In a desert town consisting of only a scant few huts of sheet metal and scrap, rows of houses made of solid gold appeared from nowhere. People in rags, if they were wealthy enough to have clothes at all, flocked to the buildings that glittered under the light of the Nucleus.
Hussain, who was wearing sirwal pants and a t-shirt with a picture of a regular looking rat on it for some reason, posed as grateful people flocked to him, one of his hands pointing upward and the other to the sand. Said sand was paved over with golden cobbles to create a flat, clean path between buildings.
This El Dorado would have been worth trillions if not quadrillions of US dollars in my original world, but gold, as well as all raw elements, weren't especially valuable in and of themselves in Underworld. This was because Alchemy had made the actual creation of resources a simple task. Alf-Laylah wa-Laylah's poverty issue was one born from the indifference of the wealthy, and various systemic shortcomings.
Thus, Hussain's gold couldn't free the poor people of the village he and I were in from their financial deficit. That said, it could be used to create things the citizenry needed, like homes and tools.
While Hussain was busy creating a sewer system, I used a vortex of hydrogen and oxygen to drill into the desert, creating a sizable basin. I then bonded my elements to fill the divot, forming a lake of clean water. From there I continued terraforming the land, creating some rivers. Then I created some stationary clouds that I altered the properties of so that they'd produce rain at regular intervals. They were positioned above relatively fertile land to allow for easy and consistent farming. The clouds would absorb the moisture in the air to replenish themselves, so there was no need to worry about the clouds being depleted.
Alchemy really could fix so many issues in this world, but most Alchemists only served the wealthy. Also, there were billions of destitute people in this country. Helping them all would take great effort, and most capable individuals didn't want to be bothered.
"If we don't help, who will?" That was what I told myself, and what I told Hussain when we decided to start using our Alchemy to help the needy.
Serving the people of this world with my Alchemy was one of my main goals as an Alchemist, both because there were so many that were abandoned by society, and because I felt the need to atone for the pain my actions had caused in the past.
Hussain was similarly interested in helping folks, and so were the two other students who had joined us in leaving campus to revitalize a nearby settlement.
Clouds of carbon carried crates full of food and supplies that more clouds passed out to the people. Many of the villagers tried to thank Morgiana, who stood a distance away, but she rarely responded with more than a nod and the occasional smile as she hid her face behind the hood of her djellaba.
Morgiana had joined this excursion because it was a good cause, and because her family's wealth made her feel obligated to use it to help those less fortunate than her. This was in spite of her aversion to attracting attention, or interacting with new people such as the most recent member of our friend group.
While Pan Hu was being climbed all over by children who he clearly wanted to shake off, Badroulbadour used her polonium's alpha particles to kill the cancerous cells in some of the village's residents. She wore a sleeveless cheongsam and a strange expression. As she was thanked by those she cured of their cancer, her smile looked like it was constantly trying to pull down into a frown.
"We can't thank you children enough for this," an old woman with kyphosis said as she took my hand in hers, tears falling from her eyes without restraint. "Ever since I can remember, this place has been a corpse in the image of a proper village, but in one day you've turned it into heaven. You've given us hope, child. You've given us a chance at a better life. We'll never forget this. I'll pray for your happiness every night."
My lack of a voice made it so I could only show my appreciation for the woman's thankfulness with a nod of my head.
I wondered if she would still show me such thanks if she knew I was the daughter of the former sultan. There was nothing to signal who I was as I was wearing a shayla headwrap that hid my entire face sans my eyes. Beyond that, I just wore my uniform, as all my casual clothes had been destroyed in a recent ransacking of my dorm room.
The old woman moved on to thanking Badroulbadour, and I looked around the area to see how our progress was coming.
I noticed Morgiana was staring at a row of golden buildings, her eyes cartoonishly twitching.
"Is something wrong?" I texted as I jogged over to Morgiana.
"No."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"I said yes."
"Really?"
"…The buildings Hussain made don't all perfectly line up with each other. Some are turned slightly so the corners of neighboring houses don't form perfect angles with them. I have OCD, so it bothers me a little."
"Just a little?"
"Just a little." Morgiana adjusted her clothes.
