Chapter 27: How to Preserve Friend
I was currently trying to sew a new Kimono for all night, to the point I didn't even notice time move. But safely, despite all of my effort to recreat my previous outfit, I lacked too much tissue to render it to completion. So I had no choice but to reduce it to a simple toga.
Well it should still be enough to cover myself until I find new tissue to complete my work.
*Crash*
I turned my head in surprise toward where the sound of the crash happened and concluded that it must have happened outside of my dorm as there was nothing that fell into my room.
I tilted my head and tried to stand up to verify what the level of danger was and possibly start my escape, but I stopped when I realized that Allister was still sleeping on my bed.
Allister slept with me because he was scared of being alone, so if I leave him now and he wakes up alone, he won't feel safe and will blame me for it, which will make him hate me and leave me forever.
But at the same time, there is something out there that may cause some destruction to our dorm, which will make him feel even less safe.
...wait! If he feels less safe, then he will simply stay with me!
That's a good idea...
"W...what the noise?..." A groggy voice interrupted my thought, so I looked to my side to see an awake Allister, completely changing my plan. "...mmrh...what...what are you...eh!" Allister's face immediately flushed red as he hid his face with his hand.
Hmm? What is it? Why is he reacting like that? Did I forget to put on my blindfold?
No... it's not that, then my clothes?
...No, I did that too, then what is it?
"I'm...I'm sorry for...I'm sorry..." Allister apologized frantically for a reason I didn't understand.
So I just asked him why, I already had a stock of questions I have the right to ask now. "Why are you apologizing."
Allister lowered his hand to look at me embarrassed. "Because...I asked to sleep in your bed."
Well that's weird. "But I didn't object, right?"
"Yes...but you probably only did it because you felt pity for me, and I'm sure it bothered you a lot...so I'm sorry." Allister answered with his head lowered in shame.
"It didn't bother me at all." My answer shocked Allister as he looked up to me.
Really, Allister didn't bother me at all, he barely made any noise, he didn't hurt me, he didn't shine and he wasn't the sun, so how could he possibly bother me?
In fact, he should be the one bothered by me, my presence should have made him pretty uncomfortable, I'm really abominable after all, and I probably made a lot of noise when I sewed my outfit. Even if I try to minimize it by doing it very slowly, like one action each minute. But to compensate for these brouhahas, I decided to stop breathing to not add more noise.
But if he wasn't even bothered by that, then he must be really kind...or deaf and blind.
But according to my current analysis, he seems to be able to hear me and to see me...more research may be needed...just in case.
I slowly moved my finger toward his eye to confirm my hypothesis, but he just looked at it in confusion even when it grew closer and closer to his eye. But right before it would poke his pupil, I stopped my finger to not actually hurt him.
This action seemed to only make Allister more confused. "Why...what...what was that?"
Hmm? He knew something was going on, but he didn't move?
So he isn't blind, and he seems to be able to hear me...then does he like pain? "I wanted to verify if you were blind or not."
Allister looked surprised at my answer, but he still nodded in understanding. "Well, I'm not blind, in fact I'm even able to see more than the common human...but I do have difficulty to see you."
"Is it because I'm ugly?"
"What?! No!" Allister said earnestly, which weirdly made me happy. "It's because I have the ability to see the soul of other people, but usually this ability is useless as everyone's soul is hidden by their body." He responded in a self-mocking tone over his own ability. "But for you...I can see your soul trying to leave your own body, so when I look at you, you look completely blurred."
So...he can't see me?
...then why was he so affirmative when he say that I wasn't ugly...oh right, first theory, he is kind.
I jumped out of my bed and looked at Allister. "I'm going to look what made the noise."
"Eh...ah! Wait, I will come with you." He said in a hurry and tried to leave the bed as fast as me, only to crash on the floor. "Ouch." He massaged his chin before standing up and standing behind me.
I was confused as to why he wanted to leave this so comfy bed, but if he gave me the order to wait for him, so he got to make his own bad decisions.
