Kawaii Onnanoko ni Kouryaku Sareru no Wa Suki desu ka? Volume 4 Chapter 4

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Fiance

The bathhouse of the palace was surrounded by beautiful trees and sculptures. Inside the bathtub, plastered with graceful marble, an irregularity occurred. The water surface shook, as the water level started dropping. Like it was drained into the depths of the ocean through a wide open hole, the water disappeared, and two suspicious people appeared.

No, they weren’t anybody suspicious, they were Rinka and Kokage. Taking off the wet suit that reached up to their faces, revealing their young, glittering hair. Having left the bath, the stoneplate shifted back to its original place, closing the hole they entered from. Watching this, Rinka muttered.

“To think there was a secret path like this…How did you even find this?”

“He he he~ That was an easy feat! I snuck into the server of the government office, and looked at the blueprints of the palace.” Kokage puffed out her chest in arrogance. “On top of that, I used the sonar and our family’s beloved Hamu-chan to sniff out the path. I was a bit worried because the route seemed to have broken down, but I’m glad things worked out! We’re lucky, because we might have drowned!”

“Don’t give me that ‘We’re lucky!’ kind of nonsense! Warn me about that beforehand!” Rinka started shaking in fear of what might have happened.

There was no meaning to it if she had to lay down her life before being able to save Mikado. Her ideal was dying in Mikado’s arms, not being washed away with dirty water into the ocean. That being said, Kokage didn’t pick up these emotions of Rinka at all, just continuing.

“I’m actually fairly lucky, you know~ I’ve looked death into the eyes several times, but I never died so far!”

“I wouldn’t exactly call that being lucky…”

“…Huh?” All light disappeared from Kokage’s eyes.

With a pale expression, she muttered in a daze.

“But, what if? What if I already died, and I just didn’t realize? I cannot deny that possibility…”

“I will gladly deny that possibility for you!”

Her assumptions were starting to grow more distant from reality, so Rinka quickly stopped her. It’s true that their actions were reckless enough that it wouldn’t be weird if they died in the process, but Rinka didn’t want to admit that.

Kokage just showed a smile.

“Right! I still am alive after all!”

“Indeed you are!”

“Yay! Being alive is great!”

“Congratulations! That’s Kawaraya-san for you!”

“Happy birthday me! Happy birthday!” Kokage started crying out of happiness.

Rinka even gave her an applause. She had no idea why she was congratulating her classmate for being alive still. Today shouldn’t be her birthday first and foremost. But, although this was a dead or alive level of a gamble, Rinka might not have made it this far alone.

“I also cracked the security system of the palace, setting the security cameras up to allow us a safe entrance. If you stick with me, I’ll get you to Mikado-kun safely! Let’s go!”

“Yes! Please do!”

Though Rinka wasn’t exactly in perfect relief, Kokage was undoubtedly the shining ray in this abyss of darkness. She could only follow Kokage as she ran out of the bathing house.

It really was a magnificent and luxurious palace. That being said, it was filled with the subordinates of the Nanjou Family. It reminded Rinka of a fantasy movie that came from overseas, where they invaded the castle of the demon lord, the princess being Mikado.

After giving the stamp of approval, Kokage’s navigation worked out just fine, as they didn’t run into a single maid. They snuck right through a corridor, past the courtyard filled with roses everywhere, dashing up the nearby stairs. Finally, coming to a path that allowed you to gaze down at the entrance hall, Kokage stopped.

“Rinka-chan, wait a moment.”

“…What happened?” Being told with a rarey serious tone, Rinka listened to Kokage.

She felt nervous, worrying that something unexpected occurred.

“Look at that.” Kokage pointed at a room at the back of the corridor.

Looking like a giant showcase of some sort, a stuffed animal was locked inside. With sinister-looking eyes, claws like a t-rex, ferocious fangs came out of its mouth. Though it looked like a living being able to walk on two legs, it didn’t fall under any category of an animal treading the earth at this current moment. In other words, this sight was—

“A stuffed alien! Not to mention an inhabitant of Epsilon, found in the Orion Constellation! I heard a rumour that they escaped from the NASA research facility in Oklahoma! Ehhh, why is it here?! Is this the reward for me, having survived so long?!”

With a speed unthinkable of Kokage, she dashed towards the large case. Her breathing was rough from the excitement, as her face was glued to the glass. From Rinka’s view, Kokage looked more alien than anything else.

“Kawaraya-san! This is too dangerous! This has to be a trap to lure you in!”

“Ehhh, it’s not though? Nobody should know that I love aliens.”

“Everybody would catch on to that! Let’s hurry!”

“Don’t wanna! I’ll have my bones buried here!”

“You will probably need them in the near future?!”

Rinka tried her hardest to pull Kokage from the case, but she would not let go, as if her life depended on it. Almost like her entire body had become glue, she stuck to the glass.

—What should I do about this…

Something unthinkable appeared in Rinka’s sight. The greatest treasure of all treasures. With a majestic atmosphere to it, it stood in the corner of a room.

A life-sized figurine of Mikado!

Not to mention that the level of detail was vastly superior from the ones Rinka had at home. His expression, the feel of material, the three-dimensionality, everything made it look like Mikado stood right there. Rinka always knew that Mikado belonged in a museum.

“Mikado…sama………?”

Rinka completely lost herself, just waddling over to the figurine. Even the scent was identical to the real Mikado. Unable to control herself, yet fully understandable for a maiden like her, Rinka just stuffed her face into the Mikado figurine.

