Closed Circle

It was now the next day. We got on a carriage first thing in the morning and headed to a nearby town that had a harbour. We were now in front of a s.h.i.+p that would be departing this afternoon.

“…alright, there’s no sign of Rose.”

I looked around to confirm we were safe as we stood in a queue to board the s.h.i.+p.

Once we’re able to board the s.h.i.+p, we’ll finally be able to escape Rose’s territory. I’ve been told that it should take us a full day to reach our destination. There should be no way that Rose can catch up to us if we leave before her.

“…Master, is this really okay?”

“Okay…? What do you mean?”

“About Rose. If it weren’t for Rose’s mercy I wouldn’t have been able to be resurrected. And, even before that, Rose seems to have helped us out a lot when we were attacked.”

“…I know what you mean. I’d like to repay her in some way, but….”

I know that Rose isn’t a bad girl and…she really is different from other Yanderes.

But, even if Rose isn’t trying to confine me now, I can’t say that will be the case in the future. There’s also a strong chance that her Yandere rank has increased….

Besides all of that…I can’t help the fact that I want to run away when I know a Yandere girl wants to capture me. Knowing that, I really feel the need to do whatever I can to escape her.

Even if I run, I feel like she’ll never stop chasing me.

“If you wish to board the s.h.i.+p please show me a letter granting you permission to board or your guild plate.”

Before I even knew it, we were at the front of the line. I hurriedly searched for my guild plate and handed it to the man.

“…Minase? It doesn’t matter how strange your name is, your Guild rank is good enough. The fare is five silver pieces. And who is that girl wearing the revealing clothing?”

…revealing clothing. Claudia was still wearing the off-shoulder top that I gave to her yesterday, but…she really didn’t like having people point it out. She hid behind my back when the man asked this.

“Umm…she’s my slave.”

“Your slave, huh? Then those clothes are…you have pretty good taste.”

The middle-aged man showed a perverted smile as he looked at me.

He’s just misunderstanding. I didn’t choose these clothes because I like how they look, they were just given to me by Medea-nee. Although, they do almost perfectly suit my tastes so I really can’t deny what he’s saying. I just shrugged my shoulders silently and looked away.

“Well, if she’s your slave there’s no issue with her boarding. Still, I’ll need to check. I’ll need you to place your hand on this crystal for me.”

The middle-aged man switched his perverted stare to Claudia who was still behind me.

This guy…I enjoy seeing Claudia wearing this clothing while looking embarra.s.sed, but…I don’t like other guys seeing her like this.

Once we leave this island, I’ll buy her normal clothing and something that will cover her chest, but I can’t do anything right now. I urged her to put her hand on the crystal.

“Umm…like this?”

Claudia came out from behind me with her face blus.h.i.+ng and placed her right hand on the crystal. But what’s with that man’s expression?

“Have you not agreed to a slave contract?”

“Eh? Ah…that’s right. We forgot to form the contract again.”

“Well…that will be a problem.”

“It is?”

“Yes. I’m sorry but without the slave contract I can’t allow that girl to board.”

“Even if she were to sign a form saying she’s my slave, she still wouldn’t be allowed to join?”

“There are some adventurers that work with criminals to transport people out of the country using that method. I’m not saying that’s the case with you, only that it’s a rule we have.”

“Is that so….”

This is a little troublesome — what should I do? The obvious choice would be to go to a slave dealer’s shop and form a new contract with Claudia.

“Oh, it’s you.”

I could hear a strange voice from behind me. From behind the middle-aged man, another man that was wearing a high-cla.s.s outfit stood behind me. Wait…I think I know him.

“You’re Lang-san, right?”

When the middle-aged man said ‘Lang,’ I remembered that this was the man that sold me Claudia.

“Lang-san, thank you for the help the other day.”

“No need to thank me for that. And you, you bought a slave from me the other day. Your name was…Yuzuki-san. He seems to be in some trouble here, what’s the matter?”

“Well, in fact…there seems to be some trouble with his slave. I can’t allow her to board as she is.”

As the middle-aged man explained this, Lang was eyeing Claudia.

“Hmm. That beautiful girl was also his slave — no way, is that Claudia!?”

“Yes. Due to various things happening, the curse was removed, but this also led to the slave contract dissolving….”

“…i-impossible. Your curse was removed?”

