EPISODE 5

LET’S OFFER A SACRIFICE TO THE DEITY!

“This is it, right?”

Ryouta was looking up.

“It seems so.”

Tamaki was, too.

There was a small shrine among the dense trees. A massive rock jutted out from the ground above the small shrine. A sacred Shinto straw festoon had been wrapped around it, indicating that it contained the spirit of the deity. Alfoncina had said as much, though it wasn’t unusual for rocks and mountains to be deified.

Around the area were several stone statues of foxes. It was probably a fox deity.

“This whole place sure makes me think there’s a god around here.”

“We would certainly die if that rock fell… I would hope it would be a quick death, but if that fails and we’re still alive, then no one would come to help us. How awful…”

“Well, when you say that, I don’t want to get too close…”

“I see you’ve finally brought me an offering.”

A voice came from the large stone. It seemed as if the boulder itself was talking to them.

“Ryouta, I can hear something I shouldn’t be hearing… I must be hallucinating…”

“I hear it, too. That rock is probably the god.”

“The stone is representative of my divine spirit, not who I am precisely. I would hope I don’t have to show my face to you. It is a lot of work.”

“That sure sounds lazy to me!”

“Ryouta, you’re talking to a god! Please don’t get sassy!”

Oh yeah, Tamaki was right.

Since Ryouta typically spoke casually to emperors and other important people, his sense for these things had blurred somewhat.

“No need to be nervous. We are equals, equals.”

This god was considerably straightforward.

“Hmm, I am relieved to finally have an offering. As the eras march on, fewer and fewer people have brought me offerings, so I’ve been starving… And since this Sacred Blood Empire or whatnot was founded, I’ve received even fewer tributes. My stomach is about to stick to my spine.”

“It’s not very convincing when a stone says it to me… But I’m sorry you’ve been through so much hardship.”

There was no way for the rock to change expressions, so conversing with it proved unexpectedly difficult.

“In fact, I’ve been so weak that I haven’t been able to go buy the new volume and merchandise for YouRou IKou.”

“You’re a rock, how are you managing that?! Do you go out to the store like a normal person?!”

“I have my daughter purchase it for me. She has a human form.”

This god was oddly grounded in earthly affairs.

“Though they may be selling YouRou IKou goods, I am still angry that they’ve thrown a festival on shrine grounds without my knowing… I was so furious, I had to mete out retribution.”

“What?! We can’t have that! How exactly did you dole out your punishment?”

“Mm. I randomly selected several subjects of the Sacred Blood Empire to suffer misfortune. For example, I made all the answers to their test be one off, had a flask explode during a science class experiment, had a teammate hit them on the head with a volleyball, and so on.”

“All of those things happened to me!” Tamaki was so shocked that she yelled. Everything had landed on her.

“Oh dear, I had no idea it all concentrated on a single person. You have terrible luck.”

Tamaki was apparently so unlucky that even this deity was surprised.

“But if we’re talking misfortune, then my big sister would’ve fit the bill, too…,” remarked Ryouta. Falling off a cliff wasn’t the worst thing to happen to Rei.

“I have no interest in girls in their twenties.”

“And that’s an even more terrible thing to say! Don’t tell that to my sister; it’ll hurt her feelings!”

“Well now, bring me my offering. My daughter and I are hungry.”

“It’s kind of surreal for a boulder to have a family…”

Unfortunately, Ryouta and Tamaki were in a bit of a pickle. They didn’t have the offering. Not only that, but it seemed that the deity had been eagerly looking forward to it.

It was going to require courage for the two to fess up about losing the abura-age. They might be on the receiving end of the god’s divine wrath.

Ryouta had no choice but to confess, however. Helping Tamaki was paramount. Ryouta took a step forward.

“Please wait.” Tamaki stopped him. “I will do this.”

“But—”

“When you see someone powerless, you step in to help. Even I can manage something like this. After all—it is the job of a priestess to serve a god.”

For a brief moment, Tamaki smiled at Ryouta. Then strength filled her eyes. “We do not have your offering!”

“What…did you say…?”

It seemed like the god was shocked, as it should be.

“Our gift was stolen on the way up here. That is why we have nothing to give you.”

“Then… Then that means I’m going to starve to death…”

Ryouta wasn’t sure how exactly this deity was going to starve, but apparently it was possible.

“S-so you mean to say that you came all this way without anything to offer me…? To be honest, that upsets me.”

The god was genuinely angry at them. Suddenly, the sky clouded over, and crows started cawing. The atmosphere turned quite menacing; were Ryouta and Tamaki going to be okay?

