> Perspective:KaiserEverhart
> Date: February 6, 2018 — 10:20 AM
> Location: Sylvaris — West Flower District
Alright, let's get this over with in 5 minutes.
The plan is super simple: I walk up to 3 women on the street, act as broke and homeless as humanly possible, get rejected 3 times in a row, and then tell Lily, "Welp, Papa tried his best, nobody wants me, let's go home and take a nap!"
Foolproof.
Right now, little Lily was sitting high up on my shoulders, holding onto 2 handfuls of my messy black hair like steering reins and kicking her little shoes happily against my chest.
"Papa! Faster, faster! Turn left at the big flower cart!" Lily giggled, steering my head to the left with both hands.
"Look over there, Papa! That pretty Elven lady watering the flowers has a super nice smile! Go ask her 1st!"
I stopped in front of a bright wooden flower shop where a curvy Elven woman in a green apron was arranging bouquets of red roses.
Target #1: A flower shop owner.
Business owners hate freeloaders more than anything. If I tell her I don't even have a roof over my head and expect her to house 3 kids, she'll chase me off with a broom in 3 seconds flat.
I slouched my shoulders, ruffled my hair to look as homeless as possible, and walked right up to the counter with Lily beaming on my shoulders.
"Excuse me, Madam," I said in my most shameless, deadbeat voice.
"Would you like to marry me and become my daughter's new Mommy?"
The curvy Elven florist blinked her green eyes, looked up from her roses, and stared straight at my face.
Her cheeks instantly turned pink.
"W-wait... seriously?" the florist gasped, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her long ear as she looked me up and down.
"You're super handsome, and this little girl is adorable! Sure, I'm free tonight for a date!"
...Wait. What?
Why is she saying yes?! Hold on, let me drop the homeless bomb on her!
"Ah, I don't think you heard the catch, Madam," I said quickly, pointing a thumb at my chest.
"I'm completely broke, I don't have a home, and I actually have 2 other children besides her. If we get married, all 4 of us are moving into your place tonight. Can we live with you?"
The Elven florist beamed even brighter, clapping her hands together.
"Sure, you can all live with my family!" she said happily, smiling up at Lily.
"We have a huge house above the shop, and I don't mind at all—especially when it comes with a cute little girl like her!"
Up on my shoulders, Lily flashed a giant, cute grin and gave the florist 2 thumbs-up.
OH SHIT, SHE ACTUALLY MEANT IT!
ABORT MISSION! ABORT!
"Madam, we are actually filming here for a reality show," I said with a deadpan bow.
"We are joking. Have a wonderful day."
Before the florist could even blink, I grabbed Lily's ankles and sprinted 3 blocks down the street at top speed!
"Hahaha! Papa, why are you running so fast?!" Lily laughed at the top of her lungs, leaning down over my forehead and using her tiny sleeve to wipe a drop of sweat off my brow.
"The flower lady said yes! Why did you run away like a chicken, Papa?!"
"Because moving into a stranger's flower shop on day 1 is how people wake up in a basement missing a kidney, Lily," I muttered, catching my breath by a stone bridge.
"Papa is a chicken! Bawk-bawk-bawk!" Lily teased, patting my cheeks with both of her warm little hands before pointing across the street.
"Okay, Papa, no chickening out this time! Look at that rich lady walking the fluffy dog! Go ask her!"
Across the street walked a wealthy, mature merchant widow in a silk fur coat with gold rings on every finger and a fat white poodle on a leash.
Target #2: A rich merchant widow.
Rich women care about money above everything else. All I have to do is tell her I'm buried in massive debt, and she'll look at me like street trash and walk away.
I strolled over, slumping my posture again as I blocked her path.
"Good morning, Madam," I said flatly.
"My daughter needs a Mommy, and I need a wife. Before you answer, you should know I am broke and currently have 5,000 gold coins in unpaid debt that you would have to pay off for me."
The rich widow stopped, adjusted her glasses, and looked slowly from my boots all the way up to my jawline—and then up at Lily waving cutely from my shoulders.
A slow, pleased smile spread across the widow's painted lips.
"A househusband and a ready-made cute daughter?" the widow purred, pulling a gold pen out of her purse.
"Sure, sign me up. That's alright—we can clear your 5,000 gold debt 1 by 1 as long as you stay home and take care of the house for me."
...WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WOMEN IN THIS CITY?!
Why is nobody rejecting me?!
"My deepest apologies, Madam, I was pranking," I said, bowing once.
"Have a nice walk!"
I spun on my heel and bolted down the alley while Lily laughed so hard on my shoulders she nearly dropped her hair-reins!
"Papa! You ran away again!" Lily giggled, wiping my forehead with her tiny hands again as we popped out near an outdoor café.
"That's 2 times in a row, Papa! You promised you'd find a Mommy today!"
"Those 2 didn't count, they were clearly crazy," I said, spotting a tall, muscular female adventurer in scarred leather armor sitting at a café table drinking black morning coffee with a greatsword resting against her chair.
Target #3: A tough frontline adventurer.
Adventurers hate deadweight. If I tell her I'm going to treat her like a bag carrier while we dump the kids at home, she'll probably threaten to punch my teeth in—and then I can finally go home!
I marched right up to her table.
"Excuse me, Miss Adventurer," I said bluntly.
"Want to marry me and be her Mommy? If we get married, you can be my bag carrier when we go adventuring while we leave the kids at home."
The tough female adventurer froze with her coffee mug halfway to her mouth.
She stared up at my face, looked at Lily's sparkling eyes, and a deep blush crept all the way up her scarred neck.
"Huh? Marry you and be her Mommy?" the adventurer mumbled, setting her mug down and wiping her hand on her pants.
"...Okay, sure! I'll carry the bags!"
...
Why are they all agreeing?!
What is wrong with people?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS CITY?!
"I was joking, Madam. Enjoy your coffee," I said in 0.5 seconds, turning around and running straight into the central park with Lily before she could grab her greatsword and follow us!
Once we reached a wooden bench behind a tall black lamppost near the park fountain, I lifted Lily off my shoulders and set her down on the bench, letting out a long groan.
"Papa! Why are you rejecting all of them?!" Lily pouted, crossing her tiny arms and puffing her cheeks out.
"All 3 of them said yes! That is NOT the plan, Papa!"
"Listen, Lily, I'm just as confused as you are," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
"All this time I thought I could make homeless jokes because I'm broke and women only care about money—what is this? Why did all 3 of them say yes?!"
Lily blinked her big eyes at me like I just said the dumbest thing in history.
Then she climbed up onto the bench so she was standing at eye level with me, holding up all 10 of her tiny fingers to count them off 1 by 1.
"Because you're not just some broke guy, Papa!" Lily declared proudly, tapping a finger for every trait.
