Bonus Short Stories

Side: Clan

When Clan was left to her own devices, her room and her laboratory would get messier and messier. That was why Koutarou took it upon himself to clean up after her—a habit he’d picked up in past Forthorthe. Back then, Clan was so dedicated to her research that he thought it was the least he could do to help her.

“Say, Clan...”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Today, Clan was analyzing data she’d collected from their most recent battle. She thought a better understanding of the enemy’s weapons and defenses would help defeat them in the future. Koutarou moved around her and kept out of her way, talking to her as he tidied up the place.

“It’s been a while since I started cleaning for you, right?”

“So it has.”

“But now we’re back in the present, safe and sound, right?”

“So we are.”

“So don’t you think it’s time to get a cleaning robot or something instead of making me do this?”

In the past, Koutarou had cleaned for Clan out of necessity. He’d continued out of habit after they returned home, but the more he thought about it, the more certain he became that Clan didn’t really need his help. Earth already had robotic vacuums and the like, so surely Forthorthe had advanced housekeeping robots that would be even neater and more thorough than Koutarou was.

Clan didn’t answer him, however. All Koutarou heard in reply was the sound of her chair squeaking.

“Hmm?”

Puzzled by this, Koutarou looked over to Clan and found her staring at him wide-eyed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“That’s... um...”

Clan cast her glance downward to avoid eye contact. She had almost reflexively insisted that nothing was wrong, but she swallowed back those words as she stared at the vacuum tube radio on her desk. She then mustered her courage.

“Veltlion, does this mean... you don’t like cleaning for me?” she asked, her eyes fixed on Koutarou.

Clan was clearly flustered, but now Koutarou was too.

“I-It’s not like I hate it or anything... I was just thinking that it would be more convenient for you. A robot would do a better job and wouldn’t distract you...”

While Clan was asking about cleaning, it certainly sounded like there was greater meaning to her question. Koutarou tread lightly and chose his words carefully so as to avoid any misunderstandings, but just speaking was hard. His throat was bone dry.

“Think about everything we’ve been through together,” Clan said. “It’s not like you being here is a distraction or anything. In fact... I don’t think I could focus if...”

“I see...”

“So if you think my room should be cleaner... then... you should come more often. That way, um...”

Clan’s throat was parched too. She normally felt calm and safe around Koutarou, but she was in a tizzy right now trying to convey her feelings to him.

“...Then I guess things are fine the way they are...”

“...Y-Yes, I... I think so too...”

With that, a silence fell over the room. Both Clan and Koutarou blushed furiously as each other’s words spun through their heads. They’d had a meeting of hearts, though in an extremely roundabout way. It was honestly a relief to both of them, but it made them extremely self-conscious at the same time.

Koutarou was the first to break under the silence. Picking up a photo frame lying atop a stack of documents, he called out to Clan.

“B-By the way, Clan, where should I put this?”

“That digital frame holds pictures and videos of my family...”

“I see.”

“Why don’t we... take a look at it together?”

“Yeah... Sure, let’s do that.”

They then sat down together to look through photos and recordings of Clan’s family. Despite the plentiful silence and awkward moments, it was surprisingly enjoyable.

Side: Theiamillis

Theia was short for her age, and Koutarou had a theory about why.

“Hey, Theia, do you think being such an active girl is the reason you never grew any taller? I think I read something about that in a baseball magazine once...”

“What are you talking about?” Theia asked, leaning in close. She was sensitive about her height.

“Getting too muscular can apparently keep you from growing.”

Koutarou wasn’t teasing her, however. He was being quite serious. Realizing this, Theia crossed her arms and nodded.

“Hmm... You’re suggesting that early muscle development can inhibit bone growth. That doesn’t sound too implausible,” she mused as she looked down at herself.

Theia was indeed an active girl, and she had quite an impressive build to show for it.

“Hang on, Theia-chan,” interjected Shizuka, who was drinking tea with the two of them. “I hear newer research has debunked that.”

Shizuka loved karate as much as Koutarou loved baseball, so she had an interest in this kind of thing too.

“Really?!” Theia exclaimed eagerly.

“Apparently the same growth hormones that can give you bigger muscles also help your bones grow or something. However, it’s true that repetitious training can damage cartilage and your skeleton,” Shizuka explained.

“I see. So, in other words, you need to moderate your training if you want to grow,” Theia mused as she pantomimed swinging a baseball bat. “I guess I’ll just keep doing what I always do, then.”

“Hmm, yeah, I guess so.”

Theia was naturally competitive and loved sports. So if what Shizuka was saying was true, then she could continue to play whenever she felt like it. Koutarou, however, had a question about all this...

“Do you really want to grow that badly, Theia?”

