridiculous and powerful in just ten or so days. Makoto Takatsuki was controlling more mana than I had, even when I released my holy sword and went all out...and he was doing it with a serene look on his face.

I shuddered. The mass of ice rolled slowly to the side and fell gently outside of the town. I just couldn't understand it. How could he move something so massive with magic? Just how much mana did a spell like that even need?

Was he really human? The question made its way through my mind

as the ground shook from the comet's impact.

Suddenly, he collapsed. "Makoto!" "Takatsuki!"

"Hero!"

His comrades and one of my father's men rushed toward him. "Hurry! Get someone who can heal!"

"We cannot let him die!"

The locals were all panicking as they carried him away on a stretcher. I could only watch it happen.

For the next few days, I shut myself away in my room.

The tournament and the ensuing chaos were all the city could talk about. One of the topics was the new State-Authorized Hero of Great Keith, Aya Sasaki. She had blitzed her way through the entire tournament and brushed the goddess's hero—me—aside as well.

She was...incredibly strong. And now, she'd been appointed Great Keith's State-Authorized Hero.

Even when I'd attacked at full strength, she'd been completely unharmed. She'd bent my sword with a single hand. She'd sent me flying.

She was the country's new darling...and I couldn't even muster up the motivation to challenge her again. The citizens loved her. A strong new fighter was a boon to the country.

Incidentally, Makoto Takatsuki's role in saving the city was not particularly well-known. The accepted story was that our armed forces and mages had managed to defend against the massive meteorite. As a matter of record, it made sense—a single person shouldn't have been able to do anything against that utterly absurd attack. A whole organization's worth of power should've been needed to stop it. The evacuating citizens hadn't seen him act either.

The military was another matter, though. They had evacuated the

citizens and done what they could in the short time they'd had. Then, they'd despaired. There had been no defense against that massive rock.

Makoto Takatsuki had done it alone.

Every single soldier who'd been in the capital now adored him. There was also a line of mages hoping to talk with him, and I could

understand why they'd want to find out about the spell he'd used. However, he had lost consciousness...and hadn't yet woken up.

Apparently, he wasn't likely to die. I would need to apologize when

he awoke.

My father—the general—was checking on him daily. Father had wanted to bring the vanquisher of the demon lord in Springrogue into our ranks to begin with. Now, he was utterly devoted. Even he had been charmed by Makoto Takatsuki's spell.

What a terrifying man.

Abel the Savior had once gone to fight the Great Demon Lord's

army—hundreds of thousands of foes—with only four people. I'd

always thought of that story as an exaggeration. Despite that, there were people in our army calling the Hero of Roses another savior.

It was, of course, due to the impossibility of his accomplishments. People revered miracles.

Yet, there was something about it all that still bothered me...

That light...that figure...

Just before the comet fell, I and the other soldiers had been

gathering our mana to deflect the impact. I'd suddenly felt a huge surge of mana. When I'd leaped to the top of the Colosseum, I had seen a holy figure standing at Hero Makoto's side.

It Was Not Meant To Be Seen.

My brain had rejected the vision before my eyes saw. Looking at it

would've surely sapped my sanity. Fortunately, it had only been there for an instant. Not even a second. Gone between one blink and the next.

The figure's lips had twisted into a grin as it vanished.

I'd prickled with goosebumps. My body had stiffened and I hadn't

been able to make a sound.

I had seen something not meant to be seen. And now, that was all I

could think about. I wanted to forget...but I couldn't.

Seeing the Hero of Roses stand impassively next to that existence made him all the more terrifying.

What...was it...?

I didn't know. I was just scared. Even remembering it gave me the

shakes.

Suddenly, my door clicked open.

"At least knock," I protested.

It was my childhood friend, Dahlia. She was Great Keith's priestess,

and I was her guardian knight.

"His Majesty really raked me over the coals for messing with the Hero of Roses." She sighed, sitting on my bed and then falling back to lie there.

"I'm not surprised. Father thoroughly chewed me out as well," I replied. I'd earned it, but that didn't make it any more pleasant.