Before I could leave however, Pandora jumped on my shoulder and extended his tendril toward my paper umbrella and the plushie of Allister and handed both of them to us.
"Thanks Pandora." I thanked him while Allister was surprised by the action but also thanked him anyway.
We quickly left my room and the moment we stood outside I was immediately able to identify the place where it happened.
"Ah!"
*Bam*
I recognized the high-pitched voice pretty easily, it was Cynthia...but why was she screaming?
I walked toward a room I wasn't able to visit before, and recognized it appeared to be a kitchen.
Well it was too generous to call it a kitchen, as there wasn't even the most basic stuff, such as a grill or an oven. But there was a fridge and a strange metal box right beside it with a screen in front of it.
The rest of the kitchen was mostly composed of a big round table and some cupboards so we could eat, but nothing to actually prepare the food ourselves.
At the center of this room was Cynthia lying on the ground, right beside a pile of fallen chairs...probably because she tried to put them together to climb them, and it simply fell because the law of physique didn't care about her genius idea.
"Argh! Why are there no ingredients here!? Isn't this supposed to be a kitchen?!" Cynthia complained as she stood up before looking in my direction and freezing.
"Hi Cynthia." I waved at her, but to my sorrow, she didn't respond and just fixed me in shock.
Is our friendship already over? Wait! Was she mad I saved her from Lance!? Oh no!!! I made a mistake! I made a mistake! Cynthia probably feel humiliated that an trash like me could save her!
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Allister suddenly backed away from me with fear, but before I could fully understand why, Cynthia leaped toward me!
"Luciel!!!" I wasn't even able to dodge that I was already tackled on the ground. But Pandora utilized his tendril behind my head to protect me from the impact, but it proved to be useless as Cynthia grabbed me and readjusted her footing to not fall on the ground, but it also meant that her face was now barely an inch away from my own.
This allowed me to see the look of hope in her eye, and the grin of joy in her smile. "Luciel! You're doing fine! Oh this is such a relief, I should have known that a little punch like that wouldn't be enough to stop you!" She said excitedly before also realizing how close our faces were as she backed away with a blush on her face.
...is she perhaps...not mad at me?
But happily for her, someone saved her from the embarrassment. "What is going on here?!"
From behind me, I could see Clair leaving her room angrily while looking toward us, but she immediately kept a neutral face the moment she saw me.
She looked completely different from yesterday, as all of her decorum had completely vanished. Her hair was completely let down and hung up to her waist. Her previous tight uniform was replaced by a banal blue pyjama that was way looser around her skin. Finally, all of her bracelet and other accessories were gone, with the exception of her chocker that still stayed tightly around her neck.
Before I could even salute her, she slammed the door shut.
And before I even had the time to be confused, she reopened her door, and this time, she was fully dressed in her suit, her hair put into a ponytail, and all of her accessories. "I'm delighted to see that you're doing well lord Luciel." She approached me with reverence not even mentioning her sudden change.
"How did you change so fast?!" Cynthia exclaimed in surprise while inspecting Clair's clothes.
But this appeared to be a mistake as Clair glared at her with contempt. "Only my future spouse has the right to inspect me! The only thing you have right now is the right to the medal of audacity! So keep your dirty eye off of me!"
Cynthia rolled her eye at Clair's theatrical, but she still backed off understanding that it was indeed in bad taste. Not that she will apologize for it of course.
Satisfied with Cynthia's retreat, Clair looked once more at me. "I do have to admit lord Luciel that I didn't expect you to be able to heal so quickly, it did appear to be quite a ghastly injury." She briefly looked at my chest in curiosity, but she couldn't see anything because I was covered by my clothes.
"I'm just glad that I didn't have to stitch myself up." I mentioned with comfort.
Clair nodded before looking aggrieved toward Cynthia. "But even if you're doing better now, I'm sure having more time to rest would have been ideal for you, but a harlot just had to cause a commotion!"
Cynthia looked in indignation toward the brazen accusation. "How dare you say that!? I was just trying to prepare some poképuff for Luciel, it not my fault that they hid all the ingredients in this kitchen!"
