EPISODE 1

LET’S LEAD A HIGH SCHOOL LIFE WITH ENEMIES ON ALL SIDES!

Ryouta had always been afraid of going to school.

It was all because of his curse. His grandfather, who was not a very attractive man, had prayed to make his grandson extremely attractive to every girl he met, and so Ryouta had always been targeted by the opposite sex.

He wasn’t happy at all about being so attractive—he had even been kidnapped once.

Living in the Sacred Blood Empire was a huge change for him because the curse had no effect on the Sacred Blooded. He could finally lead a regular school life in this country.

But going to school had become a bit painful for him.

It wasn’t like he was bad at studying. If anything, he was pretty good at it.

He wasn’t the victim of malicious bullying, either; he was rather a key figure in incorporating Shiren into the class.

It wasn’t because of the public shame Shiren enjoyed inflicting on him with the collar and chain he wore around his neck on the way to school. For the Sacred Blooded, regular humans could be made into minions, so there was a risk of being targeted. It was embarrassing, of course, but that wasn’t the reason why he didn’t want to go to school.

It was because a week ago, a transfer student had joined their class.

Three of them, in fact.

In a normal high school, the arrival of a transfer student might be an exciting, heart-pounding affair, but it was not interesting at all, since everyone knew who they were.

It was a social nightmare.

“Hmm, what is it, Ryouta? You seem kind of down. Is it hemorrhoids?”

“I guess it’s obvious if you can tell, Shiren. I’m fine; it’s not really that serious.”

“But if you ignore the pain, you may later discover that it isn’t hemorrhoids but cancer. You should go to the doctor. I won’t laugh.”

“It’s not hemorrhoids! It’s not that at all!”

“You don’t have to hide it. I won’t laugh; you can count on it! I’m not going to spread word through a chain e-mail or anything!”

“Hey! That’s a weird thing to be confident about! And normal people don’t spread anything through a chain e-mail anyway!”

As they engaged in their usual back-and-forth, they finally arrived at school.

The official name of the school was Public High School No. 1, Established to Nurture the Talent That Will Create Our Noble Future—long and unconvincing. Emperor Ouka had probably come up with it.

“Phew, Public High School No. 1, Established by Us Noble Aliens Who Yet Have No Name sure is far from castle grounds.”

“Could you stop trying to use the entire official name that you obviously can’t remember and just call it High School No. 1 or something?”

“But shortening it like that makes it impossible to distinguish it from Public High School, Wondering What the No. 1 Hit on the Charts Will Be This Week.”

“That name has nothing to do with education!”

“Sigh, you are quite enthusiastic this morning. I have low blood pressure today in comparison…”

They came across a familiar girl at the school gates: Tamaki Shijou, who was Ryouta and Shiren’s classmate.

She was a typical Japanese beauty with long black hair, but she was so pessimistic that Ryouta no longer found himself captivated by her looks.

“The weather is lovely today. I am so sorry that you have to see my face first thing in the morning… I will enter through the back tomorrow… Oh, that doesn’t mean I got into school through back channels; I have no connections for such a thing…”

“I don’t remember asking for an apology, so pick your head up, Shijou!”

“Head up, and off with it… Yes, the very fact that I am alive is a sin… I’m sorry; I’m so sorry…”

“Not even Ouka would do something like that!”

“Now that I’ve received your forgiveness, I will be lifting my head, okay…?”

It was trouble enough to get her to look up. But once their eyes met, he got a slightly different reaction.

“Oh…ah…! Ah…” Tamaki was turning bright red.

She covered her face with the book she was holding.

“Um… I know it’s strange to bring this up again after all this time, but…I wanted to take this opportunity to officially apologize…”

“Er, for what?”

“I caused you so much trouble Saturday before last…”

“What happened on Saturday…? Oh, right, the library.”

Ryouta mentally replayed the scene from the library in his mind.

He’d had Tamaki accompany him to do some research in the library, and a little accident led to him pinning her down.

Of course, Ryouta himself didn’t do anything untoward, but it was true that Tamaki had bitten him and made things a little awkward.

“I think that was partially my fault, too…”

“No, it wasn’t, Ryouta. It was all my fault that I got pinned down.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Context! Yes, I technically did pin you to the floor, but—”

“I understand. You are so kind, Ryouta, that you cannot ignore the suffering of others, which is why you pinned me down so quickly. You would never pin down anyone as unappealing as me otherwise.”

…Why was this happening? Every word she spoke was only making things worse.

