The World Only the Girls Know: Azalea Side

Chapter 37: Turning Back

Author's Note: Characters from the Light Novels and Manga will be included as well

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: Each Ending is different and important, desho? Thanks to dongaro and Kaiser Dude for the beta-read! He'll be my dedicated Beta-read for Azalea Side. So if there are more errors, BLAME HIM!

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Keima cursed silently at hearing his mother reveal so much, especially about Kanon and he looked at each individual to gauge their reaction. All of them would be shocked, they did know that Kanon-chan visited Café Grampa but they did not think that they would visit because of Keima? Or was it?

Clearing his throat, Keima explained on behalf of Mari as he returned with Haqua's drink. The demon girl in question just looked at him smugly, wondering how he would deal with this sensitive affair.

'Kanon came to visit Elsi; she and Kanon were friends and she invited her to dinner. She came over yesterday.'

Sitting down, he returned to eating as if nothing had happened. After a brief pause, everyone continued to do the same.

He was saying the truth after all, the encounter last night had left a lingering sour taste and he was not anxious to repeat that episode. Keima did not like the look of the manager that had been by Kanon's side, mainly due to the look of disgust that was directed at him which he caught in the corner of his eye during dinner.

That was one of the main reasons that his first impression of her was a negative one, but what had triggered his outburst was when she dared to even think about prying into Elsi's past.

About Elsi's past, he should get Haqua to look into it for a better solution; if Elsi's reputation was to be upheld, it would be wise for them add more concrete facts into their past.

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'W-woah… so Elsi-chan, you really are good friends with Kanon-chan too? As expected from Elsi~'

Praising Elsi for a reason that he did not fathom, Keima continued eating as Miyako Terada next directed her attention to Haqua, who missed a beat and dropped her spoon in surprise as Miyako asked.

'Then, Haqua-san, you've been good friends with Elsi-chan since you were young right? Did you move here to be with Elsi?'

As sharp as ever, Keima noticed that from the start Miyako had poked holes through their initial cover story and even Haqua was impressed as she took a few moments to reply her, thinking through her words carefully to not make any logic errors.

'Elsi-chan said she wanted to meet up with her brother, Keima-baka here- Ow! M-Mari-san…'

Being lightly tapped on the head by Mari to discourage Haqua from calling Keima that, Haqua corrected herself while scowling at the smug smile that Keima was giving her.

Right now, Keima was in Mari's good books and he enjoyed some benefits as a result.

'Elsi-chan said she wanted to meet up with her brother and mother, Mari-san and Keima here. My parents are overseas and they figured that it'll be good for me to transfer to a school with a friend and so I transferred over. I'm living with a relative right now.'

Smiling a winning and model smile, Haqua seemed to have answered perfectly and Miyako looked satisfied as well while Chihiro interrupted with the next question.

'Are you coping well with school, Haqua-san? If you meet with any difficulty, you can look for us too. Any friend of Elsi's is a friend of ours!'

Grinning, Chihiro offered a hand to Haqua and that made Keima hold his breath as he remembered what happened the last time that Haqua offered to shake his hand but he had faith that Haqua had a bit of common sense as well.

'Mm…'

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Sniffing a little, Haqua， nonetheless， took and shook Chihiro's hand much to the relief of Keima as he feared the worst.

'Kosaka-san, Takahara-san, Miyako-san, desho?'

Looking and appraising each of the girls that were seated around the table, Haqua surprised everyone by bowing to all of the girls with a smile.

'I've heard about all of you from Elsi-chan, all of you are her close friends, desho? Thank you for taking good care of Elsi-chan all the while.'

Smiling and rubbing Elsi's head affectionately, Haqua created the impression of an elder sister as Mari-san smiled at the two girls. He had the inkling that his mother liked Haqua just as much as she liked Elsi as the two girls were inseparable.

Perhaps her initial greeting: 'Hi, I'm the illegitimate daughter of your husband!' was sufficient to tickle Mari's motherly instincts to treat Haqua that way?

Either way, he was relieved that Haqua found it in herself to thank the girls that made Elsi's transition to school that much better. And it would be better for Haqua too, to have some friends to help her adjust to the new school life that she accepted by transferring into their school.

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'Ahaha… Elsi-chan is very nice to be with； there's no need to thank us for that, right, Chihiro?'

Smiling happily back to Haqua, Ayumi threw the ball to Chihiro's court and the girl nodded as well.

'We're very happy to be her friend, Haqua-san too; I hope we become good friends.'

Nodding back at the girls, all of them went back to eating as Mari started small talk once again.

'Elsi-chan has been working hard on practicing with her guitar and I've heard so much about your band, the 2B Pencils? I wonder if you will be able to release a single?'

It was amusing to Keima to notice the faint blush on everyone's faces as they met with their first fan, in this case Katsuragi Mari and Keima coughed once to wake all of them up.

'If they work hard enough, it is certainly possible for them to release a single album, would Ohka-san buy their single to support them?'

