"Murasame… you could have helped, you know. They're you friends, right?" I trudged back to the castle exhausted, Murasame and Cecilia were casually enjoying tea while during the afternoon, I was getting chased by creepy old dudes.
"Don't ask for the impossible. It's true that I got to know them pretty well since they did some work on the katana you gave me, but there's no way I could have gotten them to stop."
"Ash, your hair's too long… I'll cut it okay" Cecilia brushed my shriveled long hair as I took my seat. But she suggested cutting it, I guess it's high time anyway.
"Could I ask you for it?"
"I'll do my best!" Cecilia grabbed a pair of scissors from my back and started trimming my hair.
"Somehow you two looked cute together, but I still have to ask, did Kaede told you yet?"
"About what?"
"Confession! Did she confess to you?"
"Ah, yeah, I warned her that it's a jinx, but she kept going, well, it resulted her almost dying"
"So, how did it go?"
"I turned her down, I'm happy of course, but I already have Cecilia, I'm not so think skinned that I can just accept about anyone, right?"
"Well, you have a point, but how did she confess?"
""I love you…" like that, so brazenly, I was actually taken by surprise"
"So, how did you feel about it? To be honest I wanna punch you for rejecting her, but yeah, it's only natural since you already had a girlfriend, right"
"well, like I told you, I'm so happy I could die, it took my all to even reject her. Even remembering it hurts"
Just as we were talking about Kaede, the door flung open. We all turned to see a young, blond-haired blue-eyes boy standing in the corridor. He couldn't have been more than ten years old.
He glared at me, his glare growing in intensity when he saw Cecilia cutting my hair. It seemed our intimacy bothered the boy.
"You monster! How dare you do that to Kaede! A-And why are you off playing with other girls when you have her... Unforgivable!" The prince of Rocheforte, Randy S. B. Rocheforte, stalked into the room.
He balled his hands into fists and rushed at me with a primal roar. He probably wasn't going to be satisfied until he punched me.
I shot a web and him and stuck him on the wall, even if I let the kid punch me, it's not gonna hurt, but I'm having a haircut here, it's too dangerous to move.
The brat took a moment to realize that he was plastered on the wall. He started squirming to break free.
""Y-Your Highness! How dare you do that to the crown prince!?"
"I'll kill you for that!"
"Men, protect the crown prince!"
His bodyguards poured in the room and rushed at me. Seriously, I'm getting a haircut here!
I also pasted them to the wall with my webs, but they were tougher than the kid, they soon broke free and attacked again. I kept on disabling the idiots, but they're resilient.
Murasame watched us in shock as I continue trying to fend them for my hair's sake. By the time she finally returned to her senses enough to try and stop him, everyone was plastered on the wall writhing in pain.
I stopped when I'd ran out of webs from both shooters. Randy was on the wall bawling his eyes out.
He wasn't injured for crying out loud. But my attack probably broke his soul.
His guards rushed up to him, trying to reassure him.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, the wounds aren't too deep!"
Just then, Aria stepped into the room and analyzed the scene. Murasame was scolding me for going to far, but I covered my ears nonchalantly. Cecilia kept on cutting my hair. Randy was crying on the floor while his attendants tried to console him.
She massaged her forehead, more or less understanding the situation from that single snapshot.
"Looks like I was too late..."
"It was self-defense, I was getting a haircut, the kid came out of nowhere and attack me" I gave my excuse, hey, I didn't hurt the kid, I just splattered him some webs which only hurts like throwing a pillow.
Aria heaved a heavy sigh and went to comfort Randy. The source of Randy's anger was probably Kaede, during my time in the castle back then, Randy would often come to Kaede trying to flirt with her, too bad, because Kaede was an airhead and didn't think much of Randy as a man and only a kid.
He wasn't even able to get close to me, and I'd beaten him with just a web shooter. It was probably a shame of such humiliating defeat that had left him in tears, not the pain.
He sobbed into Aria's chest, crying her name over and over.
I kinda felt bad, but it's his fault, I hate kids who go about trying to do what they want and cry to get what they want.
