by Takehaya
“But... I can’t just make up my mind... so I wanted to hear Satomi-sama and everyone else’s opinion...”
However, despite knowing all of that, Ruth still couldn’t bring herself to readily welcome the idea of the marriage. Rather, she felt quite reluctant about it. But the reason for that was simple—another man had already stolen her heart.
“So... what do you all think?”
After explaining the situation she found herself in to everyone, she turned to them for advice.
“Hmm... Isn’t it still too early?”
Shizuka was the first to answer. Shaking her head, she appeared to be counting something on her fingers.
“You’re still in your first year of high school, so you can’t be more than fifteen or sixteen years old. I think that’s way too soon to be deciding on your future like that.”
That was her way of thinking as a human living on Earth, but Shizuka didn’t think that things could be that much different on Forthorthe. And that much was true; even in Forthorthe, it was rare for girls of Ruth’s age to get married.
“I would accept on the right terms.”
“What?! What on earth, Kiriha-san? That’s way too young to get married!”
Kiriha was in favor of the marriage, but Shizuka couldn’t understand why.
“If Ruth gets married, it should improve the situation Theia-dono is in. It will very likely be beneficial for Ruth herself as well.”
Kiriha was speaking from a purely political point of view. If the perks were considerable enough, they would outweigh whatever downside there was to the union.
“So you’re telling her to settle and get married? That’s just awful! How do you think Ruth-san feels about this?!”
While Kiriha saw things very objectively, Shizuka’s primary concern was for Ruth as a woman. She was still young, and her feelings hadn’t been taken into consideration. Shizuka wouldn’t stand for that.
“Don’t get too heated, Shizuka. That’s why I said on the right terms,” Kiriha said with a wry smile at the excited Shizuka.
“...Then what do you mean?”
Upon seeing Kiriha smile like that, Shizuka managed to calm down a little. But she still wasn’t convinced it was the right answer, and the skepticism was visible in her eyes.
“If Ruth were to marry someone she didn’t like, that would indeed be troublesome. If the cons outweigh the pros, there’s no point in getting married.”
A while ago, Kiriha’s father had also suggested that she get married. It was an entirely political affair intended to suppress the radical faction, but Kiriha had refused. There was already a man she loved, so she’d felt very similarly to the way Ruth did now. And so no matter how great the perceived benefits would be, Kiriha wouldn’t recommend a marriage to Ruth that would result in her being miserable. In the end, looking at the bigger picture, Kiriha and Shizuka were of the same opinion on that matter.
“So what about the guy? Is he good looking or not?”
Yurika, however, approached the issue a very different way. Ruth’s suitor was a wealthy, powerful man, and although he wasn’t a proper noble, he had blue blood in his veins. As long as he was good looking, he sounded like the perfect fiancé straight out of a shoujo manga. Her eyes sparkled at just the thought, but her impoverished way of life was clearly influencing her opinion.
“This isn’t about what he looks like, Yurika. Jeez...”
“Whaaat, really?”
“Well, in your shoujo mangas, the good looking guys are always nice. But real life doesn’t work like that, you know?”
Sanae looked both dumfounded and amazed. She couldn’t keep up with Yurika’s outlook on men. To Sanae, a man’s looks weren’t what was important, but neither was his money or status. To her, what mattered most was his heart. Or really, his soul.
To a ghost like Sanae, physical appearance wasn’t all that important. She was more sensitive to spiritual energy than actual visuals, so the aura a man emitted meant more to her than anything else. Sanae hated negative auras, and being exposed to people’s greed through their spiritual energy made her feel sick. Nothing was better than someone with a pure aura. Moreover, to a ghost, money and status meant nothing. So for a very good reason, Sanae valued people for their spirits.
“So if I had to choose between a good looking but sly guy or Koutarou, I’d rather go with Koutarou. He feels good to sleep in, after all.”
“Wait a minute, Sanae! Are you saying I’m ugly?!”
“What about you, Yurika?”
“Hey!”
“Um, which one would give me food?”
“A sly person wouldn’t give you food for no reason. But Koutarou always gives you your fill, right?”
“Then I’d pick Satomi-san too! I have no use for a handsome man who won’t feed me!”
“Seriously, what’s that supposed to mean?!”
At first, Sanae and Yurika’s taste in men seemed different, but they seemed to achieve some common ground in what they considered desirable. If a nice person was the same as someone who would feed them, they wanted the same thing. To Yurika, good looks were important, but not as important as food. While she ideally had high standards, her stomach forced her to be realistic.
“I’d rather get a stomachful than an eyeful, so I’d much rather pick Satomi-san.”
“Hey, look at that, Koutarou! You’re super popular!”
“Y-You guys...”
Koutarou couldn’t get past the fact that the girls had said he wasn’t good looking in a roundabout way. He himself was aware of that, but their words still stabbed at his heart.
“What does it matter, Koutarou? You’re winning when it comes to beauty of spirit.”
“...That’s real cute coming from an actual spirit.”
That was the only rebuttal he could think of in the heat of the moment.