Lang’s eyes remained wide in shock as he continued staring at Claudia in disbelief. I waited for him to recover before saying, “I was thinking about forming the contract again.”

“…hmm. Alright, I understand.”

“You can help?”

“Yes. Just wait a moment — give them a boarding permit.”

The second part of that sentence was directed at the middle-aged man allowing people to board the s.h.i.+p.

“Eh? No, but…she’s –”

“Don’t worry. I can confirm that she was his slave and I’ll reform the slave contract once they’re onboard.”

“If that’s the case, it’s fine.”

— In short, we finished the boarding procedures and were allowed on the s.h.i.+p.

“Lang-san, was that okay?”

“It’s fine. I’ve actually hired this s.h.i.+p for the time being, so they really can’t disobey me.”

“I see. If that’s so, thank you for allowing us...o...b..ard.”

“No need to thank me. Caring for your customers after the deal is done is also an important part of any business. There are several things I’d like to ask you, are you okay with having dinner together a little while later?”

“That’s….”

I was unsure of what to say. I didn’t want to so easily reveal to him that Claudia died and I managed to learn Resurrection to bring her back to life….

“You don’t need to be worried. I don’t have any ulterior motives; I just wish to speak with you. I won’t force you to speak with me if you don’t want to.”

“If that’s the case, I’d be glad to eat with you.”

We need to meet later anyway to reform the slave contract. I don’t see why there would be any harm in eating together as well.

I was told to meet with him ‘…as soon as possible…’ once the s.h.i.+p departed.

Shortly after Lang left, the s.h.i.+p raised its sails and began to leave port. Our connection to Gran Island was cut off. In other words, it’s just us — we’ve entered a closed circle. (TN: A closed circle in this context just means that they [Claudia and Yuzuki] have entered a situation where there is no turning back/escape)

It’s impossible for Rose or her escort to board this s.h.i.+p now.

I could finally feel relieved. I stood by Claudia as we moved to the guardrail along the side of the s.h.i.+p. I leaned against it and looked back in the direction of the island slowly fading into the distance.

“…many things happened, but I can finally say goodbye to that island.”

I felt a little sad parting ways with Rose, but she’s a Yandere and there’s nothing I can do to change that.

Maybe someday, if I’m able to remove the Feminist skill, I’ll return to see Rose again.

“…hey, Master. What are we going to do now?”

“Hmm~ I wonder. I’d like to relax for the time being…but eventually I’d like to try making clothes.”

“Why do you like clothing so much? Even with this skirt, you managed to skillfully redesign it.”

“Well, I gave up many things in my life, but tailoring was something I was always fond of ever since I was a child.”

“Really?”

For some reason, Claudia looked surprised.

“…why are you so surprised?”

“No, it’s just that, well…my parents actually own a tailoring shop.”

“…seriously?”

“I’m completely serious. However, it was poorly managed for some time, so I’m not sure if their shop is still open….”

While leaning against the rail, Claudia’s bluish silver hair was blowing in the wind. For some reason, that image of her looked incredibly lonely to me.

“…and that’s why you became a slave?”

“Yes, they sold me to repay the debt our family owed. That’s not to say they forced me into slavery. I volunteered to help my parents out.”

“I see….”

I’m not sure how I feel about that. I feel like she should value herself more, but I’ve never been in her situation before.

“If your parents own a tailoring store, you should have some knowledge too, right? If I wanted to work with clothing, would you help me?”

“Because I am your slave, Master, I can’t refuse, but…I’d be happy to help you. I can sew a little bit….”

Oh, she’s also able to sew.

To be honest…I’d rather Claudia model for me.

“…why do I feel like you’re thinking about something erotic, Master?”

“Well…I can’t deny that.”

I imagined her wearing a pure and innocent dress, and then I pictured her wearing something indecent and erotic.

Watching Claudia wear those clothes while feeling embarra.s.sed would be amazing. I feel like I could spend the rest of my life doing that.

“…Master is perverted. Still, I’d be happy helping you make clothing from now on. So…please keep me by your side from now on.”

Her bluish silver hair was blowing in the wind as she showed a cute smile. From the bottom of my heart, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Claudia.

“…that’s right. We’ll start sewing our own clothing and continue to improve. We’ll stay together forever.”