“Mm…Haaa…”

She was giving the scent a full-blown testing. Following that, she ran her mouth along the neck of the Mikado figurin.

“Blelelele…”

Using her senses on her tongue, she conducted another testing. This was the real skill of the ‘Mikado Sommelier Rinka’, who even left Kokage shaking in her boots before, indeed!

“What a wonderful Mikado-sama this is…”

Even though they were enemies, Rinka couldn’t help but shed a tear in admiration at this perfect piece of art. However, at that moment, a thunderous roar rang out, as she spotted something assault her from the ceiling.

“Rinka-chan?! Careful!”

Though Kokage tried to warn her, it was too late. With a loud bang, a transparent dome of sorts surrounded Rinka.

“Wahhh, Rinka-chan! Return Rinka-chan!”

Kokage hammered on the outside glass, but with her fragile strength, not even a scratch appeared. In a matter of seconds, Rinka was turned into an exhibit just like the Mikado figurine. Though another dome came falling down in front of the weird alien case, Kokage managed to evade that.

“I’ve been done in…Because my love for Mikado-sama is too strong…”

“It’s fine! I thought this might happen, so I brought C4 with me! With that, we can turn this trap into dust, no biggie!” Kokage grinned, as she pulled out the dynamite from her pocket, putting it onto the dome.

“I’ll turn into dust as well if you do that?!”

“Don’t worry. I’m pretty lucky after all! I’ll definitely survive this blast!”

“What about me?!” Rinka panicked.

She felt the danger of losing her life not because of the fiendish Kisa, but rather of an innocent girl like Kokage. Though Kisa held definite ill-intent towards Rinka, she wouldn’t date to hurt her, in the possible event that she might get hated by Mikado as a result. But, with the chaotic Kawaraya Kokage, you never knew what could happen next. Even right now, she was about to blow Rinka to dust out of pure good-will. What stopped her in the process were footsteps coming from the corridor.

“Hyaa?! Someone is coming!”

Kokage quickly separated from the dome, jumping out of the window…with the C4 still about to blow up.

“At least run away after you took off the C4!!!”

Rinka prepared herself for her inevitable death. At the same time, who entered the room with the hem of her dress fluttering, raised her chin up in a beautiful manner, was the owner of this palace, the successor of the Empress of Darkness, Nanjou Kisa. Not even twitching at the C4 about to blow up, she just slowly approached it, pulling it off.

—I’m saved…

Well, she was found by the most dangerous enemy around, so she wasn’t exactly safe, but it was better than dying right here, right now. As Rinka was left in this limbido of relief and fear, Kisa spoke up.

“My, that was supposed to catch two rats, but one managed to escape.”

Kisa checked her surroundings, shrugging her shoulders in disappointment.

“So you had caught on to us…” Rinka sent a glare at Kisa.

“Naturally. I knew from the very start that you were just faking your normal life here. That is why I showed you an opening, and let you sneak inside the palace. Though I didn’t expect you to come here through the bath of all places…I was going to take one with Mikado later this night.”

That would have been dangerous. Though Rinka and Kokage had failed to fully save Mikado from this palace, they had at least averted a dangerous scenario.

“What are you planning on doing with me?”

“I wonder? I could use a beauty like you as a stuffed figure… ? I wouldn’t hate a harmless puppet either.”

“Ugh…”

Seeing the devil’s eye see through the dome directly at her, Rinka grit her teeth.

“But, I can’t afford to anger Mikado. I just have to grant you a sweet hell, in the hopes that you will stop fighting against me. In the near future, both your body and heart will belong to me…And that is not a premonition. This future has been written in stone.”

As if she wanted to gently rub Rinka’s head, Kisa put one hand on the outer side of the dome, smiling.

The men’s toilet.

For a young man, it was a brief moment of recess. Like Valhalla was for warriors that had fought until the end of time. Mikado certainly wasn’t bad with women by any means, but being met with their attention on more than a daily basis, even he would crumble. Especially if that girl was Kisa.

Spending every day so far in this castle, being met with her seduction and attacks at any given moment, the only time he could really take a breather was the men’s toilet. That is why Mikado would often, under the pretense of taking a walk, make his way here. Though he was met with suspicion, given the fact that he was using the servants’ toilet, and not his personal one, he might never know what would happen there, making this his only place where he could truly relax, if only for a few moments.

Today again, he sat inside the stall, doing his business.

“Finally found you, Mikado-kun!”

Together with a high-pitched voice, Kokage jumped down from the wall.

“…?! ?!?!?!”

Having experienced a sudden surprise attack from a special platoon countless times, even Mikado was a beginner at having a girl invade his private stall inside the toilet. Because of the shock, his body lagged behind severely, as he was too late to put up any defensive measures. Naturally, he didn’t make it in time to hide the decisive parts of his body either.

“Wahhh…Cute.”

“It’s not cute!”

Kokage had both her hands on her blushing cheeks, as Mikado felt his body burn up in shame. ‘Tis was a shame of a lifetime. Having his most precious member seen by not his wife, not even a lover, but merely by an existence called a classmate. At the same time, said classmate already had her camera in hand.

“I have arrived at the secret of the Kitamikado Family! I have to leave behind a picture! A picture for my future generations—!!”

“Stop iiiiit!!!” Mikado jumped up, grabbing Kokage’s wrist.

“S-Stop, Mikado-kun…! Don’t force yourself onto a girl with your lower half fully exposed…!”