"1, you're super-duper handsome! 2, you're tall! 3, you're strong! 4, you're super intelligent! 5, you cook the yummiest food in the world! 6, your voice sounds really deep and cool! 7, you're super gentle when you pat my head! 8, you protect us from bad guys! 9, you're super brave! And 10, you're the bestest, kindest Papa in the universe!"
I stood there blinking at her as she finished counting all 10 fingers with a giant grin.
...Wait.
Am I really all of that?
All this time I thought I was just some broke slacker, and here my kid is glazing me like a king.
Still, as I looked at Lily giggling and calling me "Papa" every 5 seconds while clinging to my sleeve with both hands, a quiet thought crossed my mind.
Why did she start calling me "Papa" so easily and clinging to me like a real daughter this fast?
She only lost her real Mama so recently, and she's already trying to replace her and acting this close with a stranger—almost like the past doesn't bother her at all.
Even Amy and Bibi took way longer to open up, and they were far more traumatized.
What's up with Lily?
"Hmph! Since my Papa is a big chicken who runs away every time a pretty lady says yes," Lily huffed, hopping off the bench and pointing a tiny finger at the lamppost behind me.
"I'll go find you a Mommy myself! You just sit right here behind this pole and aura-farm, Papa! I'm gonna go find you a strong, independent, rich Mommy!"
I sat down backwards on the bench behind the pole, resting my chin lazily on my hands with a grin.
"Yes, please," I chuckled, giving her a wave.
"I need a strong, independent, rich Mommy to pay for my groceries for me and take care of me like a baby boy. Go get 'em, Lily."
"Leave it to me, Papa!"
She saluted me with both hands and ran off toward the left side of the fountain at top speed.
As soon as she was gone, I leaned against the pipe of the lamppost, waiting to see who she'd bring back.
Throb!
A sudden, sharp headache pinched right behind my temple.
Stop leaning on that pipe and get out of there! You literally don't need anyone else—you already have yourself and me!
I rubbed my forehead with a sigh.
Yeah, yeah, brain, I know I have you.
Too bad I can't marry myself. Sad story, I know.
...
Dead silence echoed inside my skull for 3 full seconds.
JAB!
"Ow! My kidney!" I yelped, grabbing my lower right side as a sharp cramp jabbed me out of nowhere!
"Why the hell does my kidney hurt out of nowhere?!"
*
> Perspective: Eve
> Date: February 6, 2018 — 10:35 AM
> Location: Sylvaris — East Library Avenue
O-Okay, Eve, deep breaths! Just walk normally to the library!
I barely slept 2 hours last night after sneaking out of Master Naelor's scary study, and my head is still a total mess!
45 million gold! Kaiser invented those miracle seeds all by himself and gave away 45 million gold for the poor!
I-I need to go to the Grand Library right now and read 10 more books on farming so I can talk to him again without sounding like a total airhead! Wait—what if I stutter again when I see him?! Ugh, why am I always such a clumsy mess?!
"Excuse me, pretty big sister!"
"Can we talk to you for a second, please?"
I stopped in my tracks and looked down at my shoes.
Standing right in front of a colorful street-side candy stall were 2 tiny, super-cute little girls holding hands, staring at the jars of sweet fruit candy before looking up at me with big, sparkling eyes.
Aww! Oh my gosh its ami & bibi, look at how cute they are!
Wait—they're staring right at the fruit candy! Do they want candy?! Of course they want candy! Hang on, Eve, don't stutter in front of kids!
"U-Um, h-hello there!" I stammered, kneeling down and fumbling with my coin purse right away.
"A-Are you 2 hungry? Wait right here—Mr. Shopkeeper, 2 big bags of sweet fruit candy, please!"
I paid the stall owner 2 silver coins and handed the 2 colorful bags of fruit candy straight to the little girls with a big smile.
"H-Here you go! Eat as much as you like, okay?"
"Waaaah! Thank you, pretty big sister!" the 2 girls cheered together, popping a piece of fruit candy into their mouths before suddenly reaching out and grabbing both of my hands tightly!
"We meet again!" Bibi beamed up at me.
"Big sister, you're super pretty, you smell nice, and you bought us candy again! Will you marry our Papa and be our new Mommy?!"
...
...Huh?!
M-M-MOMMY?!
They want me to be their MOMMY?!
W-Wait, why are they asking a random girl on the street to marry their father?! Hang on, ask them nicely before you faint, Eve!
"M-M-Mommy?!" I squeaked, my whole face turning bright red as I tried not to drop my books.
"W-Wait a second, Amy, Bibi! Why do you 2 need a new Mommy out here on the street?!"
"Because our Papa is super lonely!" Amy said, tugging my hand with both of hers.
"He takes care of all 3 of us all by himself, and he doesn't have a wife, so we need a Mommy to make Papa happy!"
Aww, their poor Papa is raising 3 kids all alone...
Wait, I feel bad for him, b-but I already am focusing on Kaiser! I can't marry some random man!
"Y-Your Papa sounds like a very nice man, b-but I really can't—who is your Papa anyway?" I asked timidly.
"Yes! Our Papa is Kaiser! Kaiser Everhart!" Amy and Bibi shouted together.
...
...K-Kaiser?!
KAISER?!
WAIT A SECOND—THESE ARE THE ORPHAN GIRLS KAISER ADOPTED!
AND THEY JUST SAID KAISER IS LONELY!
Kai—MY Kaiser—is sitting somewhere right now feeling lonely without a wife, and his daughters are asking ME to marry him and be their Mommy?!
KAISER IS LONELY! I MUST DO SOMETHING RIGHT NOW!
"I-I-I'LL BE YOUR MOMMY! TAKE ME TO KAISER THIS INSTANT!" I blurted out, my heart pounding so loud in my ears I could barely hear myself stutter as I held onto their hands.
"W-Where is he?! Why is he lonely?! Come on, let's go cure your Papa's loneliness right now!"
*
> Perspective: Celia
> Date: February 6, 2018 — 10:36 AM
> Location: Sylvaris — West Fountain Food Stalls
Mmm... Nothing in Sylvaris beats hot, crispy Aloo Tikki in the morning.
I sat at a clean wooden table near the west food stalls, happily taking a bite of a golden-fried spiced potato patty topped with tangy tamarind chutney, green mint sauce, and chilled yogurt.
Crispy outside, warm and spicy inside—pure heaven.
And best of all, Lucifer isn't around to give me a headache today.
"Hey, pretty white-haired sister!"
I paused with my fork halfway to my mouth and looked down beside my chair.
A tiny, adorable little girl with small dark horns and bright, cheerful eyes was standing right beside my table, smiling up at me.
Oh, how adorable.
I set my fork down and leaned down toward her with a warm, gentle smile, wiping a tiny smudge of dust off her cheek with my napkin.
"Hello there, little girl," I said kindly. "What's your name? Are you out here all by yourself?"
"I'm Lily!" the little girl chirped happily, pointing back toward the central fountain.
