The Aftermath and an Unexpected Rescue

‘Speechless… utterly speechless…’

Leaving Leidi slightly behind, Sister Ruka and I emerged from the hotel, our faces grim. It was a place that, by all accounts, was far from respectable.

A faint rustling sound, a “chasha chasha,” echoed through the alley. It was the first noise that could be called ‘normal’ we’d heard in a while.

For some inexplicable reason, this seemingly meaningless, even bothersome, noise brought a strange sense of relief.

I found myself yearning to hear more of it.

“Sister Ruka…” I turned to look at her, though I couldn’t articulate why.

My voice dropped, heavy with an unspoken burden. All that remained was an ineffable unease, palpable and overwhelming.

“Ping-chan… I understand.”

….

….

As expected, Sister Ruka felt the same way I did.

After witnessing what we had, how could either of us possibly act as if nothing had happened?

“What’s all this about? What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing, nothing! Absolutely nothing!” Sister Ruka and I exclaimed in unison.

We quickly turned to see Leidi skipping towards us, a look of pure delight on her face. Sister Ruka and I instinctively shook our heads and waved our hands, perfectly synchronized.

‘She was terrifying… Leidi just now was absolutely terrifying!’

“What’s wrong? Why do I feel like you’re scared of me?” Leidi asked, as if trying to dispel any misunderstanding. She looped her arms around Sister Ruka’s neck and mine, pulling us together in a tight embrace.

“L-L-Leidi… do you… do you have a sadistic streak?” Even as Leidi’s arm remained around my neck, I averted my gaze, hesitant to meet her eyes.

The outrageously disturbing scenes from moments ago were seared into my memory, impossible to forget.

“No, why would you ask that?” Leidi questioned, leaning her face closer with a puzzled expression.

“R-R-Really? L-Leidi, it’s alright to tell us the truth! W-W-We’re still friends!”

Sister Ruka, who hadn’t even been directly questioned, became visibly flustered, her words coming out in a trembling whisper.

“Did… did you two misunderstand something?”

‘How utterly baffling!’

Leidi, however, wore a genuinely perplexed expression in response to Sister Ruka’s and my remarks.

‘Could she truly be unaware? No, that’s impossible!’

“Are… are you serious? You hung that person up!” I questioned, turning to stare directly into Leidi’s eyes, an incredulous expression on my face.

Yet, her reply was—

“A person? Heh, can trash like that even be called human?”

“…”

“…”

Sister Ruka and I fell silent in an instant. Our mouths hung open, but no sound escaped.

Leidi’s words… they were quite disturbing.

“Trash like that doesn’t deserve human rights. Why do you even care?” Leidi said, giving us a slight shake as she led us forward.

“N-N-No, Leidi, are you sure there’s nothing wrong with what you just said?” I tried to confirm once more.

“Of course there’s nothing wrong! If that trash could be called human, why would I have done that?”

‘Done that…’

I had initially believed Leidi merely intended to find a secluded spot and give them a simple beating. But the reality…

‘Ugh… just recalling it made my eyes ache.’

“Leidi, I’m serious, don’t you think what you did was a little excessive? No, I mean, *way* too excessive?!”

She even corrected herself. It seemed Sister Ruka had also grasped the gravity of the situation.

“If you don’t show trash like that a lesson, they’ll remain trash, without even a chance to be recycled and remade.”

‘Hm?’

‘Was Leidi implying that such actions would lead those men to reform themselves?!’

“Isn’t that just an excuse?” I retorted, feeling there was something crucial I needed to understand.

“Hmm—it’s certainly a very reasonable excuse to give those pieces of trash the punishment they deserve. But what I said is true, too~ Do this, and perhaps these bits of trash will truly become decent people again~” Leidi declared with twelve-tenths smugness, glancing between us with a mischievous, impish grin.

“Couldn’t you have said that with a little less righteousness…? It was incredibly terrifying just now…”

“Me too, I was scared to death… I actually thought Leidi was a pervert just now…”

What a relief. We’d both feared Leidi had transformed into something truly monstrous.

“Let’s hurry back, or Maid Chief Yamashiro will start lecturing us again.” Leidi said, quickening her pace while still holding us close.