“Don’t make it sound so indecent! Although you’re perfectly right!”

Having had no time to properly dress himself, Mikado’s trousers and belt both fell to the ground once again. Adding Kokage’s flushed expression, distorted in panic and embarrassment, if an outsider saw this, Mikado would be arrested in a matter of minutes.

“No need to worry! Whenever I upload this on the internet, I’ll make sure to give you proper rights with a [©Kitamikado Mikado] on the picture!”

“Are you trying to socially kill me?!”

“I think you’ll only become more popular!”

“How does that work?! Also, why are you here in the first place?! Why would you just sneak inside the men’s toilet?!”

“That doesn’t matter right now, Mikado-kun!”

“It very much does for me!”

The world is moving according to the information going around.

“There’s more important things going on! Rinka-chan! Rinka-chan! She was taken away by a soldier, brought to jail!”

“What?!”

Out of shock, Mikado’s grasp on her wrist softened. Given that opening, Kokage escaped into the corner of the toilet, as a flash from her camera followed immediately. With such smooth movement, and quick reactions, as well as accuracy, it was yet again apparent how high her skill was. But, Mikado didn’t have the time to care about that.

“Jail…Is Rinka fine?!”

“She’s not fine at all! She’s about to be confined, and turned into a cripple!”

“Cripple?! Would Kisa really go that far…”

“It’s true! I was rushing around to tell Mikado-kun, while running away from the soldiers on guard! Please, MIkado-kun…save Rinka-chan!” Kokage pleaded desperately.

Though one part of Mikado was suspicious about the fact of her continuously pressing the shutter on her camera, her face was serious. She must have run for her life, as her clothes were in a mess, revealing chest and butt.

“Alright…For now, I’ll talk to Kisa. You go hide somewhere, Kokage.”

“Thank you very much! Ah, could I take a commemoration picture before that? With the two of us in the toilet! Here, peace!”

“Seriously, you better stop. We’ll both die at this rate!”

Mikado pushed Kokage out of the stall.

“…W-What’s wrong, you’re making a scary face.”

When Mikado returned to the Queen’s bedroom, Kisa was slightly flustered.

“About Rinka. Is it true that she was caught, and locked away in jail?”

As if he didn’t allow any evading, Mikado glared directly at Kisa, whose expression grew stiff.

“Who did you hear that from?”

“I’m the one asking the questions here.”

“It must be Kawaraya-san…To think she would reach you…I should have finished her back then.”

Kisa bore her nails into her arms, gritting her teeth in resentment. So charming, and beautiful, even if the situation wasn’t.

“And? Please, be honest with me.”

Mikado’s worry must have gotten through to Kisa, as she sighed in resignation.

“I did catch her. But, can you blame me? She snuck inside my palace. In here, my voice stands above all else, and I can decide on the punishment, as I am the Queen.”

“That’s true, but…She’s not just anybody. She’s a classmate, and my fiance.”

“…Fiance, huh.” Kisa’s voice suddenly dropped.

A mysterious darkness resided in her marvelous eyes.

“I’m sure that she must have come here because she was anxious about me. So please, can’t we just see this with more tolerance…”

Mikado started pleading for the defence of his fiance, but that didn’t work much against Kisa.

“Don’t wanna.”

“Kisa!”

Met with Mikado’s outburst, Kisa’s shoulders jolted up. As if she was in pain, she bit her lip.

“Must be nice, being a fiance. Without having to do anything for it, you get the right from your parents to stay with the person you love. Being supported by your family, and the fiance’s family, you can say whatever you want, allowed to be as bold as you want. You can attack whenever you want. Mikado would even protect you in a moment like this. Why…why…” Words of rage were directed at the empty space between them.

Even though these words weren’t directed at Mikado by any means, he still felt a sharp pain pierce his chest. As if she laid bare everything inside her heart, without any strategic action to it, he was entranced. He wanted to embrace her with all his might, but he knew that this was not a moment to do so.

“At least let her leave the country. Rinka, Mizuka, and Kawaraya aren’t related in our love game. There is no need to wrap them inside of this mess.”

“No…not until the love game comes to an end. If the Kitamikado Family finds out that you are being locked up in this country, they will meddle. And then, we will probably never get the chance to finish the love game.”

“That’s…true. But, please, let us end this here, and continue our game back at school.”

“No…I like it here. Too many people interrupt us all the time. Only enemies that try to break us apart…”

Kisa softly grabbed the hem of Mikado’s shirt, looking up at him in expectation. Her shoulders were shaking ever so slightly. Yet, Mikado had to suppress the desire to just nod along. This had to be her acting once again. Making him a slave to her in the process, to get an advantage in the love game.

If it was just Mikado here, he wouldn’t have been bothered by this. Rather, being locked in this palace with Kisa alone removed any bother from both their families, so he would have been more happy than anything. However, he could not pull Rinka into this. This was a battle purely between Mikado and Kisa.

“What a shame…Kisa.” Mikado pulled off Kisa’s hand.

The night sky shown through the window was wrapped up in darkness, barely showing the light of the stars here and there. Comparing it to a big city of Japan, there were barely any lights in the capital here, this being the perfect chance to escape.

While Kisa was off taking a bath, Mikado snuck away from the Queen’s bedroom. He had planned a secret meeting with Kokage in the men’s toilet. Right after, guards standing at both sides of the door followed him, with submachine guns readied in their arms, showing that they clearly wouldn’t allow him to escape. That being said, Mikado didn’t bother with the guards too much, and just entered the toilet. Naturally, they didn’t just stop there, and instead stormed after him. Right after, the giant bodies of the two collapsed.