“I—I suppose next, I’m supposed to be the sacrifice instead, right…? I’m prepared for whatever happens! Y-you are going to say Then I shall take you as an offering! or something, right…? Come to me, then… But I would rather you didn’t…”

“No, I’m not going to do anything that sinister. Bear, come out.”

A literal bear appeared, walking on two legs, and stood before Ryouta and Tamaki.

““Gah, a bear!”” the two exclaimed.

“It’s all right. The bear is my kin, so it won’t go wild. All the animals on this mountain yield to me.”

The bear was holding something that looked like a dartboard.

It handed a dart to Tamaki with an unsettling amount of skill.

“Toss that at the retribution board. You should be the one to decide your own fate.”

The target was divided up, like a pie chart, in several different colors.

This was what was written on it:

“‘Scrubbing brush’ what?!”

Ryouta just had to interject.

“I thought it might be good to insert something for entertainment value.”

This god’s way of thinking had definitely gotten screwed up somewhere along the line.

“Now throw your dart. What it lands on will become your destiny.”

“But a whole lot of these acts of vengeance are kind of weak. Are you okay with that? One of them says you’ll even make her wishes come true.”

The most dangerous ones were a life of service or becoming a sacrifice.

“What sort of despot would I be to curse you to die just for not bringing an offering? That being said, people would take advantage of me if I simply did nothing at all. So I created this system.”

“Okay, I’m throwing the dart now.” Tamaki took aim. Here she would decide her fate. This girl wasn’t going to be a slave to destiny. She was creating her own. “Here I go!”

With a little jump of effort, Tamaki threw the dart. It flew, carrying her fate!

And landed right in the bear’s paw.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Bear! You can stick it in my hand, instead!”

“We don’t need that kind of eye-for-an-eye philosophy right now! And why are you so bad at darts, Shijou?!”

“The bear says, It’s fine. It may hurt, but it’s no big deal.”

“I’m so glad…”

“But he also says that if you hit him again, he will pummel you.”

“H-he’ll kill me…”

“Throw it again.”

“Okay, let me gather myself again, and— Yah!”

It landed on “Become a sacrifice.”

“Th-th-this is awful!”

“You truly have the worst luck, girl. Y’know, I had a feeling you might land on that one.”

It seemed like a premeditated(?) crime.

“Well, your punishment has been chosen, and the matter is settled. You will be a delicious meal for me.”

Little animals appeared from the grass, as though they’d been waiting for their chance. Each was only slightly larger than a cat.

“Foxes!”

By the time Ryouta and Tamaki realized what was happening, they were encircled by dozens of the creatures.

“I guess it was a fox god, after all…”

“Not exactly, but you could say that the foxes are like my guard dogs. Now, get the girl.”

Many long, slender things slithered out of the grass and swiftly entwined themselves around Tamaki.

“Ahh! Tentacles! How disgusting!”

“They’re not tentacles. They’re snakes.”

One of the serpents wrapped around Tamaki’s arm flicked its tongue with a hiss.

“Ahhhh! I hate this!”

The slithering tentacles…er, snakes dragged her along.

The doors to the shrine opened on their own.

Even though it shouldn’t have been that big, the shrine’s interior appeared large and dark. It was almost like the entrance to the underworld.

“A-are you going to drag me in there?! No! I have enough darkness in my family!”

“Shijou! I’m coming!”

Just as Ryouta was about to dash to Tamaki’s side, however, the bear barred his way.

“Heh-heh, I have complete control over every animal on this mountain!”

“Then I’ll go around…”

Unfortunately, the foxes were hemming Ryouta in from all directions.

Then groups of monkeys and deer started to show up.

It wasn’t easy to break through when animals as big as deer started to block the way. It wouldn’t be easy to just go around them.

“The boy will not be allowed to intervene. And you will become the sacrifice that you are. Ooooh…long, black hair, ooooh…”

Ryouta had an inkling as to why people had stopped believing in this god.

“Dammit! I have to do something! Otherwise, Shijou’s gonna be taken by a perv!”

The snakes were slowly pulling Tamaki in.

“Ohhh, please stop… My unhappiness will only spread to you if you eat me…”

It seemed like she was trying to resist, but she was just barely slowing the progress.

Tamaki was pulled down onto the ground, still being dragged along toward the darkness beyond the shrine’s doors. More snakes wrapped around her. This stone god was serious about making Tamaki its sacrifice.