“I still find it hard to reconcile the person you were just now with the person you are currently,” I said with a wry sigh. I then gently pushed Leidi’s hand away and walked separately, finding the action more natural.

“What’s so strange about that? I think you’re a completely different person when you’re cooking compared to your usual self,” Leidi retorted, rolling her eyes playfully at me from where she was still draped over Sister Ruka.

“Huh?! That’s not quite the same…” I paused, intending to deny it outright.

“Now that you mention it…” Sister Ruka mused, surprisingly agreeing with Leidi.

‘Thinking about it, why does that suddenly make so much sense?! How terrifying! This time, I’m terrified of myself!’

Joking and chatting amongst ourselves, we exited the adult alleyway, a place thick with the scent of desires. However, just as we stepped out of the alley mouth—

“Colt!”

A familiar voice rang out from beside us. It was Prince Aoyama, running towards us.

“Aoyama?”

“Prince Aoyama?”

“Junior? What are you doing here?!”

We all looked at him, bewildered.

How could he be here? Wasn’t he supposed to be working as a waiter at “Beethoven”?

“Are you two alright?”

Reaching us, Prince Aoyama cast a cautious glance our way. Then, covering his face with his hand, he revealed an enigmatic smile.

Only up close did we notice his clothes were soaked with sweat, and his face bore a disheveled, weary expression. Why was he so exhausted?

“It seems I worried for nothing…”

‘He seemed… inexplicably relieved. What was going on?’

“What happened? Did something occur?” Out of genuine concern, I still asked.

“Just now, some customers at the restaurant were talking about you two being taken away on the street by some rather unsavory men… I got a little worried, so I chased after you,” Prince Aoyama explained, pulling out his phone and turning the screen towards us.

‘This interface… I think it’s called Twitter, right? I saw it last time when the bunny girl photos were leaked.’ On the screen, beneath some Japanese text I couldn’t fully decipher, was a photo taken from the side, showing us surrounded by those three men.

‘Had the news spread from back then? But… quite some time had passed since then…’

‘Could it be?!’

“Regardless, you went through a lot of trouble,” Leidi said with a faint smile, extending a handkerchief to him.

“To think that even a wasted trip could yield such a delightful reward. Princess, you truly are kind.” Prince Aoyama said, flashing a bright, joyful smile at us—a smile unlike his usual demeanor.

‘Prince Aoyama… he came to rescue us.’

“You know our situation, don’t you? I can’t believe you’d do something so foolish…”

“Ah, we’re truly sorry. We’re perfectly fine…”

‘Was Leidi’s remark sarcasm? It didn’t quite feel like it. And my own words probably weren’t an apology either… My feelings were a bit complicated.’

With a mix of doubt and certainty, Sister Ruka asked Prince Aoyama, “Junior, I recall you have excellent stamina, don’t you? You didn’t…?”

Prince Aoyama chuckled, a self-deprecating sound, his head bowed. Yet, he kept the expression on his face hidden from us.

“It wouldn’t do to lie to a lady. Yes, I truly searched for you, shop by shop.”

‘Just as I thought… he really did that.’

“I’m sorry…” Although it wasn’t strictly our fault, I still apologized to him. A pang of guilt struck me; he must be utterly exhausted right now.

“While it was unnecessarily foolish, it’s surprisingly hard to dislike. Right now, you’re a proud ninety out of a hundred,” Leidi stated. ‘She must be thanking him, right? Yes, perhaps gratitude is more fitting than an apology.’

“Truly, that’s a score I can be proud of.” Prince Aoyama, still with his head bowed, seemed to savor her words.

At that moment, Leidi gently tapped Prince Aoyama’s still-bowed head, prompting him to look up.

“Though it’s a bit awkward to say, we really must head back now. Keep the handkerchief for now; you can return it to me when we meet again,” Leidi said. With that, she turned, taking Sister Ruka’s hand and mine, preparing to leave.

“Alright, my Princess.” As we departed, Prince Aoyama, holding the handkerchief, gave us what I considered his most captivating smile yet.

‘He was kind of handsome.’