Chapter 114: Mystery of the Girl / Fine Play (1/2)

Chapter 113: Mystery of the Girl / Smashing Regrets Chapter 115: Mystery of the Girl / Pride

Translator: Reflet

If I were to by any chance leave Pochi be and return home like this…

He imagined what would happen afterwards.

They would probably be able to live out their daily lives no differently than before. It hadn’t even been one week since meeting Pochi, and it wasn’t like they had become emotionally attached to each other.

Though she had called him “Master”, to Taiyou, despite almost being a stranger she was nothing but someone who he found to be allowable to tag along with him.

Even so, he could see himself regretting it if he were to abandon her kidnapped like this.

In a sense, it was something that didn’t have to be thought about.

Taiyou had cut her off only because he had prioritized the safety of the girls; the girls that he had to protect. If those girls were wishing for it…

「That’s right; we can’t leave that child alone.」

「「「Taiyou-san!」」」

「Natsuno-kun.」

The sister trio and Aoba’s faces broke into smiles. These reactions practically told Taiyou that they were welcoming his answer from the bottom of their hearts. Seeing those girls’ reactions, Taiyou couldn’t surpress himself from giving a wry smile.

What are those reactions; aren’t they a little strange?

That’s what he thought, but swallowing those words, he kept their original meaning and reworded it.

「You ladies are great women; so much so that I’m unworthy of you.」

He said, and the girls simultaneously became red-faced.

「Well, if you really really try thinking about it, if we left things as they are now, I’m sure that we’d be severely scolded by Kohaku-san later on.」

Looking at the unconscious Kohaku, he smiled wryly for a different reason.

「Yeah, Kohaku-san seems like she’d be more angry.」

「Not so much angry as scolding, I’d say. Although in the case of this time, getting scolded would actually be more tough.」

「That’s different from getting angry?」

「A little, yeah.」

Thinking of the difference between the two, he gave yet another wry smile. The reason why he had been continuously smiling wryly was essentially because he thought that his options were screwed up.

In that case, he must make the right decision.

Once he decided, Taiyou thought to fly speedily to where Pochi was.

「Alright then; you all can do me a favor and wait here by Kohaku-san’s side. I’ll take back Pochi, okay?」

「Please wait, Taiyou-san.」

「We’ll contact Yami-chan right now, okay?」

「I think that it would be best to have her by your side.」

「No, I don’t need her.」

Taiyou instantly shot down the three sisters’ suggestions.

「Shirokiyami…I think that she probably won’t be of any use. Judging by her state. It’s for the best right now to not keep a useless human around.」

Taiyou purposefully said in a detached manner. The three sisters whom he had directed that towards were dejected but accepted what he said.

The girls had also seen Shirokiyami become unable to battle, so they seemed to understand what Taiyou was trying to say.

Gazing at the three sisters, he was thinking about Shirokiyami in his head.

He recalled what had happened prior to when she had become unable to move――prior to when she had become unable to fight.

（At that time…She said “big sis”, right? So that person was her elder sister?）

He replicated in his head the words and expressions of the girl who had appeared in front of Shirokiyami.

Certainly their countenances resembled each other, and they were similar enough to where he would believe it if someone told him that they were sisters. But those expressions were so cold that he couldn’t believe they were expressions aimed towards a younger sister.

（For household circumstances…I get the feeling that it’s too severe. Though it would be nice if I could follow up.）

Thinking that, he decided to pursue her next.

Right now, he was in a situation where he had to first think of Pochi.

Following that, he turned back in the direction of the door, making preparations for departure. That was when Aoba stopped him with a hoarse voice.

「Natsuno-kun…」

「Hmm? What’s wrong?」

「I’m sorry for…earlier.」

「Earlier?」

He inclined his head, wondering what she was talking about.

「You know…hitting Natsuno-kun’s head and all that.」

「…Ohhh.」

Taiyou slapped his hands together. Only after she had said that much to him had he remembered that that sort of thing had happened. There were men who would always mind being hit by women, and from Taiyou’s standpoint it was unfavorable for him, and yet he hadn’t paid it any heed.

Though it was something that he had remembered taking to heart, he had adjusted it in his heart to be something not worth apologizing for, so he hadn’t connected them initially.

「Don’t worry about it…If anything, I’m the one who should be sorry. Thinking about it carefully, those were the worst options for you after all. I even made a promise with you, and yet I was about to forget the essence of that promise.」

「No…it’s me who should be saying that. Even though Natsuno-kun was doing all that to protect us; even though what you did had to be right…」