On the next morning, I go to the HQ of the Ueyama Group to check on Kaoru. My girlfriends wanted to come too, but I reminded them that they’re not supposed to know of Kaoru’s secret, so they had to stay behind.

Kaoru came out to greet me when the guards outside the bulding told him of my arrival. This time, he’s not wearing his delinquent outfit, but a simple shirt and short pants.

‘Good morning, Kagenashi-san.’

‘Morning, Kaoru. I’m here to check up on you.’

‘My apologies for the trouble. We should go inside. My father was expecting you.’

‘Yeah. Let’s go meet him.’

Ueyama-san was very anxious on my progress to help his son, so I wasted no time and told them the conversation I had with Albanese last night. After I’m done, I assure them that I’ll keep Kaoru away from harm until Albanese got some answers.

‘I’m sorry but this is the best I can do for now.’ I say to them.

‘No need to apologize, Kagenashi-dono. I know you did you best. I just wish that something can really be done if that Inquisitor you mentioned does confront the leaders of those knights.’

‘Like I said, he’s trustworthy.’

‘But, what if the Pope himself becomes interested in Kaoru’s power after he was told of it?’

‘Worse comes to worst, I could ask my principal to accept Kaoru as one of his students. That reminds me, how old are you, Kaoru?’

‘I’m going to turn 14 soon.’ he answers.

‘So, you’re in middle school now? And graduating next yeat?’

‘Yes.’

Oh, so he’s the same age as Sara.

‘If Principal Morifuji does accept you, I guess that will make you my junior.’

‘Then, when the time comes, please take care of me, senpai!’ he says while smiling brightly.

Some anime/game/manga characters felt great elation when they’re called senpai. I’ve always thought they were exaggerating, but I realized that it’s not after experiencing it firsthand.

Wow, so this is what it’s like to called senpai. Being a college student in real life, it’s natural that I had juniors. The thing is, none of them have ever talked to me. Heck, not even students my age did, nor did my seniors. Urgh, I hate real life.

‘Will Kaoru really be fine there, Kagenashi-dono?’ Ueyama-san asks worriedly.

‘Don’t worry, sir. Everyone there is nice, so I’m sure Kaoru won’t be mistreated.’

‘Hmm, if you say so.’

‘By the way, how were things last night?’ I ask Ueyama-san.

‘Are you asking about the territorial fight or the knights?’

‘A bit of both.’

‘We had a truce with the Hidari gang. No one felt like having a second round straight away after getting interrupted by the knights like that. The only good news is that no one died, though a lot of us got injured. As for the knights, they come to pester us again for Kaoru at night. We just locked up the gate and ignored them until they go away. It took them quite a while to leave.’

‘Um, are they allowed to come in with a search warrant like the police?’ Kaoru asks me fearfully.

‘I don’t think so. Usually, they would charge in while bringing up their religion or their Church or whatever. The fact that they didn’t do that just further proves that they are indeed doing this behind the Church’s back.’

‘Does that mean they’ll be using drastic measures soon?’

‘There’s a high possibility.’ I get up. ‘It’s better if we don’t wait for 2 more days. I’ll speak with the Inquisitor to ask him whether it’s possible for us to go to Italy right now.’

‘Wait, we as in…’ Kaoru points at himself.

‘Of course. You’ll be in danger if you stay here. Ueyama-san, is that fine?’

He nods gravely. ‘I guess it can’t be helped.’

‘Go get your passport ready.’ I tell Kaoru. ‘If the Inquisitor agrees with me, we should be leaving for the airport soon.’

‘I understand.’

I suddenly remember something else. His clothes.

‘Kaoru, I hate to be blunt, but you do have other clothes than the one you wore yesterday, right? Clothes that are more…normal?’

‘Why yes, I do. Those was the clothes I wear when I go to combat. Usually, I wear clothes like this.’ he gestures to his clothing.

‘Splendid. Get changed into something more suitable for travelling and wait here with your passport.’

‘Understood.’

‘Ueyama-san. To ensure his safety, I would like to bring along my (girl)friends. My apologies but, I’ve told them about Kaoru’s power.’

