Chapter 156: Poetic Justice


    <b> Poetic Justice </b>


    [Why are you just standing there? Isnt this a crisis for you?]


    Though Caliban said that to me, who was just standing there dumbfounded after receiving the box from Riru


    <b><i>Yeah, sure. It is a crisis, but </i></b>


    The first thought that came to my mind wassomething was off


    Wedding ceremonies in the Tribal Alliance were massive events that could surpass your wildest imaginations. Even when you had topare it with other nations traditions.


    There were various reasons why, but fundamentally it was because the nation used a strong sense of unity to make up for its low poption number.


    Considering that


    If a member of the Chieftains n were the one whod get marriedthe ceremony would be so massive that just thinking about its scale could give you a massive headache.


    What I was trying to say here was


    Riruing here with just a box to propose to me was something that should never happen under normal circumstances.


    This kind of modest proposal would be seen as rash. No one from the Tribal Alliance would even think about proposing in this way.


    Considering that Riru herself was someone who valued the importance of tradition highly, such a proposal only brought me difort rather than a sense of crisis.


    Marriage?


    Anyway


    I cautiously asked that question.


    First, I gotta probe if she was truly serious about it or not.


    Yeah.


    But


    Though she was avoiding my gaze, the tone of her voice remained the same.


    She looked clearly embarrassed, but there was a fierce determination in her response.


    I know this is sudden.


    Riru opened her mouth before covering her face with her hands.


    But, if it isnt now, I might not get another chance ever again.


    Sorry?


    If I were to leave things as they are, I have a feeling that someone would snatch you away


    That mutter came from beneath the hands that were covering her face.


    This time, her voice was rather subdued, unbefitting of her character.


    No doubt, in there I could sense


    Her fear.


    The contrast between her usual confident demeanor and her current self made this felt even more <i>real</i>.


    It really felt like this person was baring her heart open to me.


    However


    [Are you going to reject her?]


    Well, did I have another choice?


    If the immediate threats to my life like Eleanor and Yuria didnt exist, I would literally just reject them all.


    Given my situation, I couldnt afford getting myself surrounded by the Devils too closely; The risk was way too much.


    I clenched my teeth.


    So hard that I could taste blood in my gums.


    Honestly, while I could stand being called trash or whatnot


    I always felt guilty acting that way towards the people who sincerely opened their hearts to me.


    Im sorry, Riru.


    My deration that I wanted to live happily with the Devils was true, but if she were to bring up something like this so suddenly


    I couldnt just ept it.


    Because that was my goal forter. Only after the main scenario was sorted out, and all potential threats were eliminated could I have the lenience to do that.


    My answer was pretty much determined from the start already.


    Right nowis a little too sudden


    I thinktheres still too much we need to learn about each other before we can reach that point


    With great difficulty, I managed to say those words out


    While suppressing the choking feeling in my throat, I tried to get the words out as calmly as possible.


    After that, she went silent.


    Well, obviously. No way in hell she could just give an immediate response after hearing such words.


    She still had her face covered, so I couldnt see her expression.


    Im sorry, Riru. I think itll be a bit difficult right now.


    My tone was somber, I continued.


    Again, she didnt give out any particr reaction. She just kept her head down, facing the ground.


    When you say right now


    Her voice was low, and it sounded rather subdued.


    Does that mean your answer can changeter?


    Well, yeah, of course.


    I was already nning to live with you in the first ce.


    But I couldnt say that now.


    The best I could do was to pass it over vaguely.


    I think, what we should do now is to get to know each other better first, thats more important than anything else.


    As I said that, I let out a bitter smile.


    It was the most clichd rejection line, the same one everyone would say out of pity. But unlike them, I was being sincere.


    There was indeed still a mountain of things we needed to learn about each other. Also, we were going to continue to see each other anyway.


    So, what exactly does getting to know each other better mean?


    To put it simply, well, while its hard for us to get married right nowwe can still spend plenty of time together.


    Getting married immediately might be a bit much


    But we could always start slowly while building up our rtionship steadily.


    Hearing my reply, Riru spoke up again.


    Then.


