Chapter 17: Ambush

Rin wiped the sweat off her brow with a towel and then stared at the wall monitor. Hana stared back, copying Rin’s movements. Even so, the avatar seemed lively enough that it was almost like she had been dancing with a partner in real life.

She smiled and said, “Thanks for the good work, Hana.”

Seeing the bright smile stare back, Rin felt happy.

Rin stretched and said, “Still… I wonder where Mister John’s at?” She glanced at the digital clock display and said, “It’s been a couple of hours now-“

*Ding.*

The soft chime of the elevator.

Rin jumped, the sudden sound startling her. Then she placed her hand on her chest and let out a sigh before turning to the elevator. “Mister John, you really do show up at the- Eh?”

She started talking because she thought he had come back. But instead of the familiar blonde young man, two other people were there. No, not just two people, but two women.

“Confirmed.” The first, a beautiful woman with short black hair tied in twin tails with rainbow ribbons stepped in and locked eyes with Rin. As she did, Rin noticed that the woman’s eyes were a beautiful and unnatural shade of red, like pure rubies.

“Is this ‘Rin’ in good condition, Eldest Sister?” That was from another woman, just as beautiful, who had long crimson hair and glowing orange eyes.

Seeing them made Rin subconsciously hold her breath. She couldn’t help it.

The two women were wearing matching outfits, a frilly white blouse with a short black skirt. A little fancy, but nothing too unusual. Even so, paired with their striking beauty, an ambiguous mix of Western and Eastern features, it was breathtaking, even for Rin.

The black-haired woman stepped forward and tilted her head. “This Rin appears a little exhausted. Her physique is not up to par, thus she appears to have exhausted her energy resources.”

The crimson-haired woman walked over to Rin and stared at her.

Faced with that gaze, Rin finally regained her composure and said, “W-Who are you two? How did you get in here?” Saying that, she looked at the black-haired woman and then the crimson-haired woman.

“Beta. Introductions.”

The crimson-haired woman blinked. “Why am I first?”

“You are closest.”

“But-“

“…”

Beta shook her head and then placed her hands in front of her and bowed. “Greetings, Miss Rin. Master sent us to protect and serve you in his absence.”

“Master?” Rin blinked and then remembered what Mister John had mentioned. Still… She frowned, giving the women a skeptical look. “Is your Master’s name John?”

Beta raised her body and nodded. “That is one of his many-“

“Beta.”

Beta froze and looked to the other woman. “My apologies, Eldest Sister.”

The black-haired woman sighed and then stepped forward. Like Beta, she bowed and said, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rin. My name is Alpha.”

Rin blinked, looking between the two strange foreign women.

“We do indeed come on the behalf of Master John Smith.” That said, she raised her head. “Like my younger sister said, we have come to protect and aid you in our Master’s absence.”

Beta flushed. “Y-Yes. As my Eldest Sister has said.”

Master? Alpha? Beta?

Rin’s head was spinning at the sudden development. “W-Wait a moment.” She spun around and then crouched, massaging her head, closing her eyes in thought.

‘Mister John has two beautiful foreign woman calling him Master. He sent them here to protect me and help me since he can’t be here right now. Then does that mean…?’

A sudden lightbulb. Rin jumped to her feet and said, “Are you two foreign idols from Mister John’s overseas companies that he brought to help train me?!”

Alpha blinked. “Foreign… idols?”

Beta smiled. “How adorable.” She turned to Alpha and said, “Eldest Sister, the girl believes that we are- E-Eldest Sister?!”

Before Beta could say another word, Alpha had already grabbed a hold of Rin’s hands, her crimson eyes glittering with ambition.

Seeing that, Beta called out. “E-Eldest Sister! What are you doing?!”

“Cute.”

Rin flushed. “E-Eh?!”

Alpha nodded. “I approve. Idols… It is a first.” She nodded again and said, “I truly approve.”

Beta stepped forward, holding out her hand. “O-One moment. Eldest Sister, I do not believe that such a role is within our-“

“It is fine.” She turned to Beta and said, “You patrol the building. I will aid Miss Rin in her practice.”

