"...I am never forgiving Tamamo."
I rubbed my eyes as I woke up, the unsettling lightness of my body hitting me immediately.
In the end, after being shrunk to the size of a primary schooler, Shiten and Tamamo had spent the rest of the night treating me like their personal toy. Actually, just about everyone else had joined in on the fun, too. There wasn't a single good thing about being this small; it was just incredibly inconvenient. Seriously, what am I going to do to them once I’m back to normal? I sighed. I was beyond exhausted.
As these thoughts drifted through my mind, I took in my surroundings, only to realize I wasn't in my room. It was pitch black, and the space swayed with a rhythmic vibration.
"Where the hell am I?"
It felt like a sealed room, though I couldn't see a thing in the darkness. Then, the realization finally clicked—for some reason, I was tied up. I couldn't move an inch.
"...Why? Seriously, why?"
I could probably break free if I used magic, but strangely, I didn't feel any immediate sense of danger. As I lay there pondering my situation, the lights suddenly flickered on.
"Good morning, Reima-sama."
"Good morning? No, that's not right. What the hell is this situation, Kurobane-san?"
The person who spoke to me was Saaya's childhood friend and maid, Kurobane-san. It had been a while since we'd last met, but she looked as expressionless as ever, lounging comfortably in the... wherever this was.
"It is a Maid Surprise. Saaya-sama requested it."
I hadn't spent much time with her yet, but she had a habit of omitting—well, basically everything. It was always hard to figure out what she was actually trying to say. I remembered Saaya telling me once that it was vital to ask for clarification when dealing with her.
"Did Saaya-san really ask for this?"
"Yes. She said she wanted to surprise you, so she told me to shove you into a limousine for the time being. I simply followed my instructions."
"That's terrifying. But even so, did you really have to tie me up?"
"I didn't think the shove would be enough."
"I'm genuinely afraid of you right now."
"Fufufu. You flatter me."
You really weren't being flattered. She kept playing the fool with that completely deadpan face. Since I’d just keep being played with if this continued, I decided to cut the conversation there and ask where we were.
"I can answer that, but before I do, may I ask one thing?"
"Uh, sure."
"Why are you a child?"
"...Inhale. I'm the one who wants to know that."
Look, I'll give them a million points of leeway for the tag game. Fine. But did they really need to turn me into a kid? According to Tamamo, the spell won't wear off for several days... I really can't let her off the hook for this.
"Even I was surprised when you shrank right before my eyes," she said.
"I bet. But wait—objectively speaking, this is just kidnapping, right?"
"Perhaps."
"There is no 'perhaps' about it!"
"Well, I intend to pin all the blame on Milady. For now, why don't we just enjoy the trip to Kyoto?"
"Let me ask again. What exactly did Saaya-san say?"
I'd let it slide earlier out of pure shock, but Saaya didn't seem like the type to order an unannounced kidnapping. When I pressed for an answer, her face actually flickered with a hint of annoyance for the first time.
"She did tell me to clear it with you first, but I didn't have the time... so I just did it."
"What do you mean, you didn't have time?"
"Tsubaki is in trouble."
"...Sigh. Fine. Just give me a full explanation later."
"As expected of Reima-sama. Clap, clap."
Seriously, she was way too irresponsible and her explanations were non-existent. But if Tsubaki was in trouble, I had to go. She'd looked after me during that trip to the sea, and she was the one who gave me the push I needed to start moving forward again. I had to repay that debt.
"Oh, right. We'll be there in about two hours. Want to watch a movie until then?"
"...Do you always just do things at your own pace?"
"Heh. That is my identity."
"I'm telling Saaya."
"Go ahead. I'll just out-argue her."
"...Right."
For the next two hours, since our tastes in movies were surprisingly similar, I gave up on thinking. I just sat back and enjoyed the film with her inside my first-ever limousine ride.