“There's so many mangas I want... Ahh... the money is flying away...”
“How pitiable, to think this is one of Rainbow Heart's arc wizards...”
Maki, who was by Yurika's side, was troubled. Her rival's pathetic appearance hurt her sense of values as a magical girl. Yurika's predecessor, Nana, was someone who Maki could respect as an enemy.
“Yurika-chan, in that case, why don't you join Satomi-kun's band of knights?”
Shizuka thought of Koutarou as Yurika's legal guardian. With Yurika's personality, there wasn't anyone else who could handle her. And to Koutarou, having a troublesome younger sister would be a big plus. That's why she felt it was necessary for both parties.
“That's right. You'll get a salary and you can use that to buy manga”
Yurika had her salary as a magical girl deducted to pay for repairs on a building she had destroyed in the past, which Sanae had no sympathies for. But Sanae didn't want to see her friend skimping on food to buy manga, only to eventually starve to death. She believed that Koutarou would do something and pushed for Yurika to join the band of knights. She had no consideration for the quality or dignity of the band of knights dropping.
“... But, but, if I rely anymore on Satomi-san, he won't be able to think of me as a proper girl...”
“It's okay, Koutarou never thought of you as a proper girl from the start”
“That's not okay at all!!”
Yurika and the others were talking about something completely unrelated to beetles. Koutarou was looking at them from a distance, but he suddenly remembered there was something he wanted to hear about.
“Clan, do you have a moment?”
“What is it?”
Koutarou called out to Clan. She was currently looking into the cage containing the large beetles, smiling as she imagined what kind of reactions the children on the spaceship would show, but when Koutarou spoke her name she looked up right away.
“Is it something serious?”
“Yeah”
As they looked at each other, their expressions turned serious. One could tell the importance of what was about to be discussed from that. As a result, Kiriha and Harumi who were with them wondered what was going on and looked at each other.
“... I want you to tell me about Theia's father”
“Theiamillis-san's...”
In that moment, Clan’s expression turned stiff. Koutarou was talking about something far more serious than she had expected.
“Elle said he died in an accident, but was it really an accident?”
A while back, Elfaria had told Koutarou that Theia's father had died in an accident. Back then, Koutarou had simply assumed that was the case, but when he thought back on it, he felt like that wasn't all there was to it.
Elfaria was proclaiming disarmament, and her fiancé had died before their wedding. Considering her situation 20 years ago and the timing of the 'accident', Koutarou couldn't shake this bad feeling he was having.
If he asked Elfaria directly, she would probably laugh it off saying that he was overthinking it. That's why he wanted to ask Clan, someone who belonged to a different political faction.
Fortunately, neither Theia nor Ruth were near. The only ones next to them were the tight-lipped Kiriha and Harumi. This was the perfect timing to ask Clan about the details.
Harumi who had listened in opened her eyes wide. Because she was so kind, just learning that Theia had lost her father was enough for her to feel pain.
“...”
“Kurano-san...”
With Harumi like that, Kiriha wordlessly put her hand on Harumi's shoulder. Feeling that, Harumi collected herself. Koutarou wanting Harumi and Kiriha to listen probably meant something important. That's why she couldn't remain shaken up, she had to properly understand.
“In regards to that, I don't have all the information. My guesses will be mixed in, would you be okay with that?”
Clan spoke with a serious expression. It was an expression she rarely showed recently, the expression of a princess facing something serious.