Published at 17th of August 2019 9:35 am

Volume 21, Chapter 3: Room 106's Portrait

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

Saturday, November 6

Considering the current situation, marriage was out of the question. There was also the other party's feelings that needed to be taken into consideration. Forcing her feelings on him was not what she wanted. Moreover, even if they were to marry, children would be far longer down the line. Theia was well aware of that. However, knowing it was possible, she couldn't help but be conscious about it. That was true even now as Theia stood in front of the bookstore, gazing over the magazines that were just released today.

“... A special feature on raising children, huh...”

Normally they were magazines that she had no interest in. However, the special feature this time around grasped a hold of Theia's attention and wouldn't let go. Her wishes of wanting to take a little peek of the future that had just been opened up before her was shaking her to the core. On the cover was a couple pushing a stroller. Theia's desires were to the point where she imagined herself and her husband in place of the couple.

“... But... for me to buy something like this...”

However, she was aware that buying magazine was quite unlike her. She was always active and aggressive. So would it really be right for her to this far too calm magazine? Theia's common sense and pride worked together to prevent her from picking up the magazine. However, she couldn't ignore it. As a result, she simply stood there, staring at the magazine.

“Is something the matter, Your Highness?”

That was when Ruth, who had finished her shopping, returned to her side. Ruth was actually the one who had business with this store as she had come to pick up a recipe book. Theia was simply tagging along.

“I-It's nothing, nothing at all”

Theia blushed a little as she quickly looked away. She didn't want Ruth to know what she was doing.

“...? Is that so?”

Feeling that this reaction was odd, Ruth traced along the direction Theia had been looking, and spotted the magazine in question.

So Her Highness was interested in this...

Ruth was convinced of it right away. She had also heard that Forthorthians and Earthlings could have children. That's why she could easily imagine how Theia must be feeling, as she felt the same way. And being childhood friends, she understood Theia's inner conflict, and what she herself needed to do.

“I'm sorry Your Highness. I forgot to buy something. Please wait here for just a moment longer”

”O-Okay”

Ruth flashed a small smile and picked up a couple of the magazines at the storefront and headed towards the register. Among the magazines was the one that Theia was interested in. Ruth would buy the magazine for Theia's sake, and borrow it to her, but just having one would make it harder for Theia to accept her offer. But by making it one magazine out of several, she could use the excuse of being bored and just reading it because it was there. This was the consideration of a long-time childhood friend.

Returning to room 106, Ruth put down the bag of books bought from the bookstore on the tea table, after which she left the inner room and began on housework such as cleaning the bath, preparing dinner, washing and the likes. Normally that could all be done by machine, but Ruth wanted to do it with her own hands. The reason for that was that housework was her hobby, and at the same time it was the path to her future.

“.... Hmm...”

Theia was observing Ruth from the inner room. There was something she wanted to do, but she didn't want to be seen by Ruth.

“Hmm hm♪ Hm hmm♪”

That was when Theia saw Ruth enter the bathroom. Since she was holding a sponge and detergent it was clear that she would be cleaning. She wouldn't be coming out for a while.

“... Alright”

After confirming that the door to the bathroom was closed, Theia quickly crawled up to the tea table, pulling out all of the contents of the bag on top of it.

“... Here it is...”

Theia picked up the magazine with the special feature on child raising. It was the same one she had been staring at before.

“... In this is mine a-and, uhm... future...”

Theia suppressed her beating heart as she flipped through the pages. She was so nervous her hands were trembling. In the beginning pages was a publication with a picture of a young wife smiling at her baby sleeping in its crib.

“Ah...”

The moment she saw that photo, Theia was completely swept away by the special feature. As she flipped through the pages, she carefully stared at each and every one of the photos. Her future was being made clearer through those photos. That's why she didn't even glance at any of the articles. All she was looking at were the happy families, and her future with her husband that she saw reflected in the photos.

A-A wedding... there will be a proper wedding before children... after swearing our love before the goddess, we will... and then me, him, Ruth and Mother will live together, play around and raise our children with love... and then...

Theia saw herself and her husband in place of the couples in the photos. The family and friends were also replaced with Ruth, Elfaria and the girls of room 106. To Theia, the photos in the magazine were her ideal future.

“... Housework, the husband doing housework... h-how much should he do.... but, housework is Ruth's hobby... aahh, what should I do!?”

