A/N: So, in reflection, this chapter is really dry and boring. I'll work on making next one more exciting, but I may update this one in time. I got a little too caught up in the plot I decided on and forgot to make it entertaining. Go figure. Guess I'm still learning.
Chapter 16: Self-Reflection
If I was nervous when meeting Lady Noire for an outing before the gala, and if I was extremely nervous when meeting her at the gala, I don't know quite how many levels of nervousness I'm feeling right now, waiting for Lady Blanc at the agreed upon meeting point at the mall.
Since it was just to go shopping, I didn't feel like I needed to dress up, but I'm still kind of unsure if wearing black jeans was the way to go or if I should've worn khakis.
Additionally, since it was at ten in the morning, I wasn't sure if she had eaten anything, so I can see just how nervous I am by how much the orange juice in the carrying-tray I'm holding is shaking around in the plastic cups.
"Ah, there you are."
A voice from behind causes me to nearly jump. When I turn around, I find it is indeed Lady Blanc, thankfully not dressed as she normally is. It looks almost like a school uniform, actually. A light brown pleated, plaid skirt that matches the bow around her neck. She's also got on a light tan jacket that goes over her buttoned shirt, striking a very casual feel somehow. In her hands is a matching light brown purse that overall goes very well with the rest of her outfit. If I didn't recognize her voice, I'd be a little hard pressed to think it was Lady Blanc.
"H-hello, um…"
"It's fine to address me as only 'Blanc'."
"Ah, I see…" I say, having a feeling it was going to be that way.
"You won't have to worry about anything, Elliot." She says, adopting a very lecture style standing position. "Financier has already prepared the public statement for if anyone tries anything. I am also prepared to explain the situation, of which we are both aware."
"Y-yes, of course."
I almost sigh in relief, knowing that Lady Blanc is staying on top of all of this. It makes me feel much more at ease, knowing that it won't snowball out of control like it did with Lady Noire and the gala.
Somehow, she just feels definitely much more 'trustworthy'. It's almost like having IF here, as well. I feel like I can trust her with almost anything, in a sense.
"Oh, right! Um, I didn't know if you had eaten breakfast, so I got orange juice and a bagel for you." I say, holding out the tray that has two cups of orange juice on it along with one toasted bagel and a packet of cream cheese.
"Ah, thank you. You didn't have to, but it's appreciated."
We walk along afterwards, with Lady Blanc first taking the bagel and cream cheese. After she finishes spreading it, she takes one of the cups of orange juice, leaving the other one for me.
It's actually strangely peaceful. Unlike the silence with Lady Noire, I feel so calm despite the fact it's Lady Blanc by my side. Maybe it's just that she doesn't talk so much that helps, I don't feel a need to fill the air with something.
"May I ask you something?" She asks, suddenly breaking the silence.
"Y-yes, Lady Blanc?"
"Blanc."
"B… Blanc. Sorry."
She nods. "There is no need to apologize. Do you know anywhere we could start? I am not as familiar with this mall as you might be."
"Oh, right. Um… I know there's a few children stores on the second floor." I say, trying to recall the mall's structure. I don't come here often enough, but I should still remember a few things back from when I hung out here all the time in school.
"I see. Let's prioritize there, first."
"Of course, L… Blanc."
She gives a small smile, as if proud of me learning. It's still really stressful on me to address them only by name. I'm sure ninety-nine percent of people would definitely find it odd that I'm addressing a goddess only by their name, but I guess IF and Compa seem to do it without much thought. But then again, their relationship to the goddesses is just fundamentally different compared to mine…
Fortunately, the mall isn't exactly very busy on Sunday morning, so there aren't a lot of people here as we ride the escalator up. I catch Lady Blanc looking down on the children playing in the designated play area, generally being rambunctious but overall behaved.
"Something on your mind, La, er, Blanc?"
She blinks several times, shaking her head. "Just enjoying the view."
I open my mouth to say something, but can't quite find the words. There's something I'd like to say to her, as I think I know what might be going through her mind, but it's difficult to put into words.