Cecilia finished the haircut and sat beside me, sipping the tea and stuffing on the cake.
Kaede then, walked into the room.
"Oh, Prince Randy. And Aria, you're here too…? Wait, is Randy crying!? What's wrong!?"
"K-Kaede!? Uhh, I-I wasn't crying in my sister's arms or anything…" Randy quickly extricated himself and wiped his tears. Understandable, no man wanted to be caught crying in his sister's arms by the girl he loved.
When she saw what happened, she rebuked me, but in a way that did more damage to the brat than her intended target.
"Jeez… Asher-kun. Don't go making the prince cry. You shouldn't be bullying little kids."
"I was attacked. I just fended for myself"
"Fended… did you at least go easy on him? Remember, the prince is still a child!"
"Of course, I did. I just emptied my web shooters at him" I raised both my wrist pushing the button of the shooters which kept wheezing without webs coming out. "you really don't think I'd actually pull out a weapon on a kid, do you?"
"But he was crying in Aria's arms... Plus, look at how red his forehead is. How could you ruin his cute little face? I know he's a little prone to misunderstanding things and rushing in without thinking, but Randy's a good kid at heart. You should be nice to him..."
And now that Kaede was pointing out how cute he looked. Furthermore, the fact that Kaede saw him crying in her big sister's arms. Randy fell on all fours and hung his head in despair.
"Uh oh..." Aria muttered to herself. Murasame and Randy's bodyguards begged Kaede to stop. Any more of her inadvertent verbal barbs, and they were worried she might really kill him.
Unfortunately, Kaede wasn't done yet. She went over to Randy and spoke in a voice filled with worry,
"Are you okay? See, Asher-kun, you were too hard on him..."
"No really, I'm fine. More importantly, Kaede... What do you think of me?" though he was covered in scars, Randy worked up the courage to ask the question.
"What do I think of you? Let's see... I'm kind of jealous of Aria, I guess. I wish I had a rambunctious little brother like you."
"Gah... L-Little brother..."
She just killed him.
Kaede delivered those words with a smile, but they were poison to Randy's ears.
He had to rub salt in the kid's wounds, Murasame was baffled by Kaede's airheaded response, while it was genuine, which is probably why it hurt the kid more.
"So then... you'd rather be with him? What's so good about that guy anyway!?" Randy glared daggers at me. Seems like I have a knack for pissing everyone off, the kid hates me now. He probably thinks I stole her first love, but hey! I properly rejected her.
"Huh? Wh-What's this all of a sudden? Jeez, that's so embarrassing. But, fufu, yes, I suppose I would. He's the man I love the most in the world. As for what's good about him, well... everything. Fufu..."
With that, Randy's hit points finally reached zero. He sunk to all fours again, his entire body trembling.
Kaede worriedly rubbed his back, but he slapped her hand away and struggled to his feet. Once he was up, he dashed straight for the door.
Before departing for good, he turned back at the doorway and screamed.
"I hate you alllllllllllllll!" After that, he dashed down the hallway and out of sight.
Tears glistened in his eyes as he fled from the room. His screams echoed loudly through the halls.
His dumbfounded bodyguards returned to their senses and hurriedly chased after him.
"That kid hates me now, seriously"
"It's your fault he's crying right now"
"hey, I started it, but Kaede dealt the killing blow"
"Grr, I can't deny that…"
Murasame and I watched Randy's first love wither away in a spectacular fashion. Kaede tried to go after Randy, but Aria stopped her. If she did follow the kid, it'll kill him.
Aria closed the room's door and walked over to me, with Kaede following behind her.
She sat down next to Murasame while trying to snuggle my left arm.
"Hey… I thought, I properly rejected you? Why are you trying to snuggle me?"
"Yeah, but seeing you and Cecilia so close, got me jealous, I really just can't give up on you"
She grabbed my collar and pulled me dangerously close. "So, you better prepare yourself, I'll steal your heart, one way or the other"
Her breath was almost on my face, while she did smell sweet, I couldn't control my heart rate from spiking. Just then coming to my rescue, Cecilia pulled me back and wrapped her arms around me as if trying to protect me.