    After another moment of hesitation


    She opened her mouth again, clearly looking nervous.


    Does that mean we can start as a romantic rtionship?


    If its that muchyes, we can.


    Compared to some of the women around me, the ones who straight up would kill me if I didnt marry them, this much was rtively tame.


    It wouldnt be hard to manage such a rtionship, and even if the others were hounding me about it, I should be able to deflect them with ease.


    Really?


    After saying that


    She finally removed her hands from her face.


    ?


    But


    Her expression was a bitstrange.


    ??


    Why?


    I clearly rejected her proposal


    But why did she have an expression that said, <b><i>I did it! He fell into my trap!</i></b>?


    Our rtionship will be that of a man and a woman, that means were more than friends, but less than lovers, right?


    After saying all that, she let out a smirk.


    I was dumbstruck, so despite what was going on in my head, I could only nod my head reflexively.


    I-I guess.


    Alright, if thats the case


    She let out a bright smile before patting my shoulder.


    Then she suddenly pulled me into her embrace.


    Riru?


    Since our rtionship is that of a man and a woman, I can do this much, right?


    R-Riru?


    From now on, lets meet up often. Ill call youter, okay?


    She said with a slightly twisted, yet wild smile.


    Like the same Riru that I had always known.


    It made me think that


    She had only been acting all gloomy and deted while she was listening to me.


    Remember, you are the one who said Lets take it slowly, so no backing out, okay?


    Alright, thats all.


    Riru, who was scratching her cheek


    Still with her cheerful smile, albeit with a slight blush now


    Lightly punched my shoulder and spoke.


    Im in your care. My Dear Boyfriend.


    <b><i> Umm</i></b>


    <b><i> </i></b>


    <b><i> What the hell is going on? </i></b>


    <b><i> Why am I breaking out in a cold sweat?</i></b>


    <b><i> </i></b>


    <b><i> It feels like I just made a terrible mistake </i></b>


    A-Anyway, bye bye! Have a nice evening!


    Seemingly embarrassed by her own words, Riru quickly stormed away.


    And


    Leaving me standing alone under the night sky, apanied by the sound of crickets.


    <b><i> Seriously, what the fuck just happened?</i></b>


    [Truly a masterpiece. Is this what true poetic justice looks like? Or, in yournguage, is this the result of the butterfly effect?]


    Caliban said, his voice was full of incredulity.


    Whats wrong with you all of a sudden?


    [No, likehow can I notugh when I had the front-row seats watching you getpletely outyed? You realized that she learned all of that from you, right? This whole thing is just peakedy! Theres nothing better than this!]


    Excuse me?


    The fuck was this person saying?


    Caliban continued with a chuckle.


    [Just think about it. By rejecting her marriage proposal, you were forced to start a rtionship between a man and a woman with her, no?]


    [Originally, you havent been paying any attention to her, and you had no intention of making the first move on her either. But from now on, she doesnt need to do that. Under the guise of rtionship between a man and a woman, she could just approach you without holding herself back.]


    [Prior to this, everyone would just rush at you, telling you that theyd kill you if you wouldnt embrace themthats why you never thought anyone would pull a fast one on you like this. Your tolerance against this kind of thing is pretty low, huh?]


    Huh? Wait


    [In any case, since youve already agreed to start meeting her in a more romantic manner, you cant back out if she wants to push herself on you. She has the moral high ground now.]


    W-Wait a minute.


    [Until now, all the women around you are throwing fits to get your attention, and there hasnt been a single one whod be proactive and call you over. But there is one whod do that now.]


    <b><i> W-Wait, a-about that</i></b>


    <b><i> </i></b>


    <b><i> D-Does it really work that way? </i></b>


    [Thatdys quite the schemer, jeez.]


    [You just got yed by her, you punk.]


    [The marriage proposal was a bait. A trap she set to get this kind of privilege from you.]


    Hearing this


    I stood nkly for a long while.


    Only then did I realize something.


    Eh?


    Unlike when Eleanor proposed to me, or when Yuria threw herself at me


    There wasnt a Devil Rted Alert this time


    That meant


    From the very start, she came to me with the mindset of, <b><i>it doesnt matter even if I got rejected</i></b>.