"Thank you."
"Huh?"
Lady Blanc turns her head away and shakes her head. "You look like you wanted to say something, is all. The sentiment is appreciated."
"You're terrifying." I say almost automatically, forgetting who I was with for a second. "Er, sorry, it's just that—"
"I know, Elliot. IF and I are similar in that regard where we're good at picking up on subtle things. But, I have to be a little better about these things, since I have to watch over my sisters. They're not always honest when they think they'll get in trouble for it."
"Ah, I see… having younger siblings can be pretty exhausting, huh?"
"It can, but it can also be rewarding as well." She says with a worn-out, but ultimately triumphant grin.
"I can't relate, but… I'll take your word for it."
At this, we reach the top of the escalators and start to walk towards the area I'm fairly certain the children's shops are. Along the way, Lady Blanc finishes her juice and bagel and throws it out, so I quickly finish my juice so I don't have to carry it around the stores.
"Well, please be sure to point out anything you think would work." Lady Blanc says as we enter the first store. "I'll do the same, so we should be able to come up with a compromise easily if we're both searching."
"Right, of course."
"Don't be so nervous. I know you won't pick anything strange."
I almost want to vocalize the question of what strange is, but I suppose it's obvious enough. I didn't really have the intention of asking to have them in a maid outfit or anything like that, as no doubt that would be overstepping my bounds and actually really creepy to ask for. I was thinking something very simple, though.
"Should we split up, then?"
"Ah, that's a good strategy La—" I'm quickly corrected by her glance, to which I nod after pausing. "Blanc."
"We'll meet up by the fitting rooms in…" She checks her watch. "Twenty minutes?"
"That sounds fine to me."
"Then, in a bit." She says, holding up her left hand as it to say 'bye'.
With that, she goes off, searching on one half of the children's section. I comb through the other half, looking for something that's snazzy enough for the cafe, but not too uncomfortable. Despite the fact they're goddesses, they do act a lot like kids, so if I get anything too formal there'll be a lot of protesting.
Hmm…
"Mhm, that should do the trick."
Also, while I would think Lady Blanc is going to end up paying for it, I can't help but want to pick as if I was going to pay for this, as it's technically the shop's uniform. Plus there's the weather to consider…
Thus, I end up settling for a two pack of short sleeve blouses and two solid black pleated skirts. I was hoping to find something that would help them at least have their own style to it, though, but I'll have to keep searching.
"Ah, I was wondering where the more dressy section was."
I turn my head, finding Lady Blanc who apparently managed to find two solid dark red colored aprons for kids that are close enough in color to my own.
"Good choice."
"Hm? O-oh, thank you." I say, turning my head back towards the clothes I selected. "They fit the weather and they're not too badly priced."
"Though, I would think getting brown skirts would work better with the apron color. You wear a dark red one, don't you?"
"Oh, yeah, I suppose I do." I say, feeling a bit embarrassed about being watched that closely. "It was kind of a de facto uniform, but if you want to match it that's convenient."
"Mhm. Ah, here, I know their sizes so let me look through."
I hand Lady Blanc the clothing I picked out, where she then scans through the racks and piles looking for the proper sizes.
"Though…"
"Hm?" Lady Blanc says she lays down the clothing I picked up earlier. "What is it, Elliot?"
"Oh, it's… I was just thinking that maybe we could give the uniforms a bit of personal flair, is all."
"What are you proposing?" She asks as I glance about the area.
After about five seconds, I find a pack of ribbons that can go around the neck. They're fairly cute and rather fluffy, the kind of things that kids would enjoy. Plus, there's already a light blue one and a pink one.
"Since they'll just be advertising, there's no need to wear the apron." I say, taking the ribbon set off the hook. "They can use these, right?"
Lady Blanc crosses her arms and closes her eyes, as if taking it into consideration. I get the feeling she wants to be at least a little bit hard on her siblings so they'll learn, but at the same time there's no need to go overboard. She sighs a little bit and nods.
