Chapter 661 - Meanwhile, Two Sins
“—Sooo… we heard the cry of a man who can’t get a date. From your perspective, Sora-chan, what’s the honest deal?”
“What are you talking about…!?”
“...I won’t force you, but I’d also like to know.”
“Ri-na-chan, you too…!? I’m telling you, what in the world are you…!”
At a small, separate table not far from the raucous main Eastern table, a lone girl had been escorted away for what was turning into some girl talk, and was now surrounded by two slightly smaller girls.
Through their proactive friendship over several months, their bond had grown considerably. With the party as an excuse for no-holds-barred conversation, once the question was out, there was no stopping it.
“Oh, come on, you know what we mean.”
“Your big brother is super popular with everyone, guys and girls alike.”
“I get it, character-wise, it makes sense, right? But he also gets way too many results to ignore, so he kinda deserves it.”
“But, honestly.”
“From your perspective, Sora-chan… as someone who’s making a serious approach…”
“...you must have some thoughts, right?”
“We’re just, you know? Being a little? Meddlesomely worried about you, is all.”
“Please don’t talk in turns…! It feels like you’re ganging up on me, it’s scary…!”
And so, on their little island.
A young man in a formal kamishimo was shooting them a look from the main table, as if to say, ‘What on earth are you doing?’ Mi-na glared back with a ‘Don’t look over here,’ while Ri-na, who was surprisingly proactive in these kinds of conversations, showed no signs of stopping.
Furthermore, the scene of the twin-like duo (who weren't actually twins), who were exceptionally popular even among the rankers, clinging to a girl who was, in a sense, ‘rarer than a ranker’ in the current Istia, was literally the center of attention.
The elite players, paragons of not just combat prowess but also etiquette, refrained from sending any overtly rude stares. However, they couldn’t be stopped, nor blamed, for a few glances here and there.
Thus, the girl known to the world as ‘The Maiden of the Scales,’ ‘The Miko of a Thousand Blades,’ and ‘The Golden Angel,’ could only blush in utter mortification—
“...…,”
Without needing to be told, she thought of her ‘debt’ to them, and coupled with their words of “we’re worried,” which were likely not a joke, she dutifully blocked her own escape route.
“……………………—W”
““W?””
Hearing the sound that was barely a word, one of them smirked with a look of ‘I won.’ The other, with a deadpan expression of ‘I won,’ pressed in even closer on both sides. Averting her face from the girls, Sora…
“I… I’m one of them, so to speak… so…?”
““Oh?””
“I—… I can understand the feelings of people who fall for him. And his personality that makes them fall for him… that’s one of the things I… um, you know, so…?”
““Hmm.””
“Um, so… telling him not to be liked would be a strange thing to do, right? It’s not like Haru… consciously or unconsciously… does things to flirt with people… at least, not recently. He doesn’t.”
““Mmm.””
“He doesn’t…! It’s just that, depending on the situation, or the image he’s built up, he might seem to shine to some people… or at least, that’s what I think.”
““Well…””
“So, so… um.”
She spoke in fits and starts, stringing together a surprisingly long explanation with all her might.
Her face was flushed so red it seemed all her exposed skin was dyed scarlet. A faint wisp of steam, not seen in a while, rose from the top of her head.
“I’m… fine with it… or rather, it’s not that I’m fine…”
““……””
Under their silent prompting, her eyes, moist with the heat of embarrassment, desperately darted away.
“I… I want him to stay the way he is, so…”
She took a short, sharp breath.
“...because I’ll be right there beside him, holding on tight. So, it’s okay.”
One second, two, three… four, five, six passed.
“Oh… whoa…”
“Wow…”
Hearing the stunned voices of Mi-na and Ri-na, who had been hit at point-blank range by a confession of affection far more potent than they had expected, and who were now blushing themselves, Sora’s strength finally gave out—
She covered her face with both hands and collapsed onto the table, utterly defeated.
◇◆◇◆◇
“—So… we heard the anguished cry of a man who can’t seem to find love. From your perspective, Princess, what’s the honest deal?”
At the Southern table, which was now filled only with faction members after one guest moved to the Northern table and another quickly excused himself, saying, “Well, I should be going too…” [Thread-Weaver], no longer shy with her target gone, posed a question to her master, who had been uncharacteristically quiet.
Her direct choice of words was half due to her own personality, and half due to her trust (or perhaps resignation) in the ‘Princess’s’ stance of never trying to hide her own romantic affairs.
And so, in a setting with both men and women present.
Iris, who was suddenly addressed, blinked her garnet eyes… but though she had seemed lost in thought, she had clearly been aware of her surroundings.
Furthermore, she had perfectly understood the mix of intentions, concerns, worries, and everything else that Natsume had packed into her words, and she answered.
“I’m not sure what you mean by ‘what’s the deal.’”
Her words alone might have suggested an evasion was coming. But the invincible princess, at a steady pace that no one could interrupt, continued without a pause, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“He is the one I fell in love with.”
She declared it—with the magnificent bearing of a true monarch.
“It’s only natural that the most charming person in the world would attract a great deal of affection, wouldn’t you agree?”
“““““““Uwaaaah…”””””””
Her straight-flush confession hit back with immense force, leaving everyone at the table utterly and completely overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, Nia-chan, who declined the invitation because “a crowd in the four digits is a hard pass,” was enjoying a long, luxurious bath while fantasizing about the date he had promised her.