Volume 2 – The World Sneered
“Ami. Ami! Are you okay!?”
Mary rushed over to Ami and firmly held her body.
“What have I done…..? I can’t believe I hurt you. Ah, I gotta call Miss. Cutie over and get you healed! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
“It’s not your fault, sis. I’m the one affected by
Lover
’s powers.”
“But still!”
It was because of
Lover
’s powers, but Mary did not forgive herself for trying to kill Ami.
She held Ami tight and blood seeped out of her lips as she bit them.
Ami saw how much Mary regretted her actions, and felt her chest tighten up.
It was a comfortable feeling of love.
She was held by someone she loved, and it hurt a little because of how tightly she was being held, but it also made her happy.
“Sis.”
“I will make up for it, no matter what I have to do. Please tell me if you want me to do anything!”
“I was a little anxious that I’ve been going round in circles.”
“Why……?”
“It’s about our kiss. I’m jealous, but I also feel like I went too far.”
“That’s not……”
“I bet that you just couldn’t say no because I don’t have much left to live…… I can’t help but think that way……”
“Ami……”
It would be a lie to say Mary did not feel that way.
But that was not the only reason she accepted Ami’s wishes.
“But, even under the arcana’s effects, you still didn’t kill me. You are a kind person, after all…… And, also……”
Ami’s cheeks blushed, and she looked bashful.
“You really do love me. That’s what I felt. It made me really happy.”
She knew this was not the place.
But she thought that she had to say this now, because this was certainly how she felt.
“That’s what I feel right now. So, you can go get Cutie if you want, but I just want to hug you like this.”
“Aren’t you in pain?”
“I’m fine. I don’t feel it because I’m happy that you’re touching me.”
Ami smiled with her whole face, and put her arms behind Mary.
Even without anyone calling for her, Cutie was probably frantically heading over here right now also.
The two continued holding each other until help arrived.
◇◇◇
Mary devoured Elastis’s corpse after the group linked up.
In the meanwhile, Cutie hugged Ami and healed her injuries.
Both Cutie and Calaria remembered everything.
It was Ami who was affected by
Lover
’s powers in the first place.
As a person, Ami was transformed into something that was ‘hated unconditionally’.
Furthermore, it was because of a God who stood above humans.
It was not something that could be resisted.
It was not something that could be forgotten.
So, Cutie and Calaria kept up with Mary, and scraped their heads against the ground as they apologized to Ami over and over again.
Meanwhile, Ami only smiled, saying, ‘It’s okay’, or ‘It’s okay, I understand.’
She really was scared.
There was nothing more terrifying and painful than to fight to the death with the people she loved.
But now that it was over, and that everyone was safe, there was nothing to be sad over.
That was what Ami thought, at least.
However, even as the victim thought that way, Mary and the others felt that they were not doing enough to make up for it.
It was a dilemma.
The group walked back to the park, said their farewells to the employee, and entered their car to leave – but things were still awkward inside the car.
“Hey, everyone, you know you don’t have to be so depressed, right? C’mon, I’m fine. Okay?”
“……In hindsight, yes.”
Human emotions were weak when faced with the power of an arcana.
An arcana could transform two people into lovers with the touch of a finger.
Arcana were the creator Gods, so it was easy to manipulate the lives that they created.
“It must feel terrible to hurt Ami like that and then to blame yourself.”
“I really am full of regrets. I know it was the arcana’s fault, and that I would never want to kill Ami…… like she was my sister’s enemy……!”
“E-Err…… Ah, right. In the end, it was because of
Lover
’s Reverse, right!? I saw Elastis talking to someone.”
Ami could not endure the heavy mood and forcefully changed the subject.
It was still a dark subject, though.
Mary’s expression clouded.
Having devoured Elastis, Mary also strongly felt the fierce ‘despair’ Elastis felt right before her death.
“Yeah…… I’m curious about that too. We were too careless, I didn’t think she would still attack us.”
“……It was difficult to predict. Because, it seems like Elastis herself really wanted to be our ally.”
“Then why did she obey Digi?”
“She could not resist after hearing the name of the princess, her lover.”
“She did talk about that. It’s highly possible that the princess is being controlled by
World
, right?”
“I believe that princess was the last person Elastis talked to.”