Knowing that Mari definitely will and might even top what he had initially offer, Keima set the trap when all of the girls looked at Mari expectantly. Their eyes were begging Mari to nod her head.

'Of course~ I'll even help to sell them in the Café too; anything for my dear Elsi and her friends. I'm sure that everyone will listen to your songs and you'll all be very popular!'

Although the impact was lessened when Mari explained that it was for Elsi's sake, Keima was satisfied with her response as all of the girls he was managing seemed delighted and started eating again, with more urgency than before.

Now to push them towards the right direction, hard work and determination was important, but so was engaging and reminding them of the reward at the end of everything.

'Ah, Please Excuse me…'

Remembering that he had not replied Kanon yet, Keima excused himself to visit the restroom, PFP with him while everyone just sighed after seeing him start his PFP up again.

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'He never will change, will he? A leopard never changes his spots after all.'

Sighing, Haqua spoke on behalf of everyone present as they all watched Keima leave.

'Ahaha…'

Laughing dryly with all of the girls, Mari took the opportunity to ask the girls about Keima.

'Neh… now that Keima-kun is away… tell me, what do you think of Keima-kun~'

Smiling mischievously, Mari noted that more than one girl was unable to swallow after her casual remark and her hope soared. There was hope for her son yet if he was attractive to more than one girl.

'Kanon,

This is Keima. Thank you for your email. I am glad to see that you are coping well and perhaps we will meet on the day of the rehearsal. If so, please listen to the 2-B Pencils as well?

All of them have the same wish that you have and I believe they should be able to walk the talk.

Shall we meet on Saturday then? Do you have any place in mind?

-Best Regards Katsuragi'

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After retrying several times, Keima finally found and sent the above message to Kanon, hoping that it will still leave him some time to play his games after the hectic week. He then returned to the table to find all of the them engaged in conversation.

Even Haqua had thawed and was joining in the conversation with huge smiles, laughing at the comments and jokes that Chihiro and Miyako were bouncing off each other. Chihiro could be described as the master of small talk as she was very street-smart and as Miyako had an exceptional wit, the two of them combined made it certain that they were the life of the party.

Ayumi joined in from time to time and she engaged Elsi into the conversation as well. The synergy of the trio can be described as such.

Ayumi Chihiro Miyako.

But as explained by Keima before, Miyako was the most level headed of them all, despite her eccentric tendencies.

Despite one's first impression, Ayumi was the most approachable, as she has a very strong sense of 'justice' and would stand up for, and in some cases, speak up for things that she felt was not right.

Naturally that meant that she would have no qualms being the first person to approach a new face in class or a stranger who needed help. Of course, she would only stand up for things that she felt was 'right' as evident by her earlier dismissal of Keima prior to him capturing her.

Chihiro was around the middle since she was capable of holding the conversation and eager to meet a new face. She was not the kind to be super friendly and hold a long conversation with someone unless they were her close friends, this flies in the face of common sense, but Chihiro can be quite a private person.

It might be due to her upbringing, but that was who she really was.

Lastly, Miyako can be said to be the one with the least 'energy' but that did not mean that she was an anti-social person, she was simply a person who had lesser of the qualities that Ayumi and Chihiro had.

That meant she was more likely to join in a conversation rather than initiate it, but she would always be able to strike and continue a conversation if anyone would initiate one with her. That was how she was as like Chihiro; she had a broad understanding of 'Street Knowledge' and was up to date with current affairs.

Like Ayumi, Miyako was someone who was not afraid to share her views, albeit in a less challenging way; she could defuse tensions simply by defending each party's views easily.

In short, if Ayumi and Chihiro were opposite side of the spectrum, Miyako would fall somewhat in the middle; one could say they were a perfect trio.

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Then, where did Elsi fit in? One could say that Elsi was in an entirely different level altogether; a mesh of the three girls.

She could initiate a conversation or join one with ease and depending on the current situation, or hold the conversation to either a lengthy or a short one.

Elsi could not be described as someone who was very knowledgeable, but she would always manage to find something in common with the other party. That, or be able to entertain them with her energy and enthusiasm.

Lastly, Elsi could not be described as a person who could stand up for everyone, but she would always lend a helping hand to those in need, regardless of her consequences.

Elsi can be said to be able to pull the most positive values from the trio and reflect it from her. That was her place in the 2B Pencils and a part that the other three girls have slowly began to realize that.

Although the core and leader of the group was Chihiro, it was her dream that caused them to be together after all. Tt was Elsi that was the mood generator as she could cause severe mood swings just by herself.

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Simply by observing these 4 girls together brought a warm and ticklish feeling in the Capturing God's heart. It reminded him of the feeling that he would experience upon reaching the end of especially well-crafted games, and he found himself hesitating to approach the group.

He had asked the question once, what was he doing with his life when all of the Heroines that he had captured were living theirs to the fullest? All of them had met with a roadblock in life that he had removed for them and although he could be said to be their 'savior', when compared to all of them, who had picked up their lives and moved on? Was he not just staying in the same place?

