Chapter 102: I Am Merely an Executor

"Hey, hey! Is there something off about you today?" After waking up, Ryuji felt much better, though she was still a bit listless. However, she soon realized that the little beast—no, the demon beast—was looking at her, still nestled under the covers, with an awkward expression.

"Before we clarify the situation, there are some things I must confirm," Feng Xue's voice was grave, instantly sobering Ryuji from her post-slumber daze.

"What is it?" Ryuji asked instinctively.

"Yesterday, you saw firsthand how brutal battles between Digimon can be. Survival of the fittest is the rule of their world—a fact that cannot be changed. This path is drenched in blood, paved with the bones of the weak. Even so, do you still wish to continue down this road? Spare me any explanations—just answer yes or no. Your answer will decide what becomes of our relationship." Feng Xue's voice was cold as ice, and though Ryuji was still swaddled in her warm blanket, a chill ran through her.

Ryuji fell silent. The countless Digimon corpses frozen in ice columns yesterday had indeed left a deep impression on her. She wasn't sure if she was ready to continue fighting as a Tamer.

"If I choose to give up, will you leave me?" She raised her head, fixing her gaze on Feng Xue. Meeting her eyes, Feng Xue felt an unexpected sharpness, almost wishing to look away.

"Without question. Digimon are not pets, and I can't be like Terriermon," Feng Xue forced herself to maintain eye contact.

"I see..." Ryuji's expression was calm, betraying nothing, and a heavy silence once more fell over the room.

"Demon Beast, you really are cunning..." Ryuji suddenly remarked.

"What?" Feng Xue had a vague sense of foreboding, but quickly dismissed it. What nonsense—Ryuji was only eleven! At least three years in prison, maybe even a death sentence!

"By asking that, you already decided the answer, didn't you?" Ryuji gave a faint, bitter smile. "It was decided from the start! I'm a Tamer, and you're my Digimon. That can't be changed. So don't think you can break our bond unilaterally!"

"I see..." Feng Xue smiled. From the look in Ryuji's eyes, it was clear she'd shaken off yesterday's shadow.

"Very well, I accept your resolve. Remember my name from now on—call me Feng Xue."

"Feng... Xue?" Ryuji repeated the name with difficulty. "What does that mean? Is it your name? Digimon have their own names? I thought you distinguished each other through data?"

"Consider it a demon's true name, if you like. Isn't that what the legends say?" Feng Xue replied evasively, but Ryuji nodded in understanding.

"So, you're only recognizing me as your Tamer now? What was I before?" Ryuji asked with a hint of indignation, though the smile tugging at her lips betrayed the playful pride of a young girl.

"Now that our relationship is settled, there's just one last thing left..." Feng Xue said suddenly.

"Eh? What?" Ryuji was taken aback—what last thing?

"My Tamer, I ask you: what is it that you seek?" Feng Xue asked in a strange, archaic tone.

"Huh?" Ryuji was confused, but realizing Feng Xue wasn't joking, she began to think seriously.

Yet soon she gave up. Overthinking wasn't in her nature.

Standing up from bed in her pajamas, Ryuji suddenly thrust out her right hand, clenching it before her, and mimicking Feng Xue's earlier tone declared, "What I seek, of course... is to be the strongest in this world!"

"An admirable ambition! Then..." Feng Xue broke into a smile, dropped to one knee, took Ryuji's outstretched hand, and brushed it with a light kiss. "My arrow exists for you. Your fate is bound to mine. From this moment, our contract is sealed. I am in your care, My Highness."

"Highness?" Ryuji was startled by this sudden flood of lines and, realizing what Feng Xue had just done, her cheeks flushed scarlet. Flustered, she stammered, "What do you mean, 'Highness'? What are you talking about?"

"Ryuji—'Ji' means princess, doesn't it? My princess!" Feng Xue replied with a mischievous grin, clearly enjoying how the usually unperturbed Ryuji was thrown into embarrassed confusion.

"You're impossible..." Ryuji turned her head, but then, as if still uneasy, she stole a glance at Feng Xue from the corner of her eye. Seeing him unchanged, she gave in with a sigh. "Fine, I'm the princess. And you? My knight? Then as my knight, don't you think it's a bit inappropriate to appear in the princess's bedroom out of the blue?"

"I'm just a butler—a demon butler at that..." Feng Xue replied with a smile, handing her the clothes he'd prepared. "It's already late. You don’t want to be late for school, do you?"

"Ah!" Ryuji cried out, snatched her clothes, and hurried to change.

...

"Wow! Ryuji, your lunch is so fancy today!" With a classmate's exclamation, all the idle students in the class soon gathered around Ryuji's desk.

Ryuji was mortified. She had never expected Feng Xue, who usually only managed to make cute but slightly embarrassing lunches, would go to such lengths this time!

This was far beyond a typical deluxe lunch. When she opened the small lunchbox, it glittered like a jewelry case!

"Hey, little beast—no, Feng Xue—what are you up to?" Ryuji asked, her eye twitching as she stared at the exquisite contents.

"A Japanese seafood bento!" Feng Xue whispered, casting an illusion over the two of them, utterly oblivious.

"How is this something an ordinary family could make? What do you take me for, some rich heiress who eats 100,000 yen meals every day?" Ryuji's face darkened. Sashimi, marinated roe, tempura, and a white fish soup she couldn’t even name—she didn’t know their actual price, but having dined with her mother at five-star hotels, she knew Feng Xue's cooking was in a league above even the chefs there.

"It's not that bad—the ingredients are all budget-friendly!" Feng Xue waved it off. "Besides the groceries your grandmother buys, I don’t have any other supply sources. It’s not as if I went fishing in the ocean last night! And really, 100,000 yen per meal? Your idea of a rich girl is pretty easy to please!"

"You can make food of this caliber with budget ingredients? The chefs at luxury hotels would weep!" Ryuji knew Feng Xue was a good cook, but his dishes had always seemed like ordinary home cooking. Tasty, but not astonishing—she hadn’t expected that just a touch of finesse could make such a difference.

"As the butler of the Makino family, how could I do any less?"