"I suppose you're right. I'll go put the aprons back, then."
"Ah, perfect. Then I'll—"
"On second thought." Lady Blanc says firmly, cutting me off. She bluntly pushes the aprons into my hands, taking the ribbon set and the clothes we picked out.
"You go put them back. I'll meet you by the cashier."
She saw right through me, didn't she?
I nod, taking the aprons and hurrying to find where Lady Blanc got them from. It takes about five minutes as I want to be sure I got it right, but once I am sure of it I make a beeline for the register. Lady Blanc is already signing on the pad when she turns her head to me.
"Ah, just in time." Lady Blanc says, taking the bag and receipt from the cashier.
"I can get the bag for you." I say, holding out my hand, also partially glad I was trying to avoid using their names so I don't stumble on what to call them.
"It's light. There's no need. Ah, thank you." Lady Blanc says, giving a small nod to the cashier before we head out. The cashier herself looks a bit dazed, perhaps wondering if that's really Lady Blanc.
Once we're out of the store, Lady Blanc turns to look at the store directory.
"L, erm, Blanc?"
"There's still something we need to get." She says, leaning if to check something.
"There is?" I ask as she traces down a name with her finger.
"My uniform, of course."
The thought hadn't occurred to me that we'd need to get that, leaving me a bit stunned at the fact Lady Blanc was asking me to stick around for this. Stunned enough that she had to gesture to snap me out of my stupor so we could get walking.
"Um… are you sure you're fine holding that bag, though?"
"Would it make you feel better to hold onto it?"
"Just… a bit, Blanc."
She pauses, then holds the bag out to me. I gingerly accept it, getting a nod from Lady Blanc.
"You should value yourself a little more, though. We had this talk, didn't we?"
"We did." I say meekly, Lady Blanc resuming her walk.
"Well, I suppose I should repeat myself, then."
"Sorry…"
"There's no need to apologize. If you need to hear it again, then I will say it until you learn." She says, oozing the air of an older sibling being as patient as possible. "Don't feel a need to bend over backwards for us, Elliot. We're people as well. If you'd like to hold onto the bag for me, then I'd like for you to do so not because I am a CPU. Think on that for a bit. While I think it's very nice you're raised with such polite manners, you need to learn that there are times that people would like to view you as an equal."
"Alright, I'll try."
"It will be quite helpful for your friendship with Noire as well. While you two are off to a good start, if you can't learn to treat her as a person, you'll have trouble. Likewise, if you don't voice your own stance on things, she's a very headstrong person, so you won't be able to get a word in and you'll be dragged around by her. While your interests mostly line up, I am sure there is something you two will disagree on, and it is there it will be important that you can stand up for yourself."
"Understood."
"I hope so. Additionally, it's precisely this reason on why you had to pull all of the smoke and mirror during that event."
The gala…?
"Obviously, attending that event with someone would cause a ruckus. However, if it were perhaps normal that anyone could go with them or perhaps even simply be friends with them, there wouldn't be a need to hide."
If it was normal that just an ordinary person could be friends with the goddesses, huh…? I wonder if that was the case, if I would've felt the need to hide so much.
"Your own behavior is exactly what fuels that kind of mentality. If you'd like to be able to show the truth without fear, you'll need to adjust how you think."
"I… I see."
Lady Blanc pauses, turning to face me. She seems to scan over me, as if checking that I'm okay.
"How about we have a seat for a while? You look like you could use a break. That was a lot to drop on you, my apologies." She says, gesturing to some benches by fountain in the mall. I quietly nod, with the two of us sitting down and facing said fountain in silence.
It's a bit hard to come up with anything to say. I glance over at Lady Blanc on occasion, but her eyes are closed like she's thinking hard about something so I turn my head to look back towards the water.
For a while, the only sound I can really hear is the water running down the fountain's streams. Even the sounds of the mall's music, the passing crowds, and children playing around seems to be drowned out.
"Better?"