Theia was full of excitement as she simulated scenarios as she stared at the photos. The normally strong princess was nowhere to be seen. Right now, she was just a girl, yearning for her normal future. And Ruth was watching over Theia with a smile.

“Fufufu, oh Your Highness...”

Theia was simply so absorbed in the photos that she hadn't notice how much time had passed, and that Ruth had already finished cleaning the bathroom. But Ruth didn't mind. She had bought the magazine just for this. That's why she was planning on leaving Theia like that for a while longer.

“I'm home”

Theia had the magazine spread open and was running a simulation in her mind as she stared at a photo of a couple by the front door. So when Theia heard Koutarou's 'I'm home' she naturally accepted it.

“Welcome back, darli―”

As she reflexively replied, she hurriedly blocked her own mouth. She barely noticed that she was saying that in reality.

“Fuwaaaah!?”

Theia finally returned to her senses and realized what she was doing and what she was about to do, and she furiously blushed.

And knowing that at this rate, Koutarou would find out, she hurriedly shut the magazine and pushed her hand into the pile of books. The next moment, Koutarou entered the inner room.

“Huh? It's just you, Theia?”

“...”

When he entered the room, Koutarou saw Theia sitting stiff as a board by the tea table all on her own, with several books in front of her. Upon closer inspection, her face was red.

“What's wrong, Theia? Did something happen?”

Confused by that, Koutarou sat down next to her and looked at her face. Just as he did, Theia began struggling and moving.

“I-It's nothing, nothing at all!! Nothing's happened!”

“Really?”

Koutarou looked at the tea table. There were several books piled on top of one another, and the cover of the magazine Theia had been looking at was peeking through as well. Koutarou naturally pulled that out, and Theia raised her voice even further.

“I was, uhm, well, ah”

Her voice was loud but she couldn't find any words. Her mind blanked out as she wanted to find an escape somehow, and only meaningless words left her mouth.

“Is something up? Tell me, what happened?”

Theia was clearly acting strange, causing Koutarou to worry as he looked at her with a serious expression. He was aware that she was important to him, so he couldn't leave it be.

“W-Wah, ah, uhm, aauuuu...”

However, Theia was of course unable to answer. She felt impatient, not being able to say what she wanted to say, and her confused head was running in circles. Making sounds was the best she could do.

“Actually, Koutarou”

The one to save Theia, was Kiriha who had entered the room after Koutarou. She sat down in her usual place by the tea table and began speaking in Theia's place.

“Theia's bra has gone up in size. Try to be more considerate”

As she said that, Kiriha pointed at a different fashion magazine.

“Ah...”

This caused Koutarou to misunderstand that Theia was looking at new bras in a fashion magazine. He smiled wryly and apologized to Theia.

“Ah... I'm sorry, Theia”

“... Eh? A-Ah... you don't have to worry... o-over something like this...”

Thanks to Kiriha skillfully making Koutarou misunderstand, Theia successfully escaped any inquisitive questions. That was when Ruth, who also just entered the room, bowed her head to Kiriha from a position where Koutarou couldn't see. Ruth had actually been the one to request Kiriha to help Theia out. Since she had been with Theia at Clan's place, she knew of Theia's circumstances. That's why she gladly agreed to help.

Part 2

Having somehow been able to conceal her motive, Theia began acting a little strange. Whenever she was with Koutarou, she couldn't help but think of the contents of the magazine. Ruth and Kiriha helped cover up for her, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time before Koutarou noticed Theia's behavior. The reason why that didn't happen was thanks to the appearance of a person who rarely visited room 106.

“Reios-sama, please play with me. I'm bored”

That person was Theia's mother, Elfaria. The current empress of the Holy Forthorthe Galactic Empire. However, she sat down next to him and spiritlessly leaned on him. It was a pitiable appearance, and she didn't look like an empress nor a mother.

“Hey, Elle, you're in front of your daughter, so be more proper. Sit up straight!”

“You're speaking like a caretaker again...”

”If you don't shape up I'll call you Her Majesty”

Because of Elfaria's behavior, Koutarou didn't notice that something was up with Theia. Despite her sloppy behavior, she was unexpectedly useful for her daughter.

“Then what will you call me if I do act proper?”

”... I'll hit you”

“To begin with, call me Elle-chama―”

Thud.