Being plagued with that question once was enough and Keima found himself once again at the same crossroad.

His initial mission was to discover the truth, the truth behind this conspiracy that threatened to ruin his everyday life as well as to protect the people closest to him.

But he had been drawn into this endless cycle of helping the 2B Pencils. He found himself enjoying it, realizing that he could possibly 'move forward' in life by helping them.

Compared to the 2B Pencils, who were working hard to achieve their dream, perhaps he did not deserve the praise that they heaped on him after all?

'…'

Feeling a growing headache, Katsuragi Keima pushed that thought away and returned to his seat while listening to the conversation between the girls.

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'Aha~ Can we really?'

Jumping at the suggestion of a sleepover, Ayumi glanced at Elsi, who simply smiled and nodded, before looking to the rest of the girls to see if they were game for that idea.

'If… you can accommodate us… it is a little late for us to go back now…'

Looking out the window, Miyako spoke out openly for all of them and they all looked at each other before bowing to Mari as one. They felt really embarrassed for imposing so much on Mari-san even though they just met her.

Time really flew and dinner-time had stretched more than two hours before anyone of them realized it as they had enjoyed themselves so much. Even Keima did not complain about missing two hours of gaming time as he was constantly being dragged into the conversation by Mari or Haqua, the latter with venomous intent and the former to encourage him to speak up.

However, it did not mean that Keima himself was irritated by that development; he was actually quite pleased as it allowed him to have a greater understand of the synergy of the 2B Pencils, he was really growing into this role as he found the conversation to be quite entertaining at times.

'Of course, I had plenty of sleepovers on my time~ I think Elsi would like that too. I'll bring out the extra bedding so you can stay in Elsi's room, alright?'

Smiling happily as the girls cheered, Mari turned to find Keima for help, only to find him washing the dishes with Haqua, the two of them doing it in silence and Mari simply shook her head.

She knew that Haqua and Keima did not get along well all the time, but they would make up after a while. It did make her upset that Haqua could use language and she reminded herself to correct that behavior.

Mari had always wondered why she had a soft spot for Haqua and after hearing her introduction today, Mari did not like to pry and she gained a little from having her over for dinner.

Who ever knew that Haqua came from a faraway land, from England to study in Japan all alone with another relative of hers and Mari found the reason why she came to dote on Haqua just as much as Elsi.

Haqua reminded her of Elsi; she could sense the loneliness from her eyes despite her fierce, independent nature and spirit. Although it was more pronounced in Elsi and Mari could tell in an instant that she missed her family very much, Mari could sense the same vibes from Haqua as well and without noticing it, she begun showering the same family love on Haqua as well.

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Mari felt a little bad at trying to 'outdo' Haqua's relative, but Haqua seemed to like that person as well as over the time the lonely look in her eyes disappeared. There were times that Haqua would swing by, all upset about something. However, Mari could tell, her years of experience spotting the signs that Haqua was actually quite mindful of the other individual(s) more than she wished to let on.

Either way, Mari felt that she had two daughters instead of just one. It suited her just fine, especially since Keima was starting to behave like a son of hers instead of a geek.

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'Those are all the girls you helped to drive the Weiss out, right, Katsuragi?'

The only reason she even considered helping Keima with his dishes was to get some time alone with him and some privacy to talk to him. She still had the obligation to check out Elsi's friends, for her sake of course, and she was satisfied with the friends that she had made.

All of them seemed to genuinely like Elsi; and for that, Haqua was thankful. It was good that Keima actively encouraged that friendship as well by not being too restrictive of Elsi's lifestyle.

Thus, she had to apologize a little to Keima, just a little for berating him so hard if he was doing his part, even if it was a small one in helping Elsi adapt.

'Yes, with the exception of Miyako, Miyako is just a friend of Kosaka and Takahara that Elsi got to know through them.'

Nodding while doing the dishes, Keima was used to doing the dishes as he lived in a Café after all and he went through the dishes quickly, passing the clean ones to Haqua for her to wipe dry.

'They are all good people; I trust that you knew that too.'

Saying so matter-of-factly, Haqua narrowed her eyes when she asked the question that Keima did not want to answer.

'All of them like you, don't they?'

'Who knows…'

Of course he knew; he wouldn't be the Capturing God if he could not pick up all the signs but he would rather not talk about it.

'… What about Elsi then?'

She asked him abruptly. The plate slipped from Keima's hands and it would have smashed on the floor if not for Haqua and her raiment.

'Did you know that she liked you too?'

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Author's Notes: DUN DUNN DUNN! R&R PLEASE! Oh we've been a little slow as we had to sort out Beta-reading and me getting a new laptop. Please take a minute of your busy life for a moment of silence for the passing of my old Laptop: Asahi, and welcome my new laptop, Kathy for she'll churn out the newer stories~