The palms of Mikado’s hands ran up the chin of the two, rendering them unconscious after one attack. In order for them not to create a sound, he softly caught their bodies, laying them on the ground. Using their shirts, he gagged their mouths, covered their eyes, tied them up, and put them into the toilet stalls, after stealing their guns and knives.

“Special reservation for you, go take a good nap.”

“Wawawawa…”

Wondering where that scared voice came from, Mikado found Kokage shaking in a neighbouring stall.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why are you so relaxed about this?! Scary! I knew that Kisa-chan was scary, but you’re not losing against her by any means! You two sure are a good fit!”

“Really…? I mean, if you say so…” Mikado scratched his cheek, flustered.

“Don’t get embarrassed at that! I wasn’t saying it in a good way! I was talking badly about you!”

“Shh! If you keep screaming like that, the other soldiers will catch on to us. Guide me to Rinka, quickly.”

“Y-Yes! I will devote my body and heart to help you, Mikado-kun!” Without meeting eyes with Mikado, Kokage desperately lowered her head.

A girl from his class had sworn him eternal allegiance. For some reason, Mikado felt a bit sad at that.

“…You don’t have to be that scared of me. I can’t just kill my precious friend, and since these soldiers are Kisa’s subordinates, I finished them off without killing them either.”

“Just the fact that you had the opportunity to kill them makes it scary!”

“That would have been the last hand I would have pulled. Strength without justice is just slaughter. I advocate peace and freedom.”

“Says the guy who beat trained soldiers to a pulp and stuffed them into toilet stalls…?”

From the looks of it, Kokage wouldn’t calm down no matter how much Mikado argued. There was no way to fill the gap of view they had.

Opening the window of the toilet, Kokage pushed out her head, checking the situation. Following that, she turned around to Mikado, and nodded. Mikado returned such, and followed Kokage out of the toilet. Clinging to the outside wall of the palace, the two moved along. Though they were quite a ways above solid ground, Kokage seemed to have been used to him, as she showed no hesitation. Mikado himself wasn’t worried either, as he had been trained in mountain climbing.

In order to avoid the patrolling route of the guards, they entered a duct from the wall, climbing through, above the roof. Down from the roof, they got under the floor, passing between the beams, diving deeper into the palace. After walking along the zigzag underground path, the two finally made it to a rustical steel door, guarded by a soldier. Watching this scene from the shadows, Kokage muttered.

“Rinka-chan is behind this door.”

“Only one soldier, huh.” Mikado commented with a quiet voice.

“Yes. However, if he presses the button on the wall, shutters come down, and the alarm goes off in the entire palace. On top of that, sleeping gas will be emitted.”

“They sure used all their arsenal.”

“Apparently, this had been a jail for people who committed political crimes. On top of that, it worked as a security wall as well, in the case of rebellion or a coup d’état.”

“I see. You really looked into it.”

Mikado observed the surroundings of the door. The soldier stood right beside the buzzer, and there were no things in the way Mikado could use to sneak along. The second Mikado would try to attack him, the soldier would press the button. In the worst case scenario, a direct attack would fail, which would lead Kokage to be captured as well, making this attempt to escape a failure. Then, the only possible method was to finish this before the guard could even grow wary.

“Kawaraya, wait a second.”

“Eh…”

Even faster than Kokage could give a response, Mikado dashed out of the shadows. The guard caught on to him, and moved his arm over to press the buzzer. However, he didn’t make it in time. The knife still inside the scabbard was thrown right between the eyebrows of the soldier. Letting out a groan, the soldier tried to regain his posture, but was mowed down by Mikado’s fist. Following that, he wrapped his arms around the soldier’s neck, rendering him unconscious.

“Alright, that’s done. We’re good now.”

Mikado turned, only to find Kokage about to dash away.

“Hey, where are you going? I just secured us a safe route.”

“W-Well~ I thought I did my job, so…”

“That’s not true. You are exceptionally important for this. I need you to help me secure an escape route, so come with me.”

“Nooooo! I’m happy that you need me but still…Noooooo!”

Closing off the screaming Kokage’s mouth, Mikado forcefully pulled her with him. Though he felt bad for basically abducting the girl like this, it’d be troublesome if she got caught in his absence, or even made them get caught. Rinka’s life depended on this.

Mikado tied up the guard, and stole the key card from, opening the large door. Together with a heavy metallic sound, the scenery inside appeared in Mikado’s vision.

“This is…” He swallowed his breath.

Past the door was a room more neat and tidy than he expected. With quite the formidable size, it resembled the house of an average citizen. On top of the luxurious carpet was a glass table, an adorable bed, a chest built inside with fine work. An antique feeling was given through the illumination coming from the ceiling, almost making you forget that you were still underground. Less than some jail, this resembled a hotel room. But, there was a single irregularity, that sadly was the biggest of them all. This room was filled…with Mikado.

Naturally, not Mikado himself. He wasn’t cloned to stand around in there, but rather life-sized figurines that made you think he was cloned, taking various poses. There were those just sitting around, those lying sideways. Recordings of Mikado’s filled the silence, overlapping even. In the middle of it all, lying on the bed as she hugged a Mikado figurine…was his own fiance, who would normally act as the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko, Shizukawa Rinka.

