Chapter 80: Situation Solved? Or…
—
"I like you too. I like all three of you."
When I said that to Mai, the silence stretched, the audience around us exchanged looks and some looked nervous about what was about to transpire.
Naturally, the girls didn't look happy or impressed by my stupid words. At least Akane and Mai, since Mem-Cho already knew about my situation.
People say a person can only fall in love three times in their life. Considering the 'life' in the context of this saying is the average human lifespan, which is around 100 years, immortal beings should be able to fall in love more times.
Being someone as old as me who has seen many diverse worlds, I have fallen in love thousands of times. Not all are noteworthy, but love is love. By now, my mind and soul have adapted to love more than one girl. It's not a lie.
However, it'd be untrue if I said I loved these three little girls. I liked them, but that was it. Although I had ten thousand lovers, real "love" still came to me rarely. These three girls were mere fun to be around.
Obviously, I'm not going to tell them this. My current grave was deep enough, I don't have to make it deeper.
"All right," Mem-Cho looked at the other two girls. "You heard what he said. I am sure you don't believe that, but at least, now you know what kind of guy he is."
She walked in front of me and looked at me from above; I was still sitting on the bench. "I believe him. At least, I believe that he likes me. So I'm going to go out with him. Since you two don't believe him, leave us alone."
Ah.
Is she…?
I see. That's bold.
Mem-Cho reached out a hand at me. "See, 'your' Akane is speechless. So I am your only choice now."
I looked at her hand. I looked at the other two girls and seeing them frowning at me, I sighed and accepted Mem-Cho's hand.
At least I tried to. Akane gently shoved Mem's hand away and accepted my hand. "Even if… he's delusional and likes too many girls, he likes me the most. How can I let down his feelings? I don't mind that he likes you two, I'll just have to make him lose that feeling with my love overtime."
"..."
I stared at Akane's hand that held me. She was surprisingly possessive.
Mem scoffed and grabbed my other hand. "You're not any less delusional than him. Do you even know what his favorite food is? His favorite music? How can you return his feelings for you if you don't even know him well?"
Akane frowned but had nothing to reply back. Two girls were holding my hand now.
"I… I'll get to know him as time passes,"
"And I will make him fall for me and me alone by then," Mem said. "If you are so confident that he loves you, how about you date him with me? Three months. Give it three months and then we'll see who can stick with him, whose chemistry is the best."
Akane's eyes widened, "You… Are you suggesting an open relationship right now?"
"What? No. I meant it in a polygamous way. It's a free world. In modern times, we can do anything we want - we can date any way we want too. Why, are you scared? Hah." Mem scoffed. "Let go of his hand, then. Leave him with me."
Akane looked hesitant, her face contorted in a frown. Before she could say anything, Mai stepped between the two girls and grabbed both of my wrists with her hands. All three girls were grabbing me now.
"That sounds like a fun… game," More than actually fighting for my heart, this girl was simply amused at messing up the situation more. She was grinning softly as she stared into my eyes. "Three girls and three months, enough time to prove to us that you really like all of us. Don't you think that sounds like a fair deal?"
I don't like this. I only needed a girlfriend to leave the house, I could have other girls on the side without the responsibilities of a girlfriend—but now that was not going to happen. Three girlfriends at once sound like a pain and a time waster. Ugh.
From the subtle smile on Mem-Cho's lips, I realized this was her plan all along. She wasn't trying to help me though, she was just fucking me over because she knew I'd be able to seduce both Mai and herself over time if I chose just Akane now. So she made the game hard for me, just to get an act of naughty revenge on me.
'Haah,'
She's cute.
But she'll get punished for this.
Fine. It's not like I have anything really urgent to do, anyway. I can spend time on this.
"That…" I started, faking a nervous smile. "Haha, yes. That sounds fantastic."
The cameras finally rolled down as the Season came to an end. Everyone still stared at the four of us, and a few guys began to whistle, including the adults. The reason was simple, I had done something on Live TV that hadn't happened before.
I have three girlfriends now. Dammit.
– Slap
– Slap
Mem and Mai let go of my hands and threw a slap to either of my cheeks… While Akane just frowned and pinched my nose. The three girls looked at me one last time before walking away.
"...."
I shall count all of these hits against that Quetzalcoatl woman. I'll return these to her one day. Snake bitch.