“What did they talk about?”
“Well……”
Mary hesitated to say.
It was something sublime, something that one would be afraid to say out loud.
But that was the trigger which caused the Reverse to occur.
It was necessary to share information.
Mary slowly started to speak.
“She was being tortured on the other side of the comms device.”
“Tortured…… you mean the princess? Who would do something like that!?”
“It was her father. More precisely, Elastis’s stepfather. I believe there were other aristocrats around them as well.”
“Were they being controlled too……?”
“The princess was the only sane one there.”
“……Did they force her to become sane again and kill her?”
Mary quietly nodded.
“That’s so cruel…… I know Elastis got caught by us, but still……”
“Yes, it was a very cruel move. Elastis heard the princess begging for her life in her dying moments, which was when her spirit died. That was the trigger for the Reverse.”
“Her spirit died, huh……? So it wasn’t just her body.”
“To be precise, that grand ‘heartbreak’ was the cause.”
Digi, and
World
also, probably knew this.
Even Noted, someone well-informed on arcana, did not know much about Reverse – so how did they know about it?
“If heartbreak was the trigger for the Reverse, it’s probably originally a power that curses someone for rejecting the user.”
“That’s why people who didn’t even know me, not just you, were going after me.”
“A love strong enough to make you want to kill – love truly is poison.”
Cutie seemed lonely when she said that while holding the steering wheel.
Mary looked outside the window.
Would they find each other again in the afterlife? Ami clenched her hand and gazed at the countryside scenery with that in her mind.
◇◇◇
Over 5 hours since they got in the car.
It was past noon, and they passed through a large castle gate while Ami’s stomach grumbled.
The soldiers did not show much of a reaction to Mary, who hid her face under a hat.
“……We got in easy, huh?”
“Yes, Philias said she made arrangements, so the soldiers from before must be hers too.”
“So why did we need to disguise ourselves?”
Mary and the others were wearing hats or wigs.
“It would cause a massive ruckus if people knew Mary was in the royal capital. We’ll keep our disguises as long as we’re in this town.”
“Okay! So sis is really popular in the royal capital too, huh!”
“She’s gathering a lot of attention right now, for better or worse. Still, the air here…… it hasn’t been that long yet, but I feel like I haven’t breathed in this air in years.”
“It’s a big town, isn’t it? And there’s lots of people.”
Ami pushed her face against a window and looked at the scenery outside.
“Yes. The royal capital, Orvilia, is as busy as always.”
Mary spoke calmly.
This place was newer than Captis, and a road with traffic lanes extended directly until the castle.
There were two or three-storied shops on both sides of the road, with many other high-rise buildings around.
The biggest difference compared to Captis was that the aristocratic estates were all gathered in a certain area.
The high-end residential area was ahead of a West turn from the main street.
The other aristocrats who did not have estates in the royal capital, and a part of the commoners lived in the Eastern area.
The class difference was clear in the center of this town, but living in the town of Orvilia which was covered with high walls was already enough to be considered a winner.
“I’ve been looking at the stores, the buildings are all so tall.”
“They’re on the main street, the maintenance costs alone must be crazy.”
“But they’re still profitable. That’s the kind of town Orvilia is. Right, Mary?”
“Yes…… This town is definitely the most prosperous one.”
“Whoa, the fruit there costs what my family used to spend on food in a whole year! I wonder how they taste.”
“You already ate some at the hotel.”
“It was that expensive!?”
There was a reason the group hurried their travel plans and came to the royal capital.
The first was that there was no point in hiding any more.
Whether they were at a factory, a hotel, an inn, or a camp, the enemy showed up everywhere.
Unfortunately, no matter how much they struggled, the enemy always found out where Mary was.
Realizing this, Cutie decided that it was useless to make intricate plans now, and decided to boldly stay in a hotel in the royal capital.
It was better to stay in a hotel with good security rather than a clumsy inn, and they could recover better, not to mention that it would make Ami happy.
Another reason was that Majoram successfully made contact with a certain group in the royal capital.
They were called the Orvilia Liberation Front.
It was a familiar name, and it was a terrorist organisation that aimed for the abolition of the monarchy.
Majoram contacted them and seeked cooperation for the king’s assassination.
