Read Novel Full Chapter 443: Important Matters
Chapter 443: Important Matters
"/_ \\"
It seems I misunderstood what Elena said. Apparently, when she said there was something she needed to discuss with everyone, she didn't include me.
I couldn't even start to speak before I was stopped and pushed aside.
Now they were all talking away from me, while I stood there wondering what this was all about.
That went on for a while until they finally seemed to reach a conclusion and came back.
"Ahem!. Honey, as everyone's representative, I'll tell you the conclusion we've reached." (Astrid)
Astrid stepped forward from the group and began to speak.
"Seriously, what's all this about? Why did you need a meeting without me in it? And, by any chance, are you the spokesperson because you're the oldest?"
"Ugh! (ノへ￣,) Yeah, that's why. I just realized that, too." (Astrid)
"Oh! Don't worry about it. Actually, you're not. There's an imposter among the ones who call you 'big sister.'"
"Aha! I knew it! Ha! I'm not the oldest after all!" (Astrid)
"Sweetheart!." (Leyla)
"Hey! I didn't name names. There are lots of people who call Astrid 'big sister'… like Alice and… anyway, what were you going to say?"
"Oh, right. About your secret, everyone… hmm… um, how should I put this?… Ugh, I don't know why they picked me—I'm really not good at this. The thing is… hmm…" (Astrid)
"Damn it!, this is frustrating! Fine, I'll say it. Listen up, you idiot! … What we were saying is that if you don't want to tell us whatever that stupid secret is, just keep it to yourself until you're ready to say it." (Eira)
"Eh? Was that what they were arguing about?"
"Tsk! Yeah. That way you don't have to worry about whether or not to tell us when you don't seem to want to." (Eira)
"Okay, I see... but I refuse to accept that conclusion!"
"Huh?" (Eira)
"That argument was pointless, because I'd already made up my mind, so I'll just say it. Come what may."
I'd already made up my mind, and I wasn't going to drag this out any longer.
It was getting tedious and even stupidly complicated, so, without further ado, I began.
"Well, this all started on the first day I arrived in this world, when—"
"(≖_≖ )" (Elena)
"—when Aeloria reincarnated me, as you all know."
Anyway, I continued my story, of course, strategically omitting the vomiting incidents.
It was time to finally get rid of that thorn in my side
.
.
"Well, to sum it up, I know about the future because my alternate self from another timeline left me all the memories of what happened to him. Even today, with every metamorphosis, I keep unlocking some of those memories. Okay!, that's all. Any questions? Raise your hands."
'Phew… I finally told them everything.'
When I finished, the girls fell silent. After a brief moment, Astrid was the first to speak.
"honey! Is that where you got that advanced knowledge of runes, arts, and breathing techniques that you teach us?" (Astrid)
"Oh! Excellent deduction, my dear Astrid. Indeed, my alternate self lived for a long time and inevitably picked up a lot of things. Ahem… not to brag, but he became a very powerful being—to the point that I still don't fully understand just how powerful he was."
"I… I have a question." (Eira)
"E-Eira, okay. Feel free to ask."
Eira was the second to speak. She was looking down, so I couldn't quite make out her expression, but her voice sounded heavy. That worried me a little.
"By any chance, since you knew so much… did you use that knowledge to deceive my sister, me, and even that old witch?" (Eira)
"Nop, a mistaken deduction, my dear Eira. "
"Huh?" (Eira)
Now I understood what was going on with Eira. In fact, that was one of the reasons I wanted to avoid bringing up the subject.
But there was no longer any doubt: it was best to be straightforward.
"Well, I won't deny that at first I wanted to pursue a relationship with you and had some plans, but it all went to hell when I ended up spanking you and leaving your butt all red in that alley."
"o(≧口≦)o You moron, don't say stupid things!" (Eira)
"Why the embarrassment? You know, before you joined, it was a recurring topic at our meetings."
"(►__◄)" (Eira)
"Ahem!... Anyway, that's where my plans ended. The same was true for Selene, but she came looking for me on her own, things happened... then you got in the way, being the siscon that you are, and kept chasing after me, and you already know the rest."
"Hmph! Who chased after you, you idiot!... Fine, I get it. Even knowing the future doesn't mean things will turn out the way you want... or you wouldn't have come back twice half dead." (Eira)
"Hehe~, you're very reasonable at times like this."
"Dear, what about me? Did you lie to me when you said you didn't know I was Eira and Selene's mother? Wait… did you also pretend not to know my secret—and act surprised when you found out?" (Leyla)
"Well, Lily, my alternate self never met you—all of that really was a huge surprise."
"Oh… so that really was a coincidence." (Leyla)
"Yes. Our meeting in this timeline was fate."
"Fufufu, so that's how it was." (Leyla)
"Yes. Oh, three questions at once. Let's see: Astrid, you already asked, so… Alice, you first. Cordelia next."
Well, it's normal for everyone to have questions. I don't have anything left to hide, so I'll answer whatever you ask.
"b-big sis… o-our first meeting… did you know I was there?" (Alice)
"Nah! That was just another coincidence. Elena and I had gone there to look for the legacy of lust. Although my alternate self did know you, at that moment you were covered up and I didn't know it was you—until you came to visit me to thank me. That was also fate."
"Hee~! I see, so my big brother and I really were meant to be. Hehe~" (Alice)
"All right, now Cordelia. You're the newest addition, and I told you a lot of things recently, but I haven't had a chance yet to go into detail about some other things. You must have more than one question about me, and I suppose you're also curious if I knew that you and Astrid were mother and daughter."