It was embarrassing as well. I want to go back and punch myself in the face, I mused, looking up at the ceiling.

"He...Makoto Takatsuki, I mean, is a wicked deity's disciple," Dahlia

murmured.

"What?" I said, turning toward her before I even realized I'd moved. "Wicked?"

"Right—the old gods that lost Titanomachia. He follows one of

them."

The figure from that time shimmered in my mind's eye once again. The thing I couldn't accept as a Sacred Deity. The inhuman existence...

The old gods.

Wicked deities.

Titania.

There were many names for them, but they were anathema to the current religion. And...their disciples were treated the same way.

"Did you...tell His Majesty?" I asked.

Such a disciple had killed many heroes a thousand years ago. He'd

been a mad fighter, finally taken down by Abel the Savior. The

goddesses still treated it as taboo. These disciples weren't as well-known and reviled as the Snake Sect to the general public, but they

couldn't be ignored either.

"Yes... But I also heard from Sól before I did. She said the disciple is

useful this time. And also, that Eir was watching him...so it's fine." "Th-That's okay?" I asked in confusion.

Even now, knowing who he follows... I couldn't go against him. Not

with all the people praising him and Aya Sasaki. That certainly wouldn't go well. If Sól was saying not to interfere, we wouldn't interfere.

"We...picked a fight with the wrong person," I lamented. "We certainly did."

The two of us exchanged glances again and sighed.

𝘘 Makoto Takatsuki's Perspective 𝘘

I woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling, a hard bed, thin sheets, and a white room.

It was a hospital room, similar to the one in the Water Temple.

"Hm?"

My right arm felt odd... More accurately, it didn't feel at all.

I can't...feel my arm?

I looked and saw that it was wrapped in bandages. I tried to move it...but nothing happened.

No way, seriously?

"Makoto! You're awake!"

Lucy came rushing over. I could see Furiae behind her.

"The princess and warrior were waiting before now. We have switched every half day," Furiae explained.

I'd need to thank Sasa and Princess Sophia for that later. "How long have I been out?" I asked.

"Four days," replied Lucy.

"Four?!" I'd been out cold for that long? Yeah... Using Transform to

turn into an elemental hadn't been the best idea.

I looked at my unmoving arm again, and Furiae came over as I did.

"My knight... That arm may never be healed," she murmured with a

depressed expression.

"Oh..."

I looked at the bandage-covered appendage. It glowed faintly, and I could tell it was full of mana...enough mana that it made me doubt it was my arm. I'd transformed part of my body into an elemental, and now...

Hmm, maybe I can move it like that?

I tried using magic rather than my muscles to move my arm. There

was still mana in it. Maybe using Water Manipulation would work.

"You have done well...my knight," Furiae said, looking at me with a pitying expression as she moved closer. "It behaves like a curse...but it's something beyond even my abilities... Therefore—"

Squish.

I couldn't feel anything, but I had a "feeling" that I'd touched

something soft. My right hand had moved.

It was resting on Furiae's chest.

Holding tightly, apparently.

The lack of sensation meant I had no way of knowing what it felt like.

"Ah, sorry, sorry..." I said. I didn't manage to explain that I'd messed

up trying to move my arm.

"What are you doing?!" she demanded. She was immediately filled

with rage and delivered a perfect roundhouse kick to my head.

"M-Makoto!" Lucy panicked, running over.

"Owowow..." It didn't actually hurt that much. She'd probably held

back because I was injured. The kick had also shown her

underwear...but I had a feeling I'd get a proper kick if I said that. So I

didn't! See? I can learn from my mistakes.

"Honestly, if you want to touch someone's boobs, you can touch mine," Lucy said in exasperation before pushing her chest into my

back. I could feel things just fine through my back...but judging from her expression, she was just messing with me.

Still, I hadn't actually felt anything with my right hand... It'd be rude

not to take Lucy up on her offer.

