A few days after Kousuke returned to the Management Layer, an incident occurred.
Shurein, who woke up a little later than usual, went to the Lounge Space and was involuntarily breathless at the scene before her.
Kouhi and Mitsuki were facing each other, in a state of readiness for battle.
The air itself felt suffocating just by watching, and Shurein managed to confirm the situation with Colette, who was standing nearby.
“Wh-what happened? What about Kousuke?”
This had never happened before.
Moreover, Kousuke, who should have rushed over immediately if something like this occurred, was nowhere to be seen.
“Kousuke is gone…”
Colette said this with a lonely expression, leaving Shurein stunned.
The meaning of her words slowly sank in, followed by confusion.
“Wh-what!? What do you mean?”
“When Mitsuki woke up this morning, Kousuke’s bed was already empty. Apparently, there was a letter left behind. It said, ‘I have a lot to think about, and I believe it’s best to spend some time apart, so I will be leaving the Management Layer for a while. I know you want to be with me, but I think this is absolutely necessary, so please don’t chase after me. I will definitely return.'”
Shurein was dumbfounded by Colette’s explanation.
“…And that’s the situation now?”
Regardless of the reason for Kousuke’s departure, she could understand the current state of affairs.
Mitsuki was stopping Kouhi, who was trying to chase after Kousuke.
“Just to ask, aren’t you going to stop them?”
“I’ll ask you too… who, and how?”
Shurein and Colette were talking, but their eyes were both fixed on Kouhi and Mitsuki.
The situation was so tense that they couldn’t look away.
Sylvia and the others were also a short distance away from Shurein and Colette.
However, even though they were observing the situation, naturally, there was no one reckless enough to try and stop the two.
“Why are you stopping her?”
“Because Lord Kousuke doesn’t want it.”
Amidst the attention from the members, the two glared at each other, unconcerned.
“It’s none of your business. A guard is absolutely necessary.”
“That’s not entirely true. You know where you belong, don’t you?”
Mitsuki’s question was met with silence from Kouhi.
“If we know that, it means you have no intention of hiding. Let’s observe the situation for a while.”
“No…”
Kouhi shook her head briefly.
Seeing Kouhi’s reaction, Mitsuki sighed.
“I suppose I have no choice. I didn’t want to say this if possible, but…”
“…What?”
“If we act now, that person will intervene?”
“…What?”
Mitsuki sighed again at Kouhi’s surprised expression.
“I knew it, you hadn’t realized? After all, to be able to slip through the areas we’re guarding so cleanly, there’s no other explanation, is there?”
“…No way.”
“Well, it seems she wasn’t there when you slipped out. But if we act, it’s possible.”
“That’s not…”
“You can’t definitively say it’s not possible, can you? Especially in a situation like this. That person is soft when it comes to Kousuke.”
Mitsuki approached Kouhi, who had a grief-stricken expression, and patted her head.
“I understand how you feel. But for now, let’s wait, okay?”
For a while after Mitsuki said that, Kouhi didn’t move.
However, eventually, she nodded her head slightly affirmatively.
The pressure emanating from the two dissipated in an instant.
Sensing this, everyone relaxed their shoulders with a sigh of relief.
Even though they knew it wasn’t directed at them, the pressure was immense.
In the end, no actual combat occurred, and the matter was settled through discussion alone, so the Lounge Space suffered no significant damage.
At the same time, because Kouhi gave up chasing Kousuke, everyone else also lost the excuse to go searching for him immediately.
♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦
Unaware of what was happening in the Management Layer, Kousuke was relaxing at the Lily Shrine (Grand) on the 8th Floor.
From Kousuke’s perspective, the current situation was not a big deal, and the letter was written simply to avoid causing worry.
For now, he had decided to distance himself for a while.
And during that time, he intended to carry out one of the things he had wanted to do since coming to this world.
“Are you really okay with this?”
It was Cecil who brought this up to Kousuke.
By the way, Kousuke’s expression briefly turned bitter as if he had swallowed something unpleasant, then he lowered his gaze and began stroking Nana’s back, who was next to him.
“Okay, what do you mean by that?”
“Aren’t you busy managing the Tower?”
Upon hearing Cecil’s words, Kousuke muttered, “Ah, you mean that,” and then replied.
“Well, it’s not a big deal if I leave for a bit right now. There haven’t been any major changes so far. Besides, if anything happens, either Kouhi or Mitsuki will come flying over immediately.”
Kousuke said this with a laugh, picturing them literally flying over.
In reality, he was in no position to think about such things, but Kousuke chose not to dwell on that.
When he left, he had the cooperation of the powers of the Three Great Gods under Asura’s instructions, so he wasn’t too worried.
If anything were to happen, one of the Four Pillars would issue a Divine Union.
That’s why he had left with such peace of mind, but the purpose was…
“You truly want to work with us as adventurers for a while… is that really okay?”
Alisa said this with a worried expression.
“Hmm. Actually, I was an adventurer for a very short time. In that sense, I might just be a hindrance…”
“N-no! That’s not what I meant at all!”
Alisa quickly waved her hands at Kousuke, who seemed slightly dejected.
In fact, they had heard on several occasions during the Tower’s conquest that Kousuke had not been involved in monster subjugation at all.
However, that did not mean it was a reason to look down on him.
After all, even with the strongest guards, they had survived in an area where monsters of the highest rank, including dragons, roamed.
That alone was worthy of respect as an adventurer.
After all, the first thing they are taught as adventurers is to survive.
Therefore, they did not have any insecurities about Kousuke as an adventurer.
They were simply concerned about the management of the Tower.
“Regarding the Tower, it’s truly alright. The others are doing almost everything. In fact, I hardly get involved, I’ve been doing more development work.”
“…I see. In that case, I won’t say anything further.”
Alisa stopped speaking, having heard Kousuke’s explanation of the Tower’s current state.
“Then, to confirm, is it correct that we are Lord Kousuke’s slaves?”
There was nothing to confirm; they were indeed effectively slaves according to the name. However, Kousuke denied it.
“Ah, sorry. I can’t do that.”
“But, based on our positions, we are?”
In the first place, both Cecil and Alisa were in the position of slaves.
Although Wahid was their nominal master, he had effectively transferred those rights to Kousuke.
Therefore, Kousuke was their master.
Kousuke had no intention of making a fuss about it now.
However, in this particular instance, that would create problems.
“If it’s revealed that I’m your master, my position will be exposed along with it, like a chain reaction. For now, at least on the surface, please ask me as a companion or something similar.”
“Understood. Then, how about we say that we accepted an offer from Crown, and while becoming Kou-sama’s companions, we are also undertaking bodyguard duties?”
He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of prodigal son would engage in dangerous activities like being an adventurer. However, it was plausible that a peculiar noble might do such a thing.
“Hmm. It feels like there are various loopholes, but… I guess it can’t be helped?”
Kousuke decided to start his activities as an adventurer after having decided on the details, even if imperfectly.
Kousuke went on a mini-exodus.
It wasn’t for a particularly long period, though.
Some might say leaving with just a letter is irresponsible, but the reasons for that are explained in the next installment, so please wait for it.
The plan is to return within this chapter or the next, but plans are always subject to change.