“It’s a promise. Once we get to sh.o.r.e we should look into opening our own shop together.”

“Oi, you’re looking too far into the future. We still need to save up enough to be able to open up our own shop.”

“If you need money, would you like me to become an investor?”

“Thanks for the offer, but….”

Our own little dream world that we had created quickly collapsed. Claudia looked over my shoulder and her eyes widened in shock.

…eh, what’s wrong? Claudia is looking at something…behind me? I turned around to look and saw Rose wearing her usual black Gothic dress.

“Ro-Roro-Rose!?”

“That’s right, Yuzuki onii-san.”

Rose was showing an innocent and cute smile — no, she’s a violent Yandere. Even if she appears to be innocent she’s anything but harmless. I suddenly became conscious that my face was still covered in shock.

“…what are you doing here, Rose?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I came here to get you, Yuzuki onii-san ~”

“That’s not what I’m asking. What are you doing on this s.h.i.+p!?”

“That’s what you’re worried about? Of course, I was able to see through your plan, Yuzuki onii-san…rather, I’d like to be able to say that. As for why I’m here then, there are a few reasons.”

As Rose said this, she turned her eyes to Claudia.

“It really is amazing. You only recently registered as an adventurer yet you were able to bring Claudia back to life, you also managed to raise your adventurer rank at the same time so you could escape by s.h.i.+p.”

“That was all really just a…coincidence….”

I was supposed to bring Claudia back within twenty-four hours.

I didn’t even have time to come up with a plan to escape as I was desperately trying to revive her. It just so happened that by reviving her in the way that I did, I also managed to increase my rank in the Guild.

“Still, how did you find out we were on this s.h.i.+p?”

“You still don’t understand? How do you think I know that you registered as an adventurer or that your rank just increased?”

“Eh, what…no way!?”

“That’s right. Yuzuki onii-san, remember when you said you ‘drifted here?’ I a.s.sumed that if you wanted to leave this island you’d have to register at a guild in a nearby town.”

“I see…so you found where I was registered?”

“Yes after investigating in several towns. I wasn’t sure at first because you changed your name, but I heard that an adventurer with the SSS rank skill ‘To Be Loved To Death By Yanderes’ registered in Bandol. I just knew it had to be you, onii-san.”

“…ah.”

I finally understood. I was registered under the name ‘Minase’ at the guild. Yet, Sylphy suddenly started calling me ‘Yuzuki-kun’ and I never picked up on that change.

In other words, at some point, someone revealed my name to her.

“Sylphy….”

“Yeah. That onee-san had a message for you, ‘Yuzuki-kun is a necessary member of the Guild so he absolutely cannot be allowed to leave the island.’“

“….”

Rather than fighting amongst one another over who ‘owns’ me, they had a mutual interest in keeping me on this island. Actually, I’m not even sure if Rose knows about Sylphy’s feelings towards me….

“So, will you be a good boy and return peacefully with me to Gran Island?”

A gothic lolita smiling innocently. She looks cute, but…if I fall for her smile I know I’ll end up locked in a room for the rest of my life.

— So, I’ll activate my ultimate weapon!

“Claudia, it’s your time to s.h.i.+ne!”

I hid behind Claudia’s back.

Rose stared at me silently and Claudia remained silent as well.

“…Yuzuki onii-san, whatever may be happening…that’s just a little much….”

“She’s right, Master. No matter what you’re thinking, you’re asking too much of me.”

Something changed in the atmosphere and now they were both staring at me with disdain. Two beautiful girls staring at me like I’m the most pathetic thing they’ve ever seen. I could feel my pride take a heavy blow.

But I can’t give up yet! As long as there’s a chance we can get out of here I can’t give up — I’ll support Claudia!

“You’ll be fine, Claudia. The curse on your body has been removed so all of your skills have increased in rank! As you are now, I’m sure you can defeat her!”

“I told you it’s impossible. I don’t remember clearly, but isn’t Rose-sama the one that saved Master and me? She defeated those three women like it was nothing.”

“Don’t give up yet! Remember, you’re stronger than before! You can do it!”

“No, that’s…even if my skills have returned to their original ranks, I don’t have any combat skills. Besides, Rose-sama saved us.”

“…so, it’s impossible?”

“It’s impossible.”

“Impossible….”

My plan failed.