"Well, if you say so." I lifted my left hand and pressed my palm

against her chest, enjoying the soft sensation.

"Wha?!" Her face reddened as she squirmed. Then, she glared up at

me through her eyelashes, hugging herself.

"Wh-What's with you? You normally play it cool and don't do anything!"

Considering how long we'd spent together, she knew me well. I'd usually be activating Calm Mind and doing my best to act normally. But, I'd spent a lot of time nearly dying recently. And now, I felt like following my instincts.

"Don't think I'm the same as I used to be, Lucy," I said with a grin. "I'm growing every day."

"You look awfully smug for just having your hand on a girl's chest." Furiae sighed deeply before taking Twi with her out of the room, calling us idiots as she went.

Lucy and I were alone now. She came in closer like she was going to say something and put her face right next to my ear. "Well...then you can touch them as much as you like," she whispered.

"What?"

She thrust her shapely assets forward.

Come on...

"Where'd that confidence go?" Lucy teased. "You saved the capital,

so you can have a girl or two." "Guh!"

I hadn't expected her to be so assertive. She was definitely related to Rosalie. But also, she was obviously still embarrassed. Her face was bright red.

What do I do? I thought to myself.

As I did, words floated up in front of me.

Let's fucking gooooo.

Yes

Uh, RPG Player? You only gave me one option...

But we were alone in the room... It wouldn't cause her shame. "I'll go right ahead then," I said, reaching out for her.

"Mmm," Lucy murmured, moving closer to me as well.

But then—

"Takatsuki?"

Sasa! She was standing right next to me! Wh-When'd she get there?!

"What are you doing, Lu?" Her flat, dead tone of voice was terrifying, but Lucy didn't seem overly concerned.

"He was all hot and bothered when he woke up," Lucy explained. "Fuuri got annoyed at him for touching her chest, so I told him he'd have to make do with mine."

"What?! Whaaaat?!" Sasa demanded, eyes wide. "Takatsuki did that?! To Fuu?! What the hell?!"

"Come on, Makoto—touch Aya's too." "Lu?!"

"Lucy?!"

She's gone crazy.

Lucy looked pointedly at Sasa. "Well, you were upset because your chest hasn't gotten any bigger, even after evolving into a lamia queen. Makoto can help with that."

"You shouldn't say that!" Sasa exclaimed, stuffing a hand over Lucy's

mouth.

The suggestion prompted me to glance at Sasa's body. She looked

pretty much the same as she had in our first year of high school. Well, she was technically a lamia now, but her chest size hadn't changed.

And lamiae were often fairly busty...

Since Sasa had Transform, she could appear however she liked. But, her pride stopped her from magically adding any padding, so her chest stayed modest even in human form.

Sasa's steady gaze now pointed my way. "Takatsuki...what exactly

are you looking at?"

"Don't worry! I like them (even if they're small)!" I said with a

thumbs up.

She and Lucy stared at me oddly.

"You're acting strange," said Lucy.

"Well, Takatsuki was strange to begin with." "Rude," I complained.

"Well, whatever. I still got to hear your feelings," Sasa said, climbing

onto my bed.

"Hey, no fair," Lucy protested...before following suit!

This bed really isn't big enough for the three of us. Regardless, we made do and ended up becoming somewhat noisy.

"Hero Makoto?" Princess Sophia's frosty voice and expression cut

through us like ice shards, and there was almost a physical chill

coming from her smile. "You certainly seem to be enjoying yourself."

Sasa and Lucy were still on the bed, and Sophia stared down at me like I was a pig in the abattoir. Well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration—her face wasn't that cold. It was more...exasperated.

"Hero, are you awake?" called another, deeper voice from behind her. I recognized it immediately as General Talisker. Apparently, he was here to offer his thanks on behalf of the country.

That reminds me... I'd passed out after using elemental magic, but it

seemed like Gamelan was fine.

Incidentally, as soon as Sasa and Lucy had met Princess Sophia's

eyes, they'd exchanged a look between them and then...jumped out

of the window... The second-story window...