While he had a hard time admitting it, Koutarou felt that Theia was a splendid princess as she was. He couldn’t imagine that being a little on the short side was a strike against her.

“Well... Stand up, Koutarou.”

“Okay.”

Theia got Koutarou to his feet and then stood next to him. Her face came up to about his chest.

“This is what I’m concerned about.”

“What, exactly...?”

“You’re so dense. Listen, imagine some sort of serious incident happens.”

“Okay...”

“You’re my knight, so you’ll resolve said incident splendidly.”

“I don’t know about that, but sure. I’ll do my best.”

“We’ll make all the headlines, and our picture will spread across the empire... like this,” she said, pulling up a hologram of some old news footage she had saved on her bracelet.

“Oh, so this is what’s bothering you so much.”

“You can only see me from the nose up! It’s humiliating!”

The footage in question showed Theia standing next to Koutarou—and only half of her face was visible. News outlets ate up footage of the princess and her knight, so it always spread far and wide. The idea that the entire nation saw her like this infuriated Theia, which was why she wanted to get taller as fast as possible.

“So let’s go out and play, Koutarou.”

“As you wish, my princess.”

“Why are you crying?”

“I’m not. I just got some dirt in my eye...”

“Whatever. Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

And so Theia and Koutarou left room 106. Koutarou had certain thoughts about all this, but chose to keep quiet. He thought it would be more knightly just to exercise with Theia as she pleased.

Side: Ruthkania

The haniwas came to see Ruth one day while she was working on redecorating plans for room 106. Nalfa and Kotori had been dropping by a lot lately, meaning that there were now twelve people regularly hanging out at the apartment. To help make the tiny, crowded space seem bigger and more welcoming, Ruth was thinking of changing the curtains and the wallpaper.

“I think a pale, cool color would work great...”

“Ruth-chan, Ruth-chan!”

“We want to ask you something, ho!”

Ruth was staring intently at the curtains as the two haniwas jumped up and down at her feet. When she saw them, Ruth reconsidered her color choices. A warm color would contrast Koutarou’s dark wardrobe nicely—especially when he wore blue.

“What can I help you with?”

As expected of a serious and courteous girl like Ruth, however, she quickly put her thoughts aside and sat down in front of the haniwas to give them her full attention.

“We can’t decide on our titles, ho!”

“We want to hear what our vice captain thinks, ho!”

The group had recently decided that the haniwas would be joining the Satomi knights. It was customary for the knights’ liege to bestow titles upon them, but the haniwas were blessed with a kind lord who let them pick their own. The decision was a weighty one, however, so the haniwas had come to the knightly and knowledgeable Ruth for advice.

“You two were appointed by Princess Theiamillis herself, making you established knights. This gives you a great deal of freedom when it comes to picking your titles.”

“So we’re free to choose what we want, ho?”

“How free, exactly, ho?”

“Well, think about Master. His title is ‘Theiamillis’s Blue Knight,’ which is quite different than most titles.”

“Now that you mention it, ho, everyone always just calls him the Blue Knight... so I’d forgotten about that, ho.”

“Ho! Your title is ‘Guardian Knight,’ isn’t it, Ruth-chan?”

“That’s right. My family title is different from Master’s. It’s simply an appellation describing my role.”

“Ruth-chan’s family has protected Theia-chan’s family for generations, so they’re Guardian Knights, ho!”

“But both titles stand for something important, ho! Big Brother carries Theia-chan’s wishes, and Ruth-chan carries her family’s legacy, ho!”

“That’s right. A knight’s title is like their sword—what it signifies is more important than its literal meaning.”

“Ho, oh no... So I can’t pick ‘Lightning Knight’ just because it’s cool, or ‘Cat Knight’ because it’s cute, ho...”

“It’s gotta be deep, ho! We can’t pick anything that would embarrass the knights that come after us, ho!”

As the haniwas continued to discuss potential titles, Ruth turned back to the curtains and the design pamphlet she was holding. After a while like this, the haniwas began bouncing up and down to get her attention again.

“Ruth-chan, Ruth-chan! We’d like to ask something for reference, ho!”

“If you could pick a new title for yourself, ho, what would it be?”

“Of course, I’d want to be the Blue Knight’s—”

Ruth had an answer, and she’d almost confessed it readily: the Blue Knight’s bride. Luckily, however, she was able to stop herself before saying too much.

“Er, I’d like to be the Blue Knight’s... Right Hand, perhaps?” she eked out with a furious blush.

“Really, ho...? I think you were about to say something else, ho!”

“Tell us, ho! We’re dying here, ho!”

“N-No, the Blue Knight’s Right Hand would be the perfect title for me! That’s what I want!”

Unfortunately for Ruth, it seemed it would be some time yet before she got back to her redecorating plans.