“Haaa…Mikado-sama…How gallant…Wonderful…Mikado-sama…”

Drool ran down her cheek, as she was breathing heavily in arousion. Though a certain part of him was entranced by this sight, the shock was far greater.

“Rinka! Pull yourself together!” Mikado shook the girl’s shoulders.

“Eh…is this… a new-type Mikado-sama? It can even move…? And his skin feels so real…does it have an in-built heating system? …This is the best!”

“I’m not a new-type! I’m the original! I’m the actual Kitamikado Mikado!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—-?!”

Rinka let out an ear-splitting shriek, jumping up in shock. Her face became pale, sweat running down her cheeks like a waterfall.

“Y-You’re wrong! I definitely did not have my heart stolen by these figurines! I would never sleep in the arms of a Mikado-sama hugging pillow either! I even learned to fall asleep without having my entire room filled with pictures of you!”

“…? I mean, that makes sense, doesn’t it. This is what Kisa did to brainwash you. Though I don’t know how that would brainwash you in the first place!”

Rinka nodded like she had never done before in her life.

“Yes! Yes! It is just as you say, Mikado-sama! Everything was Kisa-san’s work…Kisa-san’s brainwashing! I have not the slightest bit of interest in these figurines…Ah, but, could I maybe take one home with me?!”

“Pull yourself together, Rinka! The brainwashing hasn’t disappeared yet!” Mikado grabbed Rinka’s shoulders yet again.

The young lady of the Shizukawa Family, with ancient and honorable origin, had now been led astray, her soul tainted. Mikado couldn’t hold back his tears at that fact. Though she had been imprisoned before, was something of this level really necessary? Mikado remembered a strong desire to avenge Rinka, who’s heart had been twisted in the face of this. At the same time, Kokage raised her hand.

“U-Um…Mikado-kun…? You know, Rinka-chan is actually like this all the ti—”

“Kawaraya-san!”

“Eeek?!”

Glared at by Rinka, Kokage jumped into the air. She smiled, but her eyes weren’t.

“What’s wrong, Kawaraya?”

“N-No, nothing at all! Everyone is scary! I want to go home!”

Kokage immediately shut her mouth. She sealed off her ears as well, just humming to herself. Mikado made a mental note to fix that attitude of running away from reality.

“I agree that we have to go back soon. It’s been a few days since they last heard news from us. The chances of chaos reigning in Japan is high.”

Rinka nodded at Mikado’s words. She carried a small miniature figure in her hands.

“The Kitamikado and Shizukawa Family must be looking for us by now…If only they don’t catch on that this is the Nanjou Family’s doing…”

“The longer we take, the higher the chances that some sort of conflict could break out, so we better hurry.”

Kisa should understand that risk as well, yet she continued to prolong this. Maybe she panicked at the thought of Mikado’s pre-honeymoon to such a level, as she planned to finish their game right here.

“Follow me! If the guard doesn’t give his regular support, the security will be alarmed! We have to escape before that!”

Mikado and Rinka quickly dashed after Kokage. Running up the stairs from the underground, they escaped through the kitchen door to the courtyard, between the flowerbed. They apparently hadn’t caught on to Mikado’s and Rinka’s disappearance, as there were barely any guards patrolling. They were busy yawning loudly, standing around in boredom.

They seemed to have been locals, as they muttered words in a different language, probably the official language of this kingdom. Treading on the irrigation ditch, they ran inside the cold pipe. It was pitch-black, with absolutely no moonlight to shine their way. The bottom of the ditch was equally dark, not allowing anybody to know what they were even walking on. Mikado had no trouble treading on the wrong course, and as a sneaking pro that Kokage was the same for her, but Rinka was staggering frequently.

“Rinka. Hold on to my arm.”

“Y-Yes!”

Rinka clung to Mikado’s arm with all her might. Though the soft sensation assaulting him had Mikado flush, he didn’t have the time to enjoy this sensation. He had to concentrate for the moment, getting Rinka out of this place safely. Once they made it through the canal, they arrived at a wasteland outside the town. The wind blew fiercely, as a rustic stone stood in the open. No soldiers or citizens around.

“This is…”

“Outside…the capital?”

Mikado and Rinka observed their surroundings.

“Yes! In order to avoid any security routes, passing that canel was the safest route. Sorry that you ended up all wet and drenched.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize. Your range of information is as crazy as always.”

“Ehehe, I am the successor of the Kawaraya Family after all!” Kokage twisted her body in embarrassment.

If it revolved around small maneuvering, Kokage excelled greatly. Though that was slightly dampened, well quite a bit in reality, by all her misses, the chances of her making it big was quite high.

“Though there was the promise of making you the Executive Intelligence Officer, but before that, I’d love to have you work right next to me.”

“Next to Mikado-kun?! As your secretary?!”

“Mikado-sama?! I was wondering why my husband would return home late, but as it turns out, you were raising a secret child with your secretary?!”

“Eh, eh, is that what’s going to happen?!” Kokage grew excited at Rinka’s fantasies.

“It won’t! I was talking about borrowing Kawaraya’s strength to change Japan for the better!”

The girl seemed to have gotten the wrong idea caused by Rinka’s nonsense, so Mikado denied it with all his might. Naturally, Kokage was cute without a doubt, but he had no plans on giving her a higher position than close to him as an aide.

Suddenly sirens could be heard coming from the palace, leaving Rinka in shock. Apparently, they had caught on to Mikado’s disappearance.

“What should we do now?”

“If we get to the airport…they’ll probably catch us. Apparently, official institutions are being controlled by the Nanjou Family.”

