Translator: Reflet
Editor: ryunakama
After school, a car came alongside the road as Taiyou was walking out. It was a tinted car that he could immediately tell was bullet-proof. One of the thick windows was rolled down, and inside he could see Sakura.
"Sakursan."
"It has been a long time, Natsuno-sama. Might you have some free time to spare for a bit?"
"Uhh, sure."
"Okay, then."
The door to the car opened, and Taiyou got in. As of late, he had grown quite accustomed to riding in cars with exquisite interiors. Inside, Sakura was facing him with her back to the front of the car as it rode onward, implying that he was the center of attention. Taiyou pretended to not notice this when he spoke, however.
"Thank you very much."
"It"s nothing, but what did you want? You didn"t wait for Youran, but rather chose to wait for me, so this must be a unique situation, right?"
"Yes. I have something that I would like to entrust you with."
"Entrust?"
"But before that…Do you recall Blood Soul?"
Taiyou furrowed his brow at Sakura"s words. His memory of the event was revived. Blood Soul? Of course he recalled that. It was the name of a plan that was deeply involved with all of his brides.
"Of course I do."
"Ah, I do apologize."
Sakura made a graceful bow. It was hard to believe that this allegiant(is that meant to be elegant? Not sure so didnt want to change it incase) gesture was that of the Sakura he had met so long ago.
"And what about this Blood Soul? Don"t tell me there"s another problem…"
"I would like to confirm this with you…was the last time that you were involved in that plan when you fought with the manmade magic sword, Blood Soul?"
"Yeah."
"The sword that sucks the blood and soul out of its opponents, exchanging it into power for its holder. A fusion of the areas of science and the occult, Blood Soul. I was secretly researching the technology…please do keep this a secret from New Moon-sama, if you will."
"You"re not…going to…?"
"Please do not misunderstand. I have no intention of opposing New Moon-sama."
"Then why?"
"I cannot tell you the reason."
"…Then why bother telling me that? You came all the way here to meet me."
He didn"t get what Sakura was trying to accomplish.
"I came here to hand you this."
Sakura took out seven small, square boxes.
"What are these?"
"Rings."
Sakura opened one of them, showing Taiyou. It was an orthodoxly made ring case.
"There are seven in total. Enough for all of the wives you currently have."
"Kotone, Suzune, Kazane, Kohaku-san, Aoba, Youran, Akiha. Yeah, that"s seven."
"Indeed."
"But what exactly do we use these for?"
"Well, it seems that rather than concealing it, I should express my true intention."
Sakura said with a slight wry smile.
"I would like to have your a.s.sistance in an experiment."
"Again?"
Taiyou frowned further. The word experiment brought back that one case with the three sisters.
"Of course, if you refuse, then I will rescind the offer. However, I thought you to be the most capable this time around, Natsuno-sama, out of all the people I know."
Sakura stressed the "Natsuno-sama" part. As if that accent had some earnest intent mixed in.
"Not anyone else? Just me?"
"Yes, just you, Natsuno-sama."
"…What kind of rings are these?"
He asked her after taking one case.
"So, the Blood Soul as a weapon sucked the blood and soul out of others in exchange for power."
"Right."
"In the same manner, but with feelings, it sucks them out of the person using them and converts them to power for said person."
"…Out of the person, for the person?"
"Yes."
"I don"t really get it. What exactly are you trying to say?"
"To explain it a bit more plainly…"
Sakura sweetly smiled.
"It is made so that it converts the feelings of the person into power."
"That"s the exact same thing you said a moment ago."
"Feelings are limited to "good feelings". These are experimental goods, so they are further limited to being categorized as "love"."
"You won"t bite, huh?"
Taiyou breathed a sigh. If she wouldn"t say the answer of what he was trying to ask, then he would try to lead her to the answer he wanted.
"So, this love? What specifically would it be converted into?"
"If I were to say it in a Taiyou-sama mannerism, defense."
"Defense?"
"Yes. To put it more bluntly, the more that someone loves you, the more firm the defense."
"…Uhh, that sounds like some ridiculous capabilities."
"I would like to remind you that last time you encountered that sword, it had already pa.s.sed through that "ridiculous" threshold."
"That"s very true."
Taiyou remembered what had happened that time. The magic sword, Blood Soul, that even Hera had had a tough time against. It certainly did have some ridiculous stats. Compared to that, maybe these rings that converted love into defense weren"t all that bad.
"And you"re saying that everyone needs to wear these?"
"Yes. It would be enough simply to test out how well they work and what sorts of effects you can help them manifest."
"Even though I"m supposedly the most well-suited for it?"
"Harem."
Sakura said, holding up her index finger.
"Having multiple women at once, and on top of that, paying equal attention to them…I know no other person like that. Just you, Natsuno-sama."
"Aren"t you forgetting about Youran"s father and Aoba"s father?"
"I have yet to meet Miyagi-san"s father. And New Moon-sama"s father is out of the question."
"Out of the question?"
"Though he did have many women birth children, he is not skilled at such a thing. At least in the case of my mother and New Moon-sama"s mother, they detest each other."
"…My bad."
Taiyou apologized.
"No, I just wanted you to understand why I asked you of all people."
"But okay, then I think I get why I"m good for the job."
"That is what I decided."
"So I just have them all wear these?"
"Yes. There are names written on the back of each case."
"Oh, you"re right."
Taiyou turned the case over. The one in his hand happened to be Kohaku"s.
"I prepared each of these according to everyone"s biological information. All they have to do is put them on and it will automatically take their feelings and convert them to power."
"Any side effects?"
"All I can say is that…there will be nothing in the way of your daily life."
"…So I guess I"d only use them in the case that I needed defense."
Taiyou actually surmised what she was trying to say. He gazed at the ring, thinking about it briefly. It was a ring that took feelings and made them into power. Even if there were demerits to this…
"Alright…I"ll take them."
He nodded, accepting them from Sakura.