“Eeheehee! I am currently an adorable ghost, but who knows? I might have been ugly when I was alive.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Ahaha, so you do get it, Koutarou! Anyway...” Sanae smiled happily and looked towards Ruth. “What’s this fiancé of yours actually like?”
And so the derailed conversation finally returned to Ruth.
“When it comes down to it, that’s what really matters.”
“That’s what I want to hear too. There’s nothing sadder than being forced to marry someone you don’t love, after all.”
Shizuka and Kiriha agreed with Sanae, but it seemed to pique the interest of all the girls in the room. The real question now was whether or not this man was Ruth’s type.
“I hear he’s a wonderful person, but since I have never met him, I can’t tell you anything else,” Ruth said as she shook her head.
Ruth knew that he was the CEO of a famous corporation and she knew that he was a well known philanthropist, but that was really it. She had no personal experience with him.
“Apparently he’ll be paying a visit here, so until then, I can’t say for...”
“Hmm... So unless you have a reason not to marry him, you at least have to meet him, right?”
A reason not to marry. Hearing those words, Ruth’s heart skipped a beat and she instinctively looked to Koutarou. He was resting his chin in his hand as he pensively looked at Ruth.
“So, um... what do you think, Satomi-sama?”
Ruth asked for Koutarou’s opinion like she was asking for help. The truth was that she was most interested in his thoughts on the matter. After all, he was the real reason she didn’t want to get married.
To Ruth, Theia was both her esteemed liege and a dear childhood friend she thought of as her own sister. Ruth could handle any kind of trouble that befell her personally, even in her love life, but anything that affected Theia—her princess and her best friend—would be a complete disaster.
Theia meant the world to Ruth, and Koutarou was the first person she’d ever felt like she could entrust Theia to. Inherently, that also meant that he met all of her requirements
for a love interest. Ruth only felt like she could leave Theia to him because he was her ideal man.
Ruth had never revealed that to Koutarou because she didn’t want to become an obstacle in Koutarou and Theia’s relationship, but in her current situation, she was desperate to hear what he had to say. It was a sign of her real feelings starting to show through.
“I...”
Koutarou was hesitant. All kinds of things ran through his head. There was a lot to take into consideration here.
Satomi-sama...
Ruth watched over Koutarou contemplatively, as if praying. All she needed was a sign. One word would be enough. She didn’t care what the reason was. She just wanted Koutarou to tell her not to go through with it. That would give her a reason to say no.
If Satomi-sama says I shouldn’t, then that’s all I need...
Ruth knew that she would never really be able to tell Koutarou how she felt, and that was because she needed him to focus on protecting Theia. If all went as Ruth hoped, Koutarou would become Theia’s partner. That meant she could never be with him, but she was fine with that. She was satisfied just to be near him and watch over Theia with him. She was fine with that kind of love.
But even so, Ruth now prayed that Koutarou at least thought something of her. That would be enough. Then she would be able to carry on. It was perhaps the most selfish thing she’d ever prayed for, but it was still a modest wish.
“...I can’t really say.”
And it seemed her hopes didn’t reach him. In the end, Koutarou didn’t tell Ruth not to go through with the marriage.
The moment she heard Koutarou’s answer, tears came streaming out from Ruth’s eyes.
“Satomi-sama...”
But it was more than just tears. A horrible, weighty sadness from the bottom of her heart was overflowing. She felt like it would crush her if she remained still.
“I-I’m sorry... I need a moment to myself.”
And with those words, Ruth ran from the room. She didn’t want anyone to see her falling tears, and that feeling drove her forward. It was both a matter of pride and because she didn’t want to become a burden to Koutarou.
“Ruth!”
Theia stood up just as Ruth burst out the front door.
“Ruth, wait! Where are you going?!”
Theia treasured Ruth much the same way Ruth treasured her. They had a very close relationship, and she had never seen Ruth act like this before. She knew that whatever was going through her head must have been serious, and she didn’t hesitate to run right after her in the darkness. She would do whatever she could to find her childhood friend that she thought of as an older sister.
After both Ruth and Theia had run out, silence befell room 106. The commotion was quite a shock to them all, but as time passed, that shock slowly faded into understanding.
“Satomi-kun! Why’d you have to go and say that?!”
Shizuka was the one to break the silence. Her face was contorted with anger for the first time in a long while. It was the same way she’d looked when the invading girls had first fought in room 106, but this time her rage was specifically directed at Koutarou.
“Landlord-san...”
“Don’t give me that! You knew Ruth-san wanted you to stop her, didn’t you, Satomi-kun?!”
“Yes.”
Despite Shizuka’s fury, Koutarou remained calm. He nodded with the same serious expression from before.
I’m sorry, Ruth-san...
He looked towards the front door that Ruth had run through and apologized to her in his head. Regardless of his reasons, he’d made her cry.
I know that there’s also the matter with Theia, but...
Just as Shizuka had said, Koutarou actually knew what Ruth had wanted when she asked for his opinion. She wouldn’t have asked him otherwise. He understood that she was looking for a reason to say no.
