“W-wait — what does that mean!?”
“D-did we do something wrong, indeed!?”
”…You said… you’d marry us…”
“Touya-san!?”
The four leaned in toward me, half rising. Wrong way to phrase that!
“W-wait — for now! What I meant — for now, I’m not getting married!”
The motion stopped. Good — they’ll hear me out.
“For now? So you’ll marry us eventually?”
“Of course. Unless you don’t want it, I’ll take all four as my wives.”
At my answer to Elze, they settled back into their seats.
“I like all four of you equally — and I’ll keep the promise to take you as my wives. But not now. I can’t get married just by drifting along, letting it happen to me.”
”…How do you mean, indeed?”
Yae cocked her head slightly and asked.
“In the end — I’m still half-baked. Not adult enough to shoulder other people’s lives, not deep-thinking enough. So please give me a little more time. Until I can carry everything you bring with margin to spare. If you decide there’s no prospect of that — you can throw me away whenever. You have the right to.”
This is selfishness on my part. I want all of you happy. But I’m short on too many things. Resolve, courage, love, knowledge, and on and on.
Basically — please give me time to become a man worthy of all of you. I don’t intend to make them indulge this forever. I’m saying something they’d be within rights to throw me out for. The choice is theirs.
”…Awfully convenient words. But I get what you’re saying.”
Elze sighed. She looked exasperated, drained. Realistically I’m just a coward stalling on a marriage proposal — naturally she’s done. Trying to bind their freedom for my own comfort. Cruel man, frankly.
“That’s underhanded. You know we can’t throw you away, so you’re saying it knowing that?”
She glared at me. Wasn’t that confident, but… Yes — I’d hoped not to be cast off the same day.
“Whoever falls in love first loses — well said, that, indeed.”
Yae patted Elze’s shoulder with a wry smile. The latter puffed her cheeks and turned aside.
”…Even if Onee-chan gives up on Touya-san, I’ll wait. As long as it takes. For Touya-san to take me as his wife.”
“Wait — I never said give up, did I!?”
Linze laughed at her flustered sister. Whew — joke, then.
“I’m fine with the arrangement. We’ve checked each other’s feelings — all that’s left is to deepen them. Until you love us, love us, love us — to the point you can’t stand it.”
“I’ll work to make you love me more too.”
Yumina’s words pulled a smile out of me. Not just companions anymore. Family, partners, betrothed. I have to step up. And as soon as I can — to be able to propose, with confidence, on my own initiative.
“With everyone now Touya-san’s betrothed — how about each of us has a kiss from him, one by one?”
""""Eh!?""""
Yumina clapped her hands once with a brilliant idea! face. Wait — what are you SAYING!?
“W-w-wait — i-isn’t that a little soon!?”
“E-even — even if betrothed, we should keep proper conduct…”
Elze blushed scarlet and panicked. Yae’s face went red the same way. Yae I can see, but — Elze is surprisingly old-fashioned, isn’t she.
“But — I got mine yesterday.”
""——!?""
Elze and Yae snapped their heads around at high speed to face Yumina. Yes, granted, I did.
“I-I got one too. On the forehead, but.”
""——!?""
When Linze raised her hand timidly, Elze and Yae whipped around again, even faster. Yes, that one too, granted!
“S-so — so — us too, do it!”
“That… I would like one… indeed…”
What is this development! You were saying it was too early just now! Saying we should keep conduct!
Both their faces were red, but they fixed me with steady, direct looks.
Tch — can’t run from this one. I already decided to accept all of them.
I reached out and drew Elze in. She flinched, but she didn’t resist. Hand to her cheek, I leaned in slowly——
“S-still embarrassing!!”
“Gufoh——!?”
A textbook-perfect straight punch slammed into my solar plexus. And — knocked out for the second time today by her fist. Could we cut this routine, please… — that thought passed through a corner of my head as I lost consciousness.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
“Uu…?”
“Are you awakE?”
I came to on the bed in my own room. Somewhere along the way it had gone full night. By the dim glow of a lamp, Cesca — in a maid uniform — sat on the chair beside the bed.
“Cesca…? What’s with the outfit…”
“Lady Lapis lent it to mE. If I’m to serve Master, this would be the uniforM.”
Right — I’d basically left Cesca with everyone else after coming back… Not that I forgot, but life-altering events kept landing in a row. Then again — every single thing started with this girl.
“So — why are you in my room?”
“I came for a night visiT.”
I scrambled to the far edge of the bed. My fuzzy head snapped fully awake. Crisis of chastity!?
“JokE. Not planning to today.”
“Today” — what’s “today” supposed to mean! Bad personality, this one!
“Today I came with a brief story to telL. There is a message for Master.”
“Message…? From whom?”
“From Doctor Regina BabyloN.”
From the ancient genius (pervert) who built Cesca and the Hanging Garden!? Meaning?
Cesca placed her right hand on her left wrist as if checking a pulse — and the inner side of her left wrist hinged open, drawing out a cable with what looked like a connector on the end.
“Whoa.”
Seeing this brings the yes, she’s a robo-girl back into focus.
Cesca extended the connector toward me.
“Eh? What do I do with this?”
“Who knowS? The Doctor said — give it to the next Master, and they will understanD.”
Easy for her to say. I’m human; I haven’t got connector ports. Am I supposed to bite it? …Wait.
The connector’s shape… no way. No — nothing else makes sense.
I pulled the smartphone from the coat hanging on the wall and plugged Cesca’s connector in. Perfect fit.
Beep — a distinctive electronic chime; a translucent gauge appeared on the screen and filled gradually green. When it hit 100%, the screen began to glow.
“Wh-what is this!?”
When the light faded, there was a 15-centimeter-tall person standing on the screen.
Faintly translucent — an obvious projection — but my smartphone had never had a holographic projection feature.
The figure was a woman in her early twenties, in a lab coat, round glasses, with something cigarette-like in her mouth. Long disheveled hair — what could have been beautiful blonde was a mess. Even the blouse and skirt under the coat were sloppy, doubling down on the air of indifference.
“Doctor Regina BabyloN.”
“This is the one…?”
The bored-looking face suddenly looked up at me and grinned. Eh?
“Hello, hello, nice to meet you. I’m Regina Babylon. First, my thanks for taking in the Hanging Garden and Francesca. Thank you, Mochizuki Touya-kun.”
”…Eh?”
Meaning? Why does a woman from nearly 5,000 years ago know my name!?
And — actually — why is this connector the same type as my smartphone? As if she’d known from the start…
*“Right. Your questions are reasonable. Of course you’d want to know. After all — you are *that kind of person.**”
“That kind of person”…? Does she know I’m not from this world!? Who is this Doctor!?
“Let me answer your questions. Watch carefully.”
The Doctor flipped up her own skirt. Black panties with lace flew into view.
“My favorite.”
“I don’t care!!”
I slammed the smartphone down onto the futon. What “that kind of person”! Don’t decide on my behalf! I wasn’t curious about your panties, thank you!
“Hah-hah-hah. Joke, joke. Just a little fun. Don’t worry about it.”
The Doctor’s image was leering on the bedspread. Even while she said that, she kept flicking her skirt up trying to show me the panties. This Doctor — yes, deeply unwell after all!