The three walk through the empty arcade. Since the inn is entirely reserved for their use, there are no other guests around. The place has a strange atmosphere where the game machines are humming noisily with no people around to play them.
“So, what do we play?”
Asked Kisei while feeling a little guilty about sneaking off alone with Diaroze and Schleer. Still, it’s true that he would only get bored since he can’t keep up with their ridiculously high-level air hockey.
“Right…….how about that one?”
With a tensed smile, Schleer pointed to a crane game with a lot of cute plushies inside.
“It’s a game where you get to keep the price inside if you can get it out using the crane, isn’t it? I heard that men like that kind of stuffed animal.”
The moment Schleer said that, Diaroze immediately bonked her head.
“Ouch!”
“You fool! That might apply to Vuld men but he’s a Terran you know.”
Schleer immediately paled after Diaroze quietly whispered that into her ear.
“Eh, do Terran men hate stuffed animals?”
“Of course, it depends on the person but you can’t just generally apply that to Kisei right. Starting with stuffed animals is too risky, find something blander!”
“No way, even though I like them too……Kisei-san, do you hate this kind of thing?”
When Schleer asked that as if it’s the end of the world, Kisei did a spit take.
“You don’t have to laugh like that……”
“N, no, well, sorry. I don’t hate it……it’s just, I’ve been moving around between a lot of armies right. I just don’t want to increase my personal luggage too much……”
“C, Certainly……”
When he came to Calencia, Kisei only had one bag with him. Recalling that, Schleer holds her head. To be frank, she would like him to settle in Calencia but from what she saw, it seems that Kisei doesn’t have the intention of doing so.
That being said, it’s not possible to forcibly keep him here either. She has already decided that she needs to bond with him as much as she can to make it hard for him to leave as much as possible.
With another bonk on her head, Diaroze slammed both of her hands on Schleer’s shoulders and forced Schleer to face her.
“You, you are thinking of showing off your strength right! Do you think that he is the type that would get fluttered by that!?”
“N, No, I wasn’t……rather, aren’t you too violent toward me!? I have the detonation remote for your collar you know!? Can’t you behav–…..”
“Who cares about that! My master is Kisei, not you, you fool! The only reason I am cooperating with you is that I have no one else.”
“Ehh………”
Schiller wondered if Diaroze’s attitude is too haughty for a slave but she understands that it’s not good to throw a tantrum here. Also, it’s true that Diaroze’s advice is benefiting her. Certainly, Schleer herself never looked into the difference between Vuld and Terran men’s preferences. That’s why she’s actually grateful for Diaroze’s advice since it gives her a new perspective.
“Even though you tried to forcefully have your way with Kisei-san, it seems you put a lot of thoughts into this huh……..”
“U, Umu. I can’t say anything back to that…….but the forceful plan has already failed. That’s why I think that I should adapt and devise our strategy according to his preferences.”
“I see……it’s true that information gathering is the basics of the basics. Since I neglected that, it’s obvious why I have been failing huh……..”
“Somehow, aren’t you guys whispering something among each other for a while now? Well, it’s great that you two finally get along.”
Said Kisei with a happy expression. In the case of Diaroze, he was afraid that there might be a gap between her and the others because of her circumstances but it seems that she managed to get along just fine with Schleer. It would be difficult for Kisei if they always have a stiff relationship so he’s actually grateful for this development.
“Aiyah, My apology! We didn’t intend to leave you out, Kisei-san.”
“Umu Umu, we were just talking about something that we shouldn’t let a man hear, don’t mind us.”
“If you put it like that then it would sound like we were talking about something dirty right!?”
Seeing Schleer defending herself in a panic, Kisei and Diaroze looked at each other and smiled.
“Kuku, Kufufufu…….well, but, Umm…..crane game right? It’s not a bad idea to pass time with that, isn’t it? It’s not like the only prizes are stuffed animals too.”
“There’s some snacks in there too right……..if it’s that then we can share it with each other.”
“I see, that’s true…….if possible, I want to share it only between the two of us though.”
Schleer turned to the air hockey corner where loud cheers could be heard even though they should be quite far away already. Still, there aren’t many opportunities where she can be alone with him in this big group. With a sigh, she turned back to the crane game.