— ??? —
Within the opulent bedroom, sunlight streamed through the window, wall, chandelier, and various decorations were adorned with golden gears and intricate clockwork. A silver-haired, goddess-like woman slowly rose from her bed. The blue jewel on her forehead shimmered with a mysterious light.
Traces of tears still lingered at the corners of her eyes, while her sapphire-blue gaze carried a sense of longing, nostalgia, and guilt.
She looked at the grand, golden clock on the wall and saw that it was time for Maximilian to wake up. She quickly stood, waved her hand, and her nightdress transformed into a white, elegant gown—one befitting someone ready to receive guests.
The silver-haired goddess hurried from her tower bedroom to her observation room—a chamber connected to the universe itself, allowing her to observe events, feed her desire for entertainment, and more importantly… connect to Maximilian's System.
On the screen, she saw Maximilian had just woken up, tears still at the corners of his eyes—just like hers. He touched the dried trail on his cheek, then his expression shifted into something serious.
"System… no… Eleanor, is that you?" Maximilian's voice came through the machine.
"Er…" The goddess-like woman froze. She didn't know how to respond. Quickly, she turned her face away from the monitor.
"Ahhhhh, how am I supposed to answer that? He hates liars with a passion! I can't lie to him—but if I tell him the full truth, he might never want to speak to me again!" she muttered to herself, clutching her head in panic.
"Ah! I've got it!" she exclaimed, spinning around and hastily typing on the keyboard to send a message:
[System is under maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.]
—The message appeared without the usual system voice.
"Cut the crap, Eleanor! I know it's you! Your antics, your teasing, the way you talk—I never forgot! Now that I know, there's no point pretending anymore!" Maximilian shouted, his voice filled with frustration.
"Ahhhh! Goddamn it! Can't you give me some time!? I still haven't thought of a good excuse!" the silver-haired goddess cried out, gripping her head in frustration—before realizing…
"Oops."
She had forgotten she was still speaking toward the machine—her voice, along with her emotional state, was being broadcast directly to Maximilian through the System UI.
— On Maximilian Side —
[Ahhhh! Goddamn it! Can't you give me some time!? I still haven't thought of a good excuse yet! (＞﹏＜)]
[Oops. (・∀・;)]
Seeing this, Maximilian's mouth twitched. This girl never changes! She is still a goofball.
At first, he had felt a strange familiarity with the System's antics and harbored suspicions—many of them, actually. But he never imagined that it would actually be his deceased girlfriend, the one who died from leukemia in his previous life.
But… a smile involuntarily crept onto the corner of his lips. A deep sense of relief, born from long-held longing, welled up in his heart.
It's good to see her again… and to hear her voice.
"Okay, go ahead… do your best. I can wait," Maximilian said, crossing his arms.
[Err… Max, don't you need to teach Ricardo and his gang today? (;￣Д￣)]
"You're right," Maximilian nodded.
[Right? So… (◕ヮ◕)]
"Give me a minute," Maximilian replied. He then took out his phone and dialed Ricardo. After a few moments, the call connected.
"Ricardo? It's me. Training today is postponed. I've got some important business to take care of… I'll make it up to you later."
With that, Maximilian hung up.
"Now I have an entire day… I can wait," he said with a smirk.
[You… (￣▽￣;)]
Maximilian waited patiently. Meanwhile, on the silver-haired goddess's side, the awkwardness and pressure continued to build as time passed. After about half an hour, she finally spoke.
[Err… What do you want to know?] the System asked reluctantly.
"Everything. From the start…" Maximilian said firmly.
[I… I don't want to lie to you.]
"Then don't. What's the problem?"
[It's not as easy as you think. I can't… and I didn't dare to tell you.]
"You can't, or you didn't dare to?"
[Err… a bit of both, actually.]
Hearing this, Maximilian let out a long sigh.
It wasn't that he wanted to corner her like this, but he was a little angry. Did he care about the truth? Maybe… but not as much as he cared about being reunited with her again.