"Is that a challenge? Fine, I'll accept that!" the two girls went into a staring contest. I'll admit, it was kind of frustrating when I'm watching those trashy harem animes back then. Now that I'm in such a situation, it was really stressing.
"Kaede… you've become so strong…"
"Uh, Mei. Could you stop staring and break them up already?" Aria replied, watching Cecilia and Kaede worriedly.
Thanks to Murasame's intervention, the staring contest between the two ended up abruptly. Aria wanted to discuss about the holy church by now, of course, I don't care whether their fate would be shattered, but having a mass riot would be problematic so I proposed a plan.
Since Ri-chan was pretty famous, why not make her an apostle or something for a fake Ouranos, that way, they'll think that the original Ouranos is a fake one.
"Ahem. What I wanted to discuss were the rumors you asked me to spread regarding the fate of the Holy Church, Guren-san... Surprisingly enough, people believe them. It appears Rika-san's fame as the Fertility Goddess is greater than I expected."
"I see. Well, people believe what they want to, after all. Especially when the story's exaggerated and sentimental. I didn't think there'd be any problems. The real question is how well the story'll hold up when people start digging deeper... Well, no point worrying about it."
"Indeed. Though I still find it difficult to believe that our entire faith was built upon a lie... It's fine if one or two individuals know, but if the truth gets out to the public, we'll have riots in the streets. Your suggestion was truly a lifesaver, Guren-san. Thank you very much."
She just spread it out as a rumor but it was good that it's selling really well. Namely, that an evil god had brainwashed the high-ranking bishops. Aria had claimed that they had been the ones to betray the capital to the demons.
Which was why, according to Aria, Ri-chan had reluctantly taken up arms against the corrupted church.
The Pope had fought valiantly together with her and died in the resulting conflict.
Supposedly Ri-chan sword that turned into flames and annihilated the demon army.
Or at least, that was the story Aria told people.
It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't technically a lie either. At the very least, the most important facts were true.
Furthermore, Ri-chan had gone around telling people that this new evil god was going around masquerading as Ouranos. And that if they wanted to stay true to the teachings of the real Ouranos, they needed to start thinking for themselves. For otherwise, they would be led astray. They needed to decide what was right and wrong for themselves, and not just rely on the teachings of the Holy Church. It was only by doing so that they would be able to honor the pope's memory. On top of giving such speeches, Rika had also attended Ishtar's memorial service.
This story also helped avert the panic that would occur if Aria had just told everyone the god, they'd believed in was a deranged lunatic. All would burn.
"I see. You like to plan pretty far ahead, Guren-kun. I guess that's why you only told Ri-chan the truth of what you'd learned at first too..."
"I hope you don't think that I'm just some idiot who went guns blazing every time. Well, I got scolded for telling the truth, when Will heard of it, but he helped me fabricate a cover story to go well, in case it goes out in the world."
"Fufu. I didn't mean it like that. I was praising your foresight. If anything, it's reassuring that you think this far ahead."
Murasame looked at me, impressed. I simply shrugged in response.
Kaede and Cecilia glared at her, angry that she understood me in some way that they didn't. Murasame started when she noticed their glares and stammered.
"Wh-What? What's wrong?"
"Cecilia, what do you think?"
"Hmm... She's still okay. They're just friends for now."
"I suppose. For now, anyway..."
"Mhm... We must be careful."
Cecilia and Kaede whispered to each other. Murasame couldn't hear them, but she had a sinking feeling she knew what they were discussing.
I'm getting scared at this two, whatever they're talking about, I want no part of it.
Teacher, Rika Akiyama
That evening, a single figure stood in front of the massive monument honoring the spirits of Rocheforte's dead. The sun's final rays cast the palace grounds a dazzling shade of crimson, and the monument cast a long shadow into the mountain wall from which it had been carved.
"I'm so sorry..." Rika muttered.
Numerous flowers and offerings dotted the monument; many brave soldiers had died recently.
