Chapter 223.

Chapter 223. Valentine’s Day: Evening. (2/3)

“No way! You tricked me!”

“Yes, yes. I tricked you. But anyway, you’ll get this stupid item so long as I get my money. I get my money, you get your item, and we both leave here today happy.”

“Oh… you’re right… you do actually have it. But how? It wasn’t magic you used to make it appear out of thin air?”

I shook my head, waved my right index finger from side to side with a small laugh, and revealed, “Haha. Of course not, you silly girl. Magic doesn’t exist, only deception and lies exist in this world devoid of magic. It is all simple sleight of hand. I pulled it out from under my zipped-up jacket with my left hand while I distracted you with my right. That is the truth behind magic in this world, girl. Lies of convenience to get a desired result.”

“When you’re in such a vulnerable state, you’re much more susceptible to sweet lies.”

“Then… you lied about the other things you offered?”

“Well, the never aging part was just to make things sound more convincing. But as for the guy you like, I can try to help you a bit I suppose. This item is part of that assistance. I won’t make any guarantees though. It’s entirely possible things don’t work out with him, hence why I was vague in my wording. Notice how I never mentioned the student council president?”

“You’re right… you never did say that.”

“So if it doesn’t work out, I’ll help you out with whoever you fall for next until things finally do work out for you. Life is long, you know. High school is but a fleeting moment in our lives. After you embark from this isolated garden and see the outside world beyond those closed-off walls, your perspective of those around you changes, as do your values and beliefs.”

“The future is wildly unpredictable and nobody knows with absolute certainty what lies in wait for them at the end of their long and winding path. After high school, people’s feelings change as they grow and integrate into society. You may like him now, but you may come to like someone else in the future. Which is why, I’ll lend you a helping hand with anyone else if things don’t go your way this time around.”

“Live, love, laugh, and cry to your heart's content, for it is your freedom to do so. Only then do you know for certain that you are truly alive and experiencing all this world has to offer. The pain you feel today is what assures you that you are still among the living and not dead. Treasure that pain, these low points in your life and never forget it, for these experiences are what allow you to truly appreciate the world when you are at the peak of happiness.”

“Now, before I forget, hand over the money. Money makes the world go round after all.” I extended my palm out to her imploring her to pay up. A brutish gangster extorting a girl for all her money, that's what I suddenly looked like. It was a stark contrast to the little speech I gave.

She’d been listening attentively to my words the entire time, but when she processed my last two sentences, her expression stiffened up.

“Fine. I get it. I get it. It’s always money with a stingy fake devil like you.”

“Hahaha, sorry about that.”

She stuck her hand under her tube top and pulled out three bills with the denominations, twenty, ten, and five.

“I need the change I have for the bus fare back home.”

“Oh, well this will do for now. After you get home, be sure to collect the remaining money, we can meet up after that.”

“Meet up? Where?”

“Well, we can’t exactly meet here since they’re closed. Actually, we should really be on our way now. Let’s go, we can talk while we walk.”

“Sure.”

I reached out to retrieve the bills in her hand. Just as she let go of them she suddenly grabbed my wrist and jerked on my wrist to pull herself up off of the bench and on her feet. Before I knew it she had her arms wrapped around my back. She was on the tips of her gothic boots and I felt her lips pressed up against my right cheek.

I placed my hand on her shoulders to try and pry her off of me as I grumbled out a complaint.

“Gross. Please get back. Your washed makeup makes you look like a scary blue-eyed monster right now.”

“Heheheh, suffer your punishment for deceiving me. Let the appearance of me kissing you on the cheek while hugging you in this state serve as some good old nightmare fuel.”

There wasn’t any romantic intent to what she did, she knew exactly how bad her eyeliner had smeared and did this out of spite.

When she pulled her face away I felt the remnant of her black lipstick on my cheek.

“This is the worst, I’ve got to sterilize my cheek.”

“Hahaha, yeah, you do, or your imaginary girlfriend will probably dump you.”

“She’s not imaginary. She really exists.”

“Hahaha, I’m kidding. I’m kidding.” She released me then stood up straight looking completely rejuvenated.

“Haaaah. Somehow... I feel a lot better now though. Even if that contract you made me sign was a sham, a despicable lie, it really does feel like a lot of the worries I had dissipated into thin air. Your words really are like the whispers of the devil. They’re unexpectedly soothing to the ear. Heheh, but even if you’re a fake imposter devil, I feel like calling you the devil now. Your appearance was even pretty devilish just now. My heart skipped a few beats, not bad for an act. If I didn’t already love someone, I might have even fallen for you just now. Is this how you deceived that girlfriend of yours?”