“Uhh, you're as violent as always, even towards an empress...”

Having angered Koutarou, a lump formed on Elfaria's forehead, which she pressed her hands against with tears in her eyes. She looked very similar to Yurika, but there was actually a big difference between them.

“... So, what did you actually come here for?”

”Actually, it looks like the citizens that came with me are reaching their mental limit again. So I was hoping I could lend the strength of Reios-sama and the others like last time”

Elfaria returned to a serious expression and sat up straight in an instant, as she asked Koutarou for his help. There was no longer any traces of her pitiable appearance from a few seconds ago, instead she was as dignified as one would expect from the empress. The girls who were looking on instinctively held their breaths from the extreme change.

“Come on... Why can't you just say that from the start?”

However, Koutarou didn't seem to be affected by her sudden change in the slightest. In fact, he was looking at her with a dumbfounded expression. Because he knew the true Elfaria, he wasn't shaken by a change on the surface.

“Fufufu, doing it in this order, you end up saying 'What, you do have a proper reason after all, I will help'”

“You don't have to do that for me to―”

“Do anything to help the citizens that Alaia-sama protected?”

“... Yeah”

”I want you to say that you'll do it for the sake of the citizens of your beloved Elle-chama and Theia-chan”

Koutarou could sometimes see glimpses of Alaia in the royalties of Forthorthe. Unlike the girls, the already adult Elfaria had noticed that, and she found it somewhat irritating. That's why she attempted to attract Koutarou's attention with her eccentric conduct, and at the same time, buying time for her daughter.

“Tah”

Thud.

“Ow!? What are you doing, I was in the middle of a nice story!!”

”You just tried to sneak in Elle-chama in there, didn't you?”

”That's right, I am Elle-chama!”

”You bastard, what am I going to do with you...”

Apart from Theia, Koutarou was most likely the only one else Elfaria could expose her true self to. The impactful meeting and farewell from 20 years ago were still fresh in her mind. He was the ultimate hero and her first love. The absolute ally of the royal family. The citizens weren't the only ones mentally fatigued from being apart from their home country, Elfaria was as well. She treated herself by seeing Koutarou, but her obstinacy as an adult prevented her from letting others notice.

Part 3

Fortunately, Elfaria's request was accepted immediately and Koutarou and the others decided on letting the Elfaria faction people free on Earth the next holiday. The human heart was frail. Especially so when far away from one's home, so some time to rest was necessary.

“... Reios-sama, I want to enter this beautifying bath!”

”The hot springs huh. That looks good”

The Elfaria faction people would be sent sightseeing where they pleased on sightseeing buses. But sadly, due to security reasons, Elfaria couldn't join them on the sightseeing buses. Instead she tagged along with Koutarou and the others on a personal sightseeing trip. And they were all currently discussing on the destination.

“I have to stay beautiful for the sake of the citizens and Theia!”

A little while ago, Elfaria found a magazine on hot springs in the pile of books. As she flipped through the pages, she spotted the photo of an interesting hot spring and ever since she'd been in a hot springs mood.

“Wouldn't you be happier that way too, Reios-sama!?”

”Hey, Theia. Elle is saying something stupid again. You say something to her too”

”...”

“Theia?”

”Eh, ah, woah!? S-Sorry, I wasn't listening...”

”Are you really okay? You're acting strange today”

While Elfaria's behavior had kept him from noticing most of the day, he too began noticing that Theia was acting strange. He was worried as she lacked her usual power, and he stared straight at her face.

“I-I'm fine, nothing is going on!”

”You...”

Theia's face was red and she would space out. From Koutarou's point of view, he figured that she might have a cold, and he pressed his hand against her forehead.

“... don't seem to have a fever”

”Hawah!?”

This surprised Theia. This wasn't limited to just Theia and Koutarou, measuring a fever like this in room 106 was a common occurrence, and Koutarou had done this to Theia several times before. However, for some reason Koutarou's hand felt strangely hot today. She couldn't help but feel conscious about him touching her.

Theia loved Koutarou, but since he was an alien, some part of her had given up. That served as a brake on her love and her recognition of the other party being a man. However, that brake broke the other day. And having looked at the magazine just a while ago, her heart's engine was going at full power, and after running for a while, it wouldn't stop. That was Theia's current psychological condition.

“It's nothing, it's nothing, it's nothing at all!!”