I almost forget, just for a moment, that Lady Blanc is here with me as she talks while standing up.
"...yes, Blanc."
"Good." She says with a small nod.
"Thank you." I say, also getting up from my seat. Before I can open my mouth, she raises a finger to my mouth, silencing me. The look in her eyes tells me she knows what I was going to say, so I don't apologize. "But, can I ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
"I can sort of tell what you're trying to do and I'm thankful that you're concerned, but why?"
I see her sigh slightly as we step to the side of a family shopping with their kids to give them more space to pass us.
"It would ruin the effect if I told you." She says, making sure to keep eye contact with me. "In a while, I can tell you. For now, I'd like for you to trust me."
I nod, not really having any reason not to trust her. And from what she said at the gala, this isn't to try to edge out any of the other goddesses. I'm a bit humbled to know I'm getting this much attention from her, even if it's for some obscure purpose.
"However, I've already told you everything you need to know. Don't think too much about it, though."
"Now I'm going to."
"Sorry."
"It's fine, it's fine… ah, right, there's a clothing store geared more for adults this way." I say, pointing down the way. Lady Blanc nods and follows my lead. As we enter the store, we're greeted with a "Good morning!", followed by a shriek of surprise and one of the attendants dropping their stack of shoeboxes. Another one of them quickly apologizes and asks us if there's anything we need, to which Lady Blanc says she's just looking around.
"This way."
"Eh?"
I find myself being gestured to follow Lady Blanc, though I was intending just to go look over in the men's section while she looked around. I figured I'd give her some space while she looked for things she thought would fit the cafe, but I guess that's not the case today.
"It seems you were recognized more here."
Lady Blanc offers a noncommittal shrug. "This is Neptune's city. It doesn't surprise me that not everyone recognizes me. There was bound to be someone who did, though. However, this will go by faster if we both search."
"Alright."
It doesn't take long to sift through the racks of blouses for something similar to Lady Ram and Lady Rom's blouses and there's plenty of black skirts to go around, though Lady Blanc seems to exude some sort of frustration at the amount they have of each size. I suppose she is a bit… petite, clothing size wise. While I never had too much trouble myself, I do remember in high school being on the receiving end of many complaints of never having things in the right size from my ex-girlfriend.
"I'll go try them on, now."
...eh?
"Wait, but—"
"They might be the right size, but I'm not familiar with this brand. I need to know how it fits me. There isn't a problem, is there?"
I'm swiftly defeated by that incredibly quick line of logic and can offer no such argument against it.
"I'll just wait right here, then."
"Thank you."
I force myself not to breathe a sigh of relief as I stand around the now rather empty women's section, grateful I managed to at least avoid that standard scene where I'd inevitably get dragged into the changing room. I honestly think I'd have a heart attack and would keel over out of fear if I heard Lady Blanc say, in that growl she's capable of, say "Peek and you're dead."
Although, IF is going to flip out if she finds out about this. Oh dear, I can already hear the "No way!" coming from her and the subsequent interrogation. I better prepare my heart as well.
But while Lady Blanc has told me this is partially to help with my friendship with Lady Noire. Though, a part of me can't help but feel like I'm missing something, or that there's something more to it than that. Lady Blanc is a fairly straightforward person though, so it feels wrong to assign some kind of ulterior motive to all of this.
I guess I can trust Lady Blanc, though. If I'm really that concerned, I can always talk to IF about it when she gets back.
Geez… one of these days, I'd like to be a little less reliant on her. But I guess that in my current state and how I talk to the CPUs, that's a bit out of the question. Maybe that's part of it, too. I must be placing a lot of stress on IF.
"Elliot."
I look up, finding Lady Blanc wearing a white blouse and a tan pleated skirt. It looks almost like my own clothing that I use for the cafe.
"Unfortunately, a white ribbon on a white shirt just looks tacky." She says, spinning around. "Does everything look okay?"
"Y-yes, of course. You look very stunning."
I see her scoff, then chuckle to herself as she turns to face me.