And Tamaki’s voice carried well. The situation was turning into an ethical nightmare, where she would end up yelling Pin me down at the school gates.

“And I gave in to temptation; then I ended up biting you… Even though I knew you are Shiren Fuyukura’s minion (candidate)… I knew it; I am a failure of a Sacred Blooded; I am trash… I hope I can at least be recycled into toilet paper…”

It had been a dangerous situation, for sure. If Shiren hadn’t come along, the possibility of Ryouta ending up as Tamaki’s minion would have been exponentially higher. If that had happened, his life would have changed dramatically. He could have been waking her up every morning with the same greeting: Shijou, it’s time to eat. You have to have a hearty breakfast because of your low blood pressure.

SCENARIO START

“Shijou, it’s morning. Wake up.”

“Good morning, Ryouta… I’m sorry I am not a morning person… I should just toss myself out the window so I don’t cause my minion any more trouble…”

“Don’t jump! And we’re only on the first floor! You’ll just be in the yard!”

“I’m sorry my steps are unsteady. Could you please carry me on your back…?”

“You’re the master. But wow, you really do have low blood pressure.”

“Thank you. I don’t mind if you order me around this time, Ryouta.”

“No thanks. That would be weird for several reasons.”

“Then I hate to be so authoritarian, but I do have a request…”

“Sure, I don’t mind. But what is it?”

“I have such low blood pressure that I require a bit of extra stimulation to jump-start my autonomic nervous system, so…could you give me a wake-up kiss…?”

END OF SCENARIO

Hang on, something like that wasn’t outside the realm of possibility—

But he cut off that little train of thought before it could become more indulgent. Tamaki would never be so bold as to ask for a wake-up kiss.

And by the way, Tamaki had said “gave in to temptation.” What did she mean by that?

Why did she want to bite him so much…?

Oh, right, the Sacred Blooded drank human blood. For a second, he had assumed that she had a crush on him. How silly.

“Is something wrong, Ryouta? You looked like you were in a trance or something. Oh, maybe you don’t care very much for me, even though I’m right here in front of you… I’m sorry… I have been so impudent…”

“No, wait, that’s not what I was thinking at all!”

His thoughts about Tamaki had actually been racier than he cared to admit, so he felt the need to apologize.

“I should just run the library committee all by my lonesome… I should just read books by myself during break time. It’s not like anyone is going to reach out to me anyway…”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all! You always look so at peace when you’re reading quietly in the classroom; I like it!”

“You…like…the way I look?” Tamaki’s eyes widened almost in fright.

Uh-oh. It looked like Ryouta got caught up in the momentum and created yet another misunderstanding.

“I see… You’re so kind, R-R-Ryouta, thinking so favorably of someone so pitiful and friendless…”

“Yeah, try not to be so negative, okay…?”

The air of awkwardness persisted.

“O-ow!”

Then he felt a heavy smack on his flank.

Wondering what it was, he looked to find Shiren tugging on the chain attached to the collar around his neck.

“You were talking for far too long. I thought your legs had stopped working!”

She wasn’t just pulling on it; she was throwing her full weight against it to pull with every bit of strength in her body.

“Seriously, that hurts! I have my limits, Shiren! I get it, so let go!”

“Liar! That went on too long for someone who gets it! You forget who your master is!”

“I haven’t forgotten… But that aside, could you quit pulling on the collar already…?”

“Ryouta, we can talk about everything else in class, okay? Let’s just do that. You’re okay with that, right, Tamaki?”

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry…”

Tamaki also, of course, agreed.

And so Ryouta was dragged along the rest of the way. He could’ve resisted if he wanted to, but the collar hurt.

Maybe Son Goku and Monk Sanzo from Journey to the West had a relationship like this.

“Ryouta, I don’t want to start putting massive restraints on my minions. As long as you fulfill the minimal requirements of your service, I am happy to give you freedom beyond that. But there are limits to everything.”

“What do you mean by ‘limits’?”

“I mean, don’t have a conversation with a girl from class and use the phrase pin down several times in a single minute!”

She pulled on his collar again.

Stop. My consciousness is going dark.

“Be a proper minion; otherwise, I will lose my dignity! Be more serious!”

“That’s… Fine. I’ll be more careful.”

Even Ryouta had no choice but to follow Shiren’s lead when it came to these things.

If any weird rumors started popping up because of this, it would impede his school life. It would not be a joke if his life at school was made even more difficult than it already was.

But just as they entered the hallway, he could not follow her anymore.