    It was almost as if


    She had anticipated that Id give her this exact answer if she were to prod me like that.


    Now that I think about it, there was something strange in her way of proposing to me.


    Eh?


    Did that mean


    She gaslit me?<ul><li></li></ul>


    Riru Garda desperately rubbed her flushing face.


    [Woah, you actually did it.]


    Shut up.


    She muttered grumpily to the teasing voice that came from behind her.


    Her heart was pounding so wildly, that she felt it was so surreal.


    Because, just now, she


    Hey, uhyou know


    [Yes?]


    Since hes myboyfriend now, c-can I


    She muttered her words while stroking her own face.


    Y-You knowc-can Ig-go on dates with himo-or k-kiss hima-and stuff?


    []


    Looking at her, the Blue Devil was struggling to suppress theughter that was about to burst out.


    <b><i> My goodness.</i></b>


    <b><i> </i></b>


    <b><i> I cant believe Id hear something like that from a grown woman.</i></b>


    <b><i> </i></b>


    <b><i> Shes so unbelievably innocent when ites to this, huh? Totally different from her look.</i></b>


    <b><i> I have to pat myself in the back for giving you that advice.</i></b>


    If they were to follow Rirus own pace she would never have done something like this.


    He was her first love, rtionship, confession and romance.


    From now on, everything shed build up with that man would be something that she had never done prior to this.


    And she opted to skip all that and immediately jump to a marriage proposal, which was something ratherunfair.


    However


    That was exactly why she did it.


    Back when you said Id be rejected here no matter what I doI wondered why I should even bother doing it


    She murmured in a slightly excited voice in between her restless pants.


    But youre really reliable when ites to this matter.


    Throughout her time together with this Blue Punk, Riru realized that all the information about the future that the ghost asionally spouted was almost always urate.


    Also, perhaps she was influenced by this punk, at times, she was able to glimpse a few seconds into the future.


    ording to that punk, these were additional elements that urred during a Fusion or whatever it was.


    <i> -Grey, Purple, and Red all go through this process as well. The merging of Fragments and the Vessel. Its just, in our case, its easier for us tomunicate with each otherpared to them. And, well, I guess itll make it easier for us to coordinate too.</i>


    <i> </i>


    <i> -Coordinate? What are you on about?</i>


    <i> </i>


    <i> -Well, coordinate as in, getting Dear Husband to enjoy two different vors at once during our nighttime activities.</i>


    <i> </i>


    <i> -</i>


    <i> </i>


    <i> -Thats a joke~ Dont worry, youll find outter, Riru. </i>


    She remembered the Blue Punks chuckle as she said that..


    <i> -To put it simply, we can shine the brightest when Dear Husband is in the most danger! </i>


    What followed was something iprehensible, though.


    Anyway


    [Of course. Like Ive been saying, theres nothing to lose here.]


    The Blue Punk floated around her while giggling.


    [Considering Dear Husbands current situation, this proposal was nothing short of a bomb. There was no way he would ept it.]


    However


    By keeping that certainty in mind, she inadvertently created an opportunity to establish a natural rtionship that other Vessels couldnt even imagine.


    And the stage to continue leveraging this advantage wasing soon.


    [Hmconsidering the flow in the time axis, the Hero Selection is tomorrow, isnt it?]


    The Blue Devil murmured before sweeping back her hair.


    The Hero Selection? Whats that?


    [Its somethinga pretty important incident]


    One could say that


    The branching point rted to Dowd Campbells crisis all started from here.


    Hero, Grey Devil, White Devil, Red Devil, all of them were entwined in a chaotic whirlpool.


    Originally, there was no ce for the Blue Devil or Riru in such a melting pot.


    However


    [This round will be a bit different, Dear Husband.]


    The Blue Devil, licking her lips slightly, murmured.


    [We wont just watch from afar and let the others lust after you likest time~]


    Without a doubt


    For Riru who was listening in, the sentence was filled with a chilly allure that it sent shivers down her spine. <hr>


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