Makuhari is a huge coastal city facing Tokyo Bay that is a counterpart to Minato Mirai. Taga Hotel & Resort stood out most prominently in this quiet night view.

The stage for the showdown was exactly at the top-floor suite. The man and woman were greeted by a living space as spacious as a basketball court and an extra-large panoramic view of the nightscape of Tokyo Bay.

「How much does this cost per night……」

『Don’t worry about money. There’s no need to worry about anyone overhearing your conversation. Don’t get sloppy, Rintaro!』

「General Tagaraak… Yes, leave it to me. I’ll do it well!」

Rintaro was well prepared for the event, having received generous support in every way. Rintaro was impressed by the fact that, despite her verbal abuse, the young girl was dependable when needed.

Rintaro’s heart was filled with the determination to “become a man”. There is no better setup for that than this.

When he glanced toward Minato, Minato was shaking, covering her face with her hands. When Rintaro tried to put his arm around her shoulders, she quietly pulled away.

Rintaro bit his lower lip, wondering if she was that embarrassed at this point in time. Minato, who had fallen silent, stubbornly refused to make eye contact with Rintaro.

（Kuh…… In such situation, what should I do!? What should I do!?）

This kinda of situation would make it impossible to even start the war. Inside Rintaro’s evil mind, the little military strategists began to argue heatedly.

「Now is the time to attack!　Pry open the gates without question, no matter how forceful it may be!」

「No, we can’t make the wrong move here. We should be more cautious and see how our opponent will react!」

「No, we can’t!　If we fall back, we’ll miss our chance!　We have to negotiate here without giving her a chance to fight back!」

「That’s right, that’s right!　Since war has been declared, we should assume that the other side is already well-prepared!」

The assembly was in turmoil, with the majority of calling for the bill to push through immediately. It seemed that the debate had run its course.

However, the sound of wooden shoes echoed through the internal meeting hall. In his mind, Rintaro’s group turned their attention to where he appeared, with a halo behind him and a feather fan in his hand.

「Y- You are…… Zhuge Rintaro-sensei!」

「Everyone, it is important to attack quickly, but first, please take a good look at our opponent.」

「What did you say？　……Ah! Aaaaaaaaah!!」

「Did you notice it?」

The reason Minato was covering her face is not because she was embarrassed to face Rintaro.

There was something different about Minato’s face tonight than usual. Yes, she was wearing a light layer of makeup.

It had been ruined by the tears that was shed earlier. In other words, what is required of Rintaro now is not a forceful march, but time to get Minato ready.

The brain chamber erupted in a thunderous applause. As if to say, “it’s settled,” a flurry of flowery confetti danced in the air.

「Ha ha ha. Everyone, This is what it means to be a strategist that can be subtle and attentive.」

「「「Ooh!」」」

「There is nothing wrong with my plan, the success rate is… 100%」

「「「That’s exactly right!」」」

Once strategist Rintaro and his team had reached a perfect conclusion, Rintaro (the real body) spoke nervously.

「Fi- Fi- First…… You can go take a shower」

「………………Yesh.」

Minato hid her face and quickly disappeared into the shower room. It seems that he managed to make the first move without making a mistake.

But there was no time to rest.

Rintaro opened the bedroom door, breathing heavily. This room alone was about the same size as Rintaro’s private quarters.　

Rintaro turned a dial on the bedside table, and the room began to play a soothing jazz piano background music.

When he turned on the humidifier and heater and dimmed the lights a little, the night view outside the window was enhanced. It was as if this spacious bedroom itself was floating in the sky.

With the former military strategist in his heart, Rintaro no longer had any blind spots, and the mood was perfectly set.

Just as Rintaro returned to the living room to catch his breath, the communication from Tagaraak came in again.

『You… well, everyone has their own way of holding secret conversations, so I won’t say anything, but……』

Rintaro tilted his head in confusion, thinking that Tagaraak was being rather vague.

『……Rather than that you, you are mentally prepared, njarouna』

「Yes, of course. My mind, body and “that” are in perfect condition. I bought a sufficient amount, the commercial 144-pack.」

『What exactly are you talking about. Anyway…… Zaza…… That’s why…… …………Zaza……』

The previously clear audio suddenly became distorted, as if there was a busy line. Eventually, all he could hear was a sound that sounded like television static.

「General Tagarak? Huh? What’s happening?」

『……………………………………』

When Rintaro called out, there was no response. All that came back was a buzzing noise.

Given the circumstances, perhaps even Tagaraak had cut the call out of courtesy. Normally, she would have been peeking in with glee.

Just as Rintaro had no choice but to remove the intercom, the bathroom door opened.

「……S- sorry to keep you waiting……」

「…………………………」

Rintaro was speechless at the sight of Minato emerging from the room.

Slightly damp, long black hair. Wrapped in a clean, pure white, thin bathrobe, she has the body of a slender model. Her cheeks were slightly upturned and her long eyelashes adorned her downcast eyes.

In one word it’s――

「……Beautiful.」

「Eh?」

「No, I mean, the night view!　I thought the night view was beautiful!　Look, is that Tagaden Tower that is visible over there!?」

Rintaro tried to calm his racing heart somehow by diverting the topic.

In any case, a beautiful woman, who had become a served dish, was glancing at him with a calm and slightly upturned gaze. What lurked beneath the light, thin cloth she wore was a violently outstanding figure.

Any man would be unable to resist the allure and lose his reason. But tonight Rintaro was accompanied by the platonic master strategist, Zhuge something.

Suppressing the urge to run away with a steel will, Rintaro urged Minato alone into the bedroom and quickly dashed into the bathroom.