“Take off the chain. I’ll stay in the bathroom until break time is over,” Ryouta raised his hand and declared with a pale face.

“Hemorrhoid cream commercials sure are funny, aren’t they?”

“Enough with the hemorrhoids, please! Are you a secret agent for a proctologist or something?!”

“But what are you thinking? Hiding in the bathroom for break is a stereotypical escape for a kid who’s being bullied. Tell me if there’s anyone bullying you. Your master will be there to help you.”

“I appreciate it, but you’re way off. For now, how about you ‘help’ me out of this collar?”

He turned his gaze down the hall, where the bathroom was. It wasn’t particularly clean or dirty, but it was an oasis for him.

In fact, it was the only place he could get a moment’s respite.

“I want some peace and quiet during break, at least…”

Even if it was just for the ten minutes until the bell rang, it would be better than nothing.

He’d felt someone watching him during class lately.

It might be more accurate to say that someone was monitoring him, given how uneasy it made him.

This was no delusion.

After all, Ouka was sitting right next to him, fixing him with an intense stare at that very moment. She had even turned her desk a full ninety degrees to face in his direction so that Ryouta was now always in her line of sight.

“Hey, Ouka, don’t you think this is a little weird?”

“Not at all. Today is another lucky day in the Empire, and everything is operating normally. My stocks haven’t fallen dramatically or anything of the sort.”

“Right… Let’s take a look at the smaller picture. There might be someone in trouble right before your very eyes. Acts of kindness are often born from noticing the most minute details.”

“My greatest act of kindness is being emperor, and I perform my role for the benefit of the entire world. Your ears are filthy, by the way. Are you washing them properly?”

“Why are you scrutinizing me so closely? This is weird!”

And with that, her desk was now docked right up against Ryouta’s desk and still rotated to face him. He wouldn’t have to reach that far to touch her. But he didn’t think there was much to be gained by touching other students during class even if he did make an attempt.

This had to count as a classroom distraction.

“It’s fine. It’s no big deal.”

“You sound like a boy peeking in the girls’ bath.”

“You say that, but I bet all this attention is actually getting you excited, isn’t it? Hff, hff, she’s looking at my dirty ear, hff, hff… Right? You should be thankful that I’m participating in your base fantasies.”

“Don’t spread rumors when you don’t even have anything to base them on! It’s messed up!”

“A rumor it may be, but its roots run deep. A large flower blooms, scattering seeds far and wide. They sprout into a massive forest, becoming the foundation of my Imperial might!”

“Stop glorifying the fact that you spread rumors!”

No matter how he looked at it, she was harassing him.

If this was something he’d only recently learned about her, he could have easily considered it bullying, but Ryouta and Ouka’s relationship wasn’t so cut-and-dried.

Long ago, during the revolution that took place when the two of them were in elementary school, Ryouta was Ouka’s classmate. Now that he thought back on it, they had been pretty close.

She was also Ryouta’s first crush.

Ever since she was little, Ouka had had the fierce beauty of a royal flower—just as the literal meaning of her name suggested.

She had bright, fiery red hair; an expression full of confidence and elegance; and a slightly delicate stature.

And most importantly, since she was Sacred Blooded, she was free from the curse on Ryouta that made all the human girls unilaterally fall in love with him, so she could chat with him freely.

Given all that, he knew that crushing on her was wholly unreasonable. But it was even more unreasonable to think that he could sit there calmly when his first crush was right next to him.

“Honestly, I already know everything at this grade level. It’s far more beneficial for me to observe you—the only Japanese person here in this country—and your way of life. You know, for fun.”

“Hey, I— Oof, brrr.”

Just as he was about to retort, he felt the icy chill of pure malice coming from behind him. Or perhaps just murderous fury, rather than malice.

“If you don’t wish to find a sword in your eyes or throat, I would suggest not talking back to Lady Ouka.”

He turned around, and there was Sasara. She was glaring at him as if she had always been there.

Sasara Tatsunami was one of Ouka’s personal Imperial Guards.

In terms of status, the Imperial Guards were Ouka’s minions, but they were considered to be of the noble class, and Sasara certainly did look the part. Even her school uniform looked like a one-of-a-kind dress.

Sasara’s job was to protect the emperor, but some of the girls apparently called her “Prince.” She had the heart of a warrior rarely seen in most girls.

If that were the only truth, he would have been fine. However… “Fine… If it means I won’t get cut in half, I’ll try to be friendlier with her.”

“What?! Be friendly with Lady Ouka?! You think too highly of yourself! I’ll gladly cut you down to size!”

