Chapter 17: I'll Protect You After We Run Away Together!
Unable to refuse Reisen's overwhelming gratitude, Haruto had finally accepted the basket of carrots. After stowing the entire thing away in a gap, he at last arrived at his destination and pushed open the door.
"Kaguya, you— pfft—"
A figure lunged at him from the shadows of the room. Startled, Haruto reacted on pure instinct, delivering a fierce kick.
Thud—
With a comical yelp, the unidentified object sailed through the air and landed squarely in a mountain of clothes piled up on the floor.
"You second-rate bum! Are you trying to murder your own teammate?!"
Kaguya Houraisan struggled to crawl out from the laundry heap, pointing an indignant finger at Haruto.
"Who told you to jump out at me like that? I thought I'd run into a ghost first thing in the morning," Haruto retorted, his voice laced with irritation. He had just returned from the instance and his nerves were still a bit frayed.
"Since when did you become such a coward! Besides," Kaguya huffed, her anger flaring, "I'm this beautiful! How could I possibly look like a ghost?"
Haruto didn't respond. He simply watched her, his expression unreadable.
The dark circles under her eyes were so heavy they looked like they'd been painted on with ink. Her once jet-black, lustrous hair had lost its usual sheen, looking dull and lifeless. He had a sneaking suspicion that if he gave it even a gentle tug, a whole handful would come loose.
If she looked any more horrifying, her scalp might just peel right off with it.
If she kept this up for another ten days, maybe half a month, she could probably walk straight into a horror instance and get a job as an NPC ghost.
Had he not been so familiar with Kaguya's usual antics, Haruto would have likely blurted out, "Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, what manner of creature are you!"
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kaguya shifted uncomfortably under his silent, appraising stare.
Without a word, Haruto calmly pulled a mirror from a gap and tossed it to her.
Kaguya caught it and glanced at her reflection. Her expression faltered for a fraction of a second, but she quickly recovered, her stubbornness winning out.
"If it wasn't for you, how could I have ended up like this? You... you can't just pull up your pants and refuse to take responsibility!"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Haruto immediately held up his hands, cutting her off. "What do you mean, 'pull up your pants and refuse to take responsibility'? And what's this about 'everything is because of me'? Don't you go making wild accusations! I'll sue you for slander! I'll sue you for slander, I tell you!"
He crossed his arms in a large 'X', his face a mask of vigilance.
Those were not words to be thrown around lightly. Especially not here, in Eientei.
If Eirin Yagokoro had heard what Kaguya just said, he'd be dodging a few of her arrows, one way or another. The mere thought sent a cold chill down his spine.
Truthfully, Eirin's attitude toward him had been perfectly fine at the beginning. But that couldn't withstand Yakumo Yukari's constant, infuriating taunts—'Your precious princess has been completely wooed by my Haruto, you know. Utterly swept off her feet.'
Haruto could only call it a disaster he'd done nothing to deserve.
"And how have I wronged you?" Kaguya sniffled, a hint of genuine grievance welling in her eyes. "Didn't you personally tell me that from now on, we would travel the world together? And what happened? You slipped away all by yourself, leaving me here to guard an empty room, waiting day after day."
As she spoke, a few teardrops actually rolled down from the corners of her eyes. Paired with her extremely haggard face, she looked for all the world like a woman abandoned by a heartless scoundrel.
Haruto was completely stunned.
He wanted to refute her, but what Kaguya said... didn't sound entirely wrong? But the facts weren't like that at all!
Crunch, crunch—
A crisp gnawing sound echoed from the doorway.
Both of them turned their heads in unison to see a petite, rabbit-eared girl standing there. She held a half-eaten carrot in her hand, having just taken two large bites. Seeing them both staring at her, she twitched her fluffy ears awkwardly.
"The carrot was just too delicious, I couldn't help myself," Tewi Inaba explained. "Please, continue. Don't mind the rabbit."
But the two of them remained motionless, their gazes locked onto her. Sensing that something was amiss, Tewi quietly shuffled half a step back until she was outside the door. Gripping the doorframe, she suddenly blurted out a single sentence.