“Yeah, yeah, this is exactly how I deceived her.”

“What an awful devil imposter.”

She took a step forward in the lead and I followed behind her as we headed toward the mall’s exit.

“So? Where’d you want to meet after this?”

“Well, we could meet somewhere within walking distance of your place so you don’t have to take the bus.”

“Oh, good idea.”

“Just for the record, I’m not interested in finding out your address so don’t tell me. Just tell me the general area of the city.”

“Near the university.”

“Oh? Which one?”

“The one straight down this road.” What a coincidence. It was my original destination.

“How about we meet up at the university center?”

“Sure, it’s only a twenty-minute walk. The area I live in is much safer than downtown.”

“You live pretty far from school though.”

“Yeah, my family recently moved there since I’ll be graduating soon.”

“You make it sound like you’re planning to go to university.”

“Is it so weird that I want to?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

“I may look and dress like this, but I’m actually a pretty good student, you know. If I wanted him to look my way, I had to be. His ideal type was already so smart after all. I worked super hard to get my grades up in my first year and keep it there since then. He’s also going to go to that university…”

“Oh, you plan to go to university just to chase after him?”

“Yeah… but it would be hard even if I go there. He said he’s aiming to become a doctor like his father. There’s no way I’d be able to follow him. The best I can do is at least be at the same university as him. I’ll lose the little connection we have after high school and he’ll grow apart from me. Unless I can make something happen before university… it’s over. I won’t stand a chance.”

“Haaaaaah. What a short-sighted girl. You should only go to university if there’s something you yourself want to do there. Going there is a guaranteed debt trap unless you have your shit together.”

“Think a bit more carefully about what it is you’re truly interested in doing when you’re there rather than allowing the short-lived fleeting emotion of love blind you. You’ll have the rug pulled out from under your feet if you don’t be more careful, and you’ll end up being lied to the same way I lied to you today. University isn’t such an easy laid back place.”

“You sound like you have no interest in going to university.”

“Me? Never. I wouldn’t go there even if I was paid to. It’s a waste of time for me.”

“Because you’re a devil imposter?”

“Exactly, devils like me don’t need university.” I shrugged and played along.

“Hey, Devil Imposter, what bus are you taking?”

“I’m not riding the same bus as you even if you beg me to.”

“Hahaha, of course not. I was asking for exactly that same reason, I’m absolutely not riding a bus with a phony devil imposter like you. I’m only interested in real devils.”

“You’re into the occult?”

“Yeah, I am. Are you going to make fun of me for it?”

As expected, she really was.

“Not at all.” I would have in the past, but not now.

“Huh? Seriously? You won’t laugh and call me stupid for believing in it?”

“I won’t. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. To each their own. Whether those beliefs are misguided or not is another story altogether though.”

“Aren’t you just indirectly telling me my belief is misguided then?”

“No, it’s a general blanket statement not directed at anyone in particular. Besides, who cares what others think about what you believe in? As long as your belief makes you happy, that’s all that matters.”

“Hmmm… I see. Oh, looks like my bus is here. I’ll see you in a bit at the university center. It’ll probably take me an hour to get there. See you then.”

“Sure.”

She stepped onto the bus and dropped some small change into the coin slot at the front of the bus beside the driver. The bus driver printed out a transfer at her request with an odd expression on his face before she headed to the back of the bus.

The bus door slid shut as she sat down at the window seat at the very back on my side. She stared at me standing alone outside with my hands in my jacket pockets. Right when the bus was about to take off, her eyes opened wide as if she’d remembered something important. She rose to her feet in a panic and opened her mouth. The bus abruptly jerked to a stop as she ran to the front and the doors slid open.

“Just give me one second please.”

She hopped off and ran toward me in a panic. She stuffed her hand into my pocket then pulled out her balled-up fist. What was inside, only the two of us knew.

“Haha… I forgot about that. Good save.”

She turned back to the bus with her right cheek puffed out a bit. After a short sigh of relief, she grumbled, “Phew. Pervy Devil Imposter. No wonder it was so chilly down there.” 

She returned to her original seat on the bus. As the bus drove by, she glared at me while bending her leg up on the seat and sliding her thong back on one leg at a time. She only had the freedom to do so because the bus was mostly empty and no one was looking… aside from me.