“Okay, then I won’t.”

“That would be the same as treason against the emperor. I’ll slice you in half.”

“Wait…so you decided you’re going to cut me in half anyway?”

Regardless, she was fully intent on killing him. She was a whole different kind of trouble from Ouka.

“No need to worry. We’ll have a lovely headstone prepared for you.”

“Can you please put that effort into prolonging my life?!”

“To think you would be this close to my Lady Ouka… I cannot accept this I cannot accept this I cannot accept this please let me install a secret camera under your desk in a spot where I can see up Lady Ouka’s skirt.”

“What on Earth are you talking about…?”

In a word, Sasara was a lesbian.

Truthfully, Ryouta wasn’t sure if Sasara simply preferred women or if her feelings for Ouka transcended sexual preference entirely.

Her devotion to Ouka went above and beyond, and it had reached the territory of love.

And the number of her handmade Ouka plushies had apparently reached triple digits not too long ago. One of them hung from her belt, and she was never without it.

Normally, this wouldn’t have any impact on Ryouta, but as Ouka closed the distance between them, he was being turned into a hypothetical enemy.

“Regardless, please step away from Lady Ouka. At least farther away than I am from her.”

“I’m telling you, it’s Ouka who’s getting closer to me. I’m already in my spot!”

“This is my answer to that.”

Sasara placed her Ouka plushie on the desk and squeezed its body.

“Silence! I am the law! You will never be in a position to talk back to me!”

It would play back a recording of Ouka’s voice when squeezed. It was quality workmanship.

“Say it yourself! You don’t have to pull out your stuffed doll!”

“I thought it was perfect. It allows me to hear stuffed Lady Ouka’s voice even during class.”

“Sasara, you’re leaning too far forward. Sit back. You’re being absurd,” Ouka said.

“You’re the one with your desk facing the wrong way!” Ryouta retorted.

Since Sasara had pushed so far forward, Ryouta could barely move his chair back.

“What’s this? We have someone here with her desk rotated one hundred and eighty degrees. Don’t you think it’s weird that you’re complaining about me and my ninety-degree angle? Or is Jouryuuji special?”

Oh no. He had stepped on a land mine.

“Yes, she is!”

A voice came from the seat in front of Ryouta.

And it came from straight in front of him.

He looked forward, and there was a girl who looked no older than an elementary school student with her desk turned completely backward.

This was Kiyomizu Jouryuuji.

You might be wondering how an elementary school student found her way in here, but no, she belonged in high school.

Ryouta had a checkered past with Kiyomizu that he did not care to remember, but to put it extremely simply, Kiyomizu was a member of an assassin’s group called the Virginal Father whose purpose was to exterminate the Sacred Blooded, so she had snuck into the Empire but ultimately failed. Unable to return to Japan, she shamelessly enrolled in a Sacred Blooded high school.

In short, she was so passionately in love with Ryouta that she had just about lost her mind.

“The red thread of fate links me to Ryouta! Of course I’m special! As special as a chocolate ball with a golden angel inside.”

“That’s a weird way to put it. Wait, huh? Something’s squeezing my arm.”

Some sort of red string had been wrapped around his arm.

It wasn’t so much a string; it was thick enough to be more of a rope.

Kiyomizu must have wrapped it around him again. Such things were child’s play for her, since she was an assassin.

Having an assassin for a classmate was too much for him to deal with, so he decided to ignore it.

But the string seemed somewhat elastic; in fact, it didn’t feel like string at all.

The very front of the string stuck out its tongue with a hiss.

It was a snake.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Snaaaaaaaaaaaake!”

“Oh, this is a bloodred corn snake. I think these normally live in America,” Ouka explained lightly. Of course, Ryouta couldn’t remain as calm as her.

“Oh, I don’t think it’s venomous or anything. Where did you get this anyway, Jouryuuji?”

“When I told Virginal Father HQ that I would be using it for work, they wrote it off as a business expense. They have way too much money.”

What was up with that cult’s finances?

In the end, after a brief struggle, Ryouta was free from the creature’s grasp.

“That’s an interesting snake. I want one; let me have it.”

“It was paid for by the company, so I don’t mind. Take it, thief.”

“Could you maybe help me out before you complete that transaction?!”

“I haaate reptiles,” Ouka said in a monotone.

“Yeah, right! Then don’t try and take it for yourself!”

“It’s true. I don’t really like snake soup.”

“You’re talking about food now?!”