"They're a bit loose, but they should work. Is there anything you'd like to get?"
"No, no, I'm fine. Let's just get going before a crowd shows up."
Lady Blanc smiles a bit at that. "Indeed. Allow me to change back and then we'll leave."
"And so, you press this button right here for all of the pastries, and then they're in alphabetical order, by the type. There's also a big list of all of the menu items in alphabetical order if you press this button..."
"I see." Lady Blanc says, scanning the register menu. "Do you organize the pastries in the same way?"
"Yes, La—Blanc." I say, catching myself. She nods, turning back to the register.
She looks very beautiful, actually. If I didn't know any better, I'd have mistaken her for a new part time student trying their first job, much like when I was in high school. The outfit she got matched the twins, with her personal flair being a matching white beret along with the apron she was wearing as the white ribbon didn't work very well with her. As for why she decided to dress up for this mini-training, apparently she wanted to try it out so she knew what it felt like as she was working in those clothes.
We spent part of the afternoon learning some of the basics as Lady Blanc didn't want to just stand around, so I taught her how to man the register. It really takes me back to when I first started working here, but Lady Blanc is a quick study and has a keen eye, so she learns way faster than I did.
"Oh, you know, I suppose you did only buy one pair. Is it just for tomorrow?"
"Ah, I suppose we never clarified that. One day would be permissible, yes?"
"Well, we did all this for at least a day, so yes." I say as Lady Blanc taps her way through the menus again. "I wouldn't want to intrude too much on your own schedule. Running a nation is a lot of work."
"You'd be surprised by how much free time we have sometimes." Lady Blanc says with a small, knowing smile as she exits the register. "You'll be pretty busy tomorrow once the word gets out."
"Ah, yeah, I should probably prepare then. If there's nothing else I can do for you, Lady Blanc, I'd like to just get a head start on preparations."
"There's nothing else, but… I'd like to watch."
"Hm?"
"There are many bakeries around Lowee, but I rarely get the opportunity to watch them actually perform their craft. If you wouldn't mind, may I watch?"
"O-oh, sure…" I say, feeling a bit nervous about my usual recipes now. "Give me a second to get changed, I guess."
I definitely feel very self conscious later as I tie my apron up, after having changed into my usual work uniform. I think I'll stand out a bit tomorrow considering how they all have white blouses and I have a black button shirt, though. I could've gotten them black shirts, thinking about it, but it must have slipped my mind. That, and I think Lady Ram and Lady Rom would be a bit averse to wearing it. White is a much more comfortable color for them, I think.
As I mull this over to myself, Lady Blanc pulls in a stool and quietly watches from the side as I go through my usual recipe list. Croissants, then muffins, then the other kinds of breads like danishes, along with the various fillings.
After a while, as I get into the usual rhythm, I almost forget that Lady Blanc is even there. That fact always sits just in the corner of my mind, though, itching away as I try not to make any mistakes.
"Hmhm…"
"Though, I have to say it's a bit surprising that this shop isn't in Lastation."
"You aren't the first person to say that." I say with a bit of a smile while mixing the dough. "I suppose it is a bit strange, isn't it?"
"It is a bit logical in a sense you won't have a lot of competition, but most people try to align their menus to their respective CPU." Lady Blanc says with a nod. "But based on the pictures you have up, you aren't the original owner, correct?"
"That is correct, Lady Blanc."
"Perhaps you could ask him, when you have the chance."
"I could introduce you to him. Though, he'll probably have a heart attack if I did." I say, thinking about what kind of face he'd make if I showed up on his doorstep with a CPU.
"This is more for your sake, but perhaps if it wouldn't inconvenience him, then yes. I'd like to know just what was on his mind."
I briefly consider telling her about Gregory's late wife, Marianne, as I know she had some amount of influence on why Lapin House opened up here, but that's a fairly close guarded secret. The only other person who knows about that outside Gregory and I is IF, now that I think about it, when she found out when we met up at Gregory's house.