Sasa had carried Lucy. Damn them for escaping.

"Hero, I cannot convey the depths of our gratitude," said General Talisker. "Your efforts for the sake of Great Keith are unmatched, and your companion Aya Sasaki has become a State-Authorized Hero of our lands. I hope that our respective nations can..."

The general's speech of thanks just kept going and going, and I felt like it was never going to end. So, I mostly let it fly in one ear and out the other.

I got the gist of it pretty quickly: Great Keith and Roses had been in very different diplomatic positions because of the relative strengths of the countries. Roses had no strong military forces, so treaties between the two countries had always been biased toward Great Keith. They were now being reevaluated, and the neighboring nations would soon be on more equal terms. They also wanted the heroes of both countries to get along.

The general finished up his speech by personally apologizing for the trouble his daughter had caused. That was more or less all of it, but he did use some roundabout phrasing and slightly difficult

vocabulary in this world's language, which made certain things harder to understand. I'd get Princess Sophia to explain everything later.

"Hero Makoto. If you have anything you desire, name it," General

Talisker said seriously.

This was the main event. I glanced at the princess—she was staring at me with trust in her eyes. If there was an issue, she'd stop me from talking, so I decided to speak up.

"General, there is one thing I want."

His eyes started gleaming. "Oh? And that is?"

"Another otherworlder—one of my friends who came from the same world as me—has become a slave. I'd like her to be released..."

Kawakita, one of my former classmates, was the slave in question. I explained who she was and that an influential noble was set to buy her.

As I spoke, the general's face creased into a frown. "I certainly seem

to recall—"

"General, if I may?" Princess Sophia interrupted. "Hero Makoto, your friend Keiko Kawakita has already been freed."

"Wha—?"

Apparently, it had happened during the tournament when Sasa had broken Balamung. Sasa had destroyed one of the nation's treasures, but Great Keith was a country of fighters. And because the duel had been at Olga's behest, Balamung's destruction was considered to be her fault.

Regardless of blame, the problem still remained—the swords were powerful trump cards in the war against the demons, and humanity would need them when Iblis resurrected. Therefore, Balamung needed repairing as soon as possible. An average blacksmith

wouldn't have been skilled enough—they needed a blacksmith with a saint rank skill.

Unfortunately, there were only a couple of qualified individuals on the continent, few enough to count on your fingers...and all of them were fully booked up with clients. In addition, they all possessed the rigid pride that was characteristic of master artificers. None would be easily swayed by money, not even when offered a hefty sum by an influential country like Great Keith. The nation's leaders were all concerned that Balamung would be out of commission for the Northern Front Plan, meaning that Olga would not be able to participate in the fight.

Then, onto the scene came Fujiyan. His various connections had borne fruit—he'd convinced the best smith on the continent to clear their schedule and reforge Balamung.

The repair required expensive magicite and other reagents, but Fujiyan had procured them all. Great Keith's leadership had promised him anything within their power in return for his assistance, and Fujiyan had asked for his friend to be released.

Kawakita was now a publicly free woman, and it had all gone down

before I'd woken up.

Sasa's impressive...but so's Fujiyan. He'd solved all pressing concerns, both about our classmate and the broken sword. Though...one friend had technically caused the issue for another friend to fix. It felt kinda like taking advantage... I'd have to thank Fujiyan later.

"Well, if that's the case...then I've got nothing," I said. Now that

Kawakita was free, there wasn't anything I needed to worry about.

"Hrm, still..." The general didn't seem satisfied. "I shall prepare the

most beautiful woman in the country for you." "Uh?"

That...was a bit out of left field.

"General, you are bothering him," Princess Sophia interjected

sharply.

"If you desire it," he continued, "I can arrange for my daughter."

His daughter... That battle maniac?

"I appreciate it, but I cannot accept." I was pretty sure he was joking,

but I made sure to turn him down just in case.

His face clouded in thought for a moment, but he didn't seem to

come up with another offer. Eventually, he said, "Then we shall assist if you ever have need of it," before turning and leaving the room.

