"I…" Inferna raised her head to look at Rin's face, her serpentine slit eyes teary as her lips trembled, the golden hue of her irises glistening with unshed tears that caught the soft morning light filtering into the room. "I… love Master! I am in love with you. And wh-when I saw you enjoying sex with someone else… It hurt…"
The tears began falling more freely as if she remembered what happened once again, warm droplets tracing slow paths down her cheeks before she pushed her face down again, burying it in his shoulder.
Her long red hair was spilling over his hoodie like a curtain of crimson silk as her body trembled against him with quiet, heartfelt sobs.
"Likewise, Master," Muganda mumbled, her voice shaking on the brink of tears too, the usually composed tone fracturing into something raw and vulnerable as she clung tighter from behind. "I thought it was a high level of reverence before, but I know now… It is true love. We love you, Kiyoshi Rin!"
"…"
Rin was still holding his expressionless and tired face, but he didn't move at all, his features remaining carefully neutral as he processed their words.
Only listening carefully, his body tense beneath the weight of their confessions and the warmth of their embraces.
Until someone softly held his leg, and he looked down to find Karen, her presence sudden yet gentle as her fingers wrapped lightly around his ankle.
"K… Karen too," she had already finished crying back in her room, her eyes puffy and slightly reddened from earlier tears, the evidence of her emotions still visible on her face. "Karen loves Master Rin… Forgive her for her attitude before."
Rin glanced at her for a moment, then at Inferna, and tilting his head to Muganda, his blue eyes shifting between the three of them in quiet succession as he took in their vulnerable expressions.
Before a small red shade creeped into his cheeks, neck, and ears, the flush spreading slowly across his skin like a rising tide he couldn't control.
"C'mon… you don't have to say it so shamelessly…"
He muttered, looking everywhere but them, his gaze darting toward the ceiling, the floor, and the scattered cushions as if searching for anywhere safe to rest.
The girls all perked up their faces, shock painting their features as they stared at each other, their eyes widening in shared surprise at the visible effect their words were having on him.
"Y-Yes… I love Master more than anything in the whole world!" Inferna added more fire, her voice gaining a determined strength even through the lingering tears as she lifted her head just enough to speak clearly.
And Rin squirmed a little, using the back of a hand to lightly hide his blush, the gesture awkward and almost childish as he tried to shield the growing redness. "I'm telling you to stop already…"
This was it.
The girls had landed an extremely valuable treasure: Rin was for some reason vulnerable to sweet talk right then.
The usual walls he kept up were seeming to crack under the weight of their sudden sincere, heartfelt words.
"The way you act as if you don't care, but you actually love your family, and you love small kittens, is simply knightly!" Muganda sang aloud, her seductive voice lifting with genuine warmth as she continued to hold him from behind.
"Karen loves how Master watches over her and pats her head when she does the chores!" Karen quipped, her tone brightening despite the puffiness around her eyes.
And as they kept spelling out reasons why they love him, their voices overlapping in a gentle chorus of affection, Rin continued to melt over and over again, the shy discomfort mixing with something softer in his posture.
"Geeeeez!! Enough, enough!!" He raised a hand, feeling immensely shy, his palm waving lightly in the air as if to ward off their continuing praises. "I know you guys like me… I just normally ignore it."
That single statement hurt the three girls deeply, their faces twisting in mild shock.
The warmth was already draining from their expressions for a brief moment before they regained composure, steadying themselves against the unexpected sting of his words.
"Why…?" Muganda asked softly, her voice dropping back into a quieter, more vulnerable tone as she searched his face. "You knew we were in love with you… why did you then choose to act as if it were no so?"
"Is Master… not happy with us being non-humans?" Inferna asked despondently, her golden eyes clouding with fresh uncertainty as she looked up at him.
"Dumbasses…" Rin flicked her cheek, the light tap gentle and almost playful, then paid her a glance, his blue eyes meeting hers directly. "And with Yuri just now? Was she human?"
They couldn't say anything, but they were still saddened by the news that Rin somehow knew about their feelings…
But he acted as if he didn't, the silence stretching between them as the weight of that realization settled in.
Then after a moment of silence, Muganda started, her body shifting slightly as she prepared to speak.
"In truth…" Her husky voice rang, as she stood upright, the words carrying a quiet gravity. "our Master is our Lord and god. I believe it is heretic to force our feelings in him in the first place. We were called to serve, not play romance."