Chapter 14
Possessor of the Pendant
The sun isn't out. Clouds cover the skies, slowly moving and fading out of view. It makes the sky look like people clumping on each other while giving their hardest to get to where they need to go. Must be tough. Especially when they're bunched up like that.
It's a good thing the Basilicom is large enough to make it less suffocating whenever there is company.
I'm leaning on the rails at the balcony while the others are busy doing their own things at the living room, except for Compa, who is at the kitchen, and Ram, who is sleeping at Nepgear's room. Blanc and Rom are with Histoire at the largest couch, said they wanted to show her something. Then more people join in the discussion, after overhearing something from them, and sits at different seats. I didn't understand why or what they're going on about, but I didn't have enough care right now to check it out. I want to enjoy the nice breeze and view of the balcony for a while longer, have a look at the different places in the city, and drink my perfectly brewed jasmine tea poured nicely into a cup.
Right as I place the cup to my lip, Nepgear yells, "It absorbs shares!?" that almost made me lose my grip with the cup, although some of its contents got away.
"Can you explain?" Histoire asks.
"I don't know much," Blanc says. "I don't even know how it works. But one thing is for sure, this thing is dangerous to CPUs."
Absorbs shares, did I hear that correctly? Is that really something worth worrying about? Not like I can tell for certain. I don't have enough knowledge as to what shares are in the first place. Well, they did tell me what shares are, along with the whole history of Gamindustri, how it came to be, and also what CPUs are and what their duties are, but not that in-depth. Although, it seems to be a pretty big deal, especially to them. Can't say I know how it's like.
"So, who was the guy who gave you this?" Neptune asks. A good question. They did mention that the person who attacked them just gave it to them. If it's able to do that much harm to them, so why give it away? It just doesn't make any logical sense.
"His name was Ragnor," Rom says. This time, I choke on my drink while sipping.
Ragnor!? Wait, did I also hear that right? She said Ragnor. I'm sure I didn't mishear that. What is he doing here? That doesn't make any sense at all! He's supposed to be in Lluna. Did he end up here the same way as I did? No, that possibility is too shallow, and straight-up impossible. The temple was well-hidden and wasn't on any map at all.
Unable to hold back my curiosity, I walk towards them, placing my cup on a nearby table, and stand just behind the couch where Rom is. I ask about what they meant. Their answer isn't any different from earlier. I rub my temples. It just doesn't make sense.
"What's wrong, Maki?" Nepgear asks.
"No . . . it's nothing," I say. I shouldn't jump to conclusions yet. It might just be a coincidence. Hopefully.
"There's also another thing," Blanc adds, "He told us to find the owner and return it. Can't say I like being bossed around, especially by the likes of him. But I am curious who owns this."
"Owns what?" Compa says, carrying a plate of triangle-sliced sandwiches to the group and setting it on the center table. Everyone grabs a piece for their own, taking bites while they didn't had anything to say.
"It's this pendant." Rom holds the pendant out for everyone to see.
"Ooh, that looks just like the one I'm wearing." Compa takes off her pendant. She didn't actually show it to me fully that one time. I only noticed the little chains connected wrapped around her neck, but not to the extent of seeing what the chain was holding on to.
Although there's one thing: the two pendants are identical to each other, too identical, as if they've been forged and cloned. Something doesn't feel right however. When I take a closer look at the two, unconsciously, my hands snatch the two pendants from them. IF didn't take my action lightly however.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" IF says.
"These pendants . . . where did you find them?" I ask Blanc, ignoring IF's click.
"Like I said, that Ragnor guy gave it to us."
I look at Compa.
"Iffy knows more about it than I do. She was the one who found it."
I turn to IF. She furrows her brows.
"It's the same case as the other one. But it was a small girl who gave it to me. She told me it wasn't hers but doesn't know what to do with it, so I took it from her and had Compa hold on to it."
"Ooh, so you took it from her?" Neptune says. "That sounds like what a villain would do."
"Can it, Nep."
IF's explanation isn't too surprising, also it's a good thing she got it as well, otherwise things would've gotten more complicated for us. But there's still Ragnor. Why did he have it of all people? He's not even an accessory fanatic. Just thinking about it makes my head spin.
"Why are you asking anyway?" IF demands. "You don't happen to know who owns the pendant, do you?"
