Calming down a sulking Emily was never an easy task.
“Uh, is there something you want to eat? Or maybe something you want to have?”
“…….”
“Something you want to do, then? Somewhere you want to go, maybe something you never got the chance to try before?”
“…….”
“I’ll do anything I can, just please stop being mad at me, okay?”
“What are you even saying right now? I’m going to tell Yuna you’re cheating on her.”
“Shut up, Mephisto.”
Since when were you and Yuna even close!?
Just like a proper demon, always threatening and stirring up trouble at every turn.
“Then—”
“Y-Yeah? What is it you want to do?”
“Will you go to the Imperial Academy Meeting with me this weekend?”
“……Huh.”
“Johan, don’t tell me you’re disappointed?”
“I told you to shut it, Mephisto. Stop butting in already.”
Stop acting like you know everything.
Everything you say is just delusion and wild speculation. You lunatic!
“Then, I’ll teach you how to detach it.”
“Knew I could count on you, Emily.”
“After the meeting .”
“……”
Ugh. So it’s not going to be that easy after all.
“Is that a problem? You don’t want to go?”
“N-No, of course not.”
The power dynamic is pretty clear right now.
I had no choice but to accept the terms Emily laid out for me.
Isn’t all that talk about her being innocent just a big fat lie?
***
After returning to the Cradle with plans set for the weekend with Emily, I couldn’t avoid Yuna’s interrogation.
Forget excuses…there was no getting around the fact that I’d stayed out overnight without permission.
Well, strictly speaking, it wasn’t without permission.
Because our dear Emily had contacted the Cradle the moment I passed out and turned my unauthorized stay into an authorized one.
And in exchange, I had to get caught for having spent the night at her house.
And if the professors at the Cradle knew about it, there was no way Yuna wouldn’t.
Actually, Yuna probably knew things even the professors didn’t.
Besides, my room had been empty, so it’s not like it was hard to guess.
At this point, asking for privacy felt like too much.
“So? Say something, Johan. What exactly happened last night?”
“Yuna, I already told you everything.”
I’d done nothing wrong, so I confessed the whole disaster from the night before.
There was nothing shady about any of it.
“Johan, don’t tell me you’re trying to lie to me. I know you didn’t lie but I also know you didn’t tell me everything.”
Damn it, Yuna knows me too well.
But still… there’s no way I can tell her I’ve got a weekend date planned with Emily.
“Johan has agreed to go on a date with that cunning girl this weekend!”
“…Huh?”
“This little punk did what?”
“I told you I’d tell her everything! This is what you get for neglecting someone as competent as me! Pay the price, Johan Damus!”
“Uh… thanks for the info. So, Johan… is that true?”
“…Of course not.”
“You’re lying to my face?”
“……”
Mephistopheles, that bastard.
I seriously need to talk to Helena later and set up some kind of punishment system for him.
I try to be lenient, and this is how he repays me? By stabbing me in the back?
After everything I’ve done for him!
“What exactly have you ever done for me, you manipulative lunatic?!”
“You dare read my thoughts?!”
“I don’t have to! You’re an open book!”
“You little—!”
Whack!
Just then, a flash of light sliced between me and Mephistopheles.
A dagger thrown by Yuna buried itself so deep into the ground that its blade was completely hidden.
“I’m talking right now.”
“……”
“……”
Fwoosh.
Mephistopheles who had been manifesting in the form of a puppy instantly vanished like smoke.
Guy’s got some serious skill.
I wish I could disappear like that too.
“Johan, it’s not like I’m trying to scold you or anything.”
Yuna was totally scolding me.
“I’m just… disappointed, that’s all. Why’d you have to lie? If you’d just been honest, I would’ve understood.”
No way she would’ve.
“I’m a very understanding person.”
She’s a very controlling person.
“So, are we good now? We’ve made up, right?”
“Y-Yeah, I guess…”
She’s definitely holding a grudge.
“It’s not like you cheated on me or anything, right?”
That’s true. She’s not wrong.
Still… this is terrifying.
To think she could tell that many different lies without even changing her expression.
Just like Yuna knows me well, I know Yuna well too.
Emily wasn’t the only one who was upset.