"We can fix it."
"Don't. It's not a big deal."
"Fixing it wouldn't be a big deal either."
"Listen, I didn't ask for you to do anything."
"Yeah, but I want to. We want to."
"I super want to!" Hussain jumped between us from…somewhere. He spun his arms around like windmills and the buildings began to turn and slide to line up better.
"A little to the left on that one. No, too far. Now it's too far the other way. And now it's all the way over there! Why do you keep moving them so quickly? I didn't even say to move it that way!" Morgiana had several anime anger veins on her head.
"Don't worry, I'll figure it out!" Hussan laughed from deep in his chest as the houses spun and skied across the ground.
"Do one house at a time," Morgiana said through gnashing teeth.
"It's like the houses are dancing." Badroulbadour walked over to us, speaking in an especially airy tone while clapping her hands.
"Don't encourage him." Morgiana crossed her arms to restrain herself. "I already have night terrors as it is, don't make me dream about this."
"You have night terrors?"
"Yeah." Morgiana's brow furrowed. "I have bad memories I can't forget."
"I have night terrors too sometimes." Badroulbadour's hands rubbed together, as if they were petting each other. "Same reason as you."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Growing up in Soushen Ji wasn't fun. I basically lived like how these villagers did. All you gotta do is replace the barren desert with dark, tight, dirty alleys."
"You can add me to the trauma night terror club," I texted. "I don't wanna get into the details."
Morgiana looked at Badroulbadour and I, her eyes wider than normal.
"I see." Morgiana's posture became less rigid.
"I never get nightmares!" Hussain was jumping around as he continued fiddling with the buildings. At this point, the villagers were looking a bit worried. "Crazy, right?"
"Lucky you," Morgiana and Badroulbadour said in monotone unison.
Pan Hu continued to sit still, desperately wishing he could shake off the hill of children that he was getting buried under.
Eventually, Hussain managed to organize the buildings to Morgiana's satisfaction. By the time he did, Morgiana was exhausted on the ground from the stress Hussain created in her.
We finished our work in the town soon after that. The villagers all waved and yelled goodbye to us as we left. A warm tingle filled my chest at seeing how happy we made so many people.
"We need to do this more," I texted as I sat behind Hussain on his golden motorcycle that rocketed through the air. Pan Hu carried Badroulbadour and the limp Morgiana as it ran across the land towards the Academy campus.
"Absolutely!" Hussain said. "We can make helping the poor our group thing! Our activity!"
"There's an anti-slavery protest that's supposed to happen soon. We could help with that too." Morgiana texted as she was too tired to speak.
"We definitely gotta help with that." Helping the impoverished was only one way I wanted to atone. I also needed to abolish slavery, and doing so through protest was the best way I could think to do that. There was always the option of inciting another revolution, but after all the regrets I had about how the revolution that brought down the nobility went, I wasn't eager to try such a method again if I didn't have to.
"You're all so kind," Badroulbadour said.
"What?" Morgiana looked up at the blonde.
"Nothing, just saying something random that came to my head." Badroulbadour fiddled with one of her hair rings.
We returned to the Academy, entered the dome that encased our campus, and went into the Salt dorm. Morgiana's room was the nicest given she was the Headmaster's granddaughter, so we decided to hang out there for a bit.
Upon reaching the circular balcony where the doors to my and Morgiana's rooms were, we noticed my room had yet again been raided. This time the doors were on the floor in three pieces, holes were punched in the walls, floor, and ceiling, and the once frozen mice I kept for my snake were now thawed and strewn about which made my room stink.
I sighed, removed my headwrap, and entered the bedroom, checking to make sure my snake was unharmed before feeding it one of the mice that hadn't rotted. My hands ran through my hair as I tried to figure out how to best clean up the mess.
Badroulbadour stood back, petting Pan Hu as her mouth failed to find words to say.
Morgiana's fists clenched.
"You okay?" Hussain put a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah," I texted. "This keeps happening. I think I need to find somewhere else to live, somewhere safer."
"You can live with me," Morgiana said immediately.
"What?" Badroulbadour tilted her head, as did I.