Sure, people eat snakes in some regions, but that’s neither here nor there.

*The snake was safely returned to Kiyomizu, by the way.

“Guys, you are way too rowdy. I don’t care what you do during break time, but please at least take class seriously. This is embarrassing.”

He was, of course, more than willing to hide in the bathroom during break time.

“Well, I suppose I understand that you wouldn’t want to take a class like this. That kid got full marks on her transfer exam, minus the essay portion.”

“It was easy with my brains.”

“Wait, since when were you the studious type, Kiyomizu?”

“It was also very easy to steal the answers when there was basically no surveillance.”

“Did you say something?”

He could have sworn he heard her say something highly unethical.

“Oh, I didn’t say anything. On the name of Amitabha and Bodhisattva and Acala, I swear I didn’t say anything.”

“Please don’t incur divine wrath…”

“I have two hundred and sixteen carnal desires.”

“That’s more than twice the average person!”

“Two hundred and thirteen of those are related to you, Ryouta, my dearest. Oh, if you were not part of this world, then I would have led the life of a saint. It’s all because of you that I have been sullied so.”

To be honest, it was extremely troubling that she could say something like that with a straight face in class.

“But I just can’t understand why my essay didn’t get full points. I had every intention of getting a perfect score on that test.”

Kiyomizu was still unhappy that the essay portion had ruined her perfect grade.

That probably showed how seriously she had taken the test.

“What part of my love deserves a deduction like that?!”

“Hold on a second. What kind of essay did you write?”

His instincts sensed danger.

Kiyomizu was always putting him in danger, so he was pretty sensitive to it.

“This is the essay. I was rather proud of it, so I had them return it to me.”

Essay Question

How can we make the world a better place for the future? Please explain in detail.

My family runs a temple. I believe that the ideologies of Buddhism can explain much about the present, as well as the advancement of globalization and the reason we can no longer ignore the natural environment.

In Buddhism, we use a word called engi. This word reflects our belief that all things have a common origin and that nothing has a determined form. By following this philosophy, we can understand that we live by the connection we have with the rest of the world. It is also possible to do away with avarice and to begin living for the sake of others and for the preservation of the environment.

“Haven’t you had enough of that boring topic?” The illustrious Ryouta gently pressed his index finger to Kiyomizu’s lips.

“R-Ryouta?”

“I don’t care that everything in the world is connected. I only want to be connected with you, Kiyomizu.”

Ryouta dearest pulled Kiyomizu in and kissed her passionately until the world around her fell away.

Had she ever felt her heart beating so hard and so loud before?

“I’ll do everything I can to make you feel the best you’ve ever felt.”

His hand then hovered beneath her skirt and

When he got to that part, he ripped it up.

“No! My essay of love!”

“Sorry. It was a reflex.”

His logic agreed.

“If you’re gonna write erotic fiction, then don’t use my name without permission! I’m gonna sue you one day!”

There was still a lot of writing left on the paper; what happened after that? Just thinking about it frightened him. No, he couldn’t dwell on it.

“Anyway, you seriously—”

Tap, tap. Someone was poking him on the shoulder.

It was coming from the side of him that was opposite Ouka.

He would be in a world of hurt if he turned around. He had been in this country for just over two weeks, which was long enough for him to learn. But if he ignored this person, he would be in even more pain later.

It was basically like a cavity. Going to the dentist is no fun, but if he left the cavity alone, he would suffer even greater pain in the long run. This was something he just had to endure. Grin and bear it, Ryouta.

Sometimes, there is no victory without sacrifice. He turned around…

…and got poked in the eyes.

“………”

He would only annoy his classmates if he screamed, but he would have appreciated a compliment on his strength of endurance.

The one who poked him in the eyes was Shiren, by the way.

“Well, you’ve finally learned how to resist it. Well done, minion of mine.”

“Why are you surprised…? This hurts like hell… What am I guilty of this time…?”

“Ryouta, surely you already know why I want you to faint in agony, don’t you?” Shiren sounded genuinely angry. “I think you already know this, but I’m going to say it anyway. Be quiet during class!”

Finally, an appropriate reaction.

“Sorry.”

Even though he thought that the transfer students were at fault here, Ryouta still had it in him to bow his head.

He could blame the new students all he wanted, but it wasn’t like he was ignoring them anyway; a fault was a fault.

“That’s right—we’re in the middle of class… I almost forgot…”

If someone had said I can’t concentrate or I can’t hear the teacher, he would have apologized, of course. Shiren still hadn’t calmed down from her fit of anger; her pigtails looked like they were going to stand straight up.