Actually, thinking on it, I don't think I've actually seen any pictures of her hanging around. Then again, it's been a few years and the photos have been swapped around a few times, especially after I came in and started working.
"Something on your mind?"
"Oh, just… some old memories about the shop, is all."
"I see. Speaking of, why did you start working here?"
"Ah, well…" I give a bashful smile, trying not to look up at Lady Blanc. "Back in high school, I wasn't exactly a hotshot or anything. My grades were pretty average and I struggled a bit at times, too. So, I decided to start looking for a job early."
"And that led you here."
"Mhm. I used to live… maybe a ten minute train ride away from here? The school is pretty close to here as well, so I could just walk from school to work. I saw a Help Wanted sign and applied, and I guess the rest is history."
"Your friends seem to have a lot of history with the shop, though, based on the pictures."
"Ah, yeah. This place is… home to a lot of happy high school memories." I say, smiling as I sprinkle in some chocolate chips. "That's all fairly old news now, though. Most of them are married or working, so we rarely get to see each other."
"And Melanie?"
"I'm surprised you remember her name."
"Considering how she was the one article out of thousands to claim you two weren't the same, it's easy to."
"Mhm. Well, as you can tell, she went off to become a journalist. Around the time we were thinking about college, we had to talk about what was going to happen with us. She was going off to Leanbox and I was going to stay here with the shop as Gregory was slowly turning over more and more to me. We both cried a lot, but I think we ultimately made the right choice."
"I'm… sorry to dig up any sad memories."
"It's not really sad, it's… well, I guess you know me, right?"
Lady Blanc nods. I can hear some cloth shuffling around, as if she's crossing her arms. "You did it in her interest, didn't you? Can I assume that you didn't want to break up?"
"If you ask the me from back then, then certainly no, I wanted us to stay together and fight for every inch. But, I guess I thought I'd only hold her back."
"Good grief, it's worse than I thought." I hear her mumble. "Now it makes sense why you'd push yourself so hard for the gala. Kei asking you must've triggered an impulse."
Before I can say anything, she keeps speaking.
"It's okay. We'll work on that, too."
"Lady Blanc?"
"Blanc. But, I'm surprised you've been able to progress so far with IF as friends in this case."
"Well, it's… I don't know. I feel just… comfortable with IF."
Lady Blanc sighs, shaking her head and mumbling something under her breath. I don't catch anything specific, but it sounds something like "think the same way". I choose not to press it, as she clearly didn't want me hearing it.
"Regardless, I think it's probably for the best if you change your mentality. I'm not a fan of meddling in things like this, however in this case you are quite close to Noire. While Neptune should be the one doing it, I think we'll both agree that Neptune might not be the best cut out for something like this."
"Ahaha… maybe."
"In the end, I suppose you are learning. You're able to call me by name and are fine with us working underneath you as you'll be managing. I also heard you argued with Uni."
"I… well, it wouldn't do if Lady Uni was to get the wrong idea about Lady Noire and I."
"Regardless, being able to say something and speak up is progress in its own right."
"Mhm, mhm."
We make a bit more idle talk as the rest of the time continues to pass by, talking more on lighter topics to avoid a heavy atmosphere. Lady Blanc occasionally asks why I chose something for a particular recipe, to which my response is usually that's how it was done and I don't feel a need to change it. Occasionally she takes a break to go refresh her memory on the register, during which I take a break as well to observe. She's definitely a quick study, already mastering its usage even if it's pretty intuitive.
I still can't help but wonder why Lady Blanc has intervened so much on my sake. She's mentioned a few times that it has to deal with my dealings with Lady Noire, so I could always ask her… but then again, I don't think that would help much in terms of understanding. But I can at least understand why she wants me to be better at treating them much more like people rather than goddesses.
As I look at one of the older photos hanging on the wall, just above the jukebox, I feel a smile coming onto my face. It's a photo of back when I graduated, with all of my friends from school and me dressed in the cafe's old uniform, apron and everything. I guess… if we all had been so guarded with each other, there's no way we could have formed a lasting friendship that still somewhat persists today even if we don't see each other much.
