The transmitter Clan had placed on Kii was still present. Either Maya hadn't noticed it or she couldn't tell what it was because it was from Forthorthe.
Clan used her observation device to follow the transmitters response and guided Koutarou. As he ran after the observation device, he explained what had happened to Clan.
“...And then those two let me go on ahead, and that's why I'm chasing after Kii”
“Since she's being targeted, it must mean that she's not just some runaway child”
“Yeah. Looks like it. Her father might be the president of a company or something”
Maya was quite clearly after Kii. If she was just after a child, she wouldn't go through the trouble of targeting Kii who was with Koutarou. It would be easier targeting a child that was on its own. Maya must have a reason to target Kii specifically.
“I'm also not so sure about that mysterious duo”
“They're probably not bad people”
“You believe in people too easily”
“Really? Well, it's not like I fully trust them like I do with you, but I don't think there's any need to worry. That's just how I feel”
There wasn't much of a reason for Koutarou to trust in the duo. All he had to go after was what they had said, and the earnest eyes of the girl in the mantle. Neither of them were certain signs.
But Koutarou didn't really doubt them. They had let him get away, and if they were after his life they would have taken it in that alley. It would have been easy had they shot him in the back. They also attacked with care to not kill the people being controlled. Those were all circumstantial evidence, but he had no reason to doubt it.
“...F-Fully trust...?”
“What's with that weird face?”
“Ahem, i-it's nothing!”
Clan blushed as her face turned red. And when Koutarou questioned her, she coughed and looked away.
This is strange... Why I am getting so happy...
When she had first met Koutarou, she had despised him and only seen him as an enemy. Hearing that he now trusted her, she was puzzled by the emotions she was feeling.
“By the way, Clan, why were you around here? I couldn't contact you”
“W-Well, you see”
Clan stopped what she was saying to take a deep breath. She still hadn't fully recovered from her restless state
“I received a warning that the bracelet had broken and Signaltin began shining, so I understood that something was up”
“So that's why you came looking. Thanks, you're a big help”
“T-There's no need for thanks. We're in the same boat after all”
“That's true”
Being thanked by Koutarou caused Clan's heart to start racing again.
Trust, huh... but if I were to do something against Theiamillis-san, Bertorion would most likely be fuming...
She didn't want to betray Koutarou as a feeling deep inside Clan's heart that wanted him to respect her as a princess began budding. That was a large change for the girl who spent all of her time inside a laboratory and didn't speak with others often.
If she were to listen to that desire, she should fight against Theia, fair and square. Assassinating her was out of the question. More than that, she began believing that dealing with something through fighting wasn't something a respectable princess did.
This was the complete opposite of the policy she had gone by before she came to Earth. And that led her to realize something.
“But with this, I can understand why I lost when I fought against you”
In the past, when Clan had lost to Koutarou, it had been because she wasn't a splendid princess that her citizens could brag about. She had finally been able to reach that conclusion after all that had happened.