"Sorry to disturb you, goodbye!"
She turned and bolted without a second glance.
The very next second, her foot stepped on empty air. A gap had suddenly yawned open beneath her, and her entire body sank into it. Only her upper half remained stuck outside, her two legs kicking helplessly in the air.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Kaguya looked at the petite figure struggling in the gap, her eyes shifting subtly toward Haruto.
"So... you're into that kind of thing."
"It was a complete accident," Haruto said irritably. "You know as well as I do, my gaps can only open this wide at most."
"What's so hard to admit?" Kaguya smirked and gave Tewi's rear a light slap, making the rabbit youkai tremble all over. Her two fair little legs kicked even harder, her Gothic-style skirt billowing to vaguely reveal... a pair of safety shorts. "If you like it, next time I'll carve a hole in the wall and trick Reisen into trying to crawl through."
"Stop it. I just wanted to catch this troublesome rabbit. How could I possibly be interested in lolis?" Haruto coughed twice, trying to maintain his image as a gentleman.
"Still trying to deny it? Then how do you explain your Youmu?"
"Is Youmu the same? She's on the cusp of maidenhood, and she's not even younger than me!"
"Ehhh~" Kaguya gave him a look that screamed, 'And who's going to believe that?' "Then our old lady Tewi isn't young either; she's far older than I am."
Tewi, still stuck on the other side of the gap, seemed to hear this. Her delicate body suddenly went rigid.
Haruto was, of course, well aware of Tewi's true age. But what remained of his integrity was still putting up a fight. He could, at most, accept the youthful, budding type like Youmu—or rather, someone like Youmu was just right. He lowered his voice and spoke tentatively toward the other side of the gap.
"Tewi, you didn't hear anything just now... right?"
"No, no! This rabbit didn't hear a thing!" a muffled assurance came from the other side.
Only then did Haruto slightly widen the gap.
Tewi pushed off the ground with her hands and scrambled out, looking utterly disheveled. Her small face was flushed red as she patted the dust off her clothes, baring her teeth while rubbing her slightly sore bottom.
"Fortunately, no one saw that, otherwise this rabbit's reputation would be completely ruined... Honestly, it was just accidentally seeing something I shouldn't have, it's no big deal..."
She muttered to herself and looked up, only to freeze on the spot.
She saw that Reisen was already standing right in front of her, steadily holding two plates of pastries, her expression a complicated mix of emotions.
"Reisen, you didn't hear anything just now... right?"
...
Back inside the room, the two sat cross-legged on the floor. Kaguya placed her hands on Haruto's shoulders, forcing him to meet her gaze as she shook him vigorously.
"Say it! Say you came back specifically to take me to another world!" she demanded, her eyes wide with anticipation.
"I guess so," Haruto finally relented, unable to withstand her persistence.
"I've already become a game play... cough cough..." Haruto almost let it slip, but he managed to stop himself just in time. Still, Kaguya had already guessed.
"A game player? Do you mean like a player who travels to game worlds?" Kaguya's excitement seemed to multiply.
Seeing her take the initiative to fill in the blanks, Haruto secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded with solemn gravity. "Yes, a game player. But there will be life-threatening danger. It's not too late for you to back out now; once you decide, there's no turning back."
"Is that even a choice?" Kaguya slapped the table. "What is a mere life-threatening danger compared to traveling to another world!"
She leaned in closer, her eyes shining with insatiable curiosity. "So, which world did you go to last time? Was it a game I've played? Were there a lot of girls? You didn't secretly start a harem, did you?"
The questions were getting more and more outrageous. Haruto quickly cut her off, giving a vague answer. "I wasn't familiar with that world, and it was indeed filled with danger. If I hadn't been able to use my boundary powers, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to return safely to see you."
"That's normal. A little youngster like you, who could you possibly beat?" Kaguya looked at him as if he were a harmless furball, then patted her chest with a grand, reassuring thud.
"From now on, your big sister Kaguya will protect you! I'll carry you!"
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