”Uwaaah, what now, all of a sudden!?”

Being swung around by her own condition, Theia had no idea what to do and decided to begin with attacking Koutarou. She grabbed a hold of the hand on her forehead and performed a joint lock like she was used to it. Being cornered, all she could think of was doing something she was good at. However, that choice wasn't bad, as she was at least able to shut Koutarou up for the time being.

“Owowow, what is really― that hurts!!”

”I don't know, I don't care, I don't know!!”

“I give up! I give up!”

“Die, just dieee!!”

However, Theia was the one being cornered. Because she put Koutarou in a joint lock, their bodies were close, and she became even more conscious of him. As a result, her heart ended up beating even faster, to the point where she felt like it was going to burst.

“Fufu, Satomi-kun and Theia-san are full of energy today too”

”Ruth-san, what happened to Theia-chan?”

To Harumi it only looked like the two were getting along, but Shizuka's eyes opened wide when she saw Theia. In response, Ruth smiled wryly and approached Shizuka.

“Shizuka-sama”

”What what?”

Ruth beckoned her over, and whispered into Shizuka's ear.

“... Actually, we found out that Earthlings and Forthorthians can have children. Because that means she can have a normal relationship and marriage, Her Highness doesn't know what to do...”

”Really!? Isn't that great, you're happy too right, Ruth-san!?”

Having learned of the circumstances, Shizuka's expression brightened up. Ruth nodded at her with a big smile.

“Yes! She had completely given up for a moment... so I believe her heart has been racing ever since she found out!”

Theia wasn't the only one who could now have a normal relationship and marriage, so could Ruth. While she doesn't know what will actually happen, just knowing that its possible was enough to change her frame of mind. Ruth felt very optimistic.

“I just always thought it was possible, so I was surprised that it might not have been...”

Harumi smiled with the two. She had already been told about this. Since she was ignorant when it came to science, so she figured because they looked the same, they could have children. That's why she didn't understand what she was being told in the beginning, but now she was celebrating with them.

“As for me, I'm somewhat perplexed to learn that I am a descendant of aliens”

”Ah, me too”

Kiriha and Maki had the opposite reaction of Theia and Ruth.

Kiriha knew that Maxfern and his alchemists brought their culture and technology to the ancestors of the People of the Earth, but as they were aliens she didn't expect that she was a direct descendant of them. But with Clan's testimony, the chances of that being true was high.

Maki's case was somewhat more simple, one day she just suddenly found out that she was an alien. Though there was some Earth blood in her, there was still some shock from knowing she was the descendant of aliens.

“What about me...”

”You don't need any more strange settings”

”Sanae-chan, what do you mean with settings!?”

”Since Yurika was born with magical power, it's possible that she might be a descendant of Forthorthe...”

In Clan's eyes, there was a strong chance that Yurika was also a descendant of Forthorthe. Yurika was born in an ordinary Japanese family, but she had a vast amount of magical power compared to a normal Earthling. Rather than assuming that was a coincidence, there was a higher chance that she had the blood of Grevanas' magicians.

“Then that just leaves me, Koutarou, Harumi and Shizuka as Earthlings?”

Kiriha, Maki, Yurika, Clan, Theia, Ruth and Elfaria were either pure Forthorthian or were like to have their blood running in their veins.

“In other words... the direction you took your cosplaying was wrong. Everyone would have accepted it if you were cosplaying an alien”

”I'm not sure what I think about you putting it like that!!”

“... Wait up Sanae, that might necessarily be the case”

Kiriha interrupted the two's discussion. There was something about what Sanae had said that caught ”Eh!? Was a magical girl the correct choice!?”

”They're both correct!!”

“That's not it―”

“Are you saying I shouldn't have been a magical girl!?”

”― I mean that it's possible that almost everyone in this region has Forthorthian blood”

There were four Earthlings in this room. That's what Sanae had clearly stated, but Kiriha questioned if that really was the case.

Maxfern and the others reached the ancient Kitsushouharukaze. They might have been few in numbers, but the city at the time should have been just as small. As the years passed, they increased their descendants. Because of that it was possible that almost everyone had some Forthorthian blood in them. Amongst them, Yurika just happened to awaken to her abilities. That's why it was still possible that Sanae and the others were also descendants of Forthorthe.