"My Papa sent me out to find him a new wife! It's for his 2nd marriage—he's standing over there by the fountain waiting for me to bring him a Mommy!"
My gentle smile froze solid on my face.
...What did she just say?
Her father sent a tiny girl out onto the street to hunt for women for his 2nd marriage?!
I knelt down on 1 knee in front of Lily so we were eye-to-eye, keeping my voice soft while my blood started heating up.
"Lily, sweetheart," I asked gently, holding her small hands. "Tell me about your Papa. Is your Papa rude to you? Does he yell at you?"
"Huh? No, Papa is never rude to me!" Lily shook her head with a big giggle.
"Does he hit you, or force you to work?" I asked, my eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Nooo! Papa never hits us! He pats my head and makes us yummy toast!" Lily beamed, stretching her arms out wide.
"Papa is super handsome, and super tall, and really smart—he's just not rich!"
"Wait—if he's completely fine, why isn't he looking for a wife himself?" I asked.
"Because Papa said he wants a strong, rich Mommy to pay for all his groceries and take care of him like a baby boy while he sits on the bench!" Lily said proudly.
SNAP.
The wooden fork in my other hand snapped clean in half.
My blood is actually boiling.
This sweet, innocent little angel is walking around the street begging strangers to be her Mommy because her shameless, deadbeat father can't even pick up women himself and wants a sugar mommy to buy his groceries?!
Disgusting! Truly the lowest scum of humanity!
I stood straight up, took Lily's tiny hand in mine, and flashed a sweet, murderous smile.
"Take me to him right now, sweetheart," I said calmly.
"I am going to teach your shameless father a lesson he will never forget."
Lily bounced happily on her heels as she led me toward the fountain.
"Yay! Will you be my Mommy, pretty big sister?!"
"U-Um... uh, let me meet him and beat some manners into him 1st, okay?" I stammered, clearing my throat as we marched toward the plaza.
Just wait, you shameless deadbeat. You are going to pay for sending your daughter out here like this!
*
> Perspective: Eve & Celia (Merged) -> Kaiser Everhart
> Date: February 6, 2018 — 10:42 AM
> Location: Sylvaris — The Lamppost Bench by the Central Fountain
Holding Amy and Bibi's hands, Eve hurried around the right side of the fountain—at the exact same moment Celia marched around the left side holding Lily's hand!
Right in front of the fountain steps, the 2 groups walked straight into each other and stopped.
"Lily! Look! I found this pretty big sister to be our Mommy!" Bibi cheered, pointing up at Eve.
"Amy! Bibi! I found her to be our Mommy!" Lily cheered back, pointing up at Celia.
Above the 3 little girls, Eve saw Celia, and Celia saw Eve—and then Celia blinked down at Amy and Bibi holding Eve's hands.
Neither of the women was on good terms.
[Eve]: E-E-EEK! It's Celia! Why is Celia glaring at me like she wants to bite my head off?! I'm kinda scared of her—wait, why is she holding that little girl's hand?!
[Celia]: Ugh, why is this annoying, stuttering girl standing in my way?! Wait a second... Amy and Bibi?! Why are the 2 little girls from Kaiser's house holding her hand—and why are they calling this new horned girl "Lily"?! Don't tell me—!
"Yay! That means we'll have 2 Mommies then, huh?!" Lily, Amy, and Bibi cheered in unison, jumping up and down in a circle.
"W-WHAT?! 2 MOMMIES?!" Both Eve and Celia gasped in shock.
Eve's pink eyes narrowed with a sudden flash of cute jealousy as she hugged Amy's hand tighter.
[Eve]: N-No way! Why would Celia be Kaiser's wife too?! Kaiser is MY—I mean, I agreed to be their Mommy 1st!
Across from her, Celia smirked coldly to herself, still refusing to believe the "2nd marriage" bum Lily described could possibly be Kaiser.
[Celia]: Hah! Maybe Amy and Bibi are just helping Lily find a wife for some random lazy uncle in their neighborhood! Actually, wow, that's a great thing—if this ditzy pink-haired girl marries some random deadbeat father, Kaiser will finally be saved from her chasing after him!
"Come on, Mommies! Papa is right over there behind the pole!"
Lily, Amy, and Bibi pulled both Eve and Celia across the stones toward the wooden bench behind the tall black lamppost—where Kaiser was sitting backwards on the bench, facing the opposite direction, lazily aura-farming with his chin propped on his hand.
"Papa! We found you 2 Mommies!" Lily, Amy, and Bibi announced together.
Before Eve or Celia could take another step, Kaiser calmly raised 1 index finger into the air without turning around, motioning for them to be quiet.
"Quiet for a second, kids. Let Papa talk," Kaiser's casual voice rang out.
Celia's jaw dropped to the floor as her eyes went wide with shock.
[Celia]: ...W-WHAT?! KAISER?! THAT VOICE IS KAISER?! HE HAS CHILDREN?! WHAT THE HELL?!
Still facing the complete opposite direction—100% convinced that 2 random women from the plaza were standing behind his bench—Kaiser launched straight into his prepared speech:
"Alright, listen closely," Kaiser said lazily to the empty street in front of him, not looking back once.
"2 women? That's fine by me. Starting today, you 2 will become my housewives."
He held up his fingers in the air as he listed his demands.
"Here is how our marriage is going to work: I, for 1, will not work. I will not clean. I will not do jack shit around the house."
"..."
"My daily schedule is simple," Kaiser continued smoothly, still facing the wrong way.
"I will sleep, eat, sleep, eat, and sometimes do inventions—though mostly I will sleep and eat. Meanwhile, you 2 will be my dutiful wives, paying the bills and raising my adopted children."
Celia let out a massive, subconscious breath of relief without even realizing it.
[Celia]: Huh?! Adopted children?! Phew—wait, when the hell did he adopt 3 children?! And why is this shameless idiot talking in the opposite direction?!
Next to her, Eve was a complete blushing, flustered mess, twisting her fingers together as her heart raced.
[Eve]: W-Why is he asking for marriage like that?! Who asks 2 girls for marriage while facing the opposite direction?! B-But if Kai wants to sleep and eat at home all day, I can cook for him every single day... at least learn to!
"In exchange for your hard work," Kaiser finished grandly, offering them his back like a benevolent emperor.
"I will bestow upon both of you the prideful title of being my wives."
[Kaiser]: Heh. Genius. There is 0 chance any woman on earth accepts a speech that obnoxious. Now I just turn around, watch them reject me in disgust, and go home!
Wearing a smug grin, Kaiser finally turned his head around on the bench.
"So, ladies—"
His blue eyes locked directly onto Eve and Celia standing 4 feet behind his bench.
"—AAAAHHHHH?!"
Kaiser shrieked like he had just seen a ghost, lost his balance on the bench, and crashed straight down onto his butt on the stone floor!
