Ariel had no intention of simply overlooking Yuna’s strange behavior.
The situation was different from before.
Now that all the shadowy forces targeting Johan had disappeared, the person with the most free hands was Yuna.
Of course, that didn’t mean she was idle. As the future Tower Master, Yuna was also overwhelmingly busy with her training.
But aside from that?
What could possibly replace the time Yuna had always spent drenched in blood and battle?
“A conversation… Very well, Miss Yuna. I’ve also thought that, at least once, we needed to sit down and talk properly.”
Ariel didn’t know much about Yuna. They may have been rivals, but she had no idea what Yuna normally did in her daily life. They weren’t people who crossed paths often, and whenever they did, it was usually while fighting against a common enemy.
“What exactly are you plotting? And why are you hinting at it to me?”
“Princess Ariel really is clever. Obviously, because I want to pull you into it too.”
“What are you talking about…? Fine. I’ll hear you out first.”
“I’m planning to pair Emily with Johan.”
“……”
Yuna could feel it immediately.
The unmistakably sharp hostility wasn’t much different from Ariel’s usual honesty.
She didn’t like it.
“I have no intention of sharing Johan any further.”
“Come on now, why say it like that? Johan isn’t some object to be divided up.”
“You’re hardly one to talk.”
Ariel knew.
Yuna was no different from herself.
Yuna wanted exclusivity.
She had merely adapted to the circumstances and reluctantly compromised because she had no choice.
And now this same woman was voluntarily offering to share what belonged to her?
Ridiculous.
It was painfully obvious Yuna was every bit as greedy as she was.
“In any case, I refuse. I don’t know what you’re scheming, but I have no intention of cooperating with you or dancing to your tune.”
It was obvious Yuna was planning something.
And she absolutely could not afford to get dragged into it.
She didn’t know why Yuna was trying to accept Emily, but whatever the reason was, it certainly couldn’t be a proper one.
“No, I think you’ll have to cooperate. Like I said earlier, Johan’s a person. We can’t treat him like an object. Johan has feelings of his own.”
“You’re unbelievably shameless. Are you really going to keep saying things you don’t even mean?”
“Whether I mean them or not, it’s still true.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Alice.”
“……”
At that single name, Ariel couldn’t help but flinch.
“We’re standing in completely different positions.”
“She’s already dead. The person using that name now is simply someone with a similar face…a completely different person.”
“But sometimes, a name and a face alone are enough to shake someone.”
Johan’s heart could waver.
Not because someone forced his feelings through coercive methods like theirs, but because his heart might naturally move on its own.
Human emotions were not something that could be controlled so easily.
There was more than enough possibility that Johan’s heart could turn away.
“The moment I saw that girl, I realized it instinctively. ‘Ah… there’s no way I can beat her. We were standing on completely different starting lines from the very beginning’.”
“……”
Ariel knew.
Johan desperately tried to hide it, but deep inside him lingered a sticky, lingering emotion.
Even now, Johan still held onto those feelings. You could call it a little cowardly, perhaps…
Part of me was even relieved that Alice was already dead.
That was how deeply rooted those feelings were.
As proof, Johan had been shaken merely by seeing Oracle’s face.
He avoided looking directly at her, lashed out with harsh words, and tried to push her away.
All because she shared the same face and name.
“Have you noticed how much brighter she’s become lately? She’s walking around smiling brightly, just like the girl we saw that day.”
“……”
The recent changes in Alice.
Yuna found it impossible to dismiss them casually. Even she herself was reminded of the Alice from the past. So could Johan truly be any different?
Yuna didn’t think so.
That was precisely why she had decided to pull Emily in and strengthen their side.
“Don’t you think we need something to keep her in check?”
Yuna smiled.
She knew.
Ariel was the same kind of person as her.
And because of that, she knew Ariel would have no choice but to accept this proposal.
***
Several days passed, yet no reply came from the Ether Duchy.
Tomorrow would already mark the fourth day.
This was bad. At this rate, the only outcomes left were bankruptcy or ruin.
More than anything, I hadn’t been able to meet either family, nor Yuna or Ariel.
Well, Ariel had always been busy, so that was understandable. But seriously, what the hell had Yuna been up to?
Lately, I hadn’t even seen her at school.
“I need to meet them somehow by tomorrow at the latest…”
If it really came down to it, I might have to show up at their door without an invitation.
It was with that anxious state of mind that I returned to my dorm room.
“Hmm?”
The room was unusually dark.
Did I close the curtains before leaving? I wondered as I walked toward the window.
“Wah!”
“Aaaagh!”
Someone suddenly pounced on me from behind.
I hadn’t sensed a thing. A powerful enemy—! …No, it was Yuna.
“What the hell? You scared me.”
I’m someone with PTSD, okay?
I’d really appreciate it if people would stop sneaking up on me like this.
I’m literally someone who’s been targeted by Eden, Lemegeton, Ex Machina, the Speartip of Sow Blossoms, and the Under Chain.
“Puhihi! Slowly turn around, Johan.”
Yuna hugged me from behind while covering my eyes. Had she prepared some kind of surprise party or something?
“Tada!”
And when I opened my eyes, just as expected, the room was filled with decorations.
The moment I saw it, instead of feeling happy, the first thing that came to mind was how much trouble it would be to clean up later. Was that because I’d become emotionally dried up?
Seriously, who’s going to clean all this up? And this is my room, too.
“So? I even prepared a bunch of your favorite foods!”
“There’s no way the two of us can finish all this.”
“We can just eat it over time!”
“Yeah, well…”
She went through all the trouble of preparing a party for me. It didn’t feel right to keep reacting like this.
Maybe I should just enjoy it for now.