“Stop… You’ll tear my priestess outfit… I don’t have the money for it… I know this isn’t the time to be worrying about that, though…”

This wasn’t the time to be standing by and doing nothing, either.

“Move!” Ryouta slammed his back into the bear, ignoring his fears.

But the great beast didn’t even budge. It had looked very silly holding the dartboard, but a bear was still a bear. Ryouta’s weight wasn’t enough to budge it.

If only Ryouta had brought the sword that Ouka had gifted him. It was much too late for that, however. He had to make do with whatever strength he had now.

“I said move! There’s no time! I’ll give you some honey or something later!”

“It’s no use. I have employed all the animals on this mountain, and I control them all. You cannot bribe them with treats.”

“What do you mean ‘employed’?!”

“We have a contract where, in exchange for working for me, I give them wages and share my food with them. In short, I haven’t had enough offerings to pay them in two months…”

“You have such a businesslike relationship with them…”

“Animals don’t have the concept of faith… A-anyway, I’m taking the girl!”

This whole situation couldn’t get any worse.

“Gaaah! Why is my strength alone not enough to defeat a single bear?!”

“I mean, you must know, right? A high school kid can’t beat such a powerful, wild animal.”

“No one asked for your commentary! Dammit! Move, bear!”

“It won’t! I’m controlling it!”

Wait.

There might actually be something Ryouta could do, and he didn’t have time to fret over its chances of success. All he could do was act with his hands, feet, and brain the way they were now. Ryouta turned away from the bear and the other animals and yelled out loud.

“Hey, I think I see some abura-age !”

“Abura-age ?! Wait, where, where, where? Where’s the abura-age ?”

All of the animals froze.

Since the god was controlling the creatures, if it lost concentration, its hold on them would loosen.

And Ryouta’s guess had been right on the money.

“Shijou!”

While the bear was frozen, Ryouta leaped toward Tamaki and took her hand. He could feel how cold she was.

“You are incredible, Ryouta. You broke through a whole barricade.”

“No, it wasn’t that much. C’mon. I’m saving you!”

But Tamaki was still being towed along. Those snakes were stronger than Ryouta thought they’d be.

“Hey! You’re just supposed to be snakes!”

“Hrm, I had a lapse in concentration, but that won’t happen again.”

The bear grabbed Ryouta’s foot.

“Stop! Let me go!”

Ryouta was tossed up into the air. He skidded on his elbows when he landed, but he quickly scrambled to his feet. Yet the bear only snatched him up and hurled him away again. Each time Ryouta tried to move closer to Tamaki, the bear threw him back.

“Shijou!”

However, that wasn’t reason enough to quit. Ryouta gripped Tamaki’s hand, even though he knew she would be ripped from him right after. Getting close to her was still progress.

Meanwhile, Tamaki was pushing down on her own feelings. She couldn’t think about how happy she was that Ryouta was trying to rescue her. That would only hurt him.

“Ryouta, stop! You’ll only get more hurt! There’s nothing you can do!”

“I’m doing this because I know there’s something I can do!”

The bear slammed Ryouta into the ground. This was like a fight between a child and an adult. It was probably good that the beast wasn’t biting him, but Ryouta had no clue how he was going to pull this off.

“This is hard on my own…”

“Stop! Don’t come any closer!” Tamaki screamed. It was all she could do, so she did it with all her heart. “I was prepared to be a sacrifice! Please leave me be!”

“I can’t do that! You were so excited about getting to wear the yukata, Shijou! I’m going to fight until you’re happy!”

Neither Ryouta, nor his master, Shiren, would ever allow things to end this way.

A voice echoed in Ryouta’s head.

It hurts me to see you hurt.

Was he hearing things? No. It was a telepathic message. The Sacred Blooded could impart their will onto their minions.

That’s right—Ryouta could already hear Tamaki’s voice. He could practically call her his master now.

“It’s okay. I’ve always wanted to live for someone else’s sake. My heart desires to do this for you, Ryouta! For you!” Tamaki cried, forcing herself to smile. She had been anticipating the worst ever since they came to the mountain. “So please, don’t hurt yourself anymore. You’re covered in cuts…”

Ryouta was bleeding considerably because he’d skinned his elbows. It wasn’t much compared with how much blood others had sucked from him, but that didn’t make it feel any better.

“I know how you feel, Shijou,” Ryouta said as he closed his eyes.

“You finally understand.”

The expression on Tamaki’s face let him know she had no regrets. She was going to be dragged straight into the shrine and disappear. However, Ryouta set off running again.

Tamaki’s expression twisted. “Why are you doing this?!”

