"...Right."
Hearing the voice by her ear, Kaguya's heart sank halfway. So it wasn't that Jiu Ming had suddenly become easy to talk to—he simply knew from the start that this thing would never end up in her hands. Since when had this guy become so scheming!?
"Eirin, seeing you here truly makes me happy."
"Mm, I'm happy to hear the princess say that." Eirin Yagokoro narrowed her eyes and smiled faintly. "And seeing that the princess hasn't immersed herself in computer games is making me even happier."
"Ahem, I'm someone with self-control too. They're just computer games—I can quit whenever I want. It's nothing difficult... But Eirin, why did you come here?" she asked, deeply puzzled—and conflicted. "Is something the matter?"
"No, I merely suddenly remembered a few things I'd forgotten to explain, so I made an extra trip. But seeing that the princess has actually corrected herself, it seems that extra trip was worthwhile. Right, shopkeeper?"
With a somewhat subtle smile, she asked Jiu Ming.
"That's right, that's right." Jiu Ming nodded. "I'll keep helping her turn over a new leaf. Isn't it just internet addiction? A little electricity will fix it!"
As soon as he said that, pain shot through his toes. Without changing expression, Jiu Ming pulled his foot free from beneath Kaguya's pressure.
"...I get the feeling there's some kind of conspiracy between you and Eirin, and it's aimed at me." After Eirin Yagokoro left, Kaguya grabbed Jiu Ming's ear, caring nothing for any distinction between men and women, and pointed at him indignantly.
"No."
Jiu Ming's reply was equally succinct. He simply refused to admit it. I'm doing this for your own good, and you're still being fussy about it... Of course, he could only mutter that to himself. If he said it aloud,