（Nii-san!）
He was startled by the voice in his head.
（...Chisato?）
（That's right. Are you okay? Are you all right now?）
Nothing to be concerned about, nothing to be concerned about in
the first place...
Chihiro was about to say that, but then he understood.
What was he trying to say earlier?
「I... will never be one of you」
Shaking his head, Chihiro answered Kaito again.
He looked him straight in the eye.
（...Chisato）
Chihiro's consciousness was pulled back.
Without that voice, Chihiro would have been manipulated by Kaito.
**a
（I am glad that Nii-san is safe. I seemed to be able to stop
Nii-san, because I was not affected beyond a certain point）
He thought [Ruler] was an ability that worked better on women than
on men, but it seems not entirely accurate.
Probably, it is the power of [Domination], just like in the case
of Kaname. It is a good thing that Chihiro made a contract with Chisato during
this period.
Or, it may be the influence of Chisato's presence in Chihiro.
Since one body has two personalities, even if Chihiro in the open
is affected by the [Ruler], Chisato in the inside is only indirectly affected.
In addition, when the time comes, Chisato acts as a recovery factor and stops
Chihiro.
「...Hmm」
Kaito groaned.
He put his finger to his chin and made a thoughtful face.
「Izumi Chihiro's slaves do have the means to significantly block
out the influence of my [Ruler]. However, their masters are not affected... I
was told that a double dose of my own power and Kaname's [Terminal] would
ensure that」
「Master, I would never lie」
「I know, Kaname, but I have to punish a useless tool, don't I?」
Kaito told Kaname, whose face had gone pale, in no uncertain
terms.
Immediately after that, the girl screamed.
「Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?」
Kaname crouches down with her head in her hands.
Perhaps she is afraid of being punished, or perhaps she has
completely abandoned her confident and charming appearance as an idol, her body
trembling and her eyes closed tightly.
Then, she stares at Chihiro with wide-open eyes.
「If you, if you don't stand up to Master...!」
「Such a thing――」
Chihiro doesn't want to be told what to do.
He was puzzled and shook his head. After all, they are the ones
who have been attacked by Kaito. It is natural to resist.
However, he felt sympathy for Kaname when he saw how disturbed
Kaname was now.
But he doesn't think that Kaito would agree to Chihiro's request
to "forgive her".
「You don't like it so much? Then, I'll cancel the slavery contract
with Kaname. Then you won't have to sell your charms to the bigwigs of the
entertainment world. It might be better for Kaname」
「No, don't? Please, Master? I'll do anything. I'll do anything,
please don't throw me away!」
An idol who should have a large number of fans all over the
country was shamelessly screaming to win the favor of a single man.
Her eyes are wet with tears, and she is willing to let spit fly
from her mouth.
Shifting from the crouching position to a kneeling position,
Kaname simply begs for Kaito's forgiveness.
The sight of Kaname's body makes hot blood rush to Chihiro's
brain.
Kaname is the enemy.
She once put him in a tight spot. Fortunately, nothing happened at
that time, but that doesn't mean that the incident is over.
Still, Chihiro can't allow a girl to do this.
「It's enough!」
Chihiro shouted at Kaito, without any calculation or chance of
winning.
He gets up from his cushion, stomps on the table, and tries to
grab him.
But he was blocked by Saki's hand.
「Don't you dare touch Master!」
A hostile look came into her eyes.
It was a quick response.
The reason why she was able to move so quickly must have been
because she had been alerted in advance.
Perhaps Saki was there for that purpose from the beginning. The
first appearance of the entanglement must have been her ability by process of
elimination.
Seemingly expecting Chihiro to stop, Kaito said without even
changing his expression.
「Negotiations have broken down. Then, Chihiro-kun, let's make
another deal」
「...A deal?」
Chihiro asked as he pulled himself away from Saki.
He sat back down on the cushions, and Hana and Yotsuba shook his
hands from both sides in concern. It was a relief that they had calmed down.
「It's easy. If your Shibahou Academy wins the inter-school
competition tomorrow, you win. From now on, you and I swear to be inseparable
and coexist. In exchange, if Shibatsuru Academy wins, you return Maria」
「Huh...」
「She's a good woman, even if she is my sister. And now she's sworn
her allegiance to you, hasn't she? It feels good to own a woman who belongs to
someone else... doesn't it?」
He looked at Yotsuba instead of Chihiro.
Yotsuba bit her lip and glared at Kaito.
**b
「...You low-life...」
「Whatever. So, what's your response?」
「...」
Chihiro was at a loss for words.
If he wins, he keeps the status quo; if he loses, he loses
something important. Although not having to be afraid of the threat of
[Absolute] is a good payback.
「I can't make that kind of promise without Maria. Maria is not a
thing」
「It's a thing. It's your slave, isn't it?」
「...That's」
That's true in the sense of "property".
But that does not mean that Maria's personality is ignored. After
all, there is a definite difference between Kaito's and Chihiro's way of
thinking.
It is not a good idea to follow him. Chihiro thinks so, and tries
to ask for another condition.
「I understand」
Hana's voice interrupted him.
Chihiro startled, but when she turned around and looked back at
Chihiro with determined eyes, she is not under Kaito's control.
He knew immediately that she had made the earlier comment of her
own volition.
「Don't worry. Even Maria-chan has already prepared for this.
Besides, it is all right if we win. It's just me, Izumi kun, and everyone else」
「...Hana」
Her sincerity comes through.
It is also clear that they should win.
If they don't lose, they don't have to think about what happens
when they lose. Chihiro nodded deeply.
「I understand」
Then he turns and looks at Kaito.
As usual, he is unreadable.
「In exchange for your offer, I have a condition. An official reply
must be made only after Maria agrees to it. If you accept, you must agree to
one more condition in addition to the one you just agreed to」
「If she says something is impossible, I'll ask you to change it to
something else, though」
「That's fine」
「...okay. That's good」
Kaito nodded in satisfaction.
「We have a deal. My girls will do their best here. You can come as
fast as you can」
With these words, he ordered Kaname and Saki to get dressed.
He acted as if a deal had already been made. Well, in fact, Maria
agreed to it when she heard about it later.
Although the restaurant is now empty of other customers, Chihiro
and the others are not ready to continue eating.
And before Kaito left, Chihiro and his friends received a
discarded address from Kaito and left the place.
「Ah, yes. Please give my best regards to Maria. I can go see her in
person, but I'm sure she won't like it」
Chihiro responded to this request with a slight
nod.