She might have steeled herself for this, but…

“I’m happy you want to live for me, but I won’t allow you to die for me!”

Ryouta wouldn’t pull back here, either.

This was the one thing he would never let up on. It was the same as when Sasara had targeted Shiren—Ryouta never knew when to quit.

“And I understand what the voice in your heart meant.”

“Then please, give up! You never know when to stop!”

Tamaki thought she’d mentally shouted that seeing Ryouta hurt made her miserable.

“I heard you say, I don’t want to give up.”

“I don’t remember saying that!”

“I said that was the voice in your heart,” Ryouta replied with confidence. “I’m practically your minion at this point, Shijou. I know how you feel.”

“Oh…”

That blood-drinking earlier had made Tamaki’s feelings painfully evident.

“I’d be a failure of a minion if I couldn’t respond to my master’s emotions.”

Once again, Ryouta charged after Tamaki. The bear stood in the way, but Ryouta’s drive was an unstoppable force. It didn’t matter. No matter what came his way, he still had to save Tamaki.

Even if his limbs couldn’t reach her, he would forge a new fate for her by will alone.

Ryouta had his own deity on his side, after all.

The Goddess of Blood of the Holy Church of the Sacred Blood, and—

Suddenly, an accident befell the bear. Its eyes widened, then it fell on the spot.

There was a blowgun dart sticking out of its back.

“That’s not a regular dart, is it…?” When Ryouta turned around, there stood Kiyomizu and Shiren.

“I knew I’d have to come save you,” Shiren declared.

“What are you getting all high and mighty for?! I was the one that did that! I will make sure that bear regrets having lived to hurt Ryouta dearest!” Kiyomizu exclaimed.

Reinforcements had finally come.

If Ryouta really thought about it, it was nothing short of a miracle. But he also knew this was no mere happy accident. He’d never once doubted someone would come to help him and Tamaki.

There was a good reason he never knew when to give up.

Over and over, Ryouta had learned that his tenacity always brought happiness and victory.

“Honestly, I can’t believe you can’t keep your master’s friend safe all on your own. You’re still inexperienced as a minion. Serve me well and polish your skills.”

“You’re late. Shijou was just about to be turned into a sacrifice.”

“We fought with a bear, okay? We were busy. But I’m glad you’re all safe.”

“We’re not out of the woods yet. I knew that if I held out long enough, though, you’d come.” Ryouta stared into Shiren’s eyes when he said that. The girl’s face flushed slightly.

“Wh-why would you believe something like that…?”

“I thought that you might come rushing over when your minion and friend got into a fix…”

“Ha! So what?!” the deity’s voice boomed. “Those two little ones might be here to back you up, but it changes nothing. The animals of the forest surround you!”

Beasts of all kinds appeared around Ryouta and the others.

Lions.

Jackals.

Camels.

Elephants.

“No way these things live on a mountain in Japan!”

“Heartless humans discarded them to live in the wild. I think.”

Honestly, people should stop leaving lions out to dry, but this was hardly the time for animal rights complaints.

“Hmm, lions or no, it’s not a big deal. Go to sleep!”

Kiyomizu readied her blowgun darts and peppered the animals with them.

The beasts, unable to defend themselves as humans would, were showered with the darts, and they fell on the spot.

“Hey, you’re not killing them, are you…? They’re just resting, right…?” Ryouta asked.

Any animal protection group would have a fit if they saw this. Since Kiyomizu had yelled something about sleeping, it was probably okay, though.

“All right, good job, Kiyomizu! Leave the rest to me!”

Shiren, who’d done nothing so far, puffed out her chest.

Unfortunately, it was hard to say that the tide had turned in their favor.

“You’re too slow. There is no end for you now.”

More and more animals emerged from the thickets.

No matter how fast Kiyomizu shot out darts, more appeared just as quickly.

Some of them started going for Ryouta.

“Gah! Get away from me!”

All the while, Tamaki was being dragged toward the shrine.

“Ryouta, Tamaki! I’m coming!”

“And then what?” Kiyomizu whispered to Shiren. “Are you going to save Ryouta dearest, or Tamaki? Give your answer now. I won’t do anything until you do.”

Kiyomizu was pressuring her to respond.

Shiren didn’t reply; it was her way of running away.

From Kiyomizu’s perspective, as a girl who was always so clear about how she liked Ryouta, she probably couldn’t stand Shiren’s lukewarm behavior.

Brutish beasts were running straight toward Ryouta. If Shiren helped Tamaki first, she wouldn’t make it in time. Shiren looked at Ryouta, then Tamaki.

