Chapter 156: Poetic Justice

Chapter 156: Poetic Justice

Poetic Justice

[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

Yeah, sure. It is a crisis, but

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 to compare 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 population number.

Considering that

If a member of the Chieftains clan 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

Riru coming 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 discomfort 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 real.

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 declaration 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 accept it.

Because that was my goal for later. 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 particular 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 change later?

Well, yeah, of course.

I was already planning to live with you in the first place.

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 relationship steadily.

Only then did I realize something.

Eh?

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

There wasnt a Devil Related Alert this time

That meant

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

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?

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 the laughter that was about to burst out.

My goodness.

I cant believe Id hear something like that from a grown woman.

Shes so unbelievably innocent when it comes to this, huh? Totally different from her look.

I have to pat myself in the back for giving you that advice.

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

He was her first love, relationship, 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 it comes to this matter.

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

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

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

-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 to communicate with each other compared to them. And, well, I guess itll make it easier for us to coordinate too.

-Coordinate? What are you on about?

-Well, coordinate as in, getting Dear Husband to enjoy two different flavors at once during our nighttime activities.

-

-Thats a joke~ Dont worry, youll find out later, Riru.

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

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

What followed was something incomprehensible, 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 accept it.]

However

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

And the stage to continue leveraging this advantage was coming 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 related 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 place 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 like last 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.

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