The battle was still too recent for the dead to have all been tallied, so the most recent casualties didn't have their names carved into the stone yet. Once all of the names were in though, Captain Noel would be the first to be added here.
Among the offerings, Rika spotted a pair of weapons that she recognized. A longsword and a spear. They had been the artifacts of choice for two of Rika's students— Daichi Hayama and Renji Kondou.
Rika wasn't even sure what she was apologizing for anymore. Was she sorry she'd never be able to bring them back to Japan? Sorry that her students had caused the deaths of innocent people? Or sorry that she herself had killed so many? Dispirited, Rika hung her head. She only stirred when she heard footsteps heading her way.
Rika knew he'd made his footfalls heavy to alert her of his presence. Asher normally walked much quieter.
Rika slowly turned around.
"Guren-kun..."
"Fancy meeting you here, Sensei."
Her eyes met his. The fading orange light of the sunset was reflected in his clear pupils. In his hands he carried a single flower. It appeared he'd come here to make an offering. Rika was surprised that Asher of all people would do such a thing.
Asher saw the bewilderment on her face and smiled awkwardly.
"I've buried dozens of my comrades, even I feel sad when people die, Sensei."
"Huh? Oh, uh, I didn't mean to imply that..." Flustered, Rika flailed her arms around wildly. She hadn't expected to hear such hurt in Asher's voice.
He shrugged his shoulders, indicating that it wasn't a big deal, and silently walked up to the monument.
Rika kept shooting him sidelong glances, but his attention was completely occupied by the memorial in front of him. It seemed he had no intention of talking, either.
Rika found the silence unbearable, and spoke more to dispel the gloomy atmosphere than anything.
"Umm, are those flowers... for Hayama-kun and Kondou-kun?"
"Hell no. They're for Noel."
Asher raised an eyebrow at Rika. You seriously thought that?
"Why Noel-san...?"
"Well, it's not like we knew each other that well or anything, but I respected that guy. He was the country's knight commander. He could have had anything, but he still worked so hard for us. And even though he messed up a bunch of times, he always kept on trying to improve himself... He deserves at least this one flower for all of that."
"Guren-kun... Yes, I suppose he does..." Rika watched Asher with a gentle look in her eyes. She was glad there was still so much humanity left in Asher. He might kill his enemies without any mercy, but he also mourned for those he cared about. Enough that he was willing to bring an offering to their graves.
In truth, Asher had just wanted to escape being dragged into the bath by Cecilia and Kaede. He'd been walking down the palace halls and spotted a flower in a vase, and had thought bringing Noel an offering would be a good way to kill time. Of course, he didn't mention that to Rika. Besides, he'd meant what he said. He may have come here on a whim, but he truly believed Noel was someone who deserved to be remembered.
Asher put thoughts of Noel in the back of his mind and focused his attention on Rika.
"You're not blaming me..."
"Huh?" Rika tilted her head in confusion.
"About Hayama's death. This isn't like what happened with Yukitoshi. Sure, maybe monsters were the direct cause of his death, but I'm the one who killed him. I killed one of your precious students. Kondou too. Even if he was already dead, I was the one that ripped apart his body. I figured you'd be mad at me."
"..." Rika's smile vanished, replaced by a brooding frown.
Asher waited patiently, giving Rika as much time as she needed.
The two of them stood there silently for what seemed like hours.
Finally, Rika spoke hesitantly.
"To be honest, I'm not sure it's that simple. Hayama-kun murdered Nishimiya-san. That's not something I think can be easily forgiven. Of course, I do think he should have lived so he could repent for his crimes, but I can understand your choice. The same goes for what you did to Kondou-kun. You must have been furious, Guren-kun. You cared deeply for Nishimiya-san, and she had been murdered before your eyes... It would be unfair of me to get angry at you just because this wasn't the outcome I hoped for. Besides, I no longer have the right to judge you." Rika crossed her arms and absently rubbed her elbows, as if trying to warm herself up.
"Because of what you did to the Holy Church?"
