Chapter 9: Yes, Master.

Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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“Mm…” Serina Hiraoka regained her consciousness after the impact her body had received. While she slightly opened her groggy eyes, she saw Izuru hugging Miriya while he frolicked around, happy as could be.

“Izuru-kun… and Miriya-san?”

Where am I and what happened to me? She thought to herself, mind still too hazy to comprehend the situation. However, Izuru’s next words cleared the fog in her mind like a leaf blower.

“With this, we can save Serina!” He shook her, unable to contain his joy.

“M-Master! Sneak attacks are unfair!”

“Ha-ha-ha!”

Save me? And did he just call me by my first name…? Still confused by the weird things happening before her, she sat up, massaging her sore buttocks. “Izuru-kun…” She finally called.

“—! Ah, you felt it!” He said, thinking about how he ended up dropping her. Still, she didn’t know.

“Yeah… I’m sorry, it seems like I caused you trouble…”

“No, no, don’t worry about it.”

Resting her hands on her knees, Serina tried to stand up, but her legs didn’t have enough strength to support her frail body. “Ah…” She yelped softly, losing balance and falling to the ground.

“Are you okay?!” Izuru rushed over to her.

“Haha… Not really, I’m sorry…” She smiled. Though, such an act was all she could muster with her thin body and paly ice skin. Feeling the cold tips of her fingers, she realized her remaining time on Earth was running out.

“…I probably don’t have much time left. So… I want to hear your answer… to what I said earlier,” she said as he cradled her in his arms, their eyes meeting. “Izuru-kun…”

“I…” He opened his mouth. But as he was about to express his feelings to Serina, a certain someone interrupted him.

“Master, now that I think about it, I also want to know how you feel.”

“Miriya?!”

The servant had placed her whole weight on Izuru’s back, cheeks slightly kissed pink. Her forehead rested against the back of his head. “N-not the couple of joking I love you’s, but your sincere feelings as my Master.”

“W-well…”

Izuru blushed just as much as Miriya. And, observing their interactions, Serina couldn’t help but realize something. Could it be…? She painfully thought to herself. Suppressing the rising pain in her chest, her lips curled into a forced smile.

“Haha… Really, I wonder what happened during summer vacation…”

“I’ll tell you properly,” he turned to her, a sudden seriousness in his eyes. “I’m not sure you’ll believe me, though.”

Just one look at his sincere expression was enough. She felt a genuine desire to hear that story, whatever it may be. However, she knew she didn’t have much time left to hear, to think, and to be.

“Sadly, I probably won’t be able to hear such a long story… I’m sorry…” She apologized once more.

However still, with a frail yet resolute smile, he held onto her hands. His grip was firm, though gentle as his eyes locked onto hers. “It’ll be fine,” he urged.

“Huh?”

“I’ll make sure you’re healed. I’ll take good care of you,” his words were soft and resolute, and his eyes bore through her without a hint of queasiness. Serina couldn’t help but notice the rising thumping against her chest.

“The… doctors couldn’t find the cause…”

“Well, of course, they wouldn’t be able to. After all, you’re—”

“Master,” Miriya suddenly interrupted with a shake of her head. “It’ll only confuse her further if we tell her now.”

“…You’re right,” he conceded. And while affectionately stroking her head, he beamed a gentle smile at Serina. “By the time you wake up next, everything will be all right. So, for now, just rest easy and sleep.”

“Is that… true?”

“Yes. It is.”

“Can I… still be with you, Izuru-kun?”

“Of course. You can.”

Upon hearing these words she so longed for, she quivered under his embrace while her welled-up tears all streamed down warmly.

“I can… trust you, right?”

In a way she didn’t really understand, she knew he wasn’t just spewing empty words at her as some sort of pitiful comfort. The doctors couldn’t do anything, and though Izuru was a mere student, it didn’t matter. Because the person she loved more than anything in the world told her it would all be all right.

“…Tha, nk you…”

She lost consciousness once more, leaving only a parting thanks behind. Seeing that, both Izuru and Miriya exchanged glances.

“She probably won’t wake up again. She’ll peacefully head towards death like this,” Miriya gravely announced.

“—I will not let it happen.”

Izuru stood up and placed his hand on Miriya’s neck, on the slave collar she so proudly wore.

“I command you, Miriya.”

“Yes.”

“Do not let Serina… my precious childhood friend… die.”

His servant answered with a wry smile. “…For someone who repeated ‘I love you’ so many times, you’re quite heartless to order me to save another girl you love.”

“I believe you can do it. It’s you, after all,” he said with all the conviction in the world.

“If it’s an order from you, Master…”

They both exchanged looks and grinned.

“Let’s go, partner,” he finally said.

“Yes, Master,” and she answered in kind.

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