So maybe that's why she keeps pushing this. There's just no way I could be friends with Lady Noire if I keep myself guarded the way I do. But it's not like that's easy to fix. Even if I treat her like a normal person, she's still a goddess and I'm just… well, me. But on the other hand, she does want to keep me around her, or so it seems.
"Eh?"
I'm brought out of my thought train by something pinching my cheek. Lady Blanc squeezes a bit harder, looking right into my eyes.
"S-sorry, did you say something, Lady Blanc?"
"Just Blanc. After all, I'm in your care now, Manager."
I double take at the usage of the word, feeling a bit bashful afterwards. "R-right. Well, just be sure to be on time tomorrow. You can feel free to show up about an hour after the shop opens, that way Lady—"
Lady Blanc raises a finger, interrupting me. I already know what correction she's asking me to make.
"—Ram and Rom won't be advertising unnecessarily."
"I see."
I know she can definitely tell it was something more along the lines of 'So they wouldn't have to wake up so early', but Lady Blanc is probably playing nice.
"Well, I shall set that as the time we should arrive, but there won't be a problem if we arrive earlier, yes?"
"I don't… suppose so." I say, not knowing how to slip out of this one. Well played, Lady Blanc.
"Then, we'll be sure to arrive by that point." She says, very much signalling her intention. I suspect though, if she did not want me to know, that her stare that has no openings in it would have concealed that from me. Part of me is wondering if she's trying to get me to put my foot down harder, but this is something that's fairly low priority anyways.
"Mhm, thank you, La… Blanc." I say, catching myself halfway. "Oh, and please don't worry about lunch tomorrow. It won't be too much harder to make more than I usually do."
"You don't need to worry yourself with that. You work enough as it is, so we'll bring out own lunch. Besides, this is a punishment for them, remember?"
"I suppose so, but still… Well, I guess you're right. It's nothing urgent, anyways."
I glance at Lady Blanc, expecting to see some kind of annoyed expression in the furrow of an eyebrow, but she seems fairly nonplussed about it. I suppose in the long run it's nothing really major when you compare it to the shopping earlier. Something like that, where I should have control, is where Lady Blanc wants me to vocalize what I want more and to think of them more as people. However, in this situation I'm assisting Lady Blanc, so I'm moreso following her lead. There's times for me to be more adamant in what I want and times when I need to just let things go. In Lady Blanc's eyes, I think she thinks that I put everything into the second category, which won't help in the long run.
I won't know for certain, but… I suppose I need to show my thanks to Lady Blanc at some point. I could have a hand at trying some of the pastries that are typically made in Lowee, when I have the chance. I don't know how much longer she'll be here, so I'm on the clock.
"Mhm."
"If there's nothing else you have to ask of me, Lady Blanc, then I think that's everything I have for you today."
She nods slightly before looking at the door. "Ah, that's right. I wouldn't want to interfere with your time with Noire. She's been very worried about you."
At this, Lady Blanc's eyes close and she looks slightly more annoyed.
"B-blanc?" I ask a bit nervously.
Lady Blanc takes a breath, looking a bit more calm now. "Ah, sorry. I shouldn't bother you with that. It's not your fault."
"Please don't blame yourself entirely, either." I say, trying to word it a bit nicely. I've only known Lady Blanc for a short while, but I already understand that despite her complaints, she's very protective of her sisters.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Elliot. You don't have to be so afraid, but it's understandable why." Lady Blanc says with just the slightest bit of regret in her voice.
"You um, do have a bit of a reputation for getting very fiery." I say, putting out a smile. "But you weren't the one who caused the incident in the first place, Blanc. If it would help, please feel free to put some of it on me as well, as I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have."
Lady Blanc gives me a disapproving look, so I follow up quickly.
"As… a friend, is all." I say, trying to keep contact with her. "Or as an acquaintance, if I'm being too—"
At this, Lady Blanc smiles, shaking her head. "No, friend is fine. We're not so distant as to be simply acquaintances. But thank you. Of course, I'll be sure to assign the blame to where it belongs."
