After seeing that Lala and other people also caused perverted situations, Yui, as responsible as she is, decided to investigate Rito more carefully.
She spent the entire next day following him and, by the end of the day, she reached the conclusion that he was innocent, more or less. It was true that he caused those kinds of situations, but at least he did not do it on purpose, which... counts for something?
In this way, Rito's two week punishment ended up lasting only two days.
But although it was good news for Rito, for Yuuji it was the complete opposite.
With the plot of that chapter finished, the next one began, and Yuuji woke up the following morning to receive something he had not received in a long time.
Orders from his supposed boss.
[An alien has just arrived on Earth and wants to kidnap Lala, make sure to protect her]
"Is that all? No further information?"
[He is a Kirarian, from the planet Kiraria. Basic abilities, basically a human but stronger and with a belt that contains several artifacts]
"Do these aliens not count as evidence for Rito? Why do I have to defeat them?"
[First of all, I do not trust Rito at all, I am not going to risk her highness's life just to test that boy.
Second, Kirarians have an ability that is already affecting Rito, weakening him even more than he already is, so he is completely useless.
Third, this is classified and I cannot tell you]
'Right, in this chapter Rito was sick' Yuuji remembered.
"I will take care of it then", Yuuji replied, although it was not like he had a choice, and he put down the D-Dial.
'If I remember correctly, this alien first appeared in front of Lala and Rito on their way to school.
His so called artifact belt became completely useless after Lala easily removed it, preventing him from using it.
Let's replicate her technique, just make sure to finish the problem once and for all instead of letting him keep appearing again and again like in the original plot.'
With a plan in mind to finish the problem before even entering school and have the rest of the day free, Yuuji got moving.
---
"Rito, are you okay? Are you sure you can go to school?" Lala asked Rito worriedly, he was wearing a face mask and his face was red, although this time because of the cold.
Achooo!
"...Yes... I am fine", Rito said weakly.
"Then how about I take you so you do not have to walk?" Lala asked while searching for a suitable artifact for the occasion.
Hearing this, Rito turned even paler with fear.
Fortunately for him, they were interrupted.
"I found you!", a voice suddenly sounded as a textbook space man appeared in front of them, with the kind of suit any science fiction protagonist from 80s anime would have, similar to a space suit with unnecessary fins in several places.
Besides the already exaggerated suit, he wore a belt full of artifacts that stood out as he struck a dramatic pose.
"Lala, my princess, I have come to take you with me!", he declared.
"Sorry, I do not have time today, Rito is sick", Lala said while quickly pulling out an invention, not wanting to waste time considering Rito's current state.
"Haha, you think that... what is this?", he suddenly said when he realized he could not move as he was wrapped in a black cloth.
Before he could defend himself or try to break it, Yuuji quickly pressed several points on his body, something that required more effort since he was mostly covered by a suit.
The space man felt lighter and lighter until finally his body fell to the ground limp and relaxed.
Yuuji crouched down and easily removed his belt.
[It is done] he sent a message to Zastin.
"Yuuji? What are you doing here?" Lala asked, she had seen the entire process happen right in front of her eyes in only a few seconds.
"Lala, I was just taking care of him while passing by."
"But... how did you know about him and his weaknesses?"
"Ah, this... a job", Yuuji excused himself.
"A job?"
"That is right. They will pay me for capturing him, so they gave me information about him beforehand. I am something like a bounty hunter."
"But... are you not the richest person in Japan?" Lala asked doubtfully.
"Who told you that?" Yuuji asked curiously about who had spread such nonsense.
"It was Risa"
"That makes sense", Yuuji murmured. "I am not the richest person in Japan, those are my parents", he said, as if there were much difference.
"Besides, Earth money and space money are not the same. I want to go into the universe and explore it, you know?"
Although Yuuji said this as part of his excuse, it was not actually a lie.
In his previous world, and also in this one according to his memories, after his parents became rich, Yuuji, with his great curiosity, spent an entire year traveling around the world and doing every activity that seemed interesting or fun.
He made the terrible mistake of starting with the best ones, so after almost a year he quickly got bored, no longer wanting to try things or visit places that were not as interesting as the previous ones.
Now, in a world where interplanetary travel existed, of course he would want to visit other planets and explore them.
COFF COFF!
"Rito, are you okay?" Yuuji barely noticed Rito beside Lala. "How long until you recover?"
"At least we need to move the Kirarian one planet away", Lala said. "Normally I would send him myself with an invention, but since it is a job you should wait for your boss to take him.