The princess and I were alone now.

"You have earned much trust from him," she said with a teasing look

as she sat on my bed.

"He seemed really eager to please," I replied. The last time we'd spoken, the general had been entirely focused on ferreting out my secrets.

"That is how impressive your accomplishment was," Sophia said,

softly touching my bandage-wrapped arm.

The sensation of her fingers...was nonexistent. Her face darkened in sadness.

"You cannot move this arm anymore, can you?" she asked. "I heard from Fuuri."

Huh? That's not quite right.

"I can."

"You can?"

I carefully—making sure to avoid a repeat of the accidental sexual harassment from earlier—moved the arm. Water magic was my specialty, but I still wasn't used to moving my own arm with it. It felt almost zombie-like. My arm wavered up through the air before coming to rest on her head. Urk! I hurriedly tried to move it off, but it wouldn't work right.

I ended up in the rather rude position of effectively stroking her head. She didn't shake off my hand but just looked blankly back at me.

"It has been quite a while," she remarked. "Uh, sorry. I can't totally control it yet."

I used my left hand to lift my right and remove it from her head.

Should've done that to begin with...

"You should rest more," she stated. "You're still recovering."

Following her request, I lay down in bed. I must have still been somewhat fatigued because as soon as I did, I started to feel drowsy. Just before I drifted off, I could have sworn I felt a hand on my head.

𝘘

I dreamt of a vast, endless space, the same as always. Two beautiful goddesses were present...surrounded by a mountain of documents.

"Noah? Eir?" I asked.

Eir had a hard look on her face as she signed sheets of paper. For her part, Noah was holding her head up with one hand while using the other to write. I felt awkward talking to them in this situation, but since I was here, they must have wanted to speak to me about something.

"Oh, Makoto," Noah said, sending a smile my way. "Good for you, saving Great Keith. Your classmate's free too."

"Hey! Don't stop writing! There are thousands left!" Eir scolded.

"Eir, what's with all this stuff?" I asked. I'd never seen so much paperwork in one place.

"It's the arrangements I had to make for Noah to visit you out in the world! It was ridiculous! Making it all hang together is so hard! We need to fool all the patrolling angels!"

"I-I see..."

It was my fault. Noah had to help me because I messed up using Transform. She'd come out of her prison for an instant, and Eir had arranged it.

"Come on, Eir, let's take a break. We've got Häagen-Dazs."

"Products from Earth..." I marveled. She always seemed to have that

kind of thing, and I always wondered where she got them.

"Amazon and Rakuten, where else?"

They delivered here?!

"I'm having cookies and cream!" Eir exclaimed. "I won't accept anything else."

"I'll have the macadamia one then," Noah replied. She turned to me. "You can have the vanilla."

"Uh... Right. Thank you."

It'd been so long since I'd had Earth ice cream...and it tasted even

better than I remembered.

Once we finished eating, I addressed the goddesses. "Thank you both for your help."

Noah grinned. "No worries. It had been a while since I'd been out and about."

"Do you know how much effort..." Eir tiredly trailed off as she noticed something. "Show me that arm!"

She grabbed hold of my right arm. Her tone was way sharper and more demanding than usual. The look in her eyes was intense as she focused on my bandaged limb.

"Unravel," she said, making the bandages do exactly that. My bare arm was glowing blue. I'd taken a quick peek at it in the hospital bed...but this wasn't something I could really show people.

Eir didn't say anything, just tightly held onto me and glared. Then, she turned to Noah. "What's this supposed to be?" she demanded, lifting my arm up to show the other goddess.

There was a small mark just above my elbow—a glowing red spot among all the blue.

"It's where I touched him," Noah said.

"Oh, right..." Noah'd grabbed me by the arm just before the comet fell... It'd felt really hot and painful.

"Noah...you gave him anima, didn't you?"

"Oops, what a klutz I am! I accidentally got him with it."