I immediately turned toward Cynthia at the mention of poképuff, but my hopes were destroyed when Allister replied. "Did...did you not listen? They don't want us to cook because they fear we might hurt ourselves, so if you want to cook you must do it under the surveillance of an adult."
So no poképuff?
...that's fine, I survived most of my life without it...I can ignore them.
"Ah! Look what you did! Luciel is all disappointed now!"
I'm not Disappointed, how could I be Disappointed? My name is Luciel!
"...how do you even see that?" Clair asked Cynthia in confusion. "Lord Luciel don't change expression no matter what he feels."
Cynthia turned over Clair with a smirk plastered on her face. She even crossed her arms to show how confident she was. "Now you want to ask me a question? Well what about you tell me how were you able to wear your clothes so quickly!?"
But instead of bargaining, Clair only answered normally the question. "I practiced myself a lot so I wouldn't waste the time of my master when I will recognize me as his bride." She answered confidently before turning her head toward her. "And it also helps that my suit is composed of only one piece."
"Oh...so I just have to train myself to become better than you, notes." Cynthia said with a smile before pointing toward me, clearly not forgetting her end of the deal. "It is indeed hard to read Luciel's emotion, as he isn't affected by any involuntary movement like frowning his brow, scratching his chin or any movement the body makes to betray how you really feel. So this is why I must make a lot of assumptions about his halo. When I barely feel it, it means he is calm, when I don't feel it at all, it means he is happy, when he is angry, then it suffocating, and when he is disappointed, as of now, his aura is heavy." Cynthia explained something I didn't even know myself, so I looked toward Pandora to see if he also understood this, but even he seemed surprised by Cynthia's conclusion.
"Really? I do feel a constant sense of oppression when I stand near him, but I don't sense any variation." Clair remarked.
"Well that's because you aren't as good as me."
As much as the explanation offended Clair, she still accepted it, as she didn't believe Cynthia would lie about it, and if she was it wasn't out of malice but delusion.
"Wait...does that mean you are unhappy to not receive poképuff Luciel?" Allister asked right behind me.
"...my body still needs nutriment...and poképuff gives a lot of them... that's all."
"But poképuff barely have any nutriment on them? A simple oran berry is more nutriment than ten poképuff, and it is also more healthy." Allister remarked in confusion.
...oh...then I shouldn't eat poképuff? Is it bad for my health?
But I was distracted from my depressive thought when Cynthia approached Allister with a concerned look and blocked his mouth. "Don't worry Luciel, poképuff are actually very good for you, as it give you sugar in your blood."
If Cynthia were correct, then it would mean no one feel my aura right now, because I was beyond the concept of joy right now.
"So I can eat poképuff?"
"As many as you want." Cynthia quickly replied.
Mmmh, poképuff...
"Well I suppose I do am hungry." Clair agreed with the plan. "And at the same time we can go visit the mall to buy some new clothes."
I tilted my head to show my confusion, something that Clair also noticed as she frowned at Cynthia and berated her. "You haven't apologised yet? I thought you would have done it by now."
Apologies? Why would she need to apologize? And to whom? Did she make a mistake while I was away?
"Words aren't enough, I will just show how sorry I am for my actions instead!" Cynthia said confidently while removing her hand from Allister's mouth.
...Does she not consider apologizing like an action?
But before I could think more deeply about this interrogation, Cynthia looked at me with a smile. "So, what do you say we go shopping Luciel, we could buy more outfits for you."
"What's wrong with my outfit?"
My question was only meant with an expression of worry. "It's not...alright no, it's bad, it looks like an outfit you made out of a single sheet." Cynthia said in an apologetic manner.
...oh, I know it's not as good as my kimono, but I still try my best to make it look good...or maybe it's just me? I suppose every outfit would look bad on me.
Allister exchanged a look between me and Cynthia before holding his plushie tightly. "...I will...I will stay inside the dorm then...I won't bother you."