“But your combat capabilities are-“

Alpha narrowed her eyes.

“…Understood, Eldest Sister.” Beta sighed and then walked back into the elevator, heading down.

Rin blinked. “Combat capabilities?”

Alpha let go of Rin’s hands and stepped back. “Ignore my younger sister. She lacks tact… a feature shared by our Master. Now, shall I show you the skill of a ‘foreign idol?’”

It was a good thing that John caught Yuuki as he was heading out. He had almost forgotten to address the contract with NHK for Rin, so it was perfectly convenient timing.

Which meant that the necklace that Eternal Emperor Abstinence gave him was at least doing something. It was way too coincidental to not be a result of some karmic tampering.

But that made him wonder why it wasn’t working on other things. Like the whole incident with Chef Miyamoto’s granddaughter.

John sighed and undid the formations at the office’s front doors before walking in. “Maybe it’s because I left without her? I suppose that could cause some bad karma…”

Considering the bond they shared and all the time they spent together, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to just drop everything and leave.

Then again, he did tell her ahead of time that he never intended to stick around in the Three Realms…

John shook his head and pressed the elevator button to go up to the studio.

But just as he did-

“Eh? Master, you have returned?”

-A cool female voice called out to him.

John paused, registering the person standing in front of him.

A pure white blouse, delicately crafted features, flowing crimson hair and glowing orange eyes…

“Beta?” He blinked and said, “What are you doing here?”

Beta stepped out of the elevator and said, “You brought Eldest Sister and I out earlier to protect and serve- I mean, aid this ‘Rin’, did you not?”

John paused, reflecting on his actions.

In a rush, he rummaged around his Heavenly Realm and grabbed the first two automatons he could, so then-

“Oh. That makes sense.”

Since it was in a rush, he probably just reached for the two that he was most familiar with. As a result, he pulled out the pair of trusty combat maid dolls that he made near the time he started to set off on his Dao of Accumulation-

Wait.

“Hold on.” John pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “What were you two even doing in my Heavenly Realm to begin with? Didn’t I tell you to watch over the sect?”

He could have sworn that he left Alpha and Beta back to make sure that the other Emperors didn’t start anything when he left.

Beta bowed her head. “Those were indeed your orders, yes.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

Beta shrugged. “Mistress felt you would soon do something idiotic to avoid your responsibilities and ordered us to keep an eye on you. Since you were in a rush, it was a simple matter to blend in amongst your other possessions and come along with you to your home when you started packing.”

John paused. “…But that was ten trillion years ago. Wouldn’t you have been bored?”

Beta gave John a blank stare.

Seeing that, he nodded. “Oh, right. Sentient puppet crafted out of divine materials. Well… I guess it’s nice having a familiar face around?”

Beta smiled. “It is nice to see you as well, Master.”

He smiled back… And then realized something. “Wait. If you’re here… and you said that I brought out your Eldest Sister earlier…”

A chill ran down his spine. “Th-Then… does that mean that Alpha is with Rin right now? Up in the dance studio?”

“Dance… studio?” Beta frowned. “I am uncertain what Master calls a dance studio, but they are on the top floor.” Her frown deepened. “Eldest Sister ordered me down to patrol this building after Miss Rin called her a foreign idol.”

John paused. Then, he slowly reached for the necklace around his neck.

“Master?”

With one movement, he wrenched it off and threw it to the side. “I knew it! That fat buddha didn’t want to help me at all! This thing’s cursed, not blessed!” Saying that, he ran to the elevator and forcibly sent it flying back to the top floor at high speeds.

Beta watched her master leave and then walked over to pick up the necklace that he tossed aside. Staring at the necklace carefully, she frowned and said, “…Did Master forget? He used the true Chain of Abstinence to upgrade my body after the last incident and made this one to fool Eternal Emperor Abstinence should he visit the sect…”

Beta sighed and then placed the necklace into her blouse to hold onto it.

It wouldn’t do for *another* incident to occur because Master carelessly left around one of his belongings…