No one said anything.

But Shiren could sense something that went beyond words.

Ryouta wanted to say, Save Shijou!

Tamaki wanted to say, Please save Ryouta! But that wasn’t the only feeling she held.

I can’t face Shiren.

Shiren understood those silent words as she watched Tamaki turn away in embarrassment.

I’m sorry for taking Ryouta.

There was even a hint of pride in Tamaki. If Shiren were to fight back, then this was the only way it could happen.

Shiren looked at Tamaki, whose expression laid bare all her feelings, then nodded slightly.

“I have my answer.” Shiren kicked off the ground and ran toward Ryouta. “You’re all banged up again.” She helped him slowly sit up.

“How else am I supposed to be? But at least it’s better than being dea— Wait, why did you come for me?! Shijou, she’s—!”

Tamaki watched and smiled.

“This is the natural outcome. But I’m okay with that.”

“Tamaki, this isn’t going the way you think,” Shiren said, a hint of exasperation in her voice. “Now, let’s get to it. Let me have your arm, Ryouta. You’ve bled so much, and it’s going to waste.”

When Ryouta heard that, he understood everything.

Shiren started to lick Ryouta’s arm.

His pitifully bloodied one.

Tamaki stared hard at them.

This wasn’t a seductive blood-drinking but an act of cooperation between two people that trusted each other.

At that moment, Shiren’s body changed.

Wings that could only be described as divine sprouted from her back, ripping apart her yukata. She was the spitting image the grand deity of the Holy Church of the Sacred Blood, the Goddess of Blood.

“Kiyomizu, you told me to choose between Ryouta and Tamaki. The answer is obvious, of course. Both. Why would I ever play by your unimaginative either-or rules?”

“That is unfair! Even if you can make it work this time, that doesn’t mean it will be next time!”

“I don’t care if this destroys my body.”

The transformed Shiren turned to Tamaki and started walking to her.

“Sorry I took so long, Tamaki.”

Shiren took Tamaki’s hand, and she was quickly pulled free of the snakes. All of Ryouta’s efforts were like a joke compared to this.

“Th-thank you, Shiren… To show mercy to a thieving cat like me…”

“Thieving cat?”

A shade of anger crossed Shiren’s face.

“You haven’t stolen anything, Tamaki. No, nothing at all. Well, I might have to punish Ryouta, though.”

“You pulled her free of the serpents! What is the meaning of this?! This is no mortal’s power!”

When the deity expressed its surprise, Ryouta took on a look of confidence.

“Hey, boulder god, you might be way more important than any old person, but we’ve got a goddess on our side, too!”

If beatings and blood loss hadn’t addled his mind, Ryouta would never have called Shiren a goddess. But given the dire stakes, he could get away with it this once. She looked exactly like the statue of the Goddess of Blood, after all.

“Now, this calls for legitimate self-defense.”

When Shiren returned to Ryouta, she flung away all the beasts that had been closing in on him.

Neither the lions nor the elephants were anything to fear. Shiren literally tossed the animals away.

Watching an elephant fly was a more surreal sight than Ryouta thought it would be.

“Man, it was scary when we fought with Rei, but it looks so easy this time.” Ryouta, now simply an onlooker, murmured to himself with a profound expression. “And it looks like she’s still conscious, even after transforming. I guess she’s matured.”

The first time Shiren had transformed, she hadn’t hesitated to beat Sasara to a pulp. She’d gone full destruction-god mode. Compared with back then, she was much closer to being a good, honest person.

“Now, I suppose it’s time to break this rock,” Shiren said breezily.

“No, stop! If the stone is destroyed, then I’ll have nothing to house me!”

“But we don’t really want you to commit such atrocities again, do we? Let’s smash it. Kiyomizu, what do you think?”

“(Speaking of gods, Ryouta dearest is one. Anyone who hurts him while calling themselves a deity should be eradicated. That is why…) …we should break it. Isn’t that right, Ryouta dearest?”

“Uh, there was a long silence before you answered that question, but I’m not going to say anything. I think we should destroy it.”

“Indeed. And you, Tamaki?”

“Um, I might be punished for it—”

“Yes, you’re right! We should break it! It’s a unanimous vote! Don’t worry; smashing a rock won’t leave a stain on your conscience!”

The four, somewhat forcefully, came to a decision to destroy the boulder.

“Stop! I have a daughter! Have mercy!”

“Well, the daughter of a stone must be a pebble. Or does that mean your real body isn’t this stone?”