* * *
[Third Person Point of View]
God-in-Spirit Quetzalcoatl sipped wine as she watched the TV. The ending was quite enjoyable. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly entertained.
"This was great," she slowly walked near the window and opened it. "Let's pay them a visit. Hehehe, I should 'congratulate' that Aqua brat."
She loved the annoyed face he was hiding in the end. Oh, it was always fun when she saw plans get trampled over.
Quetzalcoatl leaped out of the window of this skyscraper, and let the wind carry her toward the park.
* * *
The Hoshino household was filled with a dangerous aura. Ruby stared at her mother in fear who was glaring at the TV.
"Um, m-mama?"
"Aqua! Aqua! That little bastard!"
Ai broke her deadly silence at Ruby's call and threw the remote at the TV, causing it to shoot through the 72" monitor.
Asia hid behind a couch with Tsubasa by her side. For once, Tsubasa looked very mad and annoyed. She was fine with him getting a girlfriend, but that was mostly because she assumed it'd be Mem-Cho who he'd choose. But what was this?
"This guy…" she muttered. "Hah. Why is he like this?"
"Why is everyone so scary today…" Asia muttered as she quickly distanced herself from Tsubasa and regrouped with Ruby.
* * *
Across Japan, many other girls that Aqua knew were having similar reactions.
Arima Kana was gritting her teeth and cursing him, since while they didn't share any romantic situation, Kana had a slight crush on him. Just a little bit. Now that was turned into resentment.
"He… He is so disgusting!" was what she thought.
Shoko Nishimiya showed less reaction on the outside but felt more than anyone else on the inside. It bewildered her more why he treated her like a normal friend while he had enough desire and vigor to go claim multiple girlfriends.
What was wrong with her…?
Other than them, there was one girl who found this amusing instead. The only one.
* * *
Rias Gremory giggled to herself as she sat in her Limousine and watched the episode air on the screen hanging from the roof.
"He's so cute…" she said with a strange smile. "Don't you agree?"
The maid who sat across from her, her sister-in-law, Grayfia Lucifuge, maintained her silence at the question.
Instead, she scowled. "Rias, it's high time you quit obsessing over other men. Your Rating Game is in a few hours. You'll be married to your husband after that."
Rias groaned. "You're talking as if you are certain he will win? Support me a little!"
"Hm," Grayfia hummed and looked away.
The car moved for a few more minutes after the episode ended. At one point, it came to a pause and Grayfia stepped out of it. She held the door open for Rias as she too stepped out, finding herself in the front gate of Muir Woods National Monument Park.
"They're they are!" Rias pointed an excited finger forward, where the cast and crew of LoveMy were walking. They were walking out of the park, ready to leave.
The girls were walking together, two of them frowning while the other two looked relaxed, while the boys walked together too. They were patting Aqua on the back who was just smiling and laughing at the compliments.
Rias ran to them, but Grayfia yanked her by an arm and made her walk normally. The two ladies walked toward the group and Rias waved a hand. "Hey, Aqua~!"
She jumped and threw her arms around his neck. Grayfia tried to stop her but it was too late as Rias was already hugging him, pressing her chin against his while smiling. Immediately, three girls glared at Rias and Aqua as he quickly pushed her back with a fake cough.
"Ah Rias, what a coincidence to see you here…"
"Coincidence? We had this planned, c'mon. You didn't forget, did you? I told you I'll find you when the Season ends, right? I am here to take you to my 'hometown'." Rias said with a charming smile as the glare from the three girls intensified.
What did it mean if a girl came to a guy and offered to take him to her hometown? From the way she hugged him and how happy she looked, the girls didn't have to think for long to reach a conclusion.
"Aqua, you-"
One of the girls yelled, but Aqua quickly spoke over her. "Ah right, your engagement ceremony, you did invite me to attend."
The girls went silent upon hearing that. 'So she's getting engaged to somebody…' They thought as they looked at Rias. That meant she was safe, right?
"Mhm, yes. Do you need some time to prepare?" Rias said though she frowned a little when he mentioned the word engagement. It was not an engagement ceremony; it was a rating game held to stop that ceremony.