"..." She nodded silently. Asher's words and Bella's restoration magic had helped Rika keep her sanity right after the events. But as time passed, the guilt had started eating away at her again.
Asher noticed that there were dark circles under Rika's eyes that she'd hidden with makeup. She hadn't been sleeping well the past few days. She probably sees nightmares about that explosion.
Silence returned to the small field they were in. Asher didn't know what to say.
Unable to withstand the oppressive silence, Rika once again spoke up.
"Guren-kun... doesn't it ever bother you?"
"The fact that I've killed people? No, not really. the comrades that I had to put down, they're the ones that haunts me, so I can't really say I can sympathize, those parts broke away from me a long time ago"
"....." Rika's looked sadly up at her student. It pained her that Asher had suffered so much that he'd been forced to throw away parts of his humanity to survive.
"No one... blames me."
"Hm?"
Rika's true feelings spilled out.
"No one blames me for killing them. My students still look at me the same, and the people in the palace even thank me for what I did."
It was true. The other students had been too shocked by Asher's display of brutality to think much of the fact that Rika had killed a couple of bishops and the pope. In fact, they respected her for fighting on their behalf. The nobles and ministers, too, all were grateful to Rika for saving them from Rasiel's brainwashing.
"I told Arthur-san and the others what I'd done, but all they said was that they needed some time to think. Even though I was the one who destroyed the foundations of their faith, even they didn't blame me." Rika bit her lip so hard she drew blood.
She wanted someone to condemn her. After all, she was a murderer. Knowledge of that sin was a heavy burden. Only madmen and monsters thought nothing of killing. Most people would be agonized by guilt.
It would actually have eased her pain if someone condemned her for her crimes, which was why Rika had unconsciously looked for someone to denounce her. However, no one did.
Asher was confident that Tetsurou would have been able to obliterate the Holy Church even without Rika's help. It might have taken some more time, but he would have done it. So, to Asher, it felt like Rika was taking on too much responsibility for something that wasn't really her fault. He scratched his cheek awkwardly, looking for the right words to say.
"I mean, in the end, it was Tetsu's frost pillar that killed everyone. You just helped him do it, right, Sensei? You don't have to take responsibility for all of their deaths..."
"That doesn't matter! At that time... I helped Akagi-kun knowing that it might lead to their deaths. That makes me no different from a murderer!"
Rika retorted with more vehemence than Asher expected. Embarrassed by her outburst, she shrunk back into herself.
After a moment's silence, Asher asked her a question.
"Do you regret helping?"
"Ah... No. I was prepared for the consequences... There was no way I could ignore what the pope and the bishops were trying to do... And I didn't want Akagi-kun to die... Plus, if I'd left them alone, it would have been my students who would have suffered later, so..."
Pained though her voice was, there wasn't an ounce of regret in it. She'd known the Pope was trying to help Rasiel kill Tetsurou. And she'd also known that the rest of her students would be next. She'd resolved herself to dirtying her own hands, if it meant saving them.
Even now, she still believed that was the right decision. But that logic didn't help ease the anguish she felt at being a murderer. Feelings weren't rational, after all.
Asher let out an inaudible sigh. I'm the student here, so how come I'm the one who has to give out advice? I just came here to kill time, too... He thought
Asher glanced about, trying to think of the right words to say.
"Sensei, are you going to continue being my teacher?"
"What?" Rika didn't expect that line of questioning. She remembered Asher asking her something similar before.
Back then she'd replied "Of course!" without hesitation, but now...
"..." She hesitated. Was it really alright for someone who'd murdered to guide others?
Rika grit her teeth so hard they almost cracked. She felt incredibly conflicted. Asher knew she'd have a hard time replying, so he continued.
"If you still want to keep being our teacher, even after this... could you listen to this one selfish request of mine?"
"A selfish... request?" Rika looked up at him in confusion. Her face was pale, and she looked ready to collapse at any minute.
"Yeah." Asher turned away from the monument and looked Rika in the eyes.
There was a warmth to his gaze that sucked Rika in. She felt a little more reassured.