Mikado started thinking. He did have a wallet and credit card with him, but if he had to use it, Kisa would be able to track them right away, so nothing gained there. Staying outside for a longer time would prove fatal.

“I prepared a smartphone with erased personal information, so use this. There’s a route to the nearest border there. Ah, don’t use any calls or messages, okay? They would be able to track you!”

Kokage handed Mikado an old-school smartphone. MIkado accepted this, and checked the app with the map.

“You’re not coming with us, Kokage?”

“There is something I have to take care of here! Until I uncover every secret in this experiment of the Nanjou Family, I cannot go home yet!” Her eyes were sparkling.

She must have been scared, but the interest got the better of her. Though Mikado was worried she might ruin herself with that, it was probably in the blood of her family.

“Alright. Thanks for everything. You better make it home safe.”

“Same here! Let’s meet at school again!”

Mikado and Rinka separated from Kokage, as she waved in joy. Taking Rinka by the hand, Mikado walked through the night wasteland.

Inside the outer garden, Kisa nervously walked in circles, cursing into her smartphone.

“Sigma! You still haven’t found Mikado and Shizukawa-san?!”

From the speaker came Sigma’s tired voice.

「We sent them in every direction, but still haven’t found them. Apparently, they hacked our system, as we have traces right before they disappeared.

“It has to be Kawaraya-san…I will teach her once we get back to Japan…so that she learns her lesson…”

She cursed up towards the night sky, but that wouldn’t resolve the situation either. At the same time, the soldiers gathered around her watched over Kisa in silence. Kisa put her hand on a nearby statue, narrowing her eyebrows.

“Spread all the sleeping gas we have in the entire country, or set free that new virus! Let all the citizens go down once, and look for them in the pile of collapsed people”

「That’ll cause a rebellion for sure! Keeping the virus under control is far too difficult, and the use of sleep gas would result in accidents. We cannot turn the residents against us, and you should know that better than anybody.”

“But…but…” Kisa tightly gripped her smartphone, panicking.

If it was just Rinka running away, she wouldn’t have to rush like this. But, they were two people, two fiances running away. With them being chased by the enemy, love will bloom between the two. Just by imagining this, Kisa couldn’t stand still.

「For crying out loud…Whenever it comes to the shitty Kitamikado brat, your IQ drops to the single digits…」

“It doesn’t. I am a genius, at any time!”

「I don’t care! Can you take this a bit more calmly?!」

“I would if I could!”

The two had a verbal barrage, when Mizuki came in, swooping the smartphone.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, Shii-chan! I’ll do something about Onee-chan!”

“H-Hey!”

Kisa tried to retrieve the smartphone, but Mizuki skillfully evaded her as she roared in laughter.

“That’s why, you do your own job, Shii-chan! Catch Kokage-chan, and have her spit out the escape roof that Mikado-kun will take!”

「The young Kawaraya lady…I’d be able to catch her if she tried cracking our system one more time, but there hasn’t been any access since then. She might have run away already…」

“I think Kokage-chan is still inside the capitol.”

「Why is that? The capital should be the place with the highest security.」

Sigma voiced her doubts.

“I mean, it’s Kokage-chan. I doubt she’d leave such an interesting country right away. I figure she’s looking around the capital to get some information. Like the governmental office, any archives, you know.”

「I see…That’s Kisa-sama’s younger sister for you. I’ll look into it. You take care of Kisa-sama!」

“Understoodies~”

Mizuki cut the phone call without Kisa’s consent, returning the phone to her. She might not look like a clever girl most of the time, there were incidents where Kisa grew worried. Worried that Mizuki might just be playing the idiot. That she was waiting in the shadows to find an opening on Kisa’s end to steal Mikado from her. She had the genes of the Nanjou Family in her, and as she loved these sorts of games, she should certainly be capable.

“Alright then, all you soldiers! We’ll start our search as well!” Mizuki stood in front of the soldiers, giving orders in a nonchalant voice. “I’ll send you information about the target on your terminals! By the way, I recommend restricting the boy’s movement, because the girl can’t do much on her own! No hurting them, but using tranquilizer guns or tear-gas bombs are just fine!”

She even finished making up an operation, with no hesitation whatsoever. She probably was aware that Mikado would forgive Mizuki mostly everything, even if she was angry at Kisa’s actions.

“The person who managed to catch the two…Will get the position of head of the guards, as well as a giant mansion, so do your best!”

Together with Mizuki’s announcement, the color in the men’s eyes changed, as they scattered. Mizuki was running after them with a tranquilizer gun.

“Hide and seek! Together with Mikado-kun and everybody! I’ll definitely find him!”

In the sight of the humming Mizuka, there was no seriousness. She just shot bullets into the sky like a lunatic. Maybe her little sister really was an idiot.

A backside alley behind the masonry houses. On the ropes, laundry was currently in the process of drying. What could be heard were the screams of the soldiers, the gunshots, as well as the army boots trampling on the ground, as well as bikes whirling up the dust in the street.

“Rinka! Over here!”

“Y-Yes!”

Mikado pulled Rinka’s hand, escaping from the pursuit of the soldiers. In a situation where they couldn’t use money or any means of communication, it took them three days to the border of the country. Right as they made it,they were greeted by a large amount of soldiers.

—Seems like they were waiting for us.

