Chapter 20: Sisters' Reunion (4)
Benjamin took some time to explain what football was, but that only increased Estelle's confusion as to how playing this game would be enough to save her older sister from getting devoured by the foreign soul within her.
That much was left to Moon, and it was only up to her whether Estelle would learn the truth.
Before long, the three of them were seated by the table in the kitchen.
The shrine now had a couple, so the seats were different, with Benjamin and Estelle sitting beside each other. Moon was across them, waiting for her little fluff to finish the dinner.
Since Moon had to eat a lot, Estelle cooked lots for her. She happily went around the kitchen while preparing Moon's favorite dish—pancakes.
It was mainly thanks to Benjamin that she could even make this dish as he invested money into her.
While Estelle was tending to her duties, Benjamin and Moon naturally had a lot of room for a talk.
He leaned on the table and rested his head on his palm, "Could we become honest?"
"I don't think so," Moon replied, reclining on the soft carpet with her arms behind her back. She had unconsciously pushed out her chest, which was like a main appetizer, which she belatedly realized but not retracted.
Benjamin sighed and said, "You've been staring at me oddly, you know?"
"That much I can tell," Moon flatly replied, hiding her feelings. It had drawn a relieved sigh from Benjamin as she must have been aware of her feelings.
That helped him as he didn't know what he would have to do if she was not aware of it herself. He had never seen or dealt with anyone like her, and he could easily confirm it with his Investor's Keen Eye.
Benjamin added, "Fine. Just so you know, I'll speak with Estelle about it once it becomes uncomfortable. I don't know what's going on in your head, but it's the first time I've sensed anything like that."
Ignoring what Benjamin had said first, Moon widened her eyes and flung herself forward, leaning over the table with her abundant chest resting on it, "Really?! First time?!"
Benjamin nodded.
Moon's eyes twinkled, but only for a few seconds as she returned to her initial position and sighed. Once again, Benjamin couldn't tell what was going on in this woman's head.
Estelle had caught Moon's loud voice, however.
She came over and smiled, "Has Benjamin told you about his nickname? Hehe! He's so cool, right?!"
"Nickname?" Moon glanced at her sister before pressuring Benjamin to mention his moniker. Once she learned that he was The Executioner, Moon froze and stared at him like a broken statue.
Estelle grinned before returning to making pancakes.
Benjamin didn't even know how to react by now.
"The Executioner… oh my little fluff, you're in such good hands. I recall Mother wanting to use The Executioner's name, and she seemed to have some credence to this move…" Moon smiled and relaxed. "Let's throw our problems out of the window and speak about concretes."
"You're the one with problems," Benjamin corrected her. "Or you want to tell me that none of your problems are behind you nearly succumbing to the killing intent?"
"Want to learn about that?" Moon casually said, surprising Benjamin. He had expected her to hide that problem and was sure that her odd reactions were related to it.
Was he mistaken?
He nodded.
Moon smirked, "I'm impatient by nature. Really impatient! I'm also really simple!"
"Not gonna lie, that spells trouble," Benjamin replied without considering his words. If those two factors had been behind her nearly losing herself to the foreign existence within her, then her being an impatient simpleton was quite dangerous.
At the very least, she wasn't mentally weak like Benjamin had believed.
"No need to tell me that. I got myself into lots of trouble because of it," Moon recalled her past, and her smile softened, "I took all that the bitch within me caused upfront and said 'So what?' without trying to solve anything. It felt like such a chore and not like I could tell anyone other than Mother and Sun I was losing myself when the moon hung above me… right, how long till full moon?"
"Ask Estelle," Benjamin replied while changing his assessment of Moon.
She nodded and continued, "So, Benjamin. You're investing in protagonists! Come and invest in me. That will be the real thank you for saving my ass."
Moon narrowed her eyes and tilted her head as though someone had thrown a punch at her.
"Ah, she's still sleeping," Moon awkwardly scratched her neck and coughed to hide her embarrassment. The eldest sister, Sun, always smashed Moon's head whenever she used vulgar language.
Alas, Sun was still in a coma.
Benjamin didn't think too much about it and contributed that odd reaction to Moon simply being odd.
Before their talk continued, however, Estelle came with plates and served them a meal. Benjamin and Moon thanked her for the food and dug in. Once again, the lack of Sun allowed Moon to eat without caring about her etiquette.
Much as Benjamin was informal, Moon was too casual, and that was the gentlest wording Benjamin could have used to label her way of eating.
Estelle turned a blind eye to it because she was so glad to see her sister up and alive.
"When's the full moon, Estelle?" Benjamin asked, as it seemed Moon must have forgotten about it.
Estelle realized why he had asked about it and smiled, "It's past the full moon already. We have an entire month to prepare for it… thank you for asking."
The last words were laced with so much sweetness that Benjamin felt like his pancakes were honeyed.
He chuckled and continued the talk, "Moon… yeah, you. I'd love to invest in your fighting style. The silent steps have intrigued me."
"Wouldn't that be a waste?" Moon asked, "I can teach you that without you using your power on me. You should invest in my divination since I have hit a bottleneck. Everyone says that this divination has a lot of potential. What do you think?"
"Divination… sounds like a useful skill with those phantoms around," Benjamin shared his first assessment of the divination prospects.
There were phantoms of the past, present, and future. The latter could have many timelines or any other crap that Benjamin and the residents of this world would have to deal with.
Divination might come in handy when it comes to dealing with them.
Moon agreed with him.
That was when Estelle stood up and slammed her hands on the table, confusing the other two.
Her eyes blazed with emotions, "Benjamin is gonna give you an allowance, just like he gave me! If you feel bad about keeping me in the dark, you must use this allowance to buy me choco milk!"
"Oh… sure. Is that all?" Moon asked with a bright smile. If this much was enough to please Estelle, it was worth it!
Benjamin whistled as he listened to the talk. His girlfriend became selfish, didn't she? At least she must have followed his advice and waited for the perfect moment to be selfish!
He found her so adorable he wanted to kiss her.
Estelle sat down, shocked.
That was so easy, and she would soon have more of her favorite drink. Warm choco milk was one of the best drinks during the evenings when the dark sky blanketed their shine and the evil spirits' reign began.
It was not just this wolf priestess liking this, but lots of demi-human races enjoyed the choco milk warm during winters.
Estelle turned her eyes to Benjamin and clenched her hands.
She did it!
Benjamin smirked and gave her a thumbs-up.
Meanwhile, Moon stared at their exchange, with the corner of her lips curved. Their relationship had begun pretty well, and she hoped it'd continue like that, regardless of whatever might come up in the future.
Benjamin summoned money from nothing as though sleight of a hand and let the golden coin roll on the table toward Moon.
"You used the same trick to get the bitch's eye, right?" Moon asked once she caught up the coin.
He nodded, "I had a hunch the coin would be faster and more precise. I didn't kick it like I did the debris, but I just flicked it while aiming for her eye… and it worked better than I thought. Also, seems like my class goes against some concepts, as she was shocked to see the copper coin in that world. It means that I can make money both tangible and intangible… I don't know much about souls, so I am lacking in this area."
"You'll get it soon, Benjamin!" Estelle encouraged.
Moon only smiled at these innocent cheers and nodded to Benjamin.