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"So what you is saying is that you missed home so terribly that you locked himself in your room and grieved for three days straight?"
Lashara stared at Kaito with the expression of someone who had been asked to believe the sun rises in the west.
"Ahem. That is the situation. Believe it or not, I believe it."
Kaito nodded solemnly to himself as if confirming an established fact.
"You scoundrel!!!"
Lashara shot to her feet.
"Princess Lashara, please conduct yourself with the dignity befitting your station."
The Nanny, standing at her side, fixed her with a stern look.
"Nyah nyah nyah, you can't do anything to me!"
Seeing Lashara being reined in, Kaito became considerably bolder.
"Ah ah ah! Let go — I'm going to get that man!"
Everyone present watched Lashara flail and Kaito goad her on with a mixture of surprise and amusement.
"Heh heh. You must be Mr. Kaito, Princess Lashara's new Senior Advisor."
"I am Aura Shurifon, Princess of the Shurifon Kingdom. It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope you will look after me."
Kaito turned in surprise toward the dark elf princess introducing herself.
"Hello. My name is Kaito, and I currently serve as Lashara's Senior Personal Advisor."
"Kaito? What an unusual name. It suits you, somehow."
Aura said with a thoughtful expression.
"Oh — forgive me, that was forward of me."
Aura stood up immediately to apologise.
Kaito blinked, then turned to Lashara with an expression of quiet wonder.
"Same age. Both royalty. Completely different species."
Kaito turned to Lashara with an expression of exaggerated contrast.
"Right, that is it! Kenshi, get him!"
Lashara, who had just about settled down, was immediately set off again. She pointed at Kenshi, who was standing to one side watching with interest.
Kenshi looked pained.
"Princess Lashara, I am no match for Kaito. And he did save my life."
"You... you all... I..."
Lashara looked from the helpless Kenshi to Kaito's thoroughly punchable expression.
It was dawning on her exactly what kind of people she had taken in. One antagonised his employer at every opportunity, and the other could not even be ordered around.
"Now, now, Lashara. I am sure Mr. Kaito is only teasing. Isn't that right, Mr. Kaito?"
Mexiah Flan spoke up with an easy smile, then gave Kaito a small, pointed wink.
Kaito looked at her and quietly reminded himself, with some effort, to maintain his composure.
Mexiah Flan's official identity was Chiaia's older sister. Her true identity was something considerably more complicated. She was an ancient android with a second personality — Doll, who had previously piloted the black Seikijin.
The two personalities could surface at will: one a poised and disarming young woman, the other something far more unsettling. In the seventh episode of the original series, she had apparently guided Kenshi through certain experiences that only an adult ought to be involved in.
In short, she was a protagonist operating under the thumb of the antagonist. Two personalities, one mature woman and one child. When you thought about it, it really was... tsk tsk tsk...
"Hahaha! Right, it was only a joke. Who told you to keep asking so many questions, little girl?"
"By the way — who is this?"
"Oh my, have I not introduced myself yet? I am Mexiah Flan, Chiaia's older sister. I currently teach at the Holy Land Academy!"
Mexiah puffed out her chest slightly and gave Kaito a charming look.
"Then I look forward to your guidance in the future, Miss Mexiah."
"By the way — how did everyone end up here together?"
It was a genuine question. Because he had cured Kenshi's Ahou sickness on the spot this time, the original plot thread where everyone searched for medicine no longer existed. He had not expected the group to converge anyway.
"Well, it is a bit of a story..."
Lashara launched into an explanation with an expression of mild irritation.
As it turned out, Kenshi had still encountered Dagmyer — not by accident this time, but because Kenshi had gone looking. Without the Ahou sickness weighing on him, the outcome had been rather different. Kenshi had worked through Dagmyer's subordinates quickly, and when Dagmyer saw the way things were going he had climbed into his Seikijin to deal with Kenshi directly.
Kaito privately doubted that would have gone well for Dagmyer.
At the critical moment, Aura, who had been on patrol, and Chiaia, who had been keeping watch nearby, arrived together. Faced with two against one, Dagmyer chose to retreat.
After that, everyone had returned to Swan. Which explained the current scene.
"I see. Kenshi, you really are working hard. Being sent into situations like that by a boss like this."
Kaito looked at Kenshi with something approaching sympathy.
"Excuse me, you spent three days unconscious in your room and have the nerve to say that!"
"Hm? Am I wrong? You sent Kenshi out to risk his life and didn't even pay him overtime. Tsk tsk tsk..."
Kenshi looked uncomfortable and tried carefully to intervene.
"Ah... actually, I was never in any real danger..."
"Quiet." × 2
"Yes! Completely quiet!"
Both voices had landed at exactly the same moment. Kenshi snapped upright and said nothing further.
Everyone present watched the two of them go at it again with undisguised amusement.
The Nanny, standing nearby, allowed herself a quiet smile.
She had not seen Princess Lashara this spirited in a long time.
Mr. Kaito. He really is a remarkable person.
Time moved along to the rhythm of their bickering, until Aura rose from her seat.
"Everyone, it is getting late. I should head back. Mr. Kaito, Kenshi — I will see you both at the Holy Land."
"Of course. Thank you again for coming to my aid, Miss Aura. Please travel safely."
Aura smiled at Kenshi, then turned her gaze to Kaito, who had not yet spoken, with an expression that was clearly waiting for something.
"Ah — yes. Miss Aura, I will see you at the Holy Land. Safe travels."
"I will. Thank you, Mr. Kaito."
Her smile brightened noticeably. She gave a small wave to everyone and walked out with a light step.
"Sakuya. Why do I get the feeling Miss Aura seemed... particularly pleased just now?"
Sakuya responded with a helpless smile.
"Perhaps she likes you."
"Likes me? That cannot be right."
Kaito pointed at himself with a genuinely baffled expression.
He had always thought his looks were respectable enough, but falling for someone at first sight was another matter entirely. Could it simply be that he happened to be her type?
While Kaito was quietly working through this with an entirely unearned degree of self-satisfaction, Lashara watched the exchange from the side and muttered under her breath.
"Hmph. Thieving cat..."