But…
“So what’s this party for?”
“What do you think it’s for?”
“……”
A sudden death game had begun.
If I answered wrong here, was I going to completely ruin the mood?
Was it our 100th day together? No, that passed ages ago. Then our one-year anniversary since meeting? That already passed too.
Engagement? First kiss? What was it?
No matter how hard I thought about it, no meaningful date came to mind.
It’s not even my birthday today.
“It’s exactly the one-year anniversary of you becoming my disciple, Johan!”
“Who celebrates something like that? We didn’t even celebrate our 100th day.”
“To be exact, we just never had the time to celebrate it.”
“That’s true.”
Whether it was 100 days or one year, we’d been too busy getting tossed around everywhere.
Well, we really had been busy getting kidnapped, cursed, and running around trying to stop the end of the world without a moment to breathe.
“Come on, sit down. Today’s a party for you, so enjoy yourself as much as you can!”
“A party’s still just a party for two people.”
“Then it’s an event just for the two of us.”
“True enough.”
No matter what, it should have been a happy occasion.
If only I hadn’t gotten tangled up in this messy romantic situation with Emily.
I couldn’t even lift my head. I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy the party she prepared for me.
…I felt suffocated.
While I’d been busy trying to deal with the mess involving Emily, Yuna had been preparing a party for me?
The guilt felt crushing.
“Tada! And this is your present! Come to think of it, I realized I haven’t really given you many gifts before. Even though I’ve received so much from you.”
“You’ve helped me plenty already.”
“That’s one thing, and a present is a present!”
The gift Yuna prepared was a wristwatch engraved with intricate patterns.
Just from one glance, it was obviously luxurious. Did I really deserve to receive something like this?
“Here, give me your hand. I’ll put it on for you myself.”
Yuna giggled as she fastened the wristwatch onto my wrist.
Was it just my imagination? Maybe it was the guilt, but it felt like I was being fitted with handcuffs.
“Uh, hey… Yuna.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
No. I couldn’t look Yuna in the face like this.
Why now of all times? Why was she being so kind to me at a moment like this?
I felt sick.
“What’s wrong? You look like someone who’s done something wrong. Puhihi! Are you touched or something?”
“Maybe…”
More like the guilty side than the touched side. I’m sorry, Yuna!
“Puhihi, try this first! I made it myself, so I’m sure it’ll taste good.”
“Yuna, it’s salty.”
“Do you want to die?”
“I’m joking.”
“Puhihi! Then try this one! This one actually turned out really well.”
“Yeah, it did.”
What was I supposed to do?
I had no idea how to explain my current situation to Yuna.
Would this small little party end up turning into a murder scene?
***
Now, lying side by side with Yuna on the bed while staring up at the dark ceiling—
I couldn’t fall asleep at all. It wasn’t that sleeping next to Yuna made me nervous at this point.
I couldn’t say anything.
That fact alone felt like it would crush me beneath guilt and fear.
“Puhihihihi……”
Watching Yuna cling to me and whine softly made my chest cave in.
I really need to do better.
It was something I’d resolved myself to countless times before, but tonight felt different.
I’ll work harder, Yuna!
***
Early the next morning.
Yuna smiled as she looked at Johan’s face, fast asleep after tossing and turning all night.
“Huhum.”
Of course, she knew the entire story.
She knew everything and still pretended not to, throwing this party on purpose.
All to make use of Johan’s guilt.
She deliberately treated him even better because she knew he’d melt for anything she said.
Getting angry and creating pressure like before wasn’t effective anymore.
At times like this, she would instead become even kinder to him, so he’d feel even more sorry toward her, even more guilty.
Now was the time to offer the carrot.
Because soon enough, the whip would come down.
“Well then, should I go check how things are going on the other side?”
Stretching lazily, Yuna left Johan’s room.
Every time Johan thought back on this incident with Emily, he would only feel like he needed to treat Yuna better.
Next time, she planned to shed a single tear in front of him.
At that point, he really wouldn’t be able to do anything against her.
Everything was proceeding exactly according to plan.
Once the leash called Emily was fastened around his neck, the rest would move forward smoothly.
Of course, there were still variables.
“Hi!”
To confirm that variable, Yuna moved early in the morning.
“Alice! You remember who I am, right?”
“You’re Miss Yuna. Of course I remember. We’ve fought together several times.”
“I’m honored you remember me!”
“But… what brings you here?”
“What do you think it is?”
Caught off guard by Yuna’s sudden visit, Alice tilted her head slightly.
It already felt strange enough that Yuna had come to see her alone.
More than that, she had a feeling Yuna hadn’t come for anything pleasant.
“I’m not sure.”
“Even though you can see the future?”
“Just because I can see it doesn’t mean I want to. What fun would there be in life if I looked into every future?”
“I see!”
“You didn’t come all the way here just to ask me that. So what is it?”
Even while tilting her head at the bizarre situation, Alice didn’t avoid her.
There was no reason to fear Yuna. Yuna wasn’t her enemy. And even if she became one, it wouldn’t really matter.
Her remaining time was short anyway.
If Yuna wished for her death… well, she could let herself die. After all, Yuna had been the frontline leader who fought harder than anyone else beside Johan to save the world.
And personally, Alice actually liked Yuna.
“There’s something I want to ask you.”
“If it’s something I can answer, I’ll tell you anything.”
That was why Alice treated Yuna without even the slightest suspicion.
At that, Yuna smiled softly and asked,
“You are Alice, right?”
“Huh? Well…”
“No, no, not your name. I mean, are you the ‘Alice’ I’m thinking of?”
“……”
At that question, layered with countless implications, Alice could only make an indescribably strange expression.
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