"You can live with me. You need somewhere safe to sleep and my room's got great security. There's no way anyone's breaking in. Nobody knows I'm the Chairman's daughter, which I'm not changing, so the outside of my room will probably get vandalized a lot once people find out you're staying with me, but I can deal with that."
"Are you sure? The bullying will only get worse for you, unless you make it public how you're related to the Chairman." I didn't want to make Morgiana's life harder on my account.
"I want nothing to do with my family, and that includes people knowing I'm related to them, and I certainly don't plan on relying on their reputation to protect me." Morgiana visibly spit a bit as she spoke about her family. "Anyway, I want to help you. Think of it as thanks for helping me free Bezabeh."
"But I thought you talking with Hussain and I was your way of thanking us for that."
"Listen, just come stay with me in my room." Morgiana put her hands on her hips.
"No, thank you. I don't want to be a burden on you."
"Where are you gonna stay then?"
"Maybe I could find an obscure spot in a forest or a park on campus."
"That's stupid. You're staying in my room." Morgiana grabbed and slung me over her shoulder. I let out a series of embarrassing sounds as Morgiana carried me towards the door to her room. "Hussain, get Scheherazade's snake and other stuff."
"Sure thing, boss!" Hussain saluted and ran into my room, leaving a dust cloud in his wake before returning with my pet's tank in his arms, and all my possessions being carried by floating threads of gold.
Upon being brought into Morgiana's room, I was tossed onto a bed. It was so soft that I immediately didn't want to get up. After spending so long sleeping on a hard floor, this bed was like a dream.
Morgiana's room was completely unlike mine. The circular bed I was on sat in the center of a spacious octagonal room with arabesque patterns on the walls and ceiling. The floor was covered with a beautifully detailed carpet. Projectors on the walls created holographic posters for soap operas, abstract shapes of various colors that floated around like bubbles, as well as holograms of crocodiles, snakes, and fish that swam through the air. Against one wall was a desk and materials dedicated to wood carving, all of the items aligned with the edges of the table so they formed parallel lines. A circular bookshelf extended from yet another wall, all the reading materials in it being organized into neat and symmetrical patterns. There were several doors that went into more rooms of equally extravagant design, as well as the hall that led to the entrance.
The space was less of a dorm room and more of a miniature mansion.
"Yooo!" Hussain put down my stuff and started popping between different spots in the room in a repeating cycle like a cheap anime shot meant to represent someone running around and looking at a lot of things quickly. "This room is sick! Those holograms are so cool! I woulda made corgis instead of crocodiles and snakes though!"
"Now I'm imagining a bunch of hologram Pan Hu's running around! Wouldn't that be adorable?" Badroulbadour clasped her hands together. The actual Pan Hu was trying to squeeze his big old self through a doorway. His ability to shift his shape and size had to be kept secret since it could give away he was a dragon.
Morgiana was still unaware of Badroulbadour's secret mission, though I told Hussain. Badroulbadour didn't know, and I felt bad about breaking my promise to not tell anyone her secret, but I wanted Hussain's opinion on the situation given he had the same outsider perspective to this world that I did. He thought I handled the situation with Badroulbadour interrogating me well, and agreed that we should have faith in her to make the right choice in the end.
"You can stay here with me until we graduate." Morgiana sat on the edge of her bed, facing away from me.
"I really don't want to bother you," I texted.
"I'd be more bothered by knowing you're living in an unsafe apartment or on the literal fucking streets. You're staying here with me. Consider this a kidnapping if you want." Morgiana huffed.
It was clear that Morgiana wouldn't budge, so I relented. I still feared being a burden, but I had to admit I enjoyed knowing that Morgiana cared enough about me to offer me a place in her home. There was also a part of me that couldn't believe that Morgiana was helping me because she actually liked me as a person. Considering my myriad flaws that could turn people away, it was easier for me to believe that it was simply Morgiana's kind nature that made her help me.
"I guess I'm stuck here then." I sighed and let myself grin as I looked around the room. "I'll have to get used to living in a room with actual space to put stuff in it, not that I have much stuff anyway."