"I see. Well, that's all I think I'd like."
Lady Blanc nods before exiting the counter area, going for the door. "Well, thank you again. It is getting late now, so I'll take my leave. See you tomorrow, manager."
"H-hey, it's not fair that you get to call me that and I have to address you by name." I mumble, though Lady Blanc manages to hear it and pauses as the door is halfway open.
"That is a fair point. Then, I will see you tomorrow, Elliot."
"See you tomorrow, L—Blanc."
With that, she steps out, the door closing behind her as she walks away. Oh geez, just like IF said, here it goes again…
There we go, done. Sorry it took so long, but I had to study for a certification exam (passed, thankfully). This chapter was originally a bit shorter, but I added some additional scenes partway through. Also, I can't believe I had to go reading through my old chapters just so I could remember what color Elliot's apron was. And sweet Nep, these chapters keep getting longer and longer. Chapters 5ish used to have like, 4-5k lengths and now we're at the point of hitting 6-7k and more pages naturally. I swear, the finale of this story is going to end up being friggin like 60 pages.
I think it was alright, just an easygoing shopping trip with Blanc. I thought to make Blanc's reasoning a little more explicit, where it's mostly spelled out but just vague enough it's not direct; essentially, she's trying to get him to a point he can say "no" to Noire, since Blanc realized what kind of person he is as I felt Blanc is pretty good at picking up on subtle things and putting clues together very fast.
I did like having the dynamic where Blanc has to play the "bad cop" to her little sisters, but the scene with the escalator kind of hinted she'd like to have a normalish relationship with them as well. Having Blanc start sort of priming Elliot to be more selfish/treat the CPUs more as equals has been pretty fun, too, where she explains how she wants him to think about carrying the bag and also how he's contributing to the fact that he had to hide from the media.
One of the scenes I added closer to the last minute was the talk about Melanie, Elliot's ex-girlfriend. As I've said before, I wanted to keep her mostly off-screen kind of like a ghost, with the past of her and Elliot still continuing to haunt around to the present day. In this small snippet, Blanc got a glimpse into the fact Elliot is really a (stupidly) selfless guy at times, which ties back all the way to Chapter 2, wherein Elliot let Nepgear have the last condensed milk and trying to lie despite not having an umbrella and Chapter 10 where he quickly works to get the kids the stuffed animal they were trying to get. There was also a line back then where he states that he pushed himself for Noire in Ch10 because he felt their outing was partially an extension of his service of the coffee shop. Thinking back on it too, there was never a point where Elliot considered turning down Kei's request that he go with Noire as well.
So, here we are now, with Blanc trying to get him to change his ways. Similar to Noire is how she forces him to use her name without the "Lady" prefix, but also went a bit further and is now putting him in a position where he's in charge of her. If this story were any more goddamn weeb though it'd be like switching from "sama" to "san", but thank Nep we're past those years. If you'll excuse me I need to go trauma-cry in the corner.
Blanc's arc so far has been a lot of introspection, I feel. I would like to have a more IF-centric or Noire-centric chapter to break the trend soon (mostly for some pacing), but with how I've written it so far it'll have to wait at least until after next chapter. Making Blanc kind of a mentor/guiding figure felt kind of right for her though, as I've given her a more active role in raising her sisters. It'll probably be less shiptastic than Noire's arc, but I like having Elliot and Blanc's almost-sibling kind of relationship.
Also I'm crazy, since this is Chapter 16 and as of right now I'm writing Chapter 20, with everything planned out until about Chapter 23. I also had a breakthrough in what could be a Vert arc, so I won't have to be lazy and skip it. Basically, I hit a massive inspiration boost and things kind of surged. As for what gave me that surge, watch Weathering with You if you haven't. I'll say that the soundtrack definitely influenced the addition of 2 scenes down the road.
Anyways, that's all for this chapter. See you next time!