"W-WHO ARE YOU—I MEAN, WHY ARE YOU—I MEAN, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU 2 HERE?!" Kaiser stammered, pointing a shaking finger up at both of them from the ground.
Standing side by side above him, both Celia and Eve crossed their arms over their chests, glaring straight down at him sitting on the cobblestones.
"Papa! Look, our new Mommies!" Lily, Amy, and Bibi cheered happily around his knees.
Sitting flat on the ground under Celia's murderous glare and Eve's bright-red stare, Kaiser clutched his head with both hands and let out a hopeless cry:
"NOOOOOO!"
[Kaiser]: Out of 8,000,000,000 people on this planet, and out of every single woman walking down this street, how the hell did these 3 kids bring back the ONLY 2 girls I cannot date and literally just broke up with?!
[Kaiser]: What kind of cursed luck is this?! Did I kick an orphan puppy in a past life?! No, I literally adopted 3 orphans right here, so where is my good karma?!
While Kaiser was having a full mental breakdown on the cobblestones, Lily tugged eagerly on the hem of Celia's elegant long-sleeved black dress, looking up with huge, sparkling eyes.
"Pretty white-haired lady! Will you be our new Mommy?"
At the exact same time, Amy and Bibi held onto Eve's warm yellow frilly dress, bouncing on their heels.
"Pretty pink-haired big sister! Will you be our new Mommy too?"
Both Celia and Eve froze.
Because both Kaiser and Celia had pushed each other away during their messy breakup, and because Kaiser had coldly told Eve that they should be strangers just days ago, both girls were still carrying fresh, stinging wounds in their chests—and both of them immediately put their guards up.
Yet neither of them said the word no.
"W-Well..." Eve blushed furiously, her two white hair ribbons bobbing as she looked down at Amy and Bibi and offered a gentle, indirect smile.
"Before answering that, I think we need to have a very long talk with your Papa 1st."
"That's right," Celia huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and patting Lily's silver hair before shooting a razor-sharp glare down at Kaiser.
"Your Papa and I have a few things to settle 1st."
[Kaiser]: Wait a minute—why aren't they just saying no to the kids and walking away?! Just say no! It takes 1 syllable! N-O!
Before Kaiser could even scramble back onto the bench, Celia clicked her red heels against the stone pavement and marched right up to him, hiding her hurt behind her prickly, sharp-tongued mask.
"What the hell is this '2nd marriage' nonsense you've been feeding these kids, huh?!" Celia snapped, leaning down with her hands on her hips.
"Wait a second—if this is your 2nd marriage, who the hell did you even marry 1st?! When did you have a 1st wife?!"
"Nobody! I didn't marry anybody!" Kaiser protested from the floor, waving both hands defensively.
"It was a cover story so random women wouldn't kidnap me!"
"Kai..."
Before Celia could yell at him again, Eve knelt right down on the cobblestones beside Kaiser, her pastel-pink eyes wide with genuine, puppy-like worry and her cheeks flushed a soft pink.
"Are you really okay, Kai?" Eve asked softly, reaching out to check his messy hair as if checking for a fever.
"Amy and Bibi told me you've been working so hard all by yourself... and they said you were super lonely at home."
"Me?! Lonely?!" Kaiser's voice cracked an octave higher as he pointed at his own nose.
"What do you mean lonely?! Who told you I'm lonely?! I'm having the time of my life sleeping 14 hours a day!"
"See?! He's clearly lying to hide his exhaustion!" Eve turned toward Celia with an innocent, earnest frown.
"Look at his messy hair and that wrinkled shirt! We should be worried about whether he's even eating warm meals or if he's feeling depressed!"
"Depressed?! Are you kidding me?!" Celia scoffed, gesturing at Kaiser like a nagging wife catching her husband doing something stupid.
"Look at his shameless face! Does that look like a depressed man to you?! We should be scolding him for sitting on a bench like a jobless bum and demanding 2 housewives to pay his bills!"
"B-But Amy and Bibi said this is for his 2nd marriage because his 1st wife died!" Eve argued back, puffing her cheeks out cutely.
"If he's talking about a dead 1st wife that never existed, doesn't that mean the stress has finally gotten to his head?!"
"His head was already broken from the day he was born!" Celia shot back, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Wait—forget the stress! I still want to know who this imaginary 1st wife is supposed to be! Did you make up a dead wife just to get sympathy points from rich widows?!"
"I'm telling you, we need to check his diet and his mental health 1st!"
"And I'm telling you, we need to lecture some common sense into his thick skull 1st!"
Watching Eve act like an overly worried, innocent sweetheart while Celia nagged him like a furious wife who had just caught him skipping chores, Kaiser felt cold sweat pouring down the back of his neck.
[Kaiser]: Why are they arguing with each other over the proper order to interrogate me?! Why are they both acting like they actually care after we broke things off?! I need to get out of here before I die of awkwardness!
Scrambling to his feet and dusting off his pants, Kaiser forced out a loud, awkward laugh and clapped his hands together.
"Haha! You know what, kids? Let's not bother these 2 busy ladies anymore!" Kaiser announced, slowly backing away toward the street.
"Let's go back to that flower shop down the block—honestly, I think I preferred that Elven florist from earlier anyway. She was kinda cute."
Silence dropped over the fountain plaza like a guillotine.
"..."
"..."
"Cute?" Eve repeated softly.
Her sweet, worried expression vanished in 0.2 seconds. Pouting her lips, Eve gave Kaiser a deeply jealous side-eye, her large pastel-pink eyes suddenly flashing with a sharp, dangerous glint of blue and pink light.
[Eve]: ...Cute? An Elven florist? I was losing sleep worrying about how much pain he was in after he told me we should be strangers... and he's out here calling a random flower shop girl cute?!
Beside her, Celia's blood-red eyes narrowed into absolute murder slits, the red half of the ring on her middle finger pulsing against her clenched fist.
[Celia]: Oh, I see how it is! So he dumps me saying he has no heart and can't love anyone, and 2 days later he's flirting with a curvy Elven florist and begging random women on the street to pay for his groceries?!
"I see," Eve said in a dangerously sweet voice, taking a step toward him while smiling with zero warmth in her eyes.
"Here I was thinking you were terribly busy saving the world and taking care of yourself, Kai... I had no idea your schedule was so full of 'Mommy hunting' at flower shops."
"Don't hold back on his account," Celia sneered, stepping up right beside Eve and cracking her knuckles.
"Looking at him right now, I think we can officially crown him the worst scum in human history. No—calling him human scum is an insult to regular trash. He's the shameless, two-timing dirtbag of the century."
"Hey, wait a second, why are you 2 teaming up now?!" Kaiser yelped, taking 2 steps back as both girls advanced on him.
"Weren't you arguing with each other 5 seconds ago?!"
"That was before we heard about your 'cute' Elven florist," Eve said, her pout deepening as her eyes flashed again.
