Chapter 2: Lunch Date with a Goddess
"Excuse me Lady Vert." I call out to her as she was about to leave.
"Vert is fine. Is there something you need Nirito?" She takes off her sunglasses and looks at me with a confused expression.
"Would you like to have lunch with me?" I bluntly say it.
"Ehhhh!?" She looks at me in a suspicious way. Her arms covering her chest.
I put my arms up and wave them. "Woah! Wait! Don't label me as a pervert yet. Trust me, I have good reasons for asking you out to lunch."
"Tell me these reasons you speak of." She is in a defensive stance, just in case I make a move.
And I thought we just had a nice greeting…
Well to be fair I seemed to be suspicious from her point of view.
I sigh. "It's nothing big. I just have some questions to ask. Mostly about politics and what not."
"Politics huh? So is that the reason you ask me on a 'date?'" She has a disappointed look in her eyes.
"Don't think of it as a 'date' if you're uncomfortable about it. Think of it as an interview." I compromise.
"That would make me more uncomfortable!" She huffs.
"Then maybe lunch with a friend?"
"Well I can't say we're friends yet, but that'll work I guess." She nods, then smiles at me. "So what's your other reason for having lunch with me?"
I smirk. "Who wouldn't have lunch with their favorite goddess?"
"My, my you are quite bold Nirito."
"Hmhm… I get that a lot." A melancholy smile forms on my face. I shake my head. "Well let's go! Lunch is on me!"
Right now we're at a cafe called Sunbucks. We chose a spot in the back so people wouldn't recognize Lady Green Heart, or should I say Vert. Even though she said that no one really knows her human form other than a few people, I went with the safe option and picked a booth in the back. Right now we have just finished eating and we're having a nice sip of coffee.
"This coffee is so heavenly~ This is truly made for a goddess~" Vert lets out a fulfilled smile.
You are a goddess…
"You really like your caffeine." Well I'm kinda a caffeine lover myself so I'm not complaining.
"Trust me when I say this. Caffeine is the best when keeping yourself awake during a gaming marathon." She lectures.
"Just don't go hyper on me now." I smile as I recall a memory from the past.
Aya and coffee is a really bad combination…
"So you got some questions for me right? I'll answer them except my three sizes." She puts her cup down.
A creepy grin forms across my face. "That's okay. I already know them."
Vert looks at me with a blush. "Huh!? Wh-Where did you get that information from you pervert!"
I put a finger to her mouth. "Shhh… Not too loud." I look around and luckily, no one didn't seem to hear. I sigh. "One day when I was 'bored.' I was browsing the Neptunia wiki and happened to stumble upon a 'certain page.'"
"Hey Nirito? Did you just break the fourth wall?" Vert changes the subject.
"Hm? Anything wrong with that?" I say a bit flabbergasted due to the sudden change in Vert's attitude.
"Well… Let's say you're kinda taking 'someone's' schtick." She looks off to the side.
"I think this is now my schtick because I'm the main character now and not 'her.'" I reply casually.
In a Planeptune far, far away…
"Nepu!"
"What's wrong sis?" A lilac-purple haired little sister asks with a worried expression.
"Nep Jr. I have felt a disturbance in the force." The light purple haired older sister says with an attempt of a serious face, but failing horribly at it.
"Huh?" A questions marks floats next to the little sister.
"It seems like some little buster is trying to take my gag…" The older one mumbles to herself. "I wonder… Possibly my role as the main character is in peril." She nods to herself. "This shall not go unpunished!" She is now infuriated and starts stomping out of the door.
"Hey sis! I don't know what you're talking about! Hey wait for me!" The little sister says as she tries to catch up to her sister.
"Hoy! Where are you two going!?" A small fairy yells at them, but was ignored.
*SLAM*
A cold chill goes down my spine. I turn my head right and left, trying to find the source of that sudden chill.
"Is something wrong?" Vert asks.
"No, it's nothing." I wave it off.
What was that just now? Maybe I should ignore it for now.
"Anyway back to the questions." I get back on subject. "First, why were you at GameStart?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's to buy the game of course!" There's a bit of hesitation in her voice.
