Kousuke, seeing Kouhi holding a sword to Shurein, hurried to stop her.
“Kouhi, wait, wait.”
“…But…”
“No, I don’t understand the situation at all. It’s not too late to explain, is it?”
After all, he had just entered the room and had been distracted by an unfamiliar woman, and the moment he regained his senses, he found himself in this situation.
From Kousuke’s perspective, it made no sense. He at least wanted a word of explanation.
Catching Kousuke’s gaze, Kouhi grudgingly lowered the sword she had been holding to Shurein.
Seeing this, Kousuke looked at Shurein as if relieved.
“So? …What is this situation?”
“Fumu. While walking with you, I sensed a sneaking presence tailing us.”
“…And?”
“Well, if it were just that, I would have ignored it, but I felt a rare presence from them, so I decided to observe.”
This was why Shurein had parted ways with Kousuke and the others in front of the temple.
“A rare presence?”
“Umu. In a word, it is charm.”
“Is that… the kind of thing that compels someone to approach without question?”
“Well, it’s not wrong.”
It was probably because of that that Kousuke had been captivated the moment he saw her.
By the way, thinking back now, Silvia also seemed to have been in a similar state.
Looking at Silvia, she nodded as if she understood.
“Being charmed by the same sex… isn’t that incredible?”
“Umu. That’s right. At least I’ve never seen it before.”
Kousuke looked at the woman again.
As expected, he was on guard, so he didn’t fall into the same state again, but her captivating charm was still tremendous.
“So, why are you in this state?”
“Master, that’s backwards. The fact that you ended up in the previous situation despite being in this state is more dangerous.”
Kouhi interjected with a face like she had swallowed a bitter bug.
Hearing that, Kousuke also understood what Kouhi meant.
“…Does that mean if your hands and feet weren’t bound, your charm would be even stronger?”
“Undoubtedly.”
Shurein nodded as if to affirm.
Hearing that, Kousuke finally understood Kouhi’s actions.
By any means, she was a dangerous individual to Kousuke (or rather, to any man).
At this point, Kousuke suddenly wondered.
“……Huh? If you have such great power, how can you just walk around town normally?”
He had said he was following Kousuke and the others until he was caught by Shurein.
“That’s right. Well, I also… As a characteristic of this kind of species, they possess the special skill of stealth, or rather, the ability to remove themselves from the perception of those around them.”
“That’s… somehow… you’d be in high demand for that kind of profession…”
The word “assassin” came to Kousuke’s mind.
“Indeed, there may be those who are in such professions. Whether this person is one of them, I haven’t been able to ask yet.”
“You haven’t asked?”
It must have been quite some time since Kousuke and the others arrived.
“I can’t ask. Her voice also has that kind of power. I was so surprised that even I, who possess a similar power, almost got drawn in.”
“That’s again…”
Everyone was stunned into silence.
Kouhi was included in that, which spoke to the terrifying power of the woman.
Only after hearing that did Kouhi turn her gaze to the woman with interest.
“So, you haven’t been able to ask her purpose for tailing Master either, have you?”
“That’s right.”
At Shurein’s reply, Kouhi made a gesture as if contemplating.
It would be a problem to simply let her go, let alone get the information.
“Therefore, I think it would be best to leave it to an expert?”
“An expert?”
Kousuke tilted his head, wondering if such a person existed.
He looked at Silvia just in case, but she shook her head vigorously from side to side, denying it.
Seeing that, Kouhi offered the answer.
“Mitsuki, isn’t it?”
“Umu. Since you summoned me. You’re probably knowledgeable about that kind of thing too, aren’t you?”
In contrast, Kouhi was not knowledgeable.
“I see,” Kousuke nodded.
“So, for that reason, may I leave this place to you, Kouhi? I will bring Mitsuki.”
“…I suppose I have no choice. It seems that’s the only way.”
Since only he and Shurein could use teleportation to the tower, and he couldn’t choose to leave Kousuke’s side, that was the only option.
“I’ll be back before dinner.”
Shurein said so and left the room.
It felt a little cruel to leave the woman as she was until Mitsuki arrived, but it couldn’t be helped due to the enormous influence she had on Kousuke.
More importantly, Kouhi would not permit her to remove the restraints.
In the end, Kousuke spent the time until Mitsuki arrived trying to avoid looking at the woman as much as possible.
♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦
As promised, Shurein returned before dinner.
Perhaps she had explained things to some extent on the way back, Mitsuki immediately looked at the woman and nodded as if she understood.
“Oh. I see. This is amazing.”
After saying so, Mitsuki approached the woman, who flinched at being looked at.
Sensing something, the woman tried to back away.
“Hey, don’t run away. I’m trying to help you.”
Approaching the woman, Mitsuki placed her right index finger on the woman’s forehead and muttered something.
The woman’s expression was surprised upon hearing that.
“Yes. That’s all. You can undo it now.”
The moment Mitsuki said that, Kousuke felt the oppressive feeling (or something similar) he had felt from the woman disappear.
“I see.”
At Mitsuki’s words, Shurein released the restraints.
The restraints binding the woman were not just simple ropes, but also combined with Shurein’s magic.
“Thank you very much.”
The woman, freed from the gag, bowed her head to Mitsuki.
“Oh. If you’re thanking me, do you know what I did?”
“Yes. That’s a technique that’s also passed down in my hometown… But there was no one I could use it on…”
What Mitsuki had done to the woman was to seal her charming power.
Of course, the technique was also passed down to her species, but the strength required depended on the person being targeted.
Her charm was so strong that there was probably no one who could use the sealing technique.
“I see. …Still, you are mixed with Siren blood, aren’t you?”
The woman’s eyes widened in surprise again at those words.
“You can tell even that…?”
“Yes, well, just a feeling.”
“I see. So that’s how it is.”
Shurein also nodded, understanding their conversation.
“Still, it’s quite a skillful mix.”
“Yes. And judging by her appearance, the other party is probably not even aware of it.”
“That’s right.”
Everyone else was left out of Mitsuki and Shurein’s conversation.
“Could the two of you please explain a bit to us instead of just coming to your own conclusions?”
“Yes. But before that, there’s something we need to do, isn’t there?”
“Do?”
Kousuke tilted his head as Mitsuki said that.
“First, we need to confirm why you were following Kousuke. …You’ll tell us, won’t you?”
Mitsuki looked at the woman as if to confirm, and the woman nodded.
Tomorrow, two episodes are scheduled to be posted: one at 13:00 and one at 20:00.
June 9, 2014 – Typo corrections.