Running along on uneven ground, Mikado cursed. Kokage must have already fallen into the hands of the enemy. Any other way, they wouldn’t have been able to figure out their escape route. Though he was worried about Kokage’s safety, Kisa probably wouldn’t dare to do anything to her classmate. Even Rinka had been safe, albeit in confinement.

Mikado dashed into a nearby room, closing the door behind him. Beyond the door, he immediately heard the soldiers run by. Rinka was shivering in fear, as she clung to Mikado’s chest. Her shoes had turned messy, her hair riddled with dirt and sweat from the long travels.

Mikado felt his heart creak, tightly embracing her to give her just the smallest amount of relief. Whilst feeling her heartbeat, the screams of the soldiers grew more distant. The two let out faint sighs, as the tension vanished from their bodies.

Imminent danger had disappeared, but Rinka didn’t dare to separate from Mikado. At the same time, Mikado couldn’t push her away either. Because Mikado was the reason she had to go through this.

“…Sorry. I wrapped you up into this mess with Kisa, even though you’re completely unrelated.”

“I am not fully unrelated. I was the one who entered the palace on my own, and I decided to stand my ground against Kisa-san. Since she was trying to steal you away from me, I had to make up my mind.” She tried to speak with confidence, but her face was devoid of any color.

Both her physical endurance, and willpower, they were at their limit.

“Still, let me apologize. But, I will not allow them to hurt you in any way. I will protect you at all costs, although it might be a bit hard to believe me…in a situation like this…”

Rinka shook her head.

“I believe you…You had promised the same thing in the past before.”

“In the past…?”

“…You don’t remember?”

“N-No…”

Met with a saddened gaze from Rinka, Mikado panicked. He desperately sought through his memories, trying to find any sort of information. Mikado and Rinka had known each other since they were small children, so they had talked a lot.

“Could you give me a hint?”

“I will not.”

“Anything is fine.”

“Not even anything. Forgetting the important promise with a maiden, you are a cruel person Mikado-sama.” With a pouting expression, Rinka pushed away Mikado.

Though she had a hurtful gaze, she had her cheeks puffed out, acting a Yamato Nadeshiko even in anger. Mikado panicked even further. Someone who called themselves the young man of the Kitamikado Family could count the promises they had made in their life until the end of their days. Even if that was a fake promise during one’s childhood, that fact didn’t change. Even more so if it was an important promise, just as Rinka made it sound. Yet, the same Rinka now gave a small giggle.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Mikado-sama panic like this. For this, I will forgive you just this once.”

“…I have no excuses.” Mikado lowered his head.

Rinka lined up next to him, resting her back against the wall. In this dimly-lit room, her sparkling eyes were looking far into the distance.

“When we were still younger, I had been an introvert of sorts.”

“Right. When we just, you would always hide behind your parents, unable to bring up a proper conversation. It’s taken a long time until we managed to talk.”

“That…was because I was too flustered…” Rinka spoke, as she started blushing.

She coughed once to continue.

“Because of this personality, I had been made fun of at school, or high society. Back when we first met each other, the kids of my age said bad things about me, so I ran away.”

“Yeah, I remember that. I was worried because you were crying this entire time, so I called out to you.”

“So you remember the beginning of our love! I am happy more than enough now!” Rinka’s voice grew more delighted.

“Beginning of our love…? Is that really it…?”

“Naturally. It is the first page written in our story.”

“I-I see…”

Mikado felt embarrassed. At the same time, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

“I told Mikado-sama about my problems, and that I wanted to stay at home from school, and the parties.To that, you said ‘You are more beautiful than anybody else. Be confident, and hold your chest high. If so, nobody will dare to talk badly about you anymore. If something happens, I will protect you at all costs’ to me.”

“N-Now that you mention it…I did say that…”

The memories came rushing back, making Mikado writhe in agony. He probably lost his cool back then, having such a beautiful girl in front of him, but how much more can you play cool, really. This part of his dark past, he would have rather not heard again.

Rinka put both her hands in front of her chest, and continued.

“Back then, I had an intuition. That you would be my future husband. That I would not fall for any other man. And then, I asked you ‘Would you make me your bride?’ subconsciously.”

“W-What did I answer?” Mikado asked, scared to know the answer.

His heartbeat was shaking up and down. His past self was too careless, so Mikado could not imagine the answer he could have given.

“What would you do if I said you had answered with ‘Alright, I will make you my partner’? Would you marry me then…?” Rinka gazed up at Mikado as if to test him.

MIkado felt like he was standing at a cliff. His past was catching up with him, driving him into a corner. Maybe the winner had been decided before the love game even started. That being said, even if it was a promise from years back, even if he were to regret it for the rest of his life, he had to keep this promise. As the successor of the Kitamikado Family, no, as a human first and foremost, he had to not stray from his path.

“That’s…I can only do as I said back then.”

“Even if I were to lie for my own convenience?”

“I believe in you, Rinka.”

“Even though you don’t even love me?”

“This and that are different. I still think that you are a wonderful woman, and not someone who would scoop that low. Because…you are perfect.”

This evaluation came from the bottom of his heart. Though Mikado’s heart was already devoted to Kisa, he had no doubt that the person who received the right to marry Rinka in the future was a lucky fellow.

“…You shouldn’t be trusting women too much like that.” Rinka continued with a lonesome tone. “Though it pains me to say it, that wasn’t it. Instead, you said the following.” She took a deep breath, starting her speech.

“ ‘We will never know what the future holds. I will polish myself to become a man worthy of you. You will do the same for me. Once we’ve grown, and become worthy for each other, the heavens will surely bind us together’.”