“Sorry. Things got so crazy that I just couldn’t—”

“Be quiet! You’re so loud that I can’t sleep!”

Her complaint echoed into the neighboring classroom.

“Lemme teach you guys a saying: Don’t throw a punch with your hand in the cookie jar.”

“I thought we were lucky that we finally had world history. Normally, it’s a class I can take a nice nap in, but you’ve been making so much noise that I just can’t get any shut-eye.”

For his master’s sake, he wanted to pinch her cheek as hard as he could. Wait, sorry, he wouldn’t pretend to do it for her sake. He just wanted to pinch her and remind her not to underestimate the world and society.

“And it’s not just him this time, Big Sis. What’s up with your desk?! Face forward!”

“Ummm, but the teacher hasn’t, like, said anything to me, though?” Ouka said, sounding like an airheaded Valley girl.

“Hey, listen to your little sister.”

“I’m obviously fully aware that I’m not supposed to be noisy. But you could also interpret the teacher’s silence as common sense. So if the teacher warns me, I’ll fix my desk. Isn’t that right, Ms. Takasegawa, world history expert?”

The dark smile in her eyes was like a knife directed at the teacher.

Yuko Takasegawa (twenty-eight, single, Sacred Blooded, specializing in world history. She had been a teacher at a high school in Tokyo until last year. She had been dating a man a year older than her with the belief that they would get married, but when the Empire was established, she dumped him right away to teach kids in the new country and came here. But she still hasn’t found anyone new and she’s starting to panic. Won’t someone invite her to a mixer or something?) looked like she was about to cry.

That’s because she was up against…

“Oh, don’t worry about my status as the emperor, okay? Just pretend you’re in a position to scold a student as a teacher. Forget that I’m the most important person in this country and that I have total control over the high school’s human rights. Look, you think I’m going to say something awful like, I’m raising taxes by two percent because the teacher pissed me off? Isn’t that right, the most common of common of commoners, Ms. Takasegawa?”

“Y-Your Impe— I mean, Sarano… What do you…?”

“Go ahead. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“You see, Sarano, as an educator…”

“Should I hold a mixer for you to attend, Ms. Takasegawa?”

“Fuyukura, no sleeping in class.”

“The teacher’s giving in to her power!”

Sure, she wasn’t supposed to be sleeping, either, but that wasn’t the point.

“Honestly, I don’t think the direction of my desk is that much of an issue. As long as I fully grasp the lessons, and as long as I’m not causing problems for other students, I think it’s fine. By the way, I’ve heard that the more hot-blooded teachers are retiring because of heart problems, so you should be careful.”

Ms. Takasegawa had tears in her eyes and one foot in the pit of despair.

Ryouta felt strongly that class wasn’t very productive with the emperor present.

“So there’s no problem here. Okay?”

Ouka flashed a victorious look at Shiren. And since she always looked victorious anyway, this time it was especially so.

“Grrrr. The emperor really shouldn’t act this way…”

“Say what you want. I’ve already braced myself to be hated, stabbed, and killed.”

“I think that’s too much. And will you stop doing things that will make people hate you?! Start thinking about your subjects!”

Ryouta wasn’t sure how much of that was a joke, so his interjection was a little strong, almost scolding.

“What…? I wasn’t expecting Ryouta to…yell at me…”

It was boringly effective, and Ouka started swirling her finger on her desk.

“Wait, I didn’t want to make you that upset about it…”

“I’m the emperor, so no one’s ever really scolded me…”

It seemed that even if she was fine with the snarky comments, she wasn’t used to being admonished.

“I hope you’ll learn from this and try to do better, Big Sis.” Shiren started getting in on the action; she must have finally cheered up.

“You were trying to sleep. You have no right to act so high and mighty.”

He probably imagined it, but he thought he saw Ouka’s eyes glint with a flash.

It was like she had come up with a good idea.

“I mean, what can I do, Ryouta? I understand how Shiren feels.”

“How does she feel?”

“You know. When her own minion started talking with other female students, she probably felt jealous.”

Heh-heh-heh.

Ryouta could almost hear the sinister snicker behind Ouka’s eyes as she turned to glare at Shiren.

Shiren’s face was a faint shade of red.

Her expression also changed to one that read, She got me…

“Th-th-th-th-thth-thththththththat’s not true.”

“You’re really reeling from that, aren’t you? Even I didn’t think you’d have such an obvious reaction as this.”