"Maybe I should go visit that flower shop myself and see just how cute the flowers are."
"Forget the flowers, I'll punch him right here," Celia snapped, raising a fist.
"You have a lot of nerve sending 3 little girls out to recruit women for you while you sit on your ass, you hopeless deadbeat!"
"Wait—don't talk to my Papa like that!"
Before Celia or Eve could take another step, tiny 6-year-old Lily suddenly jumped right in front of Kaiser's knees and spread both of her small arms wide like a miniature bodyguard!
"My Papa is NOT a deadbeat!" Lily shouted at the top of her lungs, puffing out her chest fiercely.
"My Papa works super hard for us every single day, and he is the strongest, coolest Papa in the whole wide world!"
Both Celia and Eve froze in their tracks, blinking down in surprise at the tiny silver-haired girl glaring up at them.
"Papa gave us a warm bed, and he bought us meals, and he holds my hand whenever I have scary nightmares!" Lily continued, stomping her little foot on the cobblestones.
"He only came here today because I begged him to find me a Mommy!"
"Lily..." Celia's fierce expression softened immediately, guilt pricking at her chest. "Wait, sweetheart, I didn't mean—"
"No!" Lily shook her head stubbornly, her lower lip trembling just a little as she defended Kaiser with everything she had.
"If you 2 are just gonna argue with my Papa and say mean things to hurt him..."
"then I don't need a Mommy like you!"
"Hmph!" Lily crossed her tiny arms, turning her nose up at both of them.
"Even if you 2 are super pretty, anyone who bullies my Papa is disqualified!"
[Kaiser]: ...Bro. Look at my daughter stepping up like a champion. I didn't even pay her to say that.
Putting on the most tragic, crocodile-tear expression imaginable, Kaiser dropped to 1 knee behind Lily and wrapped his arms around her in a dramatic hug, resting his chin on top of her silver head.
"Sniff... It's okay, Lily," Kaiser said in a fake-heartbroken voice, patting her back while peeking up at Celia and Eve.
"Don't be mad at them. Since they just rejected us and said no to being your Mommy, we'll just pack up our broken hearts and go find you a nice, gentle Mommy somewhere else."
"Huh?!" Celia and Eve blurted out in complete unison.
Both girls' faces turned bright crimson from their necks all the way to the tips of their ears.
"W-Wait a minute! When did I say no?!" Eve stammered, waving both hands frantically in front of her chest.
"I never said no!"
"Y-Yeah! Who the hell said no?!" Celia barked, her voice pitching high with sheer embarrassment as she looked away and tugged on her white ponytail.
"I only said I wanted to talk to you 1st, you idiot! I didn't say no!"
Kaiser froze mid-hug, blinking at both of them in total, genuine confusion.
"Huh?" Kaiser tilted his head. "What do you mean you didn't say no?!"
[Kaiser]: Wait, what is wrong with these 2?! I dumped both of them! Why are neither of them saying no to marrying a self-proclaimed jobless bum with 3 kids?! Are all the women in this city allergic to the word "no" today?!
Realizing what they had just blurted out in front of each other—and in front of the kids—Celia and Eve glanced sideways at one another, blushed 10 times harder, and immediately redirected all of their mortified frustration back onto Kaiser!
"S-Shut up! Stop twisting our words!" Celia shouted, her red eyes blazing with embarrassment as dark mana sparked around her knuckles. "You know what?! You seriously need to be taught a lesson today for making little girls run around the street begging for a wife!"
"I-I agree!" Eve nodded rapidly, her face glowing like a ripe tomato as she balled her small fists.
"Making Lily cry and tricking Amy and Bibi into doing this... you need a proper lecture right now, Kai!"
Watching both girls step forward with steam practically whistling out of their ears, Kaiser slowly looked up at the clear blue morning sky and pressed his palms together in prayer.
"Hey, God. It's me, Kaiser," he prayed out loud.
"Help me. If You are truly up there watching over Your humble servant... send a prophet right now and save me from these 2 crazy women."
---
"I may not be God..."
A deep, overly dramatic voice suddenly echoed from the top of the stone fountain.
"...but in the abyss of the night, they call me Shadow."
Everyone in the plaza froze and looked up.
Standing on the edge of the fountain in broad daylight with a black cloak dramatic-flapping in a non-existent wind was Lucas, striking an edgy pose with 2 fingers held over 1 eye.
"Lucas?!" Celia snapped. "What the hell are you doing up there—"
"Fear not, brother. The darkness answers your call!"
Lucas whipped a small, round Light-magic flashbang orb out of his pocket and tossed it straight onto the cobblestones between them.
"Wait, Lucas, that's a—oh, oh shit!" Kaiser yelled, slapping his hands over his eyes.
BOOM!
A blinding, miniature sun of pure white Light magic detonated across the fountain plaza, turning the entire world completely white!
"KYAAAAH!"
"MY EYES! LUCAS, YOU RETARD!"
*
3 minutes later.
When the ringing in Kaiser's ears finally faded and he blinked his eyes open, the fountain, the kids, Celia, and Eve were completely gone.
Instead, Kaiser found himself sitting cross-legged on the concrete curb of a quiet backstreet footpath 6 blocks away.
Sitting right next to him on the curb was the Sword Saint of God-Speed, Levi Ashton, who had a straw hat tilted back on his head and was casually munching on a freshly peeled, bright yellow mango.
"Yo, Kaiser," Levi said around a mouthful of mango, giving him a casual nod. "Heard you were in town."
"Yo, Levi," Kaiser exhaled a massive sigh of relief, slumping his shoulders. "Thanks for saving me back there, bro. Those 2 women were about to turn me into mincemeat."
"Yo, what do you mean thanking HIM?!"
Standing right in front of the curb with his hands on his hips, Lucas looked deeply offended.
"It was me, Shadow, that saved you!" Lucas declared, puffing out his chest.
"I was twerking by the shadows and watching in the darkness, waiting for the exact moment to extract you!"
Kaiser stared at Lucas with a completely deadpan expression, then pointed a thumb up at the blazing morning sun overhead.
"1st of all, bro, it's 10 in the morning. There is zero darkness out here," Kaiser said flatly.
"And 2nd of all," Levi chimed in, pausing with a slice of mango halfway to his mouth as he looked up at Lucas with a furrowed brow.
"What do you mean 'twerking' by the shadows, bro? You mean lurking?"
Lucas blinked twice.
"Oh. My bad," Lucas said casually, scratching his cheek.
"Brain autocorrect."
"How does your brain have autocorrect in real life?!" Kaiser rubbed his temples, then noticed 4 massive wooden crates stacked neatly on the footpath beside Levi, overflowing with ripe, golden mangoes.
Sitting proudly on top of the highest crate was a tiny, 2-pound white courier pigeon wearing a miniature leather vest.
"Wait a minute," Lucas leaned in, squinting at the pigeon before grinning and giving Levi a thumbs-up.