"If you want, I can loan you some money so you can buy shit. My family gives me a big allowance." Morgiana pulled her hood down. "I'd give you some real money to help your family, but my family would never go for that. It's not that they aren't willing to give stuff to those who need it, but helping out relatives of the deceased Sultan and Sultana would ruin my family's reputation if it got out. They might do it if I promised to accept the position as head of the family and our dojo, but I'm never doing that. Sorry."
"Please, don't say sorry. You're already helping me a lot by letting me stay with you. I'll try to do whatever I can to thank you for this."
"Don't. I don't like it when people help me. I want to achieve things on my own."
"Could I use that excuse to get you not to help me?"
"Fuck no."
"You know, you're a little young to be swearing."
"Fuck you."
"Scheherazade, you talk like a mom sometimes." Badroulbadour said as she helped pull Pan Hu through the doorway into the room.
"I'm mature for my age. All of us are." Because Hussain and I actually were adults, and because this world ran on the logic of a light novel author who couldn't write kids that actually acted like kids.
That latter point did raise a question; was this world, Underworld, something that existed in isolation from the light novel and anime series it resembles, and the parallels were due to a coincidence, or was this world created out of the fiction. If this was an alternate universe, and multiverse theory was true, then it wouldn't be impossible that there could be one universe among an infinite number that coincidentally perfectly mirrored an anime from my original universe.
With that said, the fact that this world also ran on the logic of, and even looked like an anime, implied it was a fictional world made real somehow. The anime aesthetic and concepts this reality had could be explained away as being because the physics of this universe also coincidentally mirrored those of the anime it resembled, but then why did both Hussain and I, two people who had strong feelings towards Al-Kimiya, get conveniently sent into this universe. That really implied that there was some connection between this universe and the anime beyond a coincidental resemblance.
"Yo! You've got an omnidirectional sound system?" Hussain looked at a control panel on a wall.
"Yeah," Morgiana said. "There's speakers hidden all over the room, and the walls are soundproofed so I can blast music and dance without bothering the neighbors."
"You like to dance?" I love to dance!" Hussain proceeded to whip his limbs around in a freeform dance to no music.
"Dancing's fun." I used to dance all the time at raves and parties in my original life, and I would sometimes dance with Dunyazade while Tawaddud played the mizmar.
"I love dancing too! Oh my gosh, we're all so perfect for each other! It's like we were destined to be friends!" Badroulbadour's comment made Morgiana roll her eyes.
"Let's dance right now!" Hussain immediately began pressing on the panel.
"You can all dance if you want, but I don't dance in front of other people." Morgiana reclined onto her side. "I'll watch."
"Your loss!" Hussain touched the panel one last time and a song played that had the vibes of an anime opening using instruments native to the Arabian Peninsula. He began to do his flailing dance again. All he was doing was jumping around without any sense of rhythm.
Badroulbadour joined in, gracefully making her way around the room with precise movements like a ballerina. Her arms moved in smooth arcs, and her legs lightly tread upon the floor as if she was cautiously walking on thin ice.
Pan Hu moved around Badroulbadour with similarly careful movements, becoming her dance partner as they acted in sync. As Badroulbaodur swung her arms, Pan Hu would move his body in a similar trajectory and at the exact same pace. It was like the hound was being puppeteered by his master, but it was clear that neither managed the other. Their perfect timing was due to the bond they shared that allowed them to read each other's intentions moment to moment.
I ran off the bed and began dancing too. My style was far closer to Hussain's than Badroulbadour and Pan Hu's. Instead of performing any sort of thought out moves, I let the music hype me up and acted according to how I felt. When the music would calm, I would gyrate and swing my body around, incorporating some belly dancing moves I had learned. Once the song intensified and was nearing the end, I began to spin and rapidly pull my limbs in and out to expel the growing energy inside me. My ahoge flicked and bounced like mad.
Morgiana watched the rest of us dance. Her head and feet bobbed up and down to the beat of the music. A smile gradually formed on her face, though she hid it behind her hand when she noticed it.
The dance party went on for over an hour, the energy staying high throughout.
I felt silly dancing around a bedroom, but I also was experiencing a form of joy I hadn't known in over half a decade.
Friends. I was having fun with a group of friends. My friends.