Asher saw himself reflected in Rika's eyes, and felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders. He made sure to choose his words carefully. But no matter how carefully he phrased it, his request was certainly the epitome of selfishness.
"Sensei... I want you to hold on to that guilt you feel forever. I want you to feel burdened by it. I want you to do things the right way. Fight for the right reasons, agonize over those you kill, and cry about what you've done. To me, you're the most human person here. You feel all these emotions I've long since lost... You're the role model I look up to as what it means to be truly human. That's why I want you to continue suffering. Because you're the example I'm learning from. I think, if I keep watching you, I'll at least be able to act more like a human should when we return to Japan."
"Guren-kun..." Rika's eyes opened wide in surprise. Asher hadn't tried to comfort her, or condemn her. No, he'd asked her to continue suffering.
Yet it was these words that chased away the dark clouds that hung about her heart. This selfish request had done what no amount of comfort or condemnation could have.
Accepting the consequences and necessity of her actions would be the hardest thing Rika had ever done. Especially because of how traumatizing the event had been. There had already been so many times she'd wanted to just run away from what she'd did, or broken under the strain. There would probably many more times like this in the future, too. But her personality and her resolve wouldn't let her. That would just make the ordeal more painful.
She only knew she could do it because there would always be someone there to prop her back up if she was about to collapse. Someone who'd lost his humanity, but was trying his best to remember what it meant to be human.
This really is the most selfish request I've ever heard. It was a merciless, kind request. Clear teardrops streaked down Rika's cheeks. She'd held in her tears all this time, but now the dam finally burst.
Asher turned away awkwardly and mentioned one last thing.
"Well, if you absolutely feel like you can't bear it anymore... and there's no one else you can rely on... and I mean no one else... I don't mind lending you a shoulder to cry on."
"You... really are..." Rika smiled weakly and leaned against Asher's back. He was purposely acting like he hadn't seen her already start crying.
"In that case, I'd like to borrow your shoulder for a little bit, Guren-kun."
"Go for it, Sensei."
Rika leaned into Asher, entrusting herself to him. Crying, she reaffirmed her dedication to always being everyone's teacher. And to always bear the sins of what she'd done. She felt that as long a certain selfish student of hers was watching, she could keep on going.
Their shadows elongated as the sun slipped below the horizon. Rika's sobs were the only thing that could be heard in the darkening palace grounds.
Once Rika had finished crying everything out, the two of them had returned to the palace. Rika's flushed face and embarrassed expression raised a lot of eyebrows, and Asher broke out into a cold sweat when he realized how this looked to Cecilia and the others.
Cecilia, Stella and Kaede had then dragged Asher into their room.
In the end, Arthur and the others returned to serve under Rika again. It appeared their love for her had won over any loyalty they might have felt to the Holy Church.
Traveling with Rika had introduced them to many different ways of thinking, and their perspective on the world was different from when they'd first been assigned as her guards. Plus, they'd started growing suspicious of the Holy Church when The Pope had refused to let them meet Rika and ordered them to remain on standby in the capital.
Naturally, the knowledge that Ouranos cared nothing for them and that the Holy Church had been decimated had still come as a shock. But in the end, they'd come to accept that they couldn't hate Rika, and that she'd made the right decision.
It was of course possible that they were just looking for something to cling to. For they had converted and become adherents of the Fertility Goddess Rika. Either way, they had sworn to protect her with their lives.
Their love for Rika had sublimated into a kind of cult fanaticism, but it was possible that was what they needed to accept the destruction of the Holy Church.
"Ash is such a player~ if you want someone to play with, you can always start with me~"
"Asher-kun… you really should be more careful about what you say to people."
"Did our roles switched? I feel like I'm turning into the old you"
The Three complained about Asher while eating dinner in the main hall. Asher ignored their pointed glares and continued enjoying the splendid feast laid out before him.
Next to him, Cecilia said nothing, but she was pouting the whole time. Considering the situation, she couldn't really blame Asher for doing what he had, but that didn't change the fact that Rika might have viewed him in a new light as a love interest than a student.