"Whoa, nice bird, bro."
Levi's eyes narrowed instantly.
"He is Kobutor," Levi corrected in a dead-serious tone.
"Not a bird."
"Coo." Kobutor puffed his white feathered chest out on top of the mangoes.
"Oh, my bad, OG, relax," Lucas held his hands up respectfully.
"Didn't mean to disrespect Mr. Kobutor."
Kaiser looked at the 4 crates of mangoes, looked at Kobutor, looked at Lucas, and then looked at Levi.
"Alright, I'll bite," Kaiser said. "Why did you kidnap me to a random footpath with 4 crates of fruit?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Lucas grinned, slapping his chest. "We are launching an empire, bro! Behold: our new Mango Business! I am the negotiator, Levi is the heavy carrier, and Mr. Kobutor here is our elite aerial delivery boy!"
"Wait," Kaiser squinted at the two of them. "So we're banding up together to make a mango business?"
"Yes!" Lucas cheered, pumping his fist.
"No!" Levi suddenly slammed his hand down on his knee, shaking his head with absolute religious conviction.
"No banding! Bands are haram. Music is haram. We will NOT be banding."
Kaiser stared at Levi for 3 full seconds before slapping his palm straight against his own forehead.
[Kaiser]: Oh my god. I literally just escaped from 2 psychopathic women only to get kidnapped by 2 completely crazy mentally-deranged men. What is my life right now?! Why are we starting a street mango business in the middle of the morning?!
"Levi, bro, I meant teaming up, not starting a rock band," Kaiser sighed, dragging his hand down his face. "And seriously, why a mango business?"
"Mango," Levi said simply, holding up a shiny golden mango like it was a sacred relic.
"Yummy mango I found for free in an abandoned bandit wagon = 100% pure profit."
Levi pointed his peeling knife directly at Kaiser's chest with a confident grin.
"And you, cunning man—you could sell 5 liters of water to a drowning man in the middle of the ocean. You will be our head salesman."
Kaiser looked back down the street toward the plaza where two furious, blushing girls were probably still searching for him, then looked back at the golden mango in Levi's hand.
[Kaiser]: ...Actually, you know what? Sitting on the curb eating free fruit with the boys sounds 100 times more peaceful than explaining my imaginary 1st wife to Celia and Eve.
"Sure," Kaiser shrugged, reaching into the crate and grabbing a fat mango for himself.
"Way better than dealing with women. Hand me a knife, bro."
"That's the spirit!" Lucas cheered, plopping right down onto the concrete curb on the other side of Levi and grabbing a mango too.
Within 30 seconds, the 3 of them were sitting side by side on the footpath like 3 shameless street bros, slicing open fresh mangoes and eating them right off the peel with juice dripping down their fingers.
"Yo, bro," Kaiser nodded approvingly after taking a huge bite. "Nice mango. Actually super sweet."
"Told you," Levi nodded proudly, tossing a tiny cube of mango up for Kobutor to catch in mid-air.
"100% profit, 100% halal."
---
Back at the fountain plaza.
Once the blinding flash of Lucas's Light bomb finally cleared, Celia and Eve blinked away the purple spots in their vision—only to find the wooden bench completely empty.
"He... he ran away?!" Celia stomped her red heel against the cobblestones, her white ponytail whipping around as she scanned the street.
"That cowardly, shameless bastard actually used a flashbang to ditch us!"
"A-And he left the kids behind too?!" Eve gasped, turning around in a panic.
Except Amy and Bibi were already gone.
Having inherited Kaiser's sharp survival instincts, the twins had taken 1 look at the flashbang, exchanged a silent nod, and quietly slipped out of the plaza to walk back to their apartment down the block before the dust even settled.
Only the younger Lily was still standing right in the middle of the plaza, blinking her big eyes at the empty bench before looking up at Celia and Eve.
"Um..." Lily fiddled with the hem of her little dress, lowering her silver head guiltily.
"Pretty ladies... I'm sorry for yelling at you and being so harsh earlier."
Both Celia's and Eve's anger evaporated on the spot.
"Oh, no, sweetheart, you don't need to apologize at all!" Eve immediately knelt down in her yellow frilly dress, gently patting Lily's shoulder.
"I just... I didn't want anyone looking down on my Papa," Lily whispered, sniffing softly as she looked up at both of them with pure, innocent devotion.
"Papa works so hard to protect us, even when he looks super tired... so I got mad when you called him mean names."
Hearing the tiny orphan defend Kaiser so earnestly after just losing her own parents, both Celia and Eve felt their hearts melt into absolute puddles.
[Celia]: Ugh... how can a child raised by that shameless idiot be such an angel?! Now I feel like a total villain for yelling earlier!
[Eve]: She's so precious... Kai really has been taking good care of her behind that lazy act of his.
Then, Lily's eyes lit up as she looked back and forth between Celia's black dress and Eve's yellow ribbons, a bright, gap-toothed smile spreading across her face.
"Actually, I changed my mind!" Lily declared happily.
"My Papa really DOES need a Mommy wife like you 2!"
"E-Eh?!" Both girls blushed all over again.
Lily pointed a tiny finger at Celia first.
"Papa needs you as his wife so someone can make sure he takes care of himself and doesn't do silly things!"
Then Lily pointed her finger at Eve.
"And Papa needs you as his wife so you can keep watch on him and make sure he isn't lonely!"
Before Lily could even finish giggling, Celia and Eve snapped their heads toward each other, competitive sparks flying straight between their eyes!
"I can do both of those!" Celia and Eve blurted out at the exact same time. "We don't need 2!"
"Huh?" Lily tilted her head innocently. "Why not? Having 2 pretty Mommies is 2 times better than 1!"
"T-That's not how marriage works, Lily!" Celia coughed into her fist, her cheeks burning red.
"Um... Amy and Bibi went home without me, and I'm scared to walk back through the big streets all by myself," Lily said, looking up at them with puppy-dog eyes.
"Can you take me home, please?"
"Of course! I'll take you straight home, Lily," Celia said immediately, reaching her hand down.
"Wait, I'm the one who found Amy and Bibi 1st, so I should be the one to walk her home!" Eve protested, stepping forward and offering her hand too.
"Excuse me? Lily literally asked me to be her Mommy 1st!"
"By 2 seconds! And you were scolding her Papa the whole time!"
While the two girls were bickering over who got to escort her, Lily simply giggled, reached up with both of her small hands, and grabbed Celia's left hand and Eve's right hand at the same time.
"Yay! You 2 can BOTH take me home!" Lily cheered, swinging their arms between them as she started skipping down the street.
Caught completely off guard, Celia and Eve looked down at their hands holding Lily's, glanced awkwardly at each other across the little girl's silver head, and reluctantly started walking side by side.
"Thank you, Mommy Celia!" Lily beamed up at Celia.