Well, to be fair, it’s only natural when you think about it objectively.
Her fiancé secretly met another woman while she was away training, and even stayed out overnight.
And on top of that, a date?
Of course, it wasn’t a real date. It was just a research group meeting at the Imperial Academy to copy some necessary materials.
But from someone else’s perspective, it definitely looked that way.
“But since I’m being so understanding, don’t you think you should do something in return, Johan?”
In return?
Is she asking me to pay more attention to her?
Well, I have been kind of neglectful lately.
“Chirp?”
“Uh… wait, skip that part. Johan, can you get rid of this bird?”
The moment Yuna who had been trying to seduce me with a sly smile noticed Mastema’s presence, her expression turned cold.
That awkward memory from that day must’ve been just as unbearable for her.
“There’s… no need to rush! Yeah! Johan, let’s take things slow.”
“Sure, of course.”
“We’re going to be in each other’s lives forever anyway. It’s okay to take it easy!”
In the end, unable to shake off the embarrassment of that memory, Yuna started rambling.
Looks like I really will have to take things slow with her.
Honestly, I don’t have any other choice. Let’s just take our time getting used to each other.
“Then… want to go on a date?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“This can’t go on, Johan. We can’t keep avoiding challenges by clinging to the past forever.”
“Uh, right.”
“It’s time we made some progress!”
It’s not like I was planning to avoid it…
Well, I did push back a little last time, so let’s just go with that.
Anyway, she seems to have something on her mind, so I’ll just stay quiet and listen.
So far, nothing she’s said sounds bad.
“Our last milestone was definitely a kiss, right? Then I think it’s time to take the next step, Johan.”
“That’s…”
She’s coming on pretty bold.
Honestly, even just kissing feels like we’ve already moved pretty far along.
If we’re talking about the next step from there…
“So this time, we’re going to kiss a little longer than before.”
“……”
“Even if it’s embarrassing, there’s no helping it.”
“Uh, sure.”
Didn’t expect it to be broken down into such specific stages.
Was I hoping for too much?
“Okay, I’m ready.”
And apparently I’m the one who’s supposed to make the move.
Yuna closed her eyes and stretched out her arms.
The way she was leaving everything up to me was both ridiculous and… kind of cute.
“Alright.”
I gently pulled her into a hug and kissed her.
Just like last time, it was a simple kiss. Just lips touching lips.
Still… my heart was pounding so hard, I was in no position to judge anyone else.
“That was too long, you idiot!”
Yuna shoved me away in a hurry.
Too long? Really? Felt like maybe three seconds tops.
“A-Anyway, I’ll forgive you just for today.”
“Mhmm.”
Was that her way of forgiving me?
It all felt a little too easy. Not that I had any intention of cheating or anything.
Come to think of it, did I ever really have a choice in the first place?
***
After being forgiven by Yuna,
The weekend came around quickly.
Honestly, these days Yuna rushed in like a wave crashing in, then pulling back just as fast.
She was full of energy, but maybe her lack of experience in relationships made her swing so wildly.
Thanks to that, I’d been spending more time alone lately.
Or… maybe not entirely alone?
For all I knew, someone might have been watching over me from somewhere I couldn’t see.
Maybe the emptiness I felt wasn’t just because of Yuna.
“…Ariel.”
I often thought of her. The one who had become an Archmage and left the cradle to train under Tronios Aether.
I hadn’t seen her often even before, but somehow, her absence felt especially large.
Maybe it was because of the way we’d parted at the end.
Whatever the reason, I had a promise with Emily to keep now. Today was the day I was supposed to ask for her forgiveness.
This damned mouth of mine was always the problem.
And this nasty temper too….I really needed to get a handle on it. But the world kept picking on me, so how was I supposed to stay straight?
It was exhausting. Why did I keep getting closer to being a villain?
And now, I’d even ended up with a position as an executive in an evil organization.
To make things worse, it came with a body modification feature.
That’s the kind of villain who’s beyond redemption. The one who gets executed in the end.
“Big brother Johan.”
“Ah, Emi…ly. You look really cute today…”
I’d been waiting at our meeting spot when Emily showed up, bundled up in thick clothes for some reason.
Wearing a fur hat, a scarf, a coat, and even gloves, she looked not just warm but downright hot.
