Declaration of Intent
“Jun, is it really okay for us to just run off like this?”
“They started a spar with good intentions and then came at me like they wanted me dead. Why would I stick around for that? Forget it, forget it.”
No matter how he looked at it, Leon’s condition had not been normal. When that happened, the best thing the person who’d triggered it could do was make himself scarce. By now Leon was probably regretting what he’d done — and even if he wasn’t, Linda and Donald would be sure to point out how wrong he’d been, and how thoroughly ridiculous he’d looked.
“So are we heading back to the backyard?”
“No. The others I can deal with, but I’m planning to steer clear of Leon for a while.”
Had Leon’s aggressive outburst really just been the product of excitement? Jun didn’t think so. Somewhere deep down, Leon had almost certainly been thinking of dragging Jun along with him by force if he had to.
“Just because he made a scene doesn’t mean he’s going to drop that idea. So if we run into him again…”
“He’s going to cling and make a nuisance of himself. Ugh, I really hate that. Can’t he just take a rejection gracefully and give up?”
“Tell me about it. Anyway, let’s avoid him for the time being. When something’s a pain, the smart move isn’t to face it head-on — it’s to dodge it every which way.”
“So annoying. Jun, why don’t we just ignore him and go about our business? We didn’t do anything wrong. If Sparkles keeps pestering us, I’ll just—”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
“—punch him until he runs away.”
Fortuna swung her tiny fists through the air. For someone so small, the sound of her punches cutting the wind was surprisingly fierce — but to Jun’s eyes she only looked adorable.
“Haha. Like this? You’re gonna do it like this?”
Poke! Poke!
“Aing~ Stop iiit~.”
He stretched out both hands, set her on his palms, and prodded her soft cheeks, her breasts, and her belly with his fingers. She retaliated with little angry punches like a cat putting on a show of affection, throwing a full tantrum. It was so cute he kept poking —
“You jerk~ I’m mad now.”
— until she seized his finger and gnawed on it with her teeth. Every bit of it was pure kitten. She was so adorable Jun thought he might die of heart-flutter right then and there.
“So where are we going now, hmm?”
As she asked, Fortuna casually angled herself to show off her panties and her chest, her whole body broadcasting the desire to slip off somewhere secluded and get cozy. For a moment the temptation tugged at him, but Jun shook his head and brushed the feeling away.
“Later. Got it?”
“Whyyy~. For wants to smooch Jun right now.”
“Since we’ve already seen the others, we might as well go see Harry too.”
“Hiiing~.”
Soothing the thoroughly disappointed succubus — no, the thoroughly disappointed angel who acted like a succubus — Jun set off toward the chapel where Harry was.
This place always feels strangely oppressive whenever I come in.
Same here~.
...You’re an angel, Fortuna. Shouldn’t you feel more at ease here? See, I knew you were a succubus all al—
Shut up! I am an angel! I am!
Thoroughly riled, Fortuna bit Jun’s cheek. He offered it up without resistance and walked slowly into the chapel.
A solemn atmosphere settled over the sanctuary. The air allowed for neither noise nor commotion, so Jun instinctively lightened his steps, and Fortuna stopped her teasing.
Before long they reached the front of the chapel. Harry was there on his knees, deep in prayer. Before the statue of the Bright God, his figure looked profoundly devout. The richly colored stained glass even lent him an air of mystery.
Jun considered calling out to him, but one stern glance from a nun who’d happened to look their way sent him to sit on a nearby pew instead. He’d worried the prayer might drag on, but fortunately it didn’t take long for Harry to finish.
“Ah — hello, Jun, Fortuna. Hehe.”
Spotting them, Harry offered a bright, sunny greeting. Four years earlier he had suffered terribly, yet this simple-hearted friend had never lost that natural cheerfulness. Every time Jun saw that smile, he was grateful for it.
“Alright then.”
Jun returned the greeting, and Harry settled in beside him — then looked over with expectant eyes. Jun snorted a quiet laugh and pulled snacks from his subspace. He handed one to Harry, popped another into Fortuna’s mouth, and asked:
“Harry, what were you praying so hard about?”