‘No worries. I find you trustworthy, so I reckon your comrades are trustworthy as well.’

‘Thank you, sir. Well then, I’m off.’

‘Yes.’

I waste no time in going to the Church. Luckily, Albanese was just about to go outside. If I was a few minutes late, I would have missed him.

‘Oh, Kagenashi-kun. Is something the matter?’ he asks when he saw me.

‘I would like to talk to you about the you-know-what.’ I tell him.

‘Very well. Let us go inside the conference room again.’

Once inside, Albanese once again turns on the signal jammer so that we could talk without the fear of being eavesdropped.

I immediately tell him about how the knights might barge into the yakuza’s HQ and forcefully take Kaoru away, and suggest that we should head for Italy as soon as possible.

‘Hmm, I guess you’re right. There’s also something that was bothering me.’

‘Which is?’

Rather than saying it out loud, Albanese takes out his phone and types it out. It’s that big of a worrisome thing.

‘...I see. That would explain their actions.’

‘Do you think you can do something on your end? I would love to do it myself, but my hands are mostly tied.’ Albanese asks.

‘I’m not sure, sir. I can’t think of anything right now.’

‘I guess this kind of things take time. I just hope it won’t be too late. For now, I’ll call my pilot so that he and his crews can get ready.’

‘...Your pilot, sir? Does that mean, you own a private jet?’

‘Indeed I do. That’s one of the perks of being one of the top Inquisitor.’

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

‘Oh, okay.’

He switches off the jammer and calls his pilot with his phone. I was about to send a message to tell my girls that we’ll be going to Italy when I remembered something just as important. I quickly send a message to Ueno.

‘Hey, Ueno. There’s an upcoming event in Ebon Quest, right?’ me

‘Huh, there is?’ Ueno

‘Yes, there is. You know, the one where you can choose whether to fight alongside a group of bandits or a group of paladins.’

‘Oh, that one. Yeah, now I remember. I was so busy with my research that I’ve forgotten. Why did you bring it up now? You need some items from me?’ Ueno

‘You bet I do. I mean, you’re the one with the most useful items among us.’ me

‘I guess. So, what do you need?’ Ueno

‘A clockwork pigeon. One that has a voice transmitter. Mind, I need a tiny one. Like really tiny. I don’t want it to be seen.’ me

‘Yeah. I got one.’ Ueno

‘That’s great to hear. You think you can borrow me your memory card for a bit?’ me

‘Sure thing. You coming over right now?’ Ueno

‘Well, I’m kinda busy right now, so I’m asking another of my friend to get it for me.’ me

‘Okay. I already have it with me, so just tell your friend to come find me.’ Ueno

‘Gotcha.’ me

I sent a message at the group to tell my girls the situation. They responded by telling me that they’ll go back to their room to get their passport.

‘Stay there, Akira. Mashiro will teleport everyone there with Sogdrul’s help.’ Mashiro

‘Before you do, could you go to the Research Department to find a guy call Ueno? I wanted to borrow something from him.’ me

‘Okay.’ Mashiro

Just as I was about to type the location of my passport, Sakuya sent a message.

‘Don’t worry about your passport, Akira-kun. It’s inside the second drawer of your closet, right?’

‘Wait. Why do you know that, senpai?’ me

‘Um, I found it by coincidence~?’ Sakuya

‘She was trying to look for your porn stash.’ Ichika

‘Ichika-chan, don’t tell him that!’ Sakuya

‘...Senpai, I think we’ll need to talk about your privilege to hold my spare room key very soon.’ me

‘Whhhhhhyyyyy~’ Sakuya

‘Anyway, please come here ASAP.’ me

‘Well, you kids have fun.’ Assaf-sensei

‘Huh? Aren’t you coming, sensei?’ me

‘I would love to. The thing is, pretty much everyone in the Church hate my guts, especially the Pope. I would be crucified and burned the moment I step foot on Italy.’ Assaf-sensei

‘Oh yeah, I keep forgetting that you used to work for Lost Children.’ me

‘That’s how it is. Go and wreck a havoc for me, won’t you?’ Assaf-sensei

‘Got it. We’ll get you a souvenir if we got the time.’ me

‘A sexy lingerie would be nice.’ Assaf-sensei

‘Yeah, not happening.’ me

After a while, all the girls are arrive outside the church, with Mashiro holding my passport and a memory card. She hands the things to me.