Eir strode over to Noah and grabbed her by the collar. "Was it on purpose?!" She sounded angrier than I'd ever heard her, especially considering how soft her voice usually was.

"Come on, calm down," Noah soothed with a vague smile.

"Answer me! You know giving someone power outside of a blessing is taboo! Do you know what you've done?!"

"E-Eir? Calm down," I said, worried about how out of character she

was acting.

But she simply turned her hard eyes to me. "Mako, your arm hasn't healed and you can't move it properly. These issues are caused by the anima. In fact, you could call that mark...a curse of the gods. It lets Noah interfere in the world through a believer... Through you..."

"A curse..." Furiae had said something about my arm being cursed.

"The Sacred Deities can't overlook that," she continued. "Althena is really big on the law, so if she sees it, she might wipe you out. Since you saved Great Keith she probably wouldn't just do it, but still...

What are you trying to pull, Noah?"

"Noah?" I repeated, looking at my goddess for an explanation.

The smile on her face was as beautiful as ever.

"It's insurance, for if you'd failed at that transformation. I can't turn up every time...but my anima will let me control the elementals directly."

"I see." The technique I'd used was really risky, so some insurance didn't seem like a bad thing.

"Mako... It's not just the elementals she can control. She can also control you. Are you still not bothered? Plus it'll draw the attention of the Sacred Deities and the daemons. Honestly, it's not really

worth it for a human like you."

Hmmm...

Eir sounded concerned for me. I looked between the two goddesses.

My eyes met Noah's and we stared at each other for a few seconds. "Makoto, do you trust me?" she asked.

"Of course I do."

"Then believe in me. I won't do anything bad."

With that assurance, I made my decision. "Okay." "Hey! Hey!" Eir yelled, getting between the two of us. "What's the problem?" we asked in unison.

"I've got a whole damned list!" she exclaimed, pulling at her hair.

"You're okay with this?!"

"Well, Noah's always plotting," I replied. She'd acted like this ever since I'd first met her. I was going to help her either way, so it wasn't worth complaining about this particular thing. Besides, if Noah hadn't intervened, we all would've been flattened by that comet.

"Eir, you're worrying too much," Noah said. "I might have given him anima, but my power's sealed in the temple, so I can't do anything."

"Hrmmmm." Eir looked unhappily between us before eventually sighing. "Things are still peaceful, so...fine. But you're going to be in the line of fire once Iblis is back."

"Will that be soon?" I asked.

"Hm, according to Ira, it could be any day now."

"It'll probably be a few months," Noah clarified. "There's so much paperwork left though."

"And whose fault is that?!"

The two goddesses went back to their work. I suppose the anima stuff has been tabled for now...

Just as I was thinking that I should leave them to their paperwork, I noticed things becoming hazy.

𝘘

When I awoke, I was back in the hospital. It was dark outside, but I couldn't tell how late it was without a clock. Still, it was definitely deep into the night.

I tried to get up, but my right arm wasn't cooperating. I used my left to push myself up instead. The transformed arm was wrapped in bandages and wouldn't move at all through physical strength.

I recalled the dream I'd just had.

There was anima from Noah in my arm, along with the mana from the elementals. It was power from an old god... An old god who the world thought of as evil.

In other words, it was an evil god's power that I had to master.

This is the perfect time for that line, isn't it?

I gave in to the temptation and glanced around. No one was in the room.

Great.

"Be still...my aching arm," I intoned. "What's that, Takatsuki?"

"Sasa?!"

When'd she get here? She'd been keeping an eye on me, but I really wished she hadn't hidden herself!

"N-Nothing," I said, using Calm Mind to feign composure.

Sasa looked at me with a grin. "Be still...my aching arm..." she

muttered through the giggles.

She'd seen it all!

"Forget everything!" I yelled, trying to grab her.

She slipped away with a laughing yelp, and I spent the next few minutes enduring some merciless teasing.

𝘘

"To former class 1-A!" "Cheers!" we chorused.

Four of us—me, Fujiyan, Sasa, and Kawakita—were in a pub in the capital.

