— — — — — —
Itogami Island, General Hospital — Intensive Care Unit.
Ryo stood at the bedside, zanpakutō in hand. His eyes lingered on the woman lying in the hospital bed—frail and bone-thin, a shadow of the beauty she once was. Then, he turned to glance at Asagi Aiba.
Asagi took a deep breath, forcing herself to look away from her mother. She met Ryo's gaze and gave a firm nod.
Ryo gave a faint smile, then drew his blade in a smooth arc and pierced the woman's belly. It was over in a heartbeat. He calmly sheathed his sword, turned around, and said:
"I'll wait for you outside."
And with that, he stepped out of the room.
Even through the walls, he could hear soft, muffled sobs—tears of relief and joy being held back as much as possible.
...
Out in the hallway, beneath the hospital's sterile lights, a familiar figure appeared beside him—an elegant woman with a parasol in hand.
"You know," said Natsuki Minamiya, casting him a sideways glance, "now that you've done this, the Priestess of Cain is probably never letting you go. You liar. You cheat."
"Well, someone's in a mood today," Ryo replied with a smirk, teasing her lightly.
"Forgive me," she rolled her eyes, clearly irritated, "for being overworked and having to pretend I'm totally fine with all of this."
"If you were a normal woman, you would've kicked down that door and put a few bullets in that blonde vixen by now." Ryo gave her a once-over, from top to toe, then nodded in mock agreement.
"You're definitely not normal. Isn't it boiling hot out today? How are you not dying in that goth costume?"
"I'm using a temperature control spell, obviously," Natsuki replied. "And for your information—it's powered by mana I siphoned from your Familiar."
Ryo groaned. "What's with that smug look like you're proud of blowing your husband's paycheck?"
He shook his head, then shifted to a more serious tone.
"So, how's the handover with the island's security going? Japan didn't give you too much trouble, did they?"
Itogami Island's security had originally been handled by Japan's international task forces—namely the police and the Federal Attack Mage units—while the day-to-day patrols were left to the local Island Guards. But now that Ryo had taken control, all of that was being transferred under his command. Naturally, he'd offloaded the entire mess onto Natsuki.
Partially because he was short on time, and partially because, well… he didn't want to deal with the paperwork.
"They're being unusually cooperative—must've gotten orders from higher up," Natsuki said, folding her arms with a sigh. "Honestly, the real headache is the general public. There's been chaos all over the place. The Island Guards have already dealt with dozens of minor riots, most of them started by vampires."
She gave him a dry, amused smile.
"Guess those brainless bats thought that now that the Fourth Primogenitor's in charge, they'd instantly level up in the world."
"Did you kill them?" Ryo asked casually.
"No need to go that far… yet," she said, looking rather pleased. "I just tossed them into a prison barrier. Aya's already claimed them as lab rats."
Ryo blinked and gave her a strange look. "Wait... you and Aya made up?"
"At least when it comes to dealing with you, Aya and I are finally on the same page," she said, not even trying to hide her smugness.
"Well, I guess that argument yesterday wasn't for nothing, then."
Honestly, Ryo had always thought only guys could go back to being friends after a fight. But seeing Aya—who used to be all thorns—starting to actually work with Natsuki was surprisingly optimistic.
He doubted Aya had let go of her ideals, but as long as she wasn't stirring up trouble on the island under his watch, he didn't really care.
At the end of the day, Ryo's interest in Aya was mostly physical… and, well, a bit professional. She was useful with magic tech.
That thought reminded him.
"How's the visit to Tokyo coming along? Are we set?"
Hearing that, Natsuki shot him a look like he'd just grown two heads.
"Honestly, I can't believe you're seriously doing this."
He had just yanked Itogami Island out from under Japan's control, and now he was planning a formal diplomatic visit? Only Ryo could flip-flop like that with a straight face.
Politically speaking, the guy had the skin of a rhinoceros—and the instincts of a career diplomat.
She sighed. "I've already gotten clearance from the Lion King Agency. If everything goes smoothly, you can go tomorrow."
"Perfect," Ryo nodded. "Let them know the places I want to visit. They can handle the rest of the itinerary."
There were still some things he wanted to check out on Japan—like the Relics of the Saints, Schneewalzers, and those few girls training under the Lion King Agency.
"You put way too much trust in what's basically a glorified matchmaking agency," Natsuki muttered.
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Exactly. It is a matchmaking agency—what's there to be afraid of?"
"Whatever. I'll go make the arrangements now."
She lazily drew a rift in the air with her parasol, opening a dimensional gap.
"But once this is all over, I'm taking a full week off. Got it?"
"Sure, sure," Ryo said with a chuckle, nodding along.
"At least pretend to mean it," she muttered, disappearing into the rift.
Left alone, Ryo reached into his coat and pulled out a pocket watch. The hands pointed to 7.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a quiet sigh.
"Damn. Still not enough time."
Out of the fourteen days he had, three were already gone. Counting tomorrow's trip to Japan, that left him with maybe eight days at best.
Trying to establish full influence in that short a time? Practically impossible.
Unless… he tossed away his identity, went full villain, and started a bloodbath.
But that'd be the same as jumping up and punching the gods in the face while yelling "Hey! It's me, Ryo Yagami."
And Ryo wasn't the reckless type. Until he had the power to back it up, he'd rather not expose himself.
"Charging in without a plan? That's something only someone as beautiful as Al-chan can pull off. You? You need to play it safe." A girl with long purple hair appeared behind him, arms folded, her back resting against his.
"I already passed the message to my main body. But if you get reckless out there, Al-chan won't be able to shield you from the gods' eyes forever." She clicked her tongue.
"Don't be fooled by how loose my seal seems—Athena's been burning with jealousy over my looks for centuries."
"Yes, yes, Lady Algol. The great Miss Lilith," Ryo replied dryly, already numb to the ego that came packaged with his zanpakutō spirit.
Algol—also known as Medusa, or Lilith—was arrogant beyond reason, to a degree that defied logic. Honestly, it was no surprise she was one of Little Garden's infamous Three Problem Children, right up there with Queen Halloween and Shiroyasha.
Still, she had a point. Observing this world without alerting the gods did require her help.
"Once you're back in Little Garden, find a way to meet me in person. And don't forget to bring some of this world's makeup tech—I want to try it."
With that, the girl vanished.
Just then, the hospital door creaked open, and Asagi stepped out. Her eyes were still red from crying, but she was smiling—soft and glowing, like a flower after the rain.
"Sorry… did I keep you waiting?" she asked gently.
Ryo smiled back.
.
.
.