331 "Demon King" (1/2)
I:
Princess
”Good morning, Wakaba-san. Sorry to bother you in the morning, but I have some questions I'd like to ask,” Yukari said calmly.
”About?”
”It's regarding Seigo's adopted younger sister, Shika Kagura.”
There was a momentary silence. Then, Chiaki started chuckling.
”About that… Let me guess, you wanted to ask Seigo out on a date, and you were rejected politely, which led to you learning about her. Am I correct?”
”That's right,” Yukari admitted directly. ”I want to know more regarding her.”
”Why don't you just ask Seigo directly?” Chiaki suggested. ”As long as it's something he can say, he'll tell you.”
Yukari fell silent for a moment.
”I want to know about the part that he won't tell me about.”
”Eh… this doesn't seem like the Princess's way of doing things?” Chiaki raised her voice questioningly.
”I know that this may not be good, but I still want to know. That's just how I feel,” Yukari said. ”But I also know that you won't tell me, as it's not for me to know.”
”Then why did you contact me?”
”I want to understand Shika Kagura better, and you're skilled at seeing through others. I can gather the most information possible from you without having to invade her privacy.”
Chiaki Wakaba was a famous detective… whoops, outstanding at deductions. Yukari had personally experienced this for herself.
Chiaki would definitely know more about things than Mika would. The prerequisite, of course, was her being willing to tell Yukari.
”Is this praise? Or sarcasm?”
”It's praise. I've personally tasted what it's like to go up against you, so in this regard, no matter how I personally feel, I'm truly impressed by your deductive abilities.”
”It's my honor to be praised by the Princess,” Chiaki said with a chuckle. ”But why should I tell you anything? Do you think that I'd tell something as important as information about Seigo's cute adopted younger sister to you just because you praised me a little?”
'It's here,' Yukari said to herself. 'This is the critical junction—this decides whether or not I can convince this tomboy.'
”Of course I don't think that. In order to get information from you, I should trade something of equal value. But before that, I'd like to confirm, have you truly given up on Seigo?”
Chiaki fell silent for a moment.
”If you're not saying that you've completely given up, then that probably means that you haven't. In that case, we can make an alliance against Natsuya Yoruhana.”
”Oh? What are the specifics of this alliance you propose?”
”We'll help each other out on certain things. For example, as you told me about Shika Kagura this time, next time you can ask me for some information, or request my assistance, or even… request that I not do a specific thing one time.”
”That's correct. I believe that this shall be beneficial for both of us, especially when our opponent is someone as strong as President Yoruhana.”
”What a surprise. I never expected the Princess to take such a course of action.”
”I don't feel like there's anything bad about what I'm doing, No, I should say that you should be the one who isn't surprised. You must have guessed that I would do this, otherwise you wouldn't have given me such a message to begin with, Chiaki Wakaba,” Yukari said in a serious voice.
Chiaki fell silent for another moment, before she chuckled once more.
”I'm beginning to like you even more, Princess. Alright, you've convinced me. I'll tell you about that cute adopted younger sister of his, although I don't know that much either. In exchange, when I need something from you in the future, please remember your promise.”
”Of course,” Yukari replied. ”Since I was the one who brought up the idea of allying, I'll definitely keep my promise.”
”You sure sound reliable.” Chiaki chuckled and said, ”Now then, where should I start? About Shika Kagura…”
The next morning, some time after Yukari called and said that she was on her way, Seiji heard a knock on his door and went to open it.
He saw the purple-haired beauty. She was wearing a dark windbreaker and was holding a bag in her hands.
”Welcome,” he greeted her with a smile.