This was something I thought I'd never have again. I believed I wasn't worthy of friends after all my mistakes, that I'd never be able to have them now that everyone hated me.
Perhaps I still didn't. It was possible that Hussain, Morgiana, and Badroulbadour all secretly hated me, just like Tyronica and Amina did.
That thought made me feel uncomfortable, like my skin suddenly didn't fit me anymore.
I was broken out of my reverie, though I forced myself to keep dancing. Now that I wasn't wrapped up in the fun, I was more aware of my surroundings, and this awareness allowed me to notice Badroulbadour's strained smile.
Something was wrong.
I sent a text to Badroulbadour and only her.
"Are you okay? Your expression seems forced."
One of Badroulbadour's eyes twitched. Her dancing became less precise.
"I could lie, but I don't want to. Would you be okay with me confiding in you again?"
"Of course."
"Don't tell anyone, just like with my other secrets I told you."
"I won't."
"Don't even tell Pan Hu."
"Okay." I was taken aback by the fact that this was a secret Badroulbadour didn't want Pan Hu to know. That dragon-dog was her most trusted companion. What secret could she trust me with, yet not trust Pan Hu with?
The answer to that question became self-evident with what Badroulbadour texted me next.
"I'm going to turn myself in to the Laylan government."
I tripped mid step, barely catching myself before I faceplanted into a wall.
"Do you mean you're going to reveal that you're a spy to the authorities? You're gonna tell them your mission?" I returned to dancing so it wouldn't be obvious I was secretly talking with Badroulbadour.
"Yes."
"They'll execute you! Doing this might even cause Alf-Laylah wa-Layah and Soushen Ji to go to war!"
"They won't. I won't be the first spy to get caught. Laylah isn't willing to go to war unless they have what they think is a guaranteed win."
"Fine, but you'll still be executed!"
"That's fine. I deserve to die for trying to help destroy this country."
"No, you don't! You're a victim in all this!"
"And there would have been way more victims if I successfully got the Djinn King's sword so Soushen Ji could use it as a superweapon against Laylah." Badroulbadour's eyes became glassy, and her smile was struggling to sustain itself. "There are so many good, innocent people in this country. You, Hussain, Morgiana, you're all so kind. You're willing to help the needy and each other, and you're fun people to be around. There's also the poor people like the ones we helped today. They were like I was when I lived on the streets. They're victims who shouldn't have to deal with any more pain than they already do. I can't keep doing this. I can't keep working for Soushen Ji."
"But you don't need to turn yourself in!" My dancing became more intense.
"Yes I do. The fact that I was willing to ruin this country is unforgivable, and I've already sent some minor information about Laylah back to Soushen Ji. I'm a sinner. I need to be punished."
"I won't let you do this. I'll tell Pan Hu."
"He can't stop me. I can just take advantage of his weak point, the one that I used to beat him when he was rampaging in Soushen Ji years ago."
"But can you beat him, Hussain, Morgiana, and I all at once?"
"Do you think Morgiana would side with you if you told her the situation?"
"I do."
"Well I know I can beat all of you at once, especially since I've already sent some of my polonium into your bodies."
She wasn't bluffing. I sensed the oxygen and hydrogen in the air being displaced by particles that were flowing into Hussain, Morgiana, and I's bodies. Normally I would have noticed and stopped the polonium before it could get inside us, but I was in a state of shock due to the conversation I was having, leaving me unfocused on my surroundings.
I internally reprimanded myself for my ineptitude.
"You don't have the guts to hurt us. I know that from when you tortured me and broke down."
"I've got the guts when I'm fighting for a good cause. When I was torturing you, I was acting for a country I don't believe in. When I turn myself in, I'll be appropriately punished for my crimes, and I'll tell the Laylan government all the information on Soushen Ji that I can so Laylah can stop their plans."
"What if Alf-Laylah wa-Laylah uses the info you give them to invade and destroy Soushen Ji?"
"That's fine. Soushen Ji's full of scum from top to bottom." Despite her more nuanced understanding of Alf-Laylah wa-Laylah, Badroulbadour still had a childish view of her own homeland due to her regrettable upbringing.
"There are innocent people in Soushen Ji! You were one of them!"