“My true self is indeed far away, but without an object for me to inhabit, I won’t be able to intervene in this world for a while. If that happens, then I would not be able to see my daughter, who lives on this Earth…”

“Hmm. What’s your daughter like? I can only imagine the most bizarre things.”

“She often thinks of her father and is kind. She’s a good girl.”

“I didn’t ask what she is to you.”

“She is truly wonderful, I am proud of her. I don’t want to be apart from her…”

“I suppose you are father and daughter… Well, time to break this thing.”

“What?! You’re still going to smash the stone, even after I expressed my familial love?!”

“I mean, you’re a rock.”

Shiren knew that her transformation would soon expire; she wondered if she really should try to destroy the boulder.

“Leave Papa alone!”

A rather squeaky voice came out of nowhere.

Shiren, Kiyomizu, Ryouta, and Tamaki looked toward the voice, and there stood a girl with rabbit ears. She gripped a white bag in her hands.

Her hair was bobbed, and she wore a childish-looking skirt. Upon closer inspection, her T-shirt had a picture of Rouko from YouRou IKou on it. She must’ve gotten it at the First Cathedral.

“Ryouta dearest, that’s the one! That bunny-eared girl is the real thief!”

“But it called the rock ‘Papa’… Which means that the god’s daughter is the culprit…”

“It’s my fault for stealing! Forgive Papa!”

As everyone around her wondered what was going on, Shiren approached the girl. By the way, the wings from her transformation had disappeared.

“Wh-what…? What are you going to do to me…?”

“An experiment,” Shiren stated before pinching one of the girl’s ears. Then she lifted her up.

“Owwwwwwwwwwww! Don’t pluck me by the ears! Not the ears!”

“Oh, they’re not coming off. I guess they’re real.”

“Hey! Don’t tear them off! Let her go!”

“Sorry, Ryouta. Those bunny ears really kept me guessing. By the way, what’s in that sack?”

Out of the bag came the stolen abura-age as well as various goods that looked like they’d been pilfered from Nine-to-Eleven.

“It seems to be connected to another dimension. Hey, bunny ears, you have something to say, don’t you?” Kiyomizu glared at the girl.

“We had so few offerings, we were about to starve, so I went around stealing food. I apologize for thieving…”

The girl’s ears drooped. They made her emotions especially easy to understand.

“By the way, what’s with the shirt?”

“I lined up to buy it.”

“Use that money to buy food!” Shiren snapped. The rabbit-eared robber was at fault here, so it wasn’t entirely unreasonable. “But Ryouta and Tamaki had their offering stolen, and we ended up in a fight with the god, so…I dunno if you would call this bad luck or what…”

There was certainly no mistake that this was all quite a headache.

“It was my daughter who caused you trouble, so there is nothing I can say. I’m sorry…”

“For a god, you really have no dignity, do you?” Kiyomizu remarked.

“I mean, he’s apologized, so let’s forgive him. If we give him any more trouble, we’d just be like one of those people who goes to the store every day to complain, and I don’t want that. Yeah. I want to be the bigger person this time. Isn’t that right, Master?”

“Y-yeah…I’m generous enough to let something like this slide…”

Ryouta had realized a little while ago that whenever he called Shiren “Master,” she would get much softer.

“By the way, bunny girl, what’s your name?” Shiren looked at the culprit.

“Kokoko—it means fox-fox-girl. Because I’m a fox.”

“Listen, rabbit ears, I might’ve forgiven both of you, but I’m still going to get angry if you get carried away with your jokes.”

“Hey, I’m a fox! No matter how you look at me!”

Kokoko’s ears were twitching the whole time.

“What’s your favorite food?”

“Carrots…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​…​and abura-age.”

It sounded like her preference was carrots.

“Can you stand being alone?”

“I might die if I’m left alone, so these past few days were hard…”

“I knew it. You’re not a fox! Get a grip!”

“No, I’m a fox! See, Papa told me that when he raised me!”

So that rock was at fault here.

Everyone turned to stare at it.

“Er…I thought rabbit ears were much cuter than fox ears…”

For some reason, it felt like the boulder had turned to look away. It was inanimate, though, so it was probably just everyone’s imagination.

“Kokoko, was it? Look, just live a good, full life as a fox, okay? I’m tired of trying to make this work.”

“Th-thanks, hop…”

Kokoko bowed.

Shiren wasn’t going to comment Kokoko’s apparent verbal tic.

“Now, today’s a day of selflessness…”

Shiren glanced at Tamaki.