“I said such pumpous things back then?!”

Mikado doubted his ears, but Rinka nodded.

“You did indeed. ‘We will never know what the future holds. I will polish myself to become a man’—”

“I heard you the first time! Don’t repeat it, or I will die from the embarrassment!”

“Why are you embarrassed about this? They were the most wonderful words I had either heard in my life. Naturally, Mikado-sama is always the most admirable person, but you were like a Messiah to me back then.”

“I doubt a messiah would sound so smug…”

Whether this was a messiah, the devil in disguise, or just an embarrassed young boy didn’t matter, because Mikado would writhe in agony from now on every time he goes back to remember this dark past.

“After that, I worked my utmost to become a woman worthy of you. Even during my harsh studies, I have always walked whilst watching your back. If you had gotten another fiance during that time, I would have done everything in my power to steal you from her.”

There was no hesitation in her words. She might seem like she had the exact opposite atmosphere of Kisa, but if it was for her own goal, she would become someone else entirely. And now, she rested her body against Mikado’s. Grabbing his overwear, she looked up at him.

“Did I become…a woman worthy of Mikado-sama…?” Her voice was shaking in uncertainty.

Her sweet, beautiful eyes were looking only at Mikado. Mikado couldn’t deny that her body had grown into a beautiful woman.

“I do not see anything lacking in you that would stop you from being the partner of the Kitamikado Family’s successor.”

“You sure chose your words.”

“………”

He was seen right through. Her seductive eyes saw right inside Mikado’s heart.

“Am I a worthy woman for Mikado-sama?”

She wouldn’t allow Mikado to evade the question.

“………I cannot deny it. Everything about you is beautiful.”

“Mikado-sama…” Rinka’s cheeks turned red ever so slightly, as she pressed her forehead on his chest.

“But, I—”

“You have loved Kisa-san this entire time. I am well aware of that.”

“Yeah. That’s why, I can’t—”

“But…at least put my feelings on the scale. Losing before the actual battle…would be too sad.” Her heart-wrenching words stabbed right into Mikado’s chest.

Was it really the right choice to reject her feelings from the start. Was it really fair to avert his eyes from her efforts, which she had done solely for him. Mikado didn’t know. He couldn’t shake her away.

“I love you, Mikado-sama.”

Rinka wrapped her hands around Mikado’s back, clinging to him. Her slender shoulders, her seductive breath, her soft body, everything sought to become one with Mikado. As she looked about to collapse, Mikado embraced her. The atmosphere grew intense. In this place, where Kitamikado Family, Nanjou Family, Shizukawa Family, all of it didn’t matter, a young boy and girl were together. In this blank world, with no premise to stop them, Mikado found himself becoming aware that he didn’t push away Rinka.

“Why…are you afraid…?”

Rinka’s voice was about to melt away in the heat between them, as she reached out for his cheek, running along his skin, caressing him. With a shiver running down Mikado’s skin, he grit his teeth.

“Rinka…this is…”

The point to stop this situation was a distant gunshot. Mikado immediately embraced Rinka, pushing her to the ground.

“W-What…?”

“…Quiet.” Mikado covered the lips of Rinka beneath him.

Rinka’s hips jolted up, as Mikado’s palm grew dampened from her luscious lips. From the outside, he heard Mizuki’s loud voice.

“Mikado-kun! I know you’re hiding in there, so come out! If not, I’ll use an RPG, and blow you away with the house in one!”

“RPG?!”

A great weapon of destruction, the rocket launcher. Mikado was flabbergasted at the appearance of this word.

“M-Mizuki-sama! Using an RPG would be too much!”

“The inside will become a hamburger factory!”

“You will be killed by Kisa-sama, you know?!”

“Don’t worry! Mikado-kun will be able to evade that! I just wanted to fire a rocket launcher once, you know!”

She sounded like a tourist eerie to see new spots. With the teachings of the Kitamikado Family, Mikado might be able to evade a shot like that, but he had Rinka with him. At the same time, he heard a great amount of footsteps outside. Without a doubt, they held a numerical advantage.

“Mikado-sama…” Rinka shook inside Mikado’s arms.

With the appearance of a young girl in discomfort, Mikado felt his chest tighten up. Without realizing it, he spoke up.

“I don’t know yet if putting your feelings on the scales is the right choice or not.”

“……” Rinka bit her lip.

“However, I want to protect you. No matter what happens, just like I promised all these years back. No matter how our relationship may change, I don’t want to make you suffer. Those feelings will not shake…Is that, no good?”

“It truly is not good.”

Mikado hanged his head after hearing Rinka’s cold words.

“But…I still am happy.” Rinka muttered.

Her eyes were looking at Mikado, at her love. Her face was beet red, as she had trouble holding back the tears.

“Then, let’s go!”

“Kya?!”

Mikado grabbed Rinka’s hand, kicking the door to dash outside. The soldiers all readied their guns in surprise, but Mikado snuck past them, kicking away, doing whatever needed to get out of this place. Having become like a war god, there was nobody who could stop Mikado.

He went on to steal a nearby military car, had Rinka sit on the passenger seat, and drove off. The soldiers were following them like a horde of spiders. An RPG shot even came flying after them, but Mikado skillfully dodged that. An explosion followed, with dust being whirled up. Rinka grew pale.

“Mikado-sama?! You had a license?!”

“I’ll get it soon! For now, we’ll drive to the border!”

Together with the roaring engine, the two fiances escaped from this town.