"(ㆆ_ㆆ) No. I wanted to ask if that annoying woman is their mother." (Cordelia)
"Hey! Watch how you talk about my mother." (Eira)
"Hee~ My cutie's sticking up for me. But don't worry, little Cordelia and I get along fine—she's just maybe still a little upset with me because I annoyed her a bit yesterday." (Leyla)
"So this happened because you were, as always, looking for trouble. Tsk. And it's not like I defended you or anything hmph!. What did you do to her?" (Eira)
"Yeah! I'm curious, too."
"Hehe! Well, I—"(Leyla)
"That's irrelevant. Answer my question!" (Cordelia)
"Ugh… right. Yeah, it's just like you heard. They're mother and daughters."
"They don't look anything alike. (ㆆ_ㆆ)" (Cordelia)
"Tsk! Look who's talking. It's not like you look much like your mother either."(Eira)
"Little Eira. That's something I have a bit of a complex about, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring it up too much. /_ \\" (Astrid)
"Huh? You're the one with the complex?... Haah~! Anyway, I'm sorry about that. It's just that she's been getting on my nerves lately." (Eira)
"Well, I get that it's a little hard for others to understand Lia, but I know she just wants to make friends or something like that. Isn't that right, Lia?" (Astrid)
"(ㆆ_ㆆ), that's not something you should get involved in." (Cordelia)
"O-okay." (Astrid)
"Yeah, I see even you're having a hard time with her." (Eira)
"Anyway, let's not get sidetracked. Where was I? Oh, right. Astrid, you wanted to ask something, didn't you?"
"Oh, yes! Honey, was our relationship also fate?" (Astrid)
"Huh? What are you talking about? We first met in a required class at the academy. I've told you several times already that, with all the intention in the world, I went after you. That's why I maneuvered everything to become your assistant and all."
"Yeah, I guess that's true. /_ \\" (Astrid)
"Oh! But the fact that everything moved so fast—I'd say that was definitely fate. I mean, I had a long-term plan to build a relationship, but it only took a single day."
"Hee~ I see." (Astrid)
"Can that even be considered a good thing?ಠಿ_ಠ" (Eira)
"Great! This is turning out to be easier than I thought. Does anyone else have another question? Oh, Selene, you too. Okay, ask whatever you want."
It seems even Selene has questions. I'm curious what it might be.
"…When are we going to eat?" (Selene)
Well, it's still nighttime, and we should be sleeping at this hour... but I guess staying awake takes energy too.
"...Hmm, I don't know, but I have some snacks if you want them. By the way, don't you have any questions about what I just said? You weren't shocked or anything?"
I gave her the snacks and, just in case, encouraged her to ask something anyway, but her response surprised me.
"Hm?... I knew it. nomm" (Selene)
"Huh? What do you mean you knew it? Who told you?"
"You... Nom... this is delicious╰(￣ω￣)" (Selene)
"Me? When?"
"Nom...You were talking about that...Chomp … you were stroking me… nom. More" (Selene)
"￣へ￣"
Now that she mentions it, I think there were many times when I had to think about future plans and stuff like that, and I'd put Selene on my lap and stroke her while she slept.
Maybe I got so distracted that I ended up thinking out loud. I did that a lot. I really wasn't being careful at all, and Selene is smart enough to put the pieces together on her own if she heard me.
It seems I'm not good at hiding things from girls—or rather, Selene is very good at hiding things.
Even now, Eira was looking at her with a face that said, 'Why didn't you say anything if you already knew?'
"Well, that just leaves you, Elena. Why don't you raise your hand? Don't you have any questions?"
"No, I'll refrain from asking for now." (Elena)
"Huh? Why 'for now'? Don't you want to ask in front of everyone else?"
"You know, even someone as useless as you should be able to understand that you don't always have to open your mouth just because you can." (Elena)
"O-okay, my bad. I'll stop rambling. I was getting a little excited and nervous there. Oh, Silvia, I forgot you were here. Do you want to ask anything? You already knew everything, didn't you?"
"I just want to ask: Why, instead of answering questions, don't you do what you did with me and give them a memory stone?" (Silvia)
"Oh! Well, right now I don't have enough mana to cast the spell to transfer memories to a memory stone, and unlike you, they didn't doubt me at all and believed me right away..."
"I really don't understand why they believed you so easily." (Silvia)
"Tsk. That idiot may be what she is, but she doesn't lie when it comes to important things. Besides, you were useless in the end. Why haven't you left yet?" (Eira)
"Hey, Eira, don't be mean to Silvia. Besides, it wasn't you who brought her here..."
'Against my will.' (Silvia)
"Against her will. Why did you even bring her here?"
"That doesn't matter anymore. You already spilled that secret anyway. Besides, it's not like I did anything to her or hurt her." (Eira)
"Yeah, good point. The whole Silvia thing isn't that important."
'Idiot.' (Silvia)
I hear Silvia complaining in my head, but I don't have enough mana to cast that kind of spell anyway, so I'll just ignore her.
"By the way, now that I have a moment, I have to say your new look really suits you. It makes you seem more mature."
"Hmph! It's not like I need a compliment from you. Just don't go crazy like that old witch, and that's enough." (Eira)
"Hee~ your tsundere attitude just makes me stronger. But, on the other hand, what Silvia says is true. I've already told you the gist of my secret and what caused the previous events, but I still need to tell you what I know about that line—though it's a shame I can't do it quickly with a memory stone."
"Forget about that for now. There are more important things right now." (Eira)
"Are there?"
"Of course there are. And this is what I wanted to talk about. My goddess said a lot of strange things that didn't actually happen. I played along, as you asked, but there's something I want you to answer for me about that. You're the one everyone is looking for right now. Are you that 'wolf 'who caused all this commotion?" (Eira)
'Oh!. well, I guess it is something important to address.'