“That might be true. When I was in Darkness Rainbow, we were mostly concentrated around this town”

Darkness Rainbow operated throughout all of Earth, but for some reason, they were particularly active in the area around Kitsushouharukaze city. Compared to other regions, there were more children born with magical power. Because of that, recruitment of members, gathering of sacrifices and securing disciples was mostly done in the area.

“So in other words... Reios-sama was already of a lineage fitting enough to become a knight of Forthorthe”

That was where Elfaria's eyes began sparkling. Maxfern and Grevanas were certainly criminals, but Forthorthe wasn't the kind of country that would blame the descendants for the actions of their ancestors. In fact, Maxfern's niece, Lidith and Grevanas' subordinate, Caris, were not blamed for the crimes of the former two. Instead, Alaia promoted them to important positions as her loyal vassals. As a result, only the fact that the descendants of those that came to the ancient Kitsushouharukaze city had the blood of Forthorthians would be noted. That meant that there were survivors with Forthorthian blood still on Earth, and one of those became the Blue Knight who saved Alaia.

“Which means♪ That we have to transfer the territory confiscated from the Maxfern family over to Reios-sama♪ Ah, how troublesome, how truly troublesome♪”

From the moment of Alaia's declaration, the Blue Knight's rights couldn't be restrained by laws. As the Maxfern family's territory had been confiscated, if Koutarou had even the slightest trace of Maxfern's blood, he had the right to inherit that territory.

“Ohohohoho, to think he would not only have a knight's title, but ties to the nobles♪ This will have to be officially restored sooner or later♪ The paperwork will be such a pain♪ Really, what should I do♪ Ohohohoho♪”

“... I'm not really troubled though”

”Instead, it sounds like more established facts are being added to keep Satomi-kun from running away...”

Though Elfaria was going on about how troubled she was, her expression was far from it. If anything, Sanae and Harumi who were looking at her were the ones who seemed troubled. And the other girls felt more or less the same way.

“Why are you always that mean to me!! Why can't you just be more honest!!”

“What are you talking about!! What are you saying I've done!?”

”I don't care!!”

”Owowowowow!! Kuh, I-I have no idea what you're talking about!!”

“Kyaa!? W-What are you!?”

Koutarou was still caught in Theia's joint lock. However, if he were to use spiritual energy or magical power, getting out was easy. The reason he wasn't doing that was because Koutarou thought it was fun, and at the same time he loved Theia.

“Bertorion, if you leave Elfaria-san be, something terrible will happen”

”But, where is it I wonder, I think it's a good thing to have a house to live in”

“Yurika, are you planning on living there too?”

”Will room 106 return to being vacant I wonder...”

“Your Majesty Elfaria... it might be better not to be so stubborn... there's Master's feelings to think about too...”

”Ahh, how troublesome, I am so troubled♪”

Considering his relationship to Theia and the invader girls, the chances of Koutarou escaping Elfaria's clutches were extremely low.

Part 4

Elfaria would be joining for today's dinner, and she was warmly received. Ruth was in charge of the cooking as always, but Theia offered to join in as well. Kiriha let Theia take over cooking for her and was instead drinking tea.

“... To think the day would come where I would eat my daughter's homemade dish...”

”Theia-chan's cooking is somewhat rough, but she is pretty good. She even got a pretty good evaluation during the cook-off”

“Shizuka-san, you are the one who taught Theia cooking, aren't you. Thank you very much”

“So did Kiriha-san and Sakuraba-senpai, it's not like it was just me”

”I am grateful to all of you. Really, thank you very much”

Just moments before, she had been acting naïve girl, but when it came to Theia, Elfaria's feelings as a mother came first, and she acted like an adult woman. It showed everyone how good the two got along.

“... You could just act like this all the time. So why are you always like that?”

“If I'm not like that, there's someone who will keep a certain distance to me”

”I don't understand what you're thinking about”

”I'm sure you don't. If you did, there would be no reason to act like that”

”Geez, when it comes to you...”

Koutarou had no complaints about how Elfaria was acting right now. If possible he wanted her to always be like that, but at the same time he would feel lonely not being able to see the normal Elfaria. That was most likely Elfaria's goal, but since she had no evil intentions, all Koutarou could do was fall for her ploy.

“It's for my daughter's sake”

“I wonder”

”I'm not lying. I will do anything to have Reios-sama call me mama”

”As if I'd call you that!”

