Ansu stared at the flickering magic message on the Communication Amulet, thinking to himself: how could it be such a coincidence?
Just after he had made plans with the little Holy Maiden, Celia had immediately contacted him...
Was she monitoring him?
After all, the Communication Amulet in his hand had been enchanted with a positioning rune by Celia, and she had admitted herself that she could track his movements whenever she wanted...
But positioning was one thing; surely this thing wasn't a surveillance camera, right?
Ansu instinctively glanced around.
Then, feeling suspicious, he spoke to the empty hallway, "Are you watching, Celia?"
"Miss Witch, were you just peeking..."
The hallway remained silent.
Only the faint sound of birds chirping came from outside the window.
Ansu quietly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart; it seemed he was overthinking things.
But the headache-inducing problem remained unsolved: what should he do today? He couldn't exactly go on a date with both of them at once, could he?
It might turn into one of those bloody endings...
Or, perhaps a date in the morning and another in the afternoon, fully embracing the essence of being a master of time management?
...The schedule would be too tight; it felt like something would go wrong.
Alternatively, should he just fake being sick?
As soon as that thought occurred to him, Ansu immediately dismissed it.
If she knew he was sick, given the Miss Witch's personality, she would probably arrive at his window within thirty seconds with a bunch of miraculous potions and 'tenderly' pour them down his throat one by one.
As he was agonizing over his thoughts, the Communication Amulet in his hand flickered again.
「Ansu, did you receive my message? Why aren't you replying?」
「......Are you still sleeping in?」
「Fine, fine, then keep sleeping~」
「You must reply to me immediately, right away, once you wake up!」
Ansu silently put away the Communication Amulet.
"Lord Ansu!"
A clear and pleasant voice rang out as Freya walked out of her room.
She had changed into a white dress that was still elegant but adorned with many patterns. The hem was light and swayed slightly with her steps, looking like a lily of the valley quietly blooming in the morning light.
Ansu fixed his gaze on her. Although Freya wore no makeup, with just a little grooming, she was so beautiful it was hard to look away.
She shyly did a half-turn in front of Ansu, her pink hair and the hem of her dress swaying slightly.
"Lord Ansu, do I... look good in this?"
After Freya finished speaking, she clasped her hands nervously in front of her.
She raised her eyes and looked at Ansu without blinking, her gaze shimmering with bright expectation.
Ansu nodded, his tone sincere. "Yes, you look very beautiful."
Pure and cute, Freya always carried a clean aura that seemed untouched by dust, like a little white flower.
But after appreciating it for just a moment...
Ansu became depressed again because he really couldn't afford to appreciate the beautiful little Holy Maiden right now.
"Um... Freya." He chose his words carefully. "There's something I need to tell you. About our shopping plans today..."
Watching his hesitant expression, Freya's heart suddenly tightened.
She knew Lord Ansu's moods all too well.
...Was it not going to happen?
"Let's... reschedule for another day." Ansu finally said it.
"W-Why..." Freya stared at him fixedly, her voice dropping low.
"Something urgent came up suddenly that I need to handle." Ansu could only say that much.
The light in Freya's eyes dimmed at a visible rate, and she lowered her head slightly.
Ansu heard the sound of a heart breaking again.
Corruption level +1, +1...
"But Lord Ansu promised me..."
Freya was both conflicted and sad, but she didn't dare look into his eyes, unconsciously twirling a lock of her hair.
"And Lord Ansu said before... that there wasn't much work that absolutely had to be done right now..."
He had promised.
Then why...
Was it... because of Celia?
It must be, it must be...
Freya's eyes flickered slightly, and inside her, two voices seemed to be tearing at each other—
One voice said despairingly: Just as I thought... Lord Ansu still likes Celia more.
It turns out I'm not that important in his heart...
The other voice refuted urgently: Don't think like that! Lord Ansu must have his reasons for doing this!
Freya, don't doubt Lord Ansu again!
"Um, is that so...?"
"No, no..."
"Yes, yes..."
Ansu silently watched Freya's incredibly conflicted expression, feeling that her mental health issues seemed to be getting more and more serious at some point.