“I—I—I—I—I—I—I, I—I—I—I would never think something so narrow-minded. Our relationship is nothing more than that of master and minion aaaaaaaa-aaaanywaaaaaay, s-s-s-s-s-s-so why would I ever be…?”

“I’ve never heard anyone say ‘anyway’ like that before.”

Without Ouka’s interjection, Ryouta would not have understood what she was saying at all.

“Well, then I guess it was just my imagination. I must have been imagining that you were jealous.”

“Yes, you were imagining it…”

When Ryouta watched the two of them interact, he had a thought.

When Shiren said Ouka hated her, maybe this was what she was talking about. It was fair to say Ouka was messing with her.

There wasn’t any real malice behind it (or so he wanted to believe), but with Shiren’s simple personality and Ouka’s god complex, this was how things were turning out.

“Well, now that I have the teacher’s permission, I’m going to remain facing Ryouta.”

Her logic was rather crude, but it seemed that Ouka’s desk had been given the okay.

“Grrrrrrrr, dammit, Big Sis…”

For about fifteen whole seconds, Shiren growled like she was having an especially bad stomachache.

“Fine, then I have an idea!”

She deliberately turned her desk ninety degrees and docked it right up against Ryouta’s desk.

If we had to illustrate it, the arrangement would look something like this.

“Well, I guess I have no choice…but to allow it.”

Ouka seemed to give in to a compromise, then nodded with a vexed look.

“Wait, what exactly do you have no choice but to allow…?”

“Impressive, little sister of mine. You put up a fight despite your rotting values.”

“Don’t force it into a compliment of yourself! And don’t let your little sister rot!”

“I may be rotten,” Shiren retorted, “but I’ll do what I can when the time calls for it.” Being rather dense, she was completely unfazed by the insult.

“I honestly can’t believe this arrangement.”

He could believe that he was surrounded by women, but wasn’t turning their desks toward him a little much?

When he faced forward, Kiyomizu’s eyes sparkled and she exclaimed, “Ryouta’s and my gazes intertwined, Ryouta’s and my gazes intertwined, Ryouta and I intertwined, Ryouta and I intertwined…!”

“Don’t casually leave out gaze!”

Ryouta was getting annoyed, so he thought about turning his gaze to the side. Left or right, it didn’t matter.

As a test, he looked left.

“Don’t stare at me like that. I’ll take your money.”

To the right.

“…Zzz…”

Shiren was fast asleep.

“No way! You’re already asleep, Shiren?! You were just moving your desk and talking to Ouka a minute ago!”

“Zzz… Ryouta, don’t stick your finger near the snapping turtle; it might bite you…”

“What are you dreaming about?!”

He tried looking behind him.

“We’re in class. Take it seriously and face forward. I will not allow delinquency.” Sasara said something unusually sensible to him. She then squeezed her Ouka plushie.

“Silence! I am the law! You will never be in a position to talk back to me!”

“You made your own words irrelevant with your doll!”

“I cannot calm my nerves unless I hear her voice at least fifty times a day.”

“What are you, a chain smoker?”

The doll presented no harm to her physical health, but it was probably too late for her emotional health.

“Either way, we are students while we are in this room. It is our role to work our hardest on our studies, so: Silence! I am the law! You will never be in a position to talk back to me!”

“Don’t squeeze it while you’re talking! I can’t hear you!”

A new farce was building, but he couldn’t care less.

Ryouta muttered what his heart was thinking. “Enemies on all sides…”

Oh, so this is what that expression was referring to.

“Enami Analsai? Who’s that supposed to be? I won’t let her off easy.” Ouka immediately took the bait.

“Don’t tell me you’re personifying it!”

“Enami, Enami Analsai, fourteen, second-year junior high schooler. Her harsh words and harsher exterior have earned her the resentment of many, but deep down, she has a massive soft spot for her brother.”

“Don’t give her a backstory. And that’s not what enemies on all sides means!”

“This is You’re Rouko, I’m Kouko! in a nutshell.”

“You read it, too, Ouka…?”

“Kin Hayashimori is one of the top ten comedy manga artists in the whole Empire.”

“That point of reference doesn’t really do anything for me…”

How many comedy manga artists did this tiny empire even have?

The bell rang.

It felt like first period had dragged on forever.

Once it was break time, Ryouta went straight to the bathroom.

He didn’t need to use it, but he sat on one of the toilets. Girls wouldn’t come in here, of course. Kiyomizu might force her way in, though.

His days had been full of this nonsense for a little while now.

