“Now then, Hieta. Tell us. Between me and Yuzuru, who is more attractive as a woman?”
“Question. Between Yuzuru and Mini Kaguya, who is prettier?”
Kaguya and Yuzuru kept whispering in my ear, completely ignoring everything I said.
Listening to them any longer, I felt like I needed to get out of there before my sanity hit zero.
“Please... why are you doing this to me...?”
“Didn’t we tell you? You are the judge of our sacred duel!”
“Affirmative. Kaguya is correct.”
“Sigh... let me ask one thing. Why are you fighting in the first place?”
At my question, the two of them tilted their heads in unison.
“Hm? Ah, we never told you, did we?”
“Realization. We forgot. Since Hieta is the judge, you have the right to know.”
Then, the two of them explained the reason for their conflict.
Apparently, they had originally been a single spirit named Yamai.
But for some reason, they were separated at some point, and eventually, they would have to return to being one spirit again.
When Shido, Rinne, Tohka, and the Fire Keeper heard that, they all looked at the pair with pity.
“Is a split personality impossible...?”
“Impossible. The original Yamai personality is already gone. Becoming the new Yamai means one of us—either me or Yuzuru—will take that place.”
“Explanation. We’ve been fighting for a long time to decide who that will be. Fistfights, races, kendama, eating contests, and more. There were many ways to compete.”
Surprisingly, some of those contests were actually quite peaceful.
“And the loser’s personality...?”
“Of course, it sinks down into the depths of the abyss to take its eternal rest.”
At Kaguya’s words, everyone seemed to have question marks floating over their heads.
Her way of speaking was difficult to grasp, but only to a certain extent. It was the vocabulary of a full-blown, terminal-stage chuunibyou.
“So, you mean they disappear.”
For me, however, it was perfectly understandable.
Back when Kyung-sik was deep into anime, he used to talk to me like that all the time.
Kyung-sik... you were basically a translator who gave me a built-in interpretation function...
“Astonishment. There was someone who could understand Kaguya’s speech.”
“Well, Kaguya’s words are a little difficult.”
“A little...?”
Shido muttered something from the side, but I ignored it.
“So what does that have to do with doing this to me?”
“Explanation. Our record is 25 wins, 25 losses, and 49 draws, so seducing Hieta is the final match.”
“Yuzuru is correct. Therefore, I am grateful to you. Thanks to your appearance, we can have a duel we’ve never tried before.”
“Affirmative. If the final conclusion is decided by this match, then I have no objections.”
As they spoke, the two of them each linked an arm with mine in perfect harmony, and my face flushed red again.
Because of the gesture, I could feel their assets pressing right against my arm.
“I already said this, but do that sort of thing to Shido, who dreams of becoming a harem master...!”
“No! I said my dream isn’t to be a harem master, didn’t I?!”
“Huh? It wasn’t?”
“It wasn’t!!!”
They say a strong denial is a strong affirmation... but my own situation was bad enough that I didn't bother pointing that out.
“Oh? For a plain human, you sure dream big, wanting a harem.”
“Encouragement. I hope you achieve it.”
“I’m telling you, no!!!”
With the two of them backing me up, Shido was completely knocked flat.
Rinne looked at the defeated Shido with a bitter smile and tried to comfort him.
“Shido. I understand. Still, you know you need to make room for me too, right?”
“No... even Rinne...?”
“Shido?”
Rinne probably meant it as comfort, but for Shido, who was already at a sliver of HP, it was the finishing blow.
While Shido was still reeling, Murasame-san, who had been fiddling with a tablet from a distance, spoke up.
“So it was wrong after all.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Yeah. Communication with [Fraxinus] has been cut off since a little while ago.”
Communication with [Fraxinus] had been severed.
That meant either something had gone wrong on our end, something had gone wrong on theirs, or something in between was interfering.
It was even possible that [Fraxinus] had no idea what was happening right now.
At this unexpected turn, both my and Shido's expressions soured.
“The reason is unknown. I’ll have to look into it. More importantly, why don’t you two come with me? I’ll teach you how to conquer Hieta.”
At Murasame-san’s calm words, my expression soured even further.
My conquest method?
“Hmph. What do you take us for, human? Someone like you is useless, even if we have no help—”
“I could always teach only one of you.”
At Murasame-san’s words, they both immediately conceded and followed her.
“Uuugh...”
“Are you all right, my dear?”
After they left, the Fire Keeper, who had somehow ended up sitting beside me, asked about my condition.
“Sigh... I guess people really are most at ease beside someone familiar.”
In fact, the moment the two of them left and the Fire Keeper sat next to me, I felt a wave of relief.
Compared to those two clinging to me nonstop, being beside the Fire Keeper—who stayed close but maintained a proper distance—felt far more stable.
“Um... may I ask what kind of woman you like, my dear?”
At the Fire Keeper’s cautious question, I was thoroughly taken aback.
“...Huh? Why are you asking that all of a sudden...?”
“N-no, I was just curious! It’s not like I’m using it as a reference or anything!”
Watching her flustered excuses, I understood.
She has someone she likes.
She hadn’t been here very long, but in that time, it was possible for her to have fallen for someone.
The reason she asked me was probably because I was a man and she wanted a male perspective.
For the sake of her love, I answered.
“Hmm... Someone calm, who understands others well, and is considerate, I guess.”
“I-I see.”
“Well, putting all that aside, with Sachi-san’s looks, I’m not sure there’s any man who could resist her anyway.”
“Uuugh...”
Her face turned as red as a tomato.
I guessed she was thinking about the man she liked, and her reaction was adorable.
Still, if she already had someone she loved, I should probably stop thinking about her that way.
“I don’t know who Sachi-san has her eye on, but he’s a very lucky guy. I’ll support you.”
Honestly, I wanted her to succeed in love.
I was the one who told her she was allowed to pursue happiness; hadn't it been time for her to finally get some reward for all the hardship she’d endured?
“......”
But for some reason, she puffed out her cheeks, stood up, and moved away from me.
“Sigh... Hieta. You really don’t get it, do you?”
Shido, looking equally frustrated, thumped his chest and asked me.
“Huh? Get what?”
I couldn’t understand the question.
Out of nowhere?
“No, um, never mind...”
“...Hieta really needs to learn how to read the room.”
“Rinne is right.”
Rinne and Tohka, who had been comforting the Fire Keeper, also started saying incomprehensible things while looking at me as if I were trash.
Seriously, what is wrong with all of them?
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