"Stop pulling... and stop overthinking."
Ansu stepped forward helplessly and gently pressed down on her hand that was tugging at her hair. "If you keep pulling, you'll really become a bald little Holy Maiden..."
"Ah!" Freya's train of thought was interrupted, and she looked up blankly.
Ansu looked at her, a 'win-win for everyone' idea already flashing through his mind.
I have a plan!
"How about this?" His tone became lighthearted. "We'll still go out as planned today, but... we'll all go together. We'll have a good stroll through the streets and alleys of Norvigel together."
Freya looked up, a pleasant surprise lighting up her eyes again. "Really? That's great!"
But a second later, she quickly realized something.
"All of us... together?"
"Yes, together..." Ansu smiled somewhat awkwardly, trying to make the explanation sound more natural. "Vera has also been mentioning lately that she wants me to accompany her out to play, and it just so happens I'm free today, right? So, today is a family outing."
"Huh?" Freya blinked.
"You're not... going to be jealous of even Vera, are you?" Ansu internally thanked the universal shield that was Vera, then said with a smile:
"Didn't you say it yourself before? That she's always alone at school and you hoped I'd spend more time with her? So if we all go together, isn't that great?"
"Oh, right..." Freya remembered the words she had said to Ansu while 'staking out' the restaurant that day; she indeed hoped Lord Ansu would spend more time with Vera.
"Um... okay then." After only a brief moment of hesitation, Freya raised a gentle smile again. "Today, we'll all go shopping together!"
The small bit of initial gloom in her heart mostly dissipated the moment she thought of Vera.
It seemed quite nice to have Vera along.
Ansu nodded with a smile, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
The little Holy Maiden is truly an angel!
If he went on a date with the two of them, it would definitely be a disaster, but if four people went together...
After all, that was Vera, his own sister.
They surely wouldn't be jealous of his sister! So today wouldn't be a dangerous date, but a warm and harmonious "family outing"!
(Ansu's clever little scheme)
Hee, plan successful~
...
Having settled things with Freya, Ansu immediately rushed to Vera's room.
Arriving at the door, he knocked, but there was no response from inside.
Through magic perception, Ansu could hear Vera's steady breathing, so he pushed the door open and entered.
"Vera, wake up! Help your brother out!"
The curtains in the room were tightly closed, and the light was dim. Vera was completely wrapped in her quilt, with only her messy pale blonde hair showing.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, Ansu gently patted her backside. "Lazybones Vera! Stop sleeping, what time do you think it is?"
A dissatisfied mumble came from under the quilt, and Vera began to squirm.
But after wriggling for a moment, she went still again.
"Vera! Get up!" Ansu suddenly yanked the quilt back. "Come on, go on a date with your brother!"
"What! Brother, are you sick!!"
Vera sat up with a head of messy hair, her sleepy little face full of resentment.
But a moment later, she belatedly thought about what Ansu had just said.
She woke up instantly.
"Brother! What did you just say??" Vera stared at Ansu with wide eyes.
A d-date?
Ansu chuckled and quickly explained the current "dilemma."
"So that's how it is..." Vera curled her lip speechlessly, her body going limp as she buried her head back into the soft pillow.
Then she said in a muffled voice, "Resolve your own field of carnage yourself, brother. Why are you dragging me into it? It's the weekend... I want to sleep!"
"No way!" Ansu hurriedly reached out to scoop her out of the quilt.
Vera simply acted shamelessly, clinging to his chest like a koala and snoring with her eyes closed.
Ansu: "......"
In the end, he could only helplessly hold her shoulders, his tone so sincere it was almost a plea. "Good Vera! Good sister! I'm really begging you today! The future peace of this family... depends entirely on you!"
Vera couldn't handle him shaking her and reluctantly opened one eye.
Seeing her brother's pleading look, she finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Sigh... I really can't do anything with you." Vera let out a mock sigh. "Fine, fine, wait for me to change."
Ansu gave Vera a thumbs-up.
"I knew I could count on you, Vera!"
Rate on N.U.