「……Dangerous dangerous, I’m a gentleman. No matter what, I will plan and act rationally.」

What caught Rintaro’s eye was a black dress that was still warm and carefully folded in the changing basket. Then he saw a pair of pure white panties folded in a circle, as if secretly hidden.

「Uooooooooooooooooooooh!!!」

With a roar, he threw off his clothes and jumped into the hot shower, head first. The droplets of water running down the walls and the sweet smell of soap were indications that the place had been in use only moments before.

In his mind, little strategists were busily stoking coal in the steam engine.

「Haooooooooooooh!!!!!」

Goshigoshigoshigoshi! Goshigoshigoshigoshi! Goshigoshigoshigoshi!

Rintaro washed his body so carefully, it was as if he was about to be sacrificed to the gods. This was the first time in his life that he had washed his body so thoroughly.

「Sshaorah!!!」

Dressed in the same pure white silk bathrobe as Minato, Rintaro opened the bedroom door with a shout of enthusiasm.

The lights were dimmed, and the only light illuminating the room was the cold moonlight filtering in through the large windows.

On the big bed, Minato’s shoulders shook when she saw Rintaro’s face.

「Sorry to keep you waiting……!」

「Hey Rintaro. A- Are you really going to do it……?」

「It’s too late to say you don’t want it now. I’m already in the mood.」

Rintaro’s hands came into contact with Minato’s stiff shoulders. He put his hands around her back and gently stroked her, and he could feel the tension slowly easing from her whole body, as if she had given up.

「Uuu…… P- Please kill me gently……」

「Yeah, I’ll take care of it. I’ll take you to the sweetest, most heavenly place.」

Rintaro brought his own face close to Minato’s, who had her fingers clasped in prayer in front of her chest and her eyes tightly shut.

Just as their wet lips were about to touch,

Pipopipopī! Pipopipopī! Pipopipopī!

A silly electronic sound echoed through the sweetest bedroom. The smartphone, placed next to the glasses on the bedside table, began to blink.

The source of the sound was unmistakably Rintaro’s smartphone.

（I messed uuuuup! I left the power oooooon!!!）

A red “emergency” light goes on in Rintaro’s brain, and his brain strategists, who were in the mood for a victory celebration, rushed to assemble. However, there was no time to waste in the evil brainstorming.

Minato opened her eyelids at the sound, and their eyes met at such a close distance that they could almost feel each other’s breath.

「Ri-！ Ri- Ri-  Ri- Rintaro!  What are you doing!?」

「What you ask, it’s……！」

「Rather than that, Rintaro, the phone！ It’s ringing, isn’t it！？」

「Aah! Hehehe-！ Hello!?」

At this moment, no matter how important the call was, he should just ignore it. Although he knew this in his head, Rintaro was so panicked that he just answered the call.

『Lieutenant Death Green, it’s me.』

A rather husky female voice echoed from the speakers. Rintaro’s nearly inebriated mind flipped a switch at the unexpected person.

「Usanyi-chan?! What’s this again at a time like this?!」

『Use colonel, you idiot!! Oh well, that’s fine. I know this is a bad time, but there’s something I want you to hear about quickly. I’m talking about none other than Private Samecchi.』

「Samecchi?」

Rintaro wanted to just hang up the phone and enjoy the next part, but when it comes to Samechi he couldn’t help but listen. This is especially true when the person he was talking to is Colonel Usanyi-chan, who used to be Samecchi’s guardian before Rintaro came along.

『Ah, ahem. I was wondering whether to tell you this. Private Samecchi suddenly started saying things like “buying love with money” this morning…』

Speaking of this morning, it was right about the time Samechi asked about Minato’s request.

Rintaro glanced toward Minato. His eyes met Minato’s, who was clutching the sheet and looking frightened.

It was indeed romantic, but Rintaro felt as if something was seriously out of place. A warning light was flashing in his head telling him that he shouldn’t ask any further.

「Hey Colonel Usanyi-chan, did Samecchi say anything else?」

『Well, this and that happened.』

Rintaro and Minato sat upright, listening intently to the voice of Colonel Usanyi-chan coming from the speaker. What came out of Colonel Usanyi-chan’s mouth was the outcome of the horrifying Mysterious being Telephone Game.

Colonel Usanyi-chan was very attentive and told them everything about the situation.

「In other words…… So you hugged her and said, “This is love”, Un un.

And that love is feeling. I see I see, I see now.  That’s how it is. I see. What did Minato say?」

「J-…… Just the feeling……」

「I seeeeeeee.」

Rintaro continued to give such lukewarm responses that they could hardly be called half-hearted.  Meanwhile, the internal meeting hall packed with these little strategists was under relentless bombardment, and by the time he finished listening to the story, it had been reduced to a vacant lot where not even grass could grow.

『That was a very disturbing thing to say, and it’s making me curious too. Lieutenant Death Green, I hope you have affection for Private Samecchi, not just as his superior, but as a family member as well.』

「Ah, yeah, that’s right. I’m sure it’s okay, so please rest assured. Okay, I’ll hang up then.」

『Wait a minute――』

Putsun.

Tsū. Tsū. Tsū.

Rintaro interrupted Colonel Usanyi-chan’s words and hung up the phone. He turned off his phone as well, and without a sound, he turned his back to Minato and fell into bed.

Rintaro, who had realized everything, was in no mental state to look Minato in the eye, who had also realized something. It would be impossible for even the President of the United States before the final war to liven up the situation again from this point.

「I see……  I seee……」

Minato gently calls out to the too-tired-to-be-tired figure.

「He- Hey, Rintaro……?」

「Sorry Minato, can you give me a little time to recover……」

Rintaro covered his head with a sheet and cried quietly.

It took him two hours to stop crying.

---

<188: Sweet Death, Come in a Dash
190: Secret No. 2>