"What? No, if Luciel needs a new wardrobe, then so do you!" Cynthia remarked while gazing at his current outfit with judgment. "I mean, I saw at least one-hundredth of these outfits during the test, I won't allow you to be in our dorm and lack so much individuality!" Cynthia said offended, but Allister was happy he was invited nevertheless.
But he still attempted to defend himself. "But they are actually really comfortable to wear...more than my previous rag...and it would also be embarrassing to wear rag here...with so many rich people."
Cynthia scoffed before leaning toward Allister. "Please, Luciel was also wearing a rag, yet did you notice a single person judging him badly for that?"
Clair immediately slapped her face after hearing Cynthia's explanation, which led her to be confused about her actions until she looked at me in panic.
"You considered my clothes to be rag?"
She even found my kimono to look ugly...but it was my second masterpiece...is even my best is considered as trash?
Cynthia hurriedly tries to justify herself. "What?! No, that's not what I mean, I just wanted to say that your kimono looked like it was sewed by a child, it's not your fault!"
"...I was the one who sewed it."
"Gah!" Noticing the immense hole she dug herself in, Cynthia was only able to look down in shame.
"What she was probably trying to say lord Luciel was that your kimono was weaved with utmost grace, but that sadly the resources at your disposition were simply not at the height of your talent." Clair saved Cynthia from digging her own grave.
This action made Cynthia look at her with admiration, before shaking her head as if she never showed any trace of reconnaissance to her bitter enemy.
...but personally it still made me happy that the only thing that was ugly was the type of tissue used to make them instead and the wearer...I should follow Joy's idea then and try to sew the best outfit possible!
...well it would still take some time before I can really make something good enough to make people forget my hideous form, so I should probably take something someone else made in the meantime.
Or would it be an insult to the maker that I wear them?
"Then...can I call Bea?" Allister changed the subject of the conversation, which led everyone to lay their eye on him.
"Hmm, well I certainly don't have enough objection to waste my time in dissuading you, so go ahead." Clair waved him off with complete disinterest.
But Cynthia was more enthusiastic at the proposition. "Good idea Allister, we could also use this opportunity to call other people we know to create a friend group." But her enthusiasm was soon replaced by a look of consternation as she looked at all of us. "So...I just happen to not know anyone else except all of you...so do you have friends we could invite?"
...we could invite Joy...no, she probably had enough of saying my face for so long...then who else?
"The only person I had a positive relationship with is lord Redron...but I don't think it would be a good idea to make him interact with lord Luciel again..." Clair posed her hand on her chin before throwing a furtive glance at Cynthia. "And it would be worst for you to interact with him too."
Cynthia nodded to Clair's comment, before looking at her weirdly. "Wait, then why do you want to hang out with us? Wouldn't he look at you badly if you spend more time with what he considers as failure than him?"
Clair shook her head. "No, he won't even notice I'm here, in fact despite having perfect memory, he probably already forgot about you. He only considers people who are strong enough to oppose him worth remembering."
Despite being irritated by the simple notion that some poser dared to think she wasn't worth remembering, she still had the rationality to not put it on Clair. However she still noticed a flaw in her logic, that she felt more than happy to notify Clair about. "...but wouldn't it be best to spend time with him instead?"
Clair's eye wavered before pushing a sigh of resignation. "It probably would be, but I sincerely wish to spend the less time necessary with him than possible...I might be destined to him, but he is still exhausting to deal with."
"...say, why didn't your family try to brainwash you to like him despite being clearly an ordure? They certainly try it with me, so I doubt your existence was that much higher than me that it prevented you from receiving the same treatment."
Clair's eyebrow furrowed in anger as she confronted Cynthia about her comment of poor taste. "First, do not dare call him an ordure, we cannot judge his personality with our pitiful value, he simply stands in a higher state of existence that we can understand." But it lightened when answering the actual question. "However, my family were too low to have any inkling of information about our Archon, even less about its existence. So when he finally revealed his existence, it was too late to brainwash me."
Cynthia analyzed her for a short moment, before scoffing. "You could have just said you had no other friend, it would have spared us from dying of boredom."
