Story by Tsumori Tokio
Illustrations by Mamahara Ellie
Summary by Amparo Bertram


Lucifard, still at the hospital, meets with Uncett, the head of the police department, who had come to visit Red. Uncett explains that a bomb went off at police headquarters on the floor directly under the Guardians, critically injuring two of them. The attack was apparently unrelated to the cyber cops, but on the off chance that they are being targeted secretly, he brought the two remaining Guardians, Pink and Blue, to work for Lucifard along with Red. In exchange, Lucifard has to see that they are protected. Lucifard is reluctant to take on the added responsibility, particularly after he had just gone to so much trouble to get Red to give up on him, yet he is forced to agree.

He realizes it is clear that he can no longer keep his mission top secret--not with someone as noticeable as the Mermenoid as part of his team. He requisitions a house for the Guardians and has Marcello order the MP division to take charge of their security. He assigns Makoto to lead that part of the team. Makoto is distressed to leave Lucifard in the "clutches" of his rival, so Lucifard kisses him to shut him up. Afterward, Lucifard reflects despairingly that Makoto makes the fourth man he has kissed that day.

Lucifard intends to make his own actions blatant in the hope that he will draw fire away from the Guardians. Thus, he leaves the message with Kaja that the doctors should keep their distance from him for their own safety. When Kaja relates this message to Saladin, however, the surgeon grows furious. He insists upon remaining close to Lucifard (mainly to prevent the Ra-Phael from being seduced by anyone else), and he wants Kaja to join him.

Kaja isn't too keen on the idea, because aside from his empathic abilities, he has no power to protect himself. Saladin offers to come between him and any bullets to keep him safe. He demonstrates his regenerative power by stabbing his hand with a scalpel and showing that the injury heals instantly. He also brandishes his nail-knives. Kaja is thoroughly impressed. He starts to say, "Sala, you're..." but trails off, unable to come up with a word strong enough to express the sheer masculinity he senses.

Finally, he manages to complete his sentence, "...a seme!"

Meanwhile, Lucifard goes out to dinner with Lilah, Walter, and Melissa. He has a rough time escaping from the throngs of male admirers who now idolize him for setting them free from harrassment by the women of Requisitions. During the meal, Lucifard sweet-talks Melissa into giving Walter a second chance...or, at least, to listen to what he has to say. The couple reminds him of his parents, who always bickered when they were together and yet who each clearly cared more for the other than anyone else.

Partway through the meal, Marcello shows up to report on his findings. He takes Lucifard to find a discreet place where they can talk. On the way, Lucifard gets a call from Kaja, who asks whether it's possible to have a relationship between two seme characters. Though Marcello tries to disassociate himself from the embarrassing conversation, Lucifard does his best to answer the question seriously. He can think of one Purple Heaven story in which the characters were "reversible" and switched roles in bed, but although he considers that more realistic than the standard feminizing of the uke, such a scenario didn't seem popular among the female readers.

Marcello takes Lucifard to a secluded nightclub where the private booths double as love hotel rooms. Lucifard protests, knowing how such a "date" will look, but Marcello-the-womanizer explains that it's the only kind of place he knows that suits their needs. When the owner serves their order, he reveals that the staff are betting on whether the two are romantically involved. Lucifard promptly proclaims that Marcello is the uke.

They ask the owner if he has heard any unusual gossip recently. He tells them that there seem to be cases of the Ugni virus cropping up in the slum town among people who have never visited the Emerald Forest on the Ivory Continent where the disease originates. The fact that the extremely contagious and deadly disease isn't spreading or even causing a commotion in Carmine indicates that someone with a lot of influence is covering up any cases--and that "someone" isn't worried about contamination. At hearing that, Lucifard suspects that the Ugni virus is a biological weapon developed to scare people away from the Emerald Forest.

End Volume Eleven

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