Celia nearly tripped over her own red heels, a blush rushing back to her cheeks—though she didn't correct the title, her fingers tightening gently around Lily's small hand.
"Y-You're welcome, Lily," Celia muttered, looking away shyly.
Then Lily looked up at Eve on her other side.
"Um, pretty pink-haired sister, what is your name?" Lily asked.
"My name is Eve," Eve replied with a warm, gentle smile.
Lily scrunched up her tiny nose and tried to repeat it.
"E-Eb?" Lily tried. "Ab? Ev-v-ve?"
For some reason, her 6-year-old tongue kept tripping over the consonant. Pouting in frustration, Lily looked up at Eve with wide, hopeful eyes.
"It's too hard to say! Can I call you something else?" Lily asked, staring straight into Eve's large pastel-pink eyes for a moment before beaming brightly:
"Mommy Elfie!"
Eve blinked her pastel-pink eyes in surprise.
"Huh? Elfie?" Eve repeated softly.
On the other side of Lily, Celia's blood-red eyes narrowed sharply, her head snapping toward Eve and Lily.
"Wait a minute," Celia asked, her voice dropping half an octave as she stared at the little girl. "Why that name? Did Kaiser tell you to say that?"
"No! Papa didn't tell me anything!" Lily shook her head innocently, swinging their hands as she skipped along the flagstones.
"It just popped right onto my tongue when I looked at her pretty eyes! Can I call you Mommy Elfie, please?"
Looking down at the smiling little girl—and feeling a strange, warm tug somewhere deep inside her chest at the sound of that nickname—Eve felt her cheeks warm and nodded softly.
"U-Um... sure! You can call me Mommy Elfie, Lily."
"Yay! Mommy Celia and Mommy Elfie!"
As the 3 of them walked down the bustling morning boulevard toward the apartment complex, both Celia and Eve naturally slipped into full motherly mode without even realizing it.
"Hold on, Lily, don't skip so close to the edge of the cobblestone curb," Celia scolded gently, pulling Lily half a step closer to the inner sidewalk as a horse-drawn carriage rolled past.
"Carriages in this district drive way too fast. Always walk on the inside of the street when you're with grown-ups, okay?"
"Okay, Mommy Celia!" Lily nodded obediently, then added casually, "When we walk with Papa, Papa just walks right in the middle of the road and tells the horses to go around him."
"Of course that idiot does," Celia groaned, rolling her eyes skyward.
[Celia]: Why am I not surprised? And why the hell is Eve still holding her other hand? Does she seriously think she's going to play house with Kaiser too?
"And Lily, make sure you and your sisters eat a proper warm breakfast every morning," Eve chimed in softly, reaching down to tuck a stray lock of silver hair behind Lily's ear.
"Does your Papa cook breakfast for you 3 on time?"
"Hmm... Papa usually sleeps until noon with a pillow over his face!" Lily reported cheerfully. "So Amy makes toast for us, and when Papa wakes up, he drinks cold coffee from yesterday and eats 1 piece of dry bread!"
Both Celia and Eve stopped smiling at the exact same second, their eyebrows twitching in synchronized fury.
"Cold coffee and 1 piece of dry bread?!" Eve gasped, horrified. "That's not a meal! How can he neglect his body like that after everything he's been through?!"
[Eve]: No wonder he looked so thin! Wait—why is Celia getting just as mad as I am?Why is she still here acting like his wife when I'm the one walking Lily home?!
"I knew it! That lazy, good-for-nothing man can't even survive 48 hours without someone managing his life!" Celia fumed, her red heels clicking sharply against the pavement.
"Does he at least go to sleep at a normal hour at night, Lily?"
"Nope!" Lily swung their hands happily. "When I wake up at 3 AM to get water, Papa is always sitting at the table staring at weird papers with dark circles under his eyes! Sometimes he forgets to eat dinner too!"
"He skips dinner AND stays up until 3 in the morning?!" Celia and Eve snapped in unison, both of them now royally pissed off at Kaiser's terrible self-care habits.
"When I get my hands on him, I'm going to force-feed him 3 square meals a day even if I have to tie him to a chair," Celia muttered darkly.
"I'll buy him so many nutritious meals he won't be able to skip a single one," Eve declared with fierce determination.
Walking between the two fuming girls, Lily looked up at Celia, then looked up at Eve, and asked a completely innocent question:
"By the way, Mommy Celia, Mommy Elfie... you 2 didn't say no to marrying Papa earlier at the fountain," Lily said brightly.
"Does that mean you both really want to marry my Papa?"
"..."
"..."
Dead silence fell between the two girls.
Celia's face turned crimson as she stared furiously at a lamppost across the street, while Eve stared straight down at the toes of her shoes with steam rising from her pink cheeks. Neither of them said a single word for the next 50 yards.
---
Just as the 3 of them rounded the corner onto the quiet avenue leading toward the apartment complex, Lily pointed ahead and gasped.
"Look! There's Papa!"
Halfway down the block, sitting right on the dirty concrete curb like 3 carefree homeless bros having a street picnic, were Kaiser, Levi, and Lucas.
Empty mango skins were piled neatly beside their shoes, Mr. Kobutor was sleeping on top of the wooden crate, and all 3 young men were laughing out loud with mango juice on their chins.
"I'm telling you, bro, music is 100% haram," Levi was preaching passionately, waving a half-eaten mango in the air. "Put down the instruments, pick up the sword and the mango. Stick around, I'll tell you the entire historical lore behind it."
"Yeah, get him, bro! Preach that knowledge!" Lucas hyped him up, clapping his sticky hands together.
"Honestly, I'm down," Kaiser grinned, leaning back on his elbows on the sidewalk. "Tell me this mythology, bro, I have nowhere to be all day—"
"AHEM!"
Celia cleared her throat so loudly it echoed off the brick buildings on both sides of the street.
Standing 15 feet away on the sidewalk, Celia and Eve were both glaring daggers straight at the 3 men sitting on the curb—especially at Kaiser, who was supposed to be an exhausted, overworked single father, currently living his best life eating stolen street mangoes.
Kaiser slowly turned his head, saw Celia and Eve standing there holding Lily's hands, and didn't even blink.
"Scary women," Kaiser said flatly.
"Huh? What's scary about them—" Lucas turned his head to look, saw Celia's glowing blood-red eyes and Eve's terrifying smile after flashbanging both of them 10 minutes ago, and his soul nearly left his body.
"—HUH?!"
Without standing up or dropping his mango slice, Kaiser casually turned his head toward Levi sitting next to him.
"Yo, bro. Help," Kaiser said calmly. "Take me to the seashore!"
"Bet." Levi replied instantly.
WHOOSH—BOOM!
A sonic boom cracked across the pavement as Levi grabbed Kaiser by the collar of his wrinkled shirt and vanished down the avenue at supersonic God-Speed, leaving a swirling vortex of dust and flying mango peels behind!