"Ash, do you think Rika will break?" When Asher had told her, what had happened between him and Rika, Cecilia had grown a little worried. Asher lowered his fork and thought about it for a few seconds.
"Meh… she'll be fine. She's too stubborn to break at this point"
"I see. That's good." Cecilia's gaze softened, and Asher smiled.
"Tch! I knew I really couldn't win against Cicy, she's always two steps ahead"
"Is this... what makes Cecilia better than me? Gah, I won't lose! I definitely won't lose to her!"
"Of course, I've been with Asher since the beginning, I knew how he thinks"
Stella looked shocked, while Kaede was gritting her teeth in frustration, and Tetsu just sighed heavily. Cecilia puffed her chest proudly in response, Asher simply stroked her hair and smiled wryly.
Hayato and the other students walked into the dining hall, interrupting the party's lively meal. Rika was with them as well, so everyone who'd been summoned from earth was gathered here.
Asher looked over at them and raised an eyebrow. He'd actually asked what time Hayato and the others usually ate so that he could pick a time they weren't there. However, it seemed his plan had failed.
So much for planning. Asher thought and returned to his meal. Cecilia went back to eating as well.
The classmates all milled about uncertainly. Some were brimming with curiosity, others weren't sure how to approach Asher and his friends, while others felt uncomfortable in their presence.
They kept on shooting Asher furtive looks throughout their meal. The students all knew by now that he had absolutely no interest in any of them, and didn't see himself as one of their comrades anymore, which was why they hesitated to speak to him. Rika was shooting Asher glances as well, but for a very different reason.
"Ah, Mei-chan! Come sit with us!"
"Is it really alright if I sit next to you guys?"
"Of course, it is."
Since when did Kaede became part of the group? Asher thought, but since coming back, Kaede renounced her declaration to steal Asher from Cecilia, she kept sticking with them the whole time. It's not like he wasn't used to it, but Kaede's aggressive advances made him uncomfortable if not scary.
Hayato sat down next to Mei, and Haru and Rika settled in across from them. That put Rika directly next to Cecilia.
The other classmates all settled in on either side of Asher's party. Haru appeared to be rather nervous in the presence of Cecilia. When she first sat down, she stammered some odd words.
"S-Sorry for interrupting your meal, ma'am..."
Cecilia tilted her head, wondering why Haru had referred to her as "ma'am."
The moment Hayato and the others were seated, the palace servants brought out food for them. It was the same high-quality fare they had served Asher.
As everyone began eating, Rika accidentally met Asher's eyes. She blushed beet-red and turned away. After a few more furtive glances, Rika whispered,
"U-Umm, Guren-kun... If possible... could you not tell anyone..."
Cecilia felt a little miffed that the two of them were talking with her sitting right in between them, but she held it in. She knew how embarrassing it must have been for Rika to cry in front of Asher, and she could understand wanting to make sure he didn't say anything to anyone else.
Asher mentally thanked Cecilia for not saying anything and turned his gaze to Rika.
When their eyes met again, Rika blushed to the tips of her ears. Shizuku and the others knew it was already too late to do anything about Rika's infatuation, but that didn't stop them from glaring at Asher. Fortunately, the other students couldn't see Rika from their angle, so most of them didn't even notice. Only Hayato and the other frontliners sitting nearby saw, but they didn't immediately understand the reason for Rika's blushing.
Atsushi and the other male members of Ai-chan's guard squad all glared resentfully at Asher.
"That bastard, he's totally gotten her to fall for him now," they muttered under their breath.
Rin, Ranko, and Airi tried to look uninterested, but it was obvious they were trying to sneak glances at Rika and Asher.
"What are you talking about, Sensei? Did something happen?"
"Huh?"
Asher put on a perfect act. For a second, Rika was confused, but then she realized he was playing dumb on purpose and smiled knowingly.
"No, of course not," she replied.
Though it was a little vexing that Asher was always looking out for her, Rika felt a little happy about it too. She smiled faintly.