Also, Philias contacted the group on their way to the Royal Capital, who seemingly also coincidentally made contact with the Orvilia Liberation Front at the same time.
Whether that really was a coincidence or not was dubious, though.
So, the three parties decided to meet up.
The time and place was tomorrow morning in a tavern on the eastern part of the Royal Capital.
The group entered the royal capital one day before in preparation for that.
The manager was a young man.
Apparently, the previous manager was transferred to another location for
various reasons
.
It was a shame, but he was probably regaining his sanity in the afterlife right now.
The group were guided by the manager to the suite on the highest floor.
They had two neighboring rooms.
The pairing was Calaria and Cutie, and Ami and Mary.
It was Cutie’s way of being considerate.
“Aaaagh…… This room is even bigger than the one in our last hotel! It’s like a house! Nu-uh, it’s even bigger than a house!”
Ami started frolicking and running around after she entered the room.
“Soooft…… Smooth……”
The sensation of the sheets excited Ami.
Mary instinctively laughed because of her innocence, and sat down on the rim of the bed.
“Let’s roll around together, sis.”
“Yes, that looks like it feels good, so I’ll be joining you.”
They were tired both physically, and psychologically, and their bodies were surrounded by a feeling of comfort when they laid down on the bed.
Ami was rolling around on the bed, but Mary did not seem to have taken the words ‘roll around’ literally.
Seeing Ami so lively despite what happened, a desire to do something for Ami started to well up in her.
(Something to make Ami happy…… I can’t think of anything else.)
If embarrassment was the only price she had to pay, it was a light price to pay.
“Ami.”
Ami stopped moving when Mary called her name.
She stared at Mary with her round and cute eyebrows: ‘Hmm?’
Then, Mary approached Ami while crawling on all fours, got on top of her, and looked down on her innocent face.
“Sis……?”
Mary put her hand on Ami’s cheek as she curiously looked up at her.
“I’m a vulgar person”.
But Mary’s facial expression quickly clouded.
“Hueh?”
“I might be trying to atone by touching you as I pretend to yield to your desires. I might be feigning affection, and thinking in my head about how I can be forgiven.”
Then, this time, Ami smiled compassionately and put her hand on Mary’s cheek.
“I’m fine with that…… I don’t think that will convince you, though. I know that’s the type of person you, Cutie and Calaria are.”
“Because we did a terrible thing.”
“You didn’t.”
“We did.”
“You didn’t…… but, I can really feel how much you all care about me.”
Ami’s smile was childlike.
But it also had a magnanimity that eclipsed any adult’s.
Mary felt the emotions in Ami’s strong words, and was drawn towards her.
She could not help it.
She felt the sensation of Ami’s soft cheek in the palm of her hand, lightly caressed her earlobe with her thumb, and quietly got her face closer to Ami’s.
“Ah……”
Their lips touched each other.
They separated, and touched again.
Again, for a third time.
Next, Mary kept giving Ami kisses on her cheeks, ears, the nape of her neck and her forehead – anywhere her instincts led her to.
And after they were finished, they gazed at each other from up close.
Ami’s cheeks were loose and painted red.
“Hnnh…… Sis, that was sudden. You’re bold.”
“I wanted to do that. My body moved before I could think with my head.”
“I’m glad. The fact that you consider me needed gives me more satisfaction than anything else.”
“Ami…… Can I keep going?”
“Of course!”
“Tell me when you want me to stop, because I’m not going to otherwise.”
“Then we’re never gonna stop. Because this only makes me happy.”
Mary smiled too, and kissed Ami on the lips again.
They embraced each other on the bed and tangled their hands and legs together as they kissed over and over again.
“Sis, I love you.”
She did not even have to think about those words.
Mary instantly smiled, and gently replied with her hand on Ami’s cheek.
“I love you too, Ami.”
“So it’s mutual love…… Ehehe…… Hng!”
Mary hoped that this happiness was enough to make the bad memories go away, even if only for a little while.
Ami was indeed happy.
Each moment that Ami thought she could not be happier, Mary gave her something that surpassed it even further.
Ami wanted to do nothing but enjoy this sweetness without any distractions.
After that wish, Ami decided not to tell anyone that she used up her life span to survive.