Seeing Rei's smile, which was anything but friendly, and the unsettling aura she exuded, Naoki, who was supposed to be the master, felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. If he didn't explain himself clearly and quickly, he had a strong feeling he wouldn't see tomorrow's sunrise!
In every sense of the word.
"Rei, Manaka, listen to my explanation. I didn't mean anything bad—"
"Yes, we know you didn't mean it, Master, but how many times have you 'accidentally' done this? The issue with Miss Ciel just happened yesterday. Not even a full day has passed, and you're already like a starving wolf, eager to hunt for prey? When you could just tell us anytime."
If an unrelated bystander were present, they'd likely feel pity for Rei, who looked like a poor maid abandoned by her beloved master. Her pitiful appearance might evoke sympathy from many kind-hearted people.
"Or perhaps, Master, you actually enjoy this strange way of playing? If so, I can change my personality to something like that to awaken your protective instincts—"
"Who's interested in that kind of thing?!"
Naoki hurriedly interrupted Rei's muttering. Though he knew 90% of her words were in jest, he had no doubt that if she kept talking like this, Rei might actually change her personality—sealing her own personality temporarily and creating a virtual one to manage herself on the surface. With her abilities, she was fully capable of doing that.
"There's absolutely nothing weird going on between me and Touko. I only said that because Touko is going to a somewhat dangerous place in a few days, and she wants me to accompany her. I agreed, that's why I said it!"
"Is that true, Miss Touko?" Rei turned to Touko, who was smiling and watching the scene. "You haven't contacted Master in two years, but now you're suddenly asking him to do something… Forgive my boldness, but aren't you underestimating Master a bit?"
"You're truly loyal to him. But your mind is quite dark. Of course, I can understand." Touko said.
At this point, Touko grabbed Naoki by the neck, pulled him toward her, and patted his shoulder firmly. "But you don't need to worry. I'd never have any ill intentions toward this foolish disciple of mine. Or you could see it this way—besides this kid, I don't think anyone else is suitable to be my bodyguard."
"This is my trust in him. Can you accept that explanation?"
Trust.
A Magus could lie to anyone, including Touko. For her own benefit, she could deceive anyone. But to this disciple she had taken on by chance, she had no intention of lying.
—At the very least, her trust in Naoki wasn't a lie.
Rei's blue eyes stared at Touko, as if trying to find something amiss. After a moment, she let out a soft sigh, bowed, and apologized to Touko. "Please forgive my earlier rudeness, Miss Touko. I shouldn't have doubted your attitude toward Master."
"It's fine, it's fine. It's not strange for you to act like that." Touko waved her hand dismissively. "More importantly—as you just heard, I'm planning to return to my hometown later, and I might face some things. I have to take this kid with me."
"So, please lend me your beloved fiancé for a bit."
Fiancé—Rei could clearly feel that Manaka, inside her, was overjoyed hearing that word. Was her other self too easily swayed? Just that was enough to make her happy.
Though Rei herself was also very happy, she managed to control her expression well, with only a slight blush on her face.
"As long as Master is fine with it, we're fine too. So, this time, should I or Miss Gray accompany you as well, Master?"
"Eh? You need someone to accompany you when you go out, kid?" Touko asked.
Naoki shook his head. "It's just a habit. Every time I go out, either Gray or Rei comes with me. But this time, it's fine. I'll go to Misaki City alone with Touko."
"I see. Understood. I'll inform Miss Gray later—but Master, since you're going alone this time, please remember one thing." Rei leaned close to Naoki's face and said with utmost seriousness. "Please don't mess around just because no one's watching you. Have a little empathy for those who work hard to keep mysteries secret. After all, a city is different from the wilderness we're in now."
"Limit your use of Imaginary Manifestation to small and medium scales. Don't summon Magecraft beyond the level of a castle. The use of the Holy Sword is forbidden, and also—"
"Can you stop treating me like a walking natural disaster? I still have that much common sense!" Naoki couldn't help but retort.
Hearing his protest, Rei sighed immediately. "Yes, Master, you do have that common sense, but you've forgotten it more than once or twice during fights. This time, please control your combat strength as much as possible within the bounds of common sense."
"I… I'll try. After all, I don't mess around that often, right?"
Not mess around often?
If Touko remembered correctly, two years ago, Naoki had summoned a giant robot in Fuyuki City. In another parallel world, he was said to frequently manifest the moon to threaten others—speaking of the moon's fall, didn't he just pull it out again yesterday?
Was that what he called "not messing around often"?
Patting Naoki's shoulder, Touko said earnestly, "Kid, how do I put this… for the sake of Misaki City, Aoko's hometown, when we go there, restrain yourself. You don't want Aoko to come back and see ruins, do you?"
Naoki: "…"
For the first time, Naoki genuinely felt he wasn't trusted at all.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
At the same time, somewhere in Japan.
Standing amidst a crowd, breathing in the air of the real world again after two years, the pure Dead Apostle Princess, bathed in moonlight, felt utterly relaxed and happy from the depths of her heart.
"But… it seems I came out a bit early. Should I have arrived three or four days earlier?"
Because she felt she could see him again, she couldn't contain her emotions. As a weapon, she shouldn't have such feelings, but now she thought it wasn't so bad.
"Well then, before Naoki and her arrive, I'll explore on my own first. The previous times, I only came out for a few days, so I couldn't enjoy what's called modern society. Let me think, first stop…"
Turning to look in a certain direction, Arcueid gave a faint smile.
"Hmm, I'll head to the apartment where I used to live with Naoki. If I'm stopping by, that's the most suitable place."