“I was asking God to forgive the sins Jun is committing, and to protect him from all kinds of evil.”
At Harry’s answer, Jun closed his eyes and checked for any presence nearby. The nun had gone; only he, Harry, and Fortuna remained in the chapel. Reassured, he spoke.
“So you did know. What I’ve been doing all this time.”
“God told me.”
“Heeh~. So He talks with His son pretty often, huh.”
“So you knew too. That I became God’s son.”
“An angel told me.”
“Heeh~. So Fortuna was an angel all along.”
With that, Jun and Harry simply looked at each other in silence. Only the sound of Fortuna crunching her snack filled the air — until the two of them suddenly reached out and started yanking hard on each other’s cheeks.
“If you knew, you should’ve said you knew!”
“What about you, Jun!”
“I couldn’t say anything!”
“I couldn’t help it either! God told me to keep it as secret as possible!”
“...”
“...”
“Want to let go first and then talk?”
“Yeah! On three. One, two, three!”
Stretch! Stretch!
“Aagh~.” “Ow~.”
Instead of letting go on three, both of them pulled even harder. Their cheeks hurt, but both of them laughed happily — because each felt a fierce brotherly affection for the other.
“Haa~. So that’s how it is. You knew. How long have you known I was fighting?”
“Not long. I only started hearing God’s voice recently. What about you?”
“Probably the day after you became a Saint. Fortuna noticed right away that an incredibly powerful holy core had formed in your chest.”
“God said He’d hide it so no ordinary person could tell. That’s amazing, Fortuna.”
“Ahem! Of course. I’m not just anybody — I’m an angel!”
Fortuna puffed herself up with cookie crumbs all over her mouth. Harry laughed brightly and clapped until her nose was pointed straight at the ceiling. Pleased by the attention, she tugged on Jun’s collar.
“Jun. Give Skinny some snacks. A whole armful. No — just give him everything you’ve got.”
“Everything? You’re emptying me out just because he praised you a little?”
“Quit complaining and hand them over. You think I told you to give him that much just because of a little praise?”
“Then what is it?”
At his question, Fortuna put on a serious face. The fistful of snacks in her hands completely ruined the effect, but Jun didn’t bother pointing it out. That would only make things more annoying.
“Remember when we saved Harry and fell into the lake? Back then I told you that the world and God grant good fortune to people who do good deeds, in equal measure.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Conversely, the world and God bring misfortune on people who do bad things, in equal measure. You taking down assassins for four years was unavoidable, but…”
“...That’s still a sin?”
“Yes. No matter the reason, one person harming another is a heavy karmic debt.”
Jun gave a bitter smile. It had been his choice, but hearing that the karma had piled up still left him uneasy.
“Can’t good fortune cancel it out?”
“When the retribution comes due, yes. But you can’t reduce the karma that’s already accumulated. Recording karma is my little brother’s domain. Fortune can make the retribution arrive before more of it piles up — but right now the timing…”
“Isn’t great. We’ve got a big fight coming.”
A run of bad luck could leave him injured before the battle even started. If Fortuna spent the fortune she’d stockpiled over four years, she could offset the karma — but with no way of knowing what might happen in the fight, he wanted to keep that fortune in reserve just in case.
“So how much karma have I built up? Is it bad?”
“That’s exactly why I told you to load Skinny up with snacks!”
“What?”
“Looking back on everything you’ve done these past four years, you should have piled up a serious amount of sin. But the actual karma on you is tiny — almost nothing.”
That was when Jun understood why Fortuna wanted him to spoil Harry. Somehow, Harry had been reducing Jun’s karmic debt. Jun glanced sideways. Harry, as if he had no idea he’d done anything at all, just let out a vacant “Heh~” of wonder.
So he wasn’t even aware of it.
Well. That’s just like him.
Jun snorted a quiet laugh and asked him:
“Harry.”
“Yeah?”
“Want some snacks?”
“Yeah!”
Jun opened his subspace and began stacking a tower of snacks — higher and higher, until it stood as tall as Harry himself.