"It's the complete opposite," I say.
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, I tell Blanc to get up and hold her hand out. Of course, she is reluctant at first, but she stands up and did as I instructed.
"This thing absorbed your shares, right?" I ask.
She nods, "Yeah, what about it?"
"Just keep your hands out like that." With my right hand, I grip on the gem hanging on the pendant. While on the other, I take Blanc's extended hand. It's warm, and surprisingly smooth. This causes her hands to tense up however.
"H-hey, don't go touching me without permission," she rebukes.
"Sorry, but it's necessary."
"Necessary for what?" Nepgear asks.
"Wait and you'll see. Actions speak louder than words anyway."
They didn't ask anything else after that. They remain silent for a moment and gives me their full attention. Blanc's hands stiffen, probably confused as to what I'm doing. Not wasting any more time, I chant that made the gem gripped on my hand glows brightly.
"Wh-what's this feeling? It's warm . . .," Blanc says.
It's not as surprising for me as it is for her. But with this, she should be right about back to tip-top shape. Of course, it won't be immediate. Given enough time, she'll recover whatever she lost. In her case, it's her shares.
"That should do it," I say, releasing her hand. But then, there's still this next problem I'm going to need to deal with. Now that I did this, they'll wonder how I did what I did in the first place.
"What did you do?" Nepgear asks. And right on cue, the question begins.
"I just returned her lost shares. It won't come back to her fully for a while, but it'll get there. So, there's no need to worry about that."
They stare at each other, some wrinkles their forehead, others tilts their heads, then after a little while of doing that, they return their attention to me. By now, they should have an idea about the pendant. Silence stays for a while. Rom, however, is the first one to break it. She stands, locking her eyes on me, unblinking, as though she's trying to pierce through me to see what's inside.
"Are you . . .," she asks.
I nod at her as she trails off. IF is about to say something but Blanc beats her first. She also rises from her seat, only being faster than Rom, and throws a jab at my direction. I dodge it. They don't seem surprised about her behavior however. I'm starting to wonder if violence is the only thing she knows to release her pent-up anger.
"So, you're telling me . . ." Blanc grips her fists to the point of shaking, "that the reason he stole my shares, was because of your stupid pendant!?" Her face boiling, as red as fresh blood dripping from someone's wound, and hurls another swing that also misses.
"B-Blanc, please calm down," Histoire says, "I know how you feel, but please refrain from using violence. This is neither the time nor place to fight."
Blanc didn't say anything else. Instead, she drops back down on the couch, crossing her arms and legs, and mumble to no one but herself. She keeps her head away from me. Histoire sighs, then floats her way towards me.
"Maki, can you please explain?" she asks.
Of course, I did anticipate for this kind of thing to happen eventually. Although, Blanc's formless punches did throw me off if only for that instance. I didn't think she would be this upset about it. There's no other option around this situation. I'm not one wanting to make enemies on purpose, but I'm not one to apologize for something I didn't do at all. Also, I helped her return her shares back. What else should I think when the favor in turn is with a blow?
I glance everyone in the room. They're giving me the center of attention. I grip the small chains of the pendant and say, "This pendant was originally intended against magic users." It's not a lie, but it's not entirely true either.
"That's one thing," Histoire says, "But it was able to absorb shares as well. It's not the same as magic. So, how did it absorb it?"
"It must've confused it with magic." A possibility, although that might not be it either. I decide to tell them about how it works, what it does, also adjusting the details a bit while making sure it sounds as believable as possible.
The real reason why it absorbed whatever it absorbed from them, is because this pendant doesn't just absorb magic. That's just a cover-up to prevent anyone from wanting it. But the only thing I didn't lie about is the fact that my mother was the one who gave this to me. If only she was here, then I would know why it absorbed her shares. But at that time, she didn't have enough room to give a proper lecture about it.
". . . and it's also my only memory of my mother," I finish my explanation.
Then, once again, silence. Hopefully my explanation was enough to satisfy their curious mind. The atmosphere is killing me.
"Although," IF says, "There's one thing I'm confused about. You said it was from your mother, didn't you? You never mentioned she gave you two of them." She straightens her back, adjusts her sitting, and lean forward.
"About that," I add, "This second one is a replica. It's about half as powerful as the original, but it still gets the job done."