Sasa had said that we needed a reunion to celebrate Kawakita's

freedom. Fujiyan and I had no objections, of course.

"Thank you all," Kawakita said with an embarrassed giggle. "You helped me so much."

"Good for you, Keiko!" Sasa cheered, glomming onto her.

The girls chatted for a while before Kawakita turned to me suddenly.

"You negotiated with one of the higher-ups for me, didn't you? Thanks."

"You'd already been freed when I did that," I deflected, scratching my cheek. "Thank Fujiyan and Sasa."

"We never talked in class though," she pointed out. "I've known

Michio for years, and Aya's a friend. You're a good guy." She offered

me a cute smile.

Kawakita had been a bit of a diva in school—she'd always spoken rather harshly, so I'd been a bit wary of her. But now that we were talking, I realized that she was a surprisingly nice girl.

"I could not have done it alone," Fujiyan said. "It was due to Lady Sasaki's breaking of the sword that I was able to indebt Great Keith."

"I think arranging to get the sword fixed was harder," Sasa said.

He guffawed. "An acquaintance's acquaintance happens to know a suitable smith. It was luck, really."

I knew better. This was how he always talked his way around the crazy stuff he did. He had way too many connections!

After that, we spent some time just chatting about the struggles

we'd faced in this world as well as reminiscing about back home.

Kawakita and Sasa were both unhappy at the lack of sweet treats in this world. That reminded me of how tasty the Häagen-Dazs had been.

On the whole, Great Keith's cooking was really spicy. This pub had kebabs as a specialty, along with pepper soups. I was pretty fond of it all.

By now, we'd all enjoyed the food and drink and were getting fairly

tipsy. Kawakita took the opportunity to ask a question.

"Hey, Michio. Do you have a partner?"

She was leaning drunkenly—or more accurately, temptingly—against him.

Oh?

Sasa and I exchanged glances before checking that Nina wasn't

around.

"Well...how to put it?" Fujiyan replied.

He didn't have a girlfriend. But he did have two wives.

For how well he usually spoke, Fujiyan was fumbling over his words

now. Kawakita didn't seem to notice; she just stared at him heatedly.

"You know...I acted tough, but I was so scared that some noble I didn't know was going to buy me..." admitted Kawakita. "I'm really grateful...and you're a noble in Roses now, right? I don't have

anywhere to go, so..."

"Y-You are welcome for as long as you wish, Lady Kawakita!" blurted Fujiyan. "I will happily have you as a guest!"

"Come on... Call me Kei like you used to."

Oooh.

This was bad. Fujiyan was getting the moves put on him, despite being a married man.

His eyes roamed across the room. I had to help my friend!

"Keiko, Keiko," Sasa said. She got to her first and leaned in close to

her friend's ear.

I used Listen...not that it really mattered if I heard. "Fujiwara already has two wives," Sasa whispered. There was a long pause as Kawakita froze.

"What?"

Yeah... Her reaction was about what I'd expect. It must've been shocking to find out that the guy you were interested in was already taken.

I was honestly surprised that Fujiyan hadn't already told her. When I

glanced over at him, he looked really awkward. Yup, figures.

"O-Oh...! Right! I see!" Kawakita's face was cherry red. She looked

almost like she was about to cry.

How sad...

"What's that look for?!" she demanded, snapping her gaze toward

me.

"Nothing!" Scary! That was just like the old Kawakita! "Aya!" she cried out. "We're drinking the night away!" "Huh? R-Right! Sure!"

Kawakita drained her ale to hide her embarrassment. Sasa did the same with her wine.

Sasa...you know that wine and ale have really different amounts of alcohol, right?

The girls proceeded to go on a bender, draining glass after glass. Fujiyan and I just slowly made our way through our own glasses in the corner. Kawakita's declaration that she would "drink the night away" ended up proving true—we stayed at the pub until it started getting light outside.

I didn't really remember the end of the night...but it felt like I was back in school, and I had a really good time.

And thus, our adventures in Great Keith came to an end.