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[Crossover] Ch 181: Fear Of Men
🕑 Added 2025-08-04 17:49:57 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Inside the shrine's main hall, Sayaka Kirasaka sat stiffly on a cushion, glaring daggers at Yukari Endou as if she were trying to burn a hole through her skull with her eyes.
Endou, on the other hand, looked half-amused and half-exasperated.
If this had been any other time, she'd have already gone over and knocked some sense into Sayaka's thick head. But with Ryo present—someone as unfathomable as the Fourth Primogenitor —she couldn't afford to act rashly.
"Sayaka Kirasaka."
The first to speak was Shirona Kuraki.
"Present!" Sayaka responded quickly, then gave Shirona a curious look.
She was still wrapping her head around the fact that Shirona—her senpai at school—was actually one of the legendary Three Saints. That had completely blindsided her when she walked in.
Still, despite how shocked she was, Sayaka didn't understand why Yukina Himeragi had warned her to be wary of Shirona. Sure, Shirona was known for her cold demeanor on campus, but she didn't seem hard to get along with. Had Yukina misunderstood something? No way. Yukina's a pure, sweet angel—she'd never make a mistake like that.
So… was Shirona hiding something shady?
With that thought in mind, Sayaka looked at Shirona with an expression that basically screamed, 'Come on, just confess already.'
Sensing the weird look being thrown her way, Shirona sighed inwardly but kept her face composed as she asked, "How many years have you been training at the High God Forest?"
"Two years of general education, five years of basic training. So officially, five years of real training," Sayaka answered truthfully.
"Five years, huh…" Shirona paused, then continued, "Have you ever considered leaving?"
"Not once," Sayaka replied firmly.
Shirona and Koyomi exchanged brief glances, slightly surprised.
But before they could say anything, Sayaka added, "Unless Yukina leaves too, I'm not going anywhere."
Shirona's face fell immediately. She could only force a smile, caught off guard by that reply.
Meanwhile, Endou just let out a loud laugh and patted her belly. "Ha! You really are a funny kid!"
Shirona sighed quietly and said, "You could at least act like you respect us a little, Sayaka."
"…Sorry," Sayaka mumbled, glancing awkwardly at Shirona before bowing her head.
Compared to Yukina, Sayaka had more frequent interactions with Shirona since they were both in the middle school division. So it was only natural she didn't feel that much fear.
'Which is why we need the veil system,' Shirona muttered under her breath.
The higher-ups were too young. It was hard to command respect, which is exactly why the "curtain protocol" existed.
More importantly, familiarity made it difficult for the Three Saints to assign dangerous tasks objectively. That was the real reason behind the veil.
But with Ryo's unpredictability thrown into the mix, so much for keeping up appearances.
"Back to the topic at hand—" Shirona began, only to be cut off by Ryo himself.
"Before we get to that, mind if I ask something first?" he said.
Shirona didn't mind at all—in fact, she looked genuinely relieved that Ryo was using his own voice for once.
Even Koyomi let out a quiet sigh of relief, while Endou just grinned without a care in the world.
Meanwhile, Sayaka stiffened. Her whole body went tense at the sound of his voice. She forced herself to look up at Ryo, but her gaze only met his for a second before she dropped it again.
"…Go ahead," she murmured.
Ryo's voice was calm and measured as he asked, "According to the files, you've suffered from severe androphobia (fear of men) due to your father's abuse when you were young. You can't even physically be around men, let alone touch them. Is that true?"
The mood in the room shifted instantly. Everyone's expressions changed.
"Sayaka?" Shirona frowned, clearly uncomfortable.
The Lion King Organization's shamans were frequently assigned to protect important figures. While a lot of it was half surveillance, half bodyguard duty, physical contact during emergencies was unavoidable.
If a Shaman couldn't even bring herself to touch her male charge in a crisis, it could seriously jeopardize the mission.
On a larger scale, Sayaka could be deemed unfit and transferred out of active service into a back-end logistics role.
"..."
Sayaka lowered her head, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead. It took her a few moments before she finally whispered,
"…Yes."
"Endou!" Shirona said with thinly veiled irritation. "You knew about this, didn't you?"
It would've been bizarre if Sayaka's mentor hadn't known she had androphobia.
What really surprised them was that Ryo knew.
Of course, none of them dared ask Ryo how he got his information, but Endou's behavior was definitely fair game for criticism.
"Oh, come on," Endou shrugged, looking totally unfazed. "Just assign her to protect female clients in the future, problem solved."
"She's got talent, you know? No way I was gonna throw her away that easily."
"Well, that may be true…" Shirona muttered, clearly uncomfortable.
If Ryo weren't here, that might've worked. They could've kept Sayaka in the field.
But right now, they were picking a bodyguard for Ryo.
And you want to assign someone who literally can't touch men to guard him? Seriously?
At that moment, Shirona silently activated a whispering spell and sent a message to both Endou and Koyomi: "We're not the ones making the list."
The two women immediately went quiet and cast a glance at Ryo. Right. He was the one choosing the candidates. He already knew about Sayaka's issue, and he still picked her.
That meant they didn't have to worry.
If the Fourth Primogenitor himself chose her, it's not like they could be accused of handing over a "defective product."
But all this silence just made Sayaka feel worse.
The pressure was crushing.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She dropped into a formal kneeling bow—forehead to the ground—and her voice trembled as she apologized,
"I'm deeply sorry for hiding my androphobia…"
Then, bracing for the worst, she bit her lip and forced herself to say,
"I'm willing to accept any punishment."
"Punishment?" Ryo raised an eyebrow, his tone curious rather than angry.
"Have you ever thought about overcoming that fear?"
Sayaka froze.
Yukina's face flashed through her mind. Then the thought of being expelled. And then… her childhood—the parents who sold her off.
She gritted her teeth and lied, "Yes, I've considered it."
The truth? Not even once.
The High God Forest was an all-girls school. Sayaka spent her days surrounded by women. Endou, who knew about her phobia, had never pressured her to face it.
Under those conditions, Sayaka never seriously thought about confronting her fear.
She didn't want to.
"…Sigh," Endou let out a long breath. Her poor student had walked right into the spider's web—like a moth caught in a trap.
'Idiot. Even admitting the truth would've been better than lying.'
She turned to Ryo.
'Here it comes,' she thought. 'He's going to tighten the noose.'
And right on cue, Ryo reached out his hand toward Sayaka.
"Then prove it," he said.
Sayaka looked up in surprise and saw Ryo's outstretched hand.
His voice remained calm. "Touch me."
"Can you do that?"
Sayaka's lips trembled as she stood up slowly from her cushion, clenching her jaw tight.
.
.
.