The more they watched, the angrier all of the girls got at Asher. Only Cecilia was still on his side. She patted his shoulder affectionately and started feeding him food.
Such was the power of the main heroine. She was on a completely different level from the others.
I really do have the best girl in the world! Asher fell for Cecilia all over again. As he was mentally thanking Cecilia, Stella tugged on his sleeve from the other side.
"Ash-kun~ say ahhh…" Stella tried to spoon fed him, but knowing what kind of personality the spoon feeder was, Asher nonchalantly insulted her.
"What's this? Are you giving me leftovers? Want me to punch you?"
"Wha! You're being spoon fed by a beautiful girl, be grateful and accept it already!"
"Who praises their own self, you thick skinned bitch!"
"AH!! You called me bitch! I'll show you who's thick skinned here!"
"Oh! Bring it on! You whiny brat"
Asher got up on his feet with the knife and fork on his hand and started having a sword match of dining utensils with Stella.
The others were baffled by the duo's attitude about trying to kill each other with utensils, and yet, Tetsurou and Cecilia were eating normally like it was common occurrence. In fact it was indeed common occurrence for the two to clash without Hime to keep them in check that is.
The moment the two got tired, they sat back down huffing.
"You… you win this time"
"Yeah? You just give up too quickly you weakling"
The two started eating again like nothing really happened, but Kaede wasn't gonna give up on this chance and made her move.
Kaede thrust her fork out to Asher intending to feed him.
"A-Asher-kun, have some of mine too! Say aaah!"
Asher wanted to ignore her, but he knew that Kaede was too stubborn to give up on feeding him.
"Just this once"
Asher bite off the food on the fork of Kaede then went back to eating his own food.
"This is... starting to get really awkward..." Mei muttered, her expression stiff. Haru, Hayato, and Ryu all grimaced awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Tetsurou was smiling with a deadpan expression on his face, trying to console them.
"You'll get used to it"
For a moment, Rika considered trying to feed Asher as well, but then snapped back to reality and mentally berated herself for even considering such a thing. The others ignored her one-woman comedy act.
Fortunately, the other girls all started squealing to each other, dispelling the awkward atmosphere. They'd been afraid of Asher before, but now they were gossiping about his love life. On the day Asher had left, no one would have even imagined that he would have returned with a harem of girls. It stood to reason that all of the girls in the class were burning with curiosity regarding his relationships.
Even the guys had stopped being so timid around Asher. Though that was mostly because they were burning with jealous rage instead.
The two girls in Asher's party was a beauty without peer. Stella especially drew a lot of attention. Otaku or not, most guys found the blond haired Ojou-sama added with her bubbly attitude irresistible.
But no matter how jealous they were, no matter how badly they wanted to ask Asher the secret to getting Terria girls to fall for him, none of the guys had the courage to speak to him.
They felt bad for making fun of him before, back when they'd all thought he was incompetent. Furthermore, the innate pressure Asher exuded made it hard to go up to him.
Only those who had spent some time with Asher were able to converse normally with him. And those that could, like Nagayama, Rin and Ranko, were eager to ask him questions.
But before they could engage him, Asher turned his attention to Kaede, who was blushing while looking at her fork.
After a moment's deliberation she came to a decision and apologetically popped the fork into her mouth. She blushed even deeper.
Asher was about to say something scathing like "What are you, twelve!?" but Cecilia beat him to the punch.
Kaede noticed Cecilia's gaze on her and met her eyes. It was then that Cecilia pounced.
"Pervert..."
"Y-You've got it all wrong! I'm not a pervert! I-I was just eating my dinner!"
"Dinner seasoned with a side of Asher."
"Th-That's not true!"
Kaede hurriedly denied even though she had the empty fork in her mouth. Asher was certain at this point, Kaede was someone who's gonna go to extreme lengths just to get him to fall for him.
"I want to go home…"
With the banter of Cecilia and Kaede and slowly exposing his secrets out in the open. He simply wished at this point to go home back into his workshop, distracted with all his tinkering with the weapons and tools they needed.