— — — — — —
The Keystone Gate, top floor—
Yukina leaned against the corridor wall, guarding the passageway. Her thoughts were clearly elsewhere, her eyes unfocused.
"Yukina? Yukina!"
"Huh?!"
She snapped back to attention and looked at the worried girl standing in front of her.
"What's wrong?" Sayaka asked softly, concern evident in her voice. "Are you okay? Ever since we met this afternoon, you've been acting kind of strange. Did something happen?"
"No… nothing." Yukina hesitated, then shook her head.
She still couldn't quite wrap her mind around the Lion King Organization abandoning its old principles and swearing loyalty to an individual, even if they had reasons that sounded reasonable on paper.
At the same time, she knew she didn't actually object to the mission of protecting Ryo.
What bothered her was something else entirely.
The Lion King Organization felt different now. It had gone from safeguarding the public to becoming claws wielded by a single person.
No. That wasn't quite right.
Maybe it had always been the claws of those in power. The only difference was that now, the object of loyalty had changed to Ryo Yagami.
In a way, Yukina even thought this change might be for the better.
Having interacted with the Fourth Primogenitor herself, she could keenly sense his attitude toward ordinary people. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't hostile either. As long as no one provoked him, he was essentially harmless.
Compared to that, the Japanese higher-ups backing the Lion King Organization were clearly detached from the common people. They saw themselves as superior, treating the masses as resources to be managed.
So that's what Instructor Endou meant all along… telling us to think about the meaning behind our missions. No wonder she once told me that "being simple is a good thing."
"If you're not feeling well, Yukina, you can go rest," Sayaka offered gently. "I'll take over here."
"No, I'm fine."
Yukina shook her head and glanced at the black coffin resting nearby on the floor. "And it's safer if more people keep an eye on a seal like this."
Seeing that, Sayaka just patted her shoulder, "Then be careful."
Oh no. Yukina's keeping things from me now. And it's something she won't even tell her best friend.
She must be thinking about another woman. Or maybe a man…
Sayaka's heart sank, mixed with a twinge of guilt.
Because she knew full well that lately, the person appearing in her R-18 dreams wasn't just Yukina anymore. There was also Ryo.
That was not a good sign.
Avoiding Yukina's gaze, Sayaka glanced uneasily toward the door behind them and hastily changed the subject. "By the way, that princess has been inside for quite a while, hasn't she?"
"Has she?"
Yukina blinked. She'd been too busy thinking about Endou and the Lion King Organization to notice anything else.
Sayaka pulled out her phone and checked the time, "It's been an hour."
She frowned. "What kind of discussion takes that long?"
"Probably matters of state," Yukina replied without suspicion.
"No, no, Yukina, you don't get it." Sayaka shook her head gravely.
"When a man and a woman are alone together for too long, things can happen."
She paused, then added deliberately, "The same goes for women with women, or men with men."
"Huh?" Yukina responded blankly. To her, Sayaka's words sounded oddly profound and philosophical.
Taking Yukina's confusion at face value, Sayaka eyed the door warily.
"Anyway, we need to watch out for… sneaky cats. Three people is already enough. Two works too."
Yukina finally felt something was off.
"Sayaka… who do you mean?"
"Obviously… you and—uhh, I mean, two girls are enough."
Cold sweat broke out on Sayaka's forehead.
'Damn it, Yukina's acting weird today. She's even baiting me now. That's not normal. That's really not normal.'
Yukina tilted her head slightly, looking at Sayaka with a perfectly neutral expression. "Two girls? That's impossible. Girls don't work like that."
Sayaka felt like she'd just been struck by lightning.
'So Yukina… is she hinting at something? No, she's outright saying it.'
An overwhelming sourness welled up inside her, but buried beneath it was a strange sense of relief. As if being rejected wasn't actually the worst thing.
"Sayaka? Sayaka?!"
Yukina waved a hand in front of her face. "You suddenly spaced out. What's wrong?"
"No, nothing at all."
Sayaka answered calmly. "Girls with girls really is impossible. Yes. Definitely."
She quickly steered the conversation elsewhere. "What about you, Yukina? Do you have a boy you like?"
"A boy I like?"
Yukina paused, then shook her head, "No…"
That confused Sayaka. It didn't line up with how distracted Yukina had been earlier.
So she wasn't thinking about a guy after all?
"Not even a little?" Sayaka pressed.
"Sayaka, you're acting strange today."
Yukina looked at her, puzzled.
But Sayaka refused to give up.
"Then what about your type? What kind of guy do you like?"
"I think I've answered that before. It was when I was talking with R—"
Yukina froze mid-sentence, breaking into a cold sweat.
"What?" Sayaka's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Uncle!" Yukina blurted out. "An uncle. I mean, I told you before, when I was little, there was a neighbor uncle who took really good care of me. I liked him a lot."
She hurriedly explained. That so-called "uncle," for the record, was actually a woman who dressed in a more masculine style.
"An uncle, huh." Sayaka nodded in understanding, then smiled knowingly. "So you like older types."
"I guess… so…" Yukina admitted through gritted teeth.
At that point, Sayaka casually added, "Come to think of it, His Majesty is about a generation older than us. In a way, you could call him uncle too."
"That… seems true." Yukina was already looking for an escape route.
This was the first time she'd realized standing next to Sayaka could be this awkward.
Sayaka, meanwhile, fell into deep thought.
Yukina likes Ryo. I accept Ryo.
'If I translate that… Yukina likes me too. So girls with girls works—if you throw a guy in for both.'
'Perfect.'
After an unbearably long silence, Yukina glanced at Sayaka, who was nodding to herself with a thoughtful expression, and quickly looked away toward the tightly closed door.
"Still, Princess La Folia has been inside for quite a long time."
"That's true," Sayaka replied, snapping back to reality a moment later.
The two fell silent again.
Ten minutes passed.
Then the door finally opened.
La Folia stepped out, walking a little awkwardly, but otherwise acting as if nothing were wrong.
"All right, you two diligent guard ladies. Could you help move that coffin inside?"
"Sure~" x2
Sayaka and Yukina replied in strangely delicate tones.
That alone startled La Folia enough to make her step back.
'Wait. They weren't listening at the door, were they? That can't be right. Ryo said there was a soundproof barrier…'
Her heart raced for a few seconds before she forced herself to calm down.
"Then I'll be counting on you."
She turned and walked back into the room without looking back, nearly twisting her ankle on the way, looking rather flustered.
"Something's not right," Sayaka said sharply.
"Yes. We should be cautious," Yukina agreed.
They exchanged a glance. The tacit understanding between them, which had vanished earlier, seemed to return all at once.
"Let's move the coffin in first."
"Right."
.
.
.