Rom gets up again the moment I say it, this time, she takes the second pendant from me (there's a subtle difference with the two pendants, that's how I can tell which is which) and holds it up in front of her. She then says, while not bothering to look at anything else but the item she's holding, "The lace on this one is shorter than the other." And she figured out the difference. Good for her.
"That's because I planned to give it to someone as a gift."
"Hoh? Who could it be?" Neptune asks, popping behind Rom out of nowhere.
Rom shuffles back, losing her footing, but I catch her in my arms before she did. She's much lighter than I anticipated. Perhaps it's because I'm not used to a child's weight anymore.
"Planned, Neptune, I meant to gift it for the princess, but—"
Nepgear chokes on her own cup of tea, Rom twists her head to face mine almost immediately the same way how someone gets slapped across the face. The others, however, only wrinkle their foreheads, tilting their heads (in Compa's case really), and stare at me as though I have a single lingering, out-of-place pimple on my face (which I don't have, thank you very much). I get that it might be because of what I said, but they keep looking at me nonstop. It's starting to become uncomfortable for me.
"Princess? Who would that be?" Compa asks, at the same time question marks are popping out of her head.
"Which princess in particular?" Rom adds another question, leaning forward, closer to my face. I lightly push her away, which she did with no complaints.
"You might not know since I'm from somewhere else entirely," I say. "She's a princess from Lluna, where I'm from in case you forgot, and I planned to give this second pendant to her."
"Is she blond?" Neptune asks, this time being the one who's shoving her face closer and closer to mine with every question. "What about a pink dress? Does her name start with P? D'you wear overalls as well? But I don't see any signs of mustache near your lip . . . Do you shave?"
Her questions are the exact definition of bombs. Then again, she's not the only one bombarding.
"Pretty much, no." I raise my hands to prevent her from moving any closer. "Although her sister's name starts with P, not exactly in a pink dress, but somewhat close. But everything else, not really."
"That so?"
"Yes, it is."
By this time, the sandwiches are already out, and it makes me wonder whether I should have bought some crackers or crumpets beforehand. This is starting to make me think of this room as a gathering of grown people. I have no issues with tea, but all of them sip it very suggestively. I don't know what other people thinks about this, and I did have some people say that it doesn't really bother them, either much or literally at all, but I'm not the same as them. That's not how you sip tea.
Then, I feel a tug on my coat in the middle of my monologue. I look down, Rom is still right in front of me. I almost forgot about her being there since this is the first in a long time for someone so short to stand at my front. Another thing I'm not used to anymore.
She asks, "Were you able to give it to her?"
I smile at her, placing a hand underneath her cap and rubbing her sweaty scalp. It didn't bother me, but I did expect her to slap my hand, although it never came.
"No, I never did."
Quickly after I said that, she asks, "Can . . . can I have it instead?"
I stop rubbing her head. She didn't change her expression or do any weird body gesture. She just stays there, waiting for my response. I want to say "It's no big deal" but can I really say that? It shouldn't be anything else other than some other accessory. Yet, for some reason, it's hard to get the words out. I move my lips; nothing comes out. The others are already staring back at me again. But it's not giving enough pressure to force me to oblige.
If she wants it, I should just give it to her. That's how it always been. They ask something from me, I just give it to them. Is it because, somewhere deep down, I still want the princess to have this? But that's not possible though.
The princess is no longer here.
That, I knew well, but after a little bit more time, I sigh and say, while still keeping my 'smile' on, "All right. You can have it. Make sure you take care of it. I'll be contented if you did."
"I will," she says with both the sides of her lips reaching her ears. And she wears the pendant immediately after. It actually kind of helps easing me a bit doing this kind of thing. But at the same time, it doesn't. It feels so close yet also so distant. A heavy load did get off my chest. Except the thing is . . .
It didn't get off of me at all.
"Something doesn't feel right, though," IF says, placing a finger on her chin. "Why did that guy bothered to even find the owner anyway? Do you know him by any chance?"
"No," I answer her.
"That's kinda hard to believe, though."
"Believe me or not, it doesn't change my answer. Besides, maybe that guy isn't what he seems to be—"
A sudden bang struck from the table, a part of it coming off, knocking some papers, a flower vase that spilled water, and some of the other tea cups over. They were already empty though, so it didn't become too much of a mess. But then suddenly, Blanc grabs the collar of my coat, almost cutting off my air, and forces me to lean over, her face close to mine. Her teeth make a subtle scraping noise.