And if he was being honest with himself, he would say they were getting worse.

“It’s not really that different from when I was in Japan now…”

Ryouta heaved his fifth sigh of the day as he sat on the toilet.

He had been tormented in Japan because of his curse that made him overly attractive to girls, which was nice in only one way. It wouldn’t have been a problem if he was solely attractive to the girls who he liked, but he had nearly been kidnapped and thrown into danger more than a few times.

War had almost broken out between the girls’ kendo club and the girls’ archery club once.

In the beginning, he thought he would be fine living in the Empire. He would have a carefree life among the Sacred Blooded, who were unaffected by the curse of attraction. At least, that was the hope.

“Why? It’s becoming the same as when I lived in Japan… And they’re even more dangerous than back then…”

The only relief was that the people he had problems with were still few enough to count…

“One minute left. I wish I could stay for seven more, though.”

He had to take rests during breaks when he could; otherwise, his body would seriously fail him.

But just then, he sensed bloodlust again.

He couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but there was a chance that the threat was in the bathroom already.

Was it an assassin? Kiyomizu was a member of an organization called the Virginal Father, so he couldn’t rule it out. And there were plenty of people with different ideologies within the Empire.

But from what he could tell, the presence wasn’t dangerous. The aura felt much softer.

He could hear voices coming from the urinals outside.

“Why is Fuyukura the only one getting all the girls?”

“No matter how you slice it, this morning sucked.”

“At this rate, he’ll have all the girls under his thumb.”

“Then he’ll have a harem for real. I can’t believe this. Her Majesty is obviously gorgeous, but Tatsunami is definitely top five in our grade. The nerds already made a fan club for Jouryuuji, too. They call themselves Jouryuuji’s Guardians or something.”

No way! Kiyomizu already has a fan club in this country…?

Kiyomizu would always find popularity with a very narrow range of people.

No, wait, that’s not the point… The very thing I was afraid of is happening…

He had his apprehensions, but the boys were actually starting to get jealous.

If he were in their shoes, he would think, Why only him…? This was incredibly unfair. And if the trend of jealousy persisted, the other boys would start treating him like a criminal, too, and then he would no longer have any sanctuary.

He would have to clear up this misunderstanding with them before he found himself totally ostracized.

But at this rate, they were headed for a point of no return.

“No, no! We can’t be too lenient about this! This is a revolution centered entirely around Ryouta Fuyukura! This is the same as Year Two, Class Three being under a dictatorship by this individual! Do you think the democratic world would allow such a thing? Should we not stand for our own freedom?!”

“We must rise up! We will defeat Ryouta Fuyukura!”

“Yes, we will!”

“Free the class from his tyranny!”

“Freedom for the Sacred Blooded!”

“Bigger allowances!”

“I wanna be popular with the ladies, too!”

Hey, wait! The primary goal of protests and rebellions used to be toppling the regime, not getting girls… Also, we’re in an empire… This isn’t a democracy…

Unable to leave the bathroom, Ryouta heard the conversation unfold. His curse had made him the target of jealousy quite a few times in the past, but he never thought he’d be called a dictator.

His circle of enemies wasn’t going to end with the desks around him. Before long, the whole class would be against him.

“But it’s still too early to act. It’s not like he’s actually done anything bad. We still don’t have a reasonable motive. If we do anything now, he’ll just think we’re a bunch of jealous, unpopular nerds.”

“Yeah. And we’re not jealous, unpopular nerds; we’re doing this for freedom and for democracy.”

Oh good. They’re idiots.

“That’s why we’ll wait and watch. But if he starts making the girls in class cry, we’ll have to take up our weapons. Twelve-inch rulers.”

That’s a pretty flimsy choice for a weapon…

“I’ll use Kotetsu, faithful blade of Isami Kondo of the Shinsengumi!”

“I’ll have the feared spear from Norse mythology, Gungnir!”

“I’ll cut him down with King Arthur’s Excalibur!”

Wait a sec… Why are they claiming all these legendary weapons?! I-I’m gonna die…

“And I shall claim the mighty war hammer! And we will wield our rulers with spirit. In our hearts, our rulers will be Kotetsu and Excalibur and so on.”

Oh good. They’re idiots.

“Men, you are dismissed for today! We shall reconvene next break!”

““Yessir!””

The awkward war council meeting (?) had finally drawn to a close.

It looked like he wouldn’t have to worry about any random attacks from the boys for the time being.

But at this rate, holing up in the bathroom wouldn’t be a viable tactic anymore.

He had to do something.