Koutarou thought that rather than asking him as a close friend, Ruth’s turning to him was because she’d asked him to serve Theia one day. If she were to get married, for example, the meaning and necessity of Koutarou serving Theia would greatly change. And so right now, Koutarou thought that not speaking his mind led Ruth to think that he was turning down her request. That he was betraying the trust she’d put in him to take care of Theia.
Koutarou was only half right, however. He hadn’t fully understood what Ruth was asking of him, or why she was so heartbroken when he couldn’t answer her.
“Then what gives?! If you knew that, then why did you say something that sounded like you were pushing her away?!”
Shizuka was still furious. She’d really started to enjoy her day to day life ever since she started visiting room 106 regularly, and she believed that Ruth felt the same way. That’s why she couldn’t forgive Koutarou’s cold words. That’s why she couldn’t help being as angry as she was the day the invading girls had damaged her beloved Corona House that her late parents had left to her. Shizuka now loved the invading girls as much as she did the building.
“...”
But Koutarou couldn’t say anything back to Shizuka. Even though it wasn’t entirely, Koutarou still vaguely understood Ruth’s feelings, and yet he’d chosen not to say anything. As a result, he’d badly hurt Ruth, but he still didn’t regret his answer.
That being the case, he decided to accept Shizuka’s upbraiding. Although there might not have actually been anything else he could have said to her instead, the fact of the matter was that he’d made Ruth cry.
“Don’t be so harsh on Koutarou, Shizuka.”
Kiriha was the one who took it upon herself to stand up for Koutarou, who offered nothing in his own defense. Despite her calm gaze, however, she wore a sad expression. Since Kiriha was sensitive to the emotions of others, she understood how Ruth, Shizuka, and Koutarou all felt.
“But think about poor Ruth-san! Even if you’re not dating, there are times when you want close friends to say what you can’t, Satomi-kun!”
Ruth had asked Koutarou for advice because she was hesitant and anxious. But the response she had gotten amounted to a close friend of hers saying he didn’t care. Ruth had formed a bond with each of the residents of room 106, and if Koutarou had just given her the slightest sign she should stay, she never would have run out of the apartment like that. Knowing that, Shizuka just couldn’t forgive Koutarou for letting it happen.
“...”
But Koutarou still didn’t answer. He knew what Shizuka was saying was right.
“Shizuka, Koutarou is well aware of that. He was then too, but he still couldn’t say anything despite that.”
Kiriha again stepped in to help out since Koutarou wasn’t saying anything himself.
You really are an awkward man, Satomi Koutarou... Why would you choose the walk down the thorny path on your own? Surely you can do better than that...
Considering what Koutarou had done when he’d learned of Kiriha’s circumstances, she thought it was obvious how he felt when Ruth asked for advice. That’s why she couldn’t just stand by and let him get criticized for his actions. And as his best friend, she felt like it was her responsibility to try and make the path he’d chosen just a little easier to walk.
“Why?!”
“That’s—”
“That’s enough, Kiriha-san. I’ll take it from here.”
However, before Kiriha could explain, Koutarou cut her off. He was planning on keeping the reason he couldn’t fulfill her wish a secret, but he would rather say it himself than have Kiriha say it for him.
“Koutarou... I’m sorry. I was out of line.”
Kiriha apologized to Koutarou. She realized that she had gotten a bit worked up herself and reflected on that. Kiriha had the best handle on how everyone felt, but that was exactly why it was so hard for her to let such misunderstandings continue.
“No, it’s not that. Thank you, Kiriha-san.”
Kiriha was only trying to help, and Koutarou certainly didn’t blame her for that.
“So what’s the m
eaning of all this?”
“You could have at least given her your opinion.”
Yurika and Sanae spoke up this time before Shizuka could. They couldn’t understand what Koutarou had done either.
“Lately, I’ve been forgetting myself, but...”
Koutarou slowly began explaining. His expression was stiff and unusually serious. It was a face the girls hadn’t seen him make before.
“Ruth-san and Theia aren’t from this planet. And unlike us, they aren’t normal people. They’re of extremely high stations. It’s not like I’m in any position to be telling either of them how to live.”
What concerned Koutarou was that the two girls were not only aliens, but also of extremely high social status.
“But that doesn’t matter to us at all anymore!”
His reasoning wasn’t enough to convince Shizuka. She knew what Ruth was hoping for because she understood her connection to this apartment and the people in it.
“That might be true...”
“Then what gives?!”
“Landlord-san, Ruth-san is our friend and we would be sad to see her go, so of course we would be against her marriage.”
Koutarou knew that. Even he wanted to object to it. The bond he shared with Ruth was something he was prepared to defend.
“But... can you imagine what kind of trouble that might cause for them down the line?”
However, the reason he couldn’t was because he was thinking of Ruth and Theia’s futures. He wasn’t acting for the sake of their happiness now, but for the sake of their future happiness. That was why he’d held in his feelings when Ruth had asked for them.
“That’s...”
Koutarou’s explanation went a long way for soothing Shizuka’s anger. She herself was only thinking of the present. She hadn’t even considered the future.
“We don’t know anything about Forthorthe, or what it might mean to refuse the proposal. It’s possible that this future could protect Theia far better than we ever could.”