Rito, can you endure a little longer?"
"It is... coff coff... fine", Rito said. "On Earth colds... COFF COFF... usually last at least a day."
"Miss Lala, Yuuji, Yuuki Rito", while Rito struggled to speak, a man with short light brown hair wearing armor whose exterior had a bone design fell from the sky right in front of them and greeted them, although the last name was spoken with a bit of obvious resentment.
"Zastin, what are you doing here?" Lala asked, curious about how acquaintances kept appearing out of nowhere.
"I am actually Yuuji's employer. Knowing that Miss Lala would not accept being directly protected, I decided to assign the task to the most reliable person I know... on Earth."
What is going on, Yuuji thought when he realized Zastin was plotting something.
Normally he would have waited until Lala left so she would not suspect the connection between them.
"So you were the employer", Yuuji said, deciding to play along and pretend to be surprised.
Employees do what the boss dictates after all.
"That is right. You must be the person I have seen incapacitate a Kirarian the fastest. You are incredible, Yuuji."
'The fastest? I am sure there are stronger people' Yuuji thought to himself, thinking Zastin was exaggerating in his acting.
"You are the fastest at incapacitating one without killing him", Zastin corrected, guessing his thoughts.
"Zastin, stop talking and take the Kirarian away, Rito is very weak", Lala said, interrupting the conversation.
"Of course. I apologize for talking so much, Miss Lala", Zastin said apologetically. "But the truth is that I have a proposal. Yuuji, why do you not join the Deviluke army?"
"What?"
"What?"
Both Yuuji and Lala reacted with surprise, although for different reasons.
"That is right. With your ability, Yuuji, you are worthy of joining. Besides, it would help you travel through the universe much more easily", Zastin explained.
"But..." Lala hesitated, not knowing what to say.
"Do not worry, Miss Lala. After spending so much time with him, do you not know Yuuji's personality? I am sure he will continue treating you like a friend and not like a princess", Zastin said.
"But..."
"Miss Lala, you must trust your friends more."
"...Alright", Lala said with resignation before looking directly into Yuuji's eyes. "Yuuji! I trust you."
"Of course. You can continue on your way, I will talk a little more with Zastin", Yuuji replied.
Lala nodded and continued on her way.
After she disappeared from view around a corner, Yuuji looked at Zastin with doubt.
"What was all that?"
"Although at first we could not tell Lala that you were part of the Deviluke army because it would make her not trust you, now that she already does it is better to tell her. Otherwise, when she finds out through other means later their relationship will suffer a fracture", Zastin explained as he returned from his friendly mode to his serious commander mode.
"So all of this was simply to avoid us fighting later?" Yuuji asked, even more confused.
"That is right", Zastin nodded without hesitation.
"Is that not a bit unnecessary? It would have been enough to never tell her."
"His majesty holds your relationship with his daughter in high regard, Yuuji.
Avoiding it suffering damage in the future is of vital importance to him."
At first glance it seemed like a normal sentence, a father concerned about his daughter's friendships, but Yuuji, knowing the emperor, doubted it was that simple.
'Is he planning something for me? I do not think so. With people infinitely more powerful than me throughout the galaxy, why would he be interested in someone like me?
The only reason he became interested in a simple human in the beginning was because he got engaged to his daughter.'
"Do not try to understand his majesty's motives", Zastin said, guessing what Yuuji was thinking from his expression.
"Alright", Yuuji sighed with resignation, even if he was planning something at the level of the emperor of the galaxy, even if he knew he would not be able to do anything about it, so he wisely decided to stop thinking about it.
"I will go to school then", Yuuji said, changing the subject. "Make sure to take the alien away quickly so Rito recovers."
Zastin nodded as he watched Yuuji leave before grabbing the Kirarian by the neck and taking him away while disappearing into the distance.
Thus, although there were some slightly strange events during the morning, thanks to taking care of it early and not giving him the chance to keep causing problems during the day, Yuuji had a fairly peaceful day.
By the time he reached his classroom, Rito was already normal again, he had removed the face mask and was speaking normally, so it seemed Zastin had already sent him far away.
Or perhaps he dealt with him in another way. After all, he was an alien who tried to kidnap the princess of the galaxy, Yuuji could not be sure he was even still alive after attempting such madness.
The only interesting thing that happened afterward was when Lala asked him what he had decided.
Although she became a little sad after learning that Yuuji had accepted, after spending the rest of the day and seeing that he continued treating her normally, she became cheerful again.
Yuuji even felt that she was happier than usual.
______________________________________
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)