”Do you hate Theia?”

“That's not what I meant! Even if I were to marry Theia, I definitely won't call you mama!”

”Ah, could this be your rebellious stage!?”

“No!”

However, in the end, Elfaria's serious expression didn't last for long. By the time Theia and Ruth were finished preparing dinner and returned to the inner room, Elfaria was back to her usual self.

“... If you don't cut it out I'll punch that beautiful face of yours!”

“Beautiful? You think so!?”

”You bastard, I say one thing and you take it in another way...”

”I think it's better to just give up, Bertorion. You can't win with words against a hardened politician”

“Kuh, I'll make you pay one day”

“Does that mean you'll always stay by Theia's side!?”

”... She's a genius at faultfinding...”

Koutarou was completely argued down by Elfaria. The more he spoke the more he felt like he was sinking down a marsh. Moreover, she wasn't showing him any malice, so he couldn't resolve it through force either. Koutarou was completely helpless.

“... Ruth, it's been awhile since Mother has shown others that face”

”It's probably because she trusts Master just like you, Your Highness”

”... Um, you're probably right...”

For the same reason as Theia, there were few people Elfaria could show her true colors to. The legendary hero she had met when she was young was one of those few. Theia secretly felt that she should live her life alongside Koutarou for her mother's sake as well.

Part 5

Once dinner began, Elfaria turned her attention towards Theia and let Koutarou out of her clutches. With that, the atmosphere in room 106 returned to normal.

“Koutarou-san, here”

”Thank you, Sanae-san”

Koutarou received a saucer with dishes on it from Sanae-san sitting next to him. As of late, she would often be handing out the dishes like this. The reason for that was because Sanae-chan was clinging onto Koutarou's back.

“Alright Koutarou, eat up! I'm ready!”

”If you're going to go through the trouble of handing it over to me, you should just eat it yourself”

“I prefer you to eat it first. I wouldn't want there to be any green pepper in it”

”Aha, ahahaha, I'm sorry...”

With Sanae-chan on Koutarou's back, only Sanae-san was left in her body. Sanae-san felt bad about leaving Sanae-chan to him and not doing anything, as a result she helped Koutarou during dinner.

“There are green peppers in it!?”

Yurika reacted to Sanae's words. As Yurika was sitting opposite of Sanae's body, she was sitting on Koutarou's right hand side. She was close to Sanae-chan clinging onto Koutarou, so as this was an important topic for her, she was extra sensitive to quiet voices.

“There's none in it”

”You're lying! Your face is saying that you're lying!”

”I said there's nothing in it. Just eat it”

”Satomi-san, you're trying to trick me into eating it again, aren't you!? I definitely won't get fooled today!!”

”Hey, Yurika, would you rather shut up and eat, or feast on pepper juice?”

“Thank you for the food!! Om nom nom”

”That's better”

If he took his eyes off of her for even a moment, Yurika would eat an unbalanced diet or violate table manners. So it was common for her to be put next to Koutarou so he could keep an eye on her. Especially so when ingredients she disliked were being used.

Elfaria who sat on the opposite of the table to the two looked on in confusion.

“Theia, what is this pepper juice Reios-sama is talking about?”

“It's a drink made from raw green pepper that Koutarou made up”

Theia stopped eating for a moment and answered Elfaria's question.

“... My... what a frightening drink...”

Elfaria's expression quickly paled. Realizing that, Ruth added some additional information.

“Your Majesty, it also uses celery and parsley as secret ingredients. If you don't want to try it, I suggest avoiding an unbalanced diet”

“A-As expected of Reios-sama, there's no openings in his strategy!”

Elfaria had been composed all this time, but now she had paled and was shaking. Elfaria's diet was as unbalanced as Yurika's. Ruth had been bothered about that for a while, but since this was the empress, she was having hard time getting her to improve.

But it seemed that the pepper juice had an effect on Elfaria, as she reached out towards the vegetables she usually avoided. Seeing that, Ruth was satisfied and returned to her own food.

“My, my... it seems Elfaria-san has a surprising weak spot”

”By the way, are you fine with Earth's food, Clan-san?”

Elfaria's was having an unbalanced reason for a different reason to Yurika, as she was having problems with the difference in food culture between Earth and Forthorthe. The different food culture applied to the other Forthorthians as well. Interested, Harumi posed a question to Clan who was using one of her inventions to sit on the wall to eat.