Back then, when he thought he had lost her forever, something inside him had changed. It felt like a part of his soul had vanished alongside her.
Now… he had the chance to see her again.
It felt like a dream come true.
"So… what can you tell me, Eleanor?" he asked.
[Err… Before we start… my name is Atherna. Can you call me that? I feel really strange hearing you call me by that name.]
"Oh… is that your name in this world? Alright, Atherna… tell me what you can," Maximilian said, then waited patiently for Atherna to respond.
[Okay… First… I didn't want to hide who I really am from you, but… I just wanted to tease you and…] Atherna stuttered.
"~Sigh. And you just wanted to tease me too much, then somehow missed the right moment to reintroduce yourself. After that, you were afraid I'd get angry, and you couldn't help but keep up the act. Am I right?" Maximilian finished the sentence for her.
[That… that's right… I'm sorry,] Atherna said in a small voice.
"What's next?" he asked.
[Umm… Second… Please believe me when I say I didn't dare tell you because… there's a reason. One I still can't disclose. But know this—I never wanted any harm to come to you. When you're stronger in the future… I'll see if I can safely tell you.] Atherna said with a bit of hesitation.
"Safely tell me? Are you in any danger?" he asked, worried.
[No! No, not like that… It's complicated. Please… don't ask me anymore. I don't want to lie to you. I know you hate that,] said Atherna.
"Okay… anything else?"
[There's… one more thing. It's not a confession… it's a favor,] she said.
"Favor? What do you need?"
[If… in the future, you come to know that I've… wronged you in the past, can you promise me not to hate me?] she asked.
"In the past? You mean like… the time you were trolling me? Or when you brought a group of aggro monsters to me when we played that game back then?" Maximilian joked. He couldn't remember a time when she had truly wronged him—not even once.
Okay, maybe some trolling and teasing had annoyed him occasionally, but that was it. Annoyed, yes—but angry? Never. He knew that was just her nature.
[Er… something like that… but… it's a little more than that,] Atherna stuttered again.
"Don't worry, Athel… I promise, I won't hate you. So you don't have to worry."
With that promise, Atherna let out a smile. This had always been one of her fears—
She'd been afraid all along that he might one day hate her.
[Athel?] Atherna repeated.
"Your pet name—just like how you call me Max. Atherna is a bit too long," said Maximilian.
[Oh! I see… Athel, huh? (´∀`) ]
"Why? Don't like it?"
[No, I like it. (๑>ᴗ<๑) ] Atherna replied in her usual goofy voice.
It seemed she had finally returned to her playful self.
After that, Maximilian spent the entire morning catching up with Atherna—asking how she was doing and how she'd been holding up. They talked a lot about their past, their shared hobbies, movies, anime, and games—the passions they had enjoyed together in their previous life.
"Too bad you don't have a body and are stuck in my head. Otherwise, I'd love to continue our date," Maximilian said nostalgically.
[Oh! About that… it's not that I don't have a body… it's just that I need energy to manifest it into the world… and I need a lot of it,] Atherna replied.
Hearing this, something clicked in Maximilian's mind. So that's why she likes energy so much… it's because it allows her to manifest her body.
"How much do you need?" Maximilian asked.
[Umm… I think I can maintain my body for one month per 10 energy blocks…?] Atherna answered, though she sounded unsure of the exact amount—she had never maintained a physical form for that long before.
"I see!" Maximilian nodded, but his eyes suddenly grew sharp, as if calculating something.
[Please, don't plunge the city into a months-long blackout. I hate it when I can't watch my favorite TV show,] Aetherna said blandly. She knew exactly what Maximilian was thinking.
"Hey… I'm not a psycho who enjoys turning civilization back to the Stone Age, you know," Maximilian retorted.
But… that was just the city. What about the bases outside? Or some energy cores from alien tech… those would contain a lot of energy and could potentially be transformed into energy blocks.
After that, Maximilian decided to use the day as a break and stay at home, chatting with Aetherna about old times. He would prepare a contingency plan and contact the informants to search for the Blood Mongoose's daughter tomorrow.