It wasn’t even winter yet…
“Did you catch a cold or something?”
“No. When I told big brother I was going to meet you today, he insisted I wear something warmer.”
“What were you planning to wear originally?”
“A skirt and a blouse.”
“I see.”
Guess he didn’t want his sister going out to meet me dressed too lightly.
Well, whatever. I actually felt more at ease seeing her like this than if she’d come in a full-on date outfit.
If I had one complaint, it was that I could now tell exactly what that bastard Stan Robinhood thought of me.
Just you wait, you jerk.
“Shall we go then?”
“Ah, right. Yeah. By the way, what book are you looking for today?”
“I figured that to solve the task you asked me for, it’d be best to increase the battery capacity first. So I’m going to look for a book related to that.”
“…Seriously, thank you.”
Even this was for my sake. My eyes almost welled up.
She really was such a good kid.
Good, but still…
“So, that means our date has officially started.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go, big brother Johan.”
Emily smiled playfully.
I could see emotions in her expression that I hadn’t noticed before.
Yeah, that was it. Unlike when we first met, Emily lately seemed… a bit more cunning, in a way.
***
“Well, I guess that’s how it is.”
It was clear Emily had gotten more playful.
When she’d called it a date, I’d been a little startled. But of course, it turned out to be just a joke.
After arriving at the academic meeting, we split up to look for books, and even though we were in the same space, it felt like we were in completely different worlds. It was a strange sort of situation.
I glanced at her a few times as she passed by, but she really didn’t seem interested in anything other than the books.
Well, in the end, she was a member of Ex Machina. Nothing would interest her more than learning and research.
But as for me… what should I do?
“Alchemy can wait for now.”
Right now, I needed to get used to using the Babel Gear that’s latched onto my arm. I received instructions from Emily on how to use it, but still, it’s clearly beyond what I can handle with my current skills.
Just getting used to it would be an uphill battle for a while. More than anything, I just want to get it off my arm.
“Magic’s also off the table for now.”
Thanks to the training I got from Olga Hermod, I’ve had more than enough of that. So much so that it’s overflowing.
I had no desire to study magic even here.
“Then…”
I’ve come all this way, so it feels a bit pointless to just sit around in a café sipping coffee and doing nothing.
I should do something… There were so many problems scattered around, but I didn’t even know where to start or how to dig into them.
“……”
As I ran my hand along the bookshelf, I looked again at my right hand.
The Babel Gear.
This horrible thing was the reason I came all the way here. To get it off.
Not that I think I’ll find a way to fix it now.
It’s just… hearing the words “Babel Gear” reminded me of something.
First Princess Lapis, huh…
Neither holy power nor magic.
Neither angel, demon, nor spirit.
Something unknown. A bizarre being whose true identity was never revealed. Not even in the game.
To be honest, the best option would be to just ignore her, but considering she had already made contact with me once, it was hard to stay optimistic.
I wanted to at least prepare some basic countermeasures… but where do I even begin researching something like this?
“Maybe mythology or folklore would be a good start…”
According to the Scriptwriter, Lapis wasn’t human.
And if someone as proud and stubborn as him said that, it definitely meant she was something entirely different from anything we’ve seen so far.
It was hard to believe a being like that just appeared out of nowhere one day.
Maybe there’s something I can dig up through local legends or indigenous beliefs.
“Mythology and folklore, huh… Are you searching for something in particular?”
“……”
A shadow loomed over me, as if someone had overheard my muttering.
I’m not exactly short, but for someone’s shadow to reach me like that, they’d have to be massive.
And it’s not like I’m inexperienced either….I’ve gone through all kinds of dangerous situations, and my ability to sense threats has grown far sharper than before.
Someone so powerful they could completely slip past my instincts despite their size.
And in a place like this, an academic meeting, no less.
“What’s someone from the North doing constantly showing up at the Imperial Academy?”
“How are you supposed to win a war if you don’t know your opponent, even in an unfavorable situation?”
The great warrior Vidar had once again taken on the guise of a scholar to appear at the Imperial Academy.
More importantly…why did we run into each other again?
Do I seriously give off some kind of pheromone that attracts villains or something?
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