“I am fine. I'm not really picky when it comes to food”

Clan answered Harumi's question without even a slight change in expression. Instead, Kiriha's expression changed.

“Fufu, Clan-dono left all food preparations to Koutarou, so she never had a chance to be picky”

”Kii!?”

Kiriha exposed Clan's secret with a smile, causing her to flash an embarrassed expression. That reaction was enough to get Harumi to understand the rough situation, and she smiled alongside Kiriha.

“I see, Clan-san was traveling with Satomi-kun for a long time after all. Fufufu, so she had already been corrected by then”

”After all, if she was picky, there wouldn't be any food served”

“So it was a question of life or death. Fufufu”

“This isn't a laughing matter!! Just how many nights do you think I spent hungry... that man is the devil!!”

While this was a funny story to Harumi and Kiriha who had no likes and dislikes, it wasn't to Clan who had experienced the life threatening terror first hand.

“... There won't be any food served if you don't eat...?”

Maki stopped eating and repeated what she just heard Kiriha say.

“You don't have any likes or dislikes, Aika-san. You don't have to worry about food not being served”

Shizuka caught what Maki muttered and smiled. Maki's table manners were good, so Shizuka couldn't help but find Maki's worry amusing.

“No, that's not what I meant... but, maybe I should try a more unbalanced diet”

”Why? You want to be punished? Could it be that you're into that, Aika-san!?”

”No, that's not it! Uhm...”

Maki glanced at Yurika, blushed and looked down. Seeing that, Shizuka got the hint.

“I see, you want Satomi-kun to care for you like Yurika-chan?”

”... Something like that... I have no experience with stuff like that...”

She wanted to be scolded by those close to her, worried for and cared for. She had lived a harsh childhood after all. She admired the things that happened in a normal household. Having realized that, Shizuka quickly moved to resolve the problem.

“Satomi-kun, do you have a moment”

“Ah, Kasagi-san!?”

”It's fine, just leave it to me”

”What is it, landlord-san?”

”As of today, Aika-san will be starting an unbalanced diet for personal convenience, the rest is up to you”

”... I don't get it at all”

“Don't ask for the reason. Please, I'm begging you!”

”...?”

Koutarou was confused by Shizuka's sudden and incomprehensible request. But in the end, she brought her hands together to beg him. Since she always took care of others, Koutarou made his mind up at that point.

“I understand, leave it to me”

”Thank you, Satomi-kun!”

“Aika-san, for starters, you'll be getting pepper juice later”

”Ah, uhm... okay, I'll do my best to be picky”

He still didn't understand the reason, but since Shizuka had asked him, and Maki was the problem, Koutarou decided to stop thinking about it. They weren't the kind to be selfish for no reason, so there was most likely a special reason to it. So it should be for everyone's sake if he simply treated it like a normal unbalanced diet.

“Maki, what do you dislike?”

”Uhm... for the time being, I'm thinking of making it this garland chrysanthemum”

“Ah, I dislike that too!”

”... Bertorion is always giving Shizuka and Maki special treatment”

”I think Satomi-kun is giving you plenty of special treatment too”

”That's not special treatment, he's just playing with me!”

”Then please change with me, Clan-san. I don't want being treated like an upper classman”

”Harumi, the truth is that Clan-dono is not unhappy with her current treatment”

“She's not being honest. Clan has always been like that”

“Fufufu, if you're going to start that, Your Highness is the same”

”Reios-sama, I will strictly protest different treatment because of age”

“What are you going on about all of a sudden!!”

Dinner time with eleven people was lively from beginning to end. Everyone here had some part missing, and someone else supplemented it. The bright and kind time simply flowed on.

Beep.

“Detecting a small-scale time-space distortion. It is with 90% certainty a warp out reaction”

However, that time ended a little bit sooner than expected. Though Koutarou and the others had overcome many problems, there was still one big problem remaining.

“Calculating mass based on the space distortion. Attention. It is with 85% certainty an information pod. It is believed to be an emergency message from the Forthorthe home world. A swift response is requested, My Princess”

That problem was the ongoing coup d'état in the Holy Forthorthe Galactic Empire. Due to various reasons overlapping, handling the problem was difficult, but the time to face it had finally come.

Share