"No, there aren't. Every person I ever met used me, and they always threw me away when I wasn't useful anymore." Badroulbadour wasn't smiling at all. Instead she was scowling. It was obvious that there had to be at least a few people she encountered who were good, but her childish logic wouldn't budge.
"Badroulbdour, don't do this. I'm your friend. I'll miss you if you're gone. Hussain and Morgiana will too. How will Pan Hu go on without you?"
"You'll all be fine, because you're all strong unlike me." Badroulbadour's movements became stiffer, drawing a dull noise from Pan Hu. "I shouldn't have told you any of this."
Badroulbadour stopped dancing, Pan Hu stopping in turn.
"You taking a break? We have been dancing for a while!" Hussain was still as energetic as ever.
"I'm actually gonna head out. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and it's catching up to me."
"Alright! Make sure to get some rest, that way we can dance together for three times as long next time!"
"Yeah, next time." Badroulbadour forced out a giggle. Pan Hu was staring at her.
My blood grew cold and there was a hollow feeling in my chest.
What should I do? That question kept repeating in my head. If I told Pan Hu, Hussain, and Morgiana about the situation, things would quickly turn to chaos and could lead to a lot of people getting hurt, especially if Pan Hu had the opportunity to go wild. There was no way I could stop Badroulbadour by myself. Convincing Badroulbadour to stop was evidently impossible. I kept trying to come up with a plan, but all the ones I came up with were too risky for my hesitant self to attempt.
Indecision left me immobile as I watched Badroulbadour leave the apartment, Pan Hu following behind her.
The party went on for a little while longer, but I wasn't able to enjoy it.
Until a more permanent bedding situation was figured out, Morgiana let me share her bed. It was almost as comfortable as the one I grew up with in the palace on Bulukiya. Despite this, I couldn't sleep at all.
All my thoughts were on Badroulbadour. I had failed to stop her, like with Zumurrud. How many times would I fail to protect the people I cared about?
The following week inched by as I settled into Morgiana's apartment. I was trapped thinking about Badroulbadour. Was she dead? Would she be kept as a prisoner? Could war be on the horizon? How much was I to blame for what was happening?
No matter how many times I asked myself those questions, there were no answers for me.
A dark part of me wanted to hear that Badroulbadour was dead already so I could know and acquire a sense of release.
I was disgusted with myself.
My anticipation finally vanished once I got a text from Badroulbadour.
"I'm alive! Come alone to the dog park where we first met!"
Despite being in the middle of clothes shopping, I flew out of the store and straight to the park atop a skyscraper. The only figures there were those of a blonde girl and a giant dog.
Jumping back and forth, Badroulbadour's arms shook in front of her as she had the biggest smile I had ever seen on her. When she saw me land on the grass, she squealed and ran to my side. Under a nearby tree, Pan Hu was lying on the ground. His eyes were squeezed shut, and he was letting out a constant low growl.
"Hey, Scheherazade! I've missed you so much!" Badroulbadour hugged me. My arms hung in the air. I wanted to reciprocate the embrace, but I was unable to let my guard down given the many questions I had.
"What happened? Did you not turn yourself in? Is it safe to be here? Why does Pan Hu seem upset? Why are you happy?" I spammed Badroulbadour with messages.
"Okay, okay, okay!" Badorulbadour hopped back, her body swaying around as she hummed. "So, first thing's first! I'm not gonna die! I did turn myself in, but the Laylan government has decided to spare me!"
I could feel the skin on my face crease with confusion. Badroulbadour began clapping and giggling.
"Why did they spare you?"
"It's because of a lot of things! I told the authorities everything, both about my mission, and my history! I fully cooperated with them as they questioned me, which I think endeared me to them! Plus, I told them a bunch of secret info about Soushen Ji! They realized that I wasn't trying to trick them or anything!" After a few days of interrogation with a bunch of different people, the government made me an offer! In exchange for sparing me from any punishment, I have to be a double agent!"
"You mean you're gonna pretend to be on Soushen Ji's side still, but you'll actually be working for Alf-Laylah wa-Laylah?"