Are we dying of boredom? It's possible?
Well if that is the case I don't have to worry about dying of that, as each day here is more exciting than the last one.
But suddenly, everyone who was surrounding me froze with an expression of shock on their face.
"Well I suppose you can join us if you want." Cynthia responded in the air with less assertive than before, probably from the surprise she was currently facing...
But I suddenly felt a nudge on my shoulder, and looking down I realized it was Allister who put his hand on my arm. "It's Sabrina...she's talking through our mind...and apparently she wants to join us for our shopping expedition."
She can hear us from here, and even speak to us?
...then why isn't she talking to me?
Does she simply not want to.
...if she doesn't want to talk to me, then it probably means she has no interest in becoming friends with me.
And if she has no desire to be friendly...then she's useless.
Worthless.
She probably only wants to do the same thing as Clair and hide among us, but she's not even willing to give her friendship in exchange.
So this means she wants to scam us.
Unacceptable!
...but my opinion don't matter...
"Eh, weird, it seems the connection suddenly cut off." Cynthia said in surprise, before looking over me with suspicion. "Say Luciel...pokepuff." She said unexpectedly, which drew the gaze of everyone to her.
I mean, why is she even mentioning poképuff? Is there any near us? Or did she just want to make me remember the sweet fragrance that passed through my tongue?
...mmmh, poképuff...sweet fragrance...mmmmh.
I want...
"And the connection is back." Cynthia made me come back to my senses as she looked at me with an analytic eye. "It seems your aura can stop her power."
Oh...is that why she can't contact me then? Because of my cur...power.
It will always try to make me alone it seem.
"Well then Allister and Sabrina, we will change ourselves first, then go get some food, then we will go shopping, so...what time is it?" Cynthia looked toward her wrist, where the meltan morphed into a screen once more with numbers ticking up each second...wait...is that supposed to represent a clock? Why did they put a number on it then?
It's a circle, it's not that hard to understand!? Why put a number on them!?
"5 am? What do you mean it's 5 am?" Cynthia exclaimed in surprise when she noticed at what time she woke up before looking apologetic toward Clair. "I suppose I understand why you were so angry then. I just wanted to prepare some poképuff early" But she rapidly shook her head before speaking into the air right away. "We will meet in the cafeteria toward 6 am then."
I'm not sure what Sabrina replied, but according to the satisfaction on Cynthia's face, I supposed it was a positive one.
She then threw a look toward Allister. "Go call your friend and tell her the same information."
Allister happily nodded before reaching for his own meltan.
"Well good, I'm going to take a bath then, be ready soon alright?" Cynthia ordered casually before trying to walk away.
"Didn't you have a bath yesterday?" Clair questioned out of curiosity.
"Well of course, but I'm taking a bath every morning and every evening, I just hate being dirty."
Despite finding it quite excessive, it was still within the limit of the reasonable for Clair, so she ignored it.
But there was still one thing that confused me.
"What's a bath?"
The moment these words left my mouth, Cynthia froze.
The same was for Clair whose eyes couldn't possibly expand even more, or they would probably fall out of her socket.
"You...you...you...don't know what a bath is?" Cynthia slowly turned around while speaking like she couldn't even believe what she just heard.
"No... it's the first time I've heard of it...is it a special type of bed."
"By distortion I will allow you to remain ignorant! So come with me you dirty boy!" Before I could even react, Cynthia grabbed me and dragged me to her room. I couldn't even resist from her hold as more and more distance was created between me and Allister, who also was powerless toward the situation.
Well...I suppose I will learn what a bath is then.
*Slam*
Clair watched with confusion Cynthia slammed the door behind her while taking with her an archon.
She marvelled at the weirdness of the situation, but she just attributed it to Cynthia's delusion, and the Archon trauma.
She turned one eye toward Allister who was once again looking at her for an explanation, but she didn't feel like wasting her time on this profaner, so she just left toward Mina's dorm.
'I have no friend uh? Well, I might not have any friends, but I do know how to wake up lazy people!'