‘Here you go, Akira.’

‘Thanks.’

A tiny bug somehow got on top of the memory card. Before I could do anything, the bug crawls to my hand and goes inside my shirt. I decide to let it live.

Albanese has a priest drives us all to the Ueyama Group’s HQ with a van. Kaoru was already waiting at the gate when we got there, with his father at his side.

My girlfriends are very awestruck the moment they saw Kaoru. They probably can’t believe that such a feminine person is a guy.

‘Um, he is a boy, right?’ Sakuya asks me in a small voice while we get out of the van.

‘I think so. Both he and his father said that, so it can’t be wrong.’ I whisper back.

‘Hello again, Kagenashi-san. Are these your friends?’ Kaoru asks me.

‘Yeah, let me introduce you. This is Morifuji Sakuya, Fuyukaze Mashiro, Kojima Madoka, Kurogane Ichika, Kiryuu Yui. And this is the Inquisitor I mentioned, Adelberto Albanese-san.’

He smiles brightly at them. ‘Nice to meet you. My name is Ueyama Kaoru. I’ll be in your care.’

Ueyama-san bows at us. ‘Please take care of my son.’

‘Don’t worry. We will.’ I assure him.

On our way to the airport, there’s a possibility that the knights would ambush us, so we’re on constant high alert. Even when we reach the airport, I can’t allow myself to relax.

Albanese leads us to a corridor where no one else is going. We soon reach a door that leads us to where the planes are. There are planes of all sizes waiting to depart, and one of them stands out since it’s much smaller than the rest. That must be Albanese’s private jet.

‘Wait, what about all those security checks?’ I ask Albanese.

‘Like I said, perks of being an Inquisitor. Remember, we’re short on time.’

The interior of the jet is more like a small but extremely fancy living room of an expensive mansion instead of a plane. There’s a long L-shaped sofa made of leather, three wooden tables, two massage chairs, even a large flat screen plasma television. As for attendants, there are two air stewardess waiting for us at the inside.

‘It’s been a while, Albanese-san.’ the two of them says at the same time while slightly inclining their body.

Albanese nods at them.

‘Indeed it has, Nancy and Claudia.’ he gestures at us. ‘These are my important guests. Please take good care of them.’

‘Understood.’ one of them turns to us and smiles. ‘Please feel free to call us should you require any assistance.’

We promise that we will, and we sit down at the sofa. Albanese, on the other hand, heads to the cockpit with the air stewardesses.

‘Where are you going, Albanese-san?’ I ask him.

‘It would be awkward if a middle-aged man like myself is among youngsters like you. You kids enjoy your time with each other.’ he says to us.

And so, we’re left alone, with Kaoru the only sort-of outsider here. After the jet takes flight, Mashiro wastes no time in sitting on my lap.

‘No fair, Fuyukaze-san! It’s supposed to be my turn to sit on Akira-kun’s lap!’ Yui says.

‘The one who’s fastest gets what she wants.’ Mashiro says in a as-a-matter-of-fact way.

‘Geez…’

‘Akira, commence the head pats.’

I try not to laugh at the way she’s acting like a noble. ‘As you command, my lady.’

‘Ah, me too! Me too!’

‘Alright.’

While I’m giving Mashiro and Yui head pats, Sakuya, Ichika and even Madoka are getting intimate with Kaoru.

‘Is it tough being the son of a yakuza head?’ Sakuya asks Kaoru.

‘It can be at times. I’m supposed to lead by example, after all. If my father’s subordinates aren’t tolerant and kind towards me, I might have given up a long time ago.’

‘There is nothing to worry about.’ Ichika assures him. ‘If you keep on going, your efforts will definitely bear fruit one day.’

‘Yes. Thank you for your words of encouragement.’

‘I could always sell you the information of your rival groups’ information. Don’t worry, I’ll give you discounts.’ Madoka says.

Ah. So that’s why she was being friendly. She saw a business opportunity.