Sitting all by himself on the curb, Lucas stared at the empty space beside him for 0.5 seconds before jumping straight up into the air with both arms flailing!
"YO! YOU LEFT ME BEHIND, YOU TRAITORS!" Lucas screamed mid-jump.
Before Lucas's boots could even touch the ground again—
FLASH!
A blur of lightning-fast movement streaked back down the street, scooped Lucas right out of mid-air like a sack of potatoes while grabbing the mango crates and Mr. Kobutor under 1 arm, and bolted away at Mach 3!
0.5 seconds later—
FLASH!
Levi skidded back to the exact spot on the curb for a split second, snatched his straw hat off the concrete before it finished falling, tipped it politely toward Celia and Eve—
"My bad, ladies, I forgot my hat."
—and vanished into thin air a 2nd time!
WHOOSH!
A single leaf drifted slowly down onto the empty concrete curb.
Celia and Eve stood completely frozen on the sidewalk, staring at the empty footpath in deadpan, absolute disbelief.
[Celia & Eve]: ...What the hell was that?!
Between them, 6-year-old Lily pulled her hands free and clapped wildly, her silver eyes sparkling like stars as she stared down the empty street!
"WOOOOOW! Cool superheroes!" Lily cheered, jumping up and down in excitement. "Did you see how fast they flew?! Papa was hanging out with real-life superheroes!"
"Lily," Celia said in a completely hollow, deadpan voice.
"Sweetheart," Eve added with the exact same flat expression.
"Those 3 are NOT superheroes," both girls said in unison.
---
10 minutes later, Celia and Eve arrived at the door of the apartment complex on the 3rd floor, where Amy and Bibi were already peeking out from behind the doorframe waiting for their little sister.
"Amy! Bibi! Mommy Celia and Mommy Elfie walked me all the way home!" Lily announced happily, running over to the doorway before stopping and turning back around.
"Um... Mommy Celia, Mommy Elfie, can you 2 bend down for a second?" Lily asked shyly.
Puzzled, both Celia and Eve knelt down in the hallway so they were at eye level with the little girl.
Stepping forward, Lily wrapped her tiny arms around Celia's neck and planted a soft kiss right on Celia's cheek—and then stepped over, hugged Eve's neck, and planted an equally sweet kiss right on Eve's cheek.
"Thank you for being so kind to me today, and for walking me home!" Lily beamed, waving both hands as she backed into the apartment with Amy and Bibi.
"Bye-bye! Come visit us and Papa soon!"
Click.
As the wooden apartment door closed gently in front of them, the hallway fell completely quiet.
Slowly standing back up, Celia and Eve instinctively took half a step away from each other. The warm, motherly teamwork they had shared while holding Lily's hands vanished in an instant, replaced by a thick, suffocating wall of awkward tension.
[Celia]: ...Now that Lily is inside, there's no reason for me to stand here with her. Every time I look at Eve, all I can think about is how Kaiser threw everything we had away just so he could be by her side.
[Eve]: ...She's looking at me so coldly again. I shouldn't be surprised... Celia was always the one who stood right beside him like a real partner, while Kai pushed me away and told me we should be strangers.
Looking down at the Sea of the Heart ring resting on her left finger, Eve took a quiet breath and broke the silence first, her voice soft and genuine.
"Um... thank you for earlier, Celia," Eve said quietly, looking up with her gentle pastel-pink eyes.
"For being so kind to Lily, even after Kai ran off like that."
Celia blinked slightly, caught off guard by Eve's gratitude, before crossing her arms over her black dress and looking toward the hallway window.
"Don't thank me. The kid didn't do anything wrong," Celia replied stiffly.
"I looked into it a little after seeing Amy and Bibi in town," Eve continued softly, a faint, sad smile touching her lips as she glanced back at the closed apartment door.
"Those 3 girls are traumatized war orphans who had nowhere else to go. Lily lost her mother right in front of her eyes just days ago... and Kai took all 3 of them in without a second thought."
Eve looked back at Celia, her voice earnest and gentle.
"Knowing that... do you really think Kai is a bad person?"
Celia's jaw tightened.
[Celia]: Why is she asking me that with such a gentle face? Of course I know how gentle he is when nobody is looking—that's what makes it hurt 10 times worse!
"I don't care what he does with his free time," Celia snapped defensively, turning her face away so Eve wouldn't see the sting in her blood-red eyes.
"Obviously he's a bad person. Knowingly or unknowingly, a guy like him probably has some calculating scheme and is just using them as an excuse to slack off."
Her fingers curled tightly into her palms, her nails digging into her skin as the bitter wound she had been holding in for days finally boiled over.
"Besides... why does it even matter to you what I think of him?" Celia's voice dropped into a low, trembling whisper as she glared at the floor.
"You're the one he actually wants anyway. That's the whole reason he abandoned me and threw me aside... so he could focus on you."
Eve froze completely.
Her large pastel-pink eyes widened in utter, genuine shock as she stared at Celia's clenched fists.
"W-What...?" Eve breathed, taking half a step closer. "Wait, Celia, what are you saying? Didn't Kai push ME away so he could focus on YOU?! You're the one who has always been with him and acted like his wife!"
Celia's head snapped toward Eve so fast her white ponytail whipped across her shoulder.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Celia demanded, her voice cracking with disbelief. "Acted like his wife?! We broke up!"
"H-He didn't stay with you?!" Eve stammered, her hands trembling in front of her yellow dress as her eyes glistened.
"Just a few days ago... Kai looked me straight in the eyes and told me coldly that from now on, he and I should just be complete strangers!"
Celia's blood-red eyes widened to their absolute limit, the breath catching in her throat.
[Celia]: ...What? He told Eve they should be strangers?! No—there's no way! He literally told me he had no heart and walked out on me!
"Really?" Celia whispered, taking a step toward Eve as her defensive mask cracked wide open.
"He... he actually said that to you? No, I don't believe you. Why would he push you away too?!"
"I swear it's true!" Eve said earnestly, clutching the fabric over her chest as her voice shook. "He was so cold, like he was trying to hurt me... Even I didn't understand why he suddenly cut me off like that! I thought—I thought it was because he chose you!"
In the quiet apartment hallway, Celia's tightly clenched fist slowly, finger by finger, unclenched at her side.
[Celia]: ...Wait a second. If he didn't dump me to be with Eve... and he pushed Eve away at the exact same time...
[Eve]: ...You too? He did the exact same thing to Celia too?! Why would Kai force both of us away from him at the same time?!
"Then..." Celia whispered, staring straight into Eve's shocked pastel-pink eyes. "...you too?"
"Me too..." Eve whispered back.
Standing face to face outside the orphans' door, the jealousy and defensiveness between the two girls vanished—replaced by a single, shared realization that Kaiser was hiding something massive from both of them, and that the two of them had a lot to talk about.