"That bastard nearly hit my sister!" she spits. "She could've gotten really hurt! How am I supposed to believe 'that guy isn't what we think he is' like you say, dumbass!?"
"S-sis, please stop." Rom tries to separate Blanc and I, to which she eventually succeeds. She helps her sit back at the couch.
No one dares to speak again for a while. This is becoming a thing for a while now, not the most comfortable situation I find myself in. IF is the one who breaks the silence this time. She clears her throat, and announces to everyone:
"OK, this is getting us nowhere. Continuing on like this will only make it worse. So, I've got a proposition. Why don't we relax for now?"
"Ah, that sounds like a wonderful idea, Iffy," Compa says.
"Heeh . . . Since when did our serious Iffy became so laid back?" Neptune smirks. Then she gasps. "Are you becoming a NEET?"
"Not even close," IF answers. "Also, how does that make me a NEET?"
"So, you're not . . .?"
"No!"
"So," Rom cuts in, "what are we going to do?"
"Good question," IF says. "How about a picnic at that one spot? We haven't been there for a long while now."
"Oh yeah! That one," Compa says. "I can't remember the last time we went there."
"A picnic?" Compa says. "How about some rice balls in the menu? I'll make them. They're great to eat with a group anyway."
"Yeah, yeah, make lots of those donuts!" Neptune exclaims.
"They're not donuts, Nep," IF points out. "Oh whatever. Can you carry the supplies for us, Maki?"
Not going to lie, a picnic does sounds nice for a change. These past few days are becoming too much for my mind to handle. So, it's not a problem for me. But I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'll be another pack mule again. Someone I knew kept on telling me to take it "like a man" even to this very day whenever this happens. Although, I don't see any reason to dump them all on one person. I mean, come on, bring your own stuff people.
Histoire coughs and says, "Well, since you've all worked hard, I do not see any reason why you shouldn't go. Nepgear, why don't you go ahead and contact the other CPUs and invite them?"
"All right." She takes a seat in front of a monitor and operates it.
The other CPUs, huh? Looks like I won't meet them separately now. Besides, I'm also curious how they get along with each other. So far, I haven't seen anything very strange. Only their personality differences. How different will they be from Blanc and Neptune?
Rom stands in front of Blanc, who has her head downcast, and says, "Sis, let's go to the picnic together with Ram. Please?"
Blanc grunts, but once she takes a good look at Rom's puppy eyes, she shies away, sighs and says, "All right. We'll go." She pats Rom's head, sliding her hand underneath her hat, and messes up her hair.
Compa is already preparing the food, IF calling someone on her phone, Histoire goes off to her room to contact the CPUs, and I help packing the sheets, prepare the baskets, and some other stuff along with Nepgear and Rom. Right after I fold the sheets and place them on a bag, one of my pockets vibrate. It's the compartment where my phone was.
I excuse myself and head outside, closing the door, at the same time, making sure that no one else is going to overhear. Once I press the answer button, I walk further away from the door for extra precaution. When I greet, the person behind the other side of the call didn't bother with the small talks and goes straight to the point:
"It's almost time for you to pick it up. I'll send you the details, just don't screw this up. Well, not like you're going to let that happen anyway. Just making sure."
"But what if things go differently, then . . ."
"Don't make me repeat myself. Get that package no matter what."
Then the call cuts off immediately afterwards. I let out an exasperated sigh and head back inside the living room.
A/N: I'm sure most of you would notice that there are two perspectives in this story. I didn't intend to originally, but then I realized it was necessary to get the story rolling. But what am I referring to? Can't say it just yet.
Though it is challenging, but I do do my best to make sure you guys can tell who's perspective is who without giving an actual label somewhere in the beginning.
I'm hoping I'll get some nice quality time to write the rest of the story. Now, don't get me wrong, I already made drafts for the future chapters already, but they're on editing phase and I don't want to make a mess. Although, it does become somewhat of a pain when I decide to change an entire chapter completely.
But what can you say? No pain, no game. That's how I roll.
Well, I think I've rambled for too long already. So until next time.
See you all in the next chapter.