‘Thank you, but I rather not. My father always told me to face my opponents head-on. That’s what I intend to do.’

Ichika nods approvingly. ‘You have a good father.’

Madoka, on the other hand, looks rather disappointed. ‘Well, you know where to find me if you ever changed your mind.’

‘Akira-kun told us that you might be joining us next year. Is that true?’ Sakuya asks Kaoru.

‘Well, it really depends. I would love to go to a co-ed school for once, considering the fact that I’ve been attending boys school since I was in grade school. However, the students at the Academy must live at the dorm, right?’

‘Yes, is there a problem?’

‘It’s not a problem per se, but I want to spend time with my father as much as possible. He was always alone after my mother left us.’

‘Oh, you have my condolences.’

‘No no, she’s still alive. It’s just that the two of them are divorced.’

Sakuya’s expression darkens for a moment when she heard that.

‘I see. So you’re the one in charge of the housework?’

‘Me and some of our men. It’s hard to take care of such a huge place, but we get by.’

‘Well, if you’re worried about not being able to spend time with your father, I could always ask the principal to do something about the stay-at-dorm rule in your case. I mean, Yui-chan there could stay at her own house. I don’t see why he can’t make an exception for you as well.’

‘Really? You will help me?’

‘Of course I will. I’m the student council president, after all! Just leave it to your big sister~!’

‘Oh, so I was talking to the student council president all these while? Pardon me for my insolence!’

‘It’s okay. Just rely on me whenever you’re in trouble, okay? This reliable big sister will always be there for you!’

‘Yes!’

‘Did she just call herself reliable?’ Mashiro asks me.

‘I’m pretty sure she is most of the time, but definitely not on housework.’

‘I didn’t ask for any snide comments, you two.’ Sakuya says to us.

The group over there talk about school some more, while Mashiro switches with Yui so that she could sit on my lap. I’m still giving them had pats at the same time.

‘I forgot to ask just now. How long is the flight gonna take?’ I ask Madoka.

‘12 and a half hours.’

‘12…seriously? Any need to stop and refuel?’

‘None. This jet has enough fuels to fly that long without stopping.’

‘Well, that’s one good news.’

While waiting for the jet to land at Rome’s International Airport, we did everything we could think of to pass the time: watching movies from the television, chatting with each other, playing with card games that Sakuya brought, doing light exercises, even having an afternoon nap.

We had both our lunch and dinner inside the jet, and they were pretty high-class and expensive food too. I’m kind of scared to ask Madoka how much do all these cost.

After almost 13 hours of flight, the jet has finally landed on the airport. My body is very sore from the flight, so I have to do some stretching to relieve it. The girls are also doing the same.

‘Well then, shall we go?’ Albanese asks us after we’re done.

‘Yes. Let’s.’

It almost midnight, so the airport is very empty. Majority of the shops are closed, and those that are still open is devoid of any customers. The staffs on duty are all standing idly while looking very bored.

‘I would love to let all of you stay inside a church. Sadly, the pastors here are very radical in the sense that they would not allow any non-believers to take shelter at their place. Therefore, I had to book hotel rooms for all of you.’ Albanese says to us.

‘We’re sorry that you had to pay for all this, Albanese-san.’ I say.

‘Don’t be. On the contrary, I have to apologize to Ueyama-kun as a representative of the Church. We have cause you nothing but trouble.’

He bowed at Kaoru.

‘No, please don’t worry about it!’ Kaoru says quickly. ‘It’s not like you were the one who ordered my kidnapping, Albanese-san!’

‘Still, the Order works under the Church, so I should be indirectly held accountable.’

‘Really, I’m fine as long as the problem is solved.’

It took some time, but we eventually manage to convince Albenese to stop blaming himself.

When we got to the entrance, Issac Wilson, my least favorite knight, is here for some reason. And the worse news is, he’s fully armed for battle, and he’s not alone.

Standing behind him are at least twenty knights, also armed. They’re in a formation, with their swords pointed at us.

Albanese is very shocked to see them. ‘What are you doing here, Wilson?’

Wilson flashed his annoying smile at us. ‘Why, we’re here to arrest you, of course.’