"We don't have time for that," Grayfia stepped in, looking at Aqua. "We are in a bit of a hurry. We already have permission from the Producer to take you, so you don't need to worry about that part. We should leave right now."
Aqua was curious about their connection with the Producer, but it wasn't exactly hard to guess – it wasn't even important.
The important part was—should he go? He was in his Venerable One mindset back when he agreed, he didn't care about the threat it would pose to him if he went to the Underworld. It was basically an enemy territory since he was going to attend an event where the Phenex Clan would be present.
Sadly, at this point, there was no backing off. They were here to pick him up, it'd be bad to put them down. So although there was possible danger present, he decided to go - just as promised.
He looked back at his… three girlfriends and waved at them.
"I will see you guys back in Japan, then." He cut the tall short and allowed the two Devils to lead him to the limo.
Just when they were about to step in the car, a voice boomed behind them.
"Hoh~?" It was said in a low tone, but it carries radical authority. I knew who it was even before looking back. "I thought you had a bad relationship with this kind of… people, Aqua?"
She didn't outright call them Devils since there were normal humans present around us. The Battle Goddess stopped behind us, as Grayfia frowned, beginning to sweat.
"But here you are, getting into the car with their Princess?" Quetzalcoatl tilted her head at me while smiling gently. Yet the glint in her emerald eyes was anything but gentle. "Care to explain?"
…This fucking bitch had the audacity to demand me for an explanation? When she was the one who messed up my plans?
'Filthy Reptile Slut. This whore of a Goddess dares to-'
The arrogant part of me wanted to tear her apart, but my logical mind knew I had no power to be arrogant in front of her. Yet. I had to tread carefully since I was weak at the moment.
"I am friends with Rias, but not her entire kind. Don't pretend to not understand me, since you're close with Mem yourself." I brought my girlfriend into this and saw the Goddess smirk.
"Of course. I was just kidding. No need to explain every little detail," the bitch said. Instead, she looked at Grayfia. "Hoh, it's the legendary Maid…. Does your car have enough space for an Aztec?"
Oh. She wanted to go to the underworld?
"Were you invited?" Grayfia, who was sweating, still managed to not give in to the Goddess' demand right away.
"Are you saying Aztecs aren't invited to your 'hometown'?" Quetzalcoatl raised an eyebrow, making Grayfia sweat more.
Earlier, I was curious about the difference between an Ultimate Class Devil, as in the Satans, and a Chief God. Looks like I got my answer already.
"I have a very important topic to discuss with your husband and his colleagues," she said, eyeing me. She must be talking about how the Devils stole Xolotl's Box. "I am not lying. Give me a lift."
Grayfia sighed. "Fine. Just… don't cause any trouble."
Quetzalcoatl smiled. "Of course. Ah and, can I take someone else with me?"
"...."
Quetzalcoatl looked at the humans to the side and pointed at the half-devil between them. "Memmy, come here. You said you never saw that place, right? I'll give you a tour. With me by your side, nobody shall bother you."
Oh.
That's not a bad idea.
Actually, none of this was a bad idea. Even though I and Quetzalcoatl had somewhat of a beef between us, I'm sure she'd take my side against the devils if they tried to harm me.
No, I can't be sure at this point. Never trust a snake.
But at least she'd take Mem's side, I was sure of that. So it's great that she's tagging along. It's better that Mem-Cho is coming as well. I wanted to have a talk with her as soon as possible, after all.
"A Half…" Grayfia immediately noticed Mem-Cho's energy and frowned. A moment later, she nodded, as she didn't see any reason to not bring her.
Mem looked nervous yet excited as she quickly walked to us. She waved the others goodbye.
"Bye guys and girls~"
"Bye…"
"...."
Mai Senpai was crossing her arms, tilting her head, and staring at us. I don't think a Yokai like her was interested in coming to the underworld with us, so I didn't say anything. Akane did seem to be curious about where we were going, but it's not a good idea to bring a human who has a Dark Magic book in her soul to the underworld.
The show Director and other filming crew members didn't stop us, which wasn't odd since I noticed the mind control spell that Grayfia had used on them. She will probably notify the Producer about Mem coming along, so there shouldn't be any issue after they regain their senses.
Therefore, under many gazes, the five of us entered the Limo as it began to trail off.
Soon, we found ourselves in the land of the Devils.
The Underworld.
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