"Really?" I look at her suspiciously. "You know you could've use your goddess status to get a copy. Probably for free at that."
She smiles. "Using my status wouldn't be fair game Nirito. Plus, I find it more fun going in shops and buying the game yourself." She takes a sip of her coffee.
"True, I give you that." I took a sip of my own coffee as well. "However, there got to be more than that. Am I right?" I set my cup down.
"My, my… You have some keen senses. That's a scary skill to have." She sets down her cup.
"Only when the plot calls for it." I shrug.
"Hmhmhm… You are really interesting Nirito." She lets out a small laugh. "What you said is true, but I believe you are looking too deep into it."
"Care to clarify?"
"The only reason I'm at GameStart in the first place is because I'm signing up for a free voucher code for Four Goddess Online."
"So you bought Zenoblade Chronicles Z already?" I ask.
"Pre-ordered it before it all sold out." A triumphant smile forms across Vert's face.
"Then what was with that scene you made at the shop?"
"I just thought it would be fun to tease passerbys."
I sigh. "Do you do that all the time?"
"Nope." She smirks. "Only to main characters."
"Cheeky…" I try to take a sip of coffee, but my cup was empty. "Tch…"
"Oh do you want mine? You were the one who paid for it anyway." Vert pushes her cup closer to me.
"No thanks." I push it right back.
"Hmhmhm~ Don't tell me it's because that would be an indirect kiss." She teases.
This woman…
"No, no…" I cross my arms and lean back on the chair. "I don't want to drink too much coffee. It's kinda bad for you."
"Hmhmhm~ Okay~" She keeps teasing. "You can act tsun if you want to."
I sigh for the hundredth time. "Do you always tease strangers you just met?"
"Not really. Only to people I find interesting." She puts a hand to her cheek and points a finger at me with her other hand.
"Huh…" I shake my head. "So I got one more question and that will be all today." I change the subject.
"It sounds like I'm being interrogated…" She deadpans.
"You probably heard this question a million times." I clear my throat. "Can you clarify why all the four goddesses suddenly signed a peace treaty three months ago out of nowhere? Just three years ago, you were all trying kill each other. Now, you all look like best friends during the signing ceremony." For years now the CPUs from Planeptune, Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox has been fighting a war called the Console Wars. Then suddenly they stopped fighting and three months ago, a peace treaty was signed.
"Hmmm… I got to be careful on what I say. Knowing that you have keen senses." Vert ponders a bit.
"I know many news reporters asked you this question. However, you always say it's classified. I just want to know to satisfy my curiosity. I promise I won't tell a soul."
She nods. "I can tell you a big event happened three years ago. That's all I'm going to tell you. It's kinda sensitive territory."
I wonder… Could that be…
"Oh sorry…" I nod to myself. "Well that's all my questions. Thank you for giving me an audience with you Lady Green Heart." I bow and gave her a smile.
"Hmhmhm… It's my pleasure Nirito. I enjoyed our little lunch 'date.'" Vert smiled back.
"I gotta go now." I get up from my seat. "Got to do some guild work."
"I'll stay here for a while before returning to the Basilicom. Have fun and don't die."
"I'll try." I wave to her as I leave Sunbucks.
Vert's POV
"What an interesting man…" In the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of a small rectangular object.
"Oh what's this?" I pick up the object and see it's a game container. The title of the game is Zenoblade Chronicles Z.
"For having a sharp mind, he can be pretty forgetful too. I guess I should return it to him." I ponder for a bit.
Though Chika will probably get angry if I don't come back soon. She's really a clingy girl. However, if I say it's for a friend…
After pondering, I finally made a decision. "I should really return it to him. He might be crying right now like a child who lost their favorite toy." I giggle at the thought. "Plus, it's just gonna be a quick drop off."
If I remember he said something about heading to the guild.
I get up from my seat and put on my sunglasses. "Let's go!"
A/N: I would like to thank everyone who gives this story a favorite and/or a follow. I really appreciate it and as always thanks for reading and please leave a review!