"Exactly! I'll feed Soushen Ji false info, while mixing in occasional truths that are benign enough to be no issue for Alf-Laylah wa-Laylah! All the while, I, through being a spy connected to powerful people in Soushen Ji, will naturally get access to all the newest and most important secrets in Soushen Ji which I'll hand to Laylah on the shiniest silver platter!"
"You'll be doing the same thing you were doing before basically, you just switched sides." I was certainly happy that Badroulbadour was alive, but she hadn't really changed her situation, only who was holding her leash. Hell, technically she had two groups telling her what to do now, and if she screwed up, one or both of them could want her executed.
Considering the precarious situation Badroulbadour was now in, the fact that she went behind his back to turn herself in, and how she probably did something to leave him incapacitated so he couldn't stop her, Pan Hu's anger was easy to empathize with.
"Yeah, but now I'm working for a good government instead of a bad one! Honestly, I've fallen in love with Laylah! Its culture is so beautiful and the people are kind! This might be the best country ever!"
"You say all that, but you do remember the slavery and homelessness and wealth inequality and stuff going on in this country, right?"
"It's not perfect, but this country isn't evil like Soushen Ji!"
"Soushen Ji isn't evil, or at least not all its citizens are."
"Yes they are." Badroulbadour's smile immediately turned to a grimace. "If Alf-Laylah wa-Laylah uses the information I provide them for an invasion of Soushen Ji, then I hope they burn the whole country to the ground."
The hatred in Badroulbadour's words sent a chill through my every nerve. She was willing to let the entire population of her home country suffer and die. How horrid had her life in Soushen Ji been to forge such unfettered spite within her. Her childhood surely made Dunyazade and I's lives up to that point seem heavenly by comparison.
"I'm not gonna argue with you about this, since I know I can't change your mind. All I'll say is what I said on the night you snuck into my room. I trust that you'll make the right decision in the end."
"I've already made the right decision." Badroulbadour huffed.
"Anyway, I'm happy you're alive and okay." I'm the one who initiated a hug this time, and Badroulbadour hugged me back.
"Thank you." Badroulbadour released me and her smile came back. She interlocked her fingers. "I'm so happy. I don't know how to express everything I'm feeling right now. Part of being a spy for Soushen Ji was trying to get close to important people in Alf-Laylah wa-Laylah, but now that doesn't matter. I don't have to put on an act to win people over and not seem suspicious. I also don't have anyone from back in Soushen Ji telling me what to do like I'm a soldier. For the first time since I was homeless, I can do what I want, act like I want. I can be me."
"Congratulations." Throughout the anime, it was clear Badroulbadour was always putting up a front rather than being authentic. Thanks to my actions, she would be able to be more open and honest. Even if I was conflicted about the deal Badroulbadour had struck with the Laylan government, I was glad something definitively positive would come of it.
"By the way, you know how my 'real name' was Li Ji and Badroulbadour was just what I was going by while in Laylah?"
"Yeah."
"Well, from now on, Badroulbadour is my real name. I no longer consider myself a citizen of Soushen Ji. I'm Laylan through and through!" Badroulbadour put a hand on her chest. "This country is so enchanting. I wish I had been lucky enough to have been born here like you were."
"If that's what you want." I shrugged. The patriotism Badroulbadour was oozing was a point of concern, and one I didn't know how to approach.
"Thank you! Now, let's go find Hussain and Morgiana! I wanna have some fun!" Badroulbadour thrust her arms above her. Meanwhile, Pan Hu was still upset.
While I wasn't entirely comfortable with how things went, a bloodless resolution had been achieved, so it was hard to complain.
Badroulbadour was still alive, and she was still my friend.
Morgiana was still my friend too, as was Hussain.
After everything we had experienced together so far, they were still my friends, or they were acting like it at least. If they were still spending time with me, even now, then I really had managed to create a solid group of companions.
Before I arrived, I had assumed I'd be all alone in my journey at Khalid Al-Kimiya Academy. I never thought that there'd be anybody I could spend time with, who'd defend me, who'd accept me defending them. Honestly, things had been going far better than I ever imagined. Even if I was being harassed by people who didn't really know me